The legendary Eric Bischoff has opened up about why there will always be a place for older talents like Goldberg, Sting and Ric Flair – but spoken of why younger talents should be able to benefit from their appearance by association.
In a recent interview with SK Wrestling, Eric Bischoff has opened up about how 41 years old is the new “prime” for wrestlers before revealing why older talent will always have a place in wrestling.
“It’s funny, you know when I was doing a podcast with Conrad, basically he said that a dirt sheet writer complained because at 41 years old, Ric Flair was too old. That’s prime right now. AJ Styles is older than 41. Chris Jericho is 50. I mean, and he is at the top of his game. He may not be at the top of his game physically, but as a performer, as a character, he is at the top of his game.”
Bischoff would then go on to say younger talent should be balanced with older talent, naming Goldberg – who challenges Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble – as well as AEW’s Sting and WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.
“So, there will always be a place for older talent. The key is to find a way to balance it so that the younger talent that is associated with that established talent, like Bill Goldberg, or like Sting, or like Ric Flair, you associate them with younger talent and the younger talent benefits from that association. They become bigger stars as a result of the proximity to legends and more recognized talent. But it’s all about balance. But there will always be a place, in my opinion, for older talent.”
The former WCW President went on to discuss the importance of nostalgia in wrestling, and how the “generational programming” means older stars are important to bring viewers back.
“They are watching it as kids. They are watching it into their early teens and even into their late teens and early twenties and are going to college and developing relationships and have other interests. You tend to go away from wrestling; they stop watching for a while, but then they kind of come back in their mid to late twenties and early thirties. And when they got kids, they watch wrestling with their kids. It’s a generational type of programming. Like, probably like nothing else other than sports. And because it’s generational, and because people have been watching most of their lives, there will always be a place, in my opinion, for legends and older stars.”
Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast is available via AdFreeShows.com.
H/T to SK Wrestling.