EXCLUSIVE: Eric Bischoff says Drew McIntyre’s development in WWE reminds him of Stone Cold Steve Austin
Drew McIntyre is in his first run as WWE champion and you’d never know it.
The first-ever British world champion in WWE defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and has been putting in top-tier performances ever since.
McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36 in April
Most notably, his match with Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank arguably stole the show.
However, former WWE and WCW writer Vince Russo was in the minority that didn’t think he was coming across so well.
“When I’m sitting here, watching Drew cut that promo. I’m watching it and I’m like, ‘He doesn’t know who he is.’ He’s trying to be funny, and then he’s serious. It’s not coming across genuine. So that’s telling me, the writer has not tapped into who Drew McIntyre is. And that promo is coming across as very non-sincere – and it’s hurting his character.”
McIntyre has told talkSPORT that he controls everything he says within a story and he’s not subject to much scripting at all right now, which makes Russo’s comments even harder to digest.
Russo worked for both WWE and WCW in creative during the Monday Night Wars
talkSPORT caught up with Eric Bischoff this week, another man to work in both WCW and WWE. We asked what his thoughts were on McIntyre and Russo’s comments.
People have complained that WWE need to make new stars for a longtime now, so isn’t McIntyre a good candidate?
“I think he’s a great candidate,” Bischoff started. “I have a lot of respect for him. I enjoy his work, he’s believable, he’s credible, he immerses himself into his character and his role, which is all you can really ask for in a performer. Do I think he’s at the pinnacle of his potential? No.
“He’s only been at the position he’s been in for, well, what time is it? That’s how short a period of time it has been! The coffee is still warm in the cup. It’s not like he’s been in that role for a long time.”
Bischoff is certainly a legend in the wrestling business and many were shocked to see him return to WWE in 2019, albeit briefly
“He’s already a phenomenal performer. Guess what’s going to happen a year from now? Or a year and a half from now?
“Was John Cena a great performer when he first became world champion? I don’t know, some people might say he was – when I say I don’t know I really don’t know – was he as good as he would ultimately go on to be? Absolutely not. No one is.
“Stone Cold Steve Austin didn’t just become Stone Cold Steve Austin. It took him a long time. When Stone Cold came to WWE, he was the freaking Ringmaster! The Ringmaster! He was the extension of a circus act for crying out loud.
“And it wasn’t until Steve found out who Steve Austin was as a character and began to integrate that into his persona on television and then it continued to improve and grow and become something bigger and larger than it started with. Drew is like that.”
Bischoff has likened McIntyre’s growth to Stone Cold Steve Austin
Tyson Fury is ready to take on WWE World Champion Drew McIntyre
Fans may be familiar with the fact that Russo and Bischoff are far from friends. They didn’t work well together during their time in WCW and it seems they disagree on a lot of stories that have come out in the years since.
When talking about McIntyre, Bischoff disagreed with Russo and made his feelings on his former peer very clear.
“People may want to criticise [McIntyre], especially dips**** like Vince Russo who like to present the illusion that they have some critical insight that they really don’t, so they say s*** that makes it sound like they do,” he said.
“Let’s talk about it a year from now, six months from now, even three months from now.
“I really think we’re going to see a much different world champion six, even three months from now and I already like what we’re seeing.”
Make sure you check out Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast with Conrad Thompson where they go through WCW’s history and talk about wider wrestling
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