MLW will deliver its anticipated SuperFight 6 later tonight from Center Stage in Atlanta, and running the show is none other than MLW Executive Producer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff. Bischoff previously ran things for MLW’s One-Shot event last year, and after a successful event he’s back for SuperFight, but it looks to be his final wrestling appearance for the foreseeable future. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Bischoff about why this looks to be his final show as well as what led to working with MLW, what MLW is doing right in the wrestling marketplace, and more.
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Bischoff and MLW’s partnership can actually be traced back to a video on MLW’s YouTube where Paul Walter Houser and Bischoff were speaking on Bischoff’s show Wise Choices. In the video, Houser called MLW President Court Bauer and connected him with Bischoff, so I asked if that was the real start to the working partnership or if any talks had happened previously.
“I would say, in all honesty, since you’ve asked the question very professionally, I would say about 50 to 70% of what you saw in that spontaneous type interview was indeed spontaneous. There was a little bit of conversation prior to that, but I don’t want to spoil it for everybody,” Bischoff said.
Bischoff has been in the wrestling business for decades, so not much surprises him. That said, he did have a few takeaways from working with MLW on One-Shot. “You know the one, there was a couple of takeaways. One was I really like the vibe and the energy. Something about being around young talent or even talent that’s not so young that have something to prove and are really going out there and putting on a show because they truly believe there’s still a career for them, there’s still an opportunity waiting for them,” Bischoff said.
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“And I like being in that environment. It’s a high-energy, positive environment. So it’s hard not to enjoy it, you know, for myself. One of the reasons I’m doing this show is because I wasn’t really happy with my own performance in December,” Bischoff said. “Ring rust, even in non-wrestling personalities, is a real thing. And you know, it’d been a long time since I’ve been on television live and it just wasn’t as smooth as I wanted it to be. And I didn’t want that to be my last in-ring performance if it wasn’t a good one. So I thought, I’m gonna go at this one like it may be my last one, because indeed it may be,” Bischoff said.
Bischoff has appeared on TV a few times in the past few months, including One-Shot and NXT, but SuperFight 6 is going to be pretty special, as it seems to be Bischoff’s last in-ring appearance. “And in terms of live in-ring performance, it will likely, I would say 90% likely, that this will be the last time I do it. But because of that, I want to really go out there and whether I have a small part or a large part, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll know if I’m doing a good job or not, and that’s what all I really care about,” Bischoff said.
“So I just want to go out there and do the best I can and feel good about my performance. And if it’s a good performance and that’s my last at bat in the ring, then so be it. It’s happening in Atlanta. It’s kind of a full circle moment in a way, if indeed it’s my last shot,” Bischoff said. “And I, I fully expect it to be. Just so, you know, I’m not playing games. I really think this will probably be the last time I do anything in ring live like this. So I want it to be a good one. I wanted to be fun. I want everybody involved to enjoy it and hopefully, the fans will get a kick out of it as well.”
As for why, Bischoff pinpointed travel as one of the biggest reasons. “It’s a little bit of everything. Honestly, the real answer is I hate traveling. You know, in order for me to, you know, fly to Atlanta, it’s. Where do you live? Okay. It would be the same thing as you flying to Paris. That’s how difficult it is for me to get to Atlanta. So just that whole experience of traveling is so difficult now and I’ve just done it. So, you know, for 40 years almost, I’ve been traveling all over the world and I’m just tired of it,” Bischoff said.
“That’s number one. Number two is, and I don’t know how to articulate this quite the same way. I’ll always enjoy performing, but I think I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t need it,” Bischoff said. “By that I mean, performing out in front of a live crowd, whether it’s 500 people or 15,000 people, there’s an exchange of energy. As talent, you’re there to create energy and to create emotion for the fans. To enjoy their role in that exchange is to react, letting you know that you’re doing a good job or a bad job. And that exchange of energy to me is, is really addictive. It’s why I think the Rolling Stones, for example, still tour.”
“It’s not because they need the money. It’s because once you get a taste of that kind of energy exchange and you learn to love that, it’s hard to shake it. But I think I’ve finally gotten to the point now where as grateful as I am for all the opportunities I’ve had to be out in front of a camera and in the ring and, you know, small crowds, big crowds, everything in between, I don’t have the same need for it that I used to,” Bischoff said. “That performer’s itch isn’t quite the same as it used to be. So I think maybe that’s just my sign that it’s just time to sit back, be grateful, watch everybody else that’s doing it and move on with the next chapter of my life.”
For SuperFight, Bischoff isn’t revealing his plans, but is promising that he’s going to have a fun time, and if he’s having fun, viewers will likely have a ball as well. “You know, I’m not going to tip anything. We’ll, we’ll see. But, I do know for sure, 100% positive I’m going to have a blast. And chances are, if I’m having fun, it should be fun to watch,” Bischoff said.
Bischoff is a fan of several things MLW is doing to stand out in the marketplace, and one of the biggest elements they are hitting on right now is storytelling. “I think they’re doing a number of things right, but I think the thing that they’re doing that matters the most right now is being disciplined about storytelling. You know, they’re an independent. They don’t have a lot of talent under contract, so they’re kind of working with what they have when they have it, right? It’s a little different than having, you know, 80 people under contract on your roster, and you could just kind of sit there and mix and match them,” Bischoff said.
“It’s a little more difficult when you’re working with essentially independent talent. So they’re doing a good job there. But, you know, Court Bauer comes from WWE. He was a writer there. He understands the importance of well-disciplined, well-structured, nuanced storylines. And as long as they keep focusing on that, I think more opportunities will continue to become available to them.”
You can watch MLW SuperFight 6 live on YouTube right here, and the event kicks off at 9 PM EST.
What are you enjoying most about MLW, and what do you want to see happen at SuperFight 6? You can talk all things wrestling with me in the comments or on Bluesky @knightofoa!
