Eric Bischoff surprised by WWE WrestleMania 41 Netflix viewers

Eric Bischoff played a vital role in WCW Nitro, which surpassed WWE RAW in television ratings for 83 consecutive weeks in the 1990s. In a recent podcast episode, the legendary wrestling executive reacted to WrestleMania 41 not making Netflix's top 10 global rankings list.

In January, several WWE shows began streaming live on Netflix as part of a $5 billion, 10-year partnership. While WrestleMania 41 aired on Peacock in the United States on April 1-2, most international fans watched the two-night event on Netflix.

On his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff said he thought WrestleMania 41 would feature in the top 10:

"I am surprised. I was excited to see what WrestleMania was gonna do, and when that number came in, yeah, I was surprised it landed where it did. Do I have a take on why? I think WrestleMania is obviously part of pop culture and has been now for however many years, decades. While it's not the Super Bowl necessarily in terms of public interest in the United States, it's probably close in some ways. But outside of the United States? Not so much." [From 43:09 – 43:46]

The Night One of WrestleMania 41 was headlined by Seth Rollins' victory over CM Punk and Roman Reigns. On Night Two, John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event to capture his record-breaking 17th World Championship.

Eric Bischoff expected higher WrestleMania 41 viewing figures

In 2019, Eric Bischoff briefly returned to WWE as the SmackDown Executive Director, shortly before the show's five-year partnership with the American television network FOX began. Two years later, his contributions to the wrestling business were recognized with a WWE Hall of Fame induction.

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Although WrestleMania 41 did not air on Netflix in the United States, Eric Bischoff still thought the show would attract more worldwide viewers:

"I think the big bump that I expected from WrestleMania was not so much the domestic audience. I didn't think Netflix was gonna have a big impact on the domestic audience because the domestic audience has been able to get and stream WrestleMania for quite some time now on Peacock, previously, so I didn't see a big jump in the US, but I really thought that the international bump would have been much more significant than it is." [From 43:46 – 44:14]

In the same episode, Bischoff questioned The Rock's explanation after failing to appear on either night of WrestleMania 41.

Please credit 83 Weeks and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use Eric Bischoff's quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart