WWE News: Eric Bischoff's take on pyro in Professional Wrestling

What’s the story?

We recently found out that WWE are cutting down on their use of their pyro due to budget cuts. Many fans have sounded off regarding WWE’s pyro cutbacks over the last few weeks and former WCW Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff gave his opinion on the subject.

According to Bischoff, he feels the pyro cutbacks aren’t that big of a deal.

In case you didn’t know...

Pyrotechnics in professional wrestling have been synonymous for quite some time but became a big part of the show during the Attitude Era when both Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro would kick off the show with pyro to get the crowds excited for their entrances.

The heart of the matter

On an episode of the Bischoff on Wrestling podcast, the former Raw General Manager discussed the importance of pyro in professional wrestling and said that pyro did matter in sports entertainment, but it wasn’t something the fans needed every day.

“Sometimes you have to make decisions to make money but by not having pyro in every show it also gives you the opportunity for your PPVs, or a special match that you are going to have on television, to then use pyro and make it feel like an even bigger deal.”

Bischoff went on to say that cutting back on pyro wouldn’t be the end of the world and reiterated the idea that it makes matches more interesting.

“As far as having to get rid of pyro goes I don’t think it’s the end of the world at all and I think it provides them the opportunity to make something even more special when they do use it.”

What’s Next?

WWE’s pyro cutbacks are a recent development to cut back costs and may not be a general rule for big shows.

However, if the WWE doesn’t have pyro for SummerSlam, then they will more than likely refrain from using pyro until WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble.

Author’s Take

Pyro definitely adds a sense of specialness and interest to a wrestler and can be a big factor in their entrance.

While it is sad to hear that the WWE are cutting back on pyro, hopefully, they can just limit its use to the bigger pay-per-views and find another way to save.