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Bischoff Talks WWE HOF Inductor; Burch Injury Update; McIntyre on WrestleMania
March 19, 2021
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Bischoff Wants Hogan as WWE HOF Presenter
WWE announced this week that Eric Bischoff will be part of the WWE Hall of Fame's class of 2021, and the former WCW president already has a presenter in mind.
On After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson (h/t Phillip Hendrix of Ringside News), Bischoff mentioned longtime friend Hulk Hogan as the person who would ideally introduce him at the induction:
"I don't know that there's an obvious answer to me. Clearly, Hulk is one of my best friends, and the history that we have together in the industry and the friendship that we've maintained. ... Certainly, if I have to sit down and think about that, that's [Hogan] probably where I'm going to go to first."
On this week's episode of WWE After The Bell, Bischoff was informed by WWE announcers Corey Graves and Vic Joseph that he is going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year:
An emotional Bischoff was clearly honored, and he will get the opportunity to speak about what it means to him April 6 when the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony streams on Peacock.
It comes as no surprise that Bischoff mentioned Hogan as the person he would like to be inducted by since it is well known that they have been friends for years.
Bischoff was the driving force behind Hogan leaving WWE and signing with WCW in 1994, and the two of them worked together to form New World Order, which still stands as one of the greatest and most influential stables in pro wrestling history.
Making Hogan the leader of NWO is a big reason why Bischoff was able to lead WCW Nitro to 83 consecutive weeks of ratings wins over WWE Raw during the Monday Night War.
After WCW was purchased by WWE in 2001, Bischoff made his shocking return to wrestling for WWE and served as an on-screen authority figure from 2002-05.
Bischoff is undoubtedly worthy of a Hall of Fame induction, and having his friend present for the occasion could make it even more special for him.
Burch Reportedly Suffered Separated Shoulder
Danny Burch, one half of the NXT Tag Team champions, suffered an injury during the main event of Wednesday's episode of NXT.
According to F4WOnline (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Burch separated his shoulder during his and Oney Lorcan's successful title defense against Finn Balor and Karrion Kross.
Burch took a bad fall outside of the ring during the match and was tended to by doctors. That forced Lorcan to finish the match on his own, and he picked up the victory for his team after Kross turned on Balor and attacked him, thus setting the stage for Kross vs. Balor for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
WWE has yet to make an official announcement regarding Burch's status, but if he does have a separated shoulder, he may not be available for Stand & Deliver on April 7 and 8.
If that is the case, WWE may have to either strip Lorcan and Burch of the NXT Tag Team Championship or find a replacement partner for Lorcan.
MSK won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to become the No. 1 contenders, so MSK vs. Lorcan and Burch may have been the plan for TakeOver. MSK is feuding with The Grizzled Young Veterans as well, though, so a Triple Threat could be in mind.
If Lorcan and Burch are stripped, MSK and GYV in a rematch of the Dusty Cup final could be used to determine the new NXT tag team champs.
Should WWE go the route of giving Lorcan a replacement partner, Pete Dunne stands out since he is in a stable with the champs.
Last week Dunne seemed to be teasing a singles match against someone else at TakeOver, so he may not be an option.
Regardless of what decision is made, it will be a shame if Burch can't compete at TakeOver since he and Lorcan have done some great work together in recent months.
McIntyre Talks WrestleMania 36 Disappointment
After years of hard work, Drew McIntyre finally reached the top of the mountain last year at WrestleMania 36, beating Brock Lesnar to become WWE champion.
Unfortunately for McIntyre, things didn't go the way he envisioned, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced WrestleMania 36 to occur at the WWE Performance Center with no fans in attendance rather than at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, with thousands of fans present.
In an interview with Jon Alba of Spectrum Sports 360 (h/t Upton), McIntyre talked about his initial disappointment and how his perspective then changed:
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry, disappointed when I found out after 19 years of hard work and so many ups but a lot, a lot of downs to get to that point that it wasn't going to be in front of 70,000 people at Raymond James Stadium. My family coming from Scotland weren't going to be there. My wife wasn't going to be there. Such a part of my journey, it was going to be in front of nobody.
"It wasn't until I realized the gravity of the COVID situation and that we were going to be the only original content in the world essentially at that point. And then I thought, wow, it would be pretty selfish Drew that you've got a huge opportunity to really make a difference in the world."
McIntyre didn't get his WrestleMania moment in front of a live crowd, but many fans got to watch and enjoy the event from home—and McIntyre winning the title was a feel-good moment during a difficult time in the world.
Since that win, McIntyre has been the face of Raw, holding the WWE Championship twice and constantly being put in main event spots.
Bobby Lashley is the reigning WWE champion, but McIntyre is set to challenge him at WrestleMania 37, which will occur at Raymond James Stadium with partial capacity.
It will still have a different feel from most WrestleManias, but WrestleMania 37 will be much closer to normal than last year.
If McIntyre can win a WWE Championship match for the second year in a row on The Grandest Stage of Them All, it will go a long way toward making up for WrestleMania 36.
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