WWE legend Eric Bischoff believes The Rock is a near lock for WWE WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia, and his reasoning comes straight from his own time inside the company.
Speaking on the 83 Weeks podcast, the former WWE executive pointed to what he learned during his 2019 stint about how the Saudi audience picked its favorites.
Bischoff said planning for Saudi events revolved heavily around legacy names rather than the current roster. He recalled hours of meetings spent floating attractions that would resonate with that crowd.
One of the things I kept hearing was that Saudis had their own ideas about who should be on the card based on the Saudi audience preferences,” Bischoff said. “We’d throw these names out, what if this and what if that? And we’d spend hours talking about what Saudi could look like.
One name stood out as proof of how far the preferences skewed toward the past.
One of them, Yokozuna,” Bischoff said, referencing the late star. “What does that tell you? That the Saudi audience, at least at that time, wasn’t watching the current product. They were watching stuff that was quite old.
The “Legacy Hangover” Behind The Rock Prediction
According to Bischoff, many of the marquee matchups discussed in those meetings involved performers who were legends, retired, or no longer able to compete.
A lot of the talent, their idea of marquee matchups were guys that were either dead or no longer in the business or capable of,” he said.
Bischoff acknowledged the audience may have shifted since 2019, but he believes nostalgia still drives interest in the region. He called it a “legacy hangover” that would make a returning Rock an obvious fit.
He also floated John Cena as another name who could tap into that same appeal, even without wrestling.
John Cena in some kind of non-wrestling related role is probably going to check those nostalgia boxes,” Bischoff said.
That track record is what gives Bischoff confidence in his call.
I do see Rock on the card in Saudi for WrestleMania,” he said.
The comments arrive as WWE’s future plans remain a talking point, with prior reporting indicating the promotion has explored backup options for WrestleMania 43 should The Rock miss the show. His availability has been a recurring question, including reports that The Rock missed TKO meetings while still collecting royalties.
