During the latest edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff commented on Paul Orndorff’s legacy in pro wrestling, the similarities between Orndorff and Kurt Angle, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On his favorite memories of Paul Orndorff: “Paul was so well-respected by everybody. Fans, obviously, because he was such a great performer. His opponents because he was such a great opponent. Jim Ross said it best in a tweet shortly after Paul died – Paul Orndorff was a man’s man. By that, I mean just a person that you respected. I’ve never met anybody who had anything other than respect for Paul. Some people were closer to Paul and knew Paul differently as a friend than others who may only have known him professionally. But across the board, Paul was one of those guys that nobody would even roll their eyes or half chuckle or say something under their breath when his name came up because they just had so much respect. I think it speaks to the way it carried himself. He was this profoundly honest person. He wasn’t always the most gentle with how he expressed his opinion – he had a very strong opinion about a lot of things – but he was never selfish. It was never about “me” or how am I gonna get over or what’s in it from me. It was always just about the match and the quality of the match. Nothing but respect for Paul.”
On the similarities between Orndorff and Kurt Angle: “I wanted to make the point on social media and I forgot. Kurt Angle and Paul Orndorff, in many respects, are the same kind of cat. I’m not putting Paul’s athletic skill and achievements on the same level as Kurt’s, but just step back – two amazing athletes, two badasses and everybody knows it, and two guys that can make you fold in half pissing yourself laughing in certain situations. They both had that comedic sense to them. Some of Kurt’s best work – Kurt Angle was a cat where he could wrestle on Monday night and convince you he was the most dangerous human being to draw breath, then on Tuesday night, he could make you laugh your ass off. He could do both equally as well and transition with no issue whatsoever. Paul was kind of like that. That scene with Gary Spivey was an example of that.”
On Orndorff’s legacy in wrestling: “I don’t know what it’ll be because everybody looks at things from their own unusual perspective and experiences. I’ll tell you what I hope it is – just an amazingly entertaining performer and one of the most honest people you could ever do business with. I mean, you could trust Paul with anything. He was your friend, and if you needed Paul, you could trust him with anything, whether it was professionally or personally. He was such a real, honest person. When you know a guy like Paul and say something in that spirit of honesty, he may not articulate it as eloquently as some, but his intent was 100 percent honest and not selfish. I hope people remember that.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)
