Eric Bischoff Says WWE’s HLA Storyline Felt “Exploitative” and Made Him Uncomfortable

Eric Bischoff is looking back at one of WWE’s most controversial storylines, and he’s not pretending he enjoyed being part of it.

During a conversation with Inside The Ropes, Bischoff was asked about the infamous “HLA” segments — short for Hot Lesbian Action — that aired during his run as RAW General Manager. While those moments are often remembered as wild television from that era, Bischoff admitted the experience didn’t sit right with him at the time.

He explained that even though fans laughed about the segments years later, his reaction backstage was much different. The angle didn’t feel natural to him, and he said the discomfort started almost immediately once he realized what WWE wanted him to do.

“All kidding aside, because it's fun to talk about that thing, you know, the HLA period. I guess it lasted about a month or two, whatever it was. It was awkward for me. It didn't feel right for me. I was uncomfortable doing it.”

Bischoff went on to explain that the storyline felt like a shortcut — something designed to grab attention without relying on strong storytelling or creativity. From his point of view, the angle leaned too heavily on shock value instead of meaningful entertainment.

“I don't know. It just felt like exploitive in a way. It felt like low-end entertainment. Like sometimes you're trying to entertain people and you just reach down into the gutter because it's easy and you know you're — it's like cheap heat.”

To make his point clearer, Bischoff compared the concept to a wrestling tactic meant to get an easy reaction without putting in real effort. He said the HLA segments reminded him of the type of move designed only to provoke noise from a crowd, not to tell a story.

“Have you ever heard the term cheap heat? It's like if I was a wrestler and I was coming to Glasgow and we were in a wrestling ring… and I come out here and say this town Glasgow sucks. Well, you know you're going to get a reaction. And it takes zero creativity. It takes zero talent. There's no imagination. There's no psychology.”

Looking back now, Bischoff made it clear he sees the storyline as a creative shortcut that didn’t represent the kind of wrestling he preferred to produce or perform.

“It's like reaching into your bag of tricks and just grabbing something and throwing it out there. And that's kind of — that's a little bit how I felt about the HLA era. Wasn't really an era. It was a minute.”

Bischoff still carried out the segments as part of his job, but his comments now show that even at the time, he viewed the storyline as a low point creatively rather than something he was proud of. His reflections add another voice to the ongoing discussion about how far wrestling went during that era in pursuit of attention and ratings.

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