Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on the upcoming rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo at RAF 12. The former UFC bantamweight champions are set to headline Real American Freestyle‘s one-year anniversary event on Aug. 22.
Dvalishvili and Cejudo meet on the RAF mats for the second time. They last wrestled each other at RAF Georgia, which saw ‘The Machine’ pull off a massive upset. He came back from a deficit and defeated Cejudo, who is an Olympic gold medalist.
Dvalishvili entered the match having only one RAF match under his belt. Meanwhile, Cejudo entered with an strong Olympic resume and decades of wrestling experience, as well as his UFC accomplishments.
The main event matchup carries high stakes, as the winner will be crowned the inaugural RAF lightweight crossover champion.
Eric Bischoff Reveals Why Merab Dvalishvili-Henry Cejudo is Compelling
Eric Bischoff broke down Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo and the backstory between them.
Bischoff, 71, currently serves as RAF’s chief media officer. He comes from the world of sports entertainment, having extensive experience in professional wrestling with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was also a producer, and WWE. However, he highlighted the difference between storylines for pro wrestling and storylines for real sports competitions.
Bischoff pointed to Dvalishvili’s upset win over Cejudo as a compelling narrative ahead of RAF 12.
“For me, what’s so much fun is not me being able to create a storyline that I can figure out a way for an RAF wrestler to get involved in because that’s not how real sports works or the athletes in it,” Bischoff exclusively told Heavy Sports. “When you’ve got a situation like we have with Merab and Henry, that story is writing itself. Merab’s journey is like a movie, just based on what we saw in Georgia. What a phenomenal story.”
Bischoff Says There is More Pressure on Cejudo to Defeat Dvalishvili
Bischoff also said he believes there is more pressure on Cejudo to avenge his loss against Dvalishvili. Not only is ‘Triple C’ trying to avenge his loss in RAF, but he also lost to ‘The Machine’ in the UFC.
Now, Cejudo enters with two losses to Dvalishvili, one of them in a sport in which he has a significant advantage in.
“Henry’s a gold medalist defeated by a UFC guy, an MMA star. Now there’s stakes because in any good story, it doesn’t matter what the act one is. It doesn’t matter what act two is if there’s no stakes,” Bischoff exclusively told Heavy Sports. “If there’s no stakes, there’s no reason to have an act two. But when you’ve got a real-life story with real-life stakes like we have right now, it’s magic.”
Bischoff expressed gratitude for being able to witness the rivalry and tell Dvalishvili and Cejudo’s story to the RAF audience.
“I get to play in this sandbox with these characters and this reality, and shape it in a way that makes it compelling for the viewer to watch. I love that. That is such a gift for me.”
Eric Bischoff Reveals Why Merab Dvalishvili–Henry Cejudo is ‘Compelling’: Exclusive