Eric Bischoff has reflected on one of the more frustrating challenges he encountered after making the jump to WWE, dealing with crowds repeatedly hitting him with the infamous "What?" chant.

The chant, popularized by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, became a regular feature of WWE television during the early 2000s. As Bischoff frequently found himself opposite Austin during their time as Raw authority figures, he quickly became one of the fans' favourite targets.

Speaking on his "83 Weeks" podcast, Bischoff admitted that learning how to handle the crowd response was something he had to work through after arriving in WWE.

"I had to overcome [the chants], when I first got to WWE as a character," Bischoff said, acknowledging that fans often used the chant specifically to disrupt wrestlers and personalities during their promos. "Fun time."

Bischoff believes the phenomenon also represented something bigger. In his view, audiences were beginning to understand just how much influence they could have over a live wrestling broadcast, something that would become even more noticeable years later with crowd-driven movements such as Daniel Bryan's "Yes Movement."

"It was [annoying]," Bischoff admitted. "It was a real clear example of the audience realizing that they're a really big part of the show. Like they should be getting a check, if they do their job properly, because a really great audience can make a mediocre show feel like a big deal...conversely, a dead crowd can make [a good show] feel flatter than p*** on a plate."

Although Austin eventually stepped away from full-time competition, the "What?" chant never disappeared with him. More than two decades later, WWE performers can still find themselves battling the response when delivering promos, particularly when there is enough of a pause for the audience to take over.

Austin himself has previously acknowledged having mixed feelings about how long the chant has survived and the way fans sometimes use it to derail performers.

The chant originally came about through a voicemail Austin left for Christian Cage, with Austin repeatedly saying "What?" as part of the message. What began as an amusing idea ultimately became one of the most enduring crowd chants in modern professional wrestling.