Eric Bischoff is once again speaking candidly about AEW President Tony Khan, and this time he’s explaining the exact moment he says he “lost respect” for Khan. During an interview with ActionNetwork.com, the former WCW President recalled comments Khan made years ago that he believes crossed a line.
Bischoff said the issue stems from what he considers an unnecessary and “profoundly stupid” remark Khan made about Ted Turner — the man who originally put WCW on national television and whose name remains attached to the network where AEW currently airs.
“Tony likes to compare himself to me and to WCW, but he hasn’t gotten to the part yet where he’s actually changed the industry or defeated his competition in head-to-head ratings,” Bischoff said. “He [Tony] likes to draw a lot of parallels to himself or WCW or Eric Bischoff, but they’re really not appropriate.”
Bischoff continued, explaining why Khan’s comments struck such a nerve. “Tony came out on national television and was very disrespectful, in my opinion, to Ted Turner. The guy whose name is still on the door at Turner Broadcasting, where Tony airs his show. And Tony made some ridiculous comment to the effect of, ‘if Ted Turner knew 1% about professional wrestling as I do, WCW would still be around.’
“It was such a profoundly stupid thing to say that it made me lose respect for Tony. It also indicated to me that Tony doesn’t really understand the business he’s in.”
Bischoff then pointed toward AEW’s structure, stating that Khan’s wealth insulates him from the financial pressure wrestling companies traditionally face. “Tony has the benefit of having a couple billion dollars behind him. He doesn’t really need to worry about performance from a revenue perspective, because he’s not really accountable to anybody. He’s spending his own money. And he’s got a lot of it to spend.
“He makes no bones about it. This is his hobby. Some people play golf. Some people have wrestling companies.”
Despite the criticism, Bischoff insisted his intention has always been for AEW to improve. “I’m critical, I want it to succeed, I know people have a hard time believing that. But I’ve been critical because I wanted it to succeed.”
Bischoff has repeatedly taken issue with AEW’s storytelling philosophy, and he reiterated those points once again. “I’ve pointed out that they need to actually tell real stories, not cosplay wrestling journalist stories, but actual real stories with real structure, with real stakes, with real arcs to those stories, and real payoffs to those stories.
“The characters have to be interesting, there needs to be some depth to these characters. They can’t all look like they just showed up at the Jiffy Lube Oil Change Center, so you can change your oil for $29.95. I mean, you actually have to look like a star for people to perceive you to be a star.”
Bischoff also doubled down on his long-running claim that he predicted AEW’s ratings trajectory well in advance.
“So there’s just so many basic, fundamental things that are lacking from the AEW show, which is why, over a year and a half ago, I predicted, with uncanny freaking accuracy, exactly where the ratings for AEW would be today.
“Over a year and a half ago, I predicted it, and guess what? I’m right on the money. And it’s not because I’m that smart, it’s just because I understand the business, I see the trends, I see what’s missing, and I can tell you within probably 100,000 viewers what the ratings are going to be a year from now.”
