Eric Bischoff Reacts to AEW's New TV Deal

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on the recent AEW TV deal with Warner Bros. Discovery and discussed various industry insights. He expressed skepticism about the deal from the outset, stating, “I not only predicted that they would not get a deal with Warner Brothers Discovery, I suggested many times that they probably would. I’ve also said that it won’t make any difference, because the show’s going to be what the show is. The deterioration of the audience is going to be what the deterioration has been. If you look at some of the information that Brandon Thurston from Wrestlenomics published even this morning, it’s right there in black and white, folks.”

Bischoff emphasized the importance of how AEW's leadership will respond to this new opportunity, adding, “So unless Tony takes advantage of this opportunity [and] reconfigures his approach to the industry, I don’t — looks, it’s a win. Can’t look at this any other way. It’s an opportunity. The important part now is, what does Tony do with it? Does he continue the way he has been and continue to hemorrhage audience and ticket sales? I don’t know. It’ll be interesting to see. But I’m happy for Tony number one. It’s got to be a big load off his back. I’m happy after seven months of teasing this… I’m glad it finally happened. It took the gestation period of a human to give birth almost. But I’m glad it finally happened, and now let’s see what they do with it.”

Reflecting on the path forward, Bischoff stated what he would prioritize if he were in Tony Khan's position: “I would do everything I possibly could to get those numbers up. It only makes sense; it’s just common sense. What does that mean going forward? I don’t know. We’ll see. There’s no more big stars to sign, there’s no more hype. There’s no more game-changing free agents that they’re going to be able to bring into the equation that are really going to matter. Because none of the previous ones have either.”

He further criticized the impact of certain signings, particularly mentioning Mercedes Moné: “I mean, I think Mercedes has got to be one of the biggest financial miscalculations in terms of talent deals in the history of professional wrestling. The numbers have crashed since she showed up. Her stock has gone so far down, and she was a big sign. That potentially could have been a big deal, and it was the opposite. So I don’t know what Tony’s gonna do. He got his deal. Let’s see. I hope for the best.”

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— Ben Jordan Kerin Oct 05, 2024 04:03PM