On a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff critiqued Darby Allin’s promo on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, where the former TNT Champion referenced Cody Rhodes, and the fans began chanting Cody’s name when Allin yelled at The Young Bucks.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On criticism of Darby Allin’s promo from the February 14th Dynamite: “I think it was typical AEW. It’s indie-rrific. I think if you look at that promo in terms of the structure and delivery of the promo, it was great. It was passionate, it was coherent. It had a strong central message and theme. Unfortunately, the strong central message in the theme was indie-rrific as hell. Typical AEW, appealing to the Dave Meltzer audiences of the world, it’s just stupid. You could — first of all, those who voted, and the 70% of those who thought I would hate it were absolutely — I don’t hate it. I don’t actually give two s**ts one way or the other. I don’t have a dog in the AEW hunt. I do not take them seriously as a legitimate competitor or a legitimate growth opportunity for the wrestling business. It is what it is, it’s Tony Khan with his own little wrestling fantasy camp. And he’s having fun with it, and good for him, and good for the people that are making money.
But it was nonsensical. The entire story with Sting is nonsensical. Good for Sting, I’m proud of Sting. I’m a huge Steve Borden fan and obviously a Sting fan. But you could drive trucks through the holes in the way this story has been presented. And if it weren’t for the fact that Sting has been around as long as he has, he’s such a beloved character, he’s achieved so much. He’s delivered so much to so many people for such a long period of time, that they would have sold out 16 or 17,000 tickets regardless of whose Sting’s opponent or the story was going to be. It has nothing to do with the Bucks and their popularity, or their story, or their promos, or anything else they’re doing. In fact, the fact that they were able to sell the 16 or 17,000 tickets, given the story that we’re watching, is a true testimony to Sting and has nothing to do with the brain trust or lack thereof at AEW.”
On bringing up guys like CM Punk and backstage drama as a base of the feud: “Because the audience blamed the Young Bucks [for the CM Punk situation], they then went ‘Okay, hell with it. We’re going to be heels,’ whatever. I guess that was the inciting moment that changed their characters, and they became heels and inserted themselves — or were inserted, I’m not suggesting they did it. But they then became inserted in the Sting story. And, ‘Oh by the way, Sting! We bring in Ric Flair because we’re going to bank on the nostalgia,’ which I think was a great idea. And I loved it, I was looking forward to it. And Sting is going to be a part of this story, which creates opportunity. You know, is Ric going to turn on Sting? I would have hated it, but at least there is something to anticipate, to discuss, to talk about. Much like we’re talking about with Rock,Is he really a heel, or is he there to help Cody? That kind of intrigue and that nuance to the story is what helps create anticipation.
“So I was excited that they brought Ric into the story because it can only — that nostalgia that legacy can only enhance the outcome, eventually when you get to it. And the week before, Sting showed up, and he’s in a tag with Darby or whatever he was doing. And he gets his a*s handed to him, and his kids, beat up with baseball bats and bloodied. And there was not even a reference to Ric Flair. Why wasn’t he there? Not even a reference. It’s like it f**king never happened. But that’s a hole. And now this — Dary Allin is out there cutting a promo that has nothing to do with what we saw the week before. And, ‘Oh, we’re going to call back to the internet wrestling community story is floating around, and we’re going to build a story based on that?’ It is childish. The booking in AEW is just atrocious. I hated it, it’s not — whatever. It is what it is. I don’t care. I just can’t take any of it seriously.”
In a recent episode of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff shared his critique of Darby Allin’s promo on AEW Dynamite. Allin referenced Cody Rhodes during his promo, which led to the fans chanting Cody’s name when Allin yelled at The Young Bucks. Bischoff had some strong opinions about the promo and the overall booking in AEW.
Bischoff described the promo as “typical AEW” and “indie-rrific.” He felt that while the structure and delivery of the promo were great, the central message and theme were lacking. He criticized AEW for appealing to the “Dave Meltzer audiences of the world” and called it “stupid.” Bischoff made it clear that he doesn’t take AEW seriously as a legitimate competitor or growth opportunity for the wrestling business. He sees it as Tony Khan’s wrestling fantasy camp where he’s having fun and making money.
One aspect of the story that Bischoff found nonsensical was the involvement of Sting. He praised Sting as a beloved character who has achieved a lot in his career. However, Bischoff pointed out that there were significant plot holes in the way the story was presented. Despite these flaws, Bischoff acknowledged that Sting’s popularity alone would have sold out the tickets for the event.
Bischoff also discussed how the Young Bucks became heels in the storyline after being blamed by the audience for the CM Punk situation. He appreciated the addition of Ric Flair to the story, as it brought nostalgia and created anticipation for future developments. However, Bischoff criticized the lack of continuity in the storytelling. He mentioned how Sting was attacked and bloodied in a previous episode, but there was no reference to Ric Flair in Allin’s promo.
Overall, Bischoff expressed his disappointment with the booking in AEW and stated that he couldn’t take any of it seriously. He believed that the storytelling lacked nuance and intrigue, which are essential for creating anticipation among the audience.
While Bischoff’s critique may be seen as controversial by some, it highlights the diverse opinions within the wrestling community. It’s important to remember that wrestling is subjective, and different fans will have different preferences and perspectives on what makes a compelling storyline or promo.