On a recent edition of his “Strictly Business” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed the ongoing feud between The Young Bucks and Sting & Darby Allin ahead of AEW Revolution 2024.
Sting and Allin will defend the AEW World Tag Team Championships against Matthew and Nicholas Jackson in a Tornado Tag Match next month at AEW Revolution 2024.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On why he doesn’t like the storyline for the feud: “First of all, it’s not a story. I’m going to make one thing perfectly f**king clear. I’ve heard — and I get the biggest kick out of this, the people on social media. ‘Oh, did you watch the match? There’s a story in the match.’ Here’s what I’m talking about [with] a story. I’m talking about a consistent, episodic narrative. An arc that keeps me coming back, because what I saw last week left me compelled to make sure that I watched this week because I want to see what’s going to happen. That’s how television is supposed to work, by the way. It’s not a new idea. There was nothing in that story that makes sense from the get-go, including that pathetically weak excuse of, ‘Oh, we’re using the CM Punk backstage internet bulls**t’ as their inciting moment to get them to turn heel. That is the weakest s**t I’ve ever heard for a national primetime wrestling show to use as a premise. Maybe not the weakest but damn close for a main event, something of this magnitude. Absolutely weak.
“Now you’re taking two characters that are just never going to heels. They literally are the personification of the term ‘babyface.’ They look like babies. They’re not going to — they’re not great enough performers, actors. They’re great athletically, not taking that away from them. Don’t get me wrong. But in terms of being able to portray a character that is 180 degrees from their DNA is never going to happen. They don’t have the talent to pull it off. They’re just not — they’re great athletes, they’re not great actors. That’s being kind. So they’re miscast.”
On Flair and Sting in terms of the storyline: “Now let’s go over to Sting. Ric Flair, Sting. ‘Yay, cool!’ Nostalgic, I get it. Ric Flair’s kind of a big deal. People can feel whatever they want about Ric Flair, but I saw Ric Flair being advertised on a primetime news spot tonight, live. So Ric Flair is relevant. Ric Flair still gets media outside of — I saw other clips of him smoking weed with Mike Tyson! You know, Ric Flair is out there in the public eye. ‘We’re gonna bring him in. The history, the tie between Sting and Flair.’ Where was Ric Flair last week? ‘Oh, I don’t know, he wasn’t around.’
Wait a minute, Sting got beat up with baseball bats, bloodied. And this guy, Ric Flair who you’re bringing in because this is a rich relationship, 30 years, whatever it’s been, Ric’s not even there? And oh, I didn’t even hear an announcer reference Ric Flair while Sting was getting the s**t kicked out of him, and his kids. Now fast forward, Sting gets the s**t kicked out of them, bloodied. These two — they look like high school kids. The Young Bucks come out of a plane wearing dried blood, whatever. I guess if you’re going to do blood, just double down, triple down until you can’t sell an ad. Whatever you want to do; I don’t have a dog in the hunt. It makes me laugh. They show up, no reference at all to what happened last week. Nothing from Sting, nothing from the kids, no follow-upm nothing. It’s just s**t being thrown up against the wall. And if it’s an angle that even resembles something that they’ve seen before, ‘Oh, no, that’s a great story.’ It is so pathetic, and the excuses and the people trying to defend it are just — it’s hilarious. I mean, the most entertaining thing on social media, is watching people trying to defend AEW and their great storytelling.”
On the storyline not having progression: “This is just a clown car. There’s no structure. There’s no arc. There are random incidents and situations that we’re kind of pulling out of the f**king sky and putting into a line and saying, ‘Well, maybe it’s a character arc story.’ It’s bulls**t. It’s not compelling. Nobody cares about it. The audience is deteriorating. Nobody’s willing to buy a ticket. They couldn’t sell out 3,000 seat arena for their A show.”
On Sting’s retirement match helping sell Revolution tickets: “John, if you believe that. If you feel that what they’re doing is a good character story, or is an arc in and of itself, I can’t help you. There’s nothing for us to discuss. [Sting] would have an amazing moment if he went out there and beat you. The tickets they sold for Greensboro have everything to do with Sting and have nothing at all to do with the dreck that we’re seeing every week, that some people seem to think is a great story. It’s horrible, the audience is turning away from it. It just sucks. It’s random situations plugged in and thrown up against the wall, hoping something will stick. And people are going, ‘Yeah, but it’s really a great story.’ It’s not, it’s horrible.
“And the proof is in the pudding. The proof is in the numbers. Numbers don’t lie. Numbers don’t have an opinion. And yeah, the PPV is — I guess the PPV is going to do okay. But in March, how many tickets did they sell the minute they announced Sting, right? People are going to buy tickets to see Sting’s last match. It’s got nothing to do with the Bucks, nothing to do with the story. And the story could have been so much better if they didn’t have f**king holes that you could fly planes through in the story. Going back to Ric Flair, why even announce it, why bring him in in the first place? Why tie him to Sting as a babyface if you’re not going to use them? And when you see holes that big, that suggests to me that there’s no thought [behind the story].”
In a recent episode of his podcast, “Strictly Business,” WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on the ongoing feud between The Young Bucks and Sting & Darby Allin leading up to AEW Revolution 2024. Bischoff expressed his dissatisfaction with the storyline and criticized its lack of consistency and progression.
Bischoff began by stating that the feud lacked a compelling story. He emphasized the importance of a consistent, episodic narrative that keeps viewers engaged and eager to tune in each week. According to him, the current storyline fails to meet these criteria. He particularly criticized the weak premise of using CM Punk’s backstage internet rumors as the inciting moment for The Young Bucks to turn heel. Bischoff deemed it unfitting for a national primetime wrestling show, especially for a main event of this magnitude.
Furthermore, Bischoff argued that The Young Bucks and Sting & Darby Allin were miscast in their respective roles. He claimed that The Young Bucks, who are known for their babyface personas, lack the acting skills to convincingly portray heel characters. While acknowledging their athletic abilities, Bischoff believed that they were not capable of executing a complete transformation. Similarly, he questioned the involvement of Sting and Ric Flair in the storyline. Bischoff pointed out that Flair was absent during Sting’s beatdown and that there was no mention of him during the subsequent events. He found these inconsistencies to be glaring flaws in the storytelling.
Bischoff further criticized the lack of structure and progression in the storyline. He described it as a “clown car” with random incidents and situations being thrown together without a clear arc. According to him, this approach fails to engage the audience and has resulted in a decline in ticket sales and viewership.
Addressing the notion that Sting’s retirement match helped sell tickets for AEW Revolution, Bischoff dismissed it as a misconception. He argued that the ticket sales were primarily driven by Sting’s presence rather than the quality of the storyline. Bischoff reiterated his belief that the current storytelling in AEW is subpar and lacks coherence.
In conclusion, Eric Bischoff expressed his disappointment with the ongoing feud between The Young Bucks and Sting & Darby Allin. He criticized the lack of a compelling story, miscasting of characters, absence of progression, and overall poor storytelling. Bischoff’s remarks shed light on the importance of consistent and engaging narratives in professional wrestling and highlight areas where improvements can be made.