On a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff weighed in on Mercedes Mone potentially signing with AEW after talks with WWE fell apart over money.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On AEW bringing in former WWE stars: “How many times have we seen big names come from WWE to AEW and people speculating about how it’s going to impact the business and what’s going to happen, and nothing happens? It doesn’t matter who you bring in there. And I made the comment, I’m going to make it again: AEW is quickly becoming TNA. And I got nearly a million views on that comment, and out of the probably half million responses, everybody buried my comment and me along with it.”
On proof that it hasn’t worked in the past: “But this is a perfect example of what I meant. We’ve seen so many big names come into AEW. Pick one; let’s put CM Punk off to the side. Pick any other one, and the net impact on the growth of the business, other than selling t-shirts has been zip. Nada. The television audience continues to deteriorate while WWE continues to grow. You look at their ticket sales outside of anomalies or outliers, I should say, like the UK, and they’re not doing nearly as well as they were in the past there. Have you looked at their Dynamite shows just — you know, check out WrestleTix on social media and you can see their ticket sales. And you know, they’re playing in 10,000 [to] 15,000 seat venues, but they’re scaling them down to 4,000. And a week before the event, they haven’t sold out yet. So it doesn’t matter.”
On telling Dixie Carter about this when he was in TNA Wrestling: “And I used to tell Dixie all the time when she’d want to bring in big names. I know I get busted for that. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, but look at all the WWE guys you brought into TNA.’ I didn’t bring them in. I didn’t even bring myself in. I didn’t even really want the job. Dixie Carter had brought in Mick Foley and Sting and Kurt Angle and Christian Cage and so many others before I ever got there, with the idea that you’re bringing in these big WWE names, it’s going to move the needle.
“And I would always tell Dixie — and she hated me for this. I think word for word, I said to her one day ‘Dixie, it doesn’t matter if you brought Undertaker and you dropped him from the ceiling as a surprise into the middle of the TNA ring and then John Cena.’ This is when they were both, you know, obviously at the top in WWE years ago. ‘Then you have John Cena run to the TNA ring, and you shoot an angle. It won’t matter. It just doesn’t because of the brand, the perception of it, and the scale of it is so small that it won’t get over.’ And that’s the problem that I think AEW has: they don’t know how to use those big names in a way that grows their business. It grows their budget, but it doesn’t grow their business. And if anybody can prove to me that they are not outliers, show me what’s happened when big names have come in, television ratings to buyrates. Show me a pattern. I’ll be happy to be proven wrong, but I won’t be because I watched that stuff. I look at it, and it interests me.”
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In a recent episode of his podcast “83 Weeks,” WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed the potential signing of Mercedes Mone with AEW (All Elite Wrestling) after talks with WWE fell apart over money. Bischoff shared his thoughts on AEW’s strategy of bringing in former WWE stars and how it has impacted the wrestling business.
Bischoff began by stating that AEW is quickly becoming like TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) in terms of bringing in big names from WWE. He mentioned that despite the speculation and anticipation surrounding these signings, nothing significant has happened to impact the business. Bischoff’s comment on AEW becoming TNA garnered nearly a million views, with many responses burying his comment and him along with it.
To support his argument, Bischoff pointed out that the net impact on the growth of the wrestling business, other than selling t-shirts, has been minimal for AEW. He mentioned that the television audience for AEW continues to deteriorate while WWE’s audience continues to grow. Bischoff also highlighted the ticket sales for AEW’s shows, stating that they are not doing as well as they were in the past, even with venues scaled down to accommodate fewer attendees.
Bischoff drew from his experience in TNA Wrestling when discussing this issue with Dixie Carter, the former president of TNA. He mentioned that despite bringing in big names from WWE like Mick Foley, Sting, Kurt Angle, and Christian Cage, it didn’t significantly impact TNA’s growth. Bischoff emphasized that the brand perception and scale of TNA were too small to make a difference, and he believes AEW faces a similar problem.
According to Bischoff, AEW doesn’t know how to effectively use these big names to grow their business. While it may increase their budget, it doesn’t translate into substantial business growth. He challenged anyone to prove him wrong by showing a pattern of success when big names have joined AEW in terms of television ratings and buyrates.
The podcast episode also included a video embedded from YouTube, allowing listeners to watch the discussion firsthand.
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In conclusion, Eric Bischoff shared his perspective on AEW’s strategy of signing former WWE stars and its impact on the wrestling business. He expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of these signings and highlighted the challenges AEW faces in utilizing these big names to grow their business.