On a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed his heated exchange with AEW wrestler Dax Harwood on Twitter last week, the similarities between WCW and AEW, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Dax Harwood and Tony Khan calling Bischoff a ‘miserable podcaster’: “Well, either my skin has gotten so thick, that I just don’t react to things the way I used to. Or maybe you just get wiser with age. and having kind of been there when I was younger, kind of where Dax is right now. So I kind of get it, you know. I mean, let’s see where Dax is in his career; he’s got to say these things. He’s out there promoting his company, he’s defending his company. His boss made a complete jackass of himself on social media during the week previous to this appearance. So I get it, because what else is Dax going to do if he doesn’t have a gig in AEW? And I don’t mean that as a shot because I like him. And I like the tag team like you do, for the same reasons. But I don’t know if going back to WWE is an option. Maybe it is, we’ve seen crazier things, right? I don’t know the situation where Dax left, and how he left it, and if he had heat or didn’t have heat. I didn’t want any of that stuff. Maybe there’s a chance he could go back, but I think those odds are probably remote at this point. So what’s he got? He’s got the gig he’s got. And I don’t disagree. Tony Kahn is — you know, he’s put a lot of money in a lot of talent pockets. I know people personally who are making more money, who have been in the business for longer than I have and are making more money than they ever have. So you know that, I’m not exaggerating anything here. You don’t hear anybody in AEW complaining about their paychecks. Quite the opposite. And I’m sure that’s great for talent. That’s great for those individuals, and I’m happy for them. Just like I’m happy for somebody that wins the lottery. I don’t want to see anybody not get what they can get out there in the marketplace.
“So let’s dispel that, you know because I agree with that. That’s a wonderful thing for humanity. But it doesn’t mean it’s good for the business. What Tony Khan has been doing, and some of the presentations that we’ve seen out of AEW is not better for the business. Because it’s turning off advertisers, it’s turning off his own viewers. The audience is deteriorating, it’s not growing. And you could talk, ‘Yeah, but less people are watching TV,’ and go back to that trope all you want. Is it a fact? Sure. Is it an excuse? Probably not. WWE is growing in the same environment. Why isn’t AEW? It’s because of lack of story. It’s because of lack of character development. It’s because of lack of vision. And it’s because a lot of the chaos that’s going on behind the scenes. Now, as far as me being old and bitter and relying upon my commentary, here on 83 Weeks to stay out of bankruptcy. And presumably that’s the reason why, you know, Dax is so offended by something that I said, or responded to Tony Khan on social media that upset him so badly. It didn’t upset him a couple of years ago. It didn’t upset him at this time last year. I’ve been very vocal in my criticism of AEW and Tony Khan for a couple of years now. This is going back for at least two years, probably two and a half. It’s not new, but a little over a year ago, Dax is just putting it over [83 Weeks]. He loved it.”
On whether AEW Collision has diluted AEW’s product like Thunder did WCW: “I think there’s a lot of parallels. And if you go back, you and I talked about this when it was announced that AEW’ — and this is when I was still very supportive. So this perspective that I’m going back now on is, the comments I made are probably five years old, right? My perspective then was, ‘Don’t do it, Tony.’ I know there’s reasons to do it. There’s always a reason to do something you want to do. If I want to do something stupid, I can justify it in a million different ways and make it sound good to myself. It’s a bad habit. But I was critical of it. I said, ‘I think it’s a mistake based on my experience.’ It was a mistake. Because not only — in the case of WCW, I was worried about dilution, saturating the product. There’s only so much time in everyone’s lives for your product, whatever it is… I’m not going to watch two or three hours of anything, no matter how much I love it, every night or even once a week.
“So my concern when WCW became Nitro & Thunder was about just audience fatigue; how much more wrestling will my audience make time for? And then as you think through that, you realize that there are probably some that are going to — a large percentage that are gonna go, ‘You know what? I’m just not gonna watch four hours of wrestling in primetime. My wife will divorce me, my kids will leave,’ whatever, ‘A dog will piss on the floor,’ whatever. You know, you’re spending too much time doing watching wrestling. You know you’re going to lose some of that, so which one are they going to pick? And at the end of the day, there’s audience fatigue.”
On what really concerns him about AEW’s product: “The real problem, and this is what concerned me the most five years ago with AEW — which has kind of born out to be true, I guess — is that in doing these different shows for whatever justifications may exist, you’re not only diluting the product on television, but you’re diluting your resources, your creative resources. Because you’ve got a young company five years ago, everybody’s learning on the job. Creating, writing, producing, and executing great wrestling is a difficult job, made more so when the people doing it have no real experience and have to learn as they go. And then to dump other obligations, and expose your product to the audience when you don’t have the experience, the infrastructure, the staff, or the vision creatively, and now you’re dumping more pressure on you?. We’re seeing how that’s playing out.
“Had Tony waited? In my opinion — this is not a fact; this is just me having been there and done that, and having had tremendous success and some pretty abysmal failures along the way. I have the unique perspective of looking at things from both angles objectively. I don’t weigh one over the other, I think they’re both equally valuable when it comes to those two perspectives: from success and from lack thereof. And my opinion back then was, ‘Don’t do it yet. Make your core brand healthy and stand on its own, even if it means saying not yet to your broadcast partner.’ Because they don’t want you to fail. Even though they say, ‘We want another show.’ You can say no, I didn’t. Here’s that mistake category: I didn’t. Because I was working for the guy who said he wanted more. I didn’t have the option of saying no. Perhaps, we’ll never know. But I didn’t. And the result was the result.”
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In a recent episode of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff, WWE Hall of Famer, discussed his Twitter exchange with AEW wrestler Dax Harwood, the similarities between WCW and AEW, and more. Let’s dive into some of the highlights from the podcast.
Regarding Dax Harwood and Tony Khan calling Bischoff a “miserable podcaster,” Bischoff shared his perspective. He mentioned that he didn’t react strongly to the comments because either his skin has gotten thicker or he has become wiser with age. Bischoff understands that Dax is promoting his company and defending it, especially after Tony Khan’s controversial social media behavior. Bischoff also acknowledged that Dax might not have many options outside of AEW and that he doesn’t know the details of Dax’s departure from WWE. However, he believes that talent should get what they can in the marketplace.
Bischoff then addressed the criticism of AEW’s business practices. While he acknowledges that Tony Khan has put a lot of money into talent pockets and that individuals are making good money, he believes that what AEW is doing may not be good for the business as a whole. Bischoff points out that AEW’s presentations have turned off advertisers and viewers, leading to a deteriorating audience. He compares this to WWE, which is growing in the same environment. According to Bischoff, the lack of story, character development, vision, and chaos behind the scenes are contributing factors to AEW’s struggles.
The discussion also touched on whether AEW Collision has diluted AEW’s product, similar to how Thunder diluted WCW’s product. Bischoff draws parallels between the two situations and expresses concerns about audience fatigue. He believes that there is only so much time people can dedicate to watching wrestling and that having multiple shows may lead to viewers choosing one over the other. Bischoff suggests that the real problem lies in diluting AEW’s resources and creative capabilities. With a young company still learning on the job, dumping more obligations and pressure on them may not be beneficial.
Bischoff reflects on his opinion from five years ago when AEW was considering additional shows. He advised Tony Khan not to do it yet and focus on making the core brand healthy and standing on its own. Bischoff believes that waiting would have allowed AEW to develop the necessary infrastructure, staff, and creative vision before expanding. However, he acknowledges that he didn’t have the option to say no when he was in a similar position with WCW.
Overall, Bischoff’s insights shed light on the challenges AEW faces and the potential impact of their decisions. While he acknowledges the financial success of AEW and the happiness of talent, he raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of the company’s current approach. As the wrestling industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how AEW addresses these issues and adjusts its strategies moving forward.
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