In a recent episode of his “Strictly Business” podcast, Eric Bischoff delved into the ongoing troubles within AEW and expressed his concerns about the company’s recent challenges.
From backstage issues involving CM Punk & The Elite to frequent backstage altercations and known animosity, as well as Cash Wheeler’s arrest, Bischoff emphasized the need for AEW President Tony Khan to regain control of the company.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Tony Khan & AEW’s troubles, his own criticisms: “I don’t want to beat up on Tony, because I’ve been in Tony’s shoes. Not exactly in this situation obviously, I’ve never had anybody involved with a gun incident that was part of my roster. But certainly, enough other things that were questionable. I’ve been in that spot, and I understand the pressure that Tony is under. I’m critical of AEW when I feel I have cause to be, when I’m asked a question by somebody in the media, or whether it’s on 83 Weeks or here. When questions come up, I give an honest opinion. I don’t sugarcoat much. And at the same time, I don’t necessarily take any particular joy in pointing certain things out. But it is what it is, and you can’t look at the last 6 or 12 months of AEW and walk away from it and go, ‘You know, Tony’s doing a great job leading the company.’ It’s a freaking mess. And at some point, you’ve got to get a handle on it.”
On a lack of professionalism, leadership, control & management in AEW: “I’ve never seen the temptation or the inclination to self-destruct the way you see it now. With the CM Punk situation that we’ve all known about in the past. The brawls and the executive vice presidents involved in it. I mean, my God! It’s just mind-numbing to me, the lack of professionalism. And again, I’m not going to say ‘It’s never happened to me.’ It did happen to me. I’ve experienced it, so I have a fair amount of empathy for Tony Khan right now. I’m leaning toward defending that man. But not without being honest about his part in it. This is a lack of leadership. It’s a lack of control. It’s a lack of management. It is the — literally, the inmates running the asylum at this point. And the entire company looks like a giant clown car filled with juvenile, unprofessional, self-absorbed children. Not all of them, obviously. I don’t want to cast such a broad net, but I’ve never seen anything like this… And the reason I’m saying all this and giving this context is, and the reason that I’m defending the fact that they didn’t promote the show [All In], they didn’t promote matches, is because it’s the brand that sold 80,000 tickets. It’s not CM Punk; It’s not Chris Jericho; it’s not any of the former WWE talents. People are buying tickets hoping to see them. But it’s the AEW brand that sold those tickets. And I think that is an amazing accomplishment.”
