On a recent episode of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff talked about whether or not the Khan family could purchase WWE.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
The possibility of the Khans purchasing WWE: “Never say never because we’re talking about professional wrestling, but I wouldn’t go near that bet. My opinion, that’s all it is, is an opinion, is that Tony and his dad are taking advantage of the hype. They’re taking advantage of all of the news and they got some great press out of it. CNN is talking about it. I don’t know if that’s great press or not, but CNN’s talking about it, at least putting it out there for the public to consume and create a narrative. It’s fun to think about, it is fun to talk about. If you take off your reality hat and put on your wrestling hat, in terms of the creative around wrestling, it’s fun to think about. But I think all the Khans were doing is taking advantage of what’s going on to get some press for their company. And by the way, I think it’s awesome. I would do the same thing. I’d probably take it two or three steps further, you know. I’d call some friends of mine over at TMZ and say, ‘Hey just so you know I’m going in for a meeting. I’m going to be at Stamford headquarters at 10 o’clock Tuesday morning, if you want to comment, I’ll see you there,’ and I’d show up, I’d walk in, and I’d ask for directions to the nearest Mr. Donut, and then I’d walk out and then I’d have a conversation with the press. I would create as much of a perception and a buzz if you know me being involved and interested and maybe making a play as I possibly could if I were the Khans. Because, it’s good for them. So, I’m not criticizing them, but I think it’s just fantasy booking at this point. But it’s fantasy booking that served a purpose and it got them a lot of exposure, so I don’t blame them for doing it. But I think it’s showbiz, it’s Shakespeare. I don’t think it’s real and even if they were interested, it’s not going to happen. It’s just not going to happen.”
Could the Khans afford WWE: “If the Khan family decided, ‘okay we really want to make a run at this…’ Tony’s father is worth twelve billion dollars. How much of that is liquid? How much of that is sitting in a checking account? I mean not a lot of it… I’m sure that Tony’s father has a fantastic rolodex and is very well connected with people just like him who have a lot of money, right? But if the Khan family said, ‘look we’re going to put in a million dollars of our own money,’ and then go out because now they’ve got skin in the game. They’re not just using other people’s money, which is what normally happens, but now they’re stepping up and putting in their own money. That makes it a lot more attractive for other investors. Private investors go, ‘Well if he’s putting up his own money I’d feel a lot more comfortable. I’m gonna throw in, too.’ and you can put together five, six, seven people that all come in that could put up enough money.”
