Eric Bischoff On The Elite Re-Signing With AEW, If It Hurts Their Legacy That They Didn’t Work in WWE

On the latest episode of Strictly Business, Eric Bischoff discussed AEW re-signing The Elite (Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Page) to multi-year deals. The group had strong interest from WWE but ultimately re-signed with AEW. You can check out some highlights below:

On the group staying with AEW and working less dates than they would’ve worked in WWE: “Scott Hall, Kevin Nash. It’s the same thing, you know, it’s not new brother. ’cause look, for some — if you’re 22, 23, 25, 28, early 30s and you don’t have a family. You don’t have a meaningful relationship that you’re concerned about. And you’re having the time of your life, and you’re performing, and you’re making great money and you’re traveling the world. An opportunity to work 300 days a year is a wonderful opportunity. Now I don’t know the Young Bucks or The Elite at all. I mean, I know them obviously, but I don’t know them personally. What I have heard is that they’re very family-oriented individuals. And if that’s true — and I believe it to be, I don’t have any reason not to. But let’s say because that’s true. I think that’s a fantastic decision on their part, because they’re, they’re prioritizing. Look, it’s not like they’re not making a lot of money, right? Let’s make that clear. They’re probably both well into seven figures now. I don’t know what the live event schedule is for AEW; I don’t know if it’s been published, I don’t know if anybody knows. But what are they gonna do a hundred live events a year, maybe? Less?”

On the decision being a good one for them: “So that’s a healthy decision. It’s a healthy decision because look, there’s less chance they’re gonna get hurt. The less times you’re in the ring, no matter how good you are or what kind of condition you are in. The less times you’re in the ring, the less of a chance you have to get injured. That could derail your career. Or just accumulate injuries that over time will stack up and matter once you hit 45 or 50, right? Especially with the style of wrestling they do. So I think taking perhaps less money for certain less wear and tear, and to be able to spend time with your family and be there for those important moments? Hats off to them. Good decision.”

On if it hurts their legacy if they never work in WWE: “In the minds of some fans, of course. Because they never made it to the big league. They wrestled in the big show. And Tony says, you know, ‘AEW, Wembley Stadium.’ Dixie Carter used to do the same thing. She would selectively pick things that sounded very favorable for TNA when compared to WWE. So I get it, right? It’s just part of the, part of the role. But WWE is still the show. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

“So the question becomes — first of all, legacy is so subjective. It’s not like the entire wrestling audience has the same consensus opinion, right? But the fact will remain that they never made it to the big show. You never know what could have been. Sure [it’s not by choice], but it’s my choice not to try to become a professional football player, too. For a lot of reasons. They have their reasons, and like I said, I admire them. I respect their decision to do what they did based on what I’ve heard of them. But the fact remains they haven’t made it to the big show. And until you’ve been there, you’ll never know what could have been. And I think that will be part of what people perceive them or perceive their legacy to be is, ‘Yeah, they were great in AEW but they never made it to the big show.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Strictly Business with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.