Eric Bischoff Criticizes Tony Khan for Booking Wrestling ‘Like a 14-Year-Old Would’

– While speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri for SHAK Wrestling, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed Tony Khan and the AEW product. Bischoff was highly critical of Tony Khan’s booking. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Eric Bischoff on AEW and Tony Khan: “AEW is a super meaningful alternative [to WWE], but the point is, Tony Khan refers to WWE as competition. Tony, wake the F up — you are not competition. You have not taken any market share, your audience is not growing on television, and there is not even a comparison in terms of a financial perspective — in terms of a revenue-generation. So, exactly how are you competitive? If you’re not taking market share, and you’re not even in the same conversation from a revenue standpoint — that’s the beginning and end of the competition conversation. You’re either taking market share or you’re not, or you’re either equal to or close in on the competitor’s revenue, and they’re not. They’re not even close.”

Eric Bischoff on how Tony Khan books like a 14-year-old would: “If Tony Khan is smart, and I know he’s very, very smart, a lot smarter than me in a lot of ways. I don’t exactly think he’s got a creative instinct in his body. I think what he’s doing is reliving a childhood memory, you know of ECW and the indie scene, and super matches. He’s booking, in my opinion, like a 14-year-old would – who would have a lot of toys and things he can play with. But I’m not seeing story – we’ve seen the wrestling audience or AEW audience call it a story but it’s not. It’s an excuse for having a super match or dream match.”

On what Tony Khan has to do if he wants to compete with WWE: “If Tony Khan is really smart, and if his goal is to really compete [with WWE], he needs to look at what’s working in WWE in terms of the storytelling and format perspective. He’s going to wake up one day and realize that being a dirt sheet booker and catering to the internet wrestling community is a wonderful thing, because your name is on the internet all the time, but it’s [AEW] not going to grow beyond the point that it currently exists. Because you’re only serving a small portion of the audience, you’re not reaching out to the broader audience. Not everyone breathes, sleeps, and eats wrestling, you know? The internet audience does, but there’s a more, I don’t want to say passive, but a less-committed viewing audience out there that’s really important.”