Eric Bischoff Explains Why He Doesn’t Think AEW Will Run Australia Stadium

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about AEW running All In Texas at Globe Life Field in 2025 and reports of AEW running a stadium show in Australia. You can check out some highlights below:

On AEW running All In Texas at Globe Life Field: “It’s, on the one hand, I think it’s kind of an exciting conversation. But then, you know, the business side of me goes, ‘Wait a minute, they’re putting 2500 people at their TV tapings. And you know, 5-6-7, 1000 people on average, at their big pay-per-view events. Who amongst the brain trust in AEW thinks that a stadium is a good idea?’ maybe there’s a plan. You know, that’s the thing about being on the outside: there’s a lot that you don’t know, even someone like me who thinks they know everything that’s not really true, but who spent, you know, 35 years of my life in professional wrestling industry at a lot of different levels, being involved in a lot of different aspects of the business. I’ve seen the bottom. I bounced off the bottom a lot, and I’ve been at the top. So yeah, I have an opinion, but sometimes I’m right, and sometimes I’m wrong. So, who knows? We’ll watch it. That’s the fun part.”

On reports of AEW running a stadium show in Australia: “I’m not saying it can’t happen, but if you look at the success of Australian promotions, setting WWE aside over the last 20 years, and their dismal failures, it’s just, first of all, you have the cost. The expense is astronomical. This is not like running cities venues here in the States. I would say the costs are essentially going to be not three times as high, but damn close. Somewhere between two, two, and a half, and three times as high. Your expenses are just going to be….there is no television there. There’s very little district. Nobody’s watching the show in Australia. So you’re bringing an American wrestling company that’s on TV in America that nobody really knows about, beyond the hardcore wrestling fans that know about it through the internet. That’s the only place that’s available, and you’re banking on putting 10,000 seats in an arena. And by the way, I was in Australia recently, it’s a very expensive place. Inflation has really, really, you know, we talk about it here in the States and around the world, and yes, it’s an issue everywhere. It’s really an issue in Australia. So to think that you’re going to be able to put 10,000 people, you’re going to convince 10,000 people to part with I don’t know what the ticket prices would look like, but they would have to be really high to help, to even cover expenses. I just think, unless there’s a magic formula somewhere that I can’t see, horrible, wouldn’t do it. But it’s exciting, you know? This is not negative, okay? This is just honest. It’s all if you’re going to take it as negative, take it as negative…..I’m not a hater, just honest. So much of what we hear out of Tony Khan and AEW is hype. So much hype, so many big announcements, so many things are going to change the face of wrestling as we know it. It’s just so now that when we hear this kind of AEW is going to Australia, something that represents growth and momentum and success, that’s the perception that announcements like this make. I don’t believe it. I’m cynical. I’m not steadfast to the point where I’m going to say this is absolutely not true. I don’t know what’s true and not true. I don’t have details. I’m not behind the scenes. I’m not involved in conversations. I don’t hear things. I don’t pay attention to the things I do here. Frankly, I probably hear a lot more than I remember because I don’t pay attention to any of it unless it’s from someone I’m getting information from, someone who I know is credible and doesn’t have a clear agenda. But in this case, all this hype, ‘the big announcements, oh, it’s the most imminent, and oh, it’s this, this is the most important time in AEW history. And oh, we’re going to do a stadium show in Texas, and oh, we’re going to Australia in these major markets to create a bidding war.’ In the meantime, you can’t draw flies. Nobody’s watching your show. Your audience is freefalling. There is no buzz outside of the internet, and the only buzz on the internet is from really, really hardcore, delusional, if I may say AEW.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.