Eric Bischoff Discusses Jake Hager’s Critical Comments About AEW

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about he recent interview where former AEW star Jake Hager made several critical comments about Tony Khan and the backstage environment in the company. You can check out some highlights below:

On his relationship with Hager: “I saw clips of it. I didn’t listen to the whole thing, and I probably saw three or four different clips of it, so I got a pretty good sense of what the whole interview was. I’ve met Jake. Got inducted into the TNT Hall of Fame this past summer with Jake. I like Jake, met him backstage at AEW, [I] think I met him once or twice at WWE. It just seems like a really grounded, kind of average, normal guy that I’d like to go out and split a steak with and have a beer or something.”

On Hager burning a bridge: “I just hate it when guys feel like they need to burn a bridge. I’m sure Jake didn’t feel like he was burning a bridge, he was just venting. But man, when you leave something behind, leave it behind. Don’t make it worse by burying the people even if they deserve it, because it reflects badly on you in the long run.

“And I learned that the hard way. I’ve done it. Trust me, I’ve done it. Maybe that’s why I’m an expert on it, because I’ve done it a lot, but I’ve also looked back and realized it doesn’t do you, the individual, any good. You may feel better in the moment. But in the long run, you won’t feel good about it when you look back at it and see it three, four, five, 10 years later. So just don’t do it. Just move on. Forget about it. Forgive, be happy. Do something else. Keep your mind occupied so you don’t even think about it. So I hate when I see anybody do it, anybody. I’m disappointed.”

On Hager not being the only one to complain about their AEW runs: “I think much of what Jake said is probably true. And it’s not the first time we’ve heard it, if we’re going to be really honest about it and have this discussion. I won’t sugarcoat it. But I have heard consistently from people that have no gripe, no bitch that happened to be there about how things operate behind the scenes. And I withstood my fair share of consistent criticism from guys like Dave Meltzer about the chaos backstage in WCW. And from what I’ve heard from people who I trust who have no vested interest in telling me what I think I want to hear, it’s way worse than WCW ever was. And we’ve seen it play out. It’s not like we have to take anybody’s word for it, for crying out loud. We’ve seen it. And they’ve used it on television to promote themselves. So, do I think Jake is misleading or overstating? No, I don’t. Because it’s consistent with just about everything else I’ve heard and we’ve seen play out on television.”

On wishing Hager hadn’t made the comments: “So no. It’s unfortunate. I still feel the same way. I wish he wouldn’t have done it for his own benefit. It’s certainly not going to hurt Tony. [It] may hurt his feelings or upset him for a minute, but at the end of the day, the only person that’s ultimately going to hurt is Jake. Because when you do that kind of shit — maybe this is why I feel the way I feel. Whenever someone would — I may have said this to you before. Whenever somebody would come to work for me from WWE, I can pretty much tell within the first two or three minutes whether I was going to really connect with this person. In those two or three, four minutes — whatever it was — or just initial getting to know each other, if someone felt the need to bury WWE or anybody in WWE at the time, or bury anybody in WWF.

“What that says to me is that person’s telling me what they think I want to hear. I don’t want to hire someone like that. I’m never going to have that great of a connection with somebody that walks in my office and buries the people that he used to work with. You know why? Because at some point in time I’m going to we’re going to separate. Either I’m going to fire you or you’re going to quit. You’re not going to retire here. Nobody ever does in the wrestling business, necessarily. So this thing is going to come to an end. And if I have to think, ‘Oh God, at some point this guy’s going to leave, or this woman’s going to leave and then they’re going to go out and bury me’? I’ll save myself the trouble. And I guess that’s why I feel the way I feel about Jake’s comments. Whether they’re 100% true or not. It hurts you, man.”

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