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Eric Bischoff On If The AEW/NXT War Is Like The Monday Night Wars

November 20, 2019 | Posted by Joseph Lee

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Eric Bischoff spoke about the battle between AEW and NXT and if it’s comparable to the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW. Here are highlights:

On comparing AEW vs. NXT to WWE vs. WCW: “I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to NXT or AEW but it’s kinda hard to compare the Monday Night Wars to the Wednesday Night Wars. I don’t really feel that’s a fair comparison to anyone, them or the Monday Night Wars.”

On what AEW does well: “An example of what AEW is doing right is the way they lit the crowd. The first episode or two I saw of AEW, they did a fantastic job of lighting the audience. The audience became a character in the show itself and created a ton of energy that translates to the home viewer.”

On Cody saying that they aren’t paying attention to NXT: “I think it’s very smart and astute of Cody to feel that way. They’ve gotta be their own brand, have their own vision and have to distinguish themselves from NXT in order to be successful. Otherwise they’ll end up just being another version of a WWE product. If Cody has that observation and vision, it’s a healthy one and it’s a vision and observation that will serve them well.”

On why TV ratings aren’t as strong as in the past: “It’s a very good question and I don’t have the answer for that. I’m not sure too many in the TV or digital community really does. We all have a tendency to make comparisons – such as the Wednesday Night Wars to the Monday Night Wars – it was a different time and different industry. TV was a different property than it is today. With all of the different means people have a way to engage their favorite entertainment, it’s having an effect on traditional TV. I don’t think you can look at ratings to make a valuation on if something is successful. The industry is changing. The platforms are evolving and changing and the challenges are evolving and changing. I just don’t think it’s fair to make comparisons like that.”

article topics :

Eric Bischoff, Joseph Lee