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Eric Bischoff on Tony Khan Calling WCW Mismanaged, Says Khan Spent $30 Million-Plus to Compete With ‘WWE Developmental’

March 2, 2020 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Eric Bischoff AEW

Eric Bischoff had some thoughts about Tony Khan saying that WCW was “badly mismanaged” and it’s not a surprise to say he didn’t agree. On the latest After 83 Weeks, Bischoff was asked about comments Khan made in an interview with the Financial Times where he was asked about what he’s learned from other wrestling companies’ examples.

“I’m not taking positive business lessons from other companies,” Khan had said. “Most of the lessons I’m taking are examples of what not to do…WCW was badly mismanaged. They teased audiences with matches that never materialized and lost tens of millions of dollars on talent, some earning six figures without ever working. It was a real disservice to fans.”

Discussing Khan’s comments, Bischoff took a bit of a shot at AEW and said that the Khan family has spent $30 million-plus to be “competitive with WWE’s developmental territory” in NXT. You can see the highlights and video below:

On Khan’s criticism of WCW: “That’s an interesting thing for Mr. Khan to say. He’s been in the professional wrestling business for, what time is it? It’s about a cup of coffee, I think. I think your coffee could still be warm at this point. And so far he’s spent — from what I’ve heard, I don’t know if it’s accurate or not, I want to make sure I say that — somewhere between $30 million and $50 million to prove that he could be competitive with WWE’s developmental territory.”

On Khan not having the tenure to criticize: “Call me in a couple years and tell me what you’ve done that’s really unique. Call me in a couple years and let me know how you’ve changed the industry. Uh, call me in a couple years when your show is one of the top — if not the top — original piece of programming on the TNT network. Call me in a couple years when you’re #2, #3, #4 in all of cable programming for the night in primetime, and then let’s talk about it. But until then — mm, I’ll just get another cup of coffee and see what happens.”

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