Eric Bischoff On Why He Thinks WWE’s Partnership With TNA Makes Sense

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about the ongoing working relationship between WWE and TNA Wrestling, which has him believing that WWE is only working with them following the MLW lawsuit that saw WWE pay out millions as one of the many claims made by MLW was that WWE is a monopoly in wrestling. You can check out some highlights below:

On if he’s surprised that WWE is working with TNA now: “Yes and no — actually, no. I think it makes sense. If you look at some of the WWE lawsuit with MLW, the fact that they lost that lawsuit. I think WWE has to do as much as they can to kind of mitigate or eliminate possible arguments that they’re a monopoly. And I think by engaging with TNA and supporting TNA, they’re doing what they need to do from a legal perspective to avoid future lawsuits that are similar in nature in terms of accusing WWE of being a monopoly. What better way to avoid that than to engage with other wrestling organizations that support them? So I think it’s a smart move. I think it was a move that really was a reaction to the MLW lawsuit.”

On the TNA-WWE partnership being positive: “It’s great exposure, it’s a great shot in the arm. Let’s face it: TNA is not on a network that provides a great deal of exposure. You know, you’ve got to be really, really interested in TNA to find it and to watch it. So to get the opportunity to be on USA Network and a high profile opportunity with probably — I don’t know what the ratings will end up being, but I’m guessing about 700,000, 800,000 people tuning in. That’s a hell of an opportunity, not only for the individual talent but for TNA as a brand. So I’ll be curious to see how what TNA does with this exposure, and whether they are able to leverage it to a bigger and better opportunity, perhaps on a different network? Who knows, but that’s a good thing all the way around. Everybody wins.”

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