Eric Bischoff discusses what he likes about AEW

Appears on Oral sessions with Renee PaquetteEric Bischoff was asked to compare AEW to WWE in the current wrestling scene. Bischoff, person worked for WWE in 2019 and appeared a few times on the AEW . program, saying they are not really comparable promotions. Even so, Eric Bischoff said he favors AEW’s production over WWE and believes the commercials have been really successful.

“I don’t think you can really compare them. Bischoff said. “Obviously AEW has been really successful over the past two years. Where did they go from ‘AEW? Is it a plumbers union? ‘ became a huge hit on primetime television on a major network? That alone is a great achievement. But how do you compare that to the billions of dollars a year WWE is making and giving back to its shareholders? Those are two different things, so I don’t want to compare them that way.

“I will only say what I like about AEW. I’ve been saying for the past fifteen years that WWE is too productive. It’s so perfect, it’s so perfect that it doesn’t feel real anymore. I cannot connect to it. In my opinion, this is just my opinion based on 30 years of working in the industry, I think wrestling works as a television production for a lot of reasons. But one of the core reasons and wrestling has been around since the days of TV. It was one of the most successful TV shows in the early days of television history. And the reason for that, and much of why live sports work so well, is that it allows viewers to feel like you’re in the arena. You are not. You are sitting in the comfort of your own home.

“But live TV, live action TV, especially wrestling, allows viewers at home to feel like they’re on cheap couches. Not necessarily by the bell, but in the seats directly above. You feel like you are there. And when you start to feel like you’re there, it’s easy to enjoy the story unfolding in front of them or the characters playing out in front of them. AEW has done a great job in creating that feeling, allowing viewers to feel like they’re there even when they’re not. When I watch WWE, I feel like I’m at the cinema watching the producers of Disney on Ice. It’s too confusing. Let me see something that I shouldn’t have seen. Don’t shoot around every little imperfection. Don’t spend a lot of money on all those lights. This made me feel like I was in the cinema, not the arena. I’ve never been to an arena that looks like that unless you’re watching a wrestling event from WWE. I do not like it “.

Eric Bischoff was then asked if AEW could learn something from the advertising Bischoff used to help run WCW. He doesn’t believe in that case, although there are things he feels AEW can approve of.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to learn anything,” says Bischoff. “What is AEW called, their number one show? Gunpowder? Like Nitro, right? There’s a lot about Dynamite that I don’t want to talk about – it’s not a copycat, but a reflection of a lot of what made Nitro work in the AEW product. It takes things from an AEW product to work in WWE. Go ahead and do it too. There are basically seven original ideas on planet earth. Every other idea out there is a derivative of one of the seven ideas. Take anything good from anyone, and figure out how to make it your own and feel like it’s your own and be successful with it. That’s why I don’t want to say derivative even WCW, but I think there are factors that make the program work that we see in the AEW formula, as I would expect.

“I don’t want to say that I’m nervous because I don’t have skins in the game, but man, they’ve got a lot of talent. And the nature of talent is that they want to be talented, they want to perform. And there’s a mathematical formula like this that says you’ve got a lot of TVs and a lot of this talent, and you have to figure out how to fit that amount of talent into this amount of TV. It’s great to have talent backup and development, and to have backup midfielders if you want, ready to go in case of an emergency injury or contract conflict, whatever. You must have a backup. But there’s so much talent out there that I think a year or a half from now will go, ‘I thought I’d get my chance to be a star.’ And that can create its own kind of challenge that has to be managed.

“I would really like to see a more structured formula because I see a lot of flaws in AEW’s approach to what is called storytelling that isn’t, in its structure and discipline. The bad thing about that is that it leaves money on the table. You’re running through matches, but you’re not going to throw any stories up the wall in a way that appeals to the audience. That’s the hard part. How do you grow your audience? Now how do you satisfy the existing audience? That’s called preaching to the choir. You want to expand your audience and attract people who aren’t attracted to you, and the only way to do that is with great stories and great characters. ”

Another question Bischoff was asked was where he would see AEW in five years. He kept his answers simple; he’s not sure.

“I don’t know and I don’t think anyone has the idea,” says Bischoff. “TV is changing so fast. Let’s just assume for the sake of this question and discuss things almost unchanged. Streaming platforms, the relationship between current streaming and TV, everything remains the same. Based on what I can see, admittedly, I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, I don’t know what the bigger strategy is, if any. I have no idea. I just sat outside, watching it like everyone else.”

One thing Eric Bischoff is more certain of about the future of WWE, which he believes is headed for a sale. That has him interested in who will run WWE after owner and president Vince McMahon, and Bischoff believes none of the potential candidates are likely to end up in the position McMahon currently holds. Hold.

“If you had asked me that question six months ago, I could have answered it,” Bischoff said. “But right now, I’m leaning towards that, I don’t know, Disneyworld? Like I said, six months ago we argued about this and I probably won’t budge on my point, but I’m becoming a little more open to the idea that it may or may not be. at least partially correct. And just look at the moves. And I also look behind the scenes. It’s like, we’ve all had this conversation in a shape or form. What if Vince leaves? If he goes to work, could that be the route he wants to take, or does he decide to buy a yacht and head to Barbados? Who will step into that position? Will it be Triple H? I do not think so. He’s already there. Will it be Stephanie? Been there, done it, she’s a mother now. Will Bruce Prichard do it? Who will do that? Nick Khan, he’s in and out. He’s there to make a deal and keep going. “

If you use any quote in this article, please credit Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette and give h/t to Wrestling Inc.