It is not a secret anymore. Everyone is aware of AEW CEO Tony Khan’s passion for wrestling. His love for wrestling gave birth to AEW in 2019. Khan’s father supported his endeavor by donating millions to help start the AEW. Recently, in an episode of the podcast Strictly Business, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff highlighted AEW’s advantage over other wrestling promotions.
The veteran Bischoff opined on Khan’s entry into the foray of the wrestling world. Bischoff’s open criticism of Tony Khan and AEW is not surprising. Fans are already familiar with the fact that the WWE legend has spoken about AEW on several occasions.
Bischoff suggests that Tony Khan’s interest in wrestling is a “well-funded hobby”
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While talking about all things wrestling on the podcast, a question popped up regarding AEW and Tony Khan.
Bischoff said “Tony Khan had one unique advantage that MLW doesn’t have, or anybody else — he had a hundred million dollars. He’s got an unlimited budget. He’s not accountable. It’s a really, really, really well-funded hobby. And that’s not a negative. […] It’s not a “do or die” situation for Tony Khan. This is his passion.”
"Tony Khan had one unique advantage that MLW doesn't have, or anybody else — he had a hundred million dollars. He's got an unlimited budget. He's not accountable. It's a really, really, really well-funded hobby," he said. "And that's not a negative. […] It's not a "do or die"… pic.twitter.com/8N2vQDQk8v
— Covalent TV (@TheCovalentTV) May 14, 2023
Bischoff never shies away from openly disclosing his views in a public forum. The conversation escalated to the advantage the Florida-based promotion enjoys over MLW and AEW’s predicted deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. Though there are no figures or any announcement about the new deal between AEW and Warner Bros, an announcement is expected to come out sooner rather than later.
The deal could pave the way for monumental change to invoke in the wrestling world. However, Bischoff completely disagrees. He doesn’t see this upcoming deal as a fortune-turner for Tony Khan.
Bischoff said, “AEW isn’t contributing. AEW is taking advantage of the success of a WWE, for example. It is because there is this company called WWE that is worth nine billion dollars that makes executives in the industry go, ‘Hm, we might be able to be worth nine billion dollars, but we could be worth a lot because the market is here.’ WWE has established a worldwide market for this product, more than anybody else.
Despite his reservations about AEW, the WWE legend also complimented the AEW chief.
Bischoff compliments Tony Khan’s investments
Bischoff didn’t hold back and also called Khan a Man-child. While Bischoff also appreciates Tony’s investment and having top TV shows running, he calls it an excellent investment.
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Tony Khan’s company is comparatively new to the wrestling industry. AEW has always been a subject to criticism with its new announcements and players. Eric Bischoff feels it is a rich man’s investment and nothing more.
There have been several occasions where both Bischoff and Khan have passed comments on each other. On the other hand, Bischoff always speaks about business facts and does not hold any grudges. Whereas, Khan has already made an announcement earlier that they are not signing Bischoff and won’t be working together.
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It would be interesting to see what other revelations Bischoff is going to make on Tony Khan and how he will respond to it. What do you make of Bischoff’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.
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