Eric Bischoff On Why He Wants AEW To Succeed, Not Wanting Wrestling Business To Depend Solely On WWE

In a recent edition of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff discussed why he wants AEW to succeed, not wanting the wrestling business to depend solely on WWE, and much more. You can read Eric Bischoff’s comments below.

Eric Bischoff on the reaction to his criticism of AEW and why he wants AEW to succeed: “I say this often when we go back and talk about TNA. I try to catch myself because so many of the things I say and the points I make I know come off negative – partly because of the way I present them, partly because it’s a critique and criticism. But one of the things I always point out is the loss of opportunity is more frustrating to me than anything else. Some of the things and perspectives I share are more out of concern for AEW than anger or negativity. I want them to grow. I want AEW to outperform WWE. I want them to actually be legitimately competitive. I want them to grow, probably not as bad as Tony [Khan] or the people that work there or are hardcore fans of AEW, but I want so bad for AEW to be a legitimate competitor. They don’t even have to be a competitor – I want them to have two million, three million viewers per week. I want them to do better proportionally than WCW ever did.

On not wanting the wrestling business to depend solely on WWE: “I honestly want that because I don’t want the wrestling business to go away, and I don’t want the wrestling business to depend solely on WWE. I respect the hell out of Vince [McMahon], and I do have quite a few friends in WWE. But guess what? I want AEW to outperform them because that will make WWE better, and AEW fans will enjoy that. But when I see things within a context of a discussion about what’s working and what’s not working, some of that is gonna come off negative. It’s not because I don’t want them to succeed, it’s because I do.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.