WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff is relishing in not working for Tony Khan, and is grateful for every day he doesn’t have to answer to the AEW President.
While Bischoff has made a handful of appearances for AEW, it’s been some time since the WCW magnate was invited to a show. Bischoff has been critical of AEW in recent years, and while he’s made it clear he wants AEW to succeed, he has been unimpressed by the work of Tony Khan. Last October, Bischoff claimed that Khan is “beyond help” and dismissed the AEW President as a Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman wannabee.
Bischoff Responds to Dax Harwood
Bischoff’s issues with Tony Khan are well-documented and Easy-E only added to the tensions this week. On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff didn’t hold back. He first discussed Dax calling him out over his remarks on AEW:
“Either my skin has gotten so thick that I just don’t react to things the way I used to or maybe you just get wiser with age and having kind of been there when I was younger, kinda where Dax is right now, so I kind of get it. Where is Dax in his career? He’s got to say these things. He’s out there promoting his company. He’s defending his company. His boss made a complete Jackass of himself on social media during the week previous to this appearance he made.
So I get it, because what else is Dax going to do? If he doesn’t have a gig in AEW? And I don’t mean that as a shot because I like him. I like the tag team, like you do for the same reasons. But I don’t know if going back to the WWE is an option. Maybe it is. We’ve seen crazier things. I don’t know the situation where Dax left and how he left it and if he had heat or didn’t have heat or I don’t know any of that stuff. Maybe there’s chance he could go back but I think those odds are probably remote at this point. So what’s he’s got? He’s got the gig he’s got. And I don’t disagree.
Tony Khan has put a lot of money in a lot of talent’s pockets. I know people personally who are making more money who have been in the business for longer than I have and are making more money than they ever have. So you know that I’m not exaggerating anything here. You don’t hear anybody in AEW complaining about their paychecks, but the opposite. Sure, that’s great for talent. That’s great for those individuals, and I’m happy for them. Just like I’m happy for someone who wins a lottery. I don’t wanna see anybody not get what they can get out there in the marketplace. So let’s dispel that, I agree with that, it’s a wonderful thing for humanity.
But it doesn’t mean it’s good for the business. What Tony Khan has been doing and some of the presentations that we’ve seen out of AEW is not better for the business, because it’s turning off advertisers. It’s turning off his own viewers. The audience is deteriorating, it’s not growing and you can talk about ‘Yeah but less people are watching TV’ and go back to that trope all you want is. Is it a fact? Sure. Is it an excuse? Probably not. WWE is growing in the same environment. Why isn’t AEW? It’s because of lack of story, it’s because of lack of character development. It’s because of lack of vision, and it’s because a lot of the chaos that’s going on behind the scenes.”
Eric Bischoff Explains His Financial Troubles
Bischoff then went into length to explain the financial troubles that led to him filing for bankruptcy in 2017. He explained that he still had to pay off all his debts which he did earlier than expected:
“Let’s just get the elephant out of the room. I wrote a book called grateful. I talked a lot about having to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This isn’t a financial [podcast] but because that’s kind of there right? So I want to address it. I’m not gonna go into detail about the differences between Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 13 Because they’re all different. Chapter 11 is a business bankruptcy primarily. It doesn’t allow me to walk away from my debts. I ended up filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2017.
I’ve talked on this show at length about the reasons that led up to it. Basically me transitioning out of the television business. I went from making close to seven figures a year and I took an about 80% cut in pay over the course of 24 months. And then I had the state of California come knocking on my door and say, ‘I know you thought you paid all your taxes, but we realised we can find a different way to tax you on business that took place out of state simply because you have a mailbox in California.’
That was kind of a big hit. None of that really matters. To protect my home. This home is my legacy. I built this home in 1998 because I really really wanted to provide a place of stability in any situation for my family, to have a beautiful home in a beautiful part of the country. People from all over the world come here to visit. It’s that beautiful. I wanted to be able to leave this legacy to my children to enjoy it for the very same reasons. When it got to the point where that legacy, this property, this home was at risk.
I made a business decision to reorganize my debt. Not walk away from it, not fulfil my obligations to it, simply to reorganize it. That’s what a chapter 11 is. Now when I filed that chapter 11, this is back in 2017. You go through that process. At the end of it, the court says ‘Okay, you’re going to pay back 100% of this debt. you have, in my case, five years to do it.’ I did it in three. I have a seven-figure net worth. I have a very healthy credit score. I’m in really good shape as a result of being able to do some smart things.”
Eric Bischoff is Grateful
Later in the podcast, the former WCW President explained that his frustrations with AEW have nothing to do with him wanting a job with the promotion. He mentioned he had been very supportive of the promotion since the beginning and explained what changed his stance:
“I stayed supportive until I think it was around November two years ago, a little over two years ago. Tony came out and made that completely ignorant in a literal sense of [the word] comment about Ted Turner. Paraphrasing, if Ted Turner knew 1% of professional wrestling as I do maybe WCW would still be around. Completely ignorant. Tony doesn’t have a fucking clue what went on in WCW and why it’s not around. The only thing he knows is what Dave Meltzer told him. That’s it. He wasn’t there. He has no idea.
And it was disrespectful. It was ignorant and disrespectful simultaneously. As Tony Khan’s trying desperately to hang on to his television time on Turner Network Television and Turner Broadcasting System, disrespecting the man that made that opportunity even an option. Once someone disrespects publicly, someone who I respect or have a relationship with, they go on a different list. Doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I just don’t have any respect for them. They’re just like everybody else.
I don’t care if you’re a trust fund baby that’s a wrestling fan and has a wrestling company. I no longer have any respect for you. And I’m going to react to you just like I would anybody else. So that was it, Dax. It wasn’t because I asked for a job and didn’t get one. It wasn’t because I was hoping I would get an job offer and it never came. As I said before that clip. I wake up every day grateful that I don’t have to work for someone like Tony Khan. Or even if I wanted to work for Tony Khan, I’m grateful that I don’t have to jump on a plane every week and do it. As much as anything for sure. Or put up with what has obviously been….the amount of drama that’s taken place backstage in AEW far surpasses any of the fictional drama that’s taken place in the ring for the last five years. I don’t want to be a part of that.
Now Dax I understand you have to cause you don’t have opti
ons, but I do. As I said seven-figure net worth, I live in the most beautiful place in the world. I have almost no consumer debt. Nickels and dimes. I have a beautiful wife. I have great kids, i have a new grandson. Everybody’s healthy. Everybody’s successful. I can come and go as I pleae. I can work with who I want, on what projects I want. And I have absolutely no pressure. And I’m not saying that to brag even though it is, I don’t mean it to be – but it’s context. What I’m really grateful for Dax, is I have the freedom to say whatever I want to say about whoever I want to say it about. I don’t have to worry about it affecting my income or what I want to do. Can you say the same thing Dax?”
For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.
