Former Executive Director of WWE’s SmackDown brand Eric Bischoff recently discussed AEW and what he feels they need to improve. Whilst Bischoff was very clear in that the company have a lot of positives, he believes that more “storylines” and removing the “sameness” of some of the roster could help them exponentially going forward as a brand.
Eric Bischoff on AEW Overall
“I think they’re doing a lot of things well” Bischoff began on this week’s episode of After 83 Weeks w/ Christy Olson. “I know it’s gonna sound like a criticism I guess. I’m gonna try to make sure it doesn’t. When I look at my Twitter feed? When I read it, it’s like, people think I’m anti AEW!? I’m not at all. I mean I have a lot of friends there. And, people who I have a lot of respect for, who I may not be friends with them because I don’t really know them. But I know OF them and have a tonne of respect for them, so I’m pulling for them.”
Leveraging Social Media
Eric Bischoff would then go on to praise how the company has leveraged social media, from Being The Elite all the way to getting a slot on the TNT Network. “They’ve certainly captured the imagination. They’ve certainly figured out a way to build their brand and [have] brought/build awareness on social media. To YouTube in particular. [They have] converted that to a live event phenomenon, that they were able to convert to a television opportunity. By the way, that’s a lot to be proud of. And that’s a lot of doing sh*t right right there.”
Making Improvements
Bischoff would then move into how the company could improve, discussing the aforementioned ‘storylines’. “In terms of what I think they could do perhaps differently? Again I’m gonna qualify this because this is what I like. What I’m about to suggest, this is what appeals to me as a 65 year old guy who’s been in the business for over 30 years. Which is not the same thing that necessarily appeals to a 25 to 49 year old, or 18 to 34 year old, or 18 to 39 year old audience. So just because it appeals to me? Doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the right way to go.”
Emphasis on Story – Eric Bischoff
‘Easy E’ elaborated further, saying “I really do believe that they need more emphasis on story. I know they have stories, I’m not suggesting that they don’t. Please don’t misunderstand me, that’s not what I mean. But what I do mean is, I think the storytelling? Could be vastly improved. I think the character development could really be improved. Not AS much as the storytelling, because they’ve got some great characters. But I do believe that the characters could be developed to be a little bit more unique. To be a little more different from each other. There’s a ‘sameness’ to the characters. It’s just the way I see things, in the way I interpret things.”
WWE Also Being “Guilty of This”
Eric Bischoff would finish by pointing out that it isn’t just AEW who could improve on their storytelling. “For the most part? This is across the board, not just AEW. WWE is probably more guilty than AEW. I think the story, the emphasis on storytelling, has been abandoned for the most part. There’s a story there, yes technically, and I know that they try hard to try to create story. But in my opinion? The storytelling in WWE is no better.”
Do you think that AEW need to improve the way that they tell stories on television? Let us know in the comments
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