Eric Bischoff commends former WWE Superstar for "having the ba**s" to leave AEW
AEW has already experienced a few shake-ups early into 2023 other than updating their production. So far, two stars have already left the promotion, with Frankie Kazarian being the latest. In light of his departure, Eric Bischoff praised the veteran.
Kazarian, alongside his former SCU stablemate Scorpio Sky, were the first stars to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Unfortunately, the stable seemed to fall in terms of prominence, leading to the stable breaking up in 2021.
In the latest 83 Weeks, Bischoff speculated on whether Kazarian had undergone injuries in his career, but came to the conclusion that, that wasn't the case.
“Sure, he’s been injured from time to time, but this is not a guy with a lot of nagging injuries. I just think the world of him, and I respect the hell out of him for having the ba**s to bet on himself because very few people have that kind of courage."
.@FrankieKazarian signs with @IMPACTWRESTLING!
#HardToKill https://t.co/UyAPVQeG2m
Bischoff continued, noting that the veteran likely stepped away from a comfortable place in his career.
“He walked away from a comfortable environment, probably paid him very well. You have to respect anybody for making a move like that." (H/T WrestleZone)
Despite his recent departure from AEW, Frankie Kazarian once praised the backstage environment in the promotion and had many positive things to say about Tony Khan.
Missed out on last week's AEW Rampage? Catch up with the results right here.
In light of Kazarian's departure, Eric Bischoff compared his experience running WCW to the current issues AEW is facing
AEW has often been compared to WCW, and not always favorably. While Eric Bischoff still helmed the now-defunct WCW, he made many of the same decisions that Tony Khan is criticized for today, leading some to believe his promotion will end up the same way.
July 15th 2002. 1 year after WCW ended Eric Bischoff joined the WWE as the General Manager of RAW, a classic WWE moment. @EBischoff #WWE https://t.co/grB8r1Y29a
During the same podcast episode, Bischoff stated that he believes Khan is overdoing his approach to making his promotion work.
“It’s one of the challenges you have when you’ve got a roster that big. I took a lot of criticism for having guys under contract and paying them anyway to sit at home. How many times have you heard that criticism of me and WCW? But I understand why Tony’s doing it. I think he’s overdoing it, to a degree.” (H/T WrestleZone)
It remains to be seen if Tony Khan manages to turn the tide and avoid having All Elite Wrestling follow WCW's example. Unfortunately, only time will tell whether the promotion survives or not.