Eric Bischoff slams AEW President Tony Khan's "ignorant" comments towards WCW and Ted Turner (Exclusive)
A particular comment by AEW President Tony Khan apparently caused a rift between him and Eric Bischoff.
The relationship between Eric Bischoff and Tony Khan has been frosty for quite a while now, despite the two being on good terms during Eric's appearance in AEW. However, a specific comment made by Tony Khan about WCW and Ted Turner infuriated Bischoff enough to criticize the All Elite president.
In a conversation with Sportskeeda's Riju Dasgupta, Bischoff drew attention to how Tony had claimed to be a much better booker than Ted Turner. Bischoff felt that the comment was extremely ignorant.
"That was the end of it for me. Because number 1, Tony Khan is on a network called Turner Broadcast Systems, that Ted Turner created from scratch. Not with his daddy's money, not with money that he inherited. He built the most powerful 24 hour news network in the history of television at that time. Ted Turner changed the world in so many ways, and Ted Turner was passionate about wrestling... And for Tony to say something like that on a Turner network, I found to be very, very disrespectful."
He further added:
"That's number one, and it was stupid. What Tony knows about WCW and why WCW was eventually sold to WWE, he learnt from reading dirt sheets by Dave Meltzer, or listening to people that weren't even remotely involved in that situation... And for Tony Khan to make such a disrespectful and ignorant statement like that, made me lose a tremendous amount of respect for him." (8:00 - 10:04)
Visit Eric Bischoff's podcast, 83 Weeks, for his opinions on a variety of different pro-wrestling-related subjects. New episodes are released every Monday and Thursday.
Eric Bischoff also commended Tony Khan's intelligence in running AEW
While Bischoff may not be on the best terms with the All Elite president, he has conceded that Tony Khan has his merits.
During the same interview, Eric Bischoff stated that it was quite easy to make fun of Tony, given the latter's eccentric personality. However, it is hard to deny that the All Elite President was smart in his business decisions. Bischoff also mentioned that Tony was simply making mistakes that were a part of growing up to be an accomplished executive.
Tony Khan announced both these signings in span of 5 hours.
WHAT A MADMAN. https://t.co/03aWl96yF6
With the AEW All In pay-per-view coming up in August, it remains to be seen what Tony Khan plans to do next.
Do you agree with Eric Bischoff's thoughts about the AEW President? Sound off in the comments section below!
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