"I've heard it from more than one person" - WWE legend on issues Tony Khan is facing in AEW
AEW President Tony Khan has been praised for his style of storytelling since the beginning of All Elite Wrestling, but a WWE veteran believes there is one thing that is holding him and his company back.
Eric Bischoff has been very outspoken about what he thinks of AEW programming in recent months. Despite appearing on Dynamite in the past, Bischoff hasn't always been impressed with what he's seen on TBS or TNT.
A number of wrestlers in AEW have openly praised the company for giving them creative freedom and allowing them to tell stories their way, unlike WWE Superstars who have storylines given to them by writing teams.
“One of the reasons why AEW has really gone through the roof and become the coolest wrestling company in the world today is because of our storytelling.”
- Chris Jericho https://t.co/AvZpIivgp5
Speaking on his "83 Weeks" podcast, the former RAW General Manager detailed his main problem with AEW programming. He started by claiming that despite thinking of Tony Khan as a good person, he reacts emotionally rather than rationally.
"I think Tony reacts more out of emotion, I think part of Tony's reactions is more emotional reactions based on the fact that he's not getting the kind of respect from me. I know this as a fact, we have a mutual friend who got a text that basically said so and I've heard it from more than one person...
He went on to say:
"My criticisms are not meant to be towards Tony the person, I have some admiration for Tony the person, particularly as of late. I think Tony, the person, is a really good person. I think I disagree with his approach to the business." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Bischoff elaborated by claiming that Khan's booking strategy is to simply put together dream matches that the internet wants to see, rather than focusing on what draws good TV ratings.
"You're not driven by the internet, you're driven by the television audience. The success or failure of your company Tony is not how well the dirt sheet universe and the internet wrestling community react to you, it's how well the general audience, who may not even participate in that stuff, react to you." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Tony Khan might be booking more dream matches if gets to sign Kota Ibushi
The AEW President is more than just the head booker of one of the biggest promotions in the world. He's also a wrestling fan, meaning that he will always want to put together matches that fans want to see.
With that in mind, a number of AEW fans were over the moon to find out that Kota Ibushi officially left New Japan Pro Wrestling on January 31st. Ibushi has always been someone that fans have wanted to see wrestle in AEW, and it seems that Tony Khan wants that as well.
“Kota Ibushi is a great talent. When you have a name like that, everyone in the world of pro wrestling would be very fortunate to have in their promotion
Weve wanted to work with him in the past, so its certainly something we would have to consider”
- Tony Khan
(via Busted Open https://t.co/ZXrA6QmBQy
Tony Khan told Busted Open Radio that he has wanted to bring Ibushi to AEW in the past and that he will be more than happy to welcome the "Golden Star" to the company in the future.
Do you think Kota Ibushi will join AEW? Let us know in the comments section down below!