"It’s a big risk" - WWE veteran warns Tony Khan about bringing back AEW ranking system
AEW President Tony Khan has built the All Elite landscape as a major opportunity for rising stars in the wrestling business. That approach also saw him introducing a unique ranking system that he is bringing back. However, WWE wrestling veteran Eric Bischoff pointed out the red flags that he sees in that move.
As is well known, the former WCW President is not a fan of Tony Khan's promotion, believing to have not made any significant contributions to the sports entertainment business.
Tony Khan recently announced that he would be bringing back the ranking system, which was a way to monitor the title scenes and potential contenders, introduced earlier in the company. However, Eric warned Khan about his decision despite being a fan of this approach back in the day.
He stated on his 83 Weeks podcast that there could be flaws in the ranking system if not executed properly, and it would be noticed by the audience, who might lose faith in the promotion.
"It’s a big risk because if it’s not going well, if there’s a flaw in your system, your audience is going to see it and they’re going to let you know and they’re going to lose faith so fast. I liked the idea of doing it. I think it’s one of the things that I was excited about back in 2019 when I heard that this was going to be one of the things, this was going to be the unique selling proposition for those of you who have spent, I don’t know, 45 minutes in a marketing 101 class in junior college. That was the one thing that to me made AEW potentially feel different than WWE, but they abandoned it pretty quickly.” [H/T Wrestling News]
Tony Khan might sign two top free agents to AEW
Apart from making some revamps in his television programming, Tony Khan has also been very active in signing marquee talents to AEW.
Dave Meltzer recently stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that Khan is very excited at the moment as he may be close to signing two of the hottest free agents in the business, Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone.
"[Tony] is really excited right now. I think the fact that you know there's a good chance he's going to get Okada, you know there's certainly a good chance he's going to get Mercedes. He's got Will Ospreay.”
While it is all speculation at the moment, it would be interesting to see what unfolds next for AEW as Tony Khan is operating in top gear to take his promotion to the top.
Do you think Tony Khan will sign Okada and Mone? Sound off in the comments section below!