"AEW is not competition" - Wrestling legend blasts Tony Khan's belief about catching up to WWE
Tony Khan has been leading AEW since 2019, and the promotion has seemingly become WWE's biggest competitor in recent years. However, during a recent interview, a wrestling legend shot down these claims and slammed All Elite Wrestling.
While a large section of fans enjoys AEW, the promotion has suffered a fair amount of criticism in its initial years.
During his appearance on Ryan Satin's Out of Character podcast, Eric Bischoff took a massive shot at Tony Khan's product, noting that it hasn't evolved.
“The product is boring. It’s just nothing new has happened, nothing has changed, nothing has emerged, nothing has evolved. It’s the same formula. Up until recently, the same process. We’re talking about WWE, which is by far the dominant [company]? There is no competition! AEW is not competition, no matter how much Tony Khan wants to believe it is," Bischoff said.
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The WWE Hall of Famer also spoke about the Jacksonville-based promotion's market standing:
"We’re in the same business, Tony. That’s not the same thing as being in competition. [You’re] not taking market share, Tony. You’re just in the same business. It’s kind of like having a little mom-and-pop hamburger stand on the corner and saying that you’re in competition with Arby’s. You’re not.” - (H/T: SEScoops)
Bischoff has always been candid about his criticisms of AEW, so much so that he even got into a heated back-and-forth with current world champion CM Punk.
Missed the latest AEW Rampage? Catch up on the show results via this link.
Eric Bischoff doesn't believe that Tony Khan has changed anything about the wrestling industry
Vince McMahon changed pro-wrestling from a regional business to a global juggernaut. With the help of stars like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and John Cena, WWE has effectively altered how pro-wrestling is viewed worldwide.
During the same interview, Bischoff reflected on the pre-Attitude Era WWE and how McMahon had to drastically change the product to grow.
“Other than the fact that a new company has emerged in this space, what’s changed? Nothing’s changed. With the Attitude Era, the reason that wrestling was a part of pop culture, is because there was a seismic shift in the presentation of the product. He changed his formula, the product evolved. It became attractive to an entirely different audience. That’s called growth.” (H/T: SEScoops)
A true legend! No one can forget his epic feuds with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H (D-Generation X) and The Undertaker in the Attitude era! Those golden days of my childhood. #ThankYouVinceMcmahon #VinceMcMahon @WWE https://t.co/VUwMKAAuNO
The Jacksonville-based promotion is fairly new to the wrestling business, having started in 2019. It will be interesting to see how All Elite Wrestling can potentially grow and evolve over the next decade.
Can Tony Khan's promotion surpass WWE in the long run? Sound off in the comments below.