WWE Hall of Famer clarifies controversial comments about Tony Khan 'putting his own product over'
Former WWE general manager Eric Bischoff has once again commented on AEW president Tony Khan and how he conducts himself, clarifying comments that he made back in October 2022.
The feud between Bischoff and Khan is one of the more interesting online feuds of the year, as the two men have very different ideas of what goes into a good wrestling product.
What adds another level of intrigue to the rivalry is that both men were on good terms for a long time, with 'Easy Eric' even featuring on AEW Dynamite sporadically during the pandemic era of the company in 2020 and 2021.
Eric Bischoff appears as mystery moderator on AEW Dynamite dlvr.it/Rd54Fd https://t.co/w97SuLfcAm
Speaking on the most recent edition of the 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff took some time to clarify what he meant when he said the phrase 'shut up and wrestle' when Tony Khan took some shots at the former WWE general manager.
"Going back to my first kind of negative comment about Tony, when I basically said ‘Shut up and wrestle; quit comparing yourself to WWE and creating an illusion because in the process, you’re gonna lose goodwill.'" (H/T SEScoops)
Bischoff explained that Khan should stop trying to put AEW over himself. Instead, he should let the audience do that for him as that will naturally create goodwill with the fans.
“That was my point. No, I didn’t make that point in my comment, but that was my reason for going ‘Shut up and wrestle, dude. Just put out a better product. Then let the audience put your product over. Don’t put your own product over.'” (H/T SEScoops)
The feud between Eric Bischoff and Tony Khan has become one of 2022's most volatile rivalries
Tony Khan has made it known on multiple occasions that he was a big fan of WCW growing up, especially in the era of the promotion when Eric Bischoff played a huge part in the company beating WWE in the Monday Night Wars.
I want to take a moment to to tell you how much tonight’s @jericho_cruise edition of #AEW Dynamite reminds me of the #WCW Nitro shows I went to as a kid at @clublavela.
I love it!
Helluva show tonight @IAmJericho and @AEWrestling! @AEWonTNT rocks! https://t.co/WFOhReTwbk
However, just because Bischoff took a lot of shots at WWE doesn't mean that Tony should, according to the Hall of Famer, who commented that trying to convince the audience that AEW is better than WWE when it's clear which company is more well known is a bad idea.
“It’s just, ‘Quit putting yourself over and let the audience do it, because that creates goodwill.’ But the more you put yourself over – in this case, Tony – the more Tony put himself over or put AEW over and, in the process, belittled WWE who is a monster, you know? They’re Goliath and you’re not. But by constantly taking shots at them and trying to convince the audience that you’re better than they are, you’re not taking advantage of the goodwill that you have automatically. That was my point.” (H/T SEScoops)
Tony Khan recently used Bischoff's era of WCW as a way to defend his booking strategy of bringing in new names on a regular basis, with the AEW president claiming it worked in the 1990s, but now it's "not acceptable anymore" for some reason.
Do you agree with what Eric Bischoff had to say about Tony Khan? Let us know in the comments section down below!