WWE legend goes on a tirade against Tony Khan over his recent comments; terms him a "goof"
AEW President Tony Khan has once again drawn the ire of a WWE Hall of Famer after making a comment about the competition between his company and the Stamford-based juggernaut.
Former WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff has been a staunch critic of Tony Khan and All Elite Wrestling over the past few years, especially after the AEW boss made some controversial comments about Ted Turner. As a result, Bischoff has been known to take every opportunity available to bash the Jacksonville-based promotion and its boss.
In a recent interview, Tony Khan claimed that the competition between WWE and AEW is real and that the two companies "hate each other." Eric Bischoff immediately leaped on the comment, calling Khan a "goof" for believing that he's in a wrestling war:
"Five star 🤡 comment from a goof who wants to believe he’s in a 2024 version of the Monday Night Wars. He’s delivering less than WCW numbers from 1992 and his live gates aren’t far behind. Keep spinning that fantasy Tony, and keep watching your business crater as a result," wrote Bischoff on social media.
When a fan pointed out that Dynamite is less than a year away from eclipsing WCW Nitro in longevity, Bischoff claimed that it would take much longer than that for AEW to equal WCW's success:
"At this rate, it will take 15 years for Dynamite to deliver one year of Nitro audience," said an adamant Bischoff.
Ricky Starks defends Tony Khan amid continued backlash
Tony Khan has rubbed many in the wrestling world the wrong way due to his mentality, status, and controversial tweets. While he's gained more than a few enemies, the All Elite Wrestling chief also has his fair share of supporters.
'Absolute' Ricky Starks is one such talent. Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding AEW's broadcast of the backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at last year's All In pay-per-view, Starks defended his boss and the company itself:
"He [Tony Khan] is a great dude. He really is. I've never met someone as nice as he is and people always assume someone in that position is gonna be a certain way and he isn't like that. He is a very, very sweet man and people need to realize that we are a startup company. We are all just trying to figure this out," said Starks.
Ricky Starks went on to say that internet trolls will simply believe what they want to believe, so there's no point in trying to change their minds. However, Starks appreciates Tony for his infectious excitement backstage.