WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to an episode of his Wise Choices podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including what TNA Wrestling can do to become a true third option in pro wrestling.
Bischoff said, “Here’s what it’s gonna take: television. Without the television revenue, without the licensing revenue that television potentially has — they don’t tour, they’re never going to make enough money on pay-per-views to sustain any growth, or less probably really stay in business — unless and until TNA is able to find a way to make a significant portion of its annual revenue from a television licensing deal that is going to be sufficient to let them produce and grow. They’re going to continue to do what they’re doing now regardless of the quality, or the talent. The quality of the show, or the talent of the people behind the scenes or in front of the camera. It just is what it is.”
On Adam Copeland’s AEW Double Or Nothing bump:
“That’s what we see when we go for this super high-risk — Adam Copeland, my friend, Adam. I love you brother, you know I do. And I have so much respect for your work. But Adam, what are we thinking? What were you thinking, coming down like that? Yes, you’re 50 years old, you knew that. But you knew that that bump would be — what you did would be dangerous if you’re in your 30s. Had nothing to do with your 50s. Yes, the 50s make it harder to come back from, because take it from me, you won’t heal as fast at 50 as you did at 30. But the odds for injury are still there, right? It’s just a horribly dangerous move — and for what, I ask? Adam, I know you man. You’re a team player. You’re a competitor, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. And I was so proud of the acting that you did. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed watching your character. You’re just an amazing performer. But you’re doing things that just don’t make sense for anybody at any age.”
“Lead by example, my friend, because you are a great one. And that company needs that type of an example. Because as long as everybody’s going to try to out-suicide each other, and drop each other’s heads and put themselves out of commission for weeks or months at a time. Because let’s face it, nobody’s working on the road. That’s a dangerous thing, brother. When you’re only working on TV and pay-per-view. And then on pay-per-view, you’re throwing yourself around like you’ve been working six days a week for six months straight? Your body’s not ready for that. And that’s why there are so many injuries, and those injuries take you out of commission. And even if there is a storyline, which oftentimes they’re not in AEW, not that matters anyway. If there is a storyline, it’s the end of it. Because you’re out for doing some silly s**t that doesn’t matter at the end of the day. And outside of the locker room and the boys were putting each other over for the crazy shit that they were doing and how awesome it was, nobody else will remember. Because they remember the stories, not the bumps.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
