What are the pros and cons of a legend like Edge leaving WWE and coming to AEW?
Eric Bischoff looked at this while addressing the rumors of the WWE Hall of Fame legend leaving the company to join All Elite Wrestling on his latest “83 Weeks” podcast.
“I want to take two different approaches. I’m going to take a glass-half-full approach and I’ll do that first and then I’ll follow it up with the glass-half-empty approach. On a glass-half-full approach if I’m. I’m thinking about Edge. If I was Edge’s manager and I wanted him to make that move, I would point out the opportunities similarly to what you just did. But I would also want to have a couple of conversations with Tony and Bryan Danielson because this is the part of the edge possibility that gets me excited. And this is admittedly a glass half full because this would require that,” Bischoff said. “Tony relinquishes some creative control and lets somebody else do it, at least with regard to either Edge individually and his story or on collision and use Edge there. You know, I would have to believe it again. I don’t know. I don’t know what the personal relationship between Bryan Danielson and Edge is, but I would assume it’s good, and I would assume there’s a lot of mutual respect. And if I was just a man, Adam’s Adam Copeland’s manager would say, Look, Tony, here’s the deal. My client wants to come over, but let’s be honest. The track record for WWE Talent coming in has not been all that great. I know it’s going to sound a little tough in a meeting, but it’s true. So get over it. But. You’ve got this guy, Brian Anderson, there who you’ve expressed, Tony, that you have a lot of confidence in. Why not? We give this relationship a try, but do it a little differently. And let Bryan and Edge work together on Edge’s creative.”
Bischoff continued, “That’s what’s exciting to me. And if I’m Adam’s manager, I’m going to take a little bit of comfort in that because now I’m putting my client’s career in the hands of someone that he has confidence in, and therefore so do I. As a manager, that’s going to give me a sense of comfort. I’d be excited about that. Glass half empty. Tony doesn’t want to do that because Tony wants to be. He wants to be Vince McMahon. He wanted to be Eric Bischoff back in the 90s. He wants to be that guy that reinvented wrestling. And until he’s ready to delegate and recognize what he’s good at and what he’s not, it’s never going to happen. And I wouldn’t want my client to end up in an environment much like. Just about everybody else that’s come over from WWE. They’ve got a huge splash and a big entrance and, ‘Oh, they’re here, it’s going to change everything.’ And then three weeks later they’re gone. Now, I don’t know what Adam’s plans are, you know? Adam also has other options. Like movies. Yeah, he’s a good actor. Maybe he’s deciding whether or not he wants to go back into wrestling at all. But if I’m Adam Copeland’s manager and my job is to protect my client and look out for the best interests of my client, interests of my client, I’m not going to, regardless of how much commission I made, my 10%, I’m not going to be really enthusiastic about moving my client into an environment where historically and by the existing track record, doesn’t look like it’s going to be a good move in any other way but financial. I wouldn’t do it. So it all depends on what it comes down to, Tony. I think if I’m Adam, why would I want to make that move? Unless I really needed the money? That could be a factor. Who knows? I doubt it. I’m saying it just to check the box. But unless he’s willing to do it for the money, if you look at the last four years, is that how you want your career to end? Because keep in mind that’s another factor. And again, I don’t know Adam well enough to know how important this is to him. But when you’re coming to the end of your career. Do you want to go out on a high note? If you, or at least you should. And Adam’s a very smart guy. He’s got a solid head on his shoulders. Would you, if you didn’t need the money, put your. Legacy. The lease of the last part of it in the hands of someone who has demonstrated they don’t really have the ability to make it work. I wouldn’t want to go somewhere where I could feel like, you know what. As long as I do my job and I stay healthy and contribute, there’s a good chance I could end this thing up on a really high note now, especially because Christian’s there. That’s another dynamic that’s a little different. You know, so that that could be very appealing to Adam to have one more run with his buddy. And I can see that as having, you know, being a factor in his decision. I just don’t think it would be the only one. But who knows? I’m on this one, I’m a glass half full. I hope it happens, but I hope it happens. Along with several other things that will help ensure that it really matters. Otherwise, it’s just another jump for the sake of a jump. That’s intriguing, isn’t it?”
Check out the complete episode at Apple.com. H/T to WrestlingHeadlines.com for transcribing the above quotes.
