What kind of impact will the record-breaking AEW ALL IN 2023 premium live event from last Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London, England have on the pro wrestling business going forward?
Eric Bischoff looked at this question during the latest installment of his “Strictly Business” podcast.
Featured below are some of the highlights.
On what kind of impact All In will have on the wrestling business: “I don’t think it will. I think not on the business as a whole, certainly for it will, Right? I mean, they’ve got bragging rights. They’ve got something to talk about. You know, you can sit down with advertisers and potential sponsors, and you’ve got something that’s real and matters. So, for AEW, I think it will mean a lot for a while. When I say a while, I mean a long while. Not for a short while. But will it affect the industry as a whole? No, it won’t. The industry is going to continue to grow. It certainly is not showing any signs of decline. You know, WWE is breaking records every single day. Their revenues are breaking records all the time. Their quarterly reports keep getting better. I think the business is very, very healthy. No reason to think it won’t continue to grow. But I don’t think so. The success of the undeniable success of all is going to affect it one way or the other. It’s just another indicator that it’s a very healthy business.”
On Tony Khan not under any financial pressure with AEW: “Tony is in a unique position where he doesn’t have to answer to anybody. Obviously, the network does. Right. But he’s not under any financial pressure. We don’t hear how much is making or losing. Right. That’s all privately held, and there’s no reason that we should. It’s a privately held company, a private investment. They want us to know, to tell us. They don’t. They won’t. But as long as you’re operating in a unique world where you have an unlimited amount of money effectively, and you’re not being held to account financially like most businesses that would invest in wrestling would example, Lionsgate, if they’re going to if Lionsgate or any other company was going to invest $100 Million in the effort, there would be benchmarks; there would be goals, there would be people making sure that you’re making progress along the way according to a business plan. Tony doesn’t have to worry about that. Any other big company would, and I don’t think another company would come along and make the kind of financial decisions Tony has made within a typical corporate investment. Framework. I just don’t see it.”
Check out the complete episode of the show via the YouTube player embedded below. H/T to WrestlingHeadlines.com for transcribing the above quotes.
