Eric Bischoff Explains Why TV Is A 'Good Indicator' Of Momentum

Former WCW executive Eric Bischoff was one of the key figures in the much-discussed "Monday Night Wars" in professional wrestling. Television ratings were a huge aspect of that battle, and Bischoff recently explained on his podcast, "83 Weeks," what one can learn when breaking down the numbers.

"Television is a good indicator [of momentum]," Bischoff said. "It's one indicator. It's the most immediate indicator. It's the most analyzed and measured meter that's available to us as wrestling fans or even in business."

Bischoff then went on to discuss the downward trend he sees in AEW's momentum based on ticket sales. The WWE Hall of Famer cited the company initially selling out Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City with around 20,000 tickets sold. Last month, when AEW Grand Slam returned for the third time, they did a little over half of those sales.

"That's kind of the same drop that we were experiencing [at WCW]. It's an indicator that you've just lost the audience's energy," Bischoff continued. "In our case, they came, they saw for a couple [of] years, and then all of a sudden, we're not satisfying that need and they were finding something they enjoyed better over in WWE."

As someone who's been at the head of a company that fell from the top to the bottom before being shuttered and bought out by the competition, Bischoff seems to have a warning for AEW co-owner Tony Khan.

"When those indicators start to drop, it doesn't happen overnight," Bischoff stated. "And sometimes, because it happens slowly, you can write it off to competition on television. You can write it off to the season, the time of year, what's going on in the NFL or basketball or whatever. ... When you're losing 50% of your audience in an arena, that's the audience telling you something."