Eric Bischoff Explains Why 'There's No Coming Back' For AEW Without WBD

The effects of CM Punk's return to WWE continue to ripple out and one of those effects is seemingly on WWE's negotiations with Warner Bros Discovery. The rumors of negotiations between the two parties have put the future of AEW in question in the eyes of many, as they currently call WBD's networks home. Former WCW President Eric Bischoff thinks that losing WBD could hurt AEW in the eyes of the fans.

"The audience will lose faith in the brand [if AEW moves to any network that could be perceived as lesser]," Bischoff said on "Strictly Business" recently. "They will decide that it's no longer worth their time." Bischoff went on to explain that a producer from "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" told him that it can be almost impossible to get back viewers that have given up.

"It's harder to get them back than it was to get them in the first time," Bischoff said, quoting his producer friend. Bischoff believes that the drama with CM Punk soured the audience on the product, compounded by a number of other smaller quibbles and that the loss of AEW's partnership with WBD could curdle their opinion further, likening it to a final straw. "If [AEW loses WBD] there's no coming back."

While Bischoff is full of doom and gloom, AEW President Tony Khan recently said that AEW and WBD were in the middle of talks that he described as very positive. WBD also recently announced a new wrestling-based reality show, "Big Little Brawlers."