Eric Bischoff Compares His Path In Wrestling Business To AEW's Tony Khan

WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff has been vocal about his criticism of Tony Khan and AEW. But Bischoff and Khan share some similarities given that they both have successfully gone up against WWE, with AEW's new media rights deal with Warner Brothers Discovery expected to make them the second most profitable company in wrestling history.

During a special episode of his "83 Weeks" podcast, Bischoff explained that the criticism of Khan for being a wrestling fan is unwarranted, as he too started his wrestling journey as a fan who wanted to get into the business. However, there is one big difference when it comes to their respective wrestling journeys.

"I was a wrestling fan who eventually went on to become an executive in the wrestling business. Tony's a wrestling fan who bought his way into the wrestling business," said Bischoff.

He explained that he had to work in production trucks and syndication sales, learning the value of content, years before he ever came close to landing an executive position. It's this knowledge that Bischoff learned in his formative years in the business that often leads to him criticizing Khan and the production quality of AEW. 

"Tony bought his way in, and there's nothing wrong with that. If I would have had a rich dad, I would have bought my way in too," said the Hall of Famer. "Not criticizing him for it, but the difference is obvious when I say Tony doesn't know what he needs to know about producing wrestling, it's not because I'm an old man screaming at the clouds, it's because it's a fact. He doesn't know what he doesn't know."

Please credit "83 Weeks" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.