It didn’t take long for Eric Bischoff to respond to Tony Khan‘s recent comments about his booking criticism.
On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff took the time to address Tony Khan’s comments from last Wednesday’s episode of Busted Open, where he called Bischoff’s critiques of matches on AEW Dynamite contradictory and hypocritical based on how he ran WCW Nitro in the 1990s.
Bischoff said that he’s not denying Nitro didn’t have matches without stories, but he wanted to clarify that he never said every match needs one. Bischoff said there will be talent that just need to be introduced that won’t have a story yet, and he went on to apologize if anyone ever thought he insinuated that every Nitro match had one.
“My issue, and my comments about AEW and the creative behind it, is really about your top matches that don’t have sufficient story or structure, or at least a compelling one. There is always an excuse for a match or an angle, your exciting moment that creates a match or storyline, but your top matches, that’s different. I’ve seen a lot of matches, a lot of storylines, what AEW considers a storyline, that I feel are nothing more than excuses for a match.
“They are not well-crafted stories. That’s my criticism. It’s not a shot. I’m not making fun of anybody or trying to belittle anybody. I’m pointing out that I believe, in today’s competitive environment, with television being what it is, pay attention Tony, if you want to build and grow your audience, you’re going to have to do it with well-crafted, compelling, well-structured storylines. I don’t see it. I see excuses for matches and that’s not a storyline. That’s my critique, constructive is how I hope it’s interpreted, but clearly won’t be.
Bischoff then encouraged Khan to ask producer Kevin Sullivan for a sample of the “show bible” they used to present to Spike when they both worked in TNA.
“I would encourage Tony to reach out to Kevin Sullivan, ask Kevin to see that bible. In that bible, you will see that the A, B, C, D story, the top four stories that are essentially driving your business, I had those storylines broken down for three months at a time. We presented that bible once a quarter so the network was familiar with what we are doing and could get behind what we’re doing and what they could promote and should invest their resources into. It worked out really well.
“The thing that worked out best, you could argue they weren’t the best stories in the world, some were pretty exceptional, the Aces and Eights story is a prime example, you can hate it or not hate it, but it’s an example of a well-structured story that evolved over time and was the result of the show bible process. Go back, Tony, and look at that bible and see what I mean about an arc and your top talent having storylines that are engaging. You may learn something. You may see something that makes you go, ‘we could do that. I get that, that makes sense.’ It actually makes your life easier once you have everything laid out for three months at a time.”
Bischoff closed by saying he never said every match needs a storyline, and that Tony was responding to a criticism that never happened. Bischoff said the ratings prove that the top feuds need a good story, and that it’s not happening right now.
“There is a lot of great talent there. There’s just not a lot of great story. That’s what I would hope Tony would want to change. I never said, ‘I don’t like AEW because all the matches are random and none of them have story.’ I just don’t think the stories are compelling or committed enough or know how to craft a great story.” [H/T: Fightful]
What do you make of Eric Bischoff’s comments? Who’s side are you taking in this war of words between Bischoff and Khan? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
