Why Eric Bischoff Suggests AEW's Tony Khan Isn't 'In The Wrestling Business'

Eric Bischoff is no fan of Tony Khan or Dave Meltzer, any podcast listener can discern that fact pretty easily. On "83 Weeks," Bischoff posited that there aren't many in the wrestling business that respect the long-running editor of The Wrestling Observer, with Bischoff's co-host Conrad Thompson pointing out that the AEW CEO clearly puts a lot of stock in what Meltzer says and believes.

"I'm not so sure Tony Khan's in the wrestling business," Bischoff fired back. "He's in the vanity business." Thompson tried to counter, but Bischoff was quick to continue. "Anybody that's working there is probably banging their head on sharp objects right now because he's not running it like a business. He's running it like a vanity project." Bischoff's comments are similar, though not as extreme as former WWE writer Vince Russo's recent theory that Khan was outright paying money out of pocket for the TV time that AEW currently enjoys on TNT and TBS. 

Khan's relationship with Meltzer is no secret, with Khan often touting any honors he or AEW receives from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Year-End Awards. Recently, Meltzer even admitted that he emailed Khan following Great Muta's retirement in Pro Wrestling NOAH, telling Khan that the long road to Muta's final match should be the blueprint for soon-to-retire WWE Hall of Famer Sting, who will wrestle his final match at AEW Revolution 2024. Despite Bischoff's accusations, Khan has said that he books specifically for the AEW audience, and is putting everything he has into what he says is an increasingly-personal competition with WWE.