Eric Bischoff Explains Why He Thinks AEW Is 'Bad For The Industry Right Now'

AEW has taken many risks, from Nick Gage wrestling a deathmatch on TNT to Hangman Page drinking Swerve Strickland's blood. There's a certain edge to AEW programming that former WCW President Eric Bischoff thinks is bad for the business.

On the latest "Strictly Business," Bischoff pointed to the shocking departure of Scott D'Amore from TNA Wrestling as an example.

"Right now, AEW is proving to be bad for the industry, in particular being bad for [TNA Wrestling] and people like Scott D'Amore," Bischoff said, feeling that AEW is making it hard to sell pro wrestling to other networks. 

The Hall of Famer claims AEW uses praise from journalist Dave Meltzer and bogus valuations that seemingly don't pass muster for the former WCW President. Bischoff stated that outside investors will see Tony Khan's struggles and doubt someone like D'Amore who has less experience in sports, as well as a smaller budget.

"It's a little bit like too much blood and pushing the envelope in terms of content," Bischoff explained. "If you're going over the top in content wrestling, everyone will tune in and see it and they may even enjoy it but advertisers may not, and if you rely on that strategy too heavily, you begin to turn advertisers away from the product."

He believes advertisers will always lump WWE, AEW, TNA, and any other wrestling promotion together, and feels that if one promotion makes wrestling look less than reputable, they all look less than reputable. Despite Bischoff's trepidations, AEW President Khan is excited about the year ahead, referring to it as a big year for the promotion.