Why Eric Bischoff Says It's A Good Thing That AEW Has Such A Large Talent Roster

One of the common criticisms aimed at All Elite Wrestling revolves around the size of its roster, namely that it's over-saturated. With a bloated roster, and already limited television time, some pundits have pointed out that certain talents will naturally be underutilized, which, in turn, could make them more susceptible to being forgotten by fans. Former WCW President Eric Bischoff, however, believes an excess talent pool can actually be an advantage in some cases.

"It's easy to be critical of [a big roster], but you have to understand that at some point in time, you may need three, four, or five people that you didn't expect all at the same time," Bischoff said on "83 Weeks." "You need an inventory of talent that at least you believe it's possible to try to get them to a level where they can replace somebody who is one of your top two, three, four, five, or six stars. You need to have a lot of bodies around that can potentially fill that role, should that role become available through injury or conflict or anything else."

"You need some depth," Bischoff continued. "You need to plan for the worst, and unfortunately that means keeping a lot more people around than it might look like you need on paper."

Over the last year, AEW has welcomed in the likes of former AEW International Champion Will Ospreay, former TNT Champion Adam Copeland, current AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, and Nick Wayne to its men's division. Within the women's division, AEW has signed talent such as TBS Champion Mercedes Mone, Mariah May, and Kamille, the latter of whom made her official debut on this week's episode of "AEW Dynamite."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "83 Weeks" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.