Why Eric Bischoff Says WWE Working With NOAH Is Like A 'Developmental Opportunity'

One of the most obvious outward signs that it's a new era in WWE following the change in management is the fact that the wrestling promotion has started working with other companies. That includes Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, with WWE NXT stars Charlie Dempsey and Harlem Lewis as the latest performers to make their way over to NOAH as part of the agreement. Speaking on his podcast, "83 Weeks," Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on the benefit of such a partnership for WWE.

"The impression I get is [that] NOAH, New Japan, whatever other wrestling organizations are out there – they're treading water right now because the wrestling business overall in Japan has not been good in a long time," Bischoff said. "It sounds to me like it's more of a strategic, kind of developmental opportunity than any kind of significant revenue opportunity, at least in the short and mid-term. Long-term? Could be great."

While these excursions should help some younger WWE talent gain valuable experience in other promotions, the move is also "developmental" in that it could help forge a stronger relationship between WWE and Japanese wrestling fans, at least according to Bischoff.

Despite WWE's acquisition of Lucha Libre AAA earlier this year leading to fan speculation that the company could also acquire NOAH or TNA, Bischoff doesn't expect it in this case. Even if WWE were to buy NOAH, Bischoff doesn't believe it would have any effect on the mainstream audience in the United States.

"No one will care outside of the internet wrestling community that likes to fixate and get excited about deals like this," Bischoff continued. "Will you perhaps see somebody that wrestles predominantly over in NOAH make appearances in WWE programming, whether it's NXT or whatever? Yeah, probably. Will it matter to anybody outside of Dave Meltzer and his ilk? No."

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