Eric Bischoff Shares His Thoughts On AEW After Watching Dynamite's Premiere

Eric Bischoff is the executive director of SmackDown, but that doesn't mean he's oblivious to what's going on outside of the WWE. Like any other wrestling fan, Bischoff was interested in catching AEW's TNT debut last week and he was asked about it on his 83 Weeks podcast.

"I did watch it. I actually watched it twice", said Bischoff (h/t to Wrestling Inc.'s Steve Solar for the transcription). "I think the take away for me was, the biggest thing that I saw that I liked was the crowd. That crowd was lit in every conceivable way. You could really see that crowd, they were excited to be there and they were an active part of the show.

"What I saw from AEW was a crowd that was intensely engaged, and from a production value standpoint, you could see it. The lighting made the audience a part of the show. That was the biggest positive I took from that show. I'm not going to critique the in-ring action or anything like that, but when I walked out of the room the first thing on my mind was, 'Wow, that crowd made that show.'"

Bischoff echoed comments that Ryback had made earlier on how AEW using large arenas and big crowds gives it an edge over NXT in terms of presentation.

As having a viewpoint like no one else when it comes to the Monday Night Wars, Bischoff was then asked about the potential Wednesday Night Wars between AEW and NXT.

"I think it's going to be interesting, you know. I'm very interested to see where things will stand in 90 days," stated Bischoff. "But I think it's early. I think it's great for the industry, I think it's re-energized the fan base, I think it's re-energized the talent, and I think it's re-energized the respective offices where commitments are made and decisions are made. I think it's a great thing. I think there's nothing negative about it."

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

Steve Solar contributed to this article.