Eric Bischoff: AEW’s Kenny Omega Vs. Bryan Danielson Was Brilliant In Every Aspect
“As an investment, what a fantastic way to open up that show.”
Before a punch was thrown, some questioned AEW’s decision to put Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson on free TV. But according to Eric Bischoff, it was an inspired business move, and ‘brilliant’ in every aspect.
Speaking on the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff said the following about Omega vs. Danielson:
“I thought it was brilliant to put it on free TV and thought that was the only – look, much like WCW was, at this point, at this stage of their evolution, AEW is primarily a television company. Television drives pay-per-view and vice versa. So, as AEW is continuing to grow their audience which they are, what better way to continue to grow that audience for your foundation of the future? If the strategy for AEW is to compete for market share with WWE, they’ve still got some ground to cover. They have all of the tools. They’ve covered more ground in 24 months than I thought they possibly could, frankly, and so everything is going great. So, if the goal three or five years from now is to be able to take market share – there’s one big bucket of wrestling money there, probably 80 or 90 percent of it is WWE’s right now.
“I’m talking international licensing fees, international touring opportunities, international merchandise, the revenue from streaming platforms, to go over to Saudi Arabia and make more money at one event than AEW is probably gonna generate all year – that’s a hell of a gig for 50 million dollars a shot. So, if AEW wants half of that bucket – that’s what would be driving me if I was part of AEW. That would be the goal. They’ve got a ways to go, but if they want to get there, they have to build a TV presence bigger than it currently is. They’re still not half of a decent rating is on SmackDown. They’ve got ground to cover. What better way to begin to cover it than by bringing in Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega and putting it on free TV? They’re gonna make their money on pay-per-view, especially with that finish down the road. But as an investment, what a fantastic way to open up that show.”
H/T: 411Mania.com