Eric Bischoff Says His Perception Of Tony Khan, AEW Has Changed

Eric Bischoff has made several criticisms of AEW President Tony Khan, apparently stemming from comments Khan had made to the Financial Times earlier in 2020. Specifically, Khan said he learned "what not to do" from how WCW was run.

At times, Bischoff responded to those remarks by saying Khan was spending tens of millions of dollars to battle with WWE's developmental territory, while noting that WCW had seen heights that AEW has not yet reached.

The two spoke with each other for the first time in the past week, apparently at the encouragement of Bischoff's 83 Weeks co-host, Conrad Thompson.

Bischoff admitted on After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson that his perception of Khan and AEW had changed from that meeting, and that Khan had clarified to him the larger context of his "what not to do" comments.

"They are far more likely to be successful than I possibly would've given them credit for being, had I not had the opportunity to hear directly from Tony," said Bischoff. "[It was] not to hear from him and realize how smart he was. There was never any question of that. But hearing his real, genuine passion for the business probably impressed me more than anything."

Bischoff (who was let go from WWE last October after a confounding four-month stint as SmackDown's Executive Director) doesn't expect to be involved in AEW in any capacity, adding, "I don't know what they would need me for. They've got a good team. They're doing great. Tony's having a blast producing the show. He's surrounded by a lot of really talented people."

(Credit to Wrestling Inc for transcription)