Felix Upton on February 14, 2026
Eric Bischoff is going straight at Warner Bros. Discovery after CNN published an article about AEW’s recent “F*** ICE” chants — and he clearly thinks the company made a massive mistake.
The CNN article covered the chants that broke out during AEW Dynamite and also pointed out that Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, owns a minority stake in AEW. The article framed the situation as part of a broader rivalry between AEW and WWE, while admitting the political tone surrounding the chants.
"A president in the hall of fame. The embrace of contemporary issues is part of a larger, politically shaded rivalry playing out in the industry, between the 7-year-old AEW and the industry’s ruling juggernaut for generations, WWE (Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent corporation, owns a minority stake in AEW)."
On the February 14, 2026 episode of the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff reacted to both the article and the decision to publicly focus on the corporate relationship. He immediately questioned why CNN would even connect itself to the situation.
“Why would CNN, owned by Turner, do that? On the heels of everything going on, all you have to do is wake up, have a cup of coffee, and look around at the major companies that have gone woke and gone broke. Publicly destroyed, stock market crashes—just look at what happened to Bud Light, Cracker Barrel, look at what happened to these mainstream American brands when they decided to play politics. You don’t have to be that smart to know what a stupid thing it is to do, unless there’s a reason for doing it.”
Bischoff wasn’t just criticizing the article — he was questioning the strategy. He argued that by amplifying the chant and mentioning ownership ties, CNN effectively invited more political interpretation into a wrestling product.
“What would the reason be to run this article in the first place? Because now you’re inviting the audience to join in. This is essentially Turner Broadcasting telling you to show up and stand up against Trump. That’s what you just did. That was the intent. Either knowingly or unknowingly, that’s what happened.”
From there, Bischoff went into the business implications. He suggested that even a minority stake in AEW doesn’t justify putting the broader corporate brand at risk during a volatile political moment.
“Why would you do that? Because you believe so much in this AEW product that you’re willing to risk the negative publicity and stock price to invite a televised version of us versus them on a wrestling show? Because you have a minority stake in it? It’s too stupid to be true, and too stupid to fathom.”
Bischoff then zoomed out even more, referencing what he described as instability within Warner Bros. Discovery and questioning the timing of the exposure.
“What is it? Why would you use this story to expose your corporate ownership in that brand at this time? Keep in mind, that whole world is on fire right now. The Warner Bros. Discovery situation is volatile. Who woke up and said, ‘Man, we don’t know what’s going to happen—it’s on fire. Oh, I know, here’s a cup of gas, we’ll throw it and see what happens’?”
Bischoff then argued that entertainment companies cannot afford to alienate large portions of their audience and if they think they can do that, they’re wrong.
“You still have people in very high positions making really stupid decisions because they’re not connected to the audience. You cannot be successful in the entertainment business if you don’t know your audience. And if you think you’re so good out there performing in the ring that you can go out and alienate 50% of the audience and believe it doesn’t matter, you’ve lost touch. And that’s exactly what’s happening on the corporate level.”
He wrapped up by tying the issue back to broader corporate missteps and what he sees as repeated brand damage by trying to get involved politically and trying to make people choose.
“It’s not a theory—just go look. Talk to the executives, if you can find them, because they’re probably hiding now after initiating some of these big brand disasters and going woke and engaging in the political firestorm. We’re not talking about a political debate. We’re talking about riots in the streets and people dying—and somehow we’re going to pick a team?”
Bischoff’s comments move the conversation beyond just a chant in the crowd. In his view, the bigger issue isn’t what fans said — it’s how corporate media chose to frame it and publicly tie itself to the moment, because it will definitely blow up right in their face.
What’s your take on Eric Bischoff calling out Warner Bros. Discovery over CNN’s AEW coverage? Was the article fair reporting, or did it create a bigger issue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
1 hour ago
Disqus Comments Loading...