Eric Bischoff Calls AEW Dynamite Surpassing WCW Nitro a “Participation Trophy”

Eric Bischoff has always been vocal about his criticism of AEW and now he has laughed off Dynamite surpassing Nitro as a participation trophy.

While speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, Eric Bischoff made it clear he didn’t think much of AEW Dynamite passing WCW Nitro as the longest-running wrestling show on TNT.

Bischoff said it felt more like a “participation trophy” and didn’t mean much. He believes that Nitro had a much bigger audience back then, and at AEW’s current pace, it would take them about 15 more years to reach those same numbers.

“When I saw that AEW Dynamite passed Nitro as the longest-running wrestling show on TNT, I laughed. It felt like a participation trophy. Maybe it means something to some people, but if you look at how many viewers we had during Nitro’s run, AEW would need another 15 years at their current pace to catch up.”

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Bischoff did give AEW credit for getting 20,000 fans to show up for All In, saying that was a big deal. But he questioned how much that really means when the rest of the year hasn’t gone as well.

Bischoff pointed out that AEW’s TV ratings haven’t grown and that the company has been losing about 15 to 18 percent of its viewers every year for the last five years. He said last week’s Dynamite only got around 580,000 viewers, even though it aired during primetime on a big cable network, which he doesn’t think is a good sign.

“Sure, they got 20,000 people for All In — credit to them, that’s a big achievement. But what does a great year really look like? One successful event doesn’t make the whole year great. Their weekly TV ratings are flat. For the past five years, they’ve been losing 15 to 18 percent of their audience every year. Just last week, they pulled about 580,000 viewers during prime time on a major cable network. That’s not what I’d call strong performance.”

As for the stories and characters in AEW, Bischoff said he doesn’t see much development. He doesn’t watch the show anymore because he got tired of it and didn’t see anything creative that made him think it was heading in the right direction. He doesn’t like the current product or the way the business is being run.

Bischoff thinks AEW is missing the mark. He feels the company’s stories and characters aren’t strong enough, and they’re mostly focused on a small group of hardcore fans who enjoy violent matches with blood and thumbtacks. He believes this approach won’t help AEW grow or reach a wider audience.

“As for stories and character development? I don’t see it. I see them trying, but I don’t watch the product anymore. I’ve given up on it. I just couldn’t take it anymore. There weren’t any creative moves that made me believe it was heading in the right direction. I’ve just not been a fan of the product or where they’re going business-wise.

I’ve been pretty clear about AEW—they’ve been lacking. Their characters and storylines aren’t where they need to be, and they’re missing the mark. They’re appealing to the smallest part of the audience, the hardcore internet wrestling fan that loves gory thumbtack matches and excessive blood. That’s not going to grow their brand.”

Regardless, we will have to wait and see whether AEW will continue their momentum and improve their product so that Eric Bischoff might change his opinion of the company in the future.

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