Eric Bischoff Says AEW Fans Are Culturally Isolated And Irrelevant After Award Results

Eric Bischoff is calling out AEW fans who voted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s 2025 Year-End Awards — and he didn’t sugarcoat it.

The awards, released on February 13, saw Booker T top the Worst Television Announcer category with 516 votes, finishing well ahead of Pat McAfee, Michael Cole, Vic Joseph, and Tony Schiavone. The voting also listed John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes as Worst Match of the Year, named AEW All In 2025 as Best Major Wrestling Show, and labeled WWE as Worst Promotion of the Year.

On the February 14, 2026 episode of the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff reacted to the results by taking aim at the Wrestling Observer voter base, which largely comprises hardcore AEW supporters. After discussing how the awards are determined by subscriber votes, Bischoff painted a picture of what he believes that group represents.

“Can you imagine if you could get all these ‘Wrestling Observer voters’ in a room? Can you imagine what that would be like, hanging out there for an hour or two? You’d have Dave Meltzer, the head gooner they all look up to, and they look at the world of wrestling through the Dave Meltzer lens.”

Bischoff argued that the results were predictable given who was casting ballots, calling AEW fans the most culturally isolated and irrelevant group of people ever.

“Of course you’re going to get those kinds of responses. These are the most culturally isolated and irrelevant group of people you can ever imagine. So I don’t know why anyone would expect any of these categories to have anything sensible.”

So it’s clear that Bischoff dismissed the credibility of the voting pool entirely. In his view, the awards represent a specific segment of the wrestling audience instead of a broad industry consensus, so he really couldn’t expect much from AEW fans at all.

What do you think about Eric Bischoff’s reaction to the Wrestling Observer Year-End Awards? Are the results reflective of fan sentiment, or do they represent a smaller corner of the wrestling world? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.