Eric Bischoff Says There Is No Upside To AEW Acquiring ROH

Tony Khan officially acquired Ring of Honor back in May, but the company doesn't appear to have a television deal yet. Furthermore, Eric Bischoff believes that Khan's decision to purchase the independent promotion was a bad business move.

Speaking on the latest episode of "Strictly Business," the WWE Hall of Famer described ROH as a niche brand prior to the AEW acquisition and revealed why he doesn't think the promotion will appeal to a mainstream audience.

"How many YouTube viewers did Ring of Honor get before they were purchased? You're talking about tens of thousands, maybe? It was an insignificant, off-the-radar, unknown brand, with the exception of the most active of the internet wrestling community who sought it out."

By purchasing ROH, Khan also obtained the rights to the video library, brand assets, and intellectual property. However, Bischoff doesn't think that owning the footage will bring any value to AEW. "The library was worth almost nothing. A lot of that library is so poorly produced it doesn't lend itself to a premium streaming platform. You know, there's some legacy to it because some talent came out of there, which is notable and interesting as backstory. But there's no real value in any of the assets."

That said, the former WCW executive did state that ROH could work as a developmental brand for AEW, but only if Khan creates a strong infrastructure and hires the right people to support it. Additionally, he believes that there should be coaches in place who can train talent to perform for a "television audience" as opposed to an indie crowd.