Eric Bischoff Gives High Praise To All In Main Event, Calls MJF The MVP Of AEW

Eric Bischoff, like many others, is amazed at 27-year-old MJF taking to the enormous stage of AEW All In like a pro's pro, and not showing any jitters performing in front of over 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. Reflecting on the MJF vs. Adam Cole main event on "83 Weeks," Bischoff detailed why he's "so impressed" with the AEW World Champion for putting on a stellar performance.

"We've still not seen the best of MJF ... that's still to come. He's still a child," Bischoff said. "He's got so much more to give, and to grow, and to learn, and to experience along the way — it's only going to make him better. Every time he steps through the curtain, he's already, in my opinion, the most valuable guy on that roster. Without hesitation, he's the most valuable person in that company. And he's only going to get more valuable." 

Bischoff was equally impressed with the producers who crafted the finish to the All In main event, which saw Cole resisting the temptation of striking MJF with a title belt to earn an unfair advantage. The momentary hesitation by Cole allowed MJF to capitalize with a small package for the victory. Bischoff admits the finish was "so well layered," and advanced the MJF-Cole saga in a way that his former company, WCW, struggled to do with pay-per-view main events. "Even at the height of our success [in WCW], the one thing we didn't do a good job of, was coming up with great finishes that almost provided a story within a story," Bischoff said.

In contrast to those WCW main events, All In's marquee match did have an emotionally gripping finish whereby MJF and Cole — after butting heads and arguing with one other — hugged it out to close out the show, much to the delight of the London crowd. Bischoff believes MJF and Cole's pre-show victory over Aussie Open also added intrigue to the main event, creating a "will they, won't they?" situation that fans wanted to see play out. "This finish, and the drama that ensued, and the execution of it made this match stand out so far and above anything else — in terms of structure." 

Bischoff reiterated that none of the other matches at All In had a gripping backstory, and it showed in the lack of in-ring storytelling. As such, Bischoff acknowledges that the person who produced the main event deserves all the more credit. "Who laid this out? I want to know — I really freaking want to know. Because that person is one of the more valuable people in this company. Every other finish I saw was like a means to an end," Bischoff added.

In conclusion, Bischoff compared MJF's meteoric rise to that of Kurt Angle, who won the WWE Championship within a year of his main roster debut. To Bischoff, the similarities stem from the versatility of the two wrestlers. "Kurt Angle is one of my favorite performers of all time, as a producer, simply because you could say, on Monday, 'Kurt I need you to be a comedy wrestler,' and then on Tuesday, 'Kurt I want you to be the most deadly person on the planet.' And he could go do both — equally as well. MJF has that depth," Bischoff added, citing the fact that the AEW World Champion "showed vulnerability" at All In and displayed a different side to his character.