Eric Bischoff Explains Why He's Critical Of AEW

Former WCW supremo Eric Bischoff has explained that he doesn't hate AEW and discussed why he is often critical of them.

Bischoff, who has appeared on AEW television previously, has been one of the promotion's loudest critics, claiming earlier this year that the promotion was dying. In a recent "83 Weeks" podcast, though, he stated that he wants Tony Khan's promotion to be successful.

"I've watched other people make those mistakes that I just ... I can't help but be vocal about, not because I don't want it to succeed — it being AEW — but because I freaking do and I would like to think that people are generally intelligent enough to see that," said Bischoff.

He believes that AEW fans dislike him because of his criticism of the product. The WWE Hall of Famer requested the loyal AEW fanbase to look into things more intently, explaining how they would likely enjoy AEW and their product even more than they do now.

"Wrestling is good guys and bad guys, and to those hardcore wrestling fans or AEW fans, I should say I'm a bad guy because I'm pointing out flaws and things that they probably don't see or don't care about because they don't look at things the same way I do," he stated. "They don't have the same experience that I do, so they're reacting to me and that's what wrestling is — it's drama, it's combative, it's divisive, it's good guys and bad guys, it's what it is. So I'm cool with it but I just hope that people listen a little more because I think the more you know and understand, even if you don't agree, it'll help you look at things a little differently and perhaps enjoy the product even more."

Bischoff, despite his criticism of AEW, was impressed by the show they put on at All In recently, praising the latter half of the pay-per-view.