Eric Bischoff Says AEW “Set Themselves Up” For Ratings Dip

Written by Lyle Kilbane • Published 18th October 2022
Eric Bischoff

WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff has claimed that AEW has “set themselves up” for recent low ratings for some of their programming.

Eric Bischoff was the man in charge of World Championship Wrestling throughout much of the nineties. Under Bischoff’s leadership, the New World Order changed the wrestling landscape and Goldberg became a phenomenon that has lasted decades later.

Also under Eric Bischoff’s management, WCW never shied away from taking pot shots at WWE. Whether it was giving away Raw results, Tony Schiavone being told to spoil Mick Foley’s WWE Title win, or Bischoff challenging Vince McMahon to a match on pay-per-view, WCW was never scared to take a jab at their competition.

Now on social media, Eric Bischoff thinks he knows why AEW recently saw a dip in Dynamite ratings for their show in Philadelphia. Tony Khan had told talent that attendance at the show was optional due to the chaos caused by Hurricane Ian, but Bischoff thinks the slight fall in ratings to 990,000 viewers from the previous week’s 1,039,000 is all down to something else – taking jabs at their competition:

“When AEW set itself up as a “competitor” to WWE, they set themselves up for this. Rather than embrace the underdog/baby face role, they took cheap shots from the sidelines without the balls to get in the fight. #selfinflicted”