Eric Bischoff has claimed that AEW has proven that giving talent complete freedom with promos doesn’t guarantee success.
One of the biggest debates between fans, former stars and seemingly anyone who has ever been involved with professional wrestling is the issue of creative freedom.
While a number of fans and former stars believe that wrestlers should have more freedom when cutting promos, in WWE promos are known to be heavily scripted and structured.
At the other end of the spectrum, in AEW it is often said that performers are free to cut their promos as they see fit, and don’t work with any kind of script.
Speaking on his Strictly Business podcast, Eric Bischoff weighed in on the debate. The WWE Hall of Famer has been heavily critical of AEW’s methods, while also criticising WWE’s overly structured approach. With regard to AEW, Bischoff has claimed that they have proved that giving talent free reign over their promos doesn’t work.
“I f**king cannot stand watching 80% of the interviews that I’m forced to sit through if I want to sit and watch the show,” Bischoff said. “AEW is no different. In fact, I’ve seen some horrible, horrible sh*t on AEW. So the idea that they have the freedom and the talents involved like that’s somehow gonna guarantee or ensure quality, well, that sh*t went out the window a long time ago because I’ve seen promos on AEW that I would never allow on a television show, ever.
I haven’t seen a good promo in AEW that creates emotion or advances a story. It’s just words. There’s no connection to the character or the audience, and just a waste of time. So God, please, give me somebody that’s figured out a way to shoot promos that matter or just don’t shoot ones that don’t; I’ll take that.”
The former WCW President quickly attempted to clarify these statements by explaining that while there have been some good promos in the company, they have been in the minority. He added that it’s important to recognise when things just don’t work.
“But I’ve seen some horsesh*t,” Bischoff said. “If you don’t recognize horsesh*t and you just keep stepping in it because you don’t want to admit that it’s horsesh*t, you’re walking around dragging that horsesh*t everywhere you go.”
On the July 27th edition of Dynamite a promo from Jungle Boy made headlines as the former Tag Team Champion took aim at heated rival Christian Cage. Jungle Boy zeroed in on Cage’s divorce before mocking the size of his genitalia.
H/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.