Eric Bischoff discusses AEW All In.
On August 27, AEW will make their debut in the United Kingdom with AEW All In at Wembley Stadium. Over 80,000 tickets have already been distributed, so the event is set to be a historic one, both for AEW and wrestling itself. However, ahead of the show, the company has been hit with some negative buzz. AEW World Tag Team Champion Cash Wheeler was arrested on August 18, while the "real" AEW World Champion CM Punk has sparked some headlines following his interactions with Ryan Nemeth and Jack Perry, as well as a post-show promo about Hangman Page.
Speaking on Strictly Business, Bischoff shared his thoughts on Cash Wheeler's arrest, the latest controversies surrounding CM Punk, and other obstacles the company has faced recently. He emphasized that the success of AEW All In should galvanize the roster, as they should be celebrating, rather than tearing each other apart.
“What a fucking mess, and all [of] it going into what should be one of the most exciting, I mean, if anything is going to galvanize your team, your roster, your company, your employees, your staff, if anything is going to galvanize them, it’s a moment like they’re about to experience in Wembley. My god, they sold over 80,000 tickets. There is so much to be proud of and grateful for. But rather than being proud of it and grateful for it and coming together despite people’s differences and their personal juvenile bullshit, they’re tearing each other apart, and they’re doing it in such a public fashion that it’s hurting the brand, it’s hurting the company," Bischoff said.
The legend then described how he defended AEW on social media, as some fans complained that the company hadn't announced enough for AEW All In, or they were frustrated with the lack of a build. Bischoff made it clear that AEW's strategy was working, as they had sold plenty of tickets without announcing anything.
"What makes it worse, last night, I found myself defending AEW on social media. Because everybody’s bitching, ‘Oh, we don’t know what the card is, there hasn’t been enough build.’ Typical Internet whiny bullshit. I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wait, they sold 80,000 tickets.’ It’s a strategy that’s working.’ You and I talked about it early on, before Punk ever officially made his way back, and the subject of Wembley came up. I said, ‘Don’t announce Punk. Don’t announce anybody. Don’t build this event around any one or more people. Build it around the brand. AEW is coming to Wembley. That’s what will pay dividends.’ Guess what? Not that anybody was listening to you or I on this podcast, I’m not suggesting that. But that’s what they did, and it worked," Bischoff said.
Bischoff then highlighted how Vince McMahon changed the game with WWE, and how he aimed to do something different during his days with WCW. He described how the AEW brand is responsible for the record ticket sales, not any specific wrestler. Bischoff encouraged fans to wait and see how the show turns out, instead of criticizing it in advance.
“The reason I’m saying all this and giving this context is, and the reason that I’m defending that they didn’t promote the show, they didn’t promote matches, is because it’s the brand that sold 80,000 tickets. It’s not CM Punk. It’s not Chris Jericho. It’s not any of the former WWE talent. People are buying tickets hoping to see them, but it’s the AEW brand that sold those tickets. 80,000 of them, by the way, or more. I think that is an amazing accomplishment. I think yes, it’s different. I understand that the audience is used to seeing more build, I get that. But the audience isn’t used to seeing 80,000 people in an arena. What I would love for people to do is just wait and see. Wait and see how this event comes off before you decide it was done improperly. I know that sounds weird because anybody that’s listening to me knows I am not shy about being critical of things that I believe are true, based on experience. Not my gut feeling, not my instinct. My experience. The good experiences and the bad. It gives me a unique perspective, and I’m really hoping that audience will shut the fuck up and enjoy the show. If there’s a reason to be critical of that show afterwards, if it comes off like a glorified house show, I’m gonna be right there picking it apart. But why pick it apart before it even happens? Or pick it apart because Tony is doing something that is different than, which I believe in, different than the way it used to be done? If AEW goes out and produces a show, that event…AEW has an opportunity to have 80,000 stars of that show on television. The stars are gonna be the audience. That audience is gonna determine Joe successful the show is or isn’t. Not me spewing my bullshit. Certainly not the internet wrestling community. It’ll be the 80,000 people that bought a ticket and their reaction to that show that will determine whether that show’s a success, and we’re not gonna know until it’s over. But this certainly doesn’t help," Bischoff said.
Bischoff then noted that some fans responded to him online and noted that, having purchased tickets for AEW All in, they were upset that there wasn’t more of a build. He went on to discuss how the ticket sales for AEW All In have not been driven by television or storytelling. Instead, many fans want the opportunity to be part of something special with the show. Bischoff stated that, with AEW All In, the company has the chance to take a leap forward, but it could also be a step backwards.
“On average, 50,000 people watch AEW in the UK every week. They’ve sold 80,000 tickets for an audience of 50,000. Television isn’t driving this. Stories are not driving this. Those 80,000 tickets weren’t sold because they’re absolutely engaged in the AEW storytelling, which by the way, I think is almost nonexistent unless you want to really look at some of the things that are going on there and suggest that it’s actually a story. It isn’t, in my book, in terms of structure, discipline, and all the other things I’ve talked about too much already. People are buying a ticket to the event because it’s AEW, it’s brand-new, it’s an alternative, and they want to see for themselves what it is. That’s the reason they’re buying tickets, not because of any story, any angle. Yes, an aggregate of the talent that’s on the card, that’s obviously important. But they’re buying the ticket primarily because they want to be a part of something really big. If AEW as a whole is able to knock it out of the park, they have an opportunity to take a giant leap forward. They also have an opportunity to shit the bed in amazing way with 80,000 people. So I understand the pressure," Bischoff said with a laugh.
AEW has reportedly surpassed WrestleMania 32's record for ticket distribution. More information is available here.
Tony Schiavone recently described how AEW is facing a lot of pressure with AEW All In. Check out his comments here.
Check out the card for AEW All In here. Fightful will have coverage of the show as it airs.
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