Eric Bischoff says Bryan Danielson should have a bigger role in AEW creative.
AEW Collision premiered on June 17, and it centered around CM Punk. Punk clearly had an influence on the show behind the scenes as well. However, AEW fired CM Punk on September 2 following his involvement in a backstage confrontation with Jack Perry. Fightful Select subsequently reported that Bryan Danielson is expected to be an integral name on AEW Collision.
Speaking on 83 Weeks, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed CM Punk getting fired by AEW. In one highlight of the conversation, Bischoff was asked about the buzz that Danielson will be the new face of AEW Collision. Bischoff shared his belief that Danielson's true value comes with his mind for the business.
“I’ve watched his work, I’ve watched him in the ring. I’m very impressed with him. But what I’m most excited about, not so much as a performer. I think Bryan Danielson is knocking on the door of the end of his career. Just based on injuries, all of the above. But I don’t think that’s where his real value is, either. When I was working in WWE back in 2019, I hope I’m not speaking out of school here, but I know that Vince McMahon was very impressed with Bryan Danielson. His creative, his psychology. I know that there was some conversation, I don’t know how serious it was at the time. Vince mentioned to me that he was possibly interested in bringing in Bryan Danielson to be very involved in the creative side of things. Vince is a pretty bright guy. You can say whatever you want about him, but I think that that suggests that there was a lot of great potential there. I think if there’s anything that’s truly missing, that can move the needle in the right direction over the course of the next six or 12 months, it’s going to be creative. It’s not going to be anything else. I think if Bryan Danielson, or anybody else, but let’s talk about Bryan, if Vince’s instincts were accurate, and I don’t know why it didn’t work out, but I know there was interest there because I had the conversation with Vince myself. That suggests to me that Vince saw a lot in Bryan creatively," Bischoff said.
Bischoff continued by stating that Danielson could be very valuable to Tony Khan by potentially overseeing creative for AEW Collision. He noted that if he was Tony Khan, he would give Collision to Danielson and let him put the show together. Bischoff also shared his belief that creative has not been a strength for AEW up to this point.
"I think that if potential exists, Bryan Danielson is three or four or five or ten times more valuable to Tony, writing, overseeing the creative of AEW, whether it’s just for Collision or ultimately all of the shows. Because that’s not Tony’s strength. It’s not. His creative, his booking, has not been, in the history of AEW, creative is not their strong suit. Have they had some great matches? But that’s not the same thing as great creative, is it? It’s just a great match. That is where the potential upside is, long-term for AEW. That’s the breath of fresh air, frankly, that AEW needs. If I were Tony, I’d give that Collision show to Bryan. Not just be my right-hand man and bounce ideas off. Give it to him. Say, ‘Here you go. Here’s your notepad, here’s your computer, here’s a pen. There’s an office. Call me when you got a show ready,'" Bischoff said.
Bischoff continued by describing how Tony Khan could learn from Danielson's creative process. He also suggested that Danielson could prove himself and potentially earn the right to have a voice regarding the booking of AEW Dynamite. The legend emphasized that improving AEW creative is the major opportunity AEW has right now.
"Then go over it, go through it, and learn and understand and get an idea of a different kind of creative process or creative perspective than Tony currently has. Give that thing to Bryan. Let’s see what he can do. If he does what we all would hope he could do, and prove that there is a better way to approach creative, then bring him into Dynamite and let him have a voice there as well. Maybe not the voice, but a voice. Because it’s the creative that is the opportunity for Tony right now," he said.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Bischoff stated that Punk getting fired is an opportunity for AEW to move forward with a clean slate. Check out his comments here.
Bryan Danielson recently described how he believes it's important to step when one needs to. Click here to see what he had to say.
Click here to catch up on our coverage of the September 6 episode of AEW Dynamite.
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