Eric Bischoff says the subtle messaging from WWE to AEW stars who may be in line for negotiation soon shines through in the treatment of Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill.
Cody Rhodes founded AEW and when he returned to WWE in 2022, he was given a top spot at WrestleMania 38 and the headline spot by WrestleMania 39. Jade Cargill was one of the first AEW homegrown talents and recently made her WWE programming debut on the WWE Fastlane kickoff.
Eric Bischoff, on the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, tells Conrad Thompson that WWE's red carpet treatment for both of these individuals sends the subtle message to anyone currently in AEW that going to the WWE takes your career to the next level.
"The subtle message, whether it's intentional or not, is: 'Going to WWE is a step up. Going to AEW is a step down.' It just is what it is," Bischoff said. "First of all, who does that message land on the most? Who is most affected by that message in AEW? Guys like MJF. Not everybody that's in AEW has the potential of ever seeing me inside of a WWE arena unless they buy a ticket to go watch."
After being called out for his harsh statement by Conrad Thompson, Bischoff named some AEW stars that he believes could be a benefit to WWE someday.
"Some. MJF being one of them. There are probably others. Sammy Guevara, perhaps. Ricky Starks, perhaps. There may be others, but of the 178 people on that roster, you're talking about a handful of people that really had the potential of going there," Eric said. "Many of them have already been there and spent decades of their career there, so it just is what it is. May hurt to hear it for some people, but nonetheless, it's true. That's the message that matters the most. So when a Ricky Starks, or an MJF, when their deals are coming up and they look at what happened to Cody, they look at what happened with Jade, assuming it goes well, I'm pretty sure it will, that's when the message matters. The rest of it doesn't. To so many of the talent [in AEW], it really won't matter because they're not going to be in that position. The people who are or will be, or who think they will be, are going to hear that message loud and clear."
MJF has often talked about the bidding war of 2024 and the possibility that he may go to WWE, but right now as AEW World Champion, he's probably the quarterback of AEW and is not afraid to call himself out on dropping the ball occasionally.
Fans can read Triple H's comments on Jade Cargill coming to WWE at this link.
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