Eric Bischoff recently expressed his thoughts on the controversial anti-Semitic promo that took place on AEW Dynamite, in which Juice Robinson mentioned having a roll of quarters with MJF’s name on it. The angle has faced criticism, particularly for its timing during the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
MJF, who is Jewish, has previously discussed in the past how quarters were thrown at him because of his faith and has since addressed the situation on Twitter, expressing his willingness to engage in meaningful conversations and further education.
Sharing that he holds a high regard for MJF both as a talent and a professional and appreciates MJF’s ability to generate heat and deliver compelling promos, Bischoff said,
“Yeah. I’m going to make a couple of disclaimers here. Number one. I think very highly of MJF. I don’t know him as a person, but the limited time I’ve spent with him in person and the interactions I continue to have with him, direct mail or texts, I think very highly of him. MJF, I think the world of him as a talent. I don’t know him well enough as a person, but I think of him as a talent. We’re just seeing the surface or the tip of the iceberg of what MJF can be as a talent. I love watching him. I love listening to his promos. I love the fact that he embraces heat. There are so many things that I really, truly respect and admire about MJF as a professional.”
Bischoff recognized that MJF is young and relatively inexperienced in the television business, highlighting that the situation reflects a lack of judgment, particularly on Tony Khan’s part.
“But MJF is young. MJF has never been in the television business. And while I understand and I read this — I read what MJF posted, and I encourage everybody to do so because it’s his perspective. But there’s judgment involved. And I think about the judgment, to showcase that angle. While what is going on, which is unprecedented by the way, we’ve never seen, in real-time, images — I’m not even going to mention them here, we all know what they are. This has never happened. And the judgment to use antisemitism as the premise for a story under these circumstances reflects a lack of judgment, both on MJF’s part [but] more importantly, on Tony Khan’s part.”
Bischoff then expressed disappointment and frustration with the use of antisemitism as a storyline premise while real-time images of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were unfolding. He emphasized that intentions alone are insufficient, and good judgment should have been exercised in this situation.
“I cannot — it’s part of the reason I’m half pissed off. You know what, I should be kind of celebrating in a way. Not because NXT won and AEW lost, I really am not invested in that. I am invested in business of the wrestling business, I feel like I have a perspective on it, and the perspective that I had manifested as closely as it did to my prediction? Sure, that’s fun, it feels good. But I’m genuinely disappointed and angry. And I think disappointed is a better word, I’m not angry. But the lack of judgment on Tony Khan’s part. Because he’s the boss, it’s his sandbox, it’s his sand. It’s his toys in the sandbox. And he’s the head of creative, the president, the chairman of the board, whatever the f**k he is. To allow that while in real-time, images that are as barbaric as anything I could have ever imagined seeing on television. And then use that? Antisemitism is a premise for an angle?”
Bischoff also questioned the network executive at Warner Bros. Discovery responsible for overseeing AEW and allowing such an angle to take place, indicating that it has affected his interest in the AEW product.
“And look; MJF, I get it, man. And if you want to talk, I — probably won’t want to talk after listening to this but. Just the judgment is wrong. I get the motivation, I understand. I think I understand. I can’t possibly understand it because I didn’t live through it. But I understand and can relate to the intent. But intentions aren’t enough. Judgment has to factor in. And I’m shocked. And if there’s a network executive at Warner Brothers Discovery whose job it is to oversee AEW, who allowed that to happen. Whew. I’m out. I have no interest in the product. It’s just; I don’t get it. I really don’t get it.”
(h/t 411mania)