On the latest edition of the Strictly Business podcast WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff spoke about AEW and NJPW’s upcoming joint-PPV, the Forbidden Door, which takes place from the Untied Center in Chicago next month.
While speaking about the marquee event Bischoff would discuss whether he thinks the AEW audience will grow by forming an alliance with NJPW. Highlights from the podcast can be found below.
Whether the Forbidden Door PPV will grow AEW’s casual audience:
“I don’t think so. What AEW has been doing and what, at least up until the last episode I watched about two weeks ago, is kind of internet wrestling community-centric. They’re booking for internet wrestling fans more than they’re booking for the casual audience and I would venture to guess, and it’s just a guess, but they’re satisfying an audience that they already have. And they’re doing a phenomenal job of doing that but how many people watch New Japan wrestling? How many people watch the New Japan product on a weekly basis [in the US]?”
While he doesn’t think AEW’s audience will grow he does think the show will be a great fit for wrestling fans:
“How is merging a television property that’s only getting 200,000 viewers a week with AEW, how is that going to increase or attract the casual viewer that AEW doesn’t have? I don’t know, doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea, I kind of dig the idea from a wrestling fan’s perspective, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan and have a lot of good memories and experiences working with New Japan. I love the Japanese style of wrestling but that doesn’t mean it’s going to grow an audience.”
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)