Eric Bischoff Calls Tony Khan's AEW Press Conferences 'A Circle Jerk'

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The post-game media scrum has been a fixture in professional sports for decades, but it's a relatively new addition to the world of wrestling. Over the past few years, promotions like WWE, AEW, NJPW and others have adopted media scrums as a way to bolster media coverage, fan engagement, and lend an overall air of legitimacy to the contests. The scrums also serve as a means for wrestling companies to demonstrate a greater degree of transparency with the public.

One man who's not a fan of them — or at least not a fan of those executed by All Elite Wrestling — is former WCW Senior Vice President Eric Bischoff. Bischoff, who has long been critical of some of AEW owner Tony Khan's business practices, recently expanded on his distaste for AEW press conferences during an episode of his "Strictly Business" podcast.

"Calling it a press conference is — I think it's offensive," Bischoff said. "It's not a press conference. It's a circle jerk."

Bischoff implied that AEW's press conferences often exude an overly casual tone, with Khan's banter with talent seen by some as just "hanging out with friends."

Of course, one can't mention AEW media scrums without bringing up the infamous one following the conclusion of AEW All Out 2022, when Khan sat visibly stunned as CM Punk unleashed a barrage of frustrations toward his co-workers, primarily AEW EVPs Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson. The fallout from Punk's comments resulted in a highly-publicized backstage brawl, colloquially referred to as "Brawl Out," though details remain spotty as those who did witness the altercation have since been bound by confidentiality agreements. It was during that fiasco that CM Punk's friend, trainer and former AEW executive Ace Steel allegedly bit Kenny Omega.

Recording prior to the broadcast of Revolution, Bischoff quipped that the only thing that would make Revolution's post-show press conference newsworthy would be if someone took a bite out of Sting. Thankfully, however, all parties emerged from the scrum un-bitten.