In pro wrestling, the magic of it all comes down to the visionaries who oversee it all. And for AEW and WWE, the two who took these companies to where they are today, AEW President Tony Khan and former WWE CEO and President Vince McMahon, respectively, have always had a passionate commitment to the industry. Former WCW Senior Vice President Eric Bischoff agrees that both Khan and McMahon are very similar in that regard.
“Yeah, I think Vince took pride in his passion for the product and expected everyone around him to be as passionate as he was,” Bischoff began. “83 Weeks” podcast. “I was under the impression that Vince wouldn’t understand if you work, particularly in WWE, and you don’t have a passion for the product. I think he would have a hard time understanding or even being willing to tolerate you being a part of the WWE…Tony probably has that nature. We know he has… based on anecdotal information. Although he compared the two in terms of how they view the industry in a similar way, Bischoff acknowledged that there are stark differences between them, but didn’t elaborate on how.
After five decades of professional wrestling, McMahon stepped down and left his empire in 2024 after his former employee Janelle Grant filed sexual harassment and trafficking allegations against him. Their civil suit was moved to private arbitration in June.
As for Khan, his empire continues to grow as he recently expressed his warm wishes powered by Skydance. It remains to be seen what will happen to AEW’s content once his media deal goes through expires sometime in early 2028.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “83 weeks with Eric Bischoff” and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for transcription.