WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to his 83 Weeks podcast, where he spoke about a variety of topics such as how top AEW Star Bryan Danielson has a real knack in the creative side of pro wrestling and how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon saw that side of Bryan and was interested in possibly having the former WWE Star be involved in the creative side of things during his time in the WWE.
Eric Bischoff said:
“I’ve watched his work, I’ve watched him in the ring. I’m very impressed with him. But what I’m most excited about, not so much as a performer. I think Bryan Danielson is knocking on the door of the end of his career. Just based on injuries, all of the above. But I don’t think that’s where his real value is, either. When I was working in WWE back in 2019, I hope I’m not speaking out of school here, but I know that Vince McMahon was very impressed with Bryan Danielson. His creative, his psychology. I know that there was some conversation, I don’t know how serious it was at the time. Vince mentioned to me that he was possibly interested in bringing in Bryan Danielson to be very involved in the creative side of things. Vince is a pretty bright guy. You can say whatever you want about him, but I think that that suggests that there was a lot of great potential there. I think if there’s anything that’s truly missing, that can move the needle in the right direction over the course of the next six or 12 months, it’s going to be creative. It’s not going to be anything else. I think if Bryan Danielson, or anybody else, but let’s talk about Bryan, if Vince’s instincts were accurate, and I don’t know why it didn’t work out, but I know there was interest there because I had the conversation with Vince myself. That suggests to me that Vince saw a lot in Bryan creatively.”
Eric Bischoff also spoke about how AEW CEO Tony Khan should let "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson run creative for AEW Collision.
Eric Bischoff said:
“I think that if potential exists, Bryan Danielson is three or four or five or ten times more valuable to Tony, writing, overseeing the creative of AEW, whether it’s just for Collision or ultimately all of the shows. Because that’s not Tony’s strength. It’s not. His creative, his booking, has not been, in the history of AEW, creative is not their strong suit. Have they had some great matches? But that’s not the same thing as great creative, is it? It’s just a great match. That is where the potential upside is, long-term for AEW. That’s the breath of fresh air, frankly, that AEW needs. If I were Tony, I’d give that Collision show to Bryan. Not just be my right-hand man and bounce ideas off. Give it to him. Say, ‘Here you go. Here’s your notepad, here’s your computer, here’s a pen. There’s an office. Call me when you got a show ready.”
You can check out Eric Bischoff's full comments at this link. H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes.
