Eric Bischoff has shared his thoughts on the departure of The New Day from WWE, arguing that the situation was ultimately unavoidable from a business perspective under the TKO Group Holdings structure.
Speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff addressed the exits of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods after reports surfaced regarding pay cut requests and contract renegotiation discussions.
Eric Bischoff on New Day WWE departure
Bischoff stated he was not surprised by the outcome and suggested the group’s run had naturally reached its conclusion.
“Nope. For all the reasons you just stated. I agree with everything that you just said, which is probably the reason why their time was essentially up. It had played itself out.”
He also pushed back against criticism aimed at WWE for moving on from longtime talent despite their loyalty to the company.
“The wrestling community audience can virtue signal their asses off. Oh my gosh, they’ve been with the company forever. They were so loyal. And I’m not discounting any of that, by the way, because all of it is true, but none of it guarantees you a job for life.”
Bischoff then discussed what he believes is a larger financial issue involving tag team wrestling under TKO’s corporate structure.
According to him, tag teams present a more difficult financial equation because promotions are effectively paying double the labor cost for one division.
“So if you’re going to commit to a tag team now, you’re committing to twice the labor costs for talent just to have a tag team division. From a mathematical point of view, it doesn’t work.”
While acknowledging that tag team wrestling still appeals to a portion of the audience, Bischoff questioned whether that audience is large enough to justify the expense from a corporate perspective.
“And the more TKO looks at the WWE as a property, the more you’re going to see those kinds of changes.”
Bischoff also addressed locker room morale following the reports of pay cut requests.
He suggested reactions likely vary among wrestlers, with some upset, others indifferent, and some simply viewing it as part of the business.
“Nobody’s putting a gun to anybody’s head to stay there.”
Finally, Bischoff acknowledged that renegotiating contracts signed only a year ago creates difficult optics, but he defended the business reasoning behind the move.
“I don’t think any business, especially a publicly held company, the scope and size of TKO, operates on a month-to-month or year-to-year basis.”
He added that WWE and TKO were likely evaluating long-term financial projections when making decisions regarding roster expenses and talent agreements.
Eric Bischoff Explains Why New Day’s WWE Exit Was “Inevitable”
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