Eric Bischoff Says "There Is A Lot Of Risk" To Pro Wrestling Unionizing

On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff discussed pro-wrestling possibly unionizing:

“There is a lot of risk. I can understand the tendency for people to get excited about this because they think it will benefit their lives, and in some ways, as a young talent, maybe it will. This is not just WWE. If this issue becomes a big issue, which I think it will, it’s going to radically change the business of the wrestling business, particularly in WWE because they’ve been around a lot longer. As a young talent or even a seasoned talent who doesn’t understand the potential ramifications, there are always unintended consequences in any big decision or change that sometimes people don’t anticipate. I can understand why it sounds great. Man, if we were union I would get this and I would get that. All those things are true in regards to health insurance. But what does it do to the revenue model to WWE or AEW or any other televised wrestling company? It’s going to dramatically change the way people are paid. It may not benefit talent as much as they think it will. There is a lot of value in being an independent contractor. There are some downsides. I’ve been an independent contractor almost my entire adult life with some brief exceptions.

There is a risk when you’re an independent contractor but there are also limitations when you are an employee or if you are in a union. If I was a talent, be careful what you wish for. Do your homework. Think about how you are going to be affected if the way the WWE model pays their talent becomes altered. Right now, the strength of WWE is their core business model and the fact that their expenses, and talent being one of the largest, was so directly tied to the company’s performance from a revenue point of view.

If all of a sudden unionization becomes a real thing, or even if WWE is challenged in court by the likes of Andrew Yang and has to defend their independent contract status for their talent, there is a really good chance in today’s political environment that it’s not going to come out well for WWE. I’m sure WWE has a lot of employment attorneys that specialize in these issues that maybe have a lot of information I don’t have. But, on the surface, it’s a big deal if it is challenged. If I was a talent in WWE, I would not want to become an employee and I would want to stay an independent contractor. That’s me personally.”

Thanks to WrestlingNews.co for transcription.