Eric Bischoff has weighed in on the growing discussion surrounding Andrade’s contract situation involving WWE and AEW. During his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff questioned how Andrade managed to appear on AEW television while reportedly still under a WWE non-compete clause.

“I’ve been on the other, I’ve been on both sides of it. …every jurisdiction is different. …for example, good luck enforcing a non-compete in California. Good luck, Florida. Good luck, Alabama. Try to force that shit. …it really comes down to do you have the money and the time to challenge it? If you do, you’ll probably win. You’ll burn a bridge in the process, and you’ll blow probably 150 to 250 grand in the process… Most people aren’t willing to fight it. They’ll just ride it out, but it’ll get challenged eventually.”

Bischoff admitted that he found it surprising AEW’s legal team allowed the situation to unfold. “How did he end up on TV, if he was under contract and had a non-compete from the AEW side? How does that even happen? …I mean, I can understand Andrade not necessarily being fluent in contract language, right? …I can understand how the talent might have gotten confused. …you still have the AEW side. I mean, they’ve got a responsibility to vet this, knowing that he was previously under contract, and knowing that previously, WWE was very strict about their noncompetes. That’s the part that makes me go, how the hell did that happen?”

He went on to stress the potential legal implications of the situation. “Yeah, there’s tortious interference, there’s all kinds of perpetual shift that actually costs, you know, three times more. …So it is a serious issue, and one that is surprising to be, to be honest, from an AEW perspective.”

Bischoff also speculated on whether AEW owner Tony Khan would be willing to fight WWE in court over the matter. “I think, in addition to the money…he’s gonna have to sit through depositions and discovery. Tony Khan does not want to sit through discovery or depositions. It’s even if you can afford it, it’s a time suck. …I just can’t imagine it would be worth it to him. …This is not a guy that you’re going to spend half a million dollars in legal fees fighting for.”

He closed by suggesting that any potential legal battle could reshape the wrestling business. “You know what? I would be fascinated by that. …it would end up creating a precedent. It would end up changing the way the business operates, potentially or potentially Tony get his ass kicked, to just walk away with an empty basket of an empty fruit basket. …I’ll be watching it closely, because it’ll be very impactful.”