Eric Bischoff weighed in on the contractual situation involving Andrade, WWE, and AEW during his 83 Weeks podcast, questioning how Andrade appeared on AEW television while reportedly still under a WWE non-compete.
“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-competing 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 expressed surprise that AEW’s legal team would allow the appearance. “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 later continued, “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, froman AEW perspective, ”
He also speculated on whether Tony Khan would fight WWE over the non-compete. “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. ”
“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. ”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the full episode on Apple and Spotify.
