AEW Rumors: Chris Jericho Accuses ‘NXT Reject’ Of Leaking Eric Bischoff’s Guest Appearance

On Saturday’s episode of his Saturday Night Special series on Facebook, Chris Jericho commented on Eric Bischoff’s recent appearance on Dynamite, where he moderated the debate segment between the former AEW World Champion and onscreen rival Orange Cassidy on the show’s August 5 episode. According to Jericho, his guest spot was leaked by someone who had apparently failed to make it on WWE’s third brand, NXT.

As quoted by Wrestling Inc., Jericho began his remarks about the supposed leaker by explaining that he believes the number of people who get their AEW news and rumors on social media pales in comparison to the number of fans who actually watch the promotion’s programming. He acknowledged, however, that there are some individuals who take to the internet and reveal inside information about the company’s plans.

“For example, when we had the debate and Eric Bischoff was announced on Reddit and we know the spy is, by the way. Oh, we know,” the veteran grappler continued. “He’ll never f*cking be back in AEW. NXT reject was a spy, so print that.”

Jericho then noted that backstage officials were initially torn as to whether they should announce Bischoff’s appearance or keep things a secret, in hopes that people would still watch even if they were already spoiled by the unnamed Reddit leaker. As he explained, the leak apparently didn’t matter that much when everything was said and done, based on how fans reacted to the guest spot.

“People were super surprised that Bischoff was there and it worked out great.”

Bischoff’s Dynamite appearance marked his first on TNT programming since he was an on-air authority figure for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 1990s and early 2000s. As reported by Comic Book, Bischoff asked Jericho and Cassidy a number of questions during the segment, most of which focused on their rivalry. He did, however, also ask about rising sea levels, prompting a lengthy response from Cassidy after he repeatedly refused to answer the other questions.

The advance report of Bischoff moderating the Jericho vs. Cassidy debate was not the only one this month that had first leaked on Reddit. Earlier this week, a Redditor who was supposedly present at an AEW television taping reported that former WWE superstar Erick Redbeard (formerly Erick Rowan, real name Joseph Ruud) would be making his debut for the company on the August 22 episode of Dynamite. However, these rumors were seemingly debunked by Dave Meltzer on this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.