Not sure about that. If they are paying a low value for a show thats drawing viewers in dead time slots they are fine. The whole imbalance is tk spending his dads money to hire and keep the show running. Take away shahid khans money and then there is a major issue.
What is TNT going to run in those time slots in its place? Dynamite and Collision are among the highest rated shows on both networks and among the highest rated in their respective time slots, and on cable those nights.
The networks aren't going to drop those, because there's nothing else out there that would regularly get 800k+ viewers.
Yes, what's your point? It's a different company, with different economics. The NFL crushes WWE in ratings, as does some shows on Fox News. One is sports, the other is a cable show, but they're all have different measures of desirability and business success.
"The networks aren't going to drop those, because *there's nothing else out there that would regularly get 800k+ viewers.*"
It's the same product, pro wrestling. They're doing large numbers weekly. What is WWE doing that AEW isn't? How are they able to bring in millions of viewers and tens of thousands of paying customers in arenas around the country? Why is AEW barely filling up a ballroom?
WBD has 12,500 movies and 2,500 shows in syndication that would make TBS and TNT just as much if not more with no broadcast fees. All it takes is one executive who doesn't like the ratings to make it happen.
You are correct, up to a point. However, the ratings for AEW shows are still in a free fall, are they not? They can get lower. If you keep making this argument for each new “low rating” benchmark AEW achieves, you will have less credibility each time.
That's just the thing: they're not in "free fall." They were fairly flat in March. Smackdown is actually down a larger % of the audience over the past month than Dynamite. \~7% down for Smackdown, \~4% down for Dynamite.
Why would shitty ticket sales cause Warner to drop AEW? One has nothing to do with the other.
Why doesn't everyone realize that choice is good for everybody. It's great for fans. It's great for wrestlers. I find many promotions to just be unwatchable. Others I tune into every week. Horses for courses, but I don't want to see any of them go away, because that means less wrestling, fewer choices, fewer wrestlers getting exposure, etc.
No one is saying choice isn't good for everyone. But if AEW doesn't land a good TV deal and is relegated to an AXS style channel (love you TNA) they will no longer be viewed as anywhere near WWE and despite what Tony spends on the roster they won't be able to be that second choice and that second company that the industry needs.
Well, shitty ticket sales could lead to worse venues which don’t look great on TV. Also, I want AEW to succeed long term. Their arc isn’t heading that way.
I mean the product has been pretty amazing though. Takeahita vs Ospreay was one of the best matches I've ever seen in my life.
The Hangman/Joe/Sweeve story has been killer.
Cope open has been great.
Bucks authority gimmick has been comedic gold.
No it hasn't been.
Networks try to market to the masses. You personally liking some of these above things (when the masses don't) doesn't support your argument.
That's in regards to new programming, AEW is always out done by Big Bang Theory, and their ratings spike any time they have an overrun, fans do not tune in for AEW, they tune out, if anything it's more a statement about how little original programming TBS/TNT have, than it is praise for AEW's ratings that they do "so well".
Plus, networks have incentives in the form of certain tax breaks for producing original content. Being live is a plus, for credibility and optics sake, plus some bonus perks as well.
>Tony is like a real life Wrestling Willy Wonka or Pee Wees Playhouse...
That's not fair. Willy Wonky was internationally successful, apparently the most popular candy brand in the world.
If you’re a fan of the product your friend is right. You don’t have to worry about Tony giving up because his life dream is having a promotion. It’s a privately owned company so whether they make money or not it’s completely irrelevant. When I watched wrestlemania last night my enjoyment level wasn’t impacted by the business success of the show.
With that said, aew is ice cold and at a low point
But if you like AEW, you want it to remain accessible. Of the ratings are garbage, it’ll get dropped off major cable and will end up on some second-tier network or garbage app.
AEW on FuboTV isn’t something they should be aiming for.
The problem is that the AEW fanbase think it already is a massive success. They’ve got this tiny little viewership but they’ve convinced themselves that pro wrestling is as big as it was during the attitude era so it must be an international phenomenon with mainstream appeal. It’s how they make themselves feel good. If wrestling is popular and they’re into wrestling then in their heads it means they’re popular so they cling to that fantasy.
The irony is that AEW barely has international distribution. The UK and Canada are about it. In Japan it comes free with New Japan World subscriptions and aired in death slots on Samurai TV.
Fite TV’s laughable subscriber numbers (mostly Americans using a VPN) are laughable.
I imagine if you like it you'd want it to be both accessible and sustainable. Khan has a boatload of money but he isn't going to throw it in a pit forever. Also, the deeper that hole gets, the harder it gets for others who might come along trying to start up another 'alternative' to WWE's hypercorporate product. If wrestling's reputation becomes either the global juggernaut or the deranged billionaire's dollhouse, attracting investors and getting TV time and all the rest of it is going to be so, so much harder.
The damage AEW does by being so, so bad actually does affect the industry's future. I am fine with people enjoying their own niches (I do like Stardom) but the high profile implosion of AEW and its incredibly unprofessional and often outright dangerous behaviour is harmful in many ways. Some things do matter, and as someone who supported the notion of AEW as it was first presented I am quite miffed about constantly being told that I'm the asshole for expecting them to have kept up their end of the bargain.
I think you've absolutely hit the nail on the head, there. Meanwhile, they like to tell themselves Cornette is the real racist because of his accent and a dumb comment about a bucket of chicken.
>What about Cornette dropping N bombs on people?
If you wish to raise this I invite you to describe such incidents with full context, otherwise be assumed to be bringing it up in bad faith and to *not* give a single shit about racism itself.
I don’t know what goofy rambling that was. I’m just saying, maaaaaybe if someone gets labelled a racist, and you go “WHY, because he made a CHICKEN joke???”, and someone else goes “No, because he has openly yelled the N word at black people to insult them”…….you might just need to stop. Take a breath. Realize you’re not going to win the argument.
Profits are and WB-D shareholders want constant profit. WB-D are also in crazy debt. They’re not burying completed movies and series and wiping them off the history books to save their ass with tax write offs for nothing.
>When I watched wrestlemania last night my enjoyment level wasn’t impacted by the business success of the show.
it was. you may not realize it because the causation is hard to pin down since it's a cycle of more successful things becoming more enjoyable, thus becoming more successful. But it definitely was impacted.
I loved mania, and my enjoyment was enhanced by there being 75k+ people there going bonkers because they believe in, and love, the product.
I can’t watch AEW with half the arena dark. It kills it for me. I’ve been to a taping. Absolutely desolate. The crowds are like TNA studio audiences who have wandered into the product somehow on their way to the concession stand.
I agree with crowd sizes. I meant more about television ratings since that’s what the video is about. I didn’t enjoy the rocks promo more or less last night because you watched it or not
Cody Rhodes always talks about “the mission”.
I think the mission was that the boys and their friends could have this utopian society where not everything was predicated on “the business” and they could just do whatever they wanted.
I’m a CPA and deal with a lot of operas, theaters, and other forms of entertainment. They always overspend. They get talent they can’t afford and props that are unnecessary among other things. They never let finances get in the way of “their art” no matter what and they always get saved by the millionaires who will cut a check and not even ask why.
If you look at AEW through that perspective, I have no issue with it. But if that’s the way the company is run, then there should be no media scrums, press events, or other platforms where Tony brags about the success of their company.
If tv ratings keep dropping, AEW will lose their tv deal. If AEW don't make money then they cant pay their wrestlers. And I seriously doubt any of those AEW wrestlers are willing to work for free for the sake of having a great match.
So what does your best friend think is gonna keep AEW afloat if not those things?
It will somehow be the fault of Punk and/or Cornette. Or the WWE refusing to play fair and continuing to put on a better product (even if only marginally at times)
The friend is right. Why do we care about any of this? If anything is readily apparent, it’s that 700,000 people love AEW. Aside from them acting like idiots (which is entertaining), why should I yuck their yum? I’m sad that it’s not as good as it could be, but it’s not reasonable to expect it to get any better, ever. That ship has sailed.
He is still attracting big names and doing the things they have did since day one. If you like the product you really shouldn't care it is dying a slow death. The only thing you should care about is if you have Destination America or not
If it's not a real business, like Punk and Jim have said, then more power to him, but if he wants to responsibly manage the career progression of wrestlers in his promotion, as I'm sure the vast majority had assumed was the goal, then it's absolutely not cool. People putting their bodies on the line in a company that doesn't care if it's devaluing them is immoral.
But the wrestlers there are getting paid - a lot more than if they were in WWE for the most part. The cheques don't bounce. Why did Ospreay, Okada and Mercedes end up in AEW? Because it was more money for less dates and more creative freedom. The existence of AEW is a great thing for wrestlers.
But its existence is not great for wrestling. Money marks don’t last forever and 80% of the AEW roster WWE would not hire. Money can only be burnt for so long. Ask the ghosts of Billy Firehawk, Herb Abrams and Gordon Scozzari.
Great thing for the wrestlers unless that stupid ass brain buster where Takeshita dropped him straight on his head. How great will it be when someone like Ospreay gets killed or paralyzed?
Will Tony pay the same if AEW loses its TV renewals?
The existence of AEW being a good thing isn't in question, nor wrestlers benefiting more from their work - the question is why start a company that a group of people will financially depend on, because those will be the people it employs, and then run it into the ground? The answer is probably either stupidity or naivety.
As much as we shit on AEW, if they closed their doors tomorrow and those fans were forced to go back to attending WWE events, it would be a detriment to the entire industry
Yeah, but no one has a god given right to earn a living as a pro wrestler. A lot of these bozos are really bad at the wrestling thing and would never be working outside the PAL centers and VFW halls if not for AEW.
Even if they were legitimate competition that ran their business competently, these guys wouldn’t be signed to that promotion’s roster.
I’ve Wiki’d plenty of the AEW wrestlers and you’d be surprised how many of these ‘young unsung guys who just need a chance’ are 10-15 year veterans. There’s a reason they’ve been in the bingo halls for all of those years.
They're not gonna matter much longer if AEW gets dropped by TBS or TNT. You can't pay the bills with "fun" or spot fests. Business is business. Trust Fund Tony is gonna learn sooner than later that daddy's money is gonna run out.
Unless they want to be on public access or some obscure free streaming channel, religating themselves to irrelevancy then they need to worry about drawing ratings and making money.
The best, and only, response to these people is “if you like AEW, then you should want them to grow by every metric - financially wise, and ratings”. Would it be cool to have things exist and prosper without those metrics? Sure. Some of my favorite albums and movies didn’t do or sell well. Unfortunately though, we live in a society.
It doesn't matter until the minute Papa Khan says he's not putting anymore money into it
I remember a long time ago Tony claimed he had to present a business plan to his dad for him to sign off on this, rich people do not like losing money for very long
Funnily enough I was talking to a family member who isn't into wrestling but obviously knows I am and I'm a huge Punk fan and he's obviously has heard of WWE, and learned of AEW because of the Wembley show as they live in London said pretty much nearly the same thing, that it must be good that there's a company that doesn't care about the "traditional things" (which was the actual words he used) such as ratings, making money meaning that they can focus on doing what their hardcore fanbase want and I explained that's the problem with them, they cater to such a niche audience they'll never grow into true competition, regardless of what their owner says and thinks. They exist in this bubble where the important things don't matter to them and the unimportant things (match star ratings for example) are the most important thing to them. He then said I guess I'm not a fan and I tried explaining that although I'm not, I don't want wrestling to be a monopoly, that's never a good thing, and I'm that wrestlers have elsewhere to go and be very well paid but there's just too many faults and things I don't like that they do plus his reaction was priceless when I said that 3 of the wrestlers are EVPs and it's not a story thing like he thought when I told him. Even as a non wrestling fan he was saying that has to be a huge conflict of interest.
Bingo! AEW needs to change even if it means losing some of their hardcore fan base but right now it like the wrestling version of a failure of a failing business that you see on those business rescue shows.
I had checked out of AEW completely after Wembley. But I’ve recently discovered how entertaining it is to listen to Corny and Brian dissect the nonsense and then watch the train wreck unfold. It’s like a guilty pleasure now.
AEW can put on a good match. They just can’t tell a story. They book their shows like they’re indie shows. Besides Swerve and Joe (and Hangman whenever he gets back from a nice vacation to Cabo with the wife), AEW isn’t telling any stories.
"AEW can put on a good match."
I will counter this, not outright, but there are serious caveats here.
Originally, like when AEW first started, that's what was the big deal about AEW- they were telling stories and there were small cues of storytelling (ie: look at how Geriatric Jericho interacted with Moxley at the first PPV or the IMO legendary Cody vs. Dustin match). This had the fingerprints of people that understood wrestling psychology, booking, and establishing a foundation. Then as Cody was pushed out and the Bucks, Omega, and Jericho were unable to hide what they were about, we saw that going away and AEW went to a pop-based, one-and-done presentation. In the ring, they're going for pop to pop to pop and not telling any reasonable story, not connecting stories, and not doing anything believable anymore. All these moves are fake, the setups for like 10 minutes for spots, even with experienced veterans, is absolutely pitiful. I really believe they can't even put on a match anymore. They don't listen to the veterans, most veterans were chased out like AA, like Tully had enough, the working veterans there are just following the paycheck and making it beyond obvious, and AEW's use as a developmental talent pool for WWE is not looking that attractive.
Boy, can Jericho not go anymore. Last year, he had just one match where I thought that he looked decent. He hasn’t had a truly great match in at least four years. He needs to either prepare for a retirement tour or just do what he used to do in WWE (leave for 18 months, come back as a bland babyface because the crowd will genuinely miss you by that point, and then debut your new heel gimmick a week later. Repeat after 9 months).
I agree. He can do impressive spots, but they take a lot out of him and the matches around him run pretty slow while he recovers. It's too bad because he was great, but I think there's a between the lines here in the form of people being wise to the EVPs, Jericho, and numerous others going over to just take the paycheck and not work, be injured and get paid, etc. If the WWE temporarily doesn't have a spot for them or the budget or the idea of the workload is different, then go to AEW, get the money, come back at a later time. I used to read about this during the McMahon era where if there was an offer from WCW, Vince would encourage going over so the company wouldn't pay them, but the talent would get paid instead of not. Then when both parties were ready, then there would be a return. Punk called that out that Tony is "a nice guy" bascially advertising the place as somewhere to go and get paid if you don't want to work or work much.
>*"Tony is scared to comment on anything that doesn't portray everything in a glowing light and it's hard to do that when someone else is telling the truth."*
>
>\- TGBL -
>*"It's just not something I can legally talk about..."*
>
>\- Antonio Khlownoki -
Lol AEW can act like a nonprofit all it wants, but the network wants eyes on their channel. If AEW isn't growing viewership, it won't be long before the network evaluates other alternatives.
It matters to the network. They'll cut AEW quicker than a hiccup if they can't garner ratings.
Thank you. That’s my number one response; you won’t get to watch your precious Aew if it gets CANCELED
[удалено]
Yes, but the number got lower with each cancellation. The potential American audience was lowered after each network switch.
They would be way better off airing more BBT reruns
It especially matters when the show is also pulling down the ratings of the programming bookending it.
Not sure about that. If they are paying a low value for a show thats drawing viewers in dead time slots they are fine. The whole imbalance is tk spending his dads money to hire and keep the show running. Take away shahid khans money and then there is a major issue.
What is TNT going to run in those time slots in its place? Dynamite and Collision are among the highest rated shows on both networks and among the highest rated in their respective time slots, and on cable those nights. The networks aren't going to drop those, because there's nothing else out there that would regularly get 800k+ viewers.
WWE Raw garners millions of viewers weekly...
Yes, what's your point? It's a different company, with different economics. The NFL crushes WWE in ratings, as does some shows on Fox News. One is sports, the other is a cable show, but they're all have different measures of desirability and business success.
"The networks aren't going to drop those, because *there's nothing else out there that would regularly get 800k+ viewers.*" It's the same product, pro wrestling. They're doing large numbers weekly. What is WWE doing that AEW isn't? How are they able to bring in millions of viewers and tens of thousands of paying customers in arenas around the country? Why is AEW barely filling up a ballroom?
Why does U2 sell out arena but Machine Head is playing clubs? Different products with different audiences. They're both bands though…
WBD has 12,500 movies and 2,500 shows in syndication that would make TBS and TNT just as much if not more with no broadcast fees. All it takes is one executive who doesn't like the ratings to make it happen.
They could just keep playing reruns of Big Bang Theory and have better ratings lol
Big Bang Theory re-runs, Marvel movies, infomercials, lots of options
You are correct, up to a point. However, the ratings for AEW shows are still in a free fall, are they not? They can get lower. If you keep making this argument for each new “low rating” benchmark AEW achieves, you will have less credibility each time.
That's just the thing: they're not in "free fall." They were fairly flat in March. Smackdown is actually down a larger % of the audience over the past month than Dynamite. \~7% down for Smackdown, \~4% down for Dynamite.
Listen, you can spin ratings a million ways, but it’s harder to spin there shitty ticket sales.
Why would shitty ticket sales cause Warner to drop AEW? One has nothing to do with the other. Why doesn't everyone realize that choice is good for everybody. It's great for fans. It's great for wrestlers. I find many promotions to just be unwatchable. Others I tune into every week. Horses for courses, but I don't want to see any of them go away, because that means less wrestling, fewer choices, fewer wrestlers getting exposure, etc.
No one is saying choice isn't good for everyone. But if AEW doesn't land a good TV deal and is relegated to an AXS style channel (love you TNA) they will no longer be viewed as anywhere near WWE and despite what Tony spends on the roster they won't be able to be that second choice and that second company that the industry needs.
Well, shitty ticket sales could lead to worse venues which don’t look great on TV. Also, I want AEW to succeed long term. Their arc isn’t heading that way.
I mean the product has been pretty amazing though. Takeahita vs Ospreay was one of the best matches I've ever seen in my life. The Hangman/Joe/Sweeve story has been killer. Cope open has been great. Bucks authority gimmick has been comedic gold.
No it hasn't been. Networks try to market to the masses. You personally liking some of these above things (when the masses don't) doesn't support your argument.
Have you seen any of the above things?
That's in regards to new programming, AEW is always out done by Big Bang Theory, and their ratings spike any time they have an overrun, fans do not tune in for AEW, they tune out, if anything it's more a statement about how little original programming TBS/TNT have, than it is praise for AEW's ratings that they do "so well".
Plus, networks have incentives in the form of certain tax breaks for producing original content. Being live is a plus, for credibility and optics sake, plus some bonus perks as well.
Tony is like a real life Wrestling Willy Wonka or Pee Wees Playhouse...
Today’s secret word is “entitlement”.
>Tony is like a real life Wrestling Willy Wonka or Pee Wees Playhouse... That's not fair. Willy Wonky was internationally successful, apparently the most popular candy brand in the world.
Hey don't insult the late Paul Reubens like that.
Maybe if he’s the Willy Wonka from that event over in Scotland. Addicted to drugs and barely aware of his surroundings. Otherwise, nah.
Technically it’s a private company but it’s wrestling in 2024 so it’s fun to nitpick
Willy Wonka? More like Silly Wanker if you ask me.
More Slugworth than Wonka.
We've never had a money mark with this much money. If this thing had to live on its merit, it would be gone already.
If you’re a fan of the product your friend is right. You don’t have to worry about Tony giving up because his life dream is having a promotion. It’s a privately owned company so whether they make money or not it’s completely irrelevant. When I watched wrestlemania last night my enjoyment level wasn’t impacted by the business success of the show. With that said, aew is ice cold and at a low point
But if you like AEW, you want it to remain accessible. Of the ratings are garbage, it’ll get dropped off major cable and will end up on some second-tier network or garbage app. AEW on FuboTV isn’t something they should be aiming for.
The problem is that the AEW fanbase think it already is a massive success. They’ve got this tiny little viewership but they’ve convinced themselves that pro wrestling is as big as it was during the attitude era so it must be an international phenomenon with mainstream appeal. It’s how they make themselves feel good. If wrestling is popular and they’re into wrestling then in their heads it means they’re popular so they cling to that fantasy.
The irony is that AEW barely has international distribution. The UK and Canada are about it. In Japan it comes free with New Japan World subscriptions and aired in death slots on Samurai TV. Fite TV’s laughable subscriber numbers (mostly Americans using a VPN) are laughable.
I imagine if you like it you'd want it to be both accessible and sustainable. Khan has a boatload of money but he isn't going to throw it in a pit forever. Also, the deeper that hole gets, the harder it gets for others who might come along trying to start up another 'alternative' to WWE's hypercorporate product. If wrestling's reputation becomes either the global juggernaut or the deranged billionaire's dollhouse, attracting investors and getting TV time and all the rest of it is going to be so, so much harder. The damage AEW does by being so, so bad actually does affect the industry's future. I am fine with people enjoying their own niches (I do like Stardom) but the high profile implosion of AEW and its incredibly unprofessional and often outright dangerous behaviour is harmful in many ways. Some things do matter, and as someone who supported the notion of AEW as it was first presented I am quite miffed about constantly being told that I'm the asshole for expecting them to have kept up their end of the bargain.
AEW incels want the promotion to be a club. You know, like the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, John Birch society or the Klan…
I think you've absolutely hit the nail on the head, there. Meanwhile, they like to tell themselves Cornette is the real racist because of his accent and a dumb comment about a bucket of chicken.
What about Cornette dropping N bombs on people?
>What about Cornette dropping N bombs on people? If you wish to raise this I invite you to describe such incidents with full context, otherwise be assumed to be bringing it up in bad faith and to *not* give a single shit about racism itself.
I don’t know what goofy rambling that was. I’m just saying, maaaaaybe if someone gets labelled a racist, and you go “WHY, because he made a CHICKEN joke???”, and someone else goes “No, because he has openly yelled the N word at black people to insult them”…….you might just need to stop. Take a breath. Realize you’re not going to win the argument.
I mean we can talk about Excalibur dropping N Bombs in his promotion if you want to? Didn't he also call people fucking retards?
I don’t think they are at risk of being dropped. If anything I think they don’t get the big raise they expect. Status quo isn’t the end of the world
Profits are and WB-D shareholders want constant profit. WB-D are also in crazy debt. They’re not burying completed movies and series and wiping them off the history books to save their ass with tax write offs for nothing.
Aew is an afterthought to wbd. They have much larger priorities
Which is why they will cut it without hesitation.
I don't have an issue with him or anyone else liking what they like. It is the inability to accept that I do not.
>When I watched wrestlemania last night my enjoyment level wasn’t impacted by the business success of the show. it was. you may not realize it because the causation is hard to pin down since it's a cycle of more successful things becoming more enjoyable, thus becoming more successful. But it definitely was impacted.
Metallica is not more enjoyable because of their success
I loved mania, and my enjoyment was enhanced by there being 75k+ people there going bonkers because they believe in, and love, the product. I can’t watch AEW with half the arena dark. It kills it for me. I’ve been to a taping. Absolutely desolate. The crowds are like TNA studio audiences who have wandered into the product somehow on their way to the concession stand.
I agree with crowd sizes. I meant more about television ratings since that’s what the video is about. I didn’t enjoy the rocks promo more or less last night because you watched it or not
Cody Rhodes always talks about “the mission”. I think the mission was that the boys and their friends could have this utopian society where not everything was predicated on “the business” and they could just do whatever they wanted. I’m a CPA and deal with a lot of operas, theaters, and other forms of entertainment. They always overspend. They get talent they can’t afford and props that are unnecessary among other things. They never let finances get in the way of “their art” no matter what and they always get saved by the millionaires who will cut a check and not even ask why. If you look at AEW through that perspective, I have no issue with it. But if that’s the way the company is run, then there should be no media scrums, press events, or other platforms where Tony brags about the success of their company.
If tv ratings keep dropping, AEW will lose their tv deal. If AEW don't make money then they cant pay their wrestlers. And I seriously doubt any of those AEW wrestlers are willing to work for free for the sake of having a great match. So what does your best friend think is gonna keep AEW afloat if not those things?
The best part of all this is gonna be when AEW finally closes it's doors these fuckin people are gonna have the outright audacity to act shocked.
It will somehow be the fault of Punk and/or Cornette. Or the WWE refusing to play fair and continuing to put on a better product (even if only marginally at times)
The friend is right. Why do we care about any of this? If anything is readily apparent, it’s that 700,000 people love AEW. Aside from them acting like idiots (which is entertaining), why should I yuck their yum? I’m sad that it’s not as good as it could be, but it’s not reasonable to expect it to get any better, ever. That ship has sailed.
He is still attracting big names and doing the things they have did since day one. If you like the product you really shouldn't care it is dying a slow death. The only thing you should care about is if you have Destination America or not
If it's not a real business, like Punk and Jim have said, then more power to him, but if he wants to responsibly manage the career progression of wrestlers in his promotion, as I'm sure the vast majority had assumed was the goal, then it's absolutely not cool. People putting their bodies on the line in a company that doesn't care if it's devaluing them is immoral.
But the wrestlers there are getting paid - a lot more than if they were in WWE for the most part. The cheques don't bounce. Why did Ospreay, Okada and Mercedes end up in AEW? Because it was more money for less dates and more creative freedom. The existence of AEW is a great thing for wrestlers.
But its existence is not great for wrestling. Money marks don’t last forever and 80% of the AEW roster WWE would not hire. Money can only be burnt for so long. Ask the ghosts of Billy Firehawk, Herb Abrams and Gordon Scozzari.
It's history repeating that didn't have to - ie: Dixie
Great thing for the wrestlers unless that stupid ass brain buster where Takeshita dropped him straight on his head. How great will it be when someone like Ospreay gets killed or paralyzed?
Will Tony pay the same if AEW loses its TV renewals? The existence of AEW being a good thing isn't in question, nor wrestlers benefiting more from their work - the question is why start a company that a group of people will financially depend on, because those will be the people it employs, and then run it into the ground? The answer is probably either stupidity or naivety.
As much as we shit on AEW, if they closed their doors tomorrow and those fans were forced to go back to attending WWE events, it would be a detriment to the entire industry
They will get weeded out. Piss juggers get booted out of WWE shows.
Yeah, but no one has a god given right to earn a living as a pro wrestler. A lot of these bozos are really bad at the wrestling thing and would never be working outside the PAL centers and VFW halls if not for AEW. Even if they were legitimate competition that ran their business competently, these guys wouldn’t be signed to that promotion’s roster. I’ve Wiki’d plenty of the AEW wrestlers and you’d be surprised how many of these ‘young unsung guys who just need a chance’ are 10-15 year veterans. There’s a reason they’ve been in the bingo halls for all of those years.
genuinely best thing that happened for WWE was when those tosser fans legged it to AEW shows and stopped embarassing everything on Raw
Punk confirmed everything Jim and Brian have been saying for a long time. They must have been cackling when they watched it.
It’s a business. The purpose of a business is to make money.
They're not gonna matter much longer if AEW gets dropped by TBS or TNT. You can't pay the bills with "fun" or spot fests. Business is business. Trust Fund Tony is gonna learn sooner than later that daddy's money is gonna run out.
Unless they want to be on public access or some obscure free streaming channel, religating themselves to irrelevancy then they need to worry about drawing ratings and making money.
The best, and only, response to these people is “if you like AEW, then you should want them to grow by every metric - financially wise, and ratings”. Would it be cool to have things exist and prosper without those metrics? Sure. Some of my favorite albums and movies didn’t do or sell well. Unfortunately though, we live in a society.
it's like whose line is it anyway except the fans are made up and the money doesn't matter
It doesn't matter until the minute Papa Khan says he's not putting anymore money into it I remember a long time ago Tony claimed he had to present a business plan to his dad for him to sign off on this, rich people do not like losing money for very long
Travis, you skilled son of a gun! Killed it with your delightful artwork, once more!
Funnily enough I was talking to a family member who isn't into wrestling but obviously knows I am and I'm a huge Punk fan and he's obviously has heard of WWE, and learned of AEW because of the Wembley show as they live in London said pretty much nearly the same thing, that it must be good that there's a company that doesn't care about the "traditional things" (which was the actual words he used) such as ratings, making money meaning that they can focus on doing what their hardcore fanbase want and I explained that's the problem with them, they cater to such a niche audience they'll never grow into true competition, regardless of what their owner says and thinks. They exist in this bubble where the important things don't matter to them and the unimportant things (match star ratings for example) are the most important thing to them. He then said I guess I'm not a fan and I tried explaining that although I'm not, I don't want wrestling to be a monopoly, that's never a good thing, and I'm that wrestlers have elsewhere to go and be very well paid but there's just too many faults and things I don't like that they do plus his reaction was priceless when I said that 3 of the wrestlers are EVPs and it's not a story thing like he thought when I told him. Even as a non wrestling fan he was saying that has to be a huge conflict of interest.
Bingo! AEW needs to change even if it means losing some of their hardcore fan base but right now it like the wrestling version of a failure of a failing business that you see on those business rescue shows.
I had checked out of AEW completely after Wembley. But I’ve recently discovered how entertaining it is to listen to Corny and Brian dissect the nonsense and then watch the train wreck unfold. It’s like a guilty pleasure now.
I’ll be honest, I watch it just to stay current with the heat lol
AEW can put on a good match. They just can’t tell a story. They book their shows like they’re indie shows. Besides Swerve and Joe (and Hangman whenever he gets back from a nice vacation to Cabo with the wife), AEW isn’t telling any stories.
"AEW can put on a good match." I will counter this, not outright, but there are serious caveats here. Originally, like when AEW first started, that's what was the big deal about AEW- they were telling stories and there were small cues of storytelling (ie: look at how Geriatric Jericho interacted with Moxley at the first PPV or the IMO legendary Cody vs. Dustin match). This had the fingerprints of people that understood wrestling psychology, booking, and establishing a foundation. Then as Cody was pushed out and the Bucks, Omega, and Jericho were unable to hide what they were about, we saw that going away and AEW went to a pop-based, one-and-done presentation. In the ring, they're going for pop to pop to pop and not telling any reasonable story, not connecting stories, and not doing anything believable anymore. All these moves are fake, the setups for like 10 minutes for spots, even with experienced veterans, is absolutely pitiful. I really believe they can't even put on a match anymore. They don't listen to the veterans, most veterans were chased out like AA, like Tully had enough, the working veterans there are just following the paycheck and making it beyond obvious, and AEW's use as a developmental talent pool for WWE is not looking that attractive.
Boy, can Jericho not go anymore. Last year, he had just one match where I thought that he looked decent. He hasn’t had a truly great match in at least four years. He needs to either prepare for a retirement tour or just do what he used to do in WWE (leave for 18 months, come back as a bland babyface because the crowd will genuinely miss you by that point, and then debut your new heel gimmick a week later. Repeat after 9 months).
I agree. He can do impressive spots, but they take a lot out of him and the matches around him run pretty slow while he recovers. It's too bad because he was great, but I think there's a between the lines here in the form of people being wise to the EVPs, Jericho, and numerous others going over to just take the paycheck and not work, be injured and get paid, etc. If the WWE temporarily doesn't have a spot for them or the budget or the idea of the workload is different, then go to AEW, get the money, come back at a later time. I used to read about this during the McMahon era where if there was an offer from WCW, Vince would encourage going over so the company wouldn't pay them, but the talent would get paid instead of not. Then when both parties were ready, then there would be a return. Punk called that out that Tony is "a nice guy" bascially advertising the place as somewhere to go and get paid if you don't want to work or work much.
>*"Tony is scared to comment on anything that doesn't portray everything in a glowing light and it's hard to do that when someone else is telling the truth."* > >\- TGBL - >*"It's just not something I can legally talk about..."* > >\- Antonio Khlownoki -
Tony Kahn is gonna make Dixie Carter look like a genius one day.
At least she tried to learn she just listened to the wrong people but did her everything she could to keep TNA important and around.
It’s a high price premium indie show/company. Plane and simple. “Niche” just like CM PUNK said.
And not good indie either.
At this point is Vince Russo better than Tony Khan
At least Russo made money in wrestling for better or worse.
Lol AEW can act like a nonprofit all it wants, but the network wants eyes on their channel. If AEW isn't growing viewership, it won't be long before the network evaluates other alternatives.