Man this story Taker is telling is making me smile. Fuck Egg Man!

I’ll preface this by saying that I generally enjoy AEW. I watch pretty much every week and I’m invested.

Now with that, AEW has some issues that are just so obvious and so frustrating to watch unfold. In my opinion, most of their issues are fueled by ignorance and arrogance.

For example, instead of using their television to create their TOP stars, AEW already believes that Cody, Omega, Bucks, Hangman, etc are top stars who should be used to get low-mid card guys over. I’m sorry, but that is fucking ridiculous.

For example, Cody is doing his best impression of “2015 Open Challenge” John Cena, but here’s the difference: Cody isn’t NEARLY as over as John Cena and Cena was “pushed to the limit” by guys that had a strong upside (at the time). Cody should be crushing talent in 3-4 minutes on TV to establish that he’s a top champion.

Many people rip Vince and his Yes-Men for living inside a “bubble”. It seems as though the brains behind AEW also live in their own bubble where just because smarks in Chicago pop big for your matches, that it must mean that you’re “over”.

I truly want AEW to succeed with steady growth so that they can elicit some true change in the business, but at this rate they will NEVER make it that far. AEW will exist and survive due to their current, loyal fanbase and deep pockets, but this company has not demonstrated any maturity or desire to grow much further than what they currently are.

This information has been out there for a while. Also, South Park is a great show. And the setup of AEW’s arenas is good. So what’s the problem?

See, xrod. This is why a lot of people resort to name calling with you. Even when someone might agree with the general idea that AEW isn’t all that great (which I do), they also wanna focus on the positives more than the negatives just to combat you because you somehow pick the dumbest fucking “lolAEW” points imaginable like a big, dumb dipshit weener-boy.

One issue I've had with AEW is that too many people are presented as being on equal ground. Loads of their matches are "close" when they really don't have to be. Not everyone needs to be "in" every match.

Also I think people should stop selling offense from Marko Stunt. I know it's rasslin and I have to give in a little, but with him I just can't.

Also also, I think Archer should've won the TNT title. But I think that's been discussed a bunch already.

Marko Stunt at most should be a valet who catches people off guard with hurricanranas. Like a face version of Zelina Vega.

He should not be in the ring giving Kenny fucking Omega a run for his money.

They almost want to push people to spite Jim Cornette which is not really conducive to success.

I groan every time he's in a match because I know someone is going to take bumps for him and it's going to look awful.

Agree on Marco Stunt.

Sigh, that is the joke, it's supposed to be a dumb complaint. The ":rofl:" is supposed to convey that it's not a serious gripe.

Besides post-show interviews for events, that might be another area where they borrow from NJPW in regards to match mentality. It does tend to make the power gap between the top talent and lower tier talent smaller during matches but at the same time, also don't run into the same situation as WWE where you have a huge chunk of the established roster that is utterly useless and dead weight in terms of appeal or care.

Stunt's style of work can be very hit-or-miss but tend to find him more enjoyable or effective when he's doing quick stuff or not being the real focal point for matches for stretches at a time.

I enjoy him best when he's getting pummeled and tossed like a wet towel

Yeah he's been very effective at that.

When AEW is able to run events normally again, kind of hope they pay homage to the classic WCW Nash-Rey lawn dart moment at some point with Stunt.

I'd love to see him go through the ring.

lol speaking of him, I went to a RAW here in 2012 and he tried to start an ECW chant. He sat almost right in the middle of the hard cam side and wore some mask. Mid-match he stood up, tossed the mask, and left. Walked right by me on the floor.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/DashaKuret?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DashaKuret</a> is determined to fight for her spot at the top of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MountOlympus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MountOlympus</a>! �� <a href="https://t.co/QWnq43d1tq">pic.twitter.com/QWnq43d1tq</a></p>&mdash; The Titan Games (@nbctitangames) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbctitangames/status/1285366329625600000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

AEW selling rings/belts in addition to action figures in stores now

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well look at what I found at my Walmart �� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ImWithAEW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ImWithAEW</a> <a href="https://t.co/73VnFnjOWo">pic.twitter.com/73VnFnjOWo</a></p>&mdash; ALEXSIXCII (@OMGITSAlexsi) <a href="https://twitter.com/OMGITSAlexsi/status/1287870411212861444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Found the belt too! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ImWithAEW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ImWithAEW</a> <a href="https://t.co/sAgyKYVr73">pic.twitter.com/sAgyKYVr73</a></p>&mdash; ALEXSIXCII (@OMGITSAlexsi) <a href="https://twitter.com/OMGITSAlexsi/status/1287871288195702784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I can't tell who is standing next to OC in the back


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/AEWrestling?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AEWrestling</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlindingLights?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlindingLights</a> �������� <a href="https://t.co/mSFvMOOSmv">pic.twitter.com/mSFvMOOSmv</a></p>&mdash; ☀️Sonny Kiss☀️ (@SonnyKissXO) <a href="https://twitter.com/SonnyKissXO/status/1288249295779618817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

According to Cody, the finished version of the TNT title is currently scheduled to be revealed on August 12th.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">August 12th<br><br>(saw a nice video of the plates, very elegant) �� <a href="https://t.co/0pRcey5SPe">https://t.co/0pRcey5SPe</a></p>&mdash; Cody (@CodyRhodes) <a href="https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1288220884155670530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Interested in seeing how much of the middle part of the belt got improved since the unfinished version made the whole belt look pretty tacky the more it got shown on tv.

Short Blonde....Penelope?

...BUT THEY WIN THE 18 TO 49 DEMO WHICH IS THE PRIMARY DEMOGRAPHIC BY WHICH AD RATES ARE SET FOR ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING

https://i.imgflip.com/2/2jqvpv.jpg

You do know advertisers are bending over backwards to give TNT all their money so they can get those 250,000 18-49 year olds to see their product. It's such a HUGE number!

So huge it's definitely worth bragging about, every... single... week...

:yes::eek::yes:

If I’m trying to get my product over with people, the audience I am going to go after are those 45 year old men who watch pro-wrestling on basic cable every Wednesday. No questions asked.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome to the team <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MadKing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MadKing</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EddieKingston?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EddieKingston</a> is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllElite?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllElite</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SignEddieKingston?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SignEddieKingston</a> is now <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EddieKingstonIsSigned?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EddieKingstonIsSigned</a> <a href="https://t.co/5O8KWHXvoI">pic.twitter.com/5O8KWHXvoI</a></p>&mdash; All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1289259535291445255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

FUCK YES!

Wonder if its an exclusive deal or if its like several others in AEW where he can still work for the NWA assuming NWA manages to resume any time soon.

Good @ Eddie Kingston

That guy could cut a hell of a promo

According to WrestlingInc, Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona's deal with AEW is for 5 shows in length with the potential of it being turned into a regular deal afterwards.

AEW did something similar with Riho when it came to her intital deal since that was also for 5 shows and due to her not being sure about wanting to wrestling in the US at the time.

Jeff Cobb also had a per-show type deal but his didn't go beyond two shows but he wasn't interested in a long term deal since it could have impacted his NJPW career.

Honestly, I feel like the best use of any person that is worthy of being made money off of is to beat the fuck out of the goofier people who were only signed to piss Cornette off (This should have been Brian Cage. or Lance Archer. or Brodie Lee.) Have them just run through them without as much as breaking a sweat. Maybe have one of their heroes (Allin or Cassidy) actually catch him off guard and come close, only for him to snap and destroy them. I'm talking about actually have them do an Unprotected Chair Shot to the head, and have the guy carted off. THEN you put them against a Cody or a Page or a Mox. And you have one of the goofs show concern for whoever like "I don't know if facing this guy is a good idea."

As a sub-thing with that, you maybe have Luchasaurus see the writing on the wall and stop doing shitty half-speed kicks. He turns on Jungleboy and becomes a monster in his own right. Marko Stunt tries to reason with the big guy, and gets shelved for his trouble.

And you have a few built in stories for Luchasaurus: The revenge angle from Jungleboy. The actual stars vs. him. The inevitable Monster vs. Monster feud.

As for Slurgate with Excaliber. This would be the perfect time to bring him back in sans mask once the whole thing boils over.

And I will provide these booking services and more for half of what he's paying one of the Executive Vice Presidents.

You could do that with someone, but you could also just not use the goofier people and have Brian Cage, Lance Archer or Brodie Lee destroy guys who look like they're worth a damn.

Fair point, but I figure if you're gonna get some heat on the guys, the Basement Dwelling Neckbeards love them some goofy fuckbuckets. And if you're going to have goofy fuckbuckets on your roster (which you absolutely SHOULDN'T, but that ship's done sailed), the best you can do is treat the goofy fuckbuckets like goofy fuckbuckets who get murdered by folks who are worth making money with before putting them up against real stars. And naturally, if it were me, I'd be making it clear to them that they'd be booked like goofy fuckbuckets that are gonna get wrecked by people worth a damn until it's time to renew their contract, and then let them figure out their future from there. And use the money saved to get people actually worth featuring on a cable television network.

As for the goofy fuckbuckets, you can get more mileage out of some of them than you can others. Pockets would get killed off as soon as he did his schtick and ate a match ending finisher. Folks would start realizing how stupid it is.

That's a good point. :y:

If the rumor/spoiler for next week's episode is true...

They will literally sign ANYBODY lol

Lol, I just looked it up. Wow.

Similar to Bret with the AEW World title and Tyson with the TNT title, AEW is having Madusa present the trophy for their Women's Tag Tournament.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Madusa on AEW Deadly Draw <a href="https://t.co/VoZnl95W3b">pic.twitter.com/VoZnl95W3b</a></p>&mdash; Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1290424177342767105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I really dont want to see Madusa's run down face.

Madusa looks like Chris Jericho. I cant tell either apart from the face.

She should call herself “Sebastian Bach” and beat him in a squash.

So if Shaul Guerrero is doing the announcing...is Aiden English running around somewhere?

Also I'm digging Anna Jay with the Dark Order.

I knew it was inevitable but Dynamite getting pre empted for NBA this month kinda stinks

But they're so popular? Why would TNT preempt such a popular show?

Why are being obsessed and negative at odds to you? It's just a lot of fun shitting all over shit wrestling. It's all some of us have left.

They shouldn't be so weak of character.

Glad to see Veda Scott doing commentary for the women's tourney. Hopefully leads to more screen time for her down the line. V sexy.

Raw, at the height of its popularity, was preempted yearly by a dog show.

Hahahaha! I remember that shit. Putting a VHS to record it when it started late and I was young.


Woke up the next morning to watch, just to see a fucking dog show. Ugh.

lol I didn't think Noid would be triggered more than he was when he couldn't comprehend people enjoying post 2016 brand split SmackDown...but people enjoying AEW has sent him to a new level

He's gone full Frank Grimes

Imma keep posting more of this then.

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Really weird to shit on people who enjoy a show that you don't like. It's fine to not like the show but goddamn.

Was talking to a buddy who watched WCW back in the day and has now gotten into AEW.

Says he's still into Jericho, likes the Brian Cage and Taz pairing, and thinks Moxley should be a jobber instead of the champion. Didn't ask him who should be champ instead, probably should just to see.

I don’t shit on people for liking AEW. They can’t help they have poor taste. I shit on AEW because it is poor.

Lol same here, that was the worst!

Main reason that stopped was due to WWE making a very specific demand of no more dog shows on Mondays when they were in talks with USA Network to bring back RAW after their stay on Spike TV.

And why do you think that was?

Because WWE in the late 90s/early 00s was incredibly unpopular. You made it very clear in your sarcastic comment that only unpopular shows get preempted for major sports like the NBA and... dog showing.

No, the point is that wrestling fans carry the perception of being uneducated losers. It’s probably pretty close to reality, given how many of them are willing to laugh at things like orange juice being dunked on someone’s head.

This is why the people who go “Wooo! Number 7 in the demos! Wrestling’s cool again!” probably need to check themselves. These people aren’t that desirable to advertisers — right, wrong or otherwise. They’re 45 year old neckbeards with bad taste, so they’re going to get bumped for the NBA, which may not have those ratings, but is going to be more appealing. Or dog shows.

I bought 3 of the AEW figures today. Should have bought them all but niggas broke these days you know?

I want to bury my face in there unwashed, sweaty, 5 poops before showered, asses.

Which ones?

Been interested the most for the Jericho and Pentagon Jr figures from the first couple sets.

I'd be shocked if either walmart here has them yet

:lol:

I don't know much about the new guy, but they're a breath of fresh air.

"If you remember the first couple weeks, WWE relied heavily on them but AEW didn't do it at all. I talked to Tony Khan and there were definitely ideas as far as if worst comes to worst, they would do it. But for him that was the last resort," revealed Meltzer. "But WWE went with it right away – airing PPV matches and things like that." ~ Dave Meltzer

...WELL NO SHIT DAVE! Maybe it's because AEW doesn't have a tape library. He is such a dumb bastard.

Slow news day.

You seem to care a lot about what Dave says for him apparently being a dumb bastard.

More like I enjoy the act of pointing out the things the dumb bastard says.

It's a subtle difference, but seriously, he is a dumb bastard!

That doesn't make it sound better.

Dave Meltzer is still the most popular source for wrestling news. Mocking him is just like mocking Fox News.

Where does all this opposition to criticism comes from all of a sudden? You can’t comment negatively on AEW or Dave Meltzer without a throat clearing and not catch it. Do you do the same things when it comes to WWE, TNA, The Great Khali as World Champion, or anything else? No. It’s gatekeeping.

Maybe not, but if he wasn't so bad I wouldn't care at all. But he is and I get a good chuckle out him at least twice a week, so I'll take it!

I have no opinion on Meltzer one way or another, for the record. The only time I see any of his stuff is when people post it here. Talk all the shit you want.

Just seems odd to me that people who already don't like him will seek his stuff out just to shit on it here.

You’re going to encounter it as you talk about wrestling. Where else are you supposed to talk about it? Man, internet people are weird.

Brandi Rhodes has deleted her twitter due to intense cyber-bullying

What is she, like the 10th person in that company to do that?

Kevin Reilly oversaw TNT, TBS and TruTV. He was key to bringing Dynamite to TNT and re-upping it for 3 years.

Luckily for AEW they are one of the most watched shows on the network...however, I would make nice w/ my new TV boss if I were Tony Khan, just as Vince did years ago when Bonnie Hammer left USANetwork.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bob Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly Out at WarnerMedia in Management Shakeup <a href="https://t.co/FrVhAprIHW">https://t.co/FrVhAprIHW</a></p>&mdash; Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1291827940024619014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Being high rated doesn’t mean you’re bringing the network that revenue. Especially when you are splitting ad revenue 50/50. Being high rated could actually shine a spotlight on your returns. I think they’ll be fine, because cockroaches don’t go down that easy, but the idea that “They do well in the key demo! They’re golden!” is fanboy bullshit.

Considering the article talks about HBO Max a lot, it must have been doing some pretty bad or well below expectation numbers to give both guys the boot.

If this was BR Live, AEW would have a bigger cause for concern since helping grow its sub base was one of the expectations TNT had for AEW, which they've done well so far.

That also means during this pandemic, two out of the five notable promotions in the US had the main advocate at a network ousted or departed. MLW being the first one.

WWE had their main advocate at NBC and USA Network ousted some time ago but that didn't hurt them at all.

That is their own greedy fault. Why they would invest all that money in a streaming service, then refuse to offer the streaming service on the 2 BIGGEST platforms, Roku and Amazon Fire, that make up about 70% of the market?

They deserve to be fired for that.

Because it drew higher ratings than Raw even at its peak. It"s the main reason Raw moved to Spike

Plus everyone trying to enter the market foolishly thinking they are going to do mega numbers and/or be a major player almost right out of the gate.

Unless your Disney or Netflix, that isn't going to happen.

HBO waited too long to launch their own service and should have done it when Game of Thrones was still around and one of the hottest things on television.

Well there you go too. I was just thinking along the lines that the perception of something is going to alter its position, but if the dog shows were more popular, then there you have it. It’s a twofer.

I wish I could remember what ratings they used to pull in 99/2000. It was a ridiculous number. I'll have to do some digging.

USA Network refused to stop prempting RAW for the Dog show. One of the stips in the contract was that the WWE could just leave if USA didn't match Spike's offer exactly. WWE used that as the reason they could leave,

Raw was so popular though. Why would USA preempt such a popular show?

Based on this chart, seems the dog show did around 2.6 million viewers for the Monday show in February 1999.

WCW Nitro did around 4.2 million for its average that night.

It doesn't reveal any demo stuff but it must have drawn some big key numbers to preempt RAW at the time.

https://web.archive.org/web/20011121...0208cable.html

Exactly. Why would a popular show be preempted for something else? It's almost like wrestling fans live in a bubble and don't appreciate the perception of wrestling.

If the ratings for the dog shows were higher, it makes my point moot, but if the ratings for Raw were actually higher, then that is my point in spades.

Wrestling fans = losers. They'd rather put on a dog show for fewer people than appeal to the power level of basement dwellers. They're neckbeards, not wizards.

That is why fucking dolts getting all bent out of shape over the demos AEW gets are completely missing the point (as you did here, although you are not a dolt). AEW can do well in the demos and still be seen as a product for fucking mouth-breathers.

I talked to Kris Zellner tonight about it. He brought up the key numbers and said ratings were equal to or higher most years. He and Bix talked in depth about it on Between the Sheets recently. I gotta go back and listen to it

Here's the episode of BTS where they talk about the move. It's in the first 30 minutes. My favourite podcast. If you're into really nerdy wrestling shit, you'll like this podcast

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts...0--YkdJ5pQra6/

Still find it a bit funny looking back at what was the biggest threats to WWF and WCW individually in terms of non-wrestling television competition.

WCW's biggest threat was the NBA Playoffs during the Jordan era considering all the stories of the tricks Hogan used to pull to ensure his star power never took a big hit during that period.

WWF's biggest threat ... a dog show.

And the U.S Open

This is the problem, you don't know jack shit about the realities of the industry you're commenting on.

It's called contractual liquidated damages for breach of contract.

It would've almost certainly cost USA more to breach the contract than what USA would've received (net) in ad revenues from airing wrestling, no matter the differences in ratings, demos, or ad revenues. Not because of a lack of "quality" viewers, but because, even back then, almost every TV broadcast agreement for a broadcast like that, is made at least a year in advance, and the minimum damages specified for breach of the agreement for failure to broadcast on the date and time specified, are drastically severe by design.

That's because without the guaranteed time slot, there will be a lack of pre-paying sponsors to pay for the needed early or advance costs of production or pre-production that the broadcaster doesn't cover. That's not even getting into the minimum amount of liquidated damages for the reasonable anticipatory profits for the show's producer, which in addition to the broadcast rights fees, also often includes an anticipated minimum amount of profit for the producer for an increase in the amount and $ value of potential live tix sales, merch, % of food/beverage venue or vendor sales, etc.

Oh yeah, completely forgot about that.

Used to be a fan of tennis during that time when Pete Sampras and Andre Aggasi were the big name players. Then got bored of the sport in general during Roger Federer's reign of dominance.

Tay needs to join Dark Order with Anna....I mean jesus, the ultimate selling point "Dark Order has women (and talented ones, waiting for the BTE segment when Silver gets destroyed by Anna)

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Ran by this as well...lawd have mercy.

https://scontent.ffcm1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...66&oe=5F531426

Eh, Gertner is going to have a field day with that one.

Shit I dig the triforce tattoo!

Citation needed.

Those would be quite difficult in television, because TV schedules are constantly changing, and broadcasters would retain the right to preempt for special events—sporting, news, emergency, etc. Also, the WWF would likely angle for one too. And why would these no longer be commonplace? Why would producers cede power to networks’ scheduling when there is precedent to suggest they don’t have to?

And like with WCW getting canceled, if there was more money in the wrestling, they’d have gone with it, which you admit. Arguing that the dog show people are a juggernaut is not exactly a great counterpoint to “wrestling has never been that powerful.” You’re essentially saying “You’re right. The dog people had bigger dicks,” which is the point.

Remember when you tried to slip past people that an increase of 0.10 in the key demo would lead to an exponential increase in rights fees? This would value Monday Night Raw at $540 million a year. Man, USA must sure be grumpy about that deal. :lol:

The new head of TNT/TBS/TruTV/HBOMax is Casey Bloys.

Bloys greenlit BALLERS and went to high school w/ Dwayne Johnson, though they didn't know each other then. I think this is good news for AEW.

This is...interesting. Rock has been pretty “Go everyone!” when it comes to wrestling. That being said, I’ve got the sneaking suspicion that Rock will one day start up his own company or back another one. It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes of this relationship. It’s probably entirely inconsequential.

Yeah same here. Watching Wimbledon during the summer was something I used to look forward to as a kid/teen. It just sucked that Canada wasn't exactly a tennis power back then. Greg Rusedski looked like the guy but he up and became British.