I checked out at zodiac sign lol

And yes, being friends with your boss is a bad idea. It’s bound to lead to conflict and awkward moments. Tony is an idiot for fraternizing as well.

The GTA franchise is a prime example that passable graphics are more than accepted if the game itself is good to great.

Precisely. And they’re signing people every week. Is Keith Lee or AQA going to make the game? What about Shane Strickland and Jeff Hardy? And is JR going to be lending voices just to be gone when his deal is up? The game could feel very dated as soon as it comes out.

I’ve been friends with bosses. I’ve never experienced an issue. I find it way harder when you’re the boss.

Anyone who leads with their zodiac sign is a bit of an idiot, but then again, so is anyone who signs Big Swole to a wrestling contract.

Hello. WWE games from anytime would like to speak with you.

I bring that up because its the only other popular console wrestling game. Slap any fed that exists in place of WWE - same issue.

I dont even know who Walter is, so I cannot in good faith predict his possible success.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rof l::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Yes, he is :rofl:

Shawn Michaels made fun of me :'(:(:'(

HBKBAD :rofl:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rof l::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:1!:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::D :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

If X-Rod were a Disney character

https://c.tenor.com/SaaKRgsbbO8AAAAC...king-hyena.gif

Outside of the legends, there are like 4 people scheduled to be in the game that aren’t with the company.

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/mlfuu3Nd6TVm0" width="480" height="360" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/okkultmotionpictures-betty-boop-mlfuu3Nd6TVm0">via GIPHY</a></p>

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/3o6ZsUp0NYl56oEpyw" width="480" height="262" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6ZsUp0NYl56oEpyw">via GIPHY</a></p>

I'm going tomorrow and while I have zero doubt it'll be a lot of fun...I'll admit, it's kinda lousy timing getting a show 2 weeks before a PPV. Based on what has been announced so far it feels like a definite "playing it safe" show compared to some of the loaded Dynamites of recent months.

Still, PAC/Penta vs. House of Black should end up getting a ton of time and will absolutely rule. Andrade/Sammy on Rampage too.

what's the magic number of talent not on rosters before games come out. I need to know when it's okay and not.

Eleventeen.

There’s at least double that, and they haven’t finished revealing the roster. I’d expect at least 3-4 more.

Who are you expecting to be out of date? You don't think they can't remove Cody? Who else, Big Swole? The game is also likely to feature legends like Jake Roberts, Arn Anderson, Taz, Billy Gunn and Paul Wight. Not to mention Owen Hart and Brodie Lee.

If it doesnt have an angle where Tony Khan comes out crying and stomping his feet, it will be just another unrealistic wrestling game.

I can't wait for the cutscene of him getting a group hug to cheer him up.

https://i.gifer.com/XuV.gif

When X-Rod came up from the basement and saw Tony Khan climbing off of his mom.

Dont think anybody not named Fido or Lassie has to worry about catching Tony with their mom. :rofl:

love to see the beastiality angle being thrown into the rotation

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

also left yourself wide open for a "your mom IS dog" jokes come on be sensible man

yeah no bro I read the posts here

Also, that might be the best Community episode of the entire series!

Is Tony into female dogs, or is he solely down for jackin’ off the males?

I don’t think it will matter if it’s a better game, it won’t sell like the WWE games. That said, if it does decent numbers in the key sales demo then we can all celebrate.

LOL nope I am safe, my name is neither Fido or Lassie :D

jfc

I have never understood the obsession that wresting game fans have with games being "outdated".

The game releases with wrestlers that are no longer with the company? So fucking what? It's more people to play as.

So and so debuted recently and didn't make it into the game? Well yeah, developing a character in a video game takes time, and wrestling moves at a breakneck pace. Of course it's going to be outdated on release. It's a non issue anyways. Create a wrestler is so advanced nowadays that you can even put people's faces into games. Even in fire pro for fucks sake. Anyone that's missing will be filled in within a week of release.

Adam Cole
Adam Page
Andrade El Idolo
Anna Jay
Arn Anderson
Billy Gunn
Brandi Rhodes
Britt Baker
Brodie Lee
Bryan Danielson
Cash Wheeler
Chris Jericho
Christian Cage
Christopher Daniels
Chuck Taylor
CM Punk
Cody Rhodes
Darby Allin
Dax Harwood
Dustin Rhodes
Eddie Kingston
Ethan Page
Evil Uno
Frankie Kazarian
Hikaru Shida
Isiah Kassidy
Jade Cargill
Jake Hager
Jake Roberts
Jon Moxley
Jungle Boy
Kenny Omega
Kris Statlander
Lance Archer
Luchasaurus
Malakai Black
Mark Henry
Marq Quen
Matt Hardy
Matt Jackson
Miro
MJF
Nick Jackson
Nyla Rose
Orange Cassidy
Ortiz
Owen Hart
PAC
Paul Wight
Penta El Cero Miedo
Powerhouse Hobbs
Rey Fenix
Ricky Starks
Riho
Ruby Soho
Sammy Guevara
Santana
Scorpio Sky
Shawn Spears
Sting
Stu Grayson
Tay Conti
Taz
The Blade
The Bunny
The Butcher
Thunder Rosa
Trent Beretta
Tully Blanchard
Wardlow

That is a roster of 70, using AEW Grand Slam as a rough cut off point for who might've been deemed "important" enough to be in the game at the time along with various legends including throwback versions of managers, announcers etc. While I've always been someone who focuses on the current roster...gamers tend to love having some legends in there.

Honestly though who the hell would complain about that kind of lineup? Yeah, it doesn't have everybody, but it was never going to. You could chop 10 "bubble" people off of this and it'd still be a nice blend of characters people want to play as. The gameplay is far more important than anything else.

IMO it is also a better practice than taking current superstars and locking them behind DLC Paywalls :(

It doesn’t have everybody, that’s for sure, plus seeing the AEW roster laid out like that really highlights how unimpressive it is. Maybe it’s just because they’ve been laid out alphabetically? But there’s a lot of dead space.

if the aew game turns out to be a no mercy clone I'll absolutely buy it. day one. full price. delixe edition. dont care.

Khan pleaded LMFAO what a great promoter :rofl:

Where is that quote from? Seems a little “editorial”.

While not confirmed by AEW, Jeff Hardy announced in an interview that he will be All Elite as soon as his 90 day is up. So I guess about 3 weeks or so then?

You, like, close your eyes and make an educated guess as to what’s best. LOL This is a solid business plan from an EVP :rofl:

Also, for you XL https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/20...stling-future/

Cannot bring myself to care about the hardys ever again, I don't think. I'm just tired of them. Been tired of them for years now.

Matt Hardy deserves some credit for reinventing himself a few times throughout the years, but he straight up just lacks the talent to maintain any interest even if he does manage to come up with something good.

But Jeff is in the same discussion as RVD and Christian. Good wrestler that never really attempted to reinvent his character or in ring style and thus has been coasting on the same tired act for decades.

I wouldn't mind a short lived Broken Universe reboot in AEW, but I agree with you, if there just going to be The Hardy Boys, they both should have just stayed in WWE. Big Money Matt is a stupid gimmick that is all over the place, and adding Jeff Hardy to that, as either an ally of foe would be just as boring as it is now.

Their value in AEW is as Hardy Boyz classic. Jeff has value as a single, but I think that best fits WWE. There’s something about him flying solo at the top. We’ve seen Jeff Hardy in TNA and it doesn’t really pop.

I’d actually be somewhat potentially interested in Matt & Jeff vs. FTR. Or them against Christian Cage and someone. Maybe slap Daniels & Kazarian back together. Them against Private Party, Butcher & Blade, Jack Evans & Angelico, etc. are squash matches.

Apparently AEW has picked up their year extension option on Brian Cage. For some reason.

Just thought about Christian and how he was so horrible they even wrote him being on his own into one of his WWE entrance themes.




Christian, the real blue meanie.

Cheers.

Speculation that it’s a streaming deal. That would be a big let down. Great news for the company/wrestlers though.

Tony Khan is an evil man for holding Brian Cage hostage in catering.

Naw, that is only bad when Vince does it.

I kind of wondered if the Hardys might somehow grab the last spot in the Revolution title three way tag but looks like the timelines don't work both for Matts AHFO storyline and Jeffs non compete.

Brian cage in the Face of revolution ladder match would be sick... big meaty dude who can do crazy shit.

Cesaro to AEW please...

I’m mildly stunned Cage is being kept. Great look, great finisher, potentially good worker uf he cut most of the lucha shit out of his move set, but had ZERO charisma as a promo. He was also way better as a silent heel Taz just sent to kill people with. And his face turn wasn’t well received at all. Hopefully he goes back to being heel and is used as a heavy for somebody.

Could see him with MJF when they pull the trigger on Wardlow.

Yeah that could work. He certainly has value. I don’t think being a babyface is doing him any good though.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So <a href="https://twitter.com/DaxFTR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DaxFTR</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CashWheelerFTR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CashWheelerFTR</a> planted that fan. To jump Bret Hart at the Hall Of Fame so they can rescue Bret. Just to create another reason. To crap all over HBK. And Triple H. Yep. Got it. <a href="https://twitter.com/Fightful?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fightful</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dunkindonuts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dunkindonuts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JDfromNY206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDfromNY206</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/StevieB0i?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StevieB0i</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DBSmithjr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DBSmithjr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ShawnMichaels?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShawnMichaels</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/cokestudio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cokestudio</a></p>&mdash; Johnny Tutton (@JohnnyTutton2) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnyTutton2/status/1496619155319050243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm posing a question to the fans of AEW and the critics alike. Can AEW be a success if they stay at 1 million on average? Perhaps the true average is a little lower but, I'm talking in the 800k-1.4 range that they usually get.

Bischoff recently said this on his podcast . . .

But it made me think. What is this all about? Who cares if WWE has twice the audience of AEW? If you could earn half the TV rights money that WWE does by being half as popular, you'd still be making enough on the tv rights to be a highly profitable company.

AEW get's around 45 million annually for Dynamite and that could have increased for Rampage and Battle of the Belts. If Turner Networks were willing to pay the 45 million annual after AEW's first few months, what logic is it to assume that they won't pay a considerable increase to maintain and probably even increase programing?

Really depends on how Bischoff or anyone else want to define success and what metrics they put to assess that.

I suspect Bischoff means making them a global brand with borderline mainstream appeal, maybe not WWE level but a level where people hear AEW and know what it is. In that case, yes, it would take a lot more to get there. They have their core audience that seems mostly loyal but yes, short of having a megastar or two they're not really ever going to ascend to the level of the public eye.

To me, if the company is continuing to make money and Turner are happy to keep paying them for programming, then that feels to me like a success. And as a fan, it's all I really care about. If the company does well enough to stay on TV, I'm thrilled.

Nice arena.
https://www.bartonmalow.com/wp-conte...3-1248x704.jpg

The issue is that it comes down to what the networks ultimately want. Dave even alluded to it — WWE are going to be able to negotiate with WarnerMedia in the future. If TBS, TNT or HBO Max want wrestling programming, why not just go to the kings? Why settle for a product that is capped? Why even break open the bank to pay them more in a few years? You can see more advertising with The Big Bang Theory.

People make fun of NXT, but given it’s a PG show and doesn’t split the ad revenue with USA, it probably makes NBC Universal more money than AEW does WarnerMedia. The goal for these networks is to make money.

AEW does not have the leverage fans pretend it does. And there is no guarantee that an executive doesn’t have the idea to chance TBS’s imaging again in a couple of years and wants the show where a bunch of white 40 yr old men are saying “shit” over and over again off the network.

Does any of this matter to fans? I think the perception of a wrestling company affects how fans engage with it. Look at TNA over the years. It still stays in business. It’s still on TV. But the shenanigans and the knock-backs have definitely hurt it. AEW’s status as #2 becoming more and more trivial over the years is going to dampen excitement, slow ticket sales, affect who they can and cannot sign, and ultimately nullify the product.

And if you wanted AEW to make wrestling better? Unless you are a fan specifically of their antics, then you’re in tough fucking luck. They swung and they missed are no threat to WWE. So we’re not in a post-Vince world yet. AEW has made it possible for WWE to be even more like WWE, pay talent what they want, fire who they want, etc.

If WWE suddenly becomes good, because they feel the need to create stars, bring back Stone Cold Steve Austin, etc. — it’s because there are stadiums they need to fill and more TV/streaming deals for them to sign. Absolutely none of that pressure comes from AEW producing an obnoxious product that doesn’t even do the things it claims to do.

This paradigm sucks. It is a very dark timeline to be a wrestling fan. Specifically to what Bischoff has said: I see AEW fans brag about growth for the product and compare it to SmackDown. Their one metric for this is the YoY for their ratings. They are completely ignoring the fact that NXT used to be on the same night. The final week-to-week for Dynamite and NXT had 1.46 million people watching wrestling on Wednesday. Somehow I doubt AEW is doing that anytime soon.

So Bischoff is right. The people who say that this product is growing just because a large handicap has been taken off it are either ignorant or actively lying to you. Networks MIGHT decide they are happy with what wrestling is now, as far as cheap original programming for assholes goes. But it’s not invaluable nor is it catching fire. We’re getting colder every year.

AEW making it's West Coast debut


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AEW's Dynamite show on 6/1 is officially from the <br>Forum in Inglewood,CA.</p>&mdash; Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) <a href="https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/1498375900399693826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Damn. I was just walking distance from The Forum. Would have definitely considered going.

Uh oh…Chavo’s gonna get it.

Rumored to be something w HBOMax

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight’s announcement will be delivered by Tony Khan himself and not the commentary team like they usually do.<br><br>-Tony Khan on Busted Open Radio <a href="https://t.co/BiPaQug9Fw">pic.twitter.com/BiPaQug9Fw</a></p>&mdash; ������������ (@WrestlingCovers) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingCovers/status/1499065713625120770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Imagine if Vince came out on Raw to announce a new streaming deal for Raw replays when the Hulu deal ends. :lol:

We’ve been conditioned to expect these announcements to be big deal signings of talent. I can see the AEW faithful reacting to it but it’s not the kind of thing you announce on TV surely?

I'd bet an HBO Max deal includes indy and international promotions too, effectively turning it into a non-WWE version of wrestling Netflix.

Like maybe ROH's reboot show in April airs on it, etc

Speaking of HBO Max the government approved the Discovery/WarnerMedia merger. That is quite the collection of entities.


https://i.postimg.cc/Bbv2pHyr/Screen...1-09-34-PM.png

Haha, they don’t have someone better to announce whatever this let-down is than Tony Khan?

People seem to think it is HBO Max. Why couldn’t this just be a standard announcement. It’s good for AEW’s bottom-line, but it doesn’t mean shit beyond that.

It’s like Vince doing an on-air victory lap over the Saudi deal.

Truthfully, yes because AEW's metric for success is can they appear successful. As long as Shad keeps funding the costs, they can keep the appearance up that they are a major company. The actual books do not need to be in the black, they just have to keep up the perception that they are killing it.

What they shouldnt do is be so smug about everything, because they know they aren't actually making a boatload of money. That is exactly what Bischoff said, overhype, overpromise, underdeliver, it will bite them in the ass.

As for the mythical giant new TV deal, they are projecting that as a foregone conclusion based on their demos today. In 2 years time a portion of that demo will have aged out of that demo, so they may not be able to command the rights fees they are banking on.

It's good for the bottom line AND to pop a rating for this week. Why else would they wait to announce it on air. It has no purpose in terms of the actual wrestling show.

It is all about appearances and false metrics.

THIS IS GONNA CHANGE THE WRESTLING WORLD GUYS JUST WATCH!

Zack Synder's All Elite Wrestling coming soon to HBO Max!!

HBO/HBOMax have 47 million subscribers
Peacock has 16 million subscribers

a streaming deal with hbo max could very legitimately make them the most viewed wrestling product over night. if that comes to pass (highly likely) its huge news.

HBOMax still doesn't distinguish between HBO subscribers and HBOMax users or usage. If you have HBO through whatever, cable, satellite, then you also have HBOMax. Of those 47 Million I am curious how many are actually signed up just for HBOMax, or even better how many people that have HBO do not stream or even are aware they could.

The big question would be what aspects of AEW are included. If they are going to include live PPVs like Peacock, that can certainly help in the long term. If they will include a live simulcast they can also add some viewers who are strictly cord cutters. How they utilize a deal with HBOMax would be most important. If they are just going to put their back catalogue on there I don't know if that will generate any real growth.

they dont have a catalogue to put on there.

That is what I mean, putting 100 episodes of Dynamite or their Youtube Shows on there would not help them.

This. Right now, TBS is in 90 million homes and they get ~1 million viewers every week. It would mean whatever specials they put on there are probably going to get more views than they would on PPV. But it’s not better exposure than TBS or TNT…or USA or FOX.

What Destor’s saying has interested me for a while. When everyone makes the eventual switch to streaming, WWE may choose to go with a smaller entity for more money. They’ve done this before, like when they went with TNN over USA. It’s all about the bottom dollar to keep that stock price high.

But if WWE goes with a Peacock or an upstart service, that means they might leave hungry beggars on the table. What about a Netflix, an Apple, an Amazon, etc.? WWE seems to have relationships with Netflix and Disney+, so the plan might be to lock the world’s biggest down, but if WWE moves its content to a new service because the money is just too fucking huge, then it means that AEW (or someone else) going with an Amazon or even a Paramount+ could make them mathematically the most watched wrestling product in the world overnight.

The trick will be converting that into other metrics — attendance, merchandise sales, etc. This all assumes that the audience for AEW has room to grow as its platforms do. It could be that the people who are going to like this thing have all found a way to watch this thing.

But the next round of negotiations are going to be VERY interesting.

well, maybe one day....re: HBO/AEW

So... some important notes on the ROH sale.

Tony bought the company from Sinclair. What he bought was ROH’s video library, brand assets, intellectual property, production equipment, and more. That doesn't include their TV deals I guess, which is kind of a blow but pretty obvious.

Sting/Darb need a match that if they lose the stipulation is they have to go surfer. The go getter is that when they lose...t everyone knows how to skateboard in Venice Beach.

What's the furthest west AEW has had a show?

probably vegas

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/02/sport...spt/index.html

CHELSEA IS ALL ELITE

Vince is gonna buy Chelsea so he can finally get one up on the Khans.

The rumored priced for ROH is around 30-40 million... that blows my mind. Way too much. Especially if the TV contacts aren't included. If there is no TV going forward then I don't see a point to this at all. The fact that WWE didn't buy it is telling. WWE would never have let ROH run as a promotion. ECW on SyFy was an anomoly.

Hoping that Tony does employ someone else to run ROH. They will have support from Tony and AEW but hopefully they are more or less able to run the company to reach a profit. I can't imagine spending that much money on something and not seeing 10x that investment several years down the line.

I think if the new ROH has the same TV deal then they will reignite their old audience because the show will definitely have more stars than ever and probably come as close as possible to a new version of what ROH used to be.

The sale price doesn't really mean much to me. The Khans are loaded. Spend away.

While I see ROH turning into basically AEW's version of NXT, possibly with Cody at the book...I think it's really a longer-term play for a streaming service.

At a time that content is absolutely everything, to have 20 years worth of archive material as a company that's only been around a couple of years is a huge get, especially when there's a direct through-line from ROH to present day AEW. Doubly so if they end up with a Peacock-like deal for another streaming service to host all this stuff.

It is important to have content but I wanted to point out some real issues. ROH is not really a commodity, the people who really want to see the catalog probably already own most of it through the DVD years.

Even WWE's library turned out to be a flop for them. The archive was never a driving force for large amounts of people on The Network. Obviously there are fans that like history and watching old wrestling but I think that those people are fewer than you'd think.

I think that fanbase are more apt to watch old ROH shows than Network subscribers are to watch old WWE shows though

This. Money is nothing.

The only concern I would have is the old ROH footage quality. A lot of stuff is terribly produced.

Yeah that would be a roadblock for many to get into no matter how good the in-ring stuff is.

I've seen decades old movies/shows be beautifully remastered but to do that with that amount of archive footage would be an enormous undertaking.

some people love the campy old-school feel. If you want top-notch historical wrasslin, come to the TPWW WATCH ALONG TONIGHT, RIGHT HERE IN PARTS UNKNOWN *crowd pops*