Dog

It's a huge building. Can hold up to 35,000 usually.

Well look at that. Three rock solid numbers for Collision. Sorry if that destroys anyone's narrative. (no I'm not) P.S. The movies TNT programmed in this spot before typically did about a 0.12 in the demo, if you're wondering how WBD might view this.

I mean, that's why we're here, chief. Just don't cherry pick. Show us everything for at least the last six months. And not Dynamite-to-Collision; same shows only.

Do you want AEW to fail? Why? Do you want wrestlers to have fewer options and less bargaining power?

I'm bringing this ninnery over here so as to not continue polluting the other thread. Those gray lines are pretty fucking flat. Also consider that cable loses about 12-13% of its subscribers every year. WWE doing phenomenally does not mean AEW isn't doing very well. Collision debuted before college football season, which began at the end of August. From September to present, Collision is also relatively flat, even with the loss of Punk. The momentary craters are PLEs, which no one expected Collision to be able to compete with. The below link shows that Dynamite ticket sales are actually *UP* from Q4 last year to Q4 this year. https://wrestlenomics.com/2023/12/13/wrestletix-aew-dynamite-wed-dec-13-college-park-center-at-arlington-tx/ Why did I have to do this again? Better question: why couldn't you have done this YOURSELF? None of this was behind a paywall. I can't stress this enough -- don't jump into a discussion about numbers unless you're willing to do the (very minimal) homework.

I imagine WWE is also pretty squeamish about entering any kind of discovery process, if they really don't have to.

This hypothesis is easily falsified because TK has said on more than one occasion that WBD has kicked in money for Collision costs, because obviously they have. And yes, Thurston accounted for WBD's Collision contributions in the calculation that ultimately led to the $34 million loss guess. "According to Khan (at a press conference in May), WBD is paying AEW more since Collision was added as an additional weekly touring event. At a minimum, I believe WBD is compensating AEW enough to allow the wrestling company to cover substantial costs from the added weekly live event." - Thurston The frontrunners for Raw (if you exclude USA, which I don't necessarily think you should) have long been considered to be Disney (probably for FX), Netfilx, and Amazon Prime. If they don't get Raw and AEW becomes available, I see no reason why one or all of those companies wouldn't jump at the chance. Again folks, you don't have to guess at these things when the info is out there and accessible. If MLW can get a settlement out of WWE for basically the same thing, I have to assume the Khans and their super lawyers would, too. For those who aren't familiar: https://www.f4wonline.com/news/mlw/wwe-mlw-reach-settlement-in-antitrust-lawsuit On another topic, it would probably also be bad optics for WWE, at least to the wrestlers who are just now starting to think that WWE might be an okay place to work again.

Please subscribe to Wrestlenomics. Or go hang out with SmUgly on Wreddit.

Wait a second. This link says the meeting probably DIDN'T happen. How is that bad for AEW?

I'm having a very, very hard time understanding anyone who thinks this is catastrophic for AEW. Let's consider the absolute, positive WORST case scenario. One that assumes that WBD is not a minor stakeholder in AEW (which I doubted at first, but am starting to believe thanks to TK's repeated non-denials of same). WBD pays for Raw. WWE tells WBD no more AEW (which is extremely unlikely, considering they JUST settled a very similar antitrust lawsuit with MLW), or WBD decides on their own to not renew AEW (which seems very unlikely, because AEW still does gangbusters even if WWE does gangbusters plus. I guess you can imagine a world where they don't have enough money after paying WWE AND keeping all their NBA coverage). AEW was a bargain for WBD, because Warner took a chance on them at first and gave them a paltry contract that does not currently represent their value. Dynamite ratings are solid and high. Collision has found its level and its ratings are marginally higher than what used to fill that slot, when not running against a PLE. If you compare AEW's current rights fee to WWE rights fees, and the numbers either company pulls, AEW is currently undervalued by about 2.5x. None of this has happened in a vacuum. If we see it, other TV networks see it. If Raw ends up on WBD, it stands to reason that the losing bidders would be happy to pick up a similar ratings/carriage fee driver for less money. Maybe it's not at 2.5x, but I can't imagine any scenario where it's not still significantly more than the current valuation. WWE got a 1.4x increase for Smackdown, which was already making giant money from Fox. So, maybe a floor at 1.5x their current rights deal? So in the ABSOLUTE WORST CASE SCENARIO, AEW is still making MORE money a year from today than they are right now. Just not AS MUCH MORE as they might have been, otherwise. If you think any of that is a "Wreddit-level take," please subscribe to Wrestlenomics. It's only 5 bucks a month.

I don't know if it's been said here, but Tony is doing PBB on Collision literally because he went to TK and said, "I want to do play-by-play again." Schiavone said he expected to get Rampage, but TK put him on Collision. Definitely a case of "letting guys do what they want" not being what's "best for business."

Thank you Dragon!

Not gonna lie -- the tepid crowd response made my heart swell.

You don't have to tell me that. In fact, I've been a big advocate of AEW just doing its thing. Burger King does just fine as a business even if it's not McDonald's. But that doesn't describe the wrestling war situation that the other guy wants. A wrestling war a la the '90s, where one company (either one) tries to put the other out of business, in any situation, ends with AEW losing.

The only possible outcome of a true wrestling war is AEW going out of business. Why would anyone want that?

And people accuse me of having "Wreddit-level takes." Jesus Christ.

Nah, you see, Punk never broke his foot, never got mad at the Bucks, wasn't fired, and this is just to set up Raw moving to TBS next year, when WWE and AEW will start working together. In Memoriam of A_K

Wait, let Twitter cook ...

Nah, 5x speed this time, if that Rollins video is any indication. Talk about your Day 1 Ish. WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN THIS IF ONLY THERE HAD BEEN SOME SORT OF SIGN

No.

Firing Punk was the right move, or you set yourself up as the guy who gets walked all over. I have a hard time seeing how this increases WWE's business, but if it does, good for them. Then both companies are better off. Anyone who thinks that's a "Wreddit-level take" needs to reevaluate how they look at things.

The Sega match made IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/aews-like-a-dragon-themed-street-fight-was-perfectly-chaotic