AEW - April 2023

[JLowe]

So, on Friday’s short notice Battle of the Belts VI we get Jade Cargill vs. Billie Starkz in a unique situation where the high school senior will be calling and carrying the match because she has more than 5 times as many matches as the second-tier champion.

TIME TO SHOCK THE WORLD, COACH TONY K!

[DEAN]

27 minutes ago, JLowe said:

So, on Friday’s short notice Battle of the Belts VI we get Jade Cargill vs. Billie Starkz in a unique situation where the high school senior will be calling and carrying the match because she has more than 5 times as many matches as the second-tier champion.

TIME TO SHOCK THE WORLD, COACH TONY K!

 

[John from Cincinnati]

45 minutes ago, Infinit said:

Looks like we are getting both an All In and All Out, according to Anthony Bowens

 

Tony moving to the weekly PPV model?

TNA! TNA! TNA!

[Kang]

So I was right. 6 PPVS a year.

[Matt D]

I know very little about the Khan family trying to buy Wembley (I'd never heard of this before tonight) and it's 12:15 and I want to sleep so I'm not going to research it now, but on paper, him somehow getting revenge by running a show there as his own personal All In feels a bit like a spiteful Vince move in all the best ways. If I'm right, someone go into more detail so I can read it when I wake up. If I'm wrong, just no one tell me.

[elizium]

Great for Billie, but I’m assuming the match is going to be short and not much to write home about 

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

Wembley Stadium is crazy ambitious.  There's no way they're filling it, and a 1/4 full stadium (if they can even get that) doesn't necessarily look great

There's been markets in North America where they went too conservative the first time in and should have done bigger buildings, but this feels way too strong in the other direction.  Hope I'm wrong

 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

6 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

Wembley Stadium is crazy ambitious.  There's no way they're filling it, and a 1/4 full stadium (if they can even get that) doesn't necessarily look great

There's been markets in North America where they went too conservative the first time in and should have done bigger buildings, but this feels way too strong in the other direction.  Hope I'm wrong

 

I hope you're wrong as well. 

[Dog]

That's not Scott Ian.

[Kevin Wilson]

I wonder if Anthony Bowens is uh right. I'm not saying he isn't but AEW hasn't announced it, it would seem crazy to have two full priced PPVs back to back weeks, they would just cannibalize each other in regards to buys. Time Zone difference also a consideration as having a full priced PPV in the afternoon could be iffy. But they have options and time to figure it out/fill us in.

[Dolphman 3000]

I think the pro move would have been to do Grand Slam at Wimbledon, honestly - that's 15,000 and basically the same layout as Arthur Ashe

Tony was tweeting yesterday about the announcement being a lifelong dream, so this is probably just his boner for SummerSlam 92 nostalgia and not a calculated business decision

Edited April 6, 2023 by Dolphman 3000

[matwarz]

Just wait until it pisses down with English weather

[Elsalvajeloco]

35 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

Wembley Stadium is crazy ambitious.  There's no way they're filling it, and a 1/4 full stadium (if they can even get that) doesn't necessarily look great

There's been markets in North America where they went too conservative the first time in and should have done bigger buildings, but this feels way too strong in the other direction.  Hope I'm wrong

 

I don't know if I would compared the US markets to the UK. In terms of the U.S. is basically several countries with several different economies and interests rolled into one official as opposed to a few. I think this goes especially with the support of combat sports/touring entertainment (including pro wrestling).

Is it super ambitious? Yes, but also, we're more than four months away. It's kinda hard to predict anything with no real lineup or sense of what momentum they might have going into it, which is always important. There are a ton of factors involved.

The one thing I would say AEW has going for them is in the UK with touring ventures like I mentioned above is a hot ticket is a hot ticket, and they will come out and support. I cannot say that same thing about the US based on my pre existing knowledge of what happens when people try to run some of the major cities here like Los Angeles, Miami, and NYC where you get a lot of disappointing crowds. Hell, the UFC is running Miami proper for the first time in twenty years this weekend for Alex Pereira vs. Izzy Adesanya II because the first time they ran it, they couldn't fill but like a 1/3 of the same arena.

I know UK boxing is kind a tricky comparison since unlike the U.S. anyone who is notable champion (especially a HW champion going back to when Frank Bruno broke A 1918 Red Sox type curse on British boxers going for the HW title or a piece of the HW title) at a certain level is still regarding as one of their most recognizable athletes, but I still think it's applicable. Ironically, I was somewhat discussing this with someone in the MMA & boxing forum yesterday morning. It's amazing that some of these mid level, domestic fights (domestic in boxing lingo meaning someone from the UK vs. someone from the UK) manages to easily sell out arenas. If there was a U.S. equivalent, it probably would struggle to sell 5,000-6,000 tickets in the U.S. unless there was a real name involved. On the MMA front, it's crazy that the UFC was able to not only sell out the O2 Arena in London but break some type of gate record ($8.5 million USD) for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman III last month. The finish of the 2nd fight was crazy, but you would think Leon Edwards ain't Anthony Joshua in terms of popularity. I know UFC has always been very conservative when it comes to running stadiums (there are PLENTY of cases of them leaving money on the table), but they would have probably tried their luck running last one. They probably could have done 40,000-50,000, but they decided to take the sure bet.

I think if AEW comes correct and puts on a super stacked card and puts their best promotional muscle behind it, they could do at worst a very respectable attendance number. However, it's too early to say one way or another how this might go.

 

[AxB]

3 hours ago, matwarz said:

Just wait until it pisses down with English weather

Wembley has a roof now. It's new innit?

[ChesterCopperpot]

A partial retractable roof  - the pitch/ ring isn't covered

[Elsalvajeloco]

4 minutes ago, ChesterCopperpot said:

A partial retractable roof  - the pitch/ ring isn't covered

Well, I don't know about that part. Joshua vs. Povetkin at the same stadium had a canopy over the ring, and they expected heavy rain in the forecast. I believe similar fights had the same thing. 

[ChesterCopperpot]

canopy =/= roof 

and that's my pedantic internet post of the day

[Elsalvajeloco]

4 minutes ago, ChesterCopperpot said:

canopy =/= roof 

So what? It's 2023. You don't think people know about potential weather. They've had countless events there. Also, we should consider this specific promoter owns a football club.

Plus, unless you're the wicked witch, the rain isn't going to melt you. They're going to have a canopy covering the ring, and that's all that matters. If you believe you might die cause of the rain, then don't go. Jesus Christ.

[ChesterCopperpot]

Jesus Christ indeed

[For Great Justice]

What would the 2023 love letter to the SS 92 main event be? Danielson or Omega feel like obvious Brets here. 

In a pipe dream where you could get Drew, there’s your slam dunk Bulldog. If not…does Pac move the needle?

Ospreay faces whichever of Omega/Danielson isn’t in the main.

[Elsalvajeloco]

3 minutes ago, ChesterCopperpot said:

Jesus Christ indeed

Thankfully, by the time this event rolls around, the rapture would have swallowed half of Europe so we're good.

[Pete]

42 minutes ago, ChesterCopperpot said:

A partial retractable roof  - the pitch/ ring isn't covered

Sounds like the old Texas Stadium, with a hole in the roof "so God can watch His favorite team."

I think people questioning this are underestimating the European market... they can pull in a fuck ton of people from across the continent at a fairly short distance. I also don't think TK would pull the trigger on this if he hadn't crunched the numbers first.

Amused at all the Vincels haw-hawing a few days ago about AEW never running a stadium show. There's been a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of neck-beards suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced...

[Elsalvajeloco]

1 minute ago, For Great Justice said:

What would the 2023 love letter to the SS 92 main event be? Danielson or Omega feel like obvious Brets here. 

In a pipe dream where you could get Drew, there’s your slam dunk Bulldog. If not…does Pac move the needle?

Ospreay faces whichever of Omega/Danielson isn’t in the main.

IMO, I think they just build an assortment of dream/fantasy matches because Bret/DBS had the luxury of being anchored by a WWF title match damn near in the middle of the card. You also had Undertaker as a big attraction along with the Road Warriors opening up. Keep in mind, they pushed Davey Boy hard going in.

[Elsalvajeloco]

BTW I am guessing the Dynamite/Rampage will probably be at OVO Arena Wembley, which is smaller than the O2.

 

[Just Adam Bay Bay]

21 minutes ago, For Great Justice said:

What would the 2023 love letter to the SS 92 main event be? Danielson or Omega feel like obvious Brets here. 

In a pipe dream where you could get Drew, there’s your slam dunk Bulldog. If not…does Pac move the needle?

Ospreay faces whichever of Omega/Danielson isn’t in the main.

Couldn’t Ospreay work the main event considering he’s from London? I think him vs Kenny would draw really well especially with anyone that watched Wrestle Kingdom this year.