AEW - MAY 2023

[Niners Fan in CT]

That's definitely the most mind boggling thing about it to me.  Somehow AEW pulled a WWE.  For years haven't the higher ups at WWE been saying "the brand is the star of our shows" and to some extent they are right, although there have been some performers to where it definitely feels like they are draws. 

But yeah, AEW pulled a WWE.  The BRAND itself just sold 60,000 tickets to Wembley Stadium.  How in the hell the brand is that strong, I am not sure and sure as hell could not have predicted it. 

[TheVileOne]

The UK doesn't get many shows like this and isn't wrestling and AEW popular in the UK? 

We've even seen this in WWE in down years or periods. They go to an international show and they suddenly have a stadium full of 50,000 people, especially if it's an area they haven't run in a long time. WWE Global Warming in 2002 filled up Marvel Stadium, not sure if it's the legit number, but they drew 56,000 people, and that's after the Attitude Era had cooled significantly. 

I feel like you can make a similar comparison to when WWE went to Wembley for SummerSlam the first time. It was not WWE's hottest period. Hulk Hogan was away at the time. WWE had cooled off significantly and they drew a huge crowd. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by TheVileOne

[Elsalvajeloco]

10 minutes ago, TheVileOne said:

The UK doesn't get many shows like this and isn't wrestling and AEW popular in the UK? 

But here's the thing: You can not have shows like "this" and barely fill Wembley Arena which has undergone multiple name changes from Empire Pool when Led Zeppelin was doing shows there to now OVO Arena Wembley. It's the smaller of the major arenas in London cause O2 Arena is much bigger. You're not guaranteed to have success. As I've stated before, WWF/E has had a long tenured history with touring internationally both before and after SummerSlam 1992. Even in the mid 2000s, they had enough stars to populate a card and draw a pretty big card. AEW has no track record as such doing it in the UK and never went through multiple years of record breaking business and ratings.

[Elsalvajeloco]

This doesn't have enough retweets.

 

[Dolphman 3000]

37 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

But here's the thing: You can not have shows like "this" and barely fill Wembley Arena which has undergone multiple name changes from Empire Pool when Led Zeppelin was doing shows there to now OVO Arena Wembley. It's the smaller of the major arenas in London cause O2 Arena is much bigger. You're not guaranteed to have success. As I've stated before, WWF/E has had a long tenured history with touring internationally both before and after SummerSlam 1992. Even in the mid 2000s, they had enough stars to populate a card and draw a pretty big card. AEW has no track record as such doing it in the UK and never went through multiple years of record breaking business and ratings.

WWE only booked Wembley Stadium in 1992 because they sold out consecutive nights at Wembley Arena earlier that same year and realized demand was high.

TNA did European tours every year from 2008 to 2016. They did a UK loop of three cities in January 2012 - those dates sold so well that Hogan ended up wrestling a 6-man in Manchester (and that ended up being his final match). You could argue TNA could have tried booking a single stadium show instead, but honestly they probably didn't have the money to book larger venues at that point. TNA had done Europe house show loops since 2008, but 2012 was the first where they brought a camera crew (for the Wembley Arena show).

Probably a lot of crossover with lapsed TNA fans and current AEW fans.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Dolphman 3000

[Elsalvajeloco]

10 minutes ago, Dolphman 3000 said:

WWE only booked Wembley Stadium in 1992 because they sold out consecutive nights at Wembley Arena earlier that same year and realized demand was high.

TNA did European tours every year from 2008 to 2016. They did a UK loop of three cities in January 2012 - those dates sold so well that Hogan ended up wrestling a 6-man in Manchester (and that ended up being his final match). You could argue TNA could have tried booking a single stadium show instead, but honestly they probably didn't have the money to book larger venues at that point. TNA had done Europe house show loops since 2008, but 2012 was the first where they brought a camera crew (for the Wembley Arena show).

Probably a lot of crossover with lapsed TNA fans and current AEW fans.

Even if you do a halfway respectable number by TNA standards, you would need the gate revenue requisite of running a stadium. That's likely why they never did it. They probably made good money internationally, but how much really? 

AEW has affordable tickets, but they ain't coming away with a gate just over a million dollars. The attendance is impressive, but the gate is should be considered even more impressive.

[The Green Meanie]

I don't get all the complaining. Let's all just be happy that AEW remains a thriving company.

[Casey]

1 hour ago, The Green Meanie said:

I don't get all the complaining. Let's all just be happy that AEW remains a thriving company.

You clearly don’t understand just how unhappy WBD are with AEW because of their TV ratings, sir.

[A_K]

3 hours ago, TheVileOne said:

The UK doesn't get many shows like this and isn't wrestling and AEW popular in the UK? 

We've even seen this in WWE in down years or periods. They go to an international show and they suddenly have a stadium full of 50,000 people, especially if it's an area they haven't run in a long time. WWE Global Warming in 2002 filled up Marvel Stadium, not sure if it's the legit number, but they drew 56,000 people, and that's after the Attitude Era had cooled significantly. 

I feel like you can make a similar comparison to when WWE went to SummerSlam the first time. It was not WWE's hottest period. Hulk Hogan was away at the time. WWE had cooled off significantly and they drew a huge crowd. 

This is correct. Also to swing back around to a post on a previous page that "the strength of that brand is the fan mindset" - this is also correct. There exists a fervent anti-Fed mindset amongst swathes of the niche hardcore, to the point where we have terms like "Vincels" being tossed around, and language like "cunt" & "shitbrain" (which isn't remotely acceptable in any polite or civilised society, really, not least making the user sound quite low-IQ) & comparisons to far-right analysts like Tucker Carson is given legitimacy and egged on so long as it is used to amplify objections to statistical fact. "The strength of the brand" becomes a double-edged sword for some of supporting your favourite Indy darling, and at the same time getting one over on Evil-Fed lorded over by Toxic-Vince (sometimes by channelling a similar toxicity). This is, I think, still a hardcore-minority, and then you have the very casual PW fans sprinkled over the top.

Again, does not diminish from the achievement of selling strongly in the UK. I'm still really curious how they marketed over there as, initial announcement on Dynamite aside, they hadn't put that much emphasis onto it during television / promo time. More an interesting observation on how the divide has become almost a quasi-political or ideological one, which transcends the gap in PW companies in a way that **actually** does not really have any historical precedent. Interesting reflection on general social divides. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by A_K

[Elsalvajeloco]

23 minutes ago, Casey said:

You clearly don’t understand just how unhappy WBD are with AEW because of their TV ratings, sir.

Like the goddamn bat signal. 

[Casey]

21 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Like the goddamn bat signal. 

That’s called synergy, pal!

[John E. Dynamite]

edit: a polite purging of angry words, so there are less of them in the world to read.

Edited May 6, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[A_K]

20 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

I was nice last time and really hoped you'd be nice too. It's a compulsion, I get it. This is a space online where people talk about the thing they like, and all you do is come in and tell us why we're "statistically incorrect" for liking it while reveling in the discord you create. It's all you post about. It clearly makes you happy to be miserable. It's so very, very against the spirit of this place but I guess that's why it's so fun for you. Because it stands out more, has more of an effect than if you were just being toxic on Twitter or something.

You're a shitbrained cunt. And I'm sorry you can't help but be that.

DMed you. 

[John E. Dynamite]

edit: see above. not getting the dopamine hit from harvesting likes off of arguments today

Edited May 6, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Just Adam Bay Bay]

I don’t get at this point why the mods don’t just ban that person. I have them on block, but it’s clear all they do is start flame wars, and then get defensive if someone calls them out on it. 

And to stay on topic I hope AEW lasts forever. I might not like everything Khan presents on Wednesday and Friday nights, but I do enjoy that it’s a great alternative to what the other company gives it’s viewing audience.

[StuntmanCrowley]

10 minutes ago, LF2 said:

I don’t get at this point why the mods don’t just ban that person. I have them on block, but it’s clear all they do is start flame wars, and then get defensive if someone calls them out on it. 

And to stay on topic I hope AEW lasts forever. I might not like everything Khan presents on Wednesday and Friday nights, but I do enjoy that it’s a great alternative to what the other company gives it’s viewing audience.

I'm in the same boat, I see the quoted parts and remain happy they are blocked.

and I couldn't agree more, I'm glad not just AEW, but WRESTLING as a whole is thriving right now.

[Casey]

let me tell ya somethin' brother, ya'll aren't ready for my posts when CM Punk returns

I will be absolutely fuckin' giddy

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

The only thing I'm amazed by is how many people cling to live viewership as a means of success instead of, as I mentioned in the ratings thread, looking into live+3s or live+7s. I certainly don't watch wrestling live anymore (especially not during the NBA and NHL playoffs).

But I guess that doesn't suit whatever agenda there is.

[Octopus]

I wish I thought of booking Wembley first. I probably could have sold it out.

[Niners Fan in CT]

It's just insane. You can discuss the live TV ratings or the lack of attendance in one show in middle America somewhere and do your concern trolling about it but any attempt to spin the record-breaking ticket sales for ALL IN is going to be completely lost on me.  What AEW has accomplished with this is mind boggling.  If you can find a negative in it, then you certainly, clearly trolling and/or have an agenda. 

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

7 minutes ago, Octopus said:

I wish I thought of booking Wembley first. I probably could have sold it out.

Time to start undercutting AEW on American stadium shows. Get to it! Chop chop!

[Matt D]

I know some people have been complaining about it, but in the longrun I like the idea of the House Rules for the HOB six man tags. If done well, it should give the matches a wild feeling where there's no escape in the ropes. It can veer towards spotfests with HOB basing for teams that don't want to waive the DQ rule and violent brawls for teams that do. I have a feeling it'll get away from the "spots as ends and not means" approach that we've seen in the division so far.

[jaedmc]

READ

Just going to slide in here real quick to do some admin'ing. Super fun.

1.  If folks are having a good time, just let them have a good time. Read the room. If you have a criticism of something people are enjoying, think about why you feel a need to state it. Are you a fan too, but want the show to be better? Are you looking for other people who may have the same concerns as you do? I ask myself this question often when writing my own posts AND reading others. It lets me know who to block, who to respond to and who to ban. If you're a person who values being right more than having a conversation you're probably not going to last here very long.

2. If you suspect someone is being a bad actor, don't police it yourself. DM me or Dolfan or Rippa. Certainly don't engage in petty name calling. It honestly makes our job harder. I'm not going to come in and ban someone after you call them a cunt.

...

All that being said this week has sucked for the board. Emotions are a little raw. Let's try to move forward. Love some prowrestling. I'm going to be monitoring this area more. I don't want to suspend people because we all need a place to connect, but after this warning I'm giving anyone who lashes out a timeout. Either side of the issue. We gotta do better.

 

[A_K]

39 minutes ago, jaedmc said:

READ

Just going to slide in here real quick to do some admin'ing. Super fun.

1.  If folks are having a good time, just let them have a good time. Read the room. If you have a criticism of something people are enjoying, think about why you feel a need to state it. Are you a fan too, but want the show to be better? Are you looking for other people who may have the same concerns as you do? I ask myself this question often when writing my own posts AND reading others. It lets me know who to block, who to respond to and who to ban. If you're a person who values being right more than having a conversation you're probably not going to last here very long.

2. If you suspect someone is being a bad actor, don't police it yourself. DM me or Dolfan or Rippa. Certainly don't engage in petty name calling. It honestly makes our job harder. I'm not going to come in and ban someone after you call them a cunt.

...

All that being said this week has sucked for the board. Emotions are a little raw. Let's try to move forward. Love some prowrestling. I'm going to be monitoring this area more. I don't want to suspend people because we all need a place to connect, but after this warning I'm giving anyone who lashes out a timeout. Either side of the issue. We gotta do better.

 

 

Pity you had to do this - but exactly. This is why I explicitly took my comment to DM this week of all weeks (also because that poster had already brought up something completely outside of online-comment-realm that I considered to be very inappropriate & disingenuous to be discussing on public threads) .. its a pity, it got dragged back into the public thread again right away rather than keeping to private DM, but c'est la vie, different levels of etiquette. As you mention, the block function is there for a reason. I'd suggest if someone does not like a normally-expressed supposition, they simply pass over it as they would in real life rather than injecting themselves into the conversation (as between my post and the different poster to whom I was replying - who I note is not one of those screaming profanities above ..) or being aggressive. My DMs are always open to a Mod if I'm writing something that's completely incorrect or vitriolic (outside of it simply being an opinion not agreed with).

My comments in this thread were in response to a query on WCW Live Gate sales, in which I was effusive of AEW ability to sell in the UK (and that I was not surprised by it). My comment that I was not surprised they have sold well was leapt upon by a usual suspect. Damned if you do, damned if you don't ..

Its great Wembley sold so well: they've clearly marketed very well. The comments are all there in black and white. As for the note above that I am 'defensive' .. I'm anything but .. if the uncouth mob-rule crowd want to throw out cunt, shitbrain, shitbrain cunt etc. rather than debate a point through calmly or simply avoid it, more power to them, I won't engage with it. Final comment (As I already said to the continued boxing digression .. this as it is not what the thread is about) .. DVDR has forever been a place of differing opinions & freedom of speech that people can check in and out of, there's no reason to reduce to herd-speak .. peace.

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by A_K

[jaedmc]

You should've quit while you were ahead.