AEW - MAY 2023

[Norwegian Rudo]

14 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

My personal vision of Naval Gazing 

This what you had in mind?

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

There does seem to be this idea that CM Punk can basically do what he likes. I'm not exactly Mr 'he signed the contract lol' about these things, but he ain't having to work in no Sunglasses Hut and I very much doubt Punk has an 'I can walk anytime I feel like it' clause in his deal.

He's obviously got some leverage here, but he's fucking with a lot of money here and yeah, it would make sense for AEW to spell that out. There's no need to explicitly threaten anyone at this stage - because the numbers don't lie and they potentially spell disaster for Punk -  imagine explaining to a judge that he broke contract because he couldn't have Ace Steele at the show.

[Dolphman 3000]

25 minutes ago, SprintingFromAmerica said:

There does seem to be this idea that CM Punk can basically do what he likes. I'm not exactly Mr 'he signed the contract lol' about these things, but he ain't having to work in no Sunglasses Hut and I very much doubt Punk has an 'I can walk anytime I feel like it' clause in his deal.

He's obviously got some leverage here, but he's fucking with a lot of money here and yeah, it would make sense for AEW to spell that out. There's no need to explicitly threaten anyone at this stage - because the numbers don't lie and they potentially spell disaster for Punk -  imagine explaining to a judge that he broke contract because he couldn't have Ace Steele at the show.

He's sitting on a potential lawsuit for having his bosses attack him in the workplace - if he pursues that, it might be much more lucrative than finishing out his contract

The ball should have never been put back in his court - Tony should have paid him money to settle things months ago (or bought out his contract so both parties can move on), but apparently that hasn't happened

The paperwork might just be a formality for the company to have in writing that he intends to come back, but Alvarez said as of yesterday Punk hadn't signed anything

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

1. Why would Punk need to sign anything; he's under contract?

2. The idea that he's sitting on a potential lawsuit worth millions is highly speculative. Who are Punk's witnesses - a creature who bit someone in the arm, and a dog? Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh was there. And noone is suggesting that Punk got hurt in the brawl are they? Yeah not seeing it tbh.

3. We're essentially talking future of the company here. That will dwarf anything realistically involved in the hypothetical lawsuit above.

[HarryArchieGus]

11 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

Yeah. In order for a company to make a major splash they had to be completely free of any past history. ROH was a failing brand when it was sold (I went to their TV taping in Seattle and they drew like 400-500 people to an arena that holds thousands). If TK had just bought ROH and tried to present it as a big deal, networks would have taken one look at it and said "Didn't we already pass on this?" before forgetting about it. That's why I think Impact is struggling. If you take the roster they have right now and put them in a company with no connections to "lol TNA" whatsoever, I think they'd be getting a lot more buzz than they are.

Impact does have a tremendous roster. Rebranding would be a great (and surely necessary) idea - you could throw a dart at a wall of names and come up with at least 50 better company titles than 'Impact Wrestling'. But regardless of any positive/progressive changes, the often melodramatic and corny booking and reliance on backstage skits would easily transcend any namechange. I suspect those who throw around the term 'WWE Lite' in these AEW threads don't watch Impact. Further, their entire presentation feels like a taped WCW C show in 1999. It's greatly in need of an update, but sadly there's little to believe any positive changes or improvements are on the horizon. That said, as weak as their booking and presentation often is they do a pretty excellent job of recruiting talent. EDIT: Navel Gazing?

Edited May 24, 2023 by HarryArchieGus

[Technico Support]

12 hours ago, Dolphman 3000 said:

Wembley's a nice publicity stunt, but for domestic business it doesn't mean anything. Gabe got a million dollars to do WWN shows in China when DGUSA/WWN was on its last legs, then it just turned into an annual Mania weekend novelty show.

 

Oh for fuck's sake

2 hours ago, Dolphman 3000 said:

He's sitting on a potential lawsuit for having his bosses attack him in the workplace

 

Oh for fuck's sake part two, fucklectric boogaloo

[EVA]

Love to come to DVDVR and read the same lame Twitter takes being regurgitated.

[Log]

The "Ignored Users" feature can be your friend.

[JLowe]

12 hours ago, Matt D said:

I navel gazed a couple of paragraphs on Darby/OC vs Bill/Moriarty... I have no idea what I was even going for with this one:

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2023/05/aew-five-fingers-of-death-515-521.html

I like it. I'm trying to remember if this is the first time they've tagged (including the house show trial run)? It's an interesting teaming because they're very similar-sized guys, and if they didn't have their characters/styles they could have been thrown together as a natural fake brother tag team. Their wrestling styles are very different though, which is why them as a tag team is so compelling. Workshopping some hope spots and combo moves was a great idea.

Also really appreciated the Dustin-Kaun write-up. Of course, I watched it live and loved it and said it was basically a love letter to DVDVR. Watching it later on TV and away from the adrenaline and crowd heat, I agree that it actually wasn't nearly as vicious a beating as I thought. On the other hand, the camera bump took place on the far side of the ring from me, so seeing that on TV was a jump-scare moment! 

[Technico Support]

Somehow A_K returned

[Krone]

Speaking of All In, has there been any talks if it's going to be on PPV? It got me wondering if a supershow like this shown on TBS or TNT would be good for the brand - or would that hurt the optics of the show not being a PPV.

Imagine someone flipping through the channels and they saw that crowd with wrestling they might not be familiar with. Now I'm not saying there's a snowballs chance in hell it happens, but ideally you would have to think that may pique some interest in the product. Give AEW a four hour timeslot and let them go hog wild (or road wild if you prefer) on the content. Could be a fun all day extravaganza like WWE did back in the day with WrestleMania 2000. I don't think people will be missing the re-runs of what was it again? Supernatural? 

Again, I don't think they want to miss out on potential PPV buys (or maybe it'll be on Max), but something like that could be really special and beneficial for the company no? Especially a week before another PPV. Could potentially spike those buys if you garner enough attention

Just a fleeting thought I figured I'd throw out there.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

1 hour ago, Krone said:

Just a fleeting thought I figured I'd throw out there.

I like this thought, and I think you've put some great logic behind it. 

FWIW, I've openly shit on Battle of the Belts at varying points throughout it's airings, sometimes fairly, and sometimes not - I'd be fully onboard if WBD said 'Fine, we'll scrap the four hour-long specials, and give you one single four-hour special a year.' 

OTOH, I could easily see this being a special episode of Collision much in the way Grand Slam is a special episode of Dynamite.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to, as you said, somehow making up that PPV revenue. Which I'm sure there are creative ways to do. Maybe you try and get one massive company to pony up the bucks and sponsor the whole show "We'd like to remind you that DraftKings' Presents All In is sponsored by DraftKings, use promo code AEW on DraftKings right now by going to DraftKings.com/DraftKings. DraftKings."

[porksweats]

1 hour ago, JLowe said:

I like it. I'm trying to remember if this is the first time they've tagged (including the house show trial run)? It's an interesting teaming because they're very similar-sized guys, and if they didn't have their characters/styles they could have been thrown together as a natural fake brother tag team. Their wrestling styles are very different though, which is why them as a tag team is so compelling. Workshopping some hope spots and combo moves was a great idea.

Also really appreciated the Dustin-Kaun write-up. Of course, I watched it live and loved it and said it was basically a love letter to DVDVR. Watching it later on TV and away from the adrenaline and crowd heat, I agree that it actually wasn't nearly as vicious a beating as I thought. On the other hand, the camera bump took place on the far side of the ring from me, so seeing that on TV was a jump-scare moment! 

Darby/Orange also had their team on the first House Rules against Butcher/Blade back in March which led to the Sting/Darby/Orange 6 man against Butcher/Blade/Sabian on the following Dynamite

[Krone]

I actually just realized they can't do the all day WM2000 thing because of the time difference. That means an 8pm bell time would be 3pm ET. I still think a 2pm-7pm ET would work and 11am isn't too early for those west coasters. Noon kick off PT for the PPV, I think that would work well. 

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

1 hour ago, Krone said:

I actually just realized they can't do the all day WM2000 thing because of the time difference. That means an 8pm bell time would be 3pm ET. I still think a 2pm-7pm ET would work and 11am isn't too early for those west coasters. Noon kick off PT for the PPV, I think that would work well. 

Just run a 24 hour show, if GCW can do it, why not anyone else?*

*Aside from the logistics and the whole "people need to sleep" and "Excalibur will lose his voice" and "someone might have to use the bathroom at some point" and "GCW ran that show in a garage in front of 26 fans you silly goose" part of course

[AxB]

The Wembley tickets say 6pm (which would be 1pm EST). But they don’t say if that’s Doors Open, or First Bell.

[Jenalysis]

https://queer.af/@[email protected]/110424480842947878

 

Fun little story about the CM punk shirt.   Don't think the link reads in here, but a bit of story on the origin.

 

[Log]

2 hours ago, Sparkleface said:

Just run a 24 hour show, if GCW can do it, why not anyone else?*

*Aside from the logistics and the whole "people need to sleep" and "Excalibur will lose his voice" and "someone might have to use the bathroom at some point" and "GCW ran that show in a garage in front of 26 fans you silly goose" part of course

If they do that, I just hope none of the ring announcers put a coat on at any point.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

1 hour ago, AxB said:

The Wembley tickets say 6pm (which would be 1pm EST). But they don’t say if that’s Doors Open, or First Bell.

I think Wembley Stadium normally has a 22:30 curfew, so I imagine that's first bell.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

36 minutes ago, Jenalysis said:

Fun little story about the CM punk shirt.   Don't think the link reads in here, but a bit of story on the origin.

Is this the dark web?????

[Jenalysis]

Nah, it's cuddle puddle Mastodon.

 

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

1 hour ago, Log said:

If they do that, I just hope none of the ring announcers put a coat on at any point.

I understand that makes Pittsburgh-area fans very upset and they tweet about it with the same anger as one does a Britt Baker.

[Dolphman 3000]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:03 PM, matt925 said:

WBD has asked for no talent to be at the upfronts on Wednesday, to prevent anyone from potentially having to cross picket lines. No mention of the plans with aew but originally they planned to have all their big tv stars present, but now it will just be Zaslav and the ceo of Max. 

[Casey]

Apparently Aussie Open have interest from AEW and WWE. And it was noted that TK paid for Mark Davis’ surgery himself.

[COLETTI]

57 minutes ago, Casey said:

Apparently Aussie Open have interest from AEW and WWE. And it was noted that TK paid for Mark Davis’ surgery himself.

Well it wasn't announced on Dynamite so no spoilers but they're officially All Elite *imagine an embedded tweet hurr*