The Natural Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Injury updates: "It will probably need a photo finish, but Bryan Danielson was told he could return in October, and being in Seattle, that would be the place if everything goes well and if he can cross the finish line by those dates," Meltzer wrote. "We do know from people who saw her this weekend that her foot was in a full cast still and when she was at the airport in London, she had someone wheeling her around in a wheelchair," Meltzer wrote. "Bandido has the cast off his wrist so he should be back soon. He got the pin taken out two weeks ago and September was originally when he was expected to return," Meltzer wrote. Such a shame Bryan Danielson, the GOAT missed out on All In and All Out. Hope he can make his hometown PPV. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Hmmmm… a big if for Danielson’s return - possibly WrestleDream, he’s saying? Zack Sabre Jr isn’t booked for the 9/30, 10/1 or 10/3 Road To Destruction shows. HMMMMM. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 4 hours ago, Casey said: According to Wrestlenomics, he’s their top merchandise seller. His first AEW shirt still regularly charts in their tracked Top 10 on AEWShop for weekly/monthly. He’s not going anywhere (unless he actually wants to). Reports indicate he wants to quit and hates it there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 5 hours ago, Casey said: According to Wrestlenomics, he’s their top merchandise seller. His first AEW shirt still regularly charts in their tracked Top 10 on AEWShop for weekly/monthly. He’s not going anywhere (unless he actually wants to). Did you manage to grab the CM Punk debut shirt you were after? Can't remember right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 (edited) Speaking of merchandise, $1.4 million made at All In according to WON. Edited September 2, 2023 by The Natural 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Bones Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 47 minutes ago, The Natural said: Speaking of merchandise, $1.4 million made at All In according to WON. Riding the wave here toward a bigger money deal with the WBD. Points on the board. Still I wonder what can be done to improve the weekly crowd turn out. Wembley as a one and done and making such a big splash IS greatness and all. But the Canada tour really seemed to struggle from the news I’ve read both here and elsewhere. Perhaps the burden of selling several shows vs. a single biggie has to approached differently even when the common metric is two underserved markets being booked first time ever. Not sure that approach would be. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt925 Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 35 minutes ago, Brandon Bones said: Riding the wave here toward a bigger money deal with the WBD. Points on the board. Still I wonder what can be done to improve the weekly crowd turn out. Wembley as a one and done and making such a big splash IS greatness and all. But the Canada tour really seemed to struggle from the news I’ve read both here and elsewhere. Perhaps the burden of selling several shows vs. a single biggie has to approached differently even when the common metric is two underserved markets being booked first time ever. Not sure that approach would be. There’s no easy answers on attendance. Every place they’re returning to is way down from the previous time through. They didn’t light the world on fire the first time in Northern California, and the return next month, in a venue possibly worse than cow palace just based on location, is sitting at 2k sold and I don’t see what’s really going to boost that. They need someone/something to get red hot and you can’t just snap your fingers to make that happen. I’m hoping after this ppv cycle we get some fresh exciting programs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 6 hours ago, The Natural said: Injury updates: "We do know from people who saw her this weekend that her foot was in a full cast still and when she was at the airport in London, she had someone wheeling her around in a wheelchair," Meltzer wrote. Who is this in reference to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 1 minute ago, Log said: Who is this in reference to? Mercedes Mone. Sorry about that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 1 hour ago, matt925 said: There’s no easy answers on attendance. Every place they’re returning to is way down from the previous time through. They didn’t light the world on fire the first time in Northern California, and the return next month, in a venue possibly worse than cow palace just based on location, is sitting at 2k sold and I don’t see what’s really going to boost that. They need someone/something to get red hot and you can’t just snap your fingers to make that happen. I’m hoping after this ppv cycle we get some fresh exciting programs. Is there a reason why they can't lower the price of tickets to see if it will boost attendance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 9 hours ago, TheVileOne said: It's time for CM Punk to leave AEW. This arrangement isn't working. He's not happy. He wants to quit, and this continues to happen. I don't always agree with TheVileOne but he's right when he's right - it doesn't matter if Punk is a top merch seller or if his appearances give a small bump in ratings, if he isn't happy you have to let him go. An unhappy person with some power (which he has been given with how Collision is run) is a recipe for disaster. Meltzer mentioned weeks before the Jack Perry incident that backstage at Collision was like a ticking time bomb and it was only a matter of time, and whether you like the guy or not he was right. Being a top merch seller is a bad reason to keep someone that is not only unhappy but not shy about his unhappiness. Maybe they thought giving him his own show would make him happy but it clearly hasn't. At some point you have to look at the big picture and determine if having a cancer in the locker room is worth it. Sometimes it is (Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, etc) but most of the time it isn't. Even if you look at is as "Jack Perry is a dickhead" which ok, I don't disagree. The fact is still that Punk reacted to someone making a quip during a show (something he frequently does, what about his "Bucks" line on the first Collision??) by physically reacting, then yelling at the owner of the promotion and threatening to quit. All right before his own match, just because someone made a one sentence comment he didn't like. This isn't someone that wants to be where he is, its someone unhappy and on edge. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Isnt this how we likely expected it to end up with him, whether it was 6 months or 3 years? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 16 minutes ago, TheVileOne said: Is there a reason why they can't lower the price of tickets to see if it will boost attendance? Given TK comes from real sports, I doubt he sees that as an option. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 (edited) 3 minutes ago, odessasteps said: Given TK comes from real sports, I doubt he sees that as an option. Seems fair. I assume there's an internal reason for most of those decisions. At the same time, the lowering attendance figures is concerning. Quote Isnt this how we likely expected it to end up with him, whether it was 6 months or 3 years? Maybe not expecting this to happen was somewhat naive, but I think the biggest question when CM Punk came in, would it be an issue with Colt Cabana and Chris Jericho already working for AEW? Punk's passive answer was "I don't have an issue with anyone in the locker room." So for a while, it wasn't an issue until it became an issue. Edited September 2, 2023 by TheVileOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 They've got Jarrett in that department right? If anyone knows about old school methods of raising attendance, it's prob him. If you've heard Beau talk about when helped promote house shows for TNA, what helps most is boots on the ground local advertising. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 1 hour ago, matt925 said: There’s no easy answers on attendance. Every place they’re returning to is way down from the previous time through. They didn’t light the world on fire the first time in Northern California, and the return next month, in a venue possibly worse than cow palace just based on location, is sitting at 2k sold and I don’t see what’s really going to boost that. They need someone/something to get red hot and you can’t just snap your fingers to make that happen. I’m hoping after this ppv cycle we get some fresh exciting programs. Surprises, mysteries, debuts. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt925 Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 23 minutes ago, TheVileOne said: Is there a reason why they can't lower the price of tickets to see if it will boost attendance? I don’t think there’s a huge correlation between prices and sales, but there probably is a sweet spot that they aren’t hitting. The upcoming Arthur Ashe show has lower level tickets for $250 for a tv taping. That’s just ridiculous. That should be the max for ringside for a tv show. But the Stockton show has lower level for $20, and those aren’t moving either. You need to promote an event that people want to go out and attend, anything else is just an excuse. If people wanted to go, they would go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Someone should dig out that famous Paul Boesch about all the excuses people used for poor attendance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefanie Sparkleface Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 12 minutes ago, Matt D said: Surprises, mysteries, debuts. That or do something to generate an emotional connection with the audience. Having great matches is fine, delivering in the ring is great, but if I don't have a reason to care about the people in the ring then their great match might as well exist in a vacuum. This is where I'll give them credit for what they've been doing with MJF and Adam Cole, two wrestlers I'm not overly fond of. What they're doing now is actually generating a connection with people and it will help make more people interested. Great. Do that up and down the card. There's a reason why people want to see Orange Cassidy, and it's that he's unique and represents something different on the show. I'm not saying everyone needs a huge storyline and a promo every match but when most wrestlers are interchangeable parts having mechanically great matches but you forget it happened by the time the show's over unless you're heavily analytical (which most of us are), it's kind of hard to justify wanting to buy someone's shirt or buy a ticket to see them wrestle. They also need to have people on their show more frequently. It doesn't have to be every week, but with more frequency than it is now. If you watch a show and go "that's my guy!" or "that's my girl!" but they don't wrestle for another six weeks, you don't really have a lot of incentive to watch anyone else. When AEW stopped being must-watch for me was when Kris Statlander got hurt, Hikaru Shida was banished to YouTube shows that no longer exist, Hangman Page had just lost the title to CM Punk and was off in purgatory, and most of the women's roster was inconsistent. Why should I watch a show when my favorites aren't going to be on there? If there's no guarantee there's something I'll like, and there's no intrigue that it must be must-watch with surprises as Matt pointed out, I really don't have anything to go on. All I have is a formless mass of matches that people tell me are great but don't connect with me, and it's like... I'm glad you enjoy them but I just don't like Will Ospreay while I can acknowledge that he's a very good athlete. And I get the feeling that I'm not alone in that. I want to like it and I want it to succeed but there isn't much that speaks to me at the moment. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 I think there's two reasons why attendance is low in the U.S. They did increase ticket prices at some venues so while they might end up with around the same gate, there will be a lot of empty seats. I think that plays into the second reason. Nothing is 'hot' right now aside from MJF/Cole and it's hard to quantify how hot that is. Obviously they feel strongly about it internally and are extending the feud/friendship. By comparison, WWE attendance figures are way up across the board from venue to venue with The Bloodline story and Cody Rhodes receiving the bulk of the credit. If Tony Khan had more control over the roster right now we could be seeing CMFTR vs. The Elite or other intriguing match ups with some built in stories but it's just not happening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Stakes are good too. Let's look at Rampage. The Battle Royal, while being overdone, definitely had stakes. And I thought it was compelling. I thought that they built up some potential stories within for the future too (Gates of Agony vs Butcher/Blade, Best Friends vs Avalon/Nemeth, stuff I forgot) that they may or may not pay off later. Hangman vs Keith had an interesting premise to a degree but it was just a match. Gringo Loco/Kip vs Nick Wayne/Vikingo was interesting, but again, just a match. Nothing changed because of the result. It was wrestling for the sake of wrestling. And the main event had hooks, with Skye Blue in Chicago and Anna Jay trying to find her way post-JAS, but hooks are not stakes. Hooks are the potential for stakes, maybe? Taya tried to get her heat back post-match and Willow cut her off and maybe that'll go somewhere and maybe not, but it was just wrestlers wrestling, which is fine to a degree. I like wrestling! If you listen to Tony, he'd say that each of these had an inherent story, and I'd agree, to a degree, but that's not the same as having stakes. The outcome of almost every match should impact the shared universe in which they exist as characters in some way, shape, or form. And that's admittedly hard when you have five hours of TV a week, but that's why you're running the wrestling company and not us, right? 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 I did think Rampage was a fun show last night. Rampage is usually fun in general. Last night was an easy watch, and I thought that Santana video package was great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 22 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said: If Tony Khan had more control over the roster right now we could be seeing CMFTR vs. The Elite or other intriguing match ups with some built in stories but it's just not happening. This does feel like Punk had Tony convinced at the beginning of the summer that they could convince the Elite to do business by All Out, and most of what we’re seeing is a fall-back plan that has also gotten screwed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 3 hours ago, matt925 said: They need someone/something to get red hot *Metalingus intensifies* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbarrie Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 1 hour ago, Casey said: *Metalingus intensifies* ...aftertongue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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