AEW - AUG 2020

[TheVileOne]

17 hours ago, The Natural said:

Same here.

Yeah but Turner doesn't own the product outright this time. Plus, AEW at least has a positive veneer around it right now. And an owner who is passionate about wrestling and the product. 

Now, worst case scenario, the new corporate bureaucrat RatBat schmucks come in and spoil the party. "We don't like rasslin! Reee!" and all that. AEW gets transitioned or kicked off Turner Broadcasting/TNT. AEW doesn't get its second Turner Broadcasting show. As of now, isn't AEW supposed to be on TNT until at least 2023? 

Well, if Turner were to try and kill that deal early, does anyone really think AEW couldn't get a decent deal coming off the strong key demo numbers they've been able to pull off on a major cable network? The TNT deal was the one they were able to put together before AEW was a proven commodity and viable product. Now they are a proven commodity and a viable product. I feel like, worst case scenario, some schmuck decides to yank them off of TNT, they'd recover and at least be able to find something decent.

TNA got kicked off Spike TV and Destination America all inside a year. They got kicked off freaking POP TV. Each TV deal TNA had was worse than the last. It took them years and a complete and total rebranding, new ownership, and a buyout of AXS TV to somewhat recover. Not only that, Impact's viewership is a FRACTION of what TNA used to draw in its peak viewership days on Spike. And yet at the end of this, Impact Wrestling still exists.

AEW has a roster of bankable stars. They have merchandising deals in place. They've proven they can sell out major arenas and sell live PPV events at a time when WWE has put its premium PPV cards for a low cost on the WWE Network. I think they will be OK in the long-term. Could be wrong, but I'm not worried at the moment even if the worst happens with Turner. I have no doubt they could find something better than marginal networks like Destination America, Pop TV, Pursuit channel TNA/Impact was forced to contend with until the AXS TV deal happened. 

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by TheVileOne

[Casey]

25 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

How has Kilynn King done in the matches previous to the one with Abadon from Dark this past week?  She looked pretty good against Abadon and pretty good is reason for notice in the green division.  If Diamante can be excelerated to the top for a Shida bout, maybe they oughtta try King.  Abadaon has been kinda sorta a bright spot too.  Tho, she could possibly use one of those Evil Uno like makeovers.  

I've been singing KiLynn's praises for what feels like a month or two now. She's also "green", but seems to be the best among the female enhancement talent they've had so far. I hope she's not one of the indie workers they've chosen to stop using. I suspect the freelance women will continue to get a lot of shots on Dark and stuff because of lack of depth in the division currently, whereas the men's side of things there's almost too much talent.

That being said though, I hope Pillman Jr and Griff Garrison keep getting used, because while their Hollywood Blondes knockoff team is in its infancy still, it's got some promise I think.

[colonial]

54 minutes ago, TheVileOne said:

Yeah but Turner doesn't own the product outright this time. Plus, AEW at least has a positive veneer around it right now. And an owner who is passionate about wrestling and the product. 

Now, worst case scenario, the new corporate bureaucrat RatBat schmucks come in and spoil the party. "We don't like rasslin! Reee!" and all that. AEW gets transitioned or kicked off Turner Broadcasting/TNT. AEW doesn't get its second Turner Broadcasting show. As of now, isn't AEW supposed to be on TNT until at least 2023? 

Well, if Turner were to try and kill that deal early, does anyone really think AEW couldn't get a decent deal coming off the strong key demo numbers they've been able to pull off on a major cable network? The TNT deal was the one they were able to put together before AEW was a proven commodity and viable product. Now they are a proven commodity and a viable product. I feel like, worst case scenario, some schmuck decides to yank them off of TNT, they'd recover and at least be able to find something decent.

TNA got kicked off Spike TV and Destination America all inside a year. They got kicked off freaking POP TV. Each TV deal TNA had was worse than the last. It took them years and a complete and total rebranding, new ownership, and a buyout of AXS TV to somewhat cover. Not only that, Impact's viewership is a FRACTION of what TNA used to draw in its peak viewership days on Spike. And yet at the end of this, Impact Wrestling still exists.

AEW has a roster of bankable stars. They have merchandising deals in place. They've proven they can sell out major arenas and sell live PPV events at a time when WWE has put its premium PPV cards for a low cost on the WWE Network. I think they will be OK in the long-term. Could be wrong, but I'm not worried at the moment even if the worst happens with Turner. I have no doubt they could find something better than marginal networks like Destination America, Pop TV, Pursuit channel TNA/Impact was forced to contend with until the AXS TV deal happened. 

 

Having worked off and on for Turner over the years (left there for good last year), I can tell you that, once the AT&T merger was approved, something like this was expected -- streaming and linear departments being combined, executives on the linear side being pushed away, etc.

"Content" is one of the big buzzwords in modern media these days. Media groups want content, and lots of it. And if it gets plenty of eyes, even better. AEW has eyes, a lot more than some prognosticators thought would happen when Dynamite launched. At the very least, WarnerMedia should consider some kind of AEW content on HBO Max, whether launching a second show on the streamer or other unique content.

WarnerMedia also seems to be doubling down on 18-49 demo content, having committed itself to the NBA, MLB playoffs, expanding the Impractical Jokers franchise, etc. They also announced plans to a do an American version of the UK game "The Cube" with Dwyane Wade hosting and producing. AEW fits in that demo content so, at least to me, it would seem foolish to try and break any deals.

[TheVileOne]

13 minutes ago, colonial said:

Having worked off and on for Turner over the years (left there for good last year), I can tell you that, once the AT&T merger was approved, something like this was expected -- streaming and linear departments being combined, executives on the linear side being pushed away, etc.

"Content" is one of the big buzzwords in modern media these days. Media groups want content, and lots of it. And if it gets plenty of eyes, even better. AEW has eyes, a lot more than some prognosticators thought would happen when Dynamite launched. At the very least, WarnerMedia should consider some kind of AEW content on HBO Max, whether launching a second show on the streamer or other unique content.

WarnerMedia also seems to be doubling down on 18-49 demo content, having committed itself to the NBA, MLB playoffs, expanding the Impractical Jokers franchise, etc. They also announced plans to a do an American version of the UK game "The Cube" with Dwyane Wade hosting and producing. AEW fits in that demo content so, at least to me, it would seem foolish to try and break any deals.

Yeah, regime changes like this happen a lot at a lot of major media companies. And in the whole IP/content game, I think AEW has sort of proven itself to some degree where it can be OK for a while. At least for now.

[Casey]

What are the odds that BR Live eventually gets folded into HBO Max like it's expected for DC Universe?

[TheVileOne]

New stipulations added to Jericho vs. Cassidy. Besides the $7,000 thing I recall Jericho already mentioning on Dynamite, Inner Circle and Best Friends are banned from Ringside.

[Jiji]

Thread covering what Kenny and Nakazawa said at that event today for I believe a Japanese college on business in sports. 

Some interesting stuff in there. Some allusions to Ibushi, says he won't be wrestling in 10 years, extensive talk about the pandemic, and says they would be out of a job if they got canceled. Again, . I don't even like the thought. 

[John from Cincinnati]

 

[Casey]

10 hours ago, TheVileOne said:

New stipulations added to Jericho vs. Cassidy. Besides the $7,000 thing I recall Jericho already mentioning on Dynamite, Inner Circle and Best Friends are banned from Ringside.

I wonder what they do if Jericho tests positive for COVID since he's performing at Sturgis tomorrow night.

[odessasteps]

If I was Tony,I’d discourage him from doing, 

[John from Cincinnati]

Middle-aged managers just couldn’t go a year without their Peter Fonda/Jax Teller LARPfest? 

[Matt D]

5 minutes ago, Andy in Kansas said:

Middle-aged managers just couldn’t go a year without their Peter Fonda/Jax Teller LARPfest? 

I got very confused what this had to do with current day Arn and Tully pretending to be Demolition for a minute there.

[Casey]

3 hours ago, odessasteps said:

If I was Tony,I’d discourage him from doing, 

Well, too late for that. The venue website had them listed for Sunday, but apparently it was tonight.

 

[Craig H]

Man, if it was the first live concert I'd be going to in months, it sure as fuck wouldn't be Fozzy.

Then again, I'm sure those people would say the same thing about me wanting to see Silversun Pickups, Tegan and Sara, Metric, or Run the Jewels.

[MapRef41N93W]

Watching the first episode of the women's tag tournament made me think of how smart NJPW is to make their rookies focus on mastering a small set of basic moves. It seems like a lot of the awkwardness in these matches comes from the wrestlers trying to do fancier stuff without the strong fundamentals you need make them look good.

To be fair, I've had the same reaction to newer male wrestlers. I don't blame them--there's a clear incentive to try complicated stuff, since it's hard to get hyped for having good basics. But it grates on me as a viewer.

Edited August 12, 2020 by MapRef41N93W

[Jiji]

Looking at that picture makes me realize just how fucked we are.

[John from Cincinnati]

Just now, Jiji said:

Looking at that picture makes me realize just how fucked we are.

Sure. But even by that measurement, it shouldn't crack anybody's top 25 for the week. 

[Jiji]

1 minute ago, Andy in Kansas said:

Sure. But even by that measurement, it shouldn't crack anybody's top 25 for the week. 

True.

[Jiji]

 

[WholeFnMachine]

16 hours ago, Craig H said:

Man, if it was the first live concert I'd be going to in months, it sure as fuck wouldn't be Fozzy.

Then again, I'm sure those people would say the same thing about me wanting to see Silversun Pickups, Tegan and Sara, Metric, or Run the Jewels.

I love Tegan & Sara and Metric. I saw Metric at Radio City and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Lou Reed came on stage and sang two songs with them at the end, he passed away soon after. It was incredible. 

[hammerva]

Are they still taping Dynamite weeks ahead or are they live?  I mean I doubt Jericho is tested with the same level as some guy on Dark anyway.

[Casey]

This week is live and they'll also tape the following week's episode. Rinse, repeat.

[Jenalysis]

On 8/8/2020 at 8:57 PM, odessasteps said:

If I was Tony,I’d discourage him from doing, 

 

As shitty as Jericho being there is, I get the impression he was nowhere near the fans.  Perhaps he was able to avoid too much contact, but he needs extra testing.

[Craig H]

4 hours ago, WholeFnMachine said:

I love Tegan & Sara and Metric. I saw Metric at Radio City and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Lou Reed came on stage and sang two songs with them at the end, he passed away soon after. It was incredible. 

That's awesome to hear that Metric was that good. I want to see them so bad still. Probably once a month I'll check out their live performances on YouTube. Them playing Breathing Underwater on NYE is especially cool.

Tegan and Sara was the first concert my wife and I went to. I got her tickets to see them because they're her favorite and the last time she saw them was years prior at the Hollywood Bowl. They were great. In fact, Lucius opened for them and they were great too.

Metric is one of the few favorite bands I still have yet to see live. I came close to getting tickets to see them, but they were only a featured act playing before Imagine Dragons. It felt weird to spend that much money to see Metric and then leave before the main attraction played. I'll see Metric live at some point when all of this pandemic shit eases up.

[Craig H]

1 minute ago, alstein said:

 

As shitty as Jericho being there is, I get the impression he was nowhere near the fans.  Perhaps he was able to avoid too much contact, but he needs extra testing.

That's my take as well. You'd hope they're not doing dumb shit like partying backstage with fans, but with Jericho, you never know. I'll reluctantly give him the benefit of the doubt, but yeah, test the hell out of him every day.