NoFistsJustFlips

This is the first real head scratcher of a move for me. And from the sounds of it my opinion differs a lot from the majority here. But why would they waste money renting a building, flying in all the talent, putting all that effort in... for enhancement matches on You Tube? I get that people are saying what they'd like to see out of the show. What buildings and stuff. And that's cool I'm not hating on any of it. But I'm coming at it from the point of view of financials and the business side of the business. There isn't a lot of upside in spending all of this money just to have squash matches on You Tube. So I don't get it. Maybe they view Dark as their developmental program and from their perspective it's their "performance center" for lack of a better term...? Seems like a whole lot of expense, effort, and the possibility to spread the work force a little thin. Let's hope they can handle all this expansion. They are going from 1 TV show a week pre pandemic to 2 TV shows a week now plus separate Dark taping now. Plus having to fit shit together like a Tetris game on what weeks Rampage is taped or live, and how and when to tape that and also still tape Elevation. That's a lot to juggle.

Scratch that. @Infinitwas right, they posted today tickets for June 30th go on sale tomorrow. Pleasantly surprised, the live shows just have better energy.

Possible, but unlikely. They don't have tickets listed anywhere (June 26th and all of the July events are listed already on Ticketmaster.) It would also be smart to give the road crew a few extra days to make sure they deconstruct the set at Daily's Place and didn't forget anything. I know the road crew are professionals that tear down and rebuild sets all the time, but it is the first time in like 15 months. Better safe than sorry.

Looks like I was slightly off. AEW's twitter posted Wednesday June 30th is the return to Wednesday nights. So no Saturday Jully 3rd show, that show is bumped up a few days to Wednesday June 30th. Likely still taped June 27th.

I never said that. I literally said the opposite. I said I wish more people did a tryout so they could come from a place of knowledge not just opinion. And maybe I should amend that and say at least watch a tryout class. I know there are fans that enjoy wrestling that have zero desire to ever partake in it. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. My statement better said is I wish more fans came from a place of knowledge on what they're speaking on. Watching and listening in to a tryout is almost as effective as taking part in one. I find your breakdown post condescending as fuck. You aren't speaking on the opinion of what you like or what you think is good or bad about the spot. You're scolding two world renowned professionals on the mechanics of their performance as if you have any real knowledge or experiencing on performing. And speaking as if your outlook is a cemented fact, and not just your uneducated opinion. Calling a dude's strike "limp dick" 1000% makes you the dick in my head. That's some big time condescending horseshit. That's it man. Never said don't say what you want to say, just asked you to be less pretentious about it. Be less of a dick. Be less condescending. But you do what you wanna do, this is my last post on it.

There are no rules nor allowances. Speak freely. Just know that I'm always judging you! lol I'm not one of those guys that say only wrestlers should critique wrestling, or only people that make movies should critique movies. But I sure wish everyone interested in wrestling at least did a tryout. Just to get a sense of what it's like. How tough even the most basic movements are. Like you don't have to be a director to have an opinion on a movie. But if you took one class on directing you would have a little bit of knowledge backing up your opinion. Might open your eyes as to why certain things are shot the way they're shot. For example : This is horseshit. What are you basing any of it on? Limp dick is a dumb description but I will accept the point of it, the forearm looked weak. But in the context of a strike exchange leading to a double down they are both selling exhaustion. Fenix is throwing his last gasps of energy out there even if all he can muster is weak strikes. Weak strikes mind you that lead immediately to Kenny reversing the suplex attempt. Giving purpose to the weak strike. Because a full on strike Kenny shouldn't be able to immediately reverse. So like to sum up my thoughts here... have whatever opinion you want to have or whatever. Just try and be less of a dick about it my dude. Just because you don't see the purpose in something, doesn't mean there isn't one. You're entitled to your opinion. But that doesn't make your opinion an educated one. There is a difference. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Wow. This is my least favorite post in the history of the board. Four paragraphs dissecting a 21 second strike exchange clip? Listen everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just maybe keep your opinions a little less pretentious when putting them out there in the ether. Cool? Thanks bud.

I watched the show but not close enough to have a strong opinion on much of anything. Just wanted to point out that The Million Dollar Title is the 7th active title for the NXT US brand and the 20th active title in all of WWE. Who the fuck thinks having 20 titles is a good idea? You know how nothing seems important anymore? Maybe it's because 26 people have belts right now on WWE programming. Maybe this is just old man yelling at clouds. But I'm all for reducing titles and making the ones that exist have some actual aura. 4 Brand World Titles (WWE, Universal, NXT, NXT UK) 4 Brand Women's Titles (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK) 4 Men's Tag Titles (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK) 2 Women's Tag Titles (WWE, NXT) 3 Brand Mid-Card Titles (US, Intercontinental, North American) 3 Specialty Titles (Cruiserweight, 24/7, Million Dollar)

One aspect not mentioned about Barun yet... he lost his aura when he cut his hair. Wrestling is a cosmetic business and your look matters. When he first showed up he had a bad look, giant Baby Huey. But once he broke off from The Wyatt Family and did the shaved sides ponytail he looked badass. That coincides with his squashes and building him and him becoming a big deal. Once he shaved his head he lost his look. Aesthetically he went way down hill. Bald didn't suit him. Even less so now that he's completely clean shaven. Plus he started wearing like that weird military green and work boots and work gloves. Couple that with the choo choo noises and he was basically a train conductor by the time he left. No aura left what-so-ever. He was solid in the ring for a few years but he's had injuries and regressed sharply. So he's bad in the ring now. Has an awful look. No aura. Shiity attitude. Plus AEW already has Archer & Wardlow, two monster hosses that don't have the negative baggage. Braun would be a terrible signing. @Zakk_Sabbathhad the right idea. If he wants to stay in the business, call up Rowan and create a hoss team if New Japan will have them. Repair that bad reputation and rebuild that missing aura by having a good run as a scary monster team.

Fairly sure they aren't taking any weeks off. They don't have the Saturday July 3rd episode listed anywhere yet because it's a taped show... so they aren't selling tickets to it. Friday June 18th (taped Dynamite) -already been taped Saturday June 26th (live Dynamite) -live June 26th Saturday July 3rd (taped Dynamite) -taped June 27th Back on the road with all live Wednesday night shows on the road starting July 7th.

(Warning lots of boring math calculations on the tail end of my reply here lol) The WNBA draws in significantly less fans than the NBA. The WNBA gets much lower ratings than the NBA. This is fine in real sports, because it's based on real competition. The athletes are playing to win games. It's not part of their job to draw in crowds or pull a rating. And largely their contracts are not structured based on the financial success of butts in seats. Where as in WWE the contracts are based on those key indicators. You get your downside guarantee plus a percentage of the revenue for every show you work. It's largely discretionary. Even still if a female performer get .05% of the gate to a packed Smackdown taping or a sold out PPV that's going to be significantly more money than being on an all women's show that will not draw as much revenue as Smackdown or a sold out PPV. Segregating them is a demotion. Yes they will get more tv time and have better opportunities to tell stories. But without restructuring how they get paid, they will all start making significantly less money. For instance : Someone lower on the card that doesn't get much tv but deserves to, like say a Naomi... in this new theoretical model could make more money right? Totally making up numbers here for demonstration purposes. But lets say she works one Smackdown a month and .05% works out to be $1,000. So she gets $1,000 bonus on top of her downside for the month. Then say she is on all four weeks of The All Women's program in a month, say .05% of that is only $300 due to lower drawing houses. But she gets that four times because she is on every episode. So $1000 as is, but $1200 in the new model. So yes she makes slightly more money.... but what kills it is the top earning women would make SIGNIFICANTLY less. Let's say Charlotte gets 2% for every Raw, which would be $8,000 in our hypothetical numbers. She's on all four Raws in a month. That's $32,000 a month. Now if she gets demoted to an All Women's Program that draws in less revenue and that 2% equates to only $1,200 now. So in the new model she makes $4,800 in a month being on all four episodes vs the old model making $32,000 for working the same amount on the main show. That's the reality of how WWE contracts are structured. It will never ever happen and never work because you would need all the women to be on board with it, and the important top of the card women aren't going to want to take huge pay cuts so the lower end of the spectrum can make slightly more money / get more tv time. You can question if an all women's show would fall off that much vs a regular WWE roster show. But the trends in real spots, the smaller building they ran Evolution in, the lack of ever doing it again, and the lack of the biggest draws like Roman Reigns being involved... it's a pretty safe bet you're not gonna sell out four 20,000 seaters a month like Raw & Smackdown does. I know math is boring. But the math just doesn't support this idea.

I don't disagree with anything you posted. But a company that had record profits during a pandemic, and enters into one sided contracts with talent that don't have the same rights as the employer... hear me out... shouldn't be firing anyone (without cause). In what world do we have people defending WWE for firing people before their contracts are up? Everything you wrote is valid. But can't that all be true and they keep their word on the agreements they sign? In 2004 Brock didn't want to be a wrestler anymore. He couldn't just send WWE an early release and say hey we're no longer in a contract anymore. So why does WWE get a pass for doing this? Pay everyone until the end of the agreement and keep your word. Clean house at the end of contracts. Not in the middle. Or if they want to keep this practice, make it fair. Allow the wrestlers to terminate the deals when they aren't happy. This "let's keep everyone as unhappy as possible by firing the happy people mid-contract, while also holding unhappy people that want out hostage" shit... is fucking bullshit. But I digress...

I realllllllyyyy thought at the end of Stadium Stampede when they put Sammy up on everyone's shoulders we were getting the Evolution kick Orton out story. Maybe that was never even a thought and I'm just over thinking it lol. But I also think it's possible Jericho did that little spot on purpose to tease it for people paying attention. Glad that isn't where it went tho. Too soon for a swerve right after being in an hour long fight together. I actually agree with the sentiment that Inner Circle has worn out it's welcome, at least in it's current form. Hope they have something in the chamber to end the gang wars feud / kick start something new for all of them. Hopefully they nail the ending, because the beginning when Pinnacle debuted was pretty fucking great.

I really like the tone of this so far. Strong first episode too. Very cool effects. Him watching his own death was pretty heavy for episode one but I dug it. Is there going to be a fake out with the villain or is this really going to be Loki vs an alternate version of Loki? I'm actually hoping for the latter. Either way I'm in. Best opening episode of a Disney+ Marvel series yet.

The Rampage time slot is 10PM, sames as these moved Dynamite shows. As of now they don't plan to ever run it at 8PM. It's not a good time slot and they're going to struggle to get even half the viewers of Dynamite.

Awkward. Shouldn't you be able to describe him WITHOUT comparing him to someone else? ? I think I made my point. I will dial back the snark a few notches now. Sorry everyone lol.

Please do me a favor and jump on over to MCU & DCEU threads and post this very important argument there. I wouldn't want you to be inconsistent. Oh also mention it in the upcoming games thread when people compare Series X to PS5 too please. While we're at it can you also just setup an alert to post that anytime WCW comes up? I mean they died 20 years ago. I assume no one uses it as a reference point for comparisons. But if they do, make sure you hit us up with your super insightful thoughts on the sanctity of comparisons. Oh wait, you mean you don't spam this same talking point for other comparisons all over the rest of the board? Weird.

-Woof. I was on board with a lot of what you were saying until you starting going off the deep end. Don't mistake me for someone out here saying AEW is perfect and if you don't like it you're wrong. That ain't me. I'm out here saying I like what AEW is doing. I'm very upfront about that. But I'm not trying to get YOU to feel exactly the same as I do. And that's why @Gordberg is starting to go a little mad having to refute @Goodear. He's not just telling us that he doesn't enjoy AEW. He's actively trying to say we're fucking stupid for liking it. His argument on FTR matches is hey let's not count 75% of the matches they've had, for the purposes of making the end result he wants to show. Why do six man tags not count as matches? Why do Wargames matches not count as matches? The end result still shows what he was trying to say without having to disregard reality (Young Bucks have had more matches than FTR in the last 3 months period, regardless of configurations). So my Britt Baker take was just as dumb as his to demonstrate that point. If you exclude everything that doesn't support your point, well guess what... the results are gonna support your point. -As for what I bolded of your post, didn't know you were the FTR whisperer lol. As just someone on the outside looking in I'd say they are major Horsemen fans. I would also say specifically major Arn & Tully fans. I think they fucking love they're in a Horsemen-like group. I think they fucking love that they are doing Wargames matches and dressing up like Bunkhouse Stampede dudes working violent bloody brawls and being prominently featured as important characters in an important story. I think you're projecting what YOU want them to be doing. But without directly asking them, who knows. Yes they excel at traditional tag team wrestling. But boxing them in that that's all they are allowed to do, or that's all they enjoy / only reason they left WWE is absurd. -Lastly, bringing up WWE isn't gaslighting. It's the easiest and most direct comparison. I don't like A. I prefer B. Even when B makes missteps or doesn't quite hit the mark, I still prefer it to A. There's ZERO gaslighting in those statements. Because I'm just laying out my opinion. I'm not trying to get you to disbelieve your own eyes and change your reality. That's crazy. I'm literally just saying I like B better than A. So you may want to take a few steps back. In trying to prove that a cult exists... you're really starting to sound like you're in a cult on the opposite end of that spectrum my dude lol. And in closing... I actually think this past week's Dynamite was my least favorite Dynamite of all time. So I'm certainly not out here trying to gaslight anyone into anything.

No. Just no lol. You can make any argument you want when you twist the data to only include what you want it to include. FTR just main evented AEW's last PPV. They were a part of one of the main story lines of the last 3 months. Including main eventing Dynamite in the first Blood & Guts match. Their current story isn't apples to apples as the tag team champions defending the tag team titles. So why do you only count traditional tag matches for the point you're trying to prove? They've gotten a ton of TV time in the last 3 months. But none of it counts because they weren't strictly two on two tag matches? Okay. But that means fucking nothing. That's you cherry picking what you want the results to be. A dude asked why FTR aren't having tag matches every single episode of Dynamite. And I responded by saying that over exposes a talent and is something I think AEW tries to avoid. And what actually solidifies the point I'm trying to make is your stat on The Young Bucks. A lot of people (not everyone) are starting to get turned off by them. Well maybe it's because they're getting put out there too much in matches. But only counting traditional two on two tag matches when trying to make a point about a team that has had more than just traditional two on two tag matches is disingenuous. And frankly pretty fucking stupid. Guys Britt Baker has had zero traditional tag matches in 2021. They obviously need to book her better. Why won't they push Britt Baker???

I don't know what you're trying to demonstrate here? The Young Bucks have had more straight up tag matches than FTR? Okay. You mean the champions of a division get more TV time than challengers not even involved in the title scene? Oh wow that's like crazy man. Thanks for the stats?

I do think it's an intentional choice. All of the guys involved in the faction war have been confined to that story and not having separate matches in between. As to answer what's in bold, over exposure. One of my least favorite parts of WWE having so god damn much time to fill. Everyone becomes just another guy because they wrestle every single week. Why do FTR need to burn through every good potential match? Keep people wanting more. I also think that is an intentional choice. You can't have an aura of acts being special if you see them wrestle 50+ times a year on TV. That's why no one but Roman & Brock come off special in WWE anymore.

I'll take the bait. Most stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Not just a beginning & middle. Act 1 - Heel group wins in dominant fashion (Blood & Guts) Act 2 -Baby face team gets revenge (Stadium Stampede) Act 3 -(we'll find out soon enough) (???) It's fine to not like what you're seeing. It's also fine to express that. But at this point you come in AEW threads just to say this show was "a steaming pile". Intelligent & apt breakdown there professor. ?

WWE's programing (Raw specifically) is so homogenized I no longer consider it professional wrestling. It's SNL with a few matches. No one is denying WWE the brand and corporation have maximized profits and become a global juggernaut. What people are arguing is that it's a dog shit on screen product, if you enjoy professional wrestling. And for a long time there was nothing anyone of that opinion could do to get their fix. Grit your teeth and just be happy Roman is having good matches. Vent your frustrations online and just be thankful for Daniel Bryan. But now they have real viable competition from a family with 4x the wealth of the McMahons. You can disagree with all of this if you like. But time will tell. When the tipping point comes, it comes fast. If wrestling fans don't like the wrestling show you're producing, then who is gonna watch it? Certainly not non-fans. Raw hour 3 got 1.1 million viewers this week. The lowest hour in the 40 year history of Monday night wrestling. They've set themselves up to be fail-proof... until they're not. If people keep checking out at the current rate, how much is USA going to give them from a program drawing in under a million viewers when Raw is up for a new deal in 2024? Success is a mirage. No one is full proof.

Maybe I'm not being concise with my point. People are advocating for AEW to not sign a lot of these guys purely because of the narrative TNA tried that and it didn't work. But if you are consistent with not signing talented people just because they were elsewhere you would have missed out on the Undertaker, Stone Cold, the nWo, Savage being awesome in WCW. Who here can say Tommy End or Andrade have no chance of catching lightning in a bottle. Maybe Daniel Bryan shows up in AEW and shit just clicks right and it's the catalyst to another boom period. Who knows. But the only thing for sure is saying don't sign people that came from WWE because TNA failed at it is a stupid reason to miss out on some big time entertaining talents.

So are you disputing the fact that WWE were able to come back and take over WCW because "Austin and Taker were lightning in a bottle characters"? What's your argument here. I literally said they would not have come back without the four performers listed. Are you saying WWE still would have? Or? Like you can't catch the Stone Cold lightning in a bottle if he's never on your roster.... so.... My whole point is just because a performer was somewhere else first, doesn't mean signing them is a bad idea. Wrestling has a long history of missing on prospects. Vince was wrong when he said Hogan was washed up and couldn't be a top draw anymore. Bischoff was wrong when he said Steve Austin was a middle of the road guy and no one would pay to see a guy in black tights and boots. TNA not maximizing the formula doesn't make the formula bad. It makes TNA bad.