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Pro Wrestling AEW MEGA THREAD

Cribby said:
Haters can say what they want but that’s the loudest pop I’ve ever heard in all my years of watching wrestling. I don’t like the product now , I actually hate it , I’m old school and will never watch it…..Punk arrives…..I’ll watch at least when he’s on.

Wwe let their pride get in the way of making a lot of money.
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I was thinking the same…the only pops I could think of that would be on that level are Hogan at Wrestlemania 18 (or Hogan on Raw the following night) and Austin returning to help Mick Foley get the strap.

As for being old school, I am right there with you. But I will at least give credit to AEW for being in touch with the “forgotten” fans (smarks lol).

If they are smart they will continue to play on that because WWE will never be able to match them when it comes to edginess…once they went public that ship sailed. There is definitely a market for old style wrasslin’ and story tellin’…even if it never gets back to the golden age, AEW can still put out a product that real fans can get behind.
 

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NateDogg said:
I was thinking the same…the only pops I could think of that would be on that level are Hogan at Wrestlemania 18 (or Hogan on Raw the following night) and Austin returning to help Mick Foley get the strap.

As for being old school, I am right there with you. But I will at least give credit to AEW for being in touch with the “forgotten” fans (smarks lol).

If they are smart they will continue to play on that because WWE will never be able to match them when it comes to edginess…once they went public that ship sailed. There is definitely a market for old style wrasslin’ and story tellin’…even if it never gets back to the golden age, AEW can still put out a product that real fans can get behind.
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Stone cold pops is on another level for his run but for one night that was the loudest. I couldn’t even hear cult of personality when his entrance started. For anyone that says he’s isn’t a draw or over ( Reigns) that dude single handily sold out a huge venue. People took that dude for granted as a worker and a top guy. They also undersold how many people watched because of Punk.

I quit watching when he left , he was the last guy that made you feel it was real , could talk as well as anybody in history and could work his *** off. He took me back to my NWA days in the 80’s.

Aew does deserve credit for the move , i still won’t watch it, I can only watch guys doing gymnastics and catching each other so long. But I will watch punk on you tube.
 
AEW is just getting started.
Bray may join, looks like Adam Cole may join as well.... I think they are selling WWE.
 
I like AEW but it appeals to a very limited demographic. Most of the fans look like CM Punk.

WWE is signing billion-dollar deals and selling out stadiums. Hopefully, AEW forces them to improve their product, but they aren't always competing for the same audience.
 
DMoney said:
I like AEW but it appeals to a very limited demographic. Most of the fans look like CM Punk.

WWE is signing billion-dollar deals and selling out stadiums. Hopefully, AEW forces them to improve their product, but they aren't always competing for the same audience.
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I saw a dude in the grocery store with an aew shirt on and I was like , " yep, you fit the description perfectly". He looked like a video game nerd who's likely never had *** , and was rocking a sweet neck beard.
 
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Cribby said:
I saw a dude in the grocery store with an aew shirt on and I was like , " yep, you fit the description perfectly". He looked like a video game nerd who's likely never had *** , and was rocking a sweet neck beard.
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I believe Brian Pillman referred to them as “smaaaaart maaarrks”

 
Cribby said:
If he doesn’t have that wreck he is alive and maybe one of the biggest stars we ever seen
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If you haven’t seen it, they did a great job with his Dark Side of the Ring episode earlier this year. Should be on youtube.
 
DMoney said:
I like AEW but it appeals to a very limited demographic. Most of the fans look like CM Punk.

WWE is signing billion-dollar deals and selling out stadiums. Hopefully, AEW forces them to improve their product, but they aren't always competing for the same audience.
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That limited demographic pulled nearly 1.4M on Friday @ 10pm.

You're right though...WWEs audience averages 52 years old for RAW and 56 for Smackdown. WWE is TV for children watched by 50+ men.

AEW will catch RAW in the 18-49 demo and surpass...and total viewers and stay ahead in the next 365 days. They are playing a different game...WWE isn't really wrestling, they are content producers. But you will be shocked what AEW gets next go around when rights deals pop up. It'll be much higher than you think. They've already renegotiated with TNT/TBS during the pandemic 3 TIMES and have a substantial deal now.

This company hasn't been around for 2 years yet.
 
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BoxingRobes said:
That limited demographic pulled nearly 1.4M on Friday @ 10pm.
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And then the next day, WWE had a main event with real athletes and professional wrestlers in front of 44k as part of a billion-dollar Peacock deal.

AEW is a fun show but they have too many goofs. There is a dramatic talent gap. Too many of their top wrestlers are not credible. They are more “sports entertainment” than WWE. Punk sat cross-legged and cut a promo looking like a fan. Is that “real wrestling?”

They will do well with the smark crowd but they have a ceiling unless they change their approach. Punk was their biggest chip and that’s been cashed.
 
DMoney said:
And then the next day, WWE had a main event with real athletes and professional wrestlers in front of 44k as part of a billion-dollar Peacock deal.

AEW is a fun show but they have too many goofs. There is a dramatic talent gap. Too many of their top wrestlers are not credible. They are more “sports entertainment” than WWE. Punk sat cross-legged and cut a promo looking like a fan. Is that “real wrestling?”

They will do well with the smark crowd but they have a ceiling unless they change their approach. Punk was their biggest chip and that’s been cashed.
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And how many people watched that show on Peacock? WWE Network had less than 1 million users...they never hit projections and it was never close.

You're comparing a company that has been around under Vince Jr. for over 40 years that one time had over 10 million viewers to a company that hasn't been around for two years and they are about to pass that company's flagship cable program before they turn 3 years old in total viewers and in the precious 18-49 demo. They have a head start, but as I said, in the next round of deals, you will be shocked at what AEW gets because they'll be able to say they are starching RAW and dominate the important ratings demo any time they are on.

You are also comparing two companies that are nothing alike. WWE is a content provider, they are not professional wrestling. Vince McMahon has been trying to tell people this for years. They do not operate in any way like a professional wrestling company. AEW is a professional wrestling company...and it happens to be run by someone who has nearly 10x the cash than Vince McMahon. It may only be a matter of time before you realize the shift, but its coming.

There is indeed a dramatic talent gap...AEW's talent laps WWEs talent and its not particularly close. The quality of programming is exponentially better as well.

The "smark crowd" is now well over 1M people weekly and growing. Chris Harrington aka mookieghana ran wrestlenomics radio for years with Brandon Thurston and is one of the leads on analytics and claims AEW is also a massive DVR hit and most weeks has somewhere between 1.5-2.0 million total viewers after DVR is added up. I'm not privvy to RAW's numbers, but considering its watched by a bunch of 50 year olds...I doubt it. idk what the ceiling is, but Tony Khan is the greatest money mark the business has ever seen, knows wrestling, and produces excellent wrestling television. Whats about to happen is inevitable.
 
BoxingRobes said:
You're comparing a company that has been around under Vince Jr. for over 40 years that one time had over 10 million viewers to a company that hasn't been around for two years and they are about to pass that company's flagship cable program before they turn 3 years old in total viewers and in the precious 18-49 demo.
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If the 18-49 demo was all that mattered, WWE would be booking Sasha Banks in evening-gown matches. They switched gears because they realize that a wider audience is more lucrative. That's why they're printing money and filling arenas every night.

There is indeed a dramatic talent gap...AEW's talent laps WWEs talent and its not particularly close.
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Come on man. I've been to two Dynamites and three WWE shows lately to compare up close. There is a marked difference in physical talent and workrate. When I took my kids to a WWE house show in Fort Myers, the curtain jerkers were Finn Balor and Sami Zayn. Those guys are Day 1 main eventers in AEW. And the talent gap between the women's divisions is massive. Britt Baker isn't even Top 6 if she switches companies.

You are also comparing two companies that are nothing alike. WWE is a content provider, they are not professional wrestling. Vince McMahon has been trying to tell people this for years. They do not operate in any way like a professional wrestling company. AEW is a professional wrestling company
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What does this mean? AEW, the traditional "professional wrestling" company, has 155-pound gymnasts in main events and gives tons of time to dangerously untrained women. They don't even go on the road. Conversely, a main event like Cena v. Reigns would fly in the 1950s, NWA, AWA, old-school WWF, Attitude Era or any other era because they are credible big athletes with mainstream star power. Even a women's match like Charlotte v. Ripley is more hard-hitting and intense than most of the overly choreographed routines in the AEW men's division.

I like both products and AEW will be successful in its niche. But it's a product marketed directly to smarks like us. That creates a ceiling.
 
DMoney said:
If the 18-49 demo was all that mattered, WWE would be booking Sasha Banks in evening-gown matches. They switched gears because they realize that a wider audience is more lucrative. That's why they're printing money and filling arenas every night.
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It is all that matters for their content...it is how ad money is allocated. WWEs wide audience? 1.5-2 million watch RAW. When Brock Lesnar came back in 2012 it was over 4 million consistently. They print money for reasons not related to product quality.

DMoney said:
Come on man. I've been to two Dynamites and three WWE shows lately to compare up close. There is a marked difference in physical talent and workrate. When I took my kids to a WWE house show in Fort Myers, the curtain jerkers were Finn Balor and Sami Zayn. Those guys are Day 1 main eventers in AEW. And the talent gap between the women's divisions is massive. Britt Baker isn't even Top 6 if she switches companies.
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I couldn't disagree more with everything written here. Sami Zayn and Finn Balor curtain jerk in WWE because they are booked like jabrones. They would main event AEW because they would be booked like main eventers.

No one in WWE is a draw...0 people. If less and less people tune in...that means they don't draw.

DMoney said:
What does this mean? AEW, the traditional "professional wrestling" company, has 155-pound gymnasts in main events and gives tons of time to dangerously untrained women. They don't even go on the road. Conversely, a main event like Cena v. Reigns would fly in the 1950s, NWA, AWA, old-school WWF, Attitude Era or any other era because they are credible big athletes with mainstream star power. Even a women's match like Charlotte v. Ripley is more hard-hitting and intense than most of the overly choreographed routines in the AEW men's division.

I like both products and AEW will be successful in its niche. But it's a product marketed directly to smarks like us. That creates a ceiling.
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Again, couldn't disagree more. You've got some bad takes, pal.

Reigns v. Cena was...fine. Charlotte and Rhea Ripley was slop.

I think you have no idea what the modern WWE fan is. It's literally a 50+ man and it's been in constant decline for almost 20 years. They make money in ways unrelated to the quality of their product or the size of their audience
 
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BoxingRobes said:
No one in WWE is a draw...0 people. If less and less people tune in...that means they don't draw.
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Yet they are running multiple stadium shows a year and breaking records on social media. When was the last time any wrestling promotion was running multiple stadiums a year? All the old shoot interview cliches ("selling tickets, drawing money") can't be used against WWE because they are doing both at a high level.

A guy like Reigns walks into AEW and is levels above everybody immediately. Even Jericho admitted he was the man, and that was before the heel turn. There are plenty more in the WWE who are main eventers in AEW on Day One. Look at how midcarders like Miro, Moxley and Black have done. And that's not even getting into the women's division.

I think you have no idea what the modern WWE fan is. It's literally a 50+ man and it's been in constant decline for almost 20 years.
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I have a pretty good idea from going to the shows. I saw families, young people, old people, boys, girls and multiple demographics. At AEW, it was almost exclusively white comic-book dudes in the 18-49 demo. Which is cool- I am a smark and enjoyed their show. But it's very easy to see the different in talent and mass appeal when you see both shows live and you have kids.
 
DMoney said:
A guy like Reigns walks into AEW and is levels above everybody immediately. Even Jericho admitted he was the man, and that was before the heel turn. There are plenty more in the WWE who are main eventers in AEW on Day One. Look at how midcarders like Miro, Moxley and Black have done. And that's not even getting into the women's division.



I have a pretty good idea from going to the shows. I saw families, young people, old people, boys, girls and multiple demographics. At AEW, it was almost exclusively white comic-book dudes in the 18-49 demo. Which is cool- I am a smark and enjoyed their show. But it's very easy to see the different in talent and mass appeal when you see both shows live and you have kids.
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You can say what you want about Moxley, Miro, and others. They were booked like **** in WWE because everyone is booked like **** in WWE. Its a terrible product. They are now stars in AEW because they are presented as stars. In WWE, Mox was a rodeo clown, Miro was getting cucked, and Al Black was getting thrown off buildings and having his eye poked out.

wrestlenomics.com

Key demo and total audience: What are they and how much do they matter? - Wrestlenomics

The metrics we’ve followed throughout the last few decades of wrestling television history have changed. In the “Monday Night War” era, amid the competition ultimately won by WWF Raw over WCW Nitro, reports dwelled on TV ratings: a number with one or two decimal places. Those numbers measured a...
wrestlenomics.com wrestlenomics.com

This was from the middle of the pandemic when wrestling twitter, etc. were trying to discuss AEW's numbers, etc. They destroyed WWE/NXT head-to-head FWIW, it wasn't even close.

Last night...AEW had a .48 rating and 1.2M viewers. They had a .53 on Friday night.

Like I said...the inevitable is coming for AEW as early as 2023 when it comes to renegotiating their rights deal. They will likely pass RAW sooner than you think.

Also "smark" is such an outdated term...what is left of the wrestling marketshare is all online and privvy to most things. AEW attracts lapsed fans, Indie fans, and people that value in-ring product and have been perhaps disillusioned by WWE's horrendous TV. Like I said, the average age of RAW and Smackdown viewers is 50+. That is their demo.
 
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DMoney said:
And then the next day, WWE had a main event with real athletes and professional wrestlers in front of 44k as part of a billion-dollar Peacock deal.

AEW is a fun show but they have too many goofs. There is a dramatic talent gap. Too many of their top wrestlers are not credible. They are more “sports entertainment” than WWE. Punk sat cross-legged and cut a promo looking like a fan. Is that “real wrestling?”

They will do well with the smark crowd but they have a ceiling unless they change their approach. Punk was their biggest chip and that’s been cashed.
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Most of Aew‘s roster looks like children or average joes . I literally laugh my *** off at the young bucks lol. At least take your *** to a gym and look like an athlete. Them as bad *** heals is just too much. Chris Jericho looks like he belongs in a bar passed out, it’s just sad. One of their biggest stars is Darby Alan and I’m almost positive my old *** would rag doll him. He makes Jeff Hardy look like Goldberg.

They sold everyone on being the anti wwe, more real wrestling , wins matter and they’ll keep up with them. Yet it turned into mostly iindy darlings with very few “real stars“. Its pretty much pwg on a network ,lots of comedy spots with gymnastics and twenty guys waiting to catch the gymnast. There’s no selling and its very rare you see psychology. Cody and Jericho might be the only guys that gets it. You’ll see three devastating moves and they kick out , then get pinned with a school boy lol. It’s just fast paced gymnastics with spots , where they can get a chant of “ this is awesome “.

It’s everything I hate about the new product and why I won’t watch. It’ll always be a niche audience.

That’s just my opinion of it, just call me Jim Cornette JR.
 
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