Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

All Elite Wrestling


goodhelmet

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 5.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Still can't believe how the last thread went. 

The latest Being The Elite explains most of what you need to know. It is 24 minutes long but it is recapping the events of WrestleKingdom, the beginnings of AEW and tying up BTE storylines. Check it out or continue to be overly abrasive I guess:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't heard WOR but I'm reading Dave confirmed AEW wont be working with New Japan. Someone can confirm?

Quote

"New Japan has made the decision that they're going to work with Ring of Honor. All Elite wanted to keep their talent working in New Japan and wanted to partner with New Japan on events and that's not gonna happen. And that may have cost them Kenny Omega."

 

EDIT:

lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The episode above (SPOILER, I guess) does point to Omega going to AEW (the ticking clock on the phone at the end; Kenny saying he'd "lost his phone" earlier in the ep). The alternative would be his friends setting him up to make a big deal of a WWE announcement, which is possible but seems less likely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, rovert said:

Still can't believe how the last thread went. 

The latest Being The Elite explains most of what you need to know. It is 24 minutes long but it is recapping the events of WrestleKingdom, the beginnings of AEW and tying up BTE storylines. Check it out or continue to be overly abrasive I guess:

 

I watched my first BTE. What a waste of time. I learned nothing and I don't care about these folks, so I was bored. All of the Scrull-Omega stuff was horrible comedy. Yeah, I hope this isn't what AEW is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get why BTE exists, and to be fair it is an interesting take on how to promote yourself, but also your show, with even some sort of internal mythology. Also it brings the fans and the performers together in a way most wrestling promotions don't do.

However, on the other hand, I think they shouldn't rely on it - sure it could be some fun supplementary  material that adds a little more charm to the product, but should it be essential? Considering that they have their own "brand" of humor, which, taking Grimmas' reaction as an example, can be off-putting, it may allienate some of your audience if watching it is required.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know there's a strong sense of loyalty with Japanese businesses, but choosing to stay partnered with ROH rather (it seems) than keeping Kenny is a head scratching choice. The only thing that makes sense is if they really feel that ROH is essential to their US expansion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SCU announced they signed AEW contracts today.

It seems if you read between the lines, it seems like the deal breaker is that ROH didn't want to work with AEW. Which is understandable I suppose, but one wonders what did they think was going to happen when they helped them put together the All In show?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  Sinclair made All In possible on several difference levels . Without ROH giving  the guys permission , providing talent and production support  All In could not have happen. I understand why guys started their own promotion , but it appears they double dealt  Sinclair in the process .   Now that the WWE has googled up some much of the indy talent and it appears that AEW will not have any access that ROH , NJPW and CMLL talent. Where does AEW go to fill out the roster in the short term . Impact , MLW , AAA , AJPW , Dragon Gate  or what left on the indies ? Should be interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The whole story of AEW is crazy and weird and it's one of those things that is going to be extremely interesting to look back on in 30 years.  On the one hand you could easily see this being an Eddie Einhorn/IWA 2.0 situation.  But on the other hand....

For several years now we have all been talking about a technological and media paradigm shift.  The people at the forefront of understanding that shift in pro wrestling have been The Bucks, Cody and Omega.  I've been saying for years that The Bucks in particular were THE act of the YouTube/Meme culture generation and they've proven it in ways I never could have expected.  They've also proven to be geniuses at managing the media.  

The new media paradigm shift is not at all unlike the shift that we saw with national television syndication and cable tv.  Cody, The Bucks and Omega aren't Hogan - no one is - but they are special stars and have a real connection to fans in this era.  They represent a certain zeitgeist of the times not unlike Hogan.  The guy in charge has a fuck ton of money and is putting shit loads into it.  Meanwhile in the WWE the company is transitioning to a new leadership.  Yes I'm building a narrative here, but there are parallels to 1982/83 that aren't much of a reach.  I would never in a million years bet that the WWE would be overthrown as the top dog, but this is the only time in my lifetime where all the necessary conditions for such an unlikely scenario are at least in place (yes I'm including Nitro era WCW). 

The big issues are execution and Khan himself.  Khan is definitely invested financially.  He wants to do this.  He loves wrestling.  But does he have the right temperment, advisers, et?  Probably too soon to tell, but it'll be interesting to track. 

I'm far from the biggest fan of any of the key players involved in the promotion.  I've never watched a second of BTE and I've no real desire to.  But this is a major, major play in pro wrestling.  Even if it fails it has changed the game in huge ways that will have lasting effects on the business at all levels and for now at least wrestling is no longer a unipolar world. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, KawadaSmile said:

I get why BTE exists, and to be fair it is an interesting take on how to promote yourself, but also your show, with even some sort of internal mythology. Also it brings the fans and the performers together in a way most wrestling promotions don't do.

However, on the other hand, I think they shouldn't rely on it - sure it could be some fun supplementary  material that adds a little more charm to the product, but should it be essential? Considering that they have their own "brand" of humor, which, taking Grimmas' reaction as an example, can be off-putting, it may allienate some of your audience if watching it is required.

3

I don't think they are marketing towards Grimmas or a lot of people here even. And I am not sure if Grimmas would even admit to liking it as it would give up ground to me.

BTE did explain the IRL business and contract state of play in a comedic manner.

14 hours ago, sek69 said:

I know there's a strong sense of loyalty with Japanese businesses, but choosing to stay partnered with ROH rather (it seems) than keeping Kenny is a head scratching choice. The only thing that makes sense is if they really feel that ROH is essential to their US expansion.

1

Going my personal knowledge I stated that the idea the three companies working together was very wishful thinking.

But the issue with Tony Kahn is that he has no diplomacy skills/tact. His is to basically just ambush. NJPW and ROH are both traditional companies who to know things before they are announced. Wait for more personal profiles but from what I've heard from people who have interacted with him he's an entitled rich kid. One person who has been involved in Wrestling for 20 years or so compared AEW to a situation where Eric Bischoff was Ted Turner's son.

14 hours ago, El-P said:

NJPW can't really cut ties with ROH at this point anyway with the MSG show coming up.

Yep. And at best AEW expects to have TV contract around June time and probably start their show in the Fall. So it is pointless to do anything with them yet. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dylan Waco said:

The whole story of AEW is crazy and weird and it's one of those things that is going to be extremely interesting to look back on in 30 years.  On the one hand you could easily see this being an Eddie Einhorn/IWA 2.0 situation.  But on the other hand....

For several years now we have all been talking about a technological and media paradigm shift.  The people at the forefront of understanding that shift in pro wrestling have been The Bucks, Cody and Omega.  I've been saying for years that The Bucks in particular were THE act of the YouTube/Meme culture generation and they've proven it in ways I never could have expected.  They've also proven to be geniuses at managing the media.  

The new media paradigm shift is not at all unlike the shift that we saw with national television syndication and cable tv.  Cody, The Bucks and Omega aren't Hogan - no one is - but they are special stars and have a real connection to fans in this era.  They represent a certain zeitgeist of the times not unlike Hogan.  The guy in charge has a fuck ton of money and is putting shit loads into it.  Meanwhile in the WWE the company is transitioning to a new leadership.  Yes I'm building a narrative here, but there are parallels to 1982/83 that aren't much of a reach.  I would never in a million years bet that the WWE would be overthrown as the top dog, but this is the only time in my lifetime where all the necessary conditions for such an unlikely scenario are at least in place (yes I'm including Nitro era WCW). 

The big issues are execution and Khan himself.  Khan is definitely invested financially.  He wants to do this.  He loves wrestling.  But does he have the right temperment, advisers, et?  Probably too soon to tell, but it'll be interesting to track. 

I'm far from the biggest fan of any of the key players involved in the promotion.  I've never watched a second of BTE and I've no real desire to.  But this is a major, major play in pro wrestling.  Even if it fails it has changed the game in huge ways that will have lasting effects on the business at all levels and for now at least wrestling is no longer a unipolar world. 

It's all going to come down to revenue streams, I think. How do you make money in 2019? You can partially crowdfund the Young Bucks. You can't really crowdfund AEW. Or can you? I don't even know and I'm not sure anyone does. I think the balance of it all is a valid question. If they get a solid TV deal, does that close doors when it comes to other funding sources? Is the Hot Topic merch trend still on the upswing or did they actually miss the boat by a couple of years? What sort of muscle can WWE flex at this point in halting this? I get the 84-5 comparison, but I think a 1987 might be more interesting, where WWF went out of its way to block JCP PPV.  Plus, it feels like a much more crowded marketplace than ten years ago. Maybe that's just an illusion, but there's much more wrestling out there to consume than anyone possibly can, both local and otherwise. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that hasn't been discussed in terms of the TV deal is how they intend to tape the shows. Are they going to go the now standard indy route of taping 3-4 episodes in a night? Or do they try and go live every week? Meltzer keeps talking about how every two bit MMA organization can get a strong TV deal and wrestling (outside WWE) can't, but WWE is also the only promotion right now that can claim to be "live sports" in the American market. That might be where the Khan money becomes very important - funding start up production costs in the hopes of netting a large enough TV deal to create sustainable revenue going forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After listening to the latest WOR, it seems like the likely play now is New Japan working with AEW after the MSG show is done. They really don't want to lose Kenny and Dave was fairly certain he's not going to WWE, so working with AEW would be how that happens. I guess the question is what does Kenny do between now and then? Maybe they are building Kenny/Tana for the MSG show main event but that's in April so that would be a lot of down time until then. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PWInsider is reporting that Neville/PAC is in Jacksonville and is possibly going to be announced for AEW at their rally. He would be a great signing - a relatively recognisable face who can work heel or babayface up and down the card. I'd like to see him continue his heel act and be allowed a relatively prominent role.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Loss pinned and locked this topic
  • Loss unlocked and unpinned this topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...