Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

The Wednesday Night War


Ricky Jackson

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 219
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

26 minutes ago, SirEdger said:

There are still haters that'll say that it's all doom and gloom for AEW because they dropped under 1 million, despite the fact that they've gained viewers in 18-49's demo.

It's funny when you think *IMPACT* is still alive, yet some WWE fanboys are predicting death for AEW after one month of TV. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd also point to WCW here, just for history sake. If AEW strikes on a really hot angle - like, say, Randy Orton showing up and RKOing Kenny Omega - that number is going to go way, way up. I know that particular example is unrealistic, but hear me out: Hulk Hogan turned heel and the nWo started and WCW hit record ratings. I think AEW is more likely to somehow hit that sort of buzz level than WWE is because, well, WWE has actively booked themselves away from ever getting a "hot hand" while AEW seems to be running a playbook (or wanting to run a playbook) that will actually be driven by getting a "hot hand."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/24/2019 at 6:19 PM, Mad Dog said:

And things like the Rick and Morty announcement shows they have a good idea on the type of people they are catering to.

Well, I’m glad they know because I sure as hell don’t. That announcement on Twitter was the first time in my life where something wrestling related genuinely made me feel old and out of touch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Impact is creeping up on its 20th anniversary. AEW will be fine. AEW delivering (total) non-stop action is great, but there needs to be a little character work as well. Also, less is more. Not every match needs 20 kicks outs from big moves. That is the same thing that has made NXT, for the most part, unwatchable to me. Every match shouldn't be an epic or super dramatic. I am not asking for every match to end in a roll up, but its okay if a match ends on the first top rope Falcon Arrow and not the 5th top rope Falcon Arrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, fakeplastictrees said:

Impact is creeping up on its 20th anniversary. AEW will be fine. AEW delivering (total) non-stop action is great, but there needs to be a little character work as well. Also, less is more. Not every match needs 20 kicks outs from big moves. That is the same thing that has made NXT, for the most part, unwatchable to me. Every match shouldn't be an epic or super dramatic. I am not asking for every match to end in a roll up, but its okay if a match ends on the first top rope Falcon Arrow and not the 5th top rope Falcon Arrow.

I don't even think AEW needs to change that match. If they had one decent promo in there this week it would have been about right. One promo, one angle a show I think would be good enough. I appreciate that they went away from the WWE format but they do great video packages, do more, talk a little more and maybe a weekly angle. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree. The last thing I want to see is AEW morph into WWE and thus far they have been pretty good about it. However, perhaps AEW should move away from its "meet our backstage crew" sit down interviews with Cody and use that time for a video package for Party Private and some of the others. Just one or two a week. Something that is less than 2 minutes should be enough. These sit downs should not be "boyhood dream"  interviews, but rather focusing on the actually kayfabe wrestling personalities. Private Party talking about parties and the VIP lifestyle, MJF being MJF (though in reality he probably doesn't need one of these), Darby Allin talking about taking risk, being a rebel, being in the scene, etc. Three months of these types of video packages and/or sit down interviews will allow AEW to have its cake and eat it to. I love Shida, but I don't want to see her in the ring doing a ten minute cringeworthy promo against the vanilla and uncharismatic Britt Baker. However, I am all in on a two minute Shida video detail who she is, what she's about, and why I should care.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Given how ratings from Friday onwards have been downward across the board, it will be interesting to see how ratings are for the next cycle. Meltzer has spoken about wrestling fatigue due to the sheer volume of wrestling affecting all companies and creating pretty much the opposite of a boom. Hopefully that is not the case and things revert to good for both shows next week. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/26/2019 at 2:24 PM, fakeplastictrees said:

I agree. The last thing I want to see is AEW morph into WWE and thus far they have been pretty good about it. However, perhaps AEW should move away from its "meet our backstage crew" sit down interviews with Cody and use that time for a video package for Party Private and some of the others. Just one or two a week. Something that is less than 2 minutes should be enough. These sit downs should not be "boyhood dream"  interviews, but rather focusing on the actually kayfabe wrestling personalities. Private Party talking about parties and the VIP lifestyle, MJF being MJF (though in reality he probably doesn't need one of these), Darby Allin talking about taking risk, being a rebel, being in the scene, etc. Three months of these types of video packages and/or sit down interviews will allow AEW to have its cake and eat it to. I love Shida, but I don't want to see her in the ring doing a ten minute cringeworthy promo against the vanilla and uncharismatic Britt Baker. However, I am all in on a two minute Shida video detail who she is, what she's about, and why I should care.

All of this. Others have said elsewhere that to have Moxley on the roster and not be given a live microphone was a travesty and they did it this week, but my biggest issues with the shows (outside of MOVEZ KICKOUTZ MOVEZ) has been the lack of actual promotion for the talent. 

Take Shida/Shanna this past week. I've seen Shida before and she's known to enough of the targeted fanbase, sure, but Shanna was a complete unknown to many. A little 30-60 second package about who she is, what she's done, and maybe a few highlight reel spots from her career so far would have done wonders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed but at the same time, I knew Shanna by reputation because she's probably the top female wrestler in France right now but they don't have a whole lot of major promotions over there that could've given the impression that she was a big deal. In the end, she and Shida still won over the crowd but I don't know if a video package featuring Shanna would've made THAT much of a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

822,000 AEW and 815,000 NXT.

Clearly the NXT invasion of the main roster and the main roster invasion of NXT led to a spike in ratings for NXT. It makes me think they might have actually beaten AEW had they advertised on Raw that Styles and the OC might be at Full Sail on Wednesday, instead of running a program on social media before NXT started and hoping Twitter would make fans tune in.

I think it's a healthy number for both promotions and given how ratings are declining for main roster WWE shows, it's a good sign that both NXT and AEW have a product that fans are willing and wanting to follow. 

Next week with the European tour, will NXT be taped or live? And will the NXT UK wrestlers also be featured?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question for AEW is whether the PPV will boost the TV numbers for next week and what the next slate of marquee feuds are.

Question for NXT is whether the boost from the main roster stuff is sustainable or if the numbers die off again post-Survivor Series.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think AEW will get a boost next week cuz of the PPV but they will have to book the aftermath very carefully. This is a good chance for them to show that actions have consequences in AEW, for instance. It's why it's a bit surprising that they essentially put themselves in a tight corner with the stipulation that Cody will never challenge for the world title again if he loses to Jericho at Full Gear, although Cody's promo and Jericho's video were so good, no way am I missing that match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AEW is still extremely young and I think is the first non-WWE American promotion in the century to get thousands of fans attending their weekly shows. WWE getting only 4000 for the shooting of an American institution like Monday Night Raw is much more problematic than Dynamite getting 4000 for an episode imo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh, it's bad no matter how you slice it. Regardless of what promotion it is too. It's not a good sign when the numbers are going down. Both the rating & the attendance. Dynamite was awesome on Thursday & did a great job for hyping up Full Gear but that's still worrisome. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Worrisome ? IMPACT still exists after 18 years. AEW had what ? 6 episodes ? Come on people.

On the other hand, all sign tend to point to : absolutely no boom period at all. Which means the niche audience that is pro-wrestling today has to be split between all those promotions trying to get their part of the cake, instead of a growing audience making pro-wrestling stronger as a whole. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...