strobogo Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 Prediction: If Corey Graves returns as an in ring talent, he'll be cut within 14 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 Honestly Graves got a bad rap in his indy run by being dismissed as a discount CM Punk just because he had a similar look. I always felt he had the promo/charisma ability where had he been able to work with some better names and get the reps he could have become a big name. Not like GOAT worker level, but there was something to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rah Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the conspiracy back in 2014 that Corey got the commentating/panelist job because the situation surrounding that last concussion was a little sketchy. Like, they gave him the job as a hush-money type deal? 6 minutes ago, sek69 said: Honestly Graves got a bad rap in his indy run by being dismissed as a discount CM Punk just because he had a similar look. I can fully expect this being a Vince panic move to have their own Punk since AEW lapped the original up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 Didn't his hometown fans chant "Don't come back" when he tried out for ROH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Ewiak Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 12 hours ago, Rah said: Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the conspiracy back in 2014 that Corey got the commentating/panelist job because the situation surrounding that last concussion was a little sketchy. Like, they gave him the job as a hush-money type deal? I can fully expect this being a Vince panic move to have their own Punk since AEW lapped the original up. Considering the lack of ratings movement from Punk, Danielson, and Cole moving over and the easy way WWE is cutting people, I don't think they're actually worried about anything AEW is doing, regardless of what the Internet wants to think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 They exploded NXT, sent HHH into exile, and cut anyone associated with the old style because they got thoroughly beaten by AEW. "They're not actually worried about AEW" is just something diehard WWE fans cling to despite the decades of evidence of Vince having a freakout every time another wrestling company gets anywhere near his in terms of popularity. I do think they aren't as concerned about people leaving as they were, as evidenced by the continual cuts, but they very much are concerned about another company catching up with them (and occasionally beating them) in the demos that pay the bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Ewiak Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 54 minutes ago, sek69 said: They exploded NXT, sent HHH into exile, and cut anyone associated with the old style because they got thoroughly beaten by AEW. "They're not actually worried about AEW" is just something diehard WWE fans cling to despite the decades of evidence of Vince having a freakout every time another wrestling company gets anywhere near his in terms of popularity. I do think they aren't as concerned about people leaving as they were, as evidenced by the continual cuts, but they very much are concerned about another company catching up with them (and occasionally beating them) in the demos that pay the bills. I think the WWE were slightly worried when AEW first debuted, but since in next couple of years since then, they've still never met the heights of their first actual show, I think the current feelings of Vince, whose mind everybody can read, is at about a 4 or a 5. If 10 is immediate post-nWO WCW, and 0 is the time period between the end of WCW & Spike TV putting TNA on the air. What happened w/ Triple H is yes, he failed. He was given free reign for his Workrate Indy cosplay fed and the moment there was an alternative for the smart audience, they fled over to AEW, so what's the point of overpaying a bunch of indy guys who think they should be able to do whatever they want, when you can hire a bunch of ex-football players and former college athletes and get nearly the same amount of viewers as Adam Cole got? After all, people don't report the Giants are "afraid" of the Cowboys because they just fired their GM & coach after not meeting the goals set by ownership. But I'm out of step w/ the current wrestling zeitgeist, since I don't think Vince is terrible, nor do I think AEW is some fantastic, great company. Corey Grave is being reinstated probably because he's been trying for years and finally got an OK from a doctor, not because Vince said, "dammit it, we need a Punk replacement," as he was personally planning on how to bury everybody the Internet likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 14, 2022 Report Share Posted January 14, 2022 My personal conspiracy is that WWE was only cracking down on keeping people on medical restriction because they started doing that when the NFL was catching heat over concussions. Now that really isn't anywhere near the hot button issue it used to be, suddenly people who previously had necks and brains too damaged to wrestle suddenly find themselves able to be cleared. 7 minutes ago, Jesse Ewiak said: But I'm out of step w/ the current wrestling zeitgeist, since I don't think Vince is terrible, nor do I think AEW is some fantastic, great company. There's idiots everywhere of course, but I always thought the rap on Vince is that he has lost touch with what the audience wants and/or he's completely walled himself off with yes men who's jobs are hinging on no one ever breaking through to help him get back in touch. Also I don't think Vince is hinging on every bit of news dropping about AEW, but if you don't think he would go on the warpath if Dynamite ever started consistently beating Raw in the demo.....well.....there's only about 50 years of evidence available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 The issue with AEW isn’t the ratings as much as their existence driving up the pay scale. Pre-AEW Vince could pay guys whatever the hell he wanted, just enough that talent couldn’t make more money by quitting and working at Bennigans. Now he has to pay his talent something closer to their actual worth. His only concern with AEW’s ratings is whether it keeps them on the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 By all accounts Vince made (what he felt at least) honest efforts to keep guys like Danielson and Cole, and you know based on what we know about his personality nothing makes Vince want you more than telling him you chose to work somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dav'oh Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 Sami Zayn teasing Evel-Kneivelling over the ring in a shopping trolley? Priceless. Make this man President of Everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dav'oh Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 Step on anyone's neck but mine, Charlotte. Repectfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin' Brian Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 5 hours ago, sek69 said: Also I don't think Vince is hinging on every bit of news dropping about AEW, but if you don't think he would go on the warpath if Dynamite ever started consistently beating Raw in the demo.....well.....there's only about 50 years of evidence available. With recent news of them going out of their way to keep MLW from getting in front of more eyeballs, if Vince is trying to put the screws to a third tier promotion he for sure is keeping tabs on the clear #2 in measurable numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 3 hours ago, Dav'oh said: Sami Zayn teasing Evel-Kneivelling over the ring in a shopping trolley? Priceless. Make this man President of Everything. Sami's the best. When folks were scratching their heads at him probably re-signing, I figured they just don't watch. Sami is one the handful of guys allowed to do bullet points and improv on the mic, and he seems to have creative input on his stuff. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, given Sami's rep as someone who always has something to say loudly backstage. Vince tends to like guys like that who bitch but have ideas. Thats why his heel character is so great. It's his real personality turned up to 10, shit turned up to 19. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 17 hours ago, Jesse Ewiak said: After all, people don't report the Giants are "afraid" of the Cowboys because they just fired their GM & coach after not meeting the goals set by ownership. I hear you when it comes to the NFC East. And while Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder fit the comparisons to Vince, there have been times where George Steinbrenner often directed his Yankees’ GM to make moves to counteract the crosstown Mets for New York sports pages headlines, and more importantly inter-division rival Boston Red Sox. It is rare in team sports, but not unheard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZThomas Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 15 hours ago, Flyin' Brian said: With recent news of them going out of their way to keep MLW from getting in front of more eyeballs, if Vince is trying to put the screws to a third tier promotion he for sure is keeping tabs on the clear #2 in measurable numbers. Nick Khan I believe really changed the focus of the company away from signing guys to spite these other companies. I'm sure WWE is going to continue to do other petty things to undercut these other promotions but all these mass releases especially the ones of guys they thoroughly invested in , They aren't using their budget to keep guys out of other promotions. I'm nor saying WWE isn't worried about these other promotions catching up but Certainly Nick Khan isn't and it's more of a priority to save money on personnel at the moment. AEW is struggling to get a million and I think what bigger name could AEW have that's bigger than CM Punk who is as big a name than anybody on the WWE roster unless they were to get Rock or Austin. If they can't draw a million with Punk , Bryan and Cole all coming in around the same time then I could see Khan telling Vince stop focusing on competition busy pointing to that reason. I honestly want AEW to ge well over a million and I wouldn't be surprised if it does in the next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 I think the most important thing is AEW is clearly building for the future even if it means sacrificing a few things in the present while WWE continues to rely on names from 20 years ago. Putting someone like Daniel Garcia in the main event of Rampage might not pay off today, but moves like that will lead AEW to have a ton of younger guys who the fans see as someone who matters. I'll admit I personally saw the Acclaimed as kind of a geek team at first but they've been positioned in such a way where they can be a tag team title contender now and I won't bat an eye. 1 hour ago, ZThomas said: I honestly want AEW to ge well over a million and I wouldn't be surprised if it does in the next year I do too and I also think they will, but (despite what the weirdos on Twitter think) TV networks write the big checks based on the demo numbers rather than the overall one. They've already done a much better job cultivating a younger audience than WWE and that will go a long way in securing a nice increase on the next TV contract. Meanwhile, Vince's big plan to get younger viewers seems to just be having Mandy in a bikini as often as possible. Which hey, I'm not complaining (Respectfully), but all it's done is lower the median NXT age from 64 to 61. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reel Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 1 hour ago, sek69 said: TV networks write the big checks based on the demo numbers rather than the overall one. I think the NHL on TNT has proven that this isn't entirely the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 15, 2022 Report Share Posted January 15, 2022 That's probably more about real sports being seen as DVR proof programming and maybe TNT hoping that the NHL got better numbers than they are getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZThomas Posted January 21, 2022 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/15/2022 at 3:04 PM, sek69 said: I think the most important thing is AEW is clearly building for the future even if it means sacrificing a few things in the present while WWE continues to rely on names from 20 years ago. Putting someone like Daniel Garcia in the main event of Rampage might not pay off today, but moves like that will lead AEW to have a ton of younger guys who the fans see as someone who matters. I'll admit I personally saw the Acclaimed as kind of a geek team at first but they've been positioned in such a way where they can be a tag team title contender now and I won't bat an eye. I'm not going to lie, I'm surprised at how many guys like the Acclaimed and Dante Martin that weren't these super worker indie darlings getting featured and getting the chance to get over. At the same time, I don't have a problem with former WWE coming in to AEW because most of them haven't peeked yet and more importantly most of them don't feel like they got signed because they were former WWE talent like TNA felt like. Alot of these talent deserve a chance to try to get over the way they didn't get too in WWE. It's wrestling though it's no guarantee you will get over no matter how much you try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 21, 2022 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 Dante really is the type of guy that encapsulates AEW right now. He'd either be in developmental forever or chasing the 24/7 title in WWE, and AEW saw this guy doing amazing stuff and wowing the crowd and decided "he's probably not completely ready but he's over so fuck it let's give it a try" and that is the kind of stuff that makes stars out of folks. Not a guarantee of course, but you gotta take a gamble on someone if they get over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne Posted January 21, 2022 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/15/2022 at 1:04 PM, sek69 said: I do too and I also think they will, but (despite what the weirdos on Twitter think) TV networks write the big checks based on the demo numbers rather than the overall one. On 1/15/2022 at 2:49 PM, Reel said: I think the NHL on TNT has proven that this isn't entirely the case. On 1/15/2022 at 2:57 PM, sek69 said: That's probably more about real sports being seen as DVR proof programming and maybe TNT hoping that the NHL got better numbers than they are getting. The NHL audience is the most affluent of the North American sports leagues, so TNT is able to charge higher ad rates and make more money with the NHL than they can with AEW, despite hockey drawing fewer viewers than Dynamite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted January 21, 2022 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 I'm guessing a boring nerd sport like golf has the most overall affluent audience and highest per capita ad rates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted January 21, 2022 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 Golf is absolutely the sport with the most affluent audience, I think it's by a large margin too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne Posted January 21, 2022 Report Share Posted January 21, 2022 4 minutes ago, sek69 said: Golf is absolutely the sport with the most affluent audience, I think it's by a large margin too. 33% of NHL viewers make over $100K annually, compared to 27% of PGA viewers. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/which-sports-have-the-whitest-richest-oldest-fans/283626/ Sourcing numbers from: https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/year-in-sports-media-report-2013.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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