J. Hova
Don Corleone
Emotionally exhausted and morally bankrupt
Posts: 2,010
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Post by J. Hova on Jan 24, 2024 19:33:14 GMT -5
Obviously, TK can fund this practically indefinitely if he chooses to, but I wonder if this ship has started to take on too much water. There are tons of issues both internal and external but it isn't like AEW sales haven't been going down for the better part of a year. I can't help but think if they would just pull back from trying to book the biggest arenas in every town that would almost have to help. I also don't think they should be going everywhere. They need to focus on where they do draw people. They also need to trim the fat a bit. I've been saying it for years, there are too many damn people on the roster. It is commendable that TK didn't release anyone during COVID, but he needs to focus on his core 10 or 12 guys and girls, and build around them. This isn't 2020 anymore, there are other places for those people to work. Why trim the fat? If he can pay their contracts, then why bother releasing them? Just so he doesn't book them? Because he's spread himself to thin on who to book? If it's the latter then all he needs to do is buckle down and figure out who to focus on and use others to do ROH stuff or supplement matches. Which he kinda is doing now anyways. Unless it is legit a WCW situation, which this is not, where the contracts are getting too outrageous to keep the company afloat, then there is no reason to just release people. Not unless they're asking for it, which in this case I'd say go ahead. But no reason to cut people when he doesn't have to. Just like WWE has no reason to do so, even though they do. And their reason for doing so is to make the profits look good to shareholders for a quarter, which isn't a TK problem. So no, releasing people isn't going to help this issue. For the exact reason I stated and you stated, he's spread himself entirely way too thin. He also has zero focus. How many times have we seen the latest signing come in like a wrecking ball and three weeks later he or she is jerking the curtain? He needs to pull back and focus on those core people and have the cast of characters rotating around them. It isn't like he doesn't have the talent on his roster. Maybe my solution isn't right, but you know what also isn't the solution? What they have been doing.
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bdon
Tommy Wiseau
Posts: 78
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Post by bdon on Jan 24, 2024 19:41:30 GMT -5
Why trim the fat? If he can pay their contracts, then why bother releasing them? Just so he doesn't book them? Because he's spread himself to thin on who to book? If it's the latter then all he needs to do is buckle down and figure out who to focus on and use others to do ROH stuff or supplement matches. Which he kinda is doing now anyways. Unless it is legit a WCW situation, which this is not, where the contracts are getting too outrageous to keep the company afloat, then there is no reason to just release people. Not unless they're asking for it, which in this case I'd say go ahead. But no reason to cut people when he doesn't have to. Just like WWE has no reason to do so, even though they do. And their reason for doing so is to make the profits look good to shareholders for a quarter, which isn't a TK problem. So no, releasing people isn't going to help this issue. For the exact reason I stated and you stated, he's spread himself entirely way too thin. He also has zero focus. How many times have we seen the latest signing come in like a wrecking ball and three weeks later he or she is jerking the curtain? He needs to pull back and focus on those core people and have the cast of characters rotating around them. It isn't like he doesn't have the talent on his roster. Maybe my solution isn't right, but you know what also isn't the solution? What they have been doing. Your solution would work for anyone that understands storytelling. TK doesn’t understand this stuff and just wants to see cool matches. I always say TK is the guy who knows exactly how many punches were thrown and landed in Rocky 1 and 2 but has no clue who Adrienne is to Rocky, because he was too busy fast-forwarding to the punches.
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UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Sponsorisé par St. Michel Choco Chip Madeleines/NyonsOlive Tapenade Noir/Pâté de Campagne/Cigarettes
Posts: 15,566
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Post by UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm on Jan 24, 2024 19:52:11 GMT -5
blaming daniel garcia for things being bad is like blaming the cheddar & sour cream ruffles at a bbq/potluck for not being as good as the burgers and hot dogs. sure you could make some complaints but none of it makes sense, they're still good and just shows the shit you're trying to start. you gotta be less obvious than that lmao.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Jan 24, 2024 19:56:53 GMT -5
I'm tired of Daniel Garcia being the token "what do you expect with this guy on top" example. He's been one of the most consistently featured guys on AEW for a while now. He has been over for a good bit too and has had storylines to match.
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Post by 06vwgti on Jan 24, 2024 20:01:41 GMT -5
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 237,269
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 24, 2024 20:13:07 GMT -5
For the exact reason I stated and you stated, he's spread himself entirely way too thin. He also has zero focus. How many times have we seen the latest signing come in like a wrecking ball and three weeks later he or she is jerking the curtain? He needs to pull back and focus on those core people and have the cast of characters rotating around them. It isn't like he doesn't have the talent on his roster. Maybe my solution isn't right, but you know what also isn't the solution? What they have been doing. Your solution would work for anyone that understands storytelling. TK doesn’t understand this stuff and just wants to see cool matches. I always say TK is the guy who knows exactly how many punches were thrown and landed in Rocky 1 and 2 but has no clue who Adrienne is to Rocky, because he was too busy fast-forwarding to the punches. This simply isn't true at all, TK has more than shown on multiple occasions he absolutely understands storytelling and doesn't just do cool matches for the sake of cool matches Hangman's storyline to the top and MJF and Cole before the sudden unfortunate injuries were damn near universally praised as great storylines as some prime examples
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Post by HMARK Center on Jan 24, 2024 20:55:02 GMT -5
Pretty bold to proclaim a broad statement like this. I'm guessing you've spoken to everyone and made sure they don't see DG as a draw? Survey perhaps? Dude is popular, just because you might think that doesn't mean it isn't true. I can assure you that any attempt to make fans pay to see DG specifically will fall flat, no matter how much Bryan Danielson tries to push him as a means to paying it forward. Dude, cut it out.
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Dan Royal
AC Slater
Sigs/Avatars cannot exceed 1MB
Posts: 212
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Post by Dan Royal on Jan 24, 2024 21:08:01 GMT -5
For me it's 3 basic reasons.
One, the honeymoon phase is over. This was inevitable no matter what. It's not the new cool thing anymore. It happens in music. An artist is the hot new thing, their first 2 albums go through the roof. Then album 3 comes out and no one cares anymore. The music is still good, but people have moved on to something else. If I remember clearly, a lot of AEWs early events relied on hardcore fans traveling to shows. How many years in a row, do you want to go the Chicago to watch All In? Eventually, you just go to Cancun or something.
Two, they spread themselves too thin. When they started and were only doing Dynamite and PPVs, that's about 60 events a year. Now with Collision and other shows. They're probably doing 120-150? Keep the supply low and demand high. Keep every event special. I don't know how their TV deal works, but it would have been better to tape Collision after Dynamite in my opinion.
Three, they've blown their load. They've done Danielson-Omega, they've done Danielson-MJF, Omega-Moxley. They could have done Punk-Omega and it would have been huge, but that's obviously never going to happen. When Edge debuted it was kind of cool, but not as cool as when Cole and Danielson debuted in the same night. I can't think of any dream match or surprise debut that they could do right now that could generate any major ticket sales. Like I like Samoa Joe and Hook, they're badass and everything. But not good enough to convince me the spend $100+ on a ticket.
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Post by Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby on Jan 24, 2024 21:12:21 GMT -5
I'm tired of Daniel Garcia being the token "what do you expect with this guy on top" example. He's been one of the most consistently featured guys on AEW for a while now. He has been over for a good bit too and has had storylines to match. Yeah, like. He's been in well rated segments and poorly rated segments. He's over with crowds. And if you want someone to be a star in the future, you have to commit to them before they are a star and make sure that the audience knows that you're willing to pull the trigger. Whether he pans out in the future remains to be seen, but he's an upper midcarder doing upper midcarder things right now. I guess he gets this treatment because he's a technical wrestler with a generic-looking face? But even then, he's quite attractive.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 237,269
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 24, 2024 21:26:13 GMT -5
For me it's 3 basic reasons. One, the honeymoon phase is over. This was inevitable no matter what. It's not the new cool thing anymore. It happens in music. An artist is the hot new thing, their first 2 albums go through the roof. Then album 3 comes out and no one cares anymore. The music is still good, but people have moved on to something else. If I remember clearly, a lot of AEWs early events relied on hardcore fans traveling to shows. How many years in a row, do you want to go the Chicago to watch All In? Eventually, you just go to Cancun or something. Two, they spread themselves too thin. When they started and were only doing Dynamite and PPVs, that's about 60 events a year. Now with Collision and other shows. They're probably doing 120-150? Keep the supply low and demand high. Keep every event special. I don't know how their TV deal works, but it would have been better to tape Collision after Dynamite in my opinion. Three, they've blown their load. They've done Danielson-Omega, they've done Danielson-MJF, Omega-Moxley. They could have done Punk-Omega and it would have been huge, but that's obviously never going to happen. When Edge debuted it was kind of cool, but not as cool as when Cole and Danielson debuted in the same night. I can't think of any dream match or surprise debut that they could do right now that could generate any major ticket sales. Like I like Samoa Joe and Hook, they're badass and everything. But not good enough to convince me the spend $100+ on a ticket. 1. Who the hell is going to Cancun over going to a Chicago wrestling event? I imagine most people in Chicago aren't going on that trip in this hypothetical. If they had that money then their ability to go anywhere was never an issue lol. Chicago still sells insanely well for AEW, their issue was running it too much last year because of Punk. 2. This aspect I can agree on a bit but more that they need to hit more areas and venues and not overtax the markets. They're starting to do that this year and are continuing to. The Canadian Tour was a very good idea for example. 3. Idk about you but there are several dream matches on AEW's roster and will only get more if the potential signings they get become official. Their roster is MASSIVE and it's so big people forget they want to see certain matches until they do. The Continental Classic was loaded with huge matches from All Star and up and coming Talent too and it was all the better for it. As for wanting to spent 100 plus for a ticket personally... not every ticket is a hundred plus dollars either, that's kind of subjective, as some tickets can be much lower, or AEW can and has offered ticket deals too.
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Post by kingoftheindies on Jan 24, 2024 22:01:02 GMT -5
Not to be a broken record, but when even SRS says Rafael Morffi had to go, that's all you gotta know
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Post by HIM on Jan 24, 2024 22:21:46 GMT -5
Man, anytime I see "WCW 2000" in any post I gotta read through the thread. Damn.
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,516
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Post by markymark on Jan 24, 2024 22:44:49 GMT -5
Not to be a broken record, but when even SRS says Rafael Morffi had to go, that's all you gotta know
Booking a show in Savannah with one of the worst crowds ever, really no direspect but tonight it showed that he was a War Criminal for what he has done...
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Jan 24, 2024 22:53:18 GMT -5
AEW are still doing better as a rock-solid #2 international-level promotion than any other promotion has since WCW itself. OK, the ticket sales aren't great, but there's no real overnight magic bullet solution for that, so they just gotta keep doing their thing and see how things go.
I will say though that it's unfortunate that their honeymoon window where they could've established a larger footprint around the country was absolutely nuked by the pandemic. Dynamite was in existence, what, five months before everything shut down? And then by the time everybody could tour again, it was only a handful of months before Vince was stood down at WWE and THEY started turning the corner, and there would've been people who were only checking out AEW while waiting for WWE to get good again that started to trickle out.
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,516
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Post by markymark on Jan 24, 2024 22:55:39 GMT -5
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Post by raymondo316 on Jan 24, 2024 22:58:46 GMT -5
Well tonight's crowd was dead as f***, I hope they learnt from this and don't return.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 237,269
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 24, 2024 23:08:20 GMT -5
Georgia has been a great market for AEW, so definitely run Georgia again, but probably Atlanta or close to it.
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Post by Urn Anderson on Jan 24, 2024 23:31:24 GMT -5
I really hope they consider coming back to West Virginia when they book their next round of venues. Our arenas hold about 10k max, and it’s such a ridiculously devoted crowd to never have anything but regional indies.
Not to mention, we are quite firmly in NWA/WCW territory and have never taken well to WWE’s style at all. The two times AEW came here were major, major local events and near sell-outs.
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Post by Denny Zen is Cooking™ on Jan 25, 2024 0:05:08 GMT -5
No one has ever been able to adequately explain to me where the whole “AEW is bad at storytelling” narrative came from. Or, at least, where the “AEW is inferior to WWE at storytelling” narrative came from. Every single time I hear how “hot” WWE is and watch a show, I feel like I’ve been gaslit into believing the same old paint by numbers nonsense is the Shawshank Redemption or something, and that AEW doing, at the absolute worst, the same paint by numbers nonsense is Gigli.
The only time in AEW’s history that I felt like the story being told by AEW was outright awful was the whole “Real World Champion” nonsense Punk was pulling, because it made absolutely no sense that MJF, as a character, would completely ignore an imposter champion like that. Other than that, AEW’s storytelling had always struck me as average to good for pro wrestling. AEW has had some clunkers (Jericho/Callis springs to mind) but it has also had some great storylines over the years (Hangman/Kenny, Orange Cassidy fighting champion, Christian Cage, scourge to all fathers, to name a few).
This notion that WWE is objectively better at storytelling has got to stop. That may be some people’s opinion, but it damn sure isn’t this absolute truth like a lot of the wrestling internet acts these days.
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Post by Urn Anderson on Jan 25, 2024 0:39:09 GMT -5
No one has ever been able to adequately explain to me where the whole “AEW is bad at storytelling” narrative came from. Or, at least, where the “AEW is inferior to WWE at storytelling” narrative came from. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with my previous post - us old Appalachian/Southern rasslin’ towns don’t even *want* storytelling beyond “this guys wants the belt, because it’s better to be the champion.” AEW would do very well to embrace that, IMHO. I know there are a lot of complaints about how AEW is “flippy sh**” and not “real wrestling” and all that, but when they were promoting it as a more sports-based product, that appealed to an audience I don’t even know if they realized they were getting - the one that wants kayfabe competition over soap opera stories.
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