The Wrestling Thread

[Xeogred]

Lots of possibilities. With the internet, smart phones, social media, & just more on TV these days I don't think anything will ever reach the Monday Night Wars. Wrestling was a mainstay in the popular eye for a good 5 years. BUT AEW, along with the others, could change the game..

My pants tightened up when I saw the Kahn's are worth DOUBLE the McMahon's.

That can be concerning though. We don't need another Ted Turner situation here. So I think Cody Rhodes being VP could be crucial. Someone who really lives and sleeps in the business to steer it right. Then again, Vince has basically been sabotaging his own product for a decade or two now.

Yeah I seriously thought we'd never see something like this happen again after the death of WCW. But with the AEW and continued hype and movement behind the indie scene lately, NJPW getting their own streaming service now, etc, things are getting seriously interesting.

Also the AEW wants to push for actual guaranteed healthcare in the field. Could be a huge game changer.

[Jagosaurus]

Pretty interesting to hear Jericho seriously considered Impact/TNA. Also, he pitched to Vince a cross company IWPG IC vs WWE IC...

After winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in NJPW, Jericho says he pitched Vince on a match for SummerSlam. Jericho pitched an IC champ vs IC champ match versus Seth Rollins but evidently, Vince was not interested.

... Vince never returned his calls. Jericho is playing nice but I think he has something to prove now. He can help build something here and leave an even bigger international legacy. He's said multiple times they're not going head to head with WWE but I do believe they'll pull in a new audience. Me for example... I don't watch the WWE product. Pretty solid write up on Jericho situation:

https://www.sescoops.com/chris-jericho- ... w-signing/

For your enjoyment, here's Cody, Brandi, & the Bucks joining the fun at a small show. Man... how fun is this.

https://youtu.be/jQrDCgYromY

Sure... they're catering to niche fans now but I do think they'll begin to pull in the masses with this style and personality.

Three fun rumors:
- Show will air on TBS or TNT and be named Tuesday Night Dynamite. They've trademarked that name (fact there). Smackdown moving to Fridays & there's a pre-conditioned audience that already tunes in to wrestling on Tuesday.
- Dustin Runnels/Rhodes/Golddust to AEW
- NJPW reconsidering working with AEW (vs ROH U.S. exclusive statement before) to keep Kenny Omega working with them.

[Xeogred]

Jericho's newest podcast went into a lot of nice details. Jericho's ego is huge but I don't blame him. He's totally right, he is a legendary veteran yet the WWE never really elevates him to say... Triple H, Undertaker, etc, level for some other veterans still around, or at least Jericho never got that huge amount of spotlight. Jericho can still go despite his age and will leave an even bigger impact across wrestling for sure with his move to the AEW if things turn out well.

The AEW being open to working with NJPW is a huge win... and could be a huge perk for Kenny Omega. He could pickup some big AEW paychecks if they sign him, but still remain loyal to Japan and keep working with them on the side if he wants. Win/win.

[Jagosaurus]

I didn't spring for the PPV bc I wouldn't have been able to watch it all due to plans, but man... seems like a success to all who watched.

First I watched the battle royal on the free preshow & enjoyed it. Looks like the main show was amazing. Cody v Dustin seems to have stole the show.

Now... they have WWEs attention between this & TNT deal. Did you guy buy it? What do you think of TNT deal? Worth noting the BR Live app is owned by Turner as well. Will be interested to see buy rates estimated. 67K were watching pre show. Roughly 13K in attendance.

When is the next PPV? Haven't they announced 2 or 3 more?

Edit: June & July PPV dates:
https://www.smarkoutmoment.com/p/aew-pp ... t.html?m=1

TNT expected to start in October.

[Jagosaurus]

AEW Fyter Fest (June 29, 2019)

Venue: Ocean Center
City: Daytona Beach, Florida

AEW Fight for the Fallen (July 13, 2019)

Venue: Daily's Place
City: Jacksonville, Florida

Daily's Place is a 3 story amphitheater. That'll give it a cool vibe.

AEW announced All Out will take place at the Sears Center in Chicago on August 31.

Chicago huh... Let the CM Punk rumors continue. This is essentially the 1 year anniversary of All In.

So we're at 4 confirmed AEW PPVs before the TNT deal is projected to start in October. 4.5 because I think All In gets a nod as PPV 0 for AEW. Looks like 1 a month right now so possibly another in September for 5 or 6 PPV before ever having a weekly show. Interested to see how they'll travel for that show vs how many dates are in Jacksonville.

Well crap... there goes some money. Looks like I'm going back to buy AI & DoN. I'm getting jacked.

I just watched the Lucha Bros vs Bucks highlights. Wow...

[JoeAwesome]

I searched for a bootleg stream of DoN and watched it Sunday/Monday. It was a very good show with some great moments. My wife absolutely loved the Cody/Dustin promo after the match. Probably the highlight of the evening, with the Lucha Bros./Young Bucks match not far behind.

The hard part with AEW is you have to know the wrestlers beforehand, or spend some time getting to know them. I've watched a fair bit of indie wrestling over the last few years, and knew a few names before they went to EVOLVE or NXT or even PWG, but you have to spend real time getting to know wrestlers in Chikara (domestically) or Rev Pro (internationally) and much, much smaller companies.

I didn't know the Super Smash Bros. before DoN, and few in the audience probably didn't either based on their response.

[Xeogred]

I dropped the big $50 to watch Double or Nothing on BR/Live and it was absolutely worth it. One of the best PPV's I've ever seen and I'm so pumped to be back into wrestling.

I'd say Jericho vs Omega NJPW was better than this one, but this was still great. Dustin and Cody stole the show though. Earl Hebner being there was the perfect touch too.

Took like 1 minute for JR to get into gear again and work his magic. Dude didn't miss a beat. The other commentators need some work though. But man, hearing JR and seeing how jam packed this arena was, it was utterly surreal. Even WCW at their peak didn't look this high budget.

Female division seems awesome. Can't wait to see more of them.

And tag teams are a big deal again!?! What a concept. So stoked.

Nice epilogue, I get chills just watching this. TNA and whatnot could not even dream of such insane production values: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWZpb4DQn0Y

Kenny's new theme with lyrics now, I think it's a cool song, but as an entrance? I hope they just skip the slow one minute buildup haha. That's way too long for an entrance theme. But yeah, killer song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOLiZ6qAWPk

WWE sucks and I've never really been a fan. It wasn't like WCW had my full loyalty or anything either, but I and clearly millions of other fans, were really soured on the end of the Monday Night Wars and the last 20 years of wrestling. Yet the interest has always been there. I've been going through classic WWF these last few years on the Network and actually got through a ton more this year, 1988-1992. Just need to watch 1993-1995 now, I've got the attitude era years covered. WWF 2000-2001 will probably be were I stop and then I'll just check out some key matches with like Shawn, Eddie, Benoit, etc. Not that interested in going through any of the WWE years, since now I have AEW to look forward to for some real wrestling again.

AEW IS the real deal. Vince will never have to worry about running out of money like the mid 90's, but the WWE remaining in the #1 spot for drawing the crowd and ticket sales, media cover, and TV ratings? I find that very questionable going forward. The NWO was a big event that shook the medium back in the day, but this is on a completely different scale. A huge new company ran by FANS and wrestlers, two things of which Vince is clearly not (anymore, I bet his passion dried out after the Austin era and he wasn't on TV much after I assume). Also I highly doubt whenever he passes away that 4/10 Triple H or "safe for everyone watching" Stephanie will save WWE. lmao

Cody's theme with lyrics basically sums it all up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szK50XxnU4s

[Jagosaurus]

Well... Fyter Fest is free now

https://youtu.be/TS3E-T6ZH2Q

How about this Dark Order promo
https://youtu.be/2HjSO4WS4sM

[Key-Glyph]

Just dropping in to add to the AEW hype. I wrote Fyter Fest on my calendar and circled it, friends.

I'm really excited about this. I stopped watching wrestling during the Attitude Era and never got back into it. I'm hoping the AEW captures that weird, campy wholesomeness I get from Golden Era stuff.

EDIT: Wow, Xeogred. You nailed my feelings perfectly. Hear, hear!

[Dikdikvandik]

Love all this AEW Talk. Vince is getting desperate and his desperation shows how out of touch he is.

Eric Bishoff and Paul Heymen creative positions.... because I literally think Vince doesn't know any other people in the business.