AEW - Non-Wrestling (Business, Money, Ratings etc.)

[Cult Icon]

Dudes...I think we're about to see a new wrestling promotion backed by dudes worth $7.6 billion.

https://luchacentral.com/breaking-news-all-elite-wrestling/

[Oliver]

Well, that's very interesting!

[mizfan]

In wrestling I'm pretty much always believe-it-when-I-see-it, but I really hope this one pans out the way we're all expecting it to. That'd really be something.

[Prime Time]

I mean I don't know anywhere near enough to comment with anything credible but just from a distance it looks like a potential game-changer.

[Cult Icon]

Here's the deal, for those who want something a bit more in depth than the article I posted (or who didn't read it). A month ago, the domain name All Elite Wrestling was taken, as well as allelitewrestling.com and an All Elite Wrestling twitter account (@AEWrestling, though there are no tweets or info as of now). About two weeks ago on November 5th, the company "All Elite Wrestling, LLC" filed trademarks for the for the following; All Elite Wrestling, AEW, Double or Nothing, All Out. AEW Double or Nothing, AEW All Out and, most notably to me, Tuesday Night Dynamite. The address listed for All Elite Wrestling, LLC was listed as 1 TIAA Bank Field Dr. in Jacksonville, Florida; that is the stadium for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are run by billionaire Shahid Khan. Khan is also the owner of English football club Fullham F.C. and apparently tried to buy Wembley Stadium recently; he's also the name that was initially rumored to be involved with the Jericho/Jim Ross promotion (along with his son, Tony Khan) and is worth $7.6 BILLION. He and his son are clearly the money guys in this whole thing.

Now it's possible All Elite Wrestling, LLC could sit on these trademarks forever and not do anything with them (much like the NHL hasn't with the WNHL) but all indications are this is real and it's been being planned for months by all the members of the Elite, Jericho, Jim Ross, Jericho's agent Barry Bloom and the Khan's. I would guess Meltzer probably knows about it, but has been told about it off the record and thus hasn't reported it. The fact that there's a name for a TV show included tells me that there's also a TV deal at least being worked on, if not already in place. This is very real. No one knows the hierarchy as of now but my guess is the Khan's are the investors/owners, Cody, Jericho and the Bucks are creative, JR is commentator/talent relations head like he was during WWE's heyday and Omega, Hangman, Marty Scurll (at least in a few months when his deal is up), Chris Daniels and Frankie Kazarian (who's deals are up at the same time as the Elite) are the talent along with Jericho, Cody and the Bucks. There will obviously be more talent, and now that SEScoops' reporting last month has been (to an extent) validated it could be quite a few workers, as they reported Jericho and JR had been recruiting people from New Japan and WWE respectively.

That of course brings up the question of where this all leaves the other promotions. WWE won't be threatened by this right away (if ever), but I imagine Vince will still be annoyed by it all and maybe even a little betrayed by Jericho, who was so loyal to him for so long and is now starting a rival (to some degree) promotion. The timing of this isn't the greatest for WWE either; their two top stars (John Cena and Roman Reigns) are either largely inactive or gone for at least a year (possibly for good), attendance and ratings continue to sag, creative remains what it is and Vince will soon be distracted by trying to get the XFL: Part Deux off the ground. There's also the fact that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and The Club will all have their contracts up in the next few months, and will now have the option to negotiate with a promotion that, if they want to, can offer them just as much money (again, the Khan's are worth $7.6 billion!), likely a lighter schedule, the chance to still work in the US and a chance to work with their friends (obviously AJ and the Club are close with the Elite). Even if they don't go, this new promotion (or the idea of it) has given those guys who bargaining power to raise WWE's price for them. Again, WWE is in no danger here from being displaced as the number one promotion or from losing money thanks to the TV deal. But they aren't happy about it either as it creates a new place for wrestlers to go, potentially leads to the creation of a union (which we know Cody wants) and could be a promotion that competes with them due to the money behind.

And if WWE is nervous, everyone else will be too. Impact is soon to be without a TV deal and if AEW doesn't have one already (though I do believe they do) then Impact could find themselves competing against it. LU has enough problems to worry about already and this won't help. And Ring of Honor is potentially boned. Not only will the Elite and the Addiction be leaving but I could see a bunch of other talent bolting as well; they could be left with just Matt Taven, Jeff Cobb, Jay Lethal and Flip Gordon after all is said and done (not a bad four to build around, but still). And while no one can confirm this now, it wouldn't shock me at all if New Japan and CMLL decide to ditch ROH and join up with this new promotion, especially since the Elite has made it clear they still want to be associated with New Japan. It's going to be very interesting to see how this affects the rest of the promotions in the upcoming months. As of right now, the only ones I don't see being rocked are the two Mexican promotions (AAA and CMLL), New Japan and MLW, which has a solid TV deal in place.

In the end it's definitely exciting though. If this comes to fruition as I expect, this could be the first promotion since WCW to look WWE in the eye and to some extent compete. The potential here is off the charts and I for one can't wait to see how it plays out.

[Team Farrell]

This is a big deal...possibly. I think the impact that it has is really determined by their TV deal.

If this is basically a vanity project funded by a money mark doing a barter deal on some obscure cable channel, it probably doesn't have much more impact on the industry as a whole than MLW starting up did. However, if the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars can leverage his ties to land a deal with an ESPN, CBS or NBC (all of which have ties to the NFL), that's a game changer. That's why Shahid is there. From what I've been hearing, this is a Tony Khan deal with his dad on board to add legitimacy.

Whether this has any impact on WWE or guys contracts, that'll come down to funding sources and/or how much the Khans are willing to spend. If there's a stable funding source, or the Khans are willing to write some big initial cheques, you can get some talent on board. If they decide that The Elite, Jericho and a few of the ROH guys rumored to be involved are the ones that they're willing to write big cheques for, again it doesn't have a ton of impact.

I'm taking a wait and see approach on this one. However, if I were ROH I'd be fuming right now. ROH and Sinclair worked in good faith to help Cody with All In only to see this happen behind their backs? I'd send Cody home today and get him off my television.

What this could do, funny enough, is have an impact on talent north of the border. Impact has been using a lot of US talent despite essentially being a Canadian company. The reason going around is that Callis believes, point blank, that there's no talent in Canada and he's only interested in trying to sign high level US indy names rather than build any of their own stars. If this company is signing up talent and have a bigger bank account to do so than Anthem, they might not have a choice but to reevaluate that strategy.

[Powder]

The more I hear about All Elite, the more I want it to become a real challenger in the way that TNA is not to the WWE. Then maybe Vince will wake up and realize that they need to become a better product. I am hoping that some talent jump ship, and that others choose to sign there that are not currently part of the WWE. Real competition like WCW was for about 4 years. Those 4 years made both shows must see TV. I am not hoping for another Attitude Era, but a product that pushes the envelope more and allows for character growth, less scripted promos, and compelling story lines. Look at the early 2000s after WCW folded. Both Smackdown and RAW was good without competition. Then it all went downhill.

So I am hoping that this All Elite really becomes something. Steal talent, make a good product, and force the WWE to change to keep up, or get left behind.

Cody, Omega, Jericho, the Young Bucks, and potentially,Nakamura, AJ Styles and the Club and more? That's a great start/foundation, and then they can develop others and take some of the NXT guys too.

[SirSam]

All Elite Wrestling

The Young Bucks, Cody & Hangman Page just announced All Elite Wrestling and Double Or Nothing on Being The Elite.

Here is the video:

In case you want the clip notes here is the logos:



Exciting times ahead.

Let's speculate!

[Cult Icon]

I get that this is totally your revenge for me mocking Ambrose and Rollins in Skitz' Christmas column Sam BUT THERE IS ALREADY AN ALL ELITE WRESTLING THREAD ON THESE PARTS! GOSH!

I kid; it's no big deal. Certainly not as big as this announcement is!

[SirSam]

Oops sorry

I just posted this on the original thread

[SirSam]

The Young Bucks, Cody & Hangman Page just announced All Elite Wrestling and Double Or Nothing on Being The Elite.

Here is the video:

In case you want the clip notes here is the logos:



Exciting times ahead.

Let's speculate!

[SirSam]

Aaannnnddd of course there is merch already.

Gotta love that carny spirit.

[Mystic]

I like the name--and spirit--of Double or Nothing.

I desperately hope this is a promotion I can invest in weekly with interest. I'm reading up on things right now. The level of potential financial investment is interesting, as is the "multiple TV deals" that may or may not be out there.

The biggest element is what is the essence going to be. What are you providing that we can't get elsewhere? One thing about doing a YT show or working multiple promotions or doing a big and vast one-night show is that you can be all things to all people.

With a promotion, you can be many things, but you have to have an essence.

I'm interested in what that will be.

On a separate note, I like that they are not working with RoH. Only partnership I'm hoping for is with NJPW. Loved it with WCW. Loved it in the last year. Working with Roh or IMPACT would make them look small and tacky. Working with NJPW provides a more global feel.

[Mr Chop]

I hated that video (bad comedy makes my teeth itch).

BUT! Very interested to see where it all goes. Putting the power in the hands of the wrestlers is certainly a good thing. And the Bucks (however much they aren't my cup o' tea) and Cody seem like they understand the modern audience.

[SirSam]

I get exactly what you are saying Mystic, All In was an amazing event but it was very much a once off where they leveraged a lot of good will and got so many promotions working together that never would have normally. However they are a rival company now and they will have to make it worth it commercially for those other companies if they want to work with them again. When they have to make compromises it will be interesting to see what they decide to do.

I really hope they get something sorted with NJPW, seeing this happen without Kenny would feel very strange. It already feels weird seeing Marty being phased out of things at least temporarily.