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

[T.O.]

2pac is dead, dummy.

[SirSam]

Their belt got stolen. Lmfao

So who did it? I've assembled a short list.
- Vince McMahon
- Rikishi (for The Rock)
- Erik Rowan
- The Dark Order Goons
- The Apple Guy Jericho decked back in Road To Double or Nothing

[Oliver]

It's the man who raised the briefcase.

Or Christopher Daniels, the original Higher Power.

[Team Farrell]

So, according to WON total buys for All Out were down about 10% from DON. That's not really a big deal, but what stands out to me is that 54% of the people who bought DON on B/R Live didn't come back for All Out.

That would tend to indicate to me that in the intervening time a chunk of that group has decided that AEW isn't for them (which I know is true based on the number of people who watched DON but were turn off of some of the more indyriffic stuff on future shows). But that they've been able to turn on a good chunk of new people to their product which is great for them.

I also wonder how much impact that the Labor Day weekend had on buys. They've scheduled it to be a convenient travel weekend for live fans, but being the last holiday weekend of the year that's going to have warm weather how many people decided they'd rather enjoy the holiday than stay in and watch wrestling? Last year was the novelty of All In, but I wonder if these holiday long weekend PPV dates might hurt them a little.

[mizfan]

Very interesting question about the holiday weekend. Live crowd vs. live viewing audience... now that they've gotten this big it might be more important to look at the latter a lot more closely.

[Cult Icon]

There's two factors you guys are overlooking. First, I think Moxley-Omega being taken off the card hurt the drawing power a lot more than most of us expected. Cody vs. Shawn Spears may have had the most heat behind it but Moxley vs. Omega, the white hot former WWE star who found freedom taking on one of the best performers in the world (to most) was the match everyone was looking forward to, and once that was gone I think it neutered the excitement for a lot. Second, Double or Nothing was a monumental show in a way none of the AEW shows have been since (though I expect the first TV show will given its historical relevance). I've been excited for Fyter Fest, Fight for the Fallen and All Out and I know I'm not alone there, but none of those events brought the excitement and the nervousness that I had going into Double or Nothing. That show HAD to be a tour de force because it was the first show, and I think that, along with it being the first AEW show, was a draw for people in a way All Out wasn't going to be for obvious reasons.

The fact that it did as well as it did despite not having the advantages of Double or Nothing I think is a really strong sign for them. An even stronger sign is that the TV special that aired on TNT did nearly 400K viewers. That's despite the show airing at 10 p.m. EST on a Friday night with little promotion, and is only 100K off from the number some TV experts expected AEW to draw out of the gate. AEW isn't perfect but they've built up a lot of goodwill with three really good to great shows (and one good show in Fight for the Fallen) and I think that, along with the fact that many people just want to see them do well, is showing in these numbers. I expect they'll do a bigger number than any of us could've thought initially for this first TNT show.

[Prime Time]

They've actually revised the number of buys up today, so apparently it did do better than DoN.

[Team Farrell]

Hmm...

I genuinely can't think of a final combination based on this bracket that I'm interested in seeing.

[Powder]

They really have a tag team named "Best Friends" and "Jurassic Express"?

I get Luchasuarus and Jungle Boy...but really? Terrible names for a team.

[Cult Icon]

The only post that would be less shocking than the previous two would be Pen posting somewhere today that "DA FLIPS TOOK DER JERBS!"

But seriously, the finals should be The Dark Order vs. A Boy and His Dinosaur (the other name for the Jurassic Express) or The Young Bucks vs. The Dark Order and either the Bucks or A Boy and His Dinosaur should be the first champions. I'd probably go with the Bucks because they are the biggest stars right now and every feud they have for the moment will be the top tag team feud (and would thus overshadow any other feud that would be for the tag titles) but Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus are both awesome, have a ton of support (they've been one of the most over teams on every show and their merch is selling like crazy) and could get established as a big time unit early if they have an underdog run here. They'll definitely beat the Lucha Brothers (legit; Pentagon and Fenix' final indie obligation is the day of the semi-finals so they won't be there) and I could see the Bucks putting them over to send them against The Dark Order. And it will be the Dark Order in the finals; I know people are down on them but they're an excellent team and the tournament is short enough (they'll only be wrestling two matches) that it won't distract. Plus them losing can begin the process of their rehabilitation, which I believe will involve Marty Scurll when he comes on over.

[PEN15v2]

I'm hoping it's just an issue of growing pains, but none of the factors AEW announced to have been unique about them have turned out to be all that interesting to me. The tag division was my first hook into AEW, until I remembered it would be centered on the Young Bucks, and almost all the teams involved wrestle the same spotty illogical way.

But, I'm again leaning towards the idea that modern wrestling has passed me by.

[Cult Icon]

DA FLIPS TOOK ER TERG TEAM WRESTLING!

[PEN15v2]

I'll be 38 in 3 weeks. New cool movies don't work for me (hate super hero CGI cartoon movies), new cool rock music doesn't work for me (I'm glad Tool and Deftones are still around, but barring Baroness, there hasn't been a good new rock band that I have heard in the last 10 years), and new wrestling might also belong in this category. I still don't know if that's the case, since I still enjoy so much new wrestling. But AEW might be a trendsetter for the next big style, and it just seems mindless.

[Team Farrell]

The only post that would be less shocking than the previous two would be Pen posting somewhere today that "DA FLIPS TOOK DER JERBS!"

But seriously, the finals should be The Dark Order vs. A Boy and His Dinosaur (the other name for the Jurassic Express) or The Young Bucks vs. The Dark Order and either the Bucks or A Boy and His Dinosaur should be the first champions. I'd probably go with the Bucks because they are the biggest stars right now and every feud they have for the moment will be the top tag team feud (and would thus overshadow any other feud that would be for the tag titles) but Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus are both awesome, have a ton of support (they've been one of the most over teams on every show and their merch is selling like crazy) and could get established as a big time unit early if they have an underdog run here. They'll definitely beat the Lucha Brothers (legit; Pentagon and Fenix' final indie obligation is the day of the semi-finals so they won't be there) and I could see the Bucks putting them over to send them against The Dark Order. And it will be the Dark Order in the finals; I know people are down on them but they're an excellent team and the tournament is short enough (they'll only be wrestling two matches) that it won't distract. Plus them losing can begin the process of their rehabilitation, which I believe will involve Marty Scurll when he comes on over.

See, it's not that there isn't a final that makes sense, it's that there isn't one that I have any interest whatsoever in seeing because it's likely going to involve The Dark Order. Flip Best Friends with any team on the left side and I am suddenly interested. (Shit, I could even get behind the story of Best Friends trying to get to the finals to face Dark Order even thought I can't stand the teams.)

I would love the concept of it coming down to Private Party and Jurassic Express. Bucks and Jurassic Express. Bucks and Private Party. Any of those combinations, really. But Best Friends and Dark Order do less than nothing for me, so unless SCU sneaks into the finals I think I can skip the tournament.

That's not to say that there won't be good matches along the way, but now that I know they're all fighting toward a final that I personally will not be interested in, I don't really care about any of it. I need more in my life than good wrestling.

[mizfan]

Definitely hoping for Jurassic Express over the Dark Order in the finals. I think it looks like a pretty fun tournament.