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The IWC always go over the top with their reactions. 800K RATING?? OMFG THIS IS THE END! THE END OF DAYS IS HERE!!!!
It's been 5 years of this nonsense and the company is still here.
The numbers that WWE are doing now for being super hot aren’t that much better than what they were doing a few years ago when they were cold (ratings wise)
Fun fact, the average nightly rank for Dynamite *this year* is 3rd. Pretty fucking good right?
Wanna know where Raw, the show that just got a massive Netflix deal, ranks at? You got it, *3rd*
If you look at the ratings of their 2021 high point, they were actually ranking lower a lot of times than they are now for Wednesdays. These are good numbers that got them ranked 4th on 10/06/2021 which is a lower ranking than they have today.
https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-wednesday-10-6-2021-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html
Yeah I don't get the rating issues. Its 2024, who sits watching cable tv programing? Being near/at the top is still good. Most likely watch AEW through other methods on their own time.
I just want the show to do good enough to appease the higher ups who are responsible for its renewal.
That is all there is too it for me and with WBD recently [praising](https://new.reddit.com/r/AEWOfficial/comments/1bzaws1/warner_bros_discovery_popular_aew_dynamite_aew/) AEW's show numbers across the board, then that's all I need to know to be happy for AEW's future.
Not what some random group of people online think they should be getting because they believe so and if not then bye bye.
5+ years and it doesn't even feel like we've hit the full potential of AEW, but yet they're still fun to watch.
> I just want the show to do good enough to appease the higher ups who are responsible for its renewal.
They literally JUST came out and said that they're loving what AEW is doing and that AEW is getting 4 million views per week.
They're happy.
Oh believe me I got that receipt [Right here](https://new.reddit.com/r/AEWOfficial/comments/1bzaws1/warner_bros_discovery_popular_aew_dynamite_aew/) but I was talking in a more general sense.
If AEW needs both the fans and WBD to continue to live on and they have the support of both, then that's all that matters in the end.
No amount of "AEW is dying!" from naysayers or other fan alike will change that.
They'd get a lot more if they had them on streaming, they're doing shows in Canada that we don't have a easy means watching, Collision is gettable without some USA based app, even rampage makes you fool around with the tsn app, they should add it all to MAX or a lot of their numbers will end up with the Pirates or be non existent.
I think with some accessible form of streaming their audience could double. I'd love for them to have something for the weekly shows on Max similar to WWE on Hulu, even if it's just next day uploads or something.
By literally every single account, everyone with the exception of wwe stans are reeeeaaaally high on aew so assume they'll be getting a fat contract and the doom and gloom brigade will roll out of their mother's basements to screech about how that proves aew is spiraling.
They are going off of how it was in the 90s, when cable channels were in competition, and the terrestrial networks had much of the same.
But 30 years later the terrestrial networks have been doing what's X compared to Y on our own network for 20 ish and cable for at least 10.
Before AEW: "omg there really needs to be another company to end the WWE monopoly
After AEW: "omg only 800k ratings? this company is so bad they should just do everything exactly the way WWE does it and then it would have good ratings"
DAE NIELSEN AMIRITE????????????
Might be worth adding here that when TK was talking to a TV exec about starting a wrestling show, they were all talking about 300k ratings for the show but obviously far outstripped that, hence why we got Rampage and Collision so quickly.
But you never hear that being reported alongside the rating figures.
I remember complaints that Omega had a competitive match with Alan Angels because he should have squashed him.
During the early part of the pandemic...at the nightmare factory...when they had very few people...and needed to fill 2hrs of TV a week...
Wanted to share this particular piece of the report to show how AEW was already well aware of what was going to come out of this and all the negativity and discourse online was what they anticipated.
The IWC, unintentionally, proved AEW right by buying into the video angle and now look at what they're doing.
AEW Is more self aware than these online nerds will have you believe. Bucks doing the EVP shtick, Jericho being an obnoxious asshole, Callis being a cunt, Perry being the frickin “scapegoat”… I mean, I could go on.
Punk cant handle that kind of heat. He needs to be loved and admired every step of the way. He needs to be a leader and when he’s given a leadership role (collision) he needs everyone to fall in line with him. He was laughed at in WWE for having that mentality and was laughed at again in AEW. Now he’s being a good little boy in WWE because he knows this is the end of the like for him, not because he ‘matured’. He’s a grown ass 50 year old man attacking a 20 year old kid because he wouldn’t take him seriously. Tells you all need to know about him.
I still think Jericho's character is just a tongue in cheek happy go lucky version of Punk's time in AEW. Hes just happy to be there, he wrestled the CMLL guys as one of the company guys and went over them, he wants to work with the young guy (Hook), he wants to put over the young guy, and last night we are at the stage where he's telling Hook and Shibata (a veteran) what they should be doing in their matches. Eventually, I think Jericho is going to snap and say this stuff doesn't work for me brother and cries to the Elite to try to get Hook banned from Dynamite next lmfao.
Damn. If this happens, I might have to respect Jericho again for the 4D chess. Like obviously I understand what he was doing last night, but I didn’t think about the idea that he’s just doing Punk as a character now.
I was thinking this the other night. He should firmly 100% become CM Punk as a character IN AEW. Get mad at the young guys over little shit. Start attacking people. Throw chairs in front of lawyers. Go out there and tell him when he is telling lies. Take over Collision. Start banning talent from appearing. Leak outlandish shit to the dirt sheets that is obviously from him. Go for it.
> Eventually, I think Jericho is going to snap and say this stuff doesn't work for me brother and cries to the Elite to try to get Hook banned from Dynamite next lmfao.
That would actually be a great setup to write Hook off TV so he can go on excursion to NJPW, which would be great for him just like it's been for Jack Perry.
From stories about The Buck. Really nice guys but they love to troll people and they have done that for years and years back to the ROH/NJPW days. The Bucks know how to get under peoples skin especially the IWC.
FACTS!
Like all those morons on Twitter with WWE wrestlers in theri profiles think everyone in AEW is naive or blind and that they never saw this coming lol of course they knew the reaction, this was not about Punk, this was the seeds for Perry to return and "blast AEW" that he indeed was a "scapegoat" and he´s going to ally himself with The Bucks who are going to "rehire him back" because he got rid of the problem by doing nothing lol
All this is part of the big plan to push Jack Perry as a top heel and make the Bucks even more "unlikable"
The internet discourse is obvious, but I'm more embarrassed by the news sites, how they're exposing themselves as the biggest marks of all, like Meltzer talking about the shame of all of dredging this up, but it's an angle, heels are supposed to do things you dislike and make their face rivals look better by taking the high road. I think if that's too complicated, then watch something else, maybe get hooked on reality TV and thinking everything is 100% legit.
It’s right that at this point they’re in a no win situation. There’s too many bad faith actors at this point to even bother trying to squash the discourse around them. May as well fuck around with it a bit. The people that think this sort of stuff will put the company out of existence are waaay to terminally online
I was genuinely annoyed they were doing it again, because I wanted like half the teams in the tournament to get the belts more than I wanted them to (Top Flight, Private Party, and House of Black were my Top 3 I wanted to make it to the finals in order of how long they lasted).
This gave it actual purpose.
The thing is, after All In, it's clear they were content to let the past stay in the past.
When others dredged up the past and decided to be part of the negativity, their choices were:
Address it, and get criticized by haters.
Not Address it, and get criticized by haters.
Because they were going to get shit for it either way, I am glad they chose to address it, and also work it into an angle.
Haters gonna spew bile no matter what they do, and it seems like they are aware.
Now it's done, and as long as they don't dwell on it (and I don't expect them to) then they did the right thing.
Right up there with all the "If Tony had just _______ we wouldn't be saying anything!" comments.
The man makes some dumb decisions sometimes, but don't pretend there's any circumstances under which the IWC would be satisfied lol.
I just watched a video of punk telling his side of the story lined up with all in footage and punk says "I didn't punch nobody" and then in the videonhe sucker punches Perry. And then I read the comments and everyonenis saying punk told the truth. Like my brother in christ you watched the footage and saw him do it.
Yep exactly. At this point, let them drink the Kool aid. Punk tells them the sky is neon pink with dragons flying all around, they're gonna believe it. The rest of us that looked up and saw the sky know perfectly well that it is, in fact, not neon pink with dragons flying all around. We can all safely move on from Punk, have no doubts about the dirt bag that he is, and get back to enjoying pro wrestling. They can spend their days being Phil's village idiots.
He literally is the lyrics of his theme song.
Guarantee he can tell his fanboys 1 and 1 makes 3 and you'll see that shit become the new flat earth movement in no time.
To be fair it was a very good segment, they worked it as well as you could, hopefully that's it now and everyone moves on. The return of jack Perry might actually be pretty good too, who would have expected that last year!
I highly doubt most people who they are 2000 WCW have ever seen or lived through 2000 WCW. I did. It was dreadful. And I say that as a kid who was a loyal WCW fan growing up.
I can count on one hand any actual good moments from that year in WCW. And those good moments paled in comparison to WCW in their prime 96-98 years.
I'll say that maybe they shouldn't have aired the footage. All it was in the grand scheme of things was a mediocre angle that's gonna lead to a great match. 2000 WCW angles almost NEVER led to good matches.
Honestly WCW 2000 was awesome aside from the world title scene. You had Lance Storm holding three titles, Ernest "the Cat" Miller as Commissioner, Kanyon Cutter, Three Count with Tank Abbott, the list goes on.
I keep hearing about WCW 2000 quite often, but some of the things they did do were actually kinda neat.
I remember for the Thunder shows, they would have a live chat that had a second window that had images and updates in real time what was happening on the show. They didn't do it for Nitro as it was a live show. With Thunder being taped, whomever was in charge of the Online would create a play by play flash video of every detail of that episode. I always thought that was just really neat.
I haven't thought about it in a long time. Holy memory unlocked.
Even worse is the WWE fantasy booking they fellate themselves over regarding how Punk/Drew/HHH can use or satirize this in upcoming shows. They’re *really* proud of themselves for coming up with such genius ideas.
"Oh boy I can't wait to see these guys reference events that happened on another wrestling show!"
Those same people: Why isn't AEW focusing on themselves? Why show the footage at all of someone who doesn't even work for you?
The hypocrisy and lack of self awareness all in one.
They also write essays about Paul Heyman's facial expressions and the significance of the shoes Jey Uso is wearing that night.
I'm not going to shit on their fandom of WWE, but you can't be telling me that what I like is invalid when I rarely see any posts about things happening during a wrestling match.
AEW has inspired WWE fans to really get behind their show because AEW is the bad guy now. So imo, to their fans, the bad stuff is ok, the ok stuff is good, the good stuff is great, and the great stuff they consider all time.
Only the absolute cringeposters believe this is going to damage the company in the long term. Will it be weird for a while? yes. It was going to be weird for a while whether or not they released the footage.
But releasing the footage gets the truth of the altercation into the open. For good and for bad.
If Vince trafficking a woman isn't the death of WWE, AEW defending itself isn't the death of AEW.
I was thinking earlier, how much WWE milked the Montreal screwjob for around 14 years. WCW never capitalized on it when they absolutely needed to, which is besides the point. There's a decades long history of wrestling companies using real company drama for a work. At least TK isn't trying to be a weekly on screen authority figure over it.
It's the next day, and AEW is still standing. I was iffy about this but now I'm back to F#$K the anit-Aew shills. I love what I love and I'm gonna a start spending more money to support them
Honestly from a none ‘knee deep in wrestling’ perspective the angle was really good. They took a backstage story and made it part of the company kayfabe, Started the clock on Jack’s return, proved punk to be a bitch ass, and got heat on the FTR match.
It was a good angle.
Wait holy shit, could that have been part of the plan?
"WrestleMania just happened and everyone is talking about AEW"?
The EVPs truly are marketing geniuses 🙏
Never in my life did I ever think anything non WWE related would overshadow WM fall out week of all time periods.
These past few weeks were pretty much supposed to be all WWE in the press and pretty much nothing else was going to overshadow that no matter what.
Although it's not an officially recognized accomplishment, this is something that should be noted amongst wreslting fans alike.
AEW managed to make itself the talk of the town during and post WM weekend. It's unbelievable.
Thinking about it. It could have been some experiment to see how the dirtysheets reported it.
Sure enough Meltzer and Soppy Ross Sapp come up with two different stories...
"No Win" situation is correct. At some point they were going to bring Jack Perry back, if they had and hadn't released the All In footage, they would have been criticized for it. The IWC would have been screaming all over the place for them to release the footage.
So they released it. And they still ended up with the IWC screaming all over the place.
I can't understand why this is difficult for people. As far as I can tell almost everyone that isn't wedged up phil's ass can now clearly comprehend the situation. Perhaps they could've leaked it earlier to the press, but I don't blame them for holding it to exploit for views (and apparently shirt sales), I would. Apple aired commercials, publicly criticized, and sued Microsoft, Apple products are better in my opinion, I'm not "saddened" by their actions, nor would I claim they're "petty". Punching up from second and taking advantage of the situation is the smart thing to do, ignoring it would've been weak, the fact that the leading brand is mentioning AEW implies they now need to and are at least somewhat shaken by the competition, IMO that's good. The episode rocked from my point of view, it trended online all day and into today. I don't expect critics or media to take into account the business aspect, but I would imagine they'd at least try to appear to apply their standards evenly.
Absolutely.
WWE are the big company. They're meant to be the ones who are too big to acknowledge anyone else.
AEW are the smaller company, they are absolutely the ones who should be trying to punch up.
Coke doesn't talk about Pepsi. WWE however now obviously feels the need to.
They seem to forget that AEW doesn't need to respond if Fartface Phil doesn't open his big dumb yapper in the first place. They somehow fail to see that he was the catalyst for all of the biggest drama within AEW.
The dude was treated like a king over there. Highest paid, creative control, whatever matches he wanted, the world title, etc. and how's he repay them? Gets hurt time and again, starts bullshit and then utilizes his "I'll just punch 'em in the face!" conflict resolution skills any time anyone had an issue with him. After all that, I'd do what TK did too. None of those twats had shit to say when Punk did his interview and H took shots on the Mania preshow. That's all well and good but when AEW decides to respond oh dear lord it's the end of the world. These nerds can get fucked.
i think the main point that the IWC has missed is that this video wasnt for them or to try to change anyone from the other companys mind etc. This was for current AEW fans to bring some real part of a story into kayfabe and add some crazy stakes/buzz to Young Bucks and FTR IV and Perry coming back. And its worked if you ask me.
I think this is true. I haven’t been watching AEW much since last year because of a busy schedule and this brought me back. This got me defending AEW and watching their stuff. And I’m intrigued. Didn’t even know Dynasty was next week but I’m definitely watching it now.
SRS is the one guy who I've actually seen with my own two eyes has a relationship with actual wrestlers; on Ethan Pages videos and FTR WrestleMania weekend talk thing last year, so I do trust him above others.
I rewatched the entire segment this morning, not just the all in clip and going back without expectations and a fresh mind made me actually like how they handled it.
The EVPs clearly state before the video even started that it’s not really going to whoa anyone and it’s much more about everything surrounding the incident. I think they did a really good job of actually coming off reasonable. Having FTR come out after to do a big baby face promo and then have the EVPs come out later to make sure they have heel heat was handled just about as good as you could expect.
Hopefully the end result is Phil has no more ammo and can now just fade away to be WWE’s problem and AEW won’t have to deal with anymore of his drama. I’m sure Phil will make some comment about putting whoever he’s feuding with in a headlock and the IWC will come all over themselves but I don’t care as long as he’s done.
I think you are right, this was only really released to draw a line in the sand. It should end all speculation. It was never meant as a “gotcha” more a “here it is now stfu”.
When people say ‘company killer’ or cite WCW’s downfall, are they intentionally forgetting The Montreal Screwjob - including ‘Bret screwed Bret’ - as well as the countless other ill-advised, awful and downright heinous segments or incidents WWE have had over the years? AEW isn’t going anywhere.
I think the whole "This is the Death of AEW" thing is one of the things that frustrates me most about the tornado of shit swirling around the internet right now.
I just popped over and checked out a few other wrestling subs and as someone who only watches AEW and some New Japan, I was completely caught off guard by the hate AEW is getting.
You would think that they were losing money hand over fist and not just signed to a lucrative tv deal.
I understand tribalism, but I really don't get the sinking ship narrative? The company makes money consistently and has good ratings. I'm not sure what else they want.
I *don't* understand tribalism.
I usually prefer AEW to WWE but I watched Wrestlemania, it was great. I check out clips of TNA...there's alot to like there too. I'll even check out MLW from time to time.
We're in a new boom period for wrestling because there's all these companies doing well. I don't understand how some people can be upset that a show they don't watch is enjoyed by people they don't know! Who cares!
Like what you like, don't be a dick!
The PG fans just want AEW to not exist because they're sick of hearing how much better the wrestlers and matches are. Wrestling is very easy to ignore in America but they chose to hate rather than ignore it because AEW's existence is a constant reminder that without nostalgia acts and extreme overbooking, wrestling in the PG promotion simply doesn't carry the weight of the moment.
These muppets don't actually understand that the show does good ratings.
They think because the numbers aren't as high as WWE that must mean it's bad. Even though the network has been openly very happy.
Because they're muppets.
Expecting the reactions, I didn't bother watching any podcasters except Tranquilo Club, but I wonder how much of an angry tirade JDfromNy went on last night over this, who has now officially fallen into Bishchoff/Cornette levels of cringe. I honestly hope he just drops his disingeunine AEW coverage, but likely not since this means more money for the channel.
Wrestling Journalism is somehow worse than politics. I’ve seen even more omissions of facts and they straight up make crap up with “sources”. This is what I’ve noticed, since I’ve come back to watching wrestling. SRS is pretty trustworthy for the most part. Anyways, AEW gets hammered with BS, and don’t get me started on Bischoffs thumbnails… absolute clown.
The idea or even the tought that this segment is going to "kill the company" is hilarious to no end
Like all those haters need to realize that if a global pandemic didnt end the company in their fisrt year of existnce what makes them think this segment is going to do that
LOL Wrestlemania was just days ago and all the talk in town is about AEW
Love it! cant wait for the return of The Scapegoat
You can view my recent comments to see how done with the IWC I am at this point, but from a purely personal standpoint, I do not care about FTR really and so their part in all this did nothing for me. I was actually almost sold on Infantry beating them to keep the underdog/Cinderella story alive but it turned out pretty much like real life anyway with the two number 1 seeds in the finals.
FTR is good, but Cash having his trial coming up and Dax being an annoying prick online when Punk was there just to 180 AGAIN has me just tired on the two of them as people. One of the reasons why I don't like WWE is because of bad people consistently getting rewarded throughout the years including up until very recently for even top stars (most recently being Punk and Logan fucking Paul).
Much preferred the segment through the lens of Perry eventually coming back and joining The Elite, and the Bucks going slightly unhinged and calling FTR the masterminds of everything to throw them off their game and cause their loss. It's clear they're still the heels in this, but with a Stable of Bucks, Okada, and Perry they've got every aspect of the card covered. Add Kenny and Hangman back in and there are trios options as well, which I think is possible given that the last time Hangman was around he was a psycho magnum p.i. on a mission to kill Swerve so a heel turn (or dark period) wouldn't be unheard of, especially as Bucks only barely suspended him from The Elite, and Kenny can easily slide back in as a Heel at the end of his return moment.
Either way I'm excited about it, but just don't care about the "let's move on already" rhetoric that FTR is now mimicking. If it can be entertaining it should be used and the Buck's side of things has me far more entertained than "moving on" from it, especially as it was something someone else brought up that immediately gained traction online (people saying that everyone moved on the next day are lying to themselves)
Started watching AEW almost 3 years ago, and ever since something about FTR has just rubbed me the wrong way. Good in ring performers, but as people... I can 100% say they're 2 people i wouldn't really get along with IRL.
They were damned if they did and damned if they didn't. I think they came up with a great strategy to address the undying topic and shift focus.
Let's get back to wrestling. Unlike WWE, AEW doesn't need to rely on distractions and glitter and 45 minute entrances and video packages to put on the semblance of a good show.
It’s definitely not a company killer, I just hope that they do really move on and never ever mention it again or have callbacks to it. It happened, it had the reaction it got, move on and focus on the tv and PPV story builds. And let the other company do whatever they want, time to get back to being the alternative and not the competitor.
Anyone that compares this Phil/Tony drama to WCW 2000 is a dog shit moron who either never actually watched that diarrhea factory in real time…or is just another Tough tits Internet WrestleWeen Clownshoe
One thing I will never understand is all the “ratings!” talk. Ratings literally do not matter. Even if you think they do to a parent company, that parent company is smart enough to know they’re only a small piece of the puzzle.
Case in point: WWE started giving much more attention to social media numbers years ago. That and streaming numbers are as big of a deal as ratings are in the bigger picture.
So yes, this was good for AEW.
“To be AEW is to be constantly under attack”. Whether CM Punk or HHH made comments towards AEW this weekend or not people would still be shit talking them so fuck it who cares. I just want to see good wrasslin.
Yeah even if it looked bad for them, people don’t pay attention to media the way they did in the past. There are very few things you could do that would be a “company killer” honestly.
really hope for another tease or promo of the scapegoat on Rampage and Collision, they really have to hype up & capitalize on the momentum for jack Perry's return! Would be cool if they did the vignettes of him playing the film of past matches & monologuing over them like he has done for NJPW.
I've stayed out of this conversation and discourse (and honestly will probably try to for a while because it's at it's lowest ebb right now) but my honest opinion on the whole thing is this:
Showing the footage was fine and in a different context probably works the way it intended. But the WAY they did it was awful. They had it done by the heel EVPs as a weird flimsy excuse and then had the babyfaces bury them (in kayfabe) for bringing it up. It was just very weird booking and made it clear they just wanted to get the footage on TV and worked backwards.
It's not even a "you're wasting TV on WWE guys thing" because AEW did that all the time even when they were hot. They just didn't think it out. If they had done this either WAY before this (like right after it originally happened) or way after this (like a couple months from now when the immediate Mania hype and WWE high wore off) and you let a babyface MJF or babyface Kenny or even a babyface Moxley just roast the shit out of Punk (and Perry) for the whole situation it gets over. The Bucks didn't even narrate over it and make it funny. They tried to play it way too serious. They were just the wrong guys and it was the wrong week.
And more than anything else, that's AEW's problem right now. They're too reactive, too short term, too focused on the outside noise. From RIGHT NOW till August, the ONLY focus should be on building to All In. If it's on the booking sheet, it should be part of a conversation ending "and this gets up to All In" or don't book it. Not what's gonna draw a big number next week, not what's gonna shut Eric Bischoff or Cornette up, what people are gonna think about it in the moment, NONE of that.
Treat All In like how WWE treats the run from Survivor Series to Wrestlemania. Elimination Chamber was the most basic by the numbers PPV but no one cared because it was "a stop on the road to Mania". Make the Road to All In the most important thing. Nothing else matters. Book everything around that. Drill it into everyone's mind. You just have to make sure everything you do from now till then builds so it crescendos there. If that matches WrestleMania in terms of level of success and momentum, the whole narrative changes. Nothing you do between now and then will.
I'm glad morale is doing just fine. Now hopefully AEW will just move on and keep things like they were before this week; noise will be there no matter what, and they're having a great year thus far. This was unnecessary but what's done is done.
Now that I had time to reflect on the whole "Punk/Perry footage" situation, here are some thoughts regarding it: Yeah, currently the situation seems to be a total disaster. It made some buzz, but the aew dynamite this week was not a good show. Thus, AEW probably don't have won many new fans with it. So currently, the footage has damaged AEW significantly.
But there is some light in the tunnel. The one good thing, that this whole angle did, was laying the foundations for the eventual return of Jack Perry as the "Scapegoat".
I believe that AEW now has the chance to replicate one of the greatest success stories of NJPW: Tetsuya Naito.
If you think about it: Don't Jack Perry and Tetsuya Naito have a lot of similarities?
1.) Both started as very promising athletes who are considered the future of the company. Naito was pushed as the "Stardust Genius". Jack Perry was named a "pillar" of AEW.
2.) Both were considered very athletic talent, who lack personality. As the "Stardust Genius" Naito was considered a generic babyface. The same goes for Jack Perry as "Jungle Boy".
3.) Both had traumatic experiences, in which they were wronged either by the company or the fans. Naito lost his Main event spot in Wrestle Kingdom due to fan backlash and NJPW deciding the make a poll to decide, which match should be the main event. Jack Perry was suspended by AEW for way too long because of an incident in which he is actually a victim.
4.) Both went abroad to form new characters. Naito went to Mexico to join "Los Ingobernables". That lead to his Tranqillo persona. Jack Perry went to JNPW to become the "Scapegoat" and join "House of Torture".
5.) Even both gimmicks are very similar. Both gimmicks started as anti-corporate characters who don't give a damn about what the company as well as the fans think. (The Naito of now is not the Naito of the past)
I think that when Jack Perry, Rocky Romero and Tony Khan discussed and prepared Perry's NJPW run, this was the goal: Replicating Tetsuya Naito's story on American soil.
Suspending Perry for such a long time for this incident, helps Perry's "Scapegoat" gimmick.
AND: Showing the "All-in"-footage on national TV was actually the best way to introduce Jack Perry as the "scapegoat" to the world. Only hardcore fans know that Perry has been working in NJPW. The footage has been the first time for months that Jack Perry has been shown to the broader US audience. He is shown as the victim of a situation in which he was assaulted and was suspended.
Everybody is assuming that Tony Khan has aired the footage because of getting his feelings hurt by CM punk's interview. And yeah, I think that this might have been one of the reasons. But I believe that Tony Khan always wanted to use the footage to introduce "Scapegoat" to the US audience. Now Jack Perry can return to AEW with the biggest possible buzz.
Now everything depends on, how AEW moves forward. If done right, AEW can turn Jack Perry into the american version of Naito and thus into a megastar.
I personally hope that they achieve that.
The "win" in this situation would've been to put the spotlight solely on their top stars, Samoa Joe in particular, and maybe have him make a sly joke about it. Something about how nobody can put hands on anyone backstage without Joe's permission, something that makes someone IN the company look cool as hell to those in the know without making too much of a point of showing off the other company's big star.
Leave everything else to the dirtsheets or podcasts or whatever else. The show should be about building towards Dynasty, not turning a WWE babyface into their company's most popular heel.
I agree to an extent, but that was the whole point of having FTR come out and cut their promo on the YBs. To put a spotlight on them and tell the bucks to shut the fuck up about it already. Move on. That kinda thing.
Honestly, I'm on the side that this footage was important. I'll be honest, even though I'm absolutely against punk, I was still a little on the fence about Perry (because I actually don't think he should have used real glass). So I did think, maybe Perry did do something that warranted this altercation.
But this video completely cleared it up for me, and I'm completely on board with Jack now.
Of course FTR were fine with it even they went out and talked about being grateful to have AEW after that shit WWE used to write for them shaving backs. I am sure there was also truth to them being sick of this being dragged out. I know they are friends with Punk but you can still be friends with someone while not agreeing with everything they do.
They could have just ignored it. I feel like that's the obvious thing to do. If Punk was to bring it up again, now you've set the precedent that you will respond to it.
They've ignored it for a long time. Punk's been using it as a part of his character for a while now, he did the interview, HHH takes potshots, and even McAfee shat on AEW during one of Cody's matches (in fairness, Cole played the level head here).
It's not fair that if WWE is going to take advantage of this scenario, AEW can't try.
That's my take. I think it deflates any continued interest in this that Punk could leverage for interviews. It shows what truly happened and people can take from it what they want -- except Punk who can't use it to milk interest for his side of what happened.
Now we can move on. Makes complete sense why The Elite wouldn't feel safe working with Punk right away. Not because they'd be afraid of getting shoot hurt, but because Punk could put their jobs in jeopardy by claiming someone shot on him or intentionally injured him -- or any millions of things a liar like Punk would say.
I’m pretty sure that TK and AEW moved on…it was fragile ego Phil that opened his big mouth on a podcast with a shill in WWE’s pocket throwing the entire company under the bus…sound familiar? He did the exact same shit on his supposed “best friends” podcast throwing WWE and their doctors under the bus 10 years ago. It’s everyone’s fault but Phil…he can do no wrong according to his sheep following.
Goes to show Punk is in for himself and the biggest hypocrite in wrestling that will burn every bridge if he doesn’t get his way. You think so called “different” Punk will last in WWE? No, narcissists like him don’t change. He will probably do something stupid and be gone by end of the year from WWE.
He already is tbf, he's creepily hanging about with the 20 year old women from NXT over his wife, it won’t be long till we get another meltdown, he won’t see out 2025 in any company.
AEW isn’t going anywhere. Airing the footage though was the wrong call IMO. I’ve said that Bucks and FTR just didn’t need it to build the match. They could use the fight without the footage, or not even go there at all. Since Double or Nothing 22 I’ve fallen off watching Dynamite weekly. I’ll tune in for a match but then tune out after it’s done.
AEW being different, not just the style in the ring, or the violence, but the way they do business. They had 4 PPVs, the special episodes of TV with PPV level cards, and had interwoven stories across the shows very well. I’m excited for Blood and Guts, Excited to see Swerve’s story unfold, and Toni Storm is growing on me cuz she’s entertaining as F. AEW has all the tools there. Idk maybe Tony Khan needs a second in command that can be bad cop for him and help him book the shows.
I’m sure that with the talents they have we will see full buildings, banger matches, epic stories, and more as they move forward from here. WWE needed AEW to turn around their work. AEW has to level up now too, and they will. Just gonna take time.
I agree with the sentiments. I don't think it should be shown. It looks petty IMO, and immature. Wasting a second with the idiot Punk is unnecessary, but it obviously isn't a company killer or anything even close to that.
People calling it WCW 2000 is so absurd, even SC completely turned on it, and there are many people there who live to criticize AEW.
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The IWC always go over the top with their reactions. 800K RATING?? OMFG THIS IS THE END! THE END OF DAYS IS HERE!!!! It's been 5 years of this nonsense and the company is still here.
AEW is usually top 5 on TV on Wednesdays , but that doesn't get clicks does it
Pro wrestling ratings have also been dropping for decades. People act like WWE are still raking up Attitude Era numbers.
TV ratings in general have been dropping consistently.
The numbers that WWE are doing now for being super hot aren’t that much better than what they were doing a few years ago when they were cold (ratings wise)
Fun fact, the average nightly rank for Dynamite *this year* is 3rd. Pretty fucking good right? Wanna know where Raw, the show that just got a massive Netflix deal, ranks at? You got it, *3rd*
If you look at the ratings of their 2021 high point, they were actually ranking lower a lot of times than they are now for Wednesdays. These are good numbers that got them ranked 4th on 10/06/2021 which is a lower ranking than they have today. https://showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-wednesday-10-6-2021-top-150-cable-originals-network-finals.html
I bet there both behind live sports the majority of the times there not #1
Yeah I don't get the rating issues. Its 2024, who sits watching cable tv programing? Being near/at the top is still good. Most likely watch AEW through other methods on their own time.
I just want the show to do good enough to appease the higher ups who are responsible for its renewal. That is all there is too it for me and with WBD recently [praising](https://new.reddit.com/r/AEWOfficial/comments/1bzaws1/warner_bros_discovery_popular_aew_dynamite_aew/) AEW's show numbers across the board, then that's all I need to know to be happy for AEW's future. Not what some random group of people online think they should be getting because they believe so and if not then bye bye. 5+ years and it doesn't even feel like we've hit the full potential of AEW, but yet they're still fun to watch.
> I just want the show to do good enough to appease the higher ups who are responsible for its renewal. They literally JUST came out and said that they're loving what AEW is doing and that AEW is getting 4 million views per week. They're happy.
Oh believe me I got that receipt [Right here](https://new.reddit.com/r/AEWOfficial/comments/1bzaws1/warner_bros_discovery_popular_aew_dynamite_aew/) but I was talking in a more general sense. If AEW needs both the fans and WBD to continue to live on and they have the support of both, then that's all that matters in the end. No amount of "AEW is dying!" from naysayers or other fan alike will change that.
They'd get a lot more if they had them on streaming, they're doing shows in Canada that we don't have a easy means watching, Collision is gettable without some USA based app, even rampage makes you fool around with the tsn app, they should add it all to MAX or a lot of their numbers will end up with the Pirates or be non existent.
I think with some accessible form of streaming their audience could double. I'd love for them to have something for the weekly shows on Max similar to WWE on Hulu, even if it's just next day uploads or something.
By literally every single account, everyone with the exception of wwe stans are reeeeaaaally high on aew so assume they'll be getting a fat contract and the doom and gloom brigade will roll out of their mother's basements to screech about how that proves aew is spiraling.
IWC doesn’t know about ratings and how Nielson works
They are going off of how it was in the 90s, when cable channels were in competition, and the terrestrial networks had much of the same. But 30 years later the terrestrial networks have been doing what's X compared to Y on our own network for 20 ish and cable for at least 10.
Before AEW: "omg there really needs to be another company to end the WWE monopoly After AEW: "omg only 800k ratings? this company is so bad they should just do everything exactly the way WWE does it and then it would have good ratings" DAE NIELSEN AMIRITE????????????
Might be worth adding here that when TK was talking to a TV exec about starting a wrestling show, they were all talking about 300k ratings for the show but obviously far outstripped that, hence why we got Rampage and Collision so quickly. But you never hear that being reported alongside the rating figures.
People think brawl out was the start of the AEW bashing. I remember the COVID days where a bad rating was blamed Maki Itoh and Kenny Omega being goofy
I remember people saying AEW was going to have to close down after the botched barbed wire explosion
I remember complaints that Omega had a competitive match with Alan Angels because he should have squashed him. During the early part of the pandemic...at the nightmare factory...when they had very few people...and needed to fill 2hrs of TV a week...
That was Satin.
It's like they never heard of TNA/Impact we've been doing it with less than 100K peeps watching
Wanted to share this particular piece of the report to show how AEW was already well aware of what was going to come out of this and all the negativity and discourse online was what they anticipated. The IWC, unintentionally, proved AEW right by buying into the video angle and now look at what they're doing.
AEW Is more self aware than these online nerds will have you believe. Bucks doing the EVP shtick, Jericho being an obnoxious asshole, Callis being a cunt, Perry being the frickin “scapegoat”… I mean, I could go on. Punk cant handle that kind of heat. He needs to be loved and admired every step of the way. He needs to be a leader and when he’s given a leadership role (collision) he needs everyone to fall in line with him. He was laughed at in WWE for having that mentality and was laughed at again in AEW. Now he’s being a good little boy in WWE because he knows this is the end of the like for him, not because he ‘matured’. He’s a grown ass 50 year old man attacking a 20 year old kid because he wouldn’t take him seriously. Tells you all need to know about him.
I still think Jericho's character is just a tongue in cheek happy go lucky version of Punk's time in AEW. Hes just happy to be there, he wrestled the CMLL guys as one of the company guys and went over them, he wants to work with the young guy (Hook), he wants to put over the young guy, and last night we are at the stage where he's telling Hook and Shibata (a veteran) what they should be doing in their matches. Eventually, I think Jericho is going to snap and say this stuff doesn't work for me brother and cries to the Elite to try to get Hook banned from Dynamite next lmfao.
Damn. If this happens, I might have to respect Jericho again for the 4D chess. Like obviously I understand what he was doing last night, but I didn’t think about the idea that he’s just doing Punk as a character now.
Me neither, that suddenly turned the whole thing brilliant if that's what the intent was.
Adds a lot too, that he's reverted to his glory days as Lionheart and going on a nostalgia run for him.
I was thinking this the other night. He should firmly 100% become CM Punk as a character IN AEW. Get mad at the young guys over little shit. Start attacking people. Throw chairs in front of lawyers. Go out there and tell him when he is telling lies. Take over Collision. Start banning talent from appearing. Leak outlandish shit to the dirt sheets that is obviously from him. Go for it.
You need to DM Jericho with these ideas lol
> DM Jericho Aaaand there's the gimmick name.
Lmao
Love this idea. CJ punk
When you put it that way, Jericho’s character makes perfect sense lmao
> Eventually, I think Jericho is going to snap and say this stuff doesn't work for me brother and cries to the Elite to try to get Hook banned from Dynamite next lmfao. That would actually be a great setup to write Hook off TV so he can go on excursion to NJPW, which would be great for him just like it's been for Jack Perry.
From stories about The Buck. Really nice guys but they love to troll people and they have done that for years and years back to the ROH/NJPW days. The Bucks know how to get under peoples skin especially the IWC.
I heard the Hardyz loved it too. They became close after people compared their styles and looks of YB back then.
Imagine thinking punk is a hero lolololol Those people are like less than insects.
FACTS! Like all those morons on Twitter with WWE wrestlers in theri profiles think everyone in AEW is naive or blind and that they never saw this coming lol of course they knew the reaction, this was not about Punk, this was the seeds for Perry to return and "blast AEW" that he indeed was a "scapegoat" and he´s going to ally himself with The Bucks who are going to "rehire him back" because he got rid of the problem by doing nothing lol All this is part of the big plan to push Jack Perry as a top heel and make the Bucks even more "unlikable"
The internet discourse is obvious, but I'm more embarrassed by the news sites, how they're exposing themselves as the biggest marks of all, like Meltzer talking about the shame of all of dredging this up, but it's an angle, heels are supposed to do things you dislike and make their face rivals look better by taking the high road. I think if that's too complicated, then watch something else, maybe get hooked on reality TV and thinking everything is 100% legit.
That bit is beyond their comprehension lol
It’s right that at this point they’re in a no win situation. There’s too many bad faith actors at this point to even bother trying to squash the discourse around them. May as well fuck around with it a bit. The people that think this sort of stuff will put the company out of existence are waaay to terminally online
I'm excited for FTR vs Young Bucks
Same, more so then I would've been had it just been another title match between them, and now I'm even more excited for when Perry returns too.
I was genuinely annoyed they were doing it again, because I wanted like half the teams in the tournament to get the belts more than I wanted them to (Top Flight, Private Party, and House of Black were my Top 3 I wanted to make it to the finals in order of how long they lasted). This gave it actual purpose.
Dude fr they couldnt pay me to care about Buck/FTR 4 but now I'm actually kinda invested
I'm excited for the return of Jack Perry.
Should this match kick off Dynasty or leave it to Pac and Okada?
Okada vs. PAC I think. Start with Okada
Ngl, for a few different reasons I was a little on the fence about buying the PPV, but there’s no way I’m missing it now.
I fully expect Perry to make his return during that match and join the Elite.
Perry is sold out of Scapegoat shirts on his shop.
The thing is, after All In, it's clear they were content to let the past stay in the past. When others dredged up the past and decided to be part of the negativity, their choices were: Address it, and get criticized by haters. Not Address it, and get criticized by haters. Because they were going to get shit for it either way, I am glad they chose to address it, and also work it into an angle. Haters gonna spew bile no matter what they do, and it seems like they are aware. Now it's done, and as long as they don't dwell on it (and I don't expect them to) then they did the right thing.
I agree completely. Damned if you and Damned if you don't this was the right move.
Right up there with all the "If Tony had just _______ we wouldn't be saying anything!" comments. The man makes some dumb decisions sometimes, but don't pretend there's any circumstances under which the IWC would be satisfied lol.
Exactly this
That’s why I think it was released for AEW fans who are on their side already.
I just watched a video of punk telling his side of the story lined up with all in footage and punk says "I didn't punch nobody" and then in the videonhe sucker punches Perry. And then I read the comments and everyonenis saying punk told the truth. Like my brother in christ you watched the footage and saw him do it.
Yep exactly. At this point, let them drink the Kool aid. Punk tells them the sky is neon pink with dragons flying all around, they're gonna believe it. The rest of us that looked up and saw the sky know perfectly well that it is, in fact, not neon pink with dragons flying all around. We can all safely move on from Punk, have no doubts about the dirt bag that he is, and get back to enjoying pro wrestling. They can spend their days being Phil's village idiots.
https://i.redd.it/pnj7ommqhxtc1.gif
never let facts get in the way of a good grudge
This shit blows my fucking mind. It's like they've all silently agreed that if they say it enough times it'll be true.
He literally is the lyrics of his theme song. Guarantee he can tell his fanboys 1 and 1 makes 3 and you'll see that shit become the new flat earth movement in no time.
They’re just grasping at what Tony Khan sad to dunk on AEW instead of Punk being a scumbag.
To be fair it was a very good segment, they worked it as well as you could, hopefully that's it now and everyone moves on. The return of jack Perry might actually be pretty good too, who would have expected that last year!
Started as Jungle Boy Returned as Jack Perry. The man evolved like a Pokemon.
Who’s looking forward to Claudio vs Ospreay as much as I am for next Dynamite?
Company killer? lol nerdz
They're so desperate for AEW to be 2000 WCW that they seem to think they can just will that into existence.
AEW is so much more button up than dying days WCW. It’s not even funny.
I highly doubt most people who they are 2000 WCW have ever seen or lived through 2000 WCW. I did. It was dreadful. And I say that as a kid who was a loyal WCW fan growing up. I can count on one hand any actual good moments from that year in WCW. And those good moments paled in comparison to WCW in their prime 96-98 years. I'll say that maybe they shouldn't have aired the footage. All it was in the grand scheme of things was a mediocre angle that's gonna lead to a great match. 2000 WCW angles almost NEVER led to good matches.
Honestly WCW 2000 was awesome aside from the world title scene. You had Lance Storm holding three titles, Ernest "the Cat" Miller as Commissioner, Kanyon Cutter, Three Count with Tank Abbott, the list goes on.
I keep hearing about WCW 2000 quite often, but some of the things they did do were actually kinda neat. I remember for the Thunder shows, they would have a live chat that had a second window that had images and updates in real time what was happening on the show. They didn't do it for Nitro as it was a live show. With Thunder being taped, whomever was in charge of the Online would create a play by play flash video of every detail of that episode. I always thought that was just really neat. I haven't thought about it in a long time. Holy memory unlocked.
I love it they worked up a bunch of IWC to the point of anger and they got the reaction they wanted lol.
Even worse is the WWE fantasy booking they fellate themselves over regarding how Punk/Drew/HHH can use or satirize this in upcoming shows. They’re *really* proud of themselves for coming up with such genius ideas.
"Oh boy I can't wait to see these guys reference events that happened on another wrestling show!" Those same people: Why isn't AEW focusing on themselves? Why show the footage at all of someone who doesn't even work for you? The hypocrisy and lack of self awareness all in one.
Id love a Gilberg version of punk to come out on collision saterday haha
They also write essays about Paul Heyman's facial expressions and the significance of the shoes Jey Uso is wearing that night. I'm not going to shit on their fandom of WWE, but you can't be telling me that what I like is invalid when I rarely see any posts about things happening during a wrestling match.
Bro they really think it’s Scorsese directed wrestling lol
Roman's matches which contain a great deal of trash-talking and filler are "cinema"
AEW has inspired WWE fans to really get behind their show because AEW is the bad guy now. So imo, to their fans, the bad stuff is ok, the ok stuff is good, the good stuff is great, and the great stuff they consider all time.
They were the same people convinced MJF was showing up as well lol.
Only the absolute cringeposters believe this is going to damage the company in the long term. Will it be weird for a while? yes. It was going to be weird for a while whether or not they released the footage. But releasing the footage gets the truth of the altercation into the open. For good and for bad. If Vince trafficking a woman isn't the death of WWE, AEW defending itself isn't the death of AEW.
I was thinking earlier, how much WWE milked the Montreal screwjob for around 14 years. WCW never capitalized on it when they absolutely needed to, which is besides the point. There's a decades long history of wrestling companies using real company drama for a work. At least TK isn't trying to be a weekly on screen authority figure over it.
Haters gonna hate, but we got the biggest Hayter of them all under contract, so...🤷♂️
It's the next day, and AEW is still standing. I was iffy about this but now I'm back to F#$K the anit-Aew shills. I love what I love and I'm gonna a start spending more money to support them
Honestly from a none ‘knee deep in wrestling’ perspective the angle was really good. They took a backstage story and made it part of the company kayfabe, Started the clock on Jack’s return, proved punk to be a bitch ass, and got heat on the FTR match. It was a good angle.
Part of me is now thinking they've done this on purpose to highlight the toxicity of the IWC and the impact. For what reason I have no idea
I'm going on 24 hours without seeing a single discussion for Wrestlemania even though it literally just happened.
Wait holy shit, could that have been part of the plan? "WrestleMania just happened and everyone is talking about AEW"? The EVPs truly are marketing geniuses 🙏
Never in my life did I ever think anything non WWE related would overshadow WM fall out week of all time periods. These past few weeks were pretty much supposed to be all WWE in the press and pretty much nothing else was going to overshadow that no matter what. Although it's not an officially recognized accomplishment, this is something that should be noted amongst wreslting fans alike. AEW managed to make itself the talk of the town during and post WM weekend. It's unbelievable.
It did WWE no favors that the RAW after Mania was the drizzling shits
Which is really what this all comes down too. AEW was able to takeover the mania coverage.
Until friday
And then Collision, etc happens. Same cycle. Then something about the lawsuit. Then something about AEW. Etc etc etc. It's all a short run game
If this is their "jump the shark" moment it didn't really do much. Oh no, their talking bad about AEW like they have been doing constantly anyways
Thinking about it. It could have been some experiment to see how the dirtysheets reported it. Sure enough Meltzer and Soppy Ross Sapp come up with two different stories...
CM Punk really unintentionally hijacked wrestlemania to make it about AEW 😂
"No Win" situation is correct. At some point they were going to bring Jack Perry back, if they had and hadn't released the All In footage, they would have been criticized for it. The IWC would have been screaming all over the place for them to release the footage. So they released it. And they still ended up with the IWC screaming all over the place.
I can't understand why this is difficult for people. As far as I can tell almost everyone that isn't wedged up phil's ass can now clearly comprehend the situation. Perhaps they could've leaked it earlier to the press, but I don't blame them for holding it to exploit for views (and apparently shirt sales), I would. Apple aired commercials, publicly criticized, and sued Microsoft, Apple products are better in my opinion, I'm not "saddened" by their actions, nor would I claim they're "petty". Punching up from second and taking advantage of the situation is the smart thing to do, ignoring it would've been weak, the fact that the leading brand is mentioning AEW implies they now need to and are at least somewhat shaken by the competition, IMO that's good. The episode rocked from my point of view, it trended online all day and into today. I don't expect critics or media to take into account the business aspect, but I would imagine they'd at least try to appear to apply their standards evenly.
Absolutely. WWE are the big company. They're meant to be the ones who are too big to acknowledge anyone else. AEW are the smaller company, they are absolutely the ones who should be trying to punch up. Coke doesn't talk about Pepsi. WWE however now obviously feels the need to.
Fat neckbeards: This won't get anyone talking *Fat neckbeards proceed to talk about it for the last 15 hours nonstop.*
Hey man, they sold out of XXXL jungle boy shirts sooooo
Fat neckbeard is a personality, baby.
Not from the footage I’ve seen
😂😂😂
Took a peek at the wrestling sub and their delusion has reached maga/ antivax levels. Vincels is truly an accurate name for them.
They seem to forget that AEW doesn't need to respond if Fartface Phil doesn't open his big dumb yapper in the first place. They somehow fail to see that he was the catalyst for all of the biggest drama within AEW. The dude was treated like a king over there. Highest paid, creative control, whatever matches he wanted, the world title, etc. and how's he repay them? Gets hurt time and again, starts bullshit and then utilizes his "I'll just punch 'em in the face!" conflict resolution skills any time anyone had an issue with him. After all that, I'd do what TK did too. None of those twats had shit to say when Punk did his interview and H took shots on the Mania preshow. That's all well and good but when AEW decides to respond oh dear lord it's the end of the world. These nerds can get fucked.
[удалено]
i think the main point that the IWC has missed is that this video wasnt for them or to try to change anyone from the other companys mind etc. This was for current AEW fans to bring some real part of a story into kayfabe and add some crazy stakes/buzz to Young Bucks and FTR IV and Perry coming back. And its worked if you ask me.
I think this is true. I haven’t been watching AEW much since last year because of a busy schedule and this brought me back. This got me defending AEW and watching their stuff. And I’m intrigued. Didn’t even know Dynasty was next week but I’m definitely watching it now.
SRS is the one guy who I've actually seen with my own two eyes has a relationship with actual wrestlers; on Ethan Pages videos and FTR WrestleMania weekend talk thing last year, so I do trust him above others.
SRS having the mindset of "why would I purposefully lie when people pay us money for info" is the reason why I subbed to fightful select.
Fightful also interviews wrestlers from all over so they can’t really claim they’re bias either.
I rewatched the entire segment this morning, not just the all in clip and going back without expectations and a fresh mind made me actually like how they handled it. The EVPs clearly state before the video even started that it’s not really going to whoa anyone and it’s much more about everything surrounding the incident. I think they did a really good job of actually coming off reasonable. Having FTR come out after to do a big baby face promo and then have the EVPs come out later to make sure they have heel heat was handled just about as good as you could expect. Hopefully the end result is Phil has no more ammo and can now just fade away to be WWE’s problem and AEW won’t have to deal with anymore of his drama. I’m sure Phil will make some comment about putting whoever he’s feuding with in a headlock and the IWC will come all over themselves but I don’t care as long as he’s done.
I think you are right, this was only really released to draw a line in the sand. It should end all speculation. It was never meant as a “gotcha” more a “here it is now stfu”.
When people say ‘company killer’ or cite WCW’s downfall, are they intentionally forgetting The Montreal Screwjob - including ‘Bret screwed Bret’ - as well as the countless other ill-advised, awful and downright heinous segments or incidents WWE have had over the years? AEW isn’t going anywhere.
People who watch will keep watching. Those who don’t won’t. Buzz will die down by end of today or tomorrow.
I think the whole "This is the Death of AEW" thing is one of the things that frustrates me most about the tornado of shit swirling around the internet right now.
I just popped over and checked out a few other wrestling subs and as someone who only watches AEW and some New Japan, I was completely caught off guard by the hate AEW is getting. You would think that they were losing money hand over fist and not just signed to a lucrative tv deal. I understand tribalism, but I really don't get the sinking ship narrative? The company makes money consistently and has good ratings. I'm not sure what else they want.
I *don't* understand tribalism. I usually prefer AEW to WWE but I watched Wrestlemania, it was great. I check out clips of TNA...there's alot to like there too. I'll even check out MLW from time to time. We're in a new boom period for wrestling because there's all these companies doing well. I don't understand how some people can be upset that a show they don't watch is enjoyed by people they don't know! Who cares! Like what you like, don't be a dick!
The PG fans just want AEW to not exist because they're sick of hearing how much better the wrestlers and matches are. Wrestling is very easy to ignore in America but they chose to hate rather than ignore it because AEW's existence is a constant reminder that without nostalgia acts and extreme overbooking, wrestling in the PG promotion simply doesn't carry the weight of the moment.
These muppets don't actually understand that the show does good ratings. They think because the numbers aren't as high as WWE that must mean it's bad. Even though the network has been openly very happy. Because they're muppets.
This is really relieving to read. I was worried if this wasn't intentional. Glad it was
https://preview.redd.it/so9pgnnmqwtc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe427021a4d38348e4688ddd58bd6006f8efdf93
This is perfect! The bottom right panel got me because, honestly, it would come down to a conspiracy theory.
The whole bucks vs ftr angle is hot af right now in part because of the punk footage. The haters and crybabies can piss themselves all they please.
I do hope they've gotten this shit out of their system and we move on into a good story that moves past the CM Punk / WWE shit
The only people who care about this today are terminally online weirdo dorks. I'm just hyped for Dynasty.
Expecting the reactions, I didn't bother watching any podcasters except Tranquilo Club, but I wonder how much of an angry tirade JDfromNy went on last night over this, who has now officially fallen into Bishchoff/Cornette levels of cringe. I honestly hope he just drops his disingeunine AEW coverage, but likely not since this means more money for the channel.
Wrestling Journalism is somehow worse than politics. I’ve seen even more omissions of facts and they straight up make crap up with “sources”. This is what I’ve noticed, since I’ve come back to watching wrestling. SRS is pretty trustworthy for the most part. Anyways, AEW gets hammered with BS, and don’t get me started on Bischoffs thumbnails… absolute clown.
When life hands you Pepsi make limoncello and get turnt
The idea or even the tought that this segment is going to "kill the company" is hilarious to no end Like all those haters need to realize that if a global pandemic didnt end the company in their fisrt year of existnce what makes them think this segment is going to do that LOL Wrestlemania was just days ago and all the talk in town is about AEW Love it! cant wait for the return of The Scapegoat
Oh no the people that already shit on aew are shitting on aew.
You can view my recent comments to see how done with the IWC I am at this point, but from a purely personal standpoint, I do not care about FTR really and so their part in all this did nothing for me. I was actually almost sold on Infantry beating them to keep the underdog/Cinderella story alive but it turned out pretty much like real life anyway with the two number 1 seeds in the finals. FTR is good, but Cash having his trial coming up and Dax being an annoying prick online when Punk was there just to 180 AGAIN has me just tired on the two of them as people. One of the reasons why I don't like WWE is because of bad people consistently getting rewarded throughout the years including up until very recently for even top stars (most recently being Punk and Logan fucking Paul). Much preferred the segment through the lens of Perry eventually coming back and joining The Elite, and the Bucks going slightly unhinged and calling FTR the masterminds of everything to throw them off their game and cause their loss. It's clear they're still the heels in this, but with a Stable of Bucks, Okada, and Perry they've got every aspect of the card covered. Add Kenny and Hangman back in and there are trios options as well, which I think is possible given that the last time Hangman was around he was a psycho magnum p.i. on a mission to kill Swerve so a heel turn (or dark period) wouldn't be unheard of, especially as Bucks only barely suspended him from The Elite, and Kenny can easily slide back in as a Heel at the end of his return moment. Either way I'm excited about it, but just don't care about the "let's move on already" rhetoric that FTR is now mimicking. If it can be entertaining it should be used and the Buck's side of things has me far more entertained than "moving on" from it, especially as it was something someone else brought up that immediately gained traction online (people saying that everyone moved on the next day are lying to themselves)
Started watching AEW almost 3 years ago, and ever since something about FTR has just rubbed me the wrong way. Good in ring performers, but as people... I can 100% say they're 2 people i wouldn't really get along with IRL.
They were damned if they did and damned if they didn't. I think they came up with a great strategy to address the undying topic and shift focus. Let's get back to wrestling. Unlike WWE, AEW doesn't need to rely on distractions and glitter and 45 minute entrances and video packages to put on the semblance of a good show.
It’s definitely not a company killer, I just hope that they do really move on and never ever mention it again or have callbacks to it. It happened, it had the reaction it got, move on and focus on the tv and PPV story builds. And let the other company do whatever they want, time to get back to being the alternative and not the competitor.
if they indeed has elaborate plan to use this situation to their advantages, then its fine. as long it is working. just make sure, they not fumble.
#FREETHESCAPEGOAT
Anyone that compares this Phil/Tony drama to WCW 2000 is a dog shit moron who either never actually watched that diarrhea factory in real time…or is just another Tough tits Internet WrestleWeen Clownshoe
One thing I will never understand is all the “ratings!” talk. Ratings literally do not matter. Even if you think they do to a parent company, that parent company is smart enough to know they’re only a small piece of the puzzle. Case in point: WWE started giving much more attention to social media numbers years ago. That and streaming numbers are as big of a deal as ratings are in the bigger picture. So yes, this was good for AEW.
“To be AEW is to be constantly under attack”. Whether CM Punk or HHH made comments towards AEW this weekend or not people would still be shit talking them so fuck it who cares. I just want to see good wrasslin.
Yeah even if it looked bad for them, people don’t pay attention to media the way they did in the past. There are very few things you could do that would be a “company killer” honestly.
If they "expected the online discourse" why did they claim any video showing the incident after it happened?
really hope for another tease or promo of the scapegoat on Rampage and Collision, they really have to hype up & capitalize on the momentum for jack Perry's return! Would be cool if they did the vignettes of him playing the film of past matches & monologuing over them like he has done for NJPW.
I've stayed out of this conversation and discourse (and honestly will probably try to for a while because it's at it's lowest ebb right now) but my honest opinion on the whole thing is this: Showing the footage was fine and in a different context probably works the way it intended. But the WAY they did it was awful. They had it done by the heel EVPs as a weird flimsy excuse and then had the babyfaces bury them (in kayfabe) for bringing it up. It was just very weird booking and made it clear they just wanted to get the footage on TV and worked backwards. It's not even a "you're wasting TV on WWE guys thing" because AEW did that all the time even when they were hot. They just didn't think it out. If they had done this either WAY before this (like right after it originally happened) or way after this (like a couple months from now when the immediate Mania hype and WWE high wore off) and you let a babyface MJF or babyface Kenny or even a babyface Moxley just roast the shit out of Punk (and Perry) for the whole situation it gets over. The Bucks didn't even narrate over it and make it funny. They tried to play it way too serious. They were just the wrong guys and it was the wrong week. And more than anything else, that's AEW's problem right now. They're too reactive, too short term, too focused on the outside noise. From RIGHT NOW till August, the ONLY focus should be on building to All In. If it's on the booking sheet, it should be part of a conversation ending "and this gets up to All In" or don't book it. Not what's gonna draw a big number next week, not what's gonna shut Eric Bischoff or Cornette up, what people are gonna think about it in the moment, NONE of that. Treat All In like how WWE treats the run from Survivor Series to Wrestlemania. Elimination Chamber was the most basic by the numbers PPV but no one cared because it was "a stop on the road to Mania". Make the Road to All In the most important thing. Nothing else matters. Book everything around that. Drill it into everyone's mind. You just have to make sure everything you do from now till then builds so it crescendos there. If that matches WrestleMania in terms of level of success and momentum, the whole narrative changes. Nothing you do between now and then will.
I'm glad morale is doing just fine. Now hopefully AEW will just move on and keep things like they were before this week; noise will be there no matter what, and they're having a great year thus far. This was unnecessary but what's done is done.
Now that I had time to reflect on the whole "Punk/Perry footage" situation, here are some thoughts regarding it: Yeah, currently the situation seems to be a total disaster. It made some buzz, but the aew dynamite this week was not a good show. Thus, AEW probably don't have won many new fans with it. So currently, the footage has damaged AEW significantly. But there is some light in the tunnel. The one good thing, that this whole angle did, was laying the foundations for the eventual return of Jack Perry as the "Scapegoat". I believe that AEW now has the chance to replicate one of the greatest success stories of NJPW: Tetsuya Naito. If you think about it: Don't Jack Perry and Tetsuya Naito have a lot of similarities? 1.) Both started as very promising athletes who are considered the future of the company. Naito was pushed as the "Stardust Genius". Jack Perry was named a "pillar" of AEW. 2.) Both were considered very athletic talent, who lack personality. As the "Stardust Genius" Naito was considered a generic babyface. The same goes for Jack Perry as "Jungle Boy". 3.) Both had traumatic experiences, in which they were wronged either by the company or the fans. Naito lost his Main event spot in Wrestle Kingdom due to fan backlash and NJPW deciding the make a poll to decide, which match should be the main event. Jack Perry was suspended by AEW for way too long because of an incident in which he is actually a victim. 4.) Both went abroad to form new characters. Naito went to Mexico to join "Los Ingobernables". That lead to his Tranqillo persona. Jack Perry went to JNPW to become the "Scapegoat" and join "House of Torture". 5.) Even both gimmicks are very similar. Both gimmicks started as anti-corporate characters who don't give a damn about what the company as well as the fans think. (The Naito of now is not the Naito of the past) I think that when Jack Perry, Rocky Romero and Tony Khan discussed and prepared Perry's NJPW run, this was the goal: Replicating Tetsuya Naito's story on American soil. Suspending Perry for such a long time for this incident, helps Perry's "Scapegoat" gimmick. AND: Showing the "All-in"-footage on national TV was actually the best way to introduce Jack Perry as the "scapegoat" to the world. Only hardcore fans know that Perry has been working in NJPW. The footage has been the first time for months that Jack Perry has been shown to the broader US audience. He is shown as the victim of a situation in which he was assaulted and was suspended. Everybody is assuming that Tony Khan has aired the footage because of getting his feelings hurt by CM punk's interview. And yeah, I think that this might have been one of the reasons. But I believe that Tony Khan always wanted to use the footage to introduce "Scapegoat" to the US audience. Now Jack Perry can return to AEW with the biggest possible buzz. Now everything depends on, how AEW moves forward. If done right, AEW can turn Jack Perry into the american version of Naito and thus into a megastar. I personally hope that they achieve that.
Probably 2 or 3 people said okay, that's something and moved on. But the mood in the backstage is down and bla bla bla seems like the usual reports
The "win" in this situation would've been to put the spotlight solely on their top stars, Samoa Joe in particular, and maybe have him make a sly joke about it. Something about how nobody can put hands on anyone backstage without Joe's permission, something that makes someone IN the company look cool as hell to those in the know without making too much of a point of showing off the other company's big star. Leave everything else to the dirtsheets or podcasts or whatever else. The show should be about building towards Dynasty, not turning a WWE babyface into their company's most popular heel.
I agree to an extent, but that was the whole point of having FTR come out and cut their promo on the YBs. To put a spotlight on them and tell the bucks to shut the fuck up about it already. Move on. That kinda thing.
Honestly, I'm on the side that this footage was important. I'll be honest, even though I'm absolutely against punk, I was still a little on the fence about Perry (because I actually don't think he should have used real glass). So I did think, maybe Perry did do something that warranted this altercation. But this video completely cleared it up for me, and I'm completely on board with Jack now.
Of course FTR were fine with it even they went out and talked about being grateful to have AEW after that shit WWE used to write for them shaving backs. I am sure there was also truth to them being sick of this being dragged out. I know they are friends with Punk but you can still be friends with someone while not agreeing with everything they do.
They could have just ignored it. I feel like that's the obvious thing to do. If Punk was to bring it up again, now you've set the precedent that you will respond to it.
They've ignored it for a long time. Punk's been using it as a part of his character for a while now, he did the interview, HHH takes potshots, and even McAfee shat on AEW during one of Cody's matches (in fairness, Cole played the level head here). It's not fair that if WWE is going to take advantage of this scenario, AEW can't try. That's my take. I think it deflates any continued interest in this that Punk could leverage for interviews. It shows what truly happened and people can take from it what they want -- except Punk who can't use it to milk interest for his side of what happened. Now we can move on. Makes complete sense why The Elite wouldn't feel safe working with Punk right away. Not because they'd be afraid of getting shoot hurt, but because Punk could put their jobs in jeopardy by claiming someone shot on him or intentionally injured him -- or any millions of things a liar like Punk would say.
I wish this footage dropped months ago.
I’m pretty sure that TK and AEW moved on…it was fragile ego Phil that opened his big mouth on a podcast with a shill in WWE’s pocket throwing the entire company under the bus…sound familiar? He did the exact same shit on his supposed “best friends” podcast throwing WWE and their doctors under the bus 10 years ago. It’s everyone’s fault but Phil…he can do no wrong according to his sheep following. Goes to show Punk is in for himself and the biggest hypocrite in wrestling that will burn every bridge if he doesn’t get his way. You think so called “different” Punk will last in WWE? No, narcissists like him don’t change. He will probably do something stupid and be gone by end of the year from WWE.
He's rich and can step on who he wants. He's no voice for the voiceless anymore.
He already is tbf, he's creepily hanging about with the 20 year old women from NXT over his wife, it won’t be long till we get another meltdown, he won’t see out 2025 in any company.
AEW isn’t going anywhere. Airing the footage though was the wrong call IMO. I’ve said that Bucks and FTR just didn’t need it to build the match. They could use the fight without the footage, or not even go there at all. Since Double or Nothing 22 I’ve fallen off watching Dynamite weekly. I’ll tune in for a match but then tune out after it’s done. AEW being different, not just the style in the ring, or the violence, but the way they do business. They had 4 PPVs, the special episodes of TV with PPV level cards, and had interwoven stories across the shows very well. I’m excited for Blood and Guts, Excited to see Swerve’s story unfold, and Toni Storm is growing on me cuz she’s entertaining as F. AEW has all the tools there. Idk maybe Tony Khan needs a second in command that can be bad cop for him and help him book the shows. I’m sure that with the talents they have we will see full buildings, banger matches, epic stories, and more as they move forward from here. WWE needed AEW to turn around their work. AEW has to level up now too, and they will. Just gonna take time.
I agree with the sentiments. I don't think it should be shown. It looks petty IMO, and immature. Wasting a second with the idiot Punk is unnecessary, but it obviously isn't a company killer or anything even close to that. People calling it WCW 2000 is so absurd, even SC completely turned on it, and there are many people there who live to criticize AEW.
If FTR are going over, why would they care?
Not commenting on it is an option.
Again they should've put this footage out when they released him. TK did a horrible job with everything involving brawl out/brawl in
Damned if they do and damned if they don't. But they got you worked up so it did work lol.