David

Just now, RedRooster said:

I thought this was a great show, and the MJF/Cole stuff was the highlight for me. I laughed out loud more than once, and I’m looking forward to more of this next week. I know it’ll end badly, but I’d love to see MJF remain babyface and feud with the likes of Moxley and Punk.

I also loved that stuff. MJF's gym bro jokes and delivery in the segment was 100% full-on Todd Packer from the US Office. Great stuff.

How easily he slipped into working like a babyface was brilliant. Looking forward to more of this before he inevitably turns on Cole.

Did anyone see the state of Strickland's eye after that poke? It looks like he's actually missing a small chunk of his eyeball!

Yeah, I'm generally meaning on social media. I know that specialist forums (such as this, funnily enough) would have ratings-themed discussions, but it seems to be every second post about wrestling on social media is ratings. 

I'm completely unenthused by the heavyweight boxing scene now. Something I wouldn't have imagined I'd be saying when Fury closed out that final win over Wilder. I assumed we'd get the big fights we all wanted.

Seems I was wrong.

For me, a champion who defends twice every 12 months is acceptable. 

Just now, Egg Shen said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see O'Malley crowned an Interim Champion if Sterling doesn't make it to fight night. Maybe the UFC are half hoping that's what happens.

Wouldn't surprise me at all. I'm actually a fan of O'Malley, he's an exciting fighter, but I hope Sterling finishes him early doors just to annoy the fuck out of Dana.

I'll then hope O'Malley gets back on track afterwards.

Aljamain Sterling still isn't happy about having to fight again on such short notice. Guess who he blames for cajoling him into it?

Quote

“People don’t understand how much time I actually put into this sport,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “Sometimes you could get a little burned out. Sometimes that can take a lot out of you mentally. That’s why, after this fight, I had so much things with Henry, so many things planned out, that I just wanted to decompress and stop thinking about fighting for once because I do so much to get to the fight and prep myself to mentally get ready for battle.

“I had that just kind of ripped from underneath my legs. Now I’m like, ‘Okay, this time you motherf*****s are not doing this to me again.’ I’m going to fight, even though it’s literally against my will. People can say whatever — if Dana [White] were to hear this, Hunter [Campbell] were to hear this, they would say, ‘We’re not making him do anything.’ Let’s be real here, bro. Come on, dude. You kind of are. Let’s call a spade a spade.”

“Like I said, I still have injuries that I’m still nursing to this day, and I’m not going to stop saying that,” Sterling said. “People can get mad at me. ‘You’re disclosing that you’re not 100 percent healthy.’ No one is 100 percent healthy going into a fight, and clearly, I just fought.

“Henry just pulled out of a fight because he’s not 100 percent healthy. I wonder why that happened. … Behind the scenes, [UFC executives] have their ways to kind of make you, ‘Okay, I’m going to do this for you guys again, even though I’m not going to get any thank yous for it.’”

And I know that fans on social media will likely be shitting all over his statement, claiming that the fight with Dillashaw wasn't a real fight and so on, but what those knuckleheads don't realise is that the actual fight is only part of the process. He'll have went through four training camps, which usually last around six to eight weeks, in the past 16 months. So, he could realistically have spent half of the past 16 months training, fighting, and weight cutting, which is insane.

This final one for O'Malley will be the toughest I reckon, coming off a 5 round fight with Cejudo and then fighting again 3 months later? Absolute fucking insanity. 

But this is what Dana demands when someone he isn't particularly fond of is holding one of his straps. The whole situation is being set up to benefit his brother from another Irish descendent mother in O'Malley. 

9 hours ago, Jesse said:

Then in defence of what David is saying - they are a terrible metric for judging anything's popularity, or even as an outsider trying to judge what the ratings mean to the studio given so much else that falls into that we have no way of knowing about. Generally, if they're still giving them money and keeping the same amount of content or asking for more it seems like things are going good. Staring at the ratings and trying to figure out what that means to Warner Bros without any additional insider information is about as useful as getting your divining rod out.

I think this is key. The viewing figures, as terrible as they are, need to be taken in context with other factors. Factors that we're likely not privy to. 

I think fans (on social media for the most part) just latch onto these numbers in isolation to either bash or support their favourite brand. It also seems to be something that is mainly a wrestling fan thing. I don't see fans of other shows discussing the week to week fluctuation of the viewing figures. 

Anyway, very informative answer. Thanks!

I've been catching it on-demand when I remember. I quite like the fact that it gives these guys a bit of background and personality. 

It's pretty clear though that Chandler knows what he's doing, and McGregor isn't arsed. Even his coaches don't seem to know what he's up to one minute from the next. And now that he's not in the testing pool it looks unlikely we'll get the fight.

Just now, Infinity Land said:

The live/same day (cut off is 3am EST) ratings are done in the old school fashion of around 40,000+ households are tracked by Nielsen and they use their magical formula to extrapolate out into what the US is watching.

The Live+3 and Live+7 start to include some streaming/DVR data with the providers that give them that information, but not everyone gives that information.

Most of the major media companies are trying to come up with their own system and Nielsen is trying to stay as the indepedent source of ratings.

Ah, okay. Well, that all seems terribly outdated to me. It's 2023, people are consuming content in all manner of ways these days. I wouldn't be putting too much stock into these ratings, especially not on a week by week basis when a show is less than a month old.

I'd imagine the network will be looking more at the advertising slots it's managing to sell during the show, and how much they're drawing financially as a better baromoter of success? Maybe not. I dunno.

Just now, Louch said:

It’s not the total, it’s the demo that’s poor. @David it’s US only and includes streamers watching in first 24hrs I believe 

Ah, okay. As @Hannibal Scorch says, those ratings only really matter to the network and Tony Khan. If they're both happy with what they're getting, then fair play.

From a fans point of view, and someone who doesn't really know the ins & outs of television rating systems, I figured the ratings would bounce around between being lower than Dynamite, which is the flagship show, but slightly above Rampage. It's the same fanbase after all, isn't it? 

I've seen a few people on socials using this rating to bash Punk, and on the other side of the coin I've seen people use the first weeks rating to "big up" the guy. But can a wrestling show really draw based on one name anymore? I don't know if there's an active full-time wrestler who you could stick on a two hour show on a Saturday night on TNT and expect to draw tons of eyes based on their name alone?

Just now, Daddymagic said:

432.000 viewers this week - half of the audience of week one and less than Rampage drew. 

I absolutely have zero clue how these TV ratings are calculated, so apologies if this question seems daft. Basically, isn't this an outmoded way of telling who's watching what? Does it account for streaming? I know in Canada, for example, Collision isn't available on television. Only on the streaming service. I assume these numbers given are US-only?

I've personally never watched something live on my television via the traditional set-up in god-knows how many years. 

Depends if Adesanya has the balls to wander into Apex Predator territory. If he does, he best leave those manicured nails and pearl necklaces at home. That shit doesn't fly in Strickland territory.

Yeah, Cannonier had a shot only a year back. Strickland is on a two-fight bounce, which could be enough to get it done if he can add another win to that while we sit through Adesanya fighting Whitaker for the 3,854th time. 

My view is that Strickland is a fresh opponent, he's a stand-up opponent (if not a standup guy), and the fight would likely be decent to watch. 

I don't think they should give Adesanya home content advantage though by having that kind of fight in Australia. If the champ is so good, go to Strickland's territory and fight him in his home country.

The Apex.

You know what? I'd throw him in there. It's a different look for the champion, and would be a fun fight for as long as it lasts I think.

Once the Bucks stop crying and grow up a bit we'll hopefully see things get back to something resembling normal, with the crossovers and so on.

Just now, Lorne Malvo said:

I do like Vincent but (and I know I'm nit-picking here) the gimmick falls down a few notches when he starts talking. I know it's an odd criticism, but he just doesn't sound anything like he looks. I'm sure I'll get used to it in time but at the moment it's quite jarring. 

Yeah, that's maybe the one thing that could be considered a negative. Which is a shame, as he looks the part for sure. 

Having dived into watching ROH of late, am I the only one who thinks Vincent of The Righteous has a great look and gimmick? I was never a fan of Wyatt, but this guy seems to have that weird, cult-like leader thing down perfectly. He has a definite Charles Manson/Otis B Driftwood vibe going on, and I like it.

The Righteous have got my attention. Even big Dutch sporting the white suit and 70's style glasses ala Jim Jones is a pretty cool touch.

Just now, wandshogun09 said:

I still don’t think he’s anything special. He’s durable and has a decent jab.

He isn't anything special, but he does have underrated boxing I think. His head movement and ability to roll with punches is really good, and he obviously has cardio for days. He can throw those volume shots all day by the looks of it.

He's a top five gatekeeper, basically. If you can't beat him, you don't deserve a crack at a top five guy. And really, that's not a bad spot to be in. He's headlining these Apex shows, getting wins, and is being paid quite well. Not bad for someone who clearly isn't going to be troubling a champion any time soon.

8 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Not always true. I have had AEW through Fite for years and in the last 6 months or so the shows and PPV’s are often out of sync (TV more often then PPV for some reason).

Are you watching it on a FireStick by any chance? There was an update done a few months back that has fucked with the syncing on a few different apps, including Fite. I have to keep restarting my FireStick to get it back to normal.

Just now, Carbomb said:

Can't stand Strickland, but if he really wants to continue with the villainy, he can call himself the "Apex Predator".

I was thinking he's more like the "Apex Arsehole" personally.

21 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

The stat they rolled off in the pre-fight package, "He's won the most fights at the Apex in UFC history".

Dear me.

They should create an Apex belt. 

So, apparently AI has declared the top ten footballers to grace the Premier League since it's inception as the following:

1. Thierry Henry

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

3. Alan Shearer 

4. Ryan Giggs 

5. Eric Cantona 

6. Steven Gerrard 

7. Frank Lampard 

8. Dennis Bergkamp 

9. Roy Keane 

10. Paul Scholes 

Agree? Disagree? Does AI know the score? Or is it just plain talking shit?

Man, Sean Strickland is the ultimate test in his weight class. If you're not up to scratch, you're gonna get found out. When that first round finished the last thing I thought I'd see in round two was a finish in Strickland's favour. That was a proper show of mental strength.

For all his out of the cage personality issues, in the cage he's tough as hell and hard to stop. His boxing is beautiful when he puts it together. He rolls well with the punches, and his volume is great for an MMA fighter.

Now that Bisping has seemingly calmed down on trying to convince us he's a psychopath and a killer It's a bit easier to watch him fight. 

For those who don't like him, he doesn't look like he's going anywhere any time soon! Long live the Apex King, baby!

Just now, 69MeDon said:

I had no idea the crowd at Dynamite was that small, it looked way better on TV.

Again, those online ticket sales that were a snapshot of sales a few hours earlier would not have included last minute walk-up traffic, of which there is always quite a bit. It's not like the UK where fans are conditioned to buy tickets on release due to events selling out.

The Toronto area basically had like four shows in the space of a week, including one PPV. I personally know people who were like "yeah, we'll get tickets on the day a few hours before. There's always something available."

The only real exception was Forbidden Door, which didn't have all that much left at all.