pgi86 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) The AEW logo: They've also announced the first show will be called "Double or Nothing". More details will be revealed on January 8 when they'll hold a fan rally in Jacksonville. Advertised for the rally are: Young Bucks, Cody, Brandi, Hangman, Daniels, Kazarian and Scorpio Sky. On a sidenote, Smackdown is in Jacksonville that same day. Edited January 1, 2019 by pgi86 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 Doesn't really say anything but the graphics are better on the first announcement than TNA have managed in 16 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Hopefully this is the shot in the arm the industry needs. I wish them nothing but the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 Hoping for reverse battle royal and an electrified cage match on the first show. 14 sided ring, and ideally Teddy Hart tagging with his cats. Just a wish list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPDTT Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 This is going to be awesome. Massive financial backing from a billionaire owner, people are being signed to multi-year contracts, Meltzer thinks there are multiple TV offers......the ambition here is massive. Happy New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 wise move to do it when smackdowns in town, easy way to attract along a big crowd for their annoucemnent. Good signs already that they seem to know what they are doing. I’d imagine they will have already shifted quite a lot of the new merch they have put on pro wrestling tees this morning as well off the back of the announcement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pier Six Brawler Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 This could be a game-changer for the American wrestling business. Fan loyalty to WWE has never been lower, it's time for a new group to come in and take over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love-Wilcox Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 The reveal on BTE was very well done. Good luck to these guys and hopefully they can overtake RoH and Impact! to become a clear No2 behind WWE. I know it's early days but that doesn't sound like too much of a stretch, does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Accident Prone Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 I wish AEW all the best, but I don't think the wrestling business is ready for a second 'big' player. The enthusiasm is there but the amount of wresting fans around now is on a smaller scale compared to the 90's and early 00's. AEW are counting on hardcore fans ready to jump on board another promotion in a world that is all ready heavily diluted with pro wrestling and that fan base is going to be spread thin. Look at next year's 'Mania weekend schedule; it's insane how many promotions are running in a four day period and, apart from your Spring Breaks, New Japans & WrestleCons, time will tell how many of those will do decent attendances. The hunger for wrestling is big but there is more than enough to go round. Beyond Wrestling just announced a weekly live show, MLW are taking further steps to cement themselves on TV & PPV, New Japan are touring more globally, ROH will be aggressively growing their own product and WWE is going out of their way to shamelessly cater to everyone. Then there's Impact lurking around every corner, new 'super indy' companies popping up (Fight Forever and WrestleGate being two examples) and there's always some other promotion attempting their own time on the telly (last year in the UK alone you had 5 Star, World Of Sport AND Rev Pro failing miserably). If they take this slow and throw a few big shows together over the course of the year to build momentum, maybe ending in a series of tapings at the 2020 'Mania weekend, then they'll have a chance at building their rep enough to sustain a touring schedule as well as a consistent and compelling week-to-week show. Even then, they're battling with a ton of competition in an over-saturated market and they'll be fighting an uphill battle to convince WWE casuals to give them a chance. The people who exclusively watch WWE, and the people who intrinsically link 'wrestling' to WWE, are they going to give up any of their time to watch a wrestling promotion spearheaded by Stardust? I admire the incredible scope, dedication, optimism, confidence and hard work of these lads, I really do. I massively enjoyed All In, but I saw it as them capturing lightening in a bottle. The right build and the right characters at the right time. Can they continue to pull off storylines like the miraculous NWA title build? Can they continue to use their mates without inducing the affects of diminishing returns? Can they tone down the nonsense enough to keep people watching? I wish them all the best, and I'll be throwing them a few quid when I curiously buy their next PPV, but I hope they learn to walk before they decide to run with the top brass. As a wrestling fan, I truly hope they succeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 5 hours ago, tiger_rick said: Doesn't really say anything but the graphics are better on the first announcement than TNA have managed in 16 years. Are they though? One of the few things Impact’s doing a great job of at the moment is their graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 Good luck to them. I don't see them making huge waves, but fair play for them having the cojones to have a crack. If they really get into bed with New Japan with a decent working arrangement, then they could find a nice little niche. Otherwise, why will this be any different from another indy promotion? What's the deal with Omega, is he no longer part of The Elite? I don't keep up with it much, but he's surely the bigger name that you'd want to centre it on. His absence is inconspicuous. Could he be WWE-bound, or just more of a NJPW exclusive talent these days? Wish they'd opted against a three letter name, though. AEW doesn't stand out at all, could be any old promotion and sounds too much like an Adam Ryland game. Hopefully their marketing and branding is more focused on All Elite as the name rather than the tired three letter formula. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 My only criticism so far is Cody and the bucks are in title matches Friday, surely they could have announced after the dome show. Guess they get the advantage of it being a slow wrestling news day getting out out today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) This is the best time for them to start up. The best thing for everyone is if WWE is pissed off at AEW starting up and ROH starts competing for talent on both ends, which leads to Sinclair upping their budget on the production, talent and front office end. Then you have 3 billionaire backers of 3 different promotions fighting it out. Could be the best thing for the fringe groups, too. If you have AEW on national TV. And you have WWE with their biggest ever TV deal just signed, you could potentially have wrestling as this supposed hot thing networks would like on their channel. A start up with a lot of money behind them is the best thing for everyone. Fans, promotions, the wrestlers. I dont know if this will be my cup of tea, but its an exciting time. Edited January 1, 2019 by IANdrewDiceClay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 Ian summed it up well there. I don't know how well it'll really work for them with regards to being a major number two, but then again that depends on what their goals really are and how realistically they are thinking. At the end of the day Impact, ROH, Lucha Underground, MLW, NJPW and a host of others all have 'TV Deals' in the states, but it's the type of TV deal you have that is the difference maker. Having a financial backer that is willing to provide start up cash is a major boost, but no billionaire that's smart enough to become that rich, got there by continuing to throw good money after bad, so that cash injection will eventually stop if the TV deal that lands doesn't help put a serious dent in running costs. Hopefully this all works out for these guys, as if they are able to start up, sustain and grow, along with all the other companies that are out there, then it's a healthy sign for the business as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fatty Facesitter Posted January 1, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 1, 2019 It's definitely an exciting prospect. The key difference maker will be the readies on offer from Tony Khan and how much he's looking to pump into it. We can talk about matches, performers involved etc but the amount of investment provided will be the real difference maker in terms of production value of the shows and their marketing strategies. Good wrestling is virtually a given I'd suggest, so now it's about how they pimp themselves out to a wide market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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