Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 One of the networks they're talking with is TNT/TBS. What a full circle thing that would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 Pretty massive if true though. Anyone else think its a matter of time until Don Callis is involved in some way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 1 hour ago, LCJ said: Agreed. Khan's ownership of Fulham FC hasn't exactly gone great so far. OK, they're back in the Premier League but they're really struggling and have spent relatively little when compared to several other teams in the league. Eh? Spent relatively little?? They had the fourth biggest net spend in the PL last summer. They spent shitloads! They also outspent Bayern, Real Madrid, Barcelona and had a similar net-spend to PSG (who bought Mbappe for 145m Euros). But that said, Keith is right. Just because they're billionaires, doesn't mean they're going to invest heavily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 47 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Then again, if they do go the route of trying to catch the attention of lapsed wrestling fans, those who pay occasional attention to it, or those largely disinterested in wrestling, then they're essentially another WWE. Which isn't what the vast majority of enthusiasts for this promotion want because it will be 'too WWE'. Rock and a hard a place. I think this is doomed to fail from the start, regardless of money and TV. People keep criticising WWE under a catch-all damning tone yet I don't understand why. You have NXT, which is basically an indie promotion under a WWE banner. This is all key to me. The smartest thing WWE have done with the gradual shift of NXT from a developmental brand to a WWE-owned super-indie, and what they're starting to do with NXT UK (and any further international offshoots), is present their own "alternative". There are plenty of people who are sick of WWE, but will still watch NXT, because they prefer the style of that show, they think the booking is better, and the in-ring product is closer to what we think of as "indie" wrestling - so when the people looking for an "alternative" already have NXT (and, to a lesser extent, the myriad other promotions out there with TV deals or streaming services already), is there actually that much demand for a promotion to rival WWE? A lot of wrestling fans - and wrestling journalists and promoters - are stuck in this mindset where the Attitude Era, or the Monday Night Wars, shape our way of thinking, that rather than being a brief blip in wrestling history, that was the correct way of doing things. When the WWF and WCW were running their flagship shows opposite each other on Monday nights, it was appropriate to talk of "alternatives", of taking sides, and to see WWF and WCW as an either/or proposition. But AEW almost certainly aren't going to run opposite RAW, and even if they do, the way we watch TV has changed so drastically that it would largely be a symbolic gesture. So maybe AEW can draw in lapsed fans by appealing to the "PG sux" era, but I doubt it. Chances are, the people following this story closely, who will make up the likely audience for AEW, are already watching WWE programming, and aren't going to stop watching WWE to watch AEW instead, they'll just watch both. And considering an estimated fewer than 5% (generous estimate) of WWE viewers are aware of any non-WWE wrestling promotions, the actual impact of a new promotion on WWE's viewership might be enough to make them wake up and take notice, but it's not going to be enough to create a sea change in how they operate. I'm hoping they're smart enough to be putting together a promotion that they're happy to have room to grow, find its own feet, and focus on putting on compelling programming, rather than being single-mindedly fixated on competing with WWE, but will that be enough for their fans, or their money man? What are the expectations here? I just see no way, with the talent involved, that this is going to be genuine competition, and we already have people talking about it as the new WCW. 10 minutes ago, garynysmon said: Pretty massive if true though. Anyone else think its a matter of time until Don Callis is involved in some way? We don't know yet if Kenny Omega's involved - if Kenny comes on board, I wouldn't be surprised to see Callis follow suit.  I saw someone mention Hot Topic earlier - the Bullet Club branding is something that I think really helped All In's success, and the (relatively) mainstream success of that brand was really the forerunner to all this. With The Elite stepping away from NJPW, they're losing the connection to that brand, and I wonder how much that could potentially hurt them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 (edited) Its all down to the TV deal. That's what any company drives the business from. That's everyone from as big as WWE to as small as Impact's TV deal. Your business is structured around how much the TV rights fees are. If they can get a major TV deal to pump money into them, then they're off to the races. Khan's ownership is obviously massive, but he's in this to make a profit. He's not going to throw good money at something with no chance of success. Also, I think people are getting an idea of what this is, based off what they do on their youtube show. That's a skit based comedy thing on youtube, with an acquired appeal. If you're on TNT or Paramount Network or something, people dressed as dicks and women getting beaten up isnt going to fly. This is going to have to be a proper wrestling show, where guys get over, the matches are treated seriously to their audience and where stars are created. And for the most part, that's what that All In show was. Cody and Nick Aldis (who dont do anything for me as wrestlers) had this tremendous old school build and the match was treated like a big deal. No comedy bullshit, no stupid spots, just an old NWA style match and people loved it. Take away the Joey Ryan shite and the bit where a women got kicked in the face, and it reminded you of what WCW probably would be in 2018. Cody Rhodes might be dull as fuck in the ring, but many former bookers were. And one thing I do like, is his willingness to involve other peoples ideas, whether it be Billy Corgan or Delirious or Christopher Daniels etc. Which if you look at Russo and Jarrett when they started TNA in 2002, those two thought they were writing the Larry Sanders Show, and this was a masterpiece who nobody could understand the brilliance of (which is part of the reason why that company continued to fall down the same hole). I hope its a massive success, personally. And I do think certain people are misunderstanding the goals of this promotion. Khan got involved because 10,000 people sold out a building and the show was a critical success. If he wants this to be a success, its going to have to appeal to everyone, not just a exclusive club of those who watch that comedy shite they do every Monday on youtube. Edited January 2, 2019 by IANdrewDiceClay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 14 minutes ago, IANdrewDiceClay said:  And for the most part, that's what that All In show was. Cody and Nick Aldis (who dont do anything for me as wrestlers) had this tremendous old school build and the match was treated like a big deal. I can't say I agree with this - you're spot-on about Aldis/Cody, but can it be said that anything else on that show mattered? Everything felt either throwaway or like a self-indulgent "dream match" that didn't live up to expectations, or stacked with inside references and in-jokes (the Jay Lethal match, and especially the Joey Janela match). Now, admittedly, that was a one-off show and you have to approach that differently, but it's all we've got to go on as far as judging anyone involved here as bookers - and how much of what made Cody/Aldis special was coming from Cody, and how much of that was coming from Corgan, or was a continuation of build the NWA were doing? It's not promising when the only match worth mentioning from that show was one of the matches most explicitly tied to a different promotion altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 While they've had a lot of people talking, they've obviously missed a huge trick by not announcing it by having a bloke at the Royal Rumble holding up a sign opposite the hard cam with "All Elite Wrestling" on it. This whole thing is doomed to failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 20 minutes ago, Chris B said: While they've had a lot of people talking, they've obviously missed a huge trick by not announcing it by having a bloke at the Royal Rumble holding up a sign opposite the hard cam with "All Elite Wrestling" on it. This whole thing is doomed to failure. I’m sure someone in their Cease & Desist tshirt will do it for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 32 minutes ago, Chris B said: While they've had a lot of people talking, they've obviously missed a huge trick by not announcing it by having a bloke at the Royal Rumble holding up a sign opposite the hard cam with "All Elite Wrestling" on it. This whole thing is doomed to failure. This is an idea eerily similar to........ On 12/25/2018 at 9:18 PM, d-d-d-dAz said: If I was them, I’d pay a fortune for secondary market, front row tickets on the hard cam for the Rumble. Send in a stooge, and whip out a sign at a moment when you know the cameras on. Then slowly announce your roster over the following week. ........ and of course the answer is still...... On 12/26/2018 at 9:40 AM, tiger_rick said: That sounds so second rate. So... TNA.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-d-d-dAz Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 It’s a promotion boasting Stardust as their man attraction. They should dream of second rate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 8 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said: It’s a promotion boasting Stardust as their man attraction. They should dream of second rate... Really shitty, negative way to look at it. He was Stardust for 5 minutes on a few episodes of Main Event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, Winston said:  He was Stardust for 5 minutes on a few episodes of Main Event. And that’s as well known as he will ever be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 12 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said: And that’s as well known as he will ever be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brudaker Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 And lord knows no one can go on to do good things after having a crap gimmick. Just ask all these guys: Leviathan The Prototype Jean-Paul Levesque Oz Isaac Yankem The Ring Master Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 2, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 2, 2019 5 hours ago, BomberPat said: I saw someone mention Hot Topic earlier - the Bullet Club branding is something that I think really helped All In's success, and the (relatively) mainstream success of that brand was really the forerunner to all this. I think it's fair to say that this is 100% completely built on the popularity of Bullet Club. Let's be honest, without Bullet Club there would be no Being The Elite, no All-In supershow, no AEW, AJ Styles might not be the best wrestler on the planet, Finn Balor would still be Benoit-lite in Japan, Young Bucks would still be widely remembered as a failed TNA tag, Kenny Omega wouldn't have turned Meltzer into a manic snowflake peddler and Cody would be wearing polka dots in wherever Impact is based these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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