AEW Double or Nothing

[d-d-d-dAz]

I’m sure the above is a lovely conversation, but I have no idea what any of it means.

Get Jeff Jarrett in, I say.

Anyway...

’Unscripted’ ...Eurgh.

I like that Cody is getting coverage for being an intellectual, thoughtful guy. If there niche is going to be ‘sometimes the product is different than WWE, sometimes it’s the same but you can watch us without feeling complicit in all the moral baggage’ then I’m actually way more up for that than anything else.

Edited May 27, 2019 by d-d-d-dAz

[Accident Prone]

4 minutes ago, Chris B said:

Oh, that's why everyone recognised them. You're right.

I've all ready went into my thoughts as to why they weren't recognised as widely as I thought, Chris. Have a read of that and have a look at the heaving indy scene where there is a packed out show in almost every major city cross the UK and America on a regular basis. Thanks.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Accident Prone

[Mr Kennedy]

For anyone that uses Kodi, have you managed to find a decent link for this? 

[scouseman]

on ITV4 they cut away when Cody started talking. Maybe the hour time frame was up. Was the rest of it shown on the youtube feed? Why was there a beer barrel in the start of the main event the ref could not get it out of the ring so Y2J had to help him. What were the fans saying to him to make him give the finger and call them marks? could not make it out. The Cody match was great but I was really worried for his bro with all that blood loss. Did not like the chair rib on HHH very small time. I cannot stand that starrcast commentator. How can you have Kenny Jericho 2 without  don callis 

[Yakashi]

5 minutes ago, Mr Kennedy said:

For anyone that uses Kodi, have you managed to find a decent link for this? 

It’s only £15. Why steal it when it’s so cheap? It’s not like it’s 50 like in America. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

I WANT TO SUPPORT THE REVOLUTION IN PRO-WRESTLING...

...for free.

Weirdly, illegal streaming could be a real issue for AEW. More so than it is for WWE, and could be the thing that stifles their growth. With few guaranteed revenue streams, they might not be able to withstand a depressed customer base due to piracy for very long.

I’m broadly of the belief that people generally under value content these days and want everything for free - but particularly for a start-up like this, if you’re even half interested in where they might go, you should pay to watch.

Or don’t. Whatever. But if they’re forced out of business, whilst the WWE stay in the game because their various TV/Sponsorship/ad deals keep them cash rich, we can’t complain when we’re continually drip fed the same stuff we say we’re bored of.

Edited May 27, 2019 by d-d-d-dAz

[textonly]

A bit late for a long post, probably, but I need to rattle off a few thoughts so you'll just have to suffer.

Postives...

For all the talk about production stuff, I really liked the visual. It was obviously very WCW and admittedly it did look a little dated, but that's fine with me. One of the things that bothers me a ton about WWE's presentation is that they create this huge, elaborate, colourful set that makes the performers look smaller for being in it. This was comparatively dull, but it allowed me to focus on the performers.

I'm the millionth person to say it, but I loved Cody vs. Dustin. Honestly, going into the match I didn't care at all about the story they were selling, but the match itself won me over and it became the most emotionally involved I've felt in a match in ages. And though it feels lame to say it, the blood made a huge, huge difference in that. Yes, it was a lot, possibly too much in rational, sensible terms, but it was the best advert for the power of a blade job you could ever imagine. I was genuinely concerned and drawn into it. "Is Dustin okay? How long can he go on? How must Cody feel being responsible for this?". It was excellent stuff. It was everything WWE pretend The Undertaker's modern Wrestlemania matches are. Old-school, emotional and epic.

(As an aside, Cody's post-match promo made me think of Dolph Ziggler. I'm not quite as harsh on Dolph as most here, but Cody showed him how it was done here. Dolph's acting skills as he tried to play emotional last week were embarrassing. Cody sold it like a champ here.)

I won't go into detail on the other matches - nothing stood out as excellent, nothing stood out as bad - but I thought it was a solid showing from everyone. Both women's matches did enough to show me that this might be a better home to women's wrestling if that's what I'm after. And there were plenty of people I'd happily watch again. I had/have no idea who Orange Cassidy is, but I loved that spot in the battle royale. It really captured my imagination and made me laugh. MJF came across like their version of The Miz, which is a good thing to have. All the big guns, of course, I'm compelled to see what happens next with them. I was no fan of Ambrose in WWE, but a feud with Omega will tell me pretty quickly if he's got more in his locker than I've been led to believe.

Overall, it was a really good introduction. All the "alternative to WWE" stuff is moot until it's a TV show. When people say they want an alternative to WWE, 90% of the time they're simply saying, "I'd like a regular wrestling show that's a bit more compelling and a bit less of a chore to watch". AEW showed here they have the materials to create that, but it will mean nothing until TV starts. Right now I'm optimistic because the talent is there, but we'll have to wait and see how the backroom works week-to-week. At this point there's no telling whether they'll be peak WCW, something more akin to NXT or possibly even low-level TNA. We can only be pleased there's still opportunity for hope.

On the negative side...

I don't remember this being the case from his WWE days, although maybe it was, but Justin Roberts put in the single worst shift of a ring announcer that I have ever seen in my life. Absolutely terrible. He was like a human text-to-speech bot with no understanding of natural speech structures. And if he had some kind of epic, booming announcer voice to make up for it, maybe you could understand him having a job, but he doesn't. Woeful.

I largely disliked the commentary too. I'm on board with Excalibur, but I thought JR and Alex Marvez each struggled mightily, partly because it felt like they were trying to inhabit the same role. There were even moments where I thought it felt like they were being pissy to each other, like they resented each other's presence; treading, tripping on and sometimes flat-out ignoring each other's points. A three man booth does not need two play-by-play guys and that's what it felt like to me. Get either out and I think the remaining one will be better. Marvez wasn't great on this, obviously, but I'd still back him over JR. JR just sounds done. His tone on everything even slightly modern reeked of "ehh, I hear the kids like this kind of stuff, but I'm not into it". He's an old dog too tired to learn any new tricks.

I actually didn't hate it, if I'm honest, but the HHH throne thing? As I watched it, I honestly thought, "I bet HHH himself called Cody up and gave him that idea". It reeked of him. As a cheap little entrance gimmick for the live crowd it was fine, but as an act of symbolism it was contradictory.

[unfitfinlay]

11 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I WANT TO SUPPORT THE REVOLUTION IN PRO-WRESTLING...

...for free.

Weirdly, illegal streaming could be a real issue for AEW. More so than it is for WWE, and could be the thing that stifles their growth. With few guaranteed revenue streams, they might not be able to withstand a depressed customer base due to piracy for very long.

I’m broadly of the belief that people generally under value content these days and want everything for free - but particularly for a start-up like this, if you’re even half interested in where they might go, you should pay to watch.

Or don’t. Whatever. But if they’re forced out of business, whilst the WWE stay in the game because their various TV/Sponsorship/ad deals keep them cash rich, we can’t complain when we’re continually drip fed the same stuff we say we’re bored of.

That's a good point. Wrestling fans, particularly THAT fan base, are entitled as fuck. I remember having an argument years ago with a "massive" TNA fan, who wanted them to cater to *him* with their booking, even though he illegally downloaded every show. He couldn't understand why they'd try and target a more mainstream audience that might actually give them money. You can't pay the bills with Internet Points. Not that TNA ever actually paid their bills obviously.

[FalconHoof]

Support what you love and what you want to see. You can't complain about a lack of alternative to WWE, and then when it arrives not support it. 

It was an enjoyable show, with good production values and the Cody/Dustin match was worth the 15 quid alone. 

[WeeAl]

Dustin, the old dog, is a mighty man. If what they would like to do is create a Mid South vibe (I doubt it by the way) then put the belt on him right away. He put in the type of performance on Saturday night that Chris Jericho wishes he was capable of at this stage. Rhodes Vs Rhodes was marvellous. 

MJF has something about him. Hangman too. The OWE guys offer excitement on the lower end of the card. 

Omega Vs Jericho wasn't as good as their match in NJPW. I thought this was ok, but not as good a spot match as the AAA tag title match, nor as good of an old school brawl as Dustin Vs Cody. 

Lucha Bros Vs Young Bucks was just spot after spot. I keep hearing that the Bucks can tell a story, and I haven't seen much of them, but so far I've seen nothing of the sort. Pentagon and Fenix could be big stars for AEW. 

Way too many fucking piledrivers on this show. 

The production, commentary, Evans/Angelico Vs Baretta/Chuckie T, and the strange belt presentation segment were real low points of the main show. 

Dean Ambrose turning up was a good way to end the show on a cliffhanger surprise, but the man himself does zero for me. 

The pre-show was an utter shambles and there's not a hope I'd have paid for that show after watching it. About three people in the match looked half way credible, and one of those was Billy Gunn, with the other two being MJF and Page. The rest looked like something you would be disappointed with if they turned up at your local leisure centre. 

I'm glad there's another option out there for wrestlers to make really decent money. This was a decent first show, with lots of plusses and minuses, on a long road ahead to becoming a sustainable, viable company. I hope they do well, whether or not they will be to my taste. For a first show though I feel they played a bit too much to the converted, rather than to the potential first time viewers that they will gotten for this PPV. 

[Yakashi]

The fan base they’re aiming for before the tv show starts hates wwe so much that they’d gladly pay 50 bucks to think they’re sticking two fingers up at Vince. They’ll be fine for now. It’s when they get to tv and they need more than those fans where the content thieves may cause them a problem. 

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I've always been of the opinion that if you're going to illegally stream something, you would never pay for it to begin with. The TNA PPVs were all free over here anyway, but if I had to pay for them I simply wouldnt have watched them. How did they ever expect someone to pay $50 for those things? I gave my coin to ITV Box Office the other night, because it was conventient enough and I wanted to see it. I dont think AEW are missing out of any money with the streaming, because people who stream (myself included) arent going to pay for the things they are streaming.

Its like RF Video and Kayfabe Commentaries. I've watched loads of them over the years, but I can honestly say I'm amazed at anyone who pays for those fucking things. They arent worth. Highspots is about 7 quid a month and you get the lot. That's how it should be. Paying 15 quid for Luke Bushwhacker to fantasy book? Fuck off.

[Keith Houchen]

Regarding not paying for it, this is a country where we historically never had to pay for PPVs for wrestling, Boxing and MMA separately.  Then when we did, at a much cheaper price than the US, we felt aggrieved.  I think that mindset still exists so shelling out for something that you're used to getting for free doesn't sit comfortably.

[MPDTT]

3 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Regarding not paying for it, this is a country where we historically never had to pay for PPVs for wrestling, Boxing and MMA separately.  Then when we did, at a much cheaper price than the US, we felt aggrieved.  I think that mindset still exists so shelling out for something that you're used to getting for free doesn't sit comfortably.

Great point. AEW will need a streaming service in the medium term.

[Yakashi]

Ian I think it depends on the price charged though. I always try to pay for stuff if I want to watch it and the value proposition is there. And I wanted to watch the AEW show. £15 was a fair price so I paid it. But if they started charging US prices of 40, 50, 60 quid, there’s no way I’m paying it. I’d illegally stream it instead. But I would pay at a better perceived value point. So they’ve lost money from me there. I get your point, but I think that if stealing wasn’t an option more people would pay but the total number of viewers would definitely be down.