Wrestling Hey Yo: WWE, AEW, Impact and More

[The Dude]

 

 

[Phil]

Never say never.
 

Insane how badly Khan fumbled this. Convinced one of the most beloved stars to return to wrestling after seven years only to end up firing him and walking him back to WWE because Khan's company employs children as VPs.

[Costa]

15 hours ago, The Dude said:

 

 

 

Get ready for the "you sold out" and "hypocrite" chants....

[Phil]

1 hour ago, Costa said:

 

Get ready for the "you sold out" and "hypocrite" chants....

 

He won't care. He'll play right into it the same as he did in AEW after he returned and was given the Cena treatment (50-50 crowds at best).

[Sharpshooter]

A 'jump out of your couch' moment for me. Holy crap. I mean, is he a hypocrite? Sure? Does he care? No. Do most people? Probably not. He'll absolutely feed into it. WWE is business first, wrestling last. Punk back is great for business. The video of his return on Twitter got something like over 20 million views in the matter of a couple of hours. Insane. Punk's return basically nerfed Orton's, but it's great having them both back. I'm really excited about going to RAW next week, but I feel like all of the excitement is going to happen on RAW tonight, and nothing will really happen when I go. lol

[Phil]

1 hour ago, Sharpshooter said:

A 'jump out of your couch' moment for me. Holy crap. I mean, is he a hypocrite? Sure? Does he care? No. Do most people? Probably not. He'll absolutely feed into it. WWE is business first, wrestling last. Punk back is great for business. The video of his return on Twitter got something like over 20 million views in the matter of a couple of hours. Insane. Punk's return basically nerfed Orton's, but it's great having them both back. I'm really excited about going to RAW next week, but I feel like all of the excitement is going to happen on RAW tonight, and nothing will really happen when I go. lol

 

Fans largely don't care about this kind of thing, because they too are hypocrites. Think about how many times a wrestler was panned as a "traitor" for leaving WWE to sign with AEW, and then how quickly that wrestler was met with "WELCOME BACK" chants and applause when they returned. The same for TNA. Even WCW, though back then this stuff was a bit less tribal because the internet was still in its infancy.

[Sharpshooter]

2 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Fans largely don't care about this kind of thing, because they too are hypocrites. Think about how many times a wrestler was panned as a "traitor" for leaving WWE to sign with AEW, and then how quickly that wrestler was met with "WELCOME BACK" chants and applause when they returned. The same for TNA. Even WCW, though back then this stuff was a bit less tribal because the internet was still in its infancy.

Exactly. No matter, with what WWE has in store and what AEW is doing, 2024 could be a huge year for wrestling. You can even throw in the Impact re-rebrand with TNA.

[Phil]

Not really (TNA), but WWE-AEW tit for tat will definitely continue.

 

That said, it's obvious the air has let out tremendously on AEW in the last two years. It's not just a feeling, either. It's completely reflected in the ratings. They're in a major rut right now.

[Sharpshooter]

2 minutes ago, Phil said:

Not really (TNA), but WWE-AEW tit for tat will definitely continue.

 

That said, it's obvious the air has let out tremendously on AEW in the last two years. It's not just a feeling, either. It's completely reflected in the ratings. They're in a major rut right now.

Definitely. It's still enjoyable to me, but the bloom has definitely come off the rose. There's just not a lot of leadership and direction over there right now (or any, really). If I had to guess, some of the WWE guys that went over there are probably having some buyer's remorse right now, at least a little bit. I think they have to, especially now with Triple H and a new administration fully taking over. Hindsight and everything, of course. But, yeah, they have bigger problems.

[Phil]

44 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

Definitely. It's still enjoyable to me, but the bloom has definitely come off the rose. There's just not a lot of leadership and direction over there right now (or any, really). If I had to guess, some of the WWE guys that went over there are probably having some buyer's remorse right now, at least a little bit. I think they have to, especially now with Triple H and a new administration fully taking over. Hindsight and everything, of course. But, yeah, they have bigger problems.

 

Oh, we know they are. Andrade tried to get fired on purpose. Malakai Black and Miro are/were both reportedly very unhappy. CM Punk — CM PUNK — literally went back to WWE as a direct result of his experience in AEW. There are more. Where there's smoke, there's fire, and I think you have it exactly right: it's a lack of leadership. This has been at the heart of a lot of criticisms sent AEW's way that mostly center around the idea that Tony Khan is not actually a good booker. I think it was Kevin Nash who said it best when he said he's a match maker, not a booker, and that the thing AEW needs most of all is a booker. We know what the product looks like with Khan running the show start-to-finish. It's a mostly good wrestling show that's incapable of breaking a million viewers (and often falls well short of it) because it caters to a minority of fans who by all account appear more interested in big spots and gymnastic routines than they do compelling, long-term story lines.

 

Cornette literally does a weekly breakdown of the ratings segments and the numbers constantly show the same thing: when the Bucks are on, for example, or the women, viewers leave. There are very few draws who people actively tune in for.

[Sharpshooter]

Yeah, the 'elite' like the Jacksons, Hangman, etc. are not too popular with fans and in the locker room. They're like The Clique but more irritating. lol It was Kevin Nash who said that, and I agree 100%. Cornette is always pretty bang on with his assessments too. Khan can absolutely do business and that sort of thing, but yeah, he needs to stay far away from booking. WWE is now looking like a place where people want to go to. I think the other night Black mentioned Punk by name on one of the AEW shows, so that tells you a lot right there. Again, hindsight, but if I were them, I'd have been hesitant about signing a long-term deal with that company.

[Phil]

They are 100% a modern Kliq, except unlike the original Kliq, they aren't draws. The Bucks literally lose viewers when they're on TV. Page doesn't. I forget if Omega does. I want to say probably not. It's really the Bucks more than anything that are a total fucking drag because they suck, and they've always sucked.

 

And yeah, all the momentum is with WWE right now. I know this stuff ebbs and flows. It's a zero-sum game, so one man's gain is the other's loss, but AEW feels directionless to me. I never watch Rampage anymore and haven't for like two years, and Collision, which was incredible under Punk's direction, has had the bottom completely fall out of it since he was fired because it immediately became an extension of Dynamite, complete with the Young Morons doing a fucking victory lap in the ring to a mostly empty arena. A real cherry on top of the shit sundae they've created.

 

Almost all of Collision's long-term stories took a back seat to randomly signed matches designed to pop the short-sighted crowd with big spots. Surprise surprise — at the cost of television viewers.

 

As a company, they have pieces they can really work with. Edge, should have helped more than he has, but through no fault of his own, really hasn't moved the needle because the post-Punk fatigue and dissatisfaction is real. That, to me, is a damning indictment of Khan and his VPs.

[Sharpshooter]

Collision was meant to be Punk's show, and with him gone, there went that in a blink. lol Now, yeah, it's basically Dynamite 2.0 I can barely get through one Dynamite a week, let alone too. Rampage has always been kind of a whatever show, it's fine. Kind of like WCW Thunder to AEW. I haven't watched it in a couple of years either. And yeah, things go in cycles. WWE had been largely unwatchable for at least a decade. lol So, it's about time.

[Phil]

Rampage was designed to be Thunder. In actuality, it's Sunday Night Heat. It's a garbage, no-draw show with death slot timing where nothing of significance ever happens. Not since Punk returned.

 

Collision, when it debuted, quickly would have been their Thunder, but for all the reasons we already know, shit blew up, and it is now also on Sunday Night Heat level of who gives a fuck:

 

Quote

AEW Collision on TNT:

• June 17, 2023: 816,000 viewers
• June 24, 2023: 595,000 viewers
• July 1, 2023: 452,000 viewers
• July 8, 2023: 580,000 viewers
• July 15, 2023: 579,000 viewers
• July 22, 2023: 618,000 viewers
• July 29, 2023: 739,000 viewers
• August 5, 2023: 417,000 viewers
• August 12, 2023: 476,000 viewers
• August 19, 2023: 482,000 viewers
• August 26, 2023: 552,000 viewers
• September 2, 2023: 345,000 viewers
• September 9, 2023: 476,000 viewers
• September 16, 2023: 467,000 viewers
• September 23, 2023: 562,000 viewers
• September 30, 2023: 327,000 viewers
• October 7, 2023: 353,000 viewers
• October 14, 2023: 504,000 viewers
• October 21, 2023: 518,000 viewers
• October 28, 2023: 472,000 viewers
• November 4, 2023: 366,000 viewers
• November 11, 2023: 396,000 viewers
• November 17, 2023: 270,000 viewers

 

Look at that shit. Excluding week one and last week, that's an average of 488K viewers. In other words, it lost half it's average from it's debut, and then halfed that again last week for an all-time low.

[Phil]

 

[Sharpshooter]

I'll have to listen to that when I get home from work. lol

 

Yeah, Rampage is awful. The AEW taping I've gone to, a lot of people head out the door when it came time to do Rampage. Haha. (Me included on both occasions)

[Phil]

It's spot on. Definitely listen when you get a chance.

 

Also, I would leave, too. I have no desire to watch C-show luchadores and jobbers pretend to matter.

 

By the way, I've watched the last three Dynamites on fast-forward, stopping only to watch Christian Cage.

[Sharpshooter]

I've been fast forwarding too. It reminds me of the really bad years of RAW where I could get through three hours in about 45 minutes or less depending. lol At this point I'm watching Christian, Edge, and anything with Darby Alin and/or Sting.

[Phil]

Same. And it's funny, I thought the exact same thing to myself. The last time I did this, I was still watching WWE. Well, "watching." Fast-forwarding through 90% of the show and stopping for every moment of — how appropriately — CM Punk and Randy Orton.

[Sharpshooter]

12 minutes ago, Phil said:

Same. And it's funny, I thought the exact same thing to myself. The last time I did this, I was still watching WWE. Well, "watching." Fast-forwarding through 90% of the show and stopping for every moment of — how appropriately — CM Punk and Randy Orton.

The 'Summer of Punk' was the most RAW I watched over the course of about 8-10 years. lol

[Phil]

I mean, I quit before that. I forget when. 2007? 2008? Then Punk dragged me back in. Very briefly.

 

It's almost like he's a draw or something.

[Phil]

 

[Sharpshooter]

She got herself all cleaned up for her WWE Hall of Fame induction and then it was back to a decline after that. A very steep one. Sad.

[Phil]

Report – CM Punk Received ‘Major Money Offer’ From Impact Wrestling Ahead Of WWE Return

Quote

Pwinsider is reporting that Punk was considering a “major money offer” made by Impact Wrestling before finalizing his multi-year deal with WWE on Saturday.

According to the report, Punk was “amazing” during his discussions with Impact Wrestling, which included dealing with top executives such as Scott D’Amore and Lou D’Angeli.

 

Sources in Impact believed at one point that the promotion was very close to signing Punk and hoped he would appear at Bound for Glory 2023 as part of the announcement that Impact was rebranding back to TNA.

 

The conversations continued after Bound for Glory 2023 and people in Impact remained hopeful about bringing Punk in full-time.

 

However, Impact executives soon realized that Punk could earn a bigger paycheck in WWE, and they were happy for him.

 

https://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/report-cm-punk-received-major-money-offer-from-impact-wrestling-ahead-of-wwe-return

[Phil]

Another one bites the dust. All because this company won't reign in its performers to prevent them from doing incredibly dangerous, incredibly unnecessary spots.