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CI Wrestling Thread #56

So far it’s been a carbon copy of last week
Boring Sasha promo/boring Sasha promo

Main event level title match/main event level title match

Swerve promo/swerve promo
 
I hope any Mercedes/CM Punk comparisons stop soon. It's like comparing DJ Wagner to John Wall and it's only unfair to Mone. I've avoided her promos the last couple weeks and from what I've read, they haven't been great. If she's wrestling Julia Hart, I'll watch. Some women, like Ripley, I'll listen to. Others, like Becky, I sometimes won't. Mone is in that category for me.

The Okada/Kingston match was VERY slow but Okada seems like a natural on American tv. It's basically a meaningless belt but I'm not sure how I feel about giving Okada a title immediately. He's likely to be in AEW for the next 4-5 years, Tony. Let's not just make him a champion in week thre-oh, well, okay I guess.
 
Main event was fun. I've never seen that upside down ladder spot before. Still some moments where you can tell AEW is still new at this like putting the mic in one of the guy's faces and asking them if they quit...during a picture and picture while we can only hear a commercial and the commentators talking over other moments involving the mic spot. Still a good match though. That damn title is ugly as sin btw.

Going to three hours every week would be a mistake and if you think ratings crash during a two hour Dynamite, what do you think would happen during a three hour version? We'd likely see a show that starts at 900K and the last quarter of the third hour would finish around 500K. The AEW audience just doesn't stick around.
 
One thing is for sure - Sasha is all about herself and she loves that little dance she does.

I’m perfectly ok with folks being confident in their abilities, but I like a little humbleness to go along with it.

Take a John Cena. He’s obviously confident in his ability, but has that humble side. Sasha just comes across as arrogant and she deserves it.
 
I bet Triple H is really having second thoughts about missing out on Osprey. That guy is a damn star. His promos have been excellent so far.


To add: these new Japan dudes have a horrible track record of getting over with American fans. Granted, the aew audience is small, but it’s still an American audience. Let them test their wares in a place like aew, get your name out there to American audiences, let them get sick of the silliness in aew, then sign them
 
I’ll be honest since no one mentioned it - that women’s street fight match was solid - all 4 of them are pretty good workers.
Didn't stay up to watch it last night. I've got it dvr'd for this evening after the UK game.
 
Time for some numbers...

Raw- 1,687,000 and a .55

NXT- 569,000 and a .18

Dynamite- 800,000 and a .27

Rampage- 541,000 and a .18

Much like the last couple of weeks thought Dynamite would be higher.
 
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Around 800K will likely be the norm now until they dip again and that dip becomes the norm. I'm taking the view that whoever left weeks ago got tired of the random announcements and weekly debuts. Obviously if you have the chance, you sign those three asap but the last month of hype and debuts have been a complete and total bust. I won't put it all on them though. MJF's title reign kinda sucked, the Undisputed Kingdom is a bust (and Cole now looks to be a sickly 110 lbs), Joe doesn't do much as champion, Hook is uber tiny and doesn't have a personality but keeps winning, "Cope" and Christian are in their own little universe that also involves a kid, his mom, a guy with a dinosaur mask, a random named Daniel Garcia who dances, and someone with the nickname "Daddy Magic." Not saying AEW is terrible. What I've seen lately has been solid but something is scaring wrestling fans away and now they're staying away.
 
Naw. They know after three years, he’ll be sick of Tony and will be ready to sign with them
To add: these new Japan dudes have a horrible track record of getting over with American fans. Granted, the aew audience is small, but it’s still an American audience. Let them test their wares in a place like aew, get your name out there to American audiences, let them get sick of the silliness in aew, then sign them
YOu mean how like Kenny Omega, Hangman, the Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, MJF, FTR, etc. got sick of Tony and the silliness and re-signed with AEW?
 
Time for some numbers...

Raw- 1,687,000 and a .55

NXT- 569,000 and a .18

Dynamite- 800,000 and a .27

Rampage- 541,000 and a .18

Much like the last couple of weeks thought Dynamite would be higher.
For as much as the talk is around declining AEW ratings, the decline in the NXT ratings has been rapid since signing that TV deal with CW has been rapid.

They were regularly doing high over 700+ and even into the 800s some from Late June-November. From September 12-November 7 of last year, they averaged 793K. Take out the Halloween night episode in that stretch, and the average jumps up to 808, which is more than what Dynamite has done in the last three weeks.

Now it's running 200K below Dynamite in total viewership, and Dynamite isn't exactly killing it right now by any stretch of the imagination, while Rampage and Collision are starting to approach them in the demos some weeks. Excluding the July 4, 2023, episode, their viewership this week was the lowest it's been since May 16, 2023 and the 7th lowest over the last 365 days. Last's week's demo viewership of 209 was the 11th lowest in the last 365 days. Three of the last four weeks they haven't even cracked 600 and haven't gotten a 700+ since January 9.
 
Even with WWE hot, it's probably asking too much for NXT, the developmental show, to stay in the 700,000 range but yes, over the last few weeks they've fallen. Again though, it's practically a slicked up, WWE produced version of OVW. I try with NXT some but it's just hard to get into. I'm sure the month before they move to CW and the month after they'll sprinkle in some main roster talent and may even have Stratton come back for a short feud. But NXT being developmental is why I don't give shit to Rampage. Besides the first episode which was Punk's debut, I've always seen Rampage as something akin to Sunday Night Heat.
 
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Around 800K will likely be the norm now until they dip again and that dip becomes the norm. I'm taking the view that whoever left weeks ago got tired of the random announcements and weekly debuts. Obviously if you have the chance, you sign those three asap but the last month of hype and debuts have been a complete and total bust. I won't put it all on them though. MJF's title reign kinda sucked, the Undisputed Kingdom is a bust (and Cole now looks to be a sickly 110 lbs), Joe doesn't do much as champion, Hook is uber tiny and doesn't have a personality but keeps winning, "Cope" and Christian are in their own little universe that also involves a kid, his mom, a guy with a dinosaur mask, a random named Daniel Garcia who dances, and someone with the nickname "Daddy Magic." Not saying AEW is terrible. What I've seen lately has been solid but something is scaring wrestling fans away and now they're staying away.
Like I've said before, it's going to take a long time to rebuild the trust they lost by trying to be more WWE sports entertainy last year. It's much harder to attract a new viewer and even harder to bring one back in that had watched before than it is to keep them watching.

A few good weeks of programming isn't going to have any real effect. It's going to take at least several months of consistent quality programming. People need to know that the time and money they invest in the product is going to payoff. That doesn't happen over a short period of time.

M. Knight Shyamalan is my go-to example from an adjacent product since wrestling and movies are all in the broad entertainment category.

He started with an amazing breakout movie in the Sixth Sense and then two solid to good follow ups in Unbreakable and Signs. After those first three movies, I felt like I could trust that man to consistently put out good movies. I went out

And then his next five movies were all horrible based on critic and audience reviews. At least one of which started out good with an absolutely horrendous finish (The Village). The Village left such a terrible taste in my mouth that I didn't watch any of his next 8 movies. Just one really bad movie wiped out any trust I ever had for this man.

I still haven't watched any of those 8 and probably won't ever will. I didn't give another movie of his a shot until last year with Knock at the Cabin. And even though I actually liked that movie quite a bit, I know to proceed with an utmost amount of precaution with M. Knight Shyamalan movies because I still don't have any trust that he consistently put out a good movie.I still have extremely little faith he can put out a good movie.

But at least the door is just slightly ajar enough for me to be a little open minded. I mean I'm sure as hell not going to spend any money on any of his movies ever again, but when the next one comes on a streaming service I have will I at least consider watching it? Maybe. But to gain my trust back, it's going to probably take at least another two good movies for me to be like "okay I'll watch it just because his name is on it."
 
Like I've said before, it's going to take a long time to rebuild the trust they lost by trying to be more WWE sports entertainy last year. It's much harder to attract a new viewer and even harder to bring one back in that had watched before than it is to keep them watching.
I see it more as trying to be late WCW than anything. AEW fans always use the WWE lite excuse but constant gimmick matches, confusing and/or subpar storylines, signing elder fed guys, can't go a month without bringing up or taking shots at WWE or past WWE storylines, lights constanting going off and on, throwing everything against the wall and trying to be ten different things at once - to me, that screams WCW, and at times, WCW with Russo. I've always felt TK was more of a WCW guy than a WWF/E guy. It's just a silly excuse, like, AEW had a slump and viewers left, so let's blame AEW trying to be WWE, which means you're throwing shade at WWE for AEW's problems.

AEW will be fine and while they've made some mistakes, a lot of this could just be WWE getting hot again and people just don't have time to consume RAW, NXT, Dynamite, SD, Rampage, Collision, PLE's, and actual PPV's.
 
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Even with WWE hot, it's probably asking too much for NXT, the developmental show, to stay in the 700,000 range but yes, over the last few weeks they've fallen. Again though, it's practically a slicked up, WWE produced version of OVW. I try with NXT some but it's just hard to get into. I'm sure the month before they move to CW and the month after they'll sprinkle in some main roster talent and may even have Stratton come back for a short feud. But NXT being developmental is why I don't give shit to Rampage. Besides the first episode which was Punk's debut, I've always seen Rampage as something akin to Sunday Night Heat.
YEah Friday's at 10 is rough. TK tried with it even after Punk debuted, but it became obvious pretty quickly that viewership for that show was never going to be remotely close to what Dynamite does. Kind of hard justifying putting anything of importance on there. Same problem with Collision on a Saturday night. It's never going to be regularly competitive with Dynamite, but at least it's still being booked as a B show.

Still think Collision should move to Thursday or Sunday, maybe even Tuesday, just because of the WWE PLE factor alone. It's impossible for that show to build any sustained momentum when at least once a month on average it has to go up against a WWE/NXT PLE.
 
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