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CI Wrestling Thread #56

Don’t know how it affects the dollar amount for the AEW media rights deal but it gives them a whole lot more leverage with WBD. Most weeks outside of playoff season, the only thing Dynamite would regularly lose to on basic cable was the NBA.

Even more reason for TK to not sign a deal during the exclusive negotiation window as long as he has intel that tells him others are interested. If he doesn’t have that, then he needs to get it wrapped up during that window because then he loses a lot of leverage.

Big thing for the weekly product is getting it simulcasted on Max or whatever streaming property the network they end up on owns. Get that in the deal and you can capture both the cable/satellite and cord cutters.
Really appreciate your analysis but what motivation does WBD have considering bbt draws a million viewers and they can just play 2 more hours of that on a Wednesday instead of a show that can’t break 800k viewers?
 
Early Dynamite preview for tonight..

AEW Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage. (Non-title)
Contract Signing: AEW TBS Champion Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone.
Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Cobb & Kyle Fletcher
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal.
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood of FTR.
Hook appears.
 
Early Dynamite preview for tonight..

AEW Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage. (Non-title)
Contract Signing: AEW TBS Champion Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone.
Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Cobb & Kyle Fletcher
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal.
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood of FTR.
Hook appears.

I’ll give them credit: at least the Strickland match is non title because what has Cage done to deserve a title shot
 
Early Dynamite preview for tonight..

AEW Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage. (Non-title)
Contract Signing: AEW TBS Champion Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone.
Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Cobb & Kyle Fletcher
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal.
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood of FTR.
Hook appears.

Sooo, world champion continues to get beaten up and looking weak, which is what Swerve’s brief run as champ has been so far.

Two mediocre to bad talkers in a talking segment that will end in mild physicality.

Two AEW top guys vs a mid card tag guy (with an injured partner) and an NJPW rental

Dorks vs an old guy and a has been from 10 years ago who sounds like he’s 8 on the mic. This match will run 3-4 segments.

Big name free agent signee defends third or fourth most important singles title vs. a tag guy.

Hook appears.
 
But the most important thing is they've been granted a "signicant overrun" tonight, so there's that.
 
I don't recall another babyface first time world champion treated like Swerve's been treated the first couple weeks of his reign. I really don't get it. It'd be like Brock destroying Cody after Mania then in week two Brandi slaps the piss out of him and Rollins drives his face into the mat with a curb stomp. Won't be shocked if Swerve struggles with Cage tonight in a 12 minute match, escapes with a win, then gets beaten down again. Just a bad start and it's not on him.

I'm already calling my shot for ratings - 698,000. Hope I'm wrong and Dynamite crushes it.
 
I believe so but I wasn't really watching SD then. I missed a lot of the Rey/JBL/Edge/Biker Taker era. And it seemed pretty widely known that Rey won because Eddie just died. Love Rey but it's wild that in Vince's WWE he became champion. Same with Kofi honestly. It's like, "where did that come from?"
 
I enjoy talking AEW because the decisions made there are interesting but I do not miss the product at all. Don't hate it and glad it exists and I want to see what they do once their roster is like 90% healthy, but I just have no desire to watch Dynamite right now.

And holy shit, Okada towers over the guys who've taken over the company lol. Maybe they can bring over Tozawa and make him an EVP too.
 
You know Sasha is a bust when the only pop she gets is when willow powerbombed her through a table. They should align her with the elite and call them “no one gives a buck.”
I don’t even watch and Sasha Bank’s aura just annoys me. Get the feeling she thinks she’s bigger than she is, bit of a primadonna who I wouldn’t pay to see unless she was in a bra and panties match or somethin.

They could still do lingerie and bra/panties matches. Just make em more technical with actual moves. These outfits the women wear cover up too much.
 
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Just FYI if WWE does go that route it’ll be Nia Jax against Shayna
Adam Sandler Comedy GIF by Netflix Is a Joke
 
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The CW Network announced their schedule for next season. NXT will be remaining on Tuesday nights running from 8-10 pm. Had forgotten that's where they were airing starting in September.

Thought Dynamite was one of the better shows they've had in a while. Darby wasn't who I was expecting for the final Team AEW guy, but it makes sense.
 
She’s my #1 “fall from grace” example. Just awful. A series of shitty shitty shitty decisions from a person who was basically groomed to make shitty decisions. True definition of a desperate skank with no clue how to manage her life. Always amazed at those people.

But I sure do like those naked pictures she took back when she was still hot.
 
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- The new AEW champion was booked like a chump. Again.
- Kenny vs Ospreay at some point with the launchpad to the feud being Meltz's rating system.
- Jay White took out Darby. Darby comes back and his first order of business is the Elite, not White.
- Mone pissed at Willow because Mone injured herself during their match last year.
- The Bucks are more like Santino and less like Mr. McMahon or Bischoff.
- NJPW fans were worried how Okada would be booked in AEW. He's a follower instead of a leader.
- What would AEW fans say if WWE wrestlers wearing backpacks showed up to work in their mom's minivan? Because it's AEW and we must be super positive, it's so great and Sue is wonderful and a star! (Why are men acting like middle schoolers? Who does that appeal to?)

Since March it seems whenever fans rave about an episode of Dynamite, usually the ratings come back poor. So do you keep a small, nerd niche online group happy as that pool shrinks or do you put on an entertaining tv show, which means having captivating, realistic stories instead of wrestlers cosplaying and having heatless 18 minute bangers that mean very little? It's a legit conversation when it's not even summer and Dynamite either barely cracks or can't crack 700K. By August will it be 600K? Nov. 575K? I hope not but instead of fixing it, TK and his fun bunch are leaning into what isn't working even more.
 
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She posted a video mocking Naomi with a bunch of emojis that supposedly had a racial slur in there. I didn’t care enough to investigate past that
Oh shit, I hadn't heard that. Looked like she was getting a major push too. But if that's what happened, then good. She deserves whatever she gets.
 
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