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Newlib

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Oct 25, 2017
2,822
Is there a particular reason that people are hung up about Turner networks? I don't recall them ever being particularly interested in wrestling since WCW.

There is a major cable network that reportedly bid on WWE last time that is in constant need of live programming, likely had a relationship with the Khans from their programming, and just launched a subscription based network that needs programming. That is where my money would be.
 

Sou Da

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,738
Is there a particular reason that people are hung up about Turner networks? I don't recall them ever being particularly interested in wrestling since WCW.

There is a major cable network that reportedly bid on WWE last time that is in constant need of live programming, likely had a relationship with the Khans from their programming, and just launched a subscription based network that needs programming. That is where my money would be.
🤔
 

Mr.Awesome

Banned
Nov 4, 2017
3,077
How so? He is a wrestling journalist, this is by far the biggest news story currently. Why wouldn't he report what he knows?
He should report what he knows. His sources seem rather one sided. Just one example, reporting Jerichos "exclusive" deal with AEW rven though it's not exclusive. It's like his sources are Jericho, the Bucks and Cody himself. They would have every reason bend every little thing and it is showing in the reporting.
 

Bronx-Man

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
15,351
It should've been pretty obvious that WWE takes this with the utmost seriousness. They've got the money (Khan), they got drawing ability (All In), they got actual stars (Jericho), and it seems all but certain that they'll have a live weekly show on basic cable. This is already closer to being real competition than TNA ever was.
 

Newlib

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,822
He should report what he knows. His sources seem rather one sided. Just one example, reporting Jerichos "exclusive" deal with AEW rven though it's not exclusive. It's like his sources are Jericho, the Bucks and Cody himself. They would have every reason bend every little thing and it is showing in the reporting.

We know those are his sources. And he should use those sources.

you kinda answered your own question there

So it's just hopes that AEW will be WCW 2? Why do we want that. WCW failed. I am hoping that a AEW doesn't schedule to be direct competition to WWE.
 

Deleted member 17658

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This company thinks the Bucks wouldn't remember what they did to Zack Ryder's show. As far as the they can leave within six months if they are not happy with their push, even I see that they would do everything to make them happy only to depush them after the six months, so that part is worthless. I truly feel now that Vince and Hunter are going to do one final crazy offer to Omega. Without Omega who becomes the center piece for AEW??? Cody??

That opt out clause seems to be just to get them off the table to remove AEW momentum of happening. Dave did say that if Bucks are not in, then AEW wouldn't exist. I wonder how much of this is do to the TV deal. 6 months is definitly enough time to dissolve a handshake tv deal with fall schedule being finalized by then.

How could the Bucks not jump at the offer of BTE being on the network after seeing how Long Island Iced Z turned out!

I wont ever forgive the WWE for that... I loved Long Island Iced Z....
 

Anth0ny

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Oct 25, 2017
46,760
It should've been pretty obvious that WWE takes this with the utmost seriousness. They've got the money (Khan), they got drawing ability (All In), they got actual stars (Jericho), and it seems all but certain that they'll have a live weekly show on basic cable. This is already closer to being real competition than TNA ever was.

These guys drew a bigger house WITHOUT TV than TNA ever did with TV. They can be a juggernaut if they figure out a working relationship with New Japan + manage to legitimately attract some WWE acts. Both of which I expect to happen.
 

Somnia

Chicken Chaser
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Oct 25, 2017
2,936
If the 3rd show really is in Chicago I am 100% going, I live just 3 1/2 hours south of Chicago.
 

Tabaxi

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Nov 18, 2018
12,835
I can't imagine how utterly pissed Vince is at all of this.

Vince and Hunter's pet project over the last few years has been to plunder and absorb the indies the same way Vince did to the territories during the 80s. Of course they plan on fighting AEW tooth and nail. Just look at how aggressive they've been in the UK, or them trying to stop the NJPW/ROH show at MSG from happening. And now Stardust and two indy geeks they didn't think could get over in 2011 are challenging all that.

I mean, Vince has been coasting for the last 15 years. The Dude is 73, WWE was set for the next five years no matter how badly their ratings/attendance fell, and all he wanted to do was focus on his stupid football league so he can clean up his biggest failure before he dies.
 

Deleted member 17658

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WON said:
Tony Khan, a lifelong pro wrestling fan and an Observer subscriber for about 22 years, who in the past has sent in live event reports and big show feedback, will be the President of the company. He will also be the head of creative, in the Vince McMahon role, with a team that would include several others working with him in that role.
Matt & Nick Massie (Young Bucks) and Cody Runnels will all be Executive Vice Presidents. While there will be basically crossovers in responsibility, Runnels' focus will be singles wrestling and the Young Bucks focus will be tag team wrestling. Because The Bucks come in as two of the key stars of the promotion, there will be a much higher priority when it comes t tag team wrestling than in WWE. Brandi (Rhodes) Runnels will be both the Chief Brand Officer (the Stephanie McMahon role as a public face of the company–already marketed as Chief Brandi Officer) and also focus on the women's talent. Dana Massie, the wife of Matt, often called Mrs. Matt in social media, who has been credited with building the Young Bucks merchandise brand, will be head of merchandise.
Ryan Barkan, who created and is the President of Pro Wrestling Tees, will also be part of the merchandise arm of the company. Chris Harrington, a stats whiz who has extensive knowledge of pro wrestling finances and business, has been hired as the head of business development. A number of other positions are in the process of being filled. There is expected to be at least one more Executive Vice President added to senior management.

So Tony Khan will be vince where he gets the final say in everything but he will be working with a booking team. Honestly, I was kinda hoping they would just go with a one booker system like NJPW with an experienced booker/wrestler, still seems to work really well in modern pro wrestling and it allows for one guy to make the calls and not be bogged down with others trying to get their ideas in.
 

JK-Money

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So Tony Khan will be vince where he gets the final say in everything but he will be working with a booking team. Honestly, I was kinda hoping they would just go with a one booker system like NJPW with an experienced booker/wrestler, still seems to work really well in modern pro wrestling and it allows for one guy to make the calls and not be bogged down with others trying to get their ideas in.
Ya, wasnt wwe at their best when they had one booker/writer and he legit did story boards for story lines and had outlines months out of how the stories would progress etc.?
 

Deleted member 17658

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Ya, wasnt wwe at their best when they had one booker/writer and he legit did story boards for story lines and had outlines months out of how the stories would progress etc.?

yea chris kreski

to be fair, there has been success from people who are observer subscribers going into mma/pro wrestling as a booker. Gedo was a Observer subscriber before he booked for NJPW. also Joe Silva was an observer subscriber for years before being hired by UFC and he worked at an arcade! So, we'll see how smart Tony is as a booker and it is his and his dads money on the line here so makes sense for him to have control of the reins.
 

Tabaxi

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Nov 18, 2018
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Ya, wasnt wwe at their best when they had one booker/writer and he legit did story boards for story lines and had outlines months out of how the stories would progress etc.?

It was pretty much just Vince and someone else (Kreski, Pat Patterson) and a handful of others..

Which, honestly, doesn't look too far off of what AEW's structure seems to be. It looks like Cody is handling singles, Bucks are doing tag teams, and Brandi is with the women, with Tony Khan as the final say.
 

mrmoose

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Nov 13, 2017
21,131
The only issue I have is the whole conflict of interest booking while being one of the top wrestlers. Sure, Gedo is an active wrestler, but he's not one of the top wrestlers in his division. If they can get past that or even the suspicion of that from other talent, then that will be something (and it certainly seems like they aren't in it for themselves). Last thing we need is the Jarrett days of TNA, where you'd have to ignore everything but the X-division.
 

Lonewolf

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At least it's Cody handles the singles matches, the Bucks handle tag team, so each gets some time in the sun. It also means we'll probably see actual tag teams get pushed rather than two singles thrown together because we can't think of anything to do with them.
 

Tom Nook

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Oct 25, 2017
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Tony Khan being a long time wrestling fan, part of the IWC, and only in his thirties, in a way, he is like "one of us" but a millionaire (has billionaire dad). Whatever the final decisions he makes, would reflect what we would like to watch.
 
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Buckle

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Oct 27, 2017
40,996
Wonder how long they'll be able to keep pulling in crowds the size of All In.

As they become more of a recurring thing rather than a one time big Indie mega event.
 

Tabaxi

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Nov 18, 2018
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Wonder how long they'll be able to keep pulling in crowds the size of All In.

As they become more of a recurring thing rather than a one time big Indie mega event.

I assume they'll be focusing on relatively smaller venues for TV/house shows, and keep the bigger venues for a handful of yearly big shows.
 

Deleted member 12224

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I can't imagine how utterly pissed Vince is at all of this.

Vince and Hunter's pet project over the last few years has been to plunder and absorb the indies the same way Vince did to the territories during the 80s. Of course they plan on fighting AEW tooth and nail. Just look at how aggressive they've been in the UK, or them trying to stop the NJPW/ROH show at MSG from happening. And now Stardust and two indy geeks they didn't think could get over in 2011 are challenging all that.

I mean, Vince has been coasting for the last 15 years. The Dude is 73, WWE was set for the next five years no matter how badly their ratings/attendance fell, and all he wanted to do was focus on his stupid football league so he can clean up his biggest failure before he dies.

Vince probably has a strange sadistic erection about AEW. He gets off on competition. The Neo XFL is all ego from that guy, and taking on a new challenge will be too.
 

Snake Eater

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without a TV deal, on a network that people actually have no whatever the hell TNA is on, this won't succeed. Maybe they go to Spike

I can't imagine how utterly pissed Vince is at all of this.

they singed two billion+$$ TV contracts, you really think he's pissed?
 

mrmoose

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Nov 13, 2017
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Tony Khan being a long time wrestling fan, part of the IWC, and only his thirties in a way, he is like "one of us" but a millionaire (has billionaire dad). Whatever the final decisions he makes, would reflect what we would like to watch.

Yeah but let's be honest, 99% of us would suck as bookers or storytellers.
 

Deleted member 17658

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without a TV deal, on a network that people actually have no whatever the hell TNA is on, this won't succeed. Maybe they go to Spike



they singed two billion+$$ TV contracts, you really think he's pissed?

yea? Vince abhors competition more than he loves anything in the world. Look at how hard he killed the territories during the rise of WWWF. Also more current, look at how hard he worked to try to kill WOS. Also he tried all his power to stop the ROH/NJPW supershow in madison square guarden (his backyard) but Sinclair stepped in and put their dukes up and WWE backed down.
 
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Tabaxi

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Nov 18, 2018
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they singed two billion+$$ TV contracts, you really think he's pissed?

That didn't stop them from developing a UK brand just to stop anyone from getting major traction in that market. Or trying to strong arm the ROH/NJPW/MSG deal.

Vince is one of the pettiest people on the planet. He's still pissed about WCW. Are we forgetting he brought in Sting just to lose to Hunter?

Any threat to Vince's complete and utter monopoly is going to piss him off.
 

Puroresu_kid

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Oct 28, 2017
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That didn't stop them from developing a UK brand just to stop anyone from getting major traction in that market. Or trying to strong arm the ROH/NJPW/MSG deal.

Vince is one of the pettiest people on the planet. He's still pissed about WCW. Are we forgetting he brought in Sting just to lose to Hunter?

Any threat to Vince's complete and utter monopoly is going to piss him off.

It's great that the one market he could never make traction in is Japan.
 
Oct 25, 2017
168
Dallas,tx
That opt out clause seems to be just to get them off the table to remove AEW momentum of happening. Dave did say that if Bucks are not in, then AEW wouldn't exist. I wonder how much of this is do to the TV deal. 6 months is definitly enough time to dissolve a handshake tv deal with fall schedule being finalized by then.

Yeah that seems to be the case. I wonder if Khan told them we will match whatever offer WWE gives you money wise. If I remember correctly they didn't sign their contracts until after the press conference right?
 

Buckle

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Oct 27, 2017
40,996
I think it really depends on how deep of a roster they can get.
WWE's best option is to starve them out in their first year. If AEW can have a high profile successful starting or sophomore year/TV show, thats when the problems are probably going to start for Vince.

Hopefully they can turn over some rocks, find some overlooked talents in lesser indies. Odds might be against them with most of the big name indy and international talent probably eyeing the WWE still at this point but hey, the wwe can't get everybody.

..Okay, they probably can but still.
 
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Deleted member 17658

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Tony Khan being a long time wrestling fan, part of the IWC, and only his thirties in a way, he is like "one of us" but a millionaire (has billionaire dad). Whatever the final decisions he makes, would reflect what we would like to watch.

While appeasing hardcore fans is essential, he should be less focused on what hardcore fans want and what casual fans would like. If he want's those tv rights fees, he is going to need to draw a large casual audience.

WWE's best option is to starve them out in their first year. If AEW can have a high profile successful first year/TV show, thats when the problems are probably going to start for Vince.

Hopefully they can turn over some rocks, find some overlooked talents in lesser indies. Odds might be against them with most of the big name indy and international talent probably eyeing the WWE still at this point but hey, the wwe can't get everybody.

..Okay, they probably can but still.

They probably may need to create a development system or a training camp. As soon as someone gets any good on the indy's, WWE will snatch them up. All the talented women from the indies are in WWE.

This is kinda the reverse-TNA problem to where TNA was flooded with talent while AEW may be starved for them.
 

Brinbe

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Oct 25, 2017
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What? The WWE drew large fees without a large casual audience
Cable isn't network stuff. We'll see how Smackdown does on Fox.
There are a lot of lapsed fans who would be drawn back in if they offered an entertaining and compelling product. AEW will be fine.
 

Moebius

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Oct 28, 2017
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I'd love for AEW to go against monday night raw. Though raw may get a free bump in hour 3 if aew is only a 2 hour show.
 

Sephzilla

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Oct 25, 2017
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WWE's best option is to starve them out in their first year. If AEW can have a high profile successful starting or sophomore year/TV show, thats when the problems are probably going to start for Vince.

Hopefully they can turn over some rocks, find some overlooked talents in lesser indies. Odds might be against them with most of the big name indy and international talent probably eyeing the WWE still at this point but hey, the wwe can't get everybody.

..Okay, they probably can but still.
If the Khans are throwing around WWE level money and potentially having guaranteed health insurance on top of it I don't think they're going to really have to worry about WWE starving them of talent.
 

Deleted member 17658

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Why not? What else will force WWE to get better?

I honestly don't care about WWE getting better, I will be happy with an alternative main stream wrestling platform that's easy to reach. People romanticize too much about the Monday Night Wars but forget how stressful and how many bodies dropped during that period. Also WWE didn't get better when WCW forced a Monday Night War, WCW just imploded in itself so people watched WWE cause it wasn't as bad as the worst booked promotion of all time.
 
Oct 27, 2017
2,053
Gedo works as Booker because he knows his physical role in wrestling at this stage in his career. He's the guy that will almost certainly always be taking the fall in multi man tag matches because his stake in the game is getting everyone else over
I honestly don't care about WWE getting better, I will be happy with an alternative main stream wrestling platform that's easy to reach. People romanticize too much about the Monday Night Wars but forget how stressful and how many bodies dropped during that period. Also WWE didn't get better when WCW forced a Monday Night War, WCW just imploded in itself so people watched WWE cause it wasn't as bad as the worst booked promotion of all time.

This is just not true at all.
 

Deleted member 10551

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So Tony Khan will be vince where he gets the final say in everything but he will be working with a booking team. Honestly, I was kinda hoping they would just go with a one booker system like NJPW with an experienced booker/wrestler, still seems to work really well in modern pro wrestling and it allows for one guy to make the calls and not be bogged down with others trying to get their ideas in.

Gedo has others on his team as well, Rocky's one of those folks.
I don't think Cody will be as willing to job himself out the way Gedo is, even if Cody shouldn't be more than a midcarder in AEW given his lack of athleticism (his wrestling mind is really good, but he's small and relatively unathletic)

Whether AEW succeeds or fails won't be because of Kenny or the Bucks, but how well they can make non-Elite talent stars, and if they can find the folks capable of being stars.
 
Oct 27, 2017
587
Do you not see a massive conflict of interest with that?

You're making no sense. Are you saying journalists shouldn't use information they get from any source due to potential conflict of interests? Fair enough if its journo for say, the Financial Times, trying to use his reporing to affect a stock price. Meltzer has no position in AEW/WWE/NJPW/ROH/your mums backyard fed she runs on the weekend. He has sources in all these places, and reports on what he hears.
 

Deleted member 17658

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Gedo has others on his team as well, Rocky's one of those folks.
I don't think Cody will be as willing to job himself out the way Gedo is, even if Cody shouldn't be more than a midcarder in AEW given his lack of athleticism (his wrestling mind is really good, but he's small and relatively unathletic)

Rocky is more of an agent who helps guys put matches together. Gedo books alone and books 2 years in advance with no one knowing his booking plans which is why nothing ever leaks in NJPW.
 
OP
OP
Serene

Serene

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Is there a particular reason that people are hung up about Turner networks? I don't recall them ever being particularly interested in wrestling since WCW.

There is a major cable network that reportedly bid on WWE last time that is in constant need of live programming, likely had a relationship with the Khans from their programming, and just launched a subscription based network that needs programming. That is where my money would be.

To answer this:

If you examine the landscape of what is considered a "major cable network" you only have so many options in terms of companies.

Meltzer has already shut down the idea of ESPN. Says that's not happening. Too many times they'd have to be pre-empted for sports.

You have Viacom, but other than Bellator (which the current regime there was grandfathered into) they have shied away from live sports and a wrestling show doesn't really fit the profile of any of their networks.

NBCU isn't taking anything non-WWE when they have Raw. Same with FOX and FS1.

WGN America could be a candidate, but they really border on what would be considered "major"

Turner fits by process of elimination. They already have live sports on their stations, they could use more of it (every network sees live content as what's hot at the moment). From a demographic perspective the fit works.

So when you really examine what is known, there's a reason Turner keeps coming up. Besides the fact that no one who would know has denied it despite it being the most popular speculation, it just fits if you make all the logical conclusions.
 

Deleted member 17658

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If I were to guess the two networks they are negotiating with, it would have to be Turner and WGN. Turner has been interested in the past in WWE and UFC but couldn't bid on them since they were dealing with the AT&T merger. WGN rep was at All In and was one of the people impressed with the show. I'm, sure the current situation is that Turner is offering a slot on a known station but not big money but WGN is offering a slot on their station that has less exposure than Turner but with more money. I would take turner, it's the good choice for viewership growth and focus on recouping latter.
 
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