Sorry, here is one of the many aggregators on the subject.
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Agreed.
It’s not something that makes sense on air. It’s a press release and media tour type thing.
It is a needed boost of positive news - but the on air focus should be All In.
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Zarian has been the best to listen to during this whole process, and has always had good information from WBD. If he’s stating this, I think the deal is nearly public.
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Word on the streets is that the deal is done with lawyers, and something should be made official in the next little bit.
I’d imagine sometime between now and the 5th Anniversary show. Lots of milestone shows in the next stretch of time.
Scrolling back up through this topic looking at all the posts from supposed “sources” a deal has been “imminent” or “done” since July so I’m not holding my breath in anticipation.
I will be happy for who the deal actually impacts when it is finalized which is AEW and its employees as it will bring a sense of relief and stability for them.
I was of the mindset of becoming suspicious of this whole “deal imminent”. Then a recent Andrew Zarian post came up and there actually may be more AEW TV coming. 1 hour specifically. There is also the potential of AEW and WBD wanting to make a massive announcement prepared.
This makes sense on the WBD front, as losing the NBA is a bit of a blow to them.
I guess it makes sense to be skeptical, but with AEW streaming, pay per view rights and potentially 4 shows and where they all go, my guess is there is a lot to this deal.
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Is this all going to end with Veer Mahan finally coming to Raw?
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Yeah, it should be done very soon. Apparently, it’s a huge number.
“Here” is Twitter?
Yes - Alba is referring to Twitter.
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Is he implying AEW fans are going to cry because it’s not good enough? Or AEW haters are going to cry because it’s too big? Oh wrestling fans lol.
Crying confirmed. The rest is still TBD. 
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He’s implying the cottage industry built around the “imminent demise” of AEW is going to meltdown.
On the All Out media call yesterday, Tony said that most of the reporting around the renewal has been correct (SRS, Zarian, and others have all reported a major increase). Tony also stated in the same call that AEW was about to become the second most profitable wrestling company in history, with the new deal.
I think by this time next week, we will know the official details.
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Ill be honest, I just assumed AEW already was the second most successful wrestling company of all time. I imagine that WCW would be the closest, and in my mind AEW has far surpassed anything WCW did.
Regardless, I’ll never understand why wrestling fans care so much about billionaires making more billions or “only making millions”. I completely understand wanting AEW to make enough money so they can pay their talents a great salary (which already is a thing) but if AEW is making a billion a year in this rights deal or 3 billion a year in this rights deal, nothing changes lol. Fans care way to much, and sadly I do believe that some fans will have a visceral reaction either way which is sad.
Personally I want these companies to be successful and stay healthy as I dont want to see AEW go the way of TNA or WCW, but I couldnt care less about their profit margins.
We’ll never have all of the numbers needed to really know, but “second most successful wrestling company” is a matter of semantics. WCW was a part of the Turner umbrella, to the point where Hogan’s contract (maybe others?) wasn’t even on WCW’s books, and they owned their own cable networks. That’s much different that AEW as a self-funded “independent” entity not under a larger corporation.
We know WWE is #1 because it’s WWE. And we know WCW or AEW is #2. But I can’t see how we can ever know more than that unless AEW becomes a true 1A (in the mainstream) compared to WWE.
As for tribalist fans and carny podcasters caring about a TV contract… they don’t. They care about being right. In reality, we all just want the shows/promotions we watch to remain in business and on channels that we have access to. Everything beyond that is a pissing contest unless it actually affects your bank account.
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Couldn’t have said it better myself.
At this point, are the announcement teases an AEW strategy? The amount of folks who seem to know the details without there being a true “leak” (yet?) is kind of amazing.
I think there are a handful of wrestling media (SRS, Zarian, maybe another one or two) who have vague information.
Zarian has spoken many times about having friends within WBD - but only ever gives out information he’s been allowed to give - so he doesn’t burn anybody.
Realistically, the only people who know the exact details would have signed NDAs during negotiations. Tony, his reps, their lawyers and WBD reps.
There’s a reason nobody heard about the Netflix deal before I was announced for WWE.
My guess is yes. I just assume that Tony speak to certain reporters directly and they leak what he wants them to leak. As long as he trusts them 100%, nobody can prove anything.