NXT is doing the next Evolution PPV.
Tag wrestling ruled the 1980s. Road Warriors, Freebirds, Midnight Express, Rock and Roll Express all main evented shows. Hell, NWA had a US tag title due to all the depth. Road Warriors were also top draws in the AWA. There was also the Crockett Cup, which was successful and all tag matches. Nothing ever similar related to women’s wrestling.
I think AEW is smart to focus on the 18-49 male demo, that was their target. Being everything to everyone doesn’t work.
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Women’s wrestling is still developing, personally I lack interest in too much tag wrestling, so that is just me but I still don’t think it would draw (you are mentioning smaller promotions than what we have now in general) if there were no singles wrestling, just like women on their own don’t draw on the level of men.
I would also contend that the people showing up to see the tag matches are the same people showing up to see the men’s singles matches. Hence super serving. Whereas I think you get new people with having good women.
It would never happen but main roster WWE would do better with one women’s division and one tag division rather than splitting things up as they have.
I don’t think AEW is wrong to target the demo they want more that for me it is a strike against their show that they have what I consider an extremely lack luster division. It lessens my excitement for the brand as I tune in to watch those matches and I’m to the point where they feel like something I could skip and I wouldn’t miss them.
Just and FYI the crocket cup in the 80s drew around the same number of fans as Evolution sooo…
I totally get WWE people not caring about tag wrestling, and it’s smart they have built up the women. But AEW should aim to be different than WWE, hence the focus on tag wrestling. Why offer similar things to WWE?
What number did you have for Crocket Cup? The 1986 show drew 3,500 for the afternoon and 13,000 in the evening. I don’t think Evolution drew that much.
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Evolution drew 10k. So not as high as the top, but way more than the bottom. Either way in the same realm as far as draw. Wrestlemania was split in 1986 for a total draw of around 40k but that was in 3 different locations. In 87 wrestlemania was drawing 90k fans. So men’s singles was still by far the big draw and it still is. The tag matches and women’s are secondary to that, which is one reason WWE relegates the tag division to an afterthought. If it were a huge draw they would focus on it more.
I don’t have evidence but I would argue that the women draw in more different fans. The question I guess is do they drive away any hardcore fans.
I have no issue with the AEW tag division being a focus, but there is no reason that needs to change if they improve the women’s division. I do think it is harder to do because WWE is focusing on that division and have a bulk of the good women and Impact has most of the rest (in America) so AEW is stuck with Joshi and green women, and AEW in general has not been great at framing characters thus far.
What are you talking about? I am yet to see a Bra and Panties match in AEW for one.
For me, they are still finding their footing with the women they have (even storyline wise). Have in mind they have some veterans back there (Kong, Sakura, etc.), but also some very green and inexperienced girls that they obviously see something in them and want to push, like Dr. Britt Baker, who’s been twice on TV already. This week Sadie Gibbs debuted on Dark and also Allie. I don’t have observations on those, cause in general I am not a big fan of women’ wrestling. I will sit and watch a good match if it’s there. In this regard - I don’t think we’ve seen how good Riho actually is, as so far she’s been paired with green talent like Britt and Nyla, but how she manages to engage the audience in the building and me in front of the TV is a rare talent.
Another thing - I saw praises for the Knockouts, but one thing people have to remember is that their division took time to get built. They lucked with some amazing talent in Gail Kim, Kong, Jacqueline and the first Beautiful People iteration. Than something happened (Bischoff?) and the division took a lot of steps back, they tried some more giimicky stuff during the years and I guess in the last year they managed to pick it up and re-build it (I stopped watching them a while ago, but I sorta pay attention what talent is there).
I mean, look at the Women of Honor in ROH (is this still a thing, BTW?). For what I remember it was total eye candy filled with green girls like Mandy Leon.
I will put what I’ve seen from AEW girls a level or two above from what I’ve seen in the ROH division a year or so ago. But I think we are yet to see the actual good stuff with the right talent there. For some reason they are trying to introduce us to the girls they think have something, in exchange for the quality of matches. What show was this joshi match they had? I loved this one. But they are nowhere near what WWE 2000 was.
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You are way higher on Riho (maybe because as you claim you don’t follow women’s wrestling) than I am. I wouldn’t put her in the top 10-15 in WWE from what I’ve seen I don’t know how much that is who she is working with but I don’t give much credence to crowd engagement when AEW fans are cheering (almost) everything right now. And she is the best they have.
or in Saudia Arabia.
I haven’t watched this week’s DARK yet, but I kind of look at it as AEW’s developmental show. The great stuff is kept for Dynamite. Nothing involving the women on Dynamite has been horrible.
But that Leva Bates/Nyla Rose match on last week’s DARK was god awful.
I am not comparing her with WWE talent. I am watching her matches, cause there is something there with her.
WWE screwed royally each and every girl they developed in NXT. I can’t stand Becky anymore (this thing she had last year faded into obscurity around the RR, and I was a fan of her since NXT), I don’t know who Bailey is, Sasha at least is doing OK lately. Asuka and Kairi are in a tough position and were nowhere to be found for moths, than presented with EVIL FOREIGNERS gimmick. Lucky for them they are fuming with charisma and are skilled as hell. Meanwhile I have to watch blocks of wood like Lacey Evans in title program for months or absolute green talent like the IIconics holding the tag titles for months.
So, when I watch the women in NXT (where they have amazing talent) I have those things in mind and it makes me really sad and irritated while watching them perform - cause I know their final destination.
I would be morbidly interested to see this. 
Sadly the Iconics and Lacey are way better than almost the whole AEW roster to this point. I do compare because I see nothing from the AEW women right now that interests me. I still like Becky even though she is not what she could have been, and WWE main roster booked their women’s talent into the ground going into Mania. Even with that it is a more interesting and compelling division to watch than AEW. Also the “final destination” thing doesn’t bother me but I can see why it might.
That is partially true it could be seen as developmental, then again they put matches with a Kenny and the Bucks on Dark so that isn’t developmental at all. This week they had Darby, Havoc, and Evans in a triple threat. Which isn’t developmental based on Dynamite so far.
I also argue the dynamite women’s matches though not as horrid as those on Dark haven’t really been good either. Baker vs Haiter(sp?) was the best so far and it wasn’t great just passible. Riho/Nyla wasn’t good, Riho/Baker was ok but sloppy.
I’d say Lacey is much more green than anyone in AEW. She’s in there with established talent like Becky and Natayla and the matches have all mostly sucked. She’s a robot from the PC with zero experience outside the WWE system.
I’d take Riho, Baker, Priestly and Ford over her easily.
It’s their B show. More experience for people who haven’t worked TV. Nothing more, nothing less.
I don’t disagree that nothing has been great with the women on TV, but that’s what PPV is for.
I probably would too on the WWE roster, although Lacey is a better talker than all of those right now. But her matches with Becky are better in ring than Nyla Riho for me. And maybe Baker Riho.
She isn’t good but they have the talent to make her look passible. Right now I haven’t seen that in AEW.
Most of the stuff I found good with the women on PPV from AEW was with women not on their roster. Everything else was ok but not all that good.
You are sick. Britt is horrible. Just horrible. Lacey is at least Atheltic and has a great character. Britt is a dentist who makes house calls as per JR?
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Lacey had a good run with Natalya, especially the last match (you could say that’s thanks to Natalya). She’s not as green as Dana Brooke was when she arrived in the main roster.
Did you have a bad experience with a dentist or something?
I thought I was rather wordy, but if you need more: AEW has too many low-experience, low-skill women out there working too long of matches.
And the reason they are out there? Because they are women, attractive women.
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