So as we approach the first PPV of the non-CM Punk era, the company somewhat cold with and absolutely abysmal crowd size for their go home show and a confusing segment at the end of the show - are you ordering ?
Personally, the last AEW pay-per-view was the first one that I’ve missed. I’m glad I did – it didn’t seem like it was very good and in the end what did it matter in terms of the main event anyway.
For this pay-per-view I’m a little more torn. I’m certainly more interested in seeing MJF win the title, although with this confusing build with the Stokely morons being involved I think it would’ve been a lot better as a straight up match with the Regal angle. Now this screams of a swerve with Stokely realigned with MJF and I don’t really want to see that because it seems like a six-year-old wrote it.
Tony Khan has certainly overbooked a lot of junk lately. The Moxley/CM punk stuff was overbooked with the quick loss and all that garbage. I don’t understand the build for Nyla Rose and Jade given that it’s Jade‘s belt and security isn’t letting her get it back. She also waited in the ring saying she’s not leaving without her belt - and then left anyway. Paige and Britt seems OK but a lot of that stuff was confusing and not well done either. The Trio‘s title should be a good match but again not a lot of hype for it as we haven’t seen the Elite on TV. Samoa Joe Wardlow and Hobbs has decent build but I mean Wardlow isn’t as hot as he was before. And the tag title just seem like it needs to be involving FTR or something at this point for it to be a new and exciting. We’ve also seen Lucha and JB before so I’m not keen to see it again and again.
Of course I don’t want to see slap nuts in 2022.
Anyway the bottom line is I’m still someone undecided. I am going out to dinner at Jacobs during a long work week– for anyone in Toronto IYKYK – so debating whether or not I order and tape it and watch when I get home. I think it’ll be a gametime call right now I’m leaning yes just cause I would like to see MJF win the title although I’m not really keen on this whole Stokely thing.
Thoughts from everyone?
I certainly expect somewhat more polarized results given that the product has been cold, some of the builds atypical and crowd sizes are dwindling. But nonetheless, if MJF is a generational talent this could be historic pay-per-view.
I have fallen off watching week to week, but have ordered the PPV.
Despite what has surrounded some of the big shows this year, every PPV has absolutely delivered. I feel like this PPV is going to be something of a mission statement show, with their roster mostly back on track, and getting back to some long planned ideas, that were thrown off in September.
AEW usually delivers big time when their back is against the wall or people are doubting them. I think it’s going to be a good show.
Do you just not like AEW Alex or is it the cost of ordering or something else?
If you were not watching because of the expected quality then I don’t understand how you would justify watching any WWE event.
It will be a great PPV even if not an all time classic it’ll still be really enjoyable I’m sure.
I don’t hear much discussions on POST about the issue of cost in the current climate. I possibly wouldn’t pay for this one as I’m not going to be able to watch until Thursday and I’ll have likely heard the results by then. Thankfully I share with a mate though and we take it in turns paying, so I will still watching but that would be the only reason I wouldn’t be purchasing this PPV
I’ll be out of town this weekend. But if I wasn’t traveling I would order the PPV.
Mainly because in December I’m going to the Winter is Coming Dynamite taping in Dallas so I would like to see the big PPV moments that will lead up to the show. Including who will win the eliminator tournament for a championship match at Winter is Coming.
I’ll definitely be watching. MJF/Mox, Baker/Saraya and the trios matches all should be interesting.
I think we see Regal turn on Mox and turn MJF into a mega heel. The Firm stuff was purely there for misdirection.
Baker and Saraya have done some incredible mic work to build the match up and maybe we see a double turn.
I’ve got some friends coming over too and they seem pumped for Jarrett and Sting lol. I actually think the Wardlow/Joe/Hobbs match also could be a show stealer.
Definitely not looking forward to the Jade match and ROH stuff is just death to me.
So it’s a fair question. I don’t dislike AEW at all - I went to the live show recently and generally I like the product. I can’t say the last few months have been inspiring but I don’t hate it.
I’m not gonna come out here and say that I can’t necessarily afford the show because everybody knows what job I do. That would be very disingenuous of me and somewhat disrespectful to those that actually do have more serious financial considerations.
That be said I’m quite busy most of the time and it is a time commitment. And while I can afford it, I’m not necessary in the habit of just throwing money into things that I don’t think are worth it. For me to pay $50 to watch a 4 hour show me to me it has to be worth both the time and the money. If the show was interesting then money isn’t an issue I’m that I can afford it. However if I don’t think it’s worth the money then I won’t spend it.
Like others have said there are numerous good matches. The trios match should be exceptional. I don’t think everything’s been built great but I think just the idea of seeing MJF win the title could be something like Hogan 1984 or Austin WM14
That’s totally understandable. $50 is expensive. It’s $23 in the UK so way more reasonable.
I wouldn’t be paying £50 no way.
I think you should watch if you can, I think it’ll be a decent PPV but like other have mentioned I wish a few matches were dropped 3 hours is enough…4 is just slightly too long
I’m going to pass. Since they brought ROH into the fold, and all the Punk/Elite drama, I just havent been as in to the product as I was a year ago. I’m sure it will be a good show and if it was $15 like a WWE show I would likely watch, at their price point its just not worth it to me.
Sorry, but this is such an L take. The Sami Zayn/Bloodline stuff alone has been leaps and bounds better than anything AEW has produced the last few months. WWE is actually producing entertaining TV that is appealing to viewers beyond alleged “match quality” or “work rate” or whatever. WWE also includes interesting outsiders like Logan Paul who can draw viewers, whereas AEW keeps bringing in random guys from Japan nobody outside of the truly hardcore fans have ever even heard of. It wouldn’t be so bad if they actually explained who these guys are (I was getting into Konosuke Takeshita before they predictably stopped putting him on TV) but I guess TK expects everybody to dig through message boards or whatever to figure it out rather than explaining on TV.
Like, if all you care about is Meltzer’s latest 7 star classic featuring Avalanche Canadian Destroyers to the floor through tables wrapped in barbed wire, then I could see the appeal of AEW week in and week out. It’s like watching a NASCAR race where you are just waiting to see who gets in a wreck and breaks their neck. Personally, I’m far more interested in intriguing storylines and feuds rather than a race to the bottom to see who can do the most flips before they completely whiff on their target and land on their head.
So no, I won’t be watching. I’ve barely paid attention since the extremely disappointing Dynamite in Toronto. Best thing they have going is MJF and The Acclaimed. Guys like FTR and Miro should be on TV every single week. Nobody cares about this Ring Of Honor Variety Hour bullshit they have been cramming down our throats, especially when we know how much talent is just sitting around not getting used. And if you disagree, just look at the ratings. People are tuning out.
I think some fans that don’t really watch WWE take the worst of it (ie. the Miz/Dexter stuff or a random cringy backstage segment) and make it sound like that stuff is the norm opposed to a segment of two on a 15 segment show. Dont get me wrong, that stuff is bad, but its not every segment.
Now when Vince was booking that kind of stuff was much more prevalent, but since Hunter has taken over there has been a lot of good. Most PLV’s are excellent, and I 100% agree that the Bloodline stuff has been THE best thing in wrestling over the past few months.
Yeah I wouldn’t suggest trying to sit through a 3 hour RAW to anyone. There is way too much stupid stuff with the likes of Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory. But if you stick to Smackdown and the PPVs/PLEs, the batting average has been pretty damn good since the end of summer.
Furthermore, if something bad comes across my TV on Smackdown (such as that awful women’s 6 pack challenge last week), it’s easy enough to just look away and do something else for a bit. If you stop paying attention to Dynamite for 10 minutes, there’s a good chance that when you wake back up there will be an entirely new faction introduced, composed of guys from Japan and ROH that you may or may not have ever heard of. If you want to follow Dynamite week to week you have to be freaking COMMITED. WWE is much easier to digest.
I think too much attention is paid to ratings. I don’t live in the US but in the UK only my 72 year old dad watched normal telly. The rest of us watch online and I watch AEW when it’s suits me.
You make some valid point but I would rather watch some random Japanese guy over Jake Paul any day and I’m far from a hardcore fan. I only know these guys exist because Wai and John have mentioned their names.
I’ve said before there’s obviously 2 types of fans who like different things and that’s good. I said good bye to WWE a long time ago coz I can’t stand the bad stuff you mention. That just blurs out the good stuff to me.
AEW entertains me but yeah you have to watch every Dynamite to keep up but 2hrs a week is easy. I usually watch it in the background while working then pause the main event and watch that properly - it’s easy.
That all depends on what you are trying to gauge. If we are gauging overall value of a company based on revenue and profit, then ratings are an incredibility important metric. In short, ratings = more $ for commercials which = higher revenues in TV rights. If you are gauging “quality”, which is hard enough as it is because at the end of the day it comes down to taste and is an incredibility subjective metric, then yes, ratings are not by any stretch a be all end all.
If you prefer AEW over WWE, there is nothing wrong with that. If someone else prefers WWE over AEW, nothing wrong with that either. Only thing I will say, is if you havent watched WWE in a long time like you just said, you arent really the best person to assess which show is better quality wise.
I watched an episode of raw maybe 4 weeks ago but only made it through an hour. I listen to POST and they don’t seem very high on the week to week shows but the PPVs sound fun and if I had the WWE network I’d definitely watch.
I may get that coz it’s £10 a month in the UK and means I can watch Royal Rumble 94 and King of the Ring for the 100th time.
I don’t hate WWE there’s some awesome performers but the silly stuff really gets in the way for me. If one show was more serious I’d be up for that. But to be honest I struggle to watch AEW so probably couldn’t manage an additional product
I would love to ignore the ratings, and I do as far as the weekly ”number went up or down, so let’s read way too much into this“ crap.
But if you want to think about the wrestling you watch, and want to ask questions like “why do they keep bringing Goldberg back?” or “ why don’t they cut Raw to two hours?” (to give two basic examples), then you need to have at least a cursory understanding of the business side of things. And that includes ratings.
It’s hard to argue anything AEW has done has been in the same league as the Bloodline.
Whether you like it or not Roman is the biggest star in wrestling. It’s not Kenny omega. It’s not Chris Jericho. It’s certainly not will Osprey.
Under Triple H the shows are way more watchable. But more than that WWE just feels hotter. There’s more unpredictability, more people weaving in and out of the product and more potential.
Just look at what the next six months for WWE could have.
Return of Sasha and Naomi and Becky
Return of Cody
Rock vs Roman
Return of Stone Cold and possibly Cena for WM
Possibly CM Punk returns
This is all on top of the usual stuff of two Royal rumbles coming up, an elimination chamber, and a culmination of the Bloodline and Zayn stuff. Not to mention Edge and Beth and Rey and Dominick.
Contrast that with AEW. What do they have in terms of surprises to deliver? I’m struggling to think of much outside of a few new Japan guys coming back. Yes the return of Adam Cole, and the return of hangman page. But neither of those are even in the same league as what I described above. The Elite are coming back as an afterthought without much build and no TV time.
If you go back over a year ago with AEW they had all the surprises and big debuts with Punk and Cole and Danielson and swung the momentum towards them. If you want to lie to yourself and say that still the case you can, but objectively it’s clear which one has more unpredictability and is hotter right now.
Tony Khan is a better booker than Vince McMahon at this stage in his career. I’m not entirely sure he’s better than HHH and nothing he has shown me in the last few months would suggest that. He’s overbooked everything into a mess, and is getting by simply because he has good wresters who are saving some of these builds as opposed to being enhanced by them.