Wrestling 2021: The Big Thread Machine

[Ja'moke]

Have you guys been keeping up with all this WOW drama? WOW - Women Of Wrestling announced that it's coming back next year. They held a press conference in Vegas on Wednesday (during Dynamite). AJ Lee is an executive and commentator for it. But their main star is Tessa Blanchard.

As expected, there was a fair amount of backlash towards Tessa's involvement. Then WOW/Tessa released a shirt playing into her "nuclear heat," which went down as well as you'd imagine it would: https://twitter.com/wowsuperheroes/status/1446190473421328390

[Deanjam]

Smackdown is on FS1 next week, so it's possible AEW could beat them in the demo. But Smackdown has advertised Lesnar and Becky vs Sasha.

They should beat them in absolute ratings as well as the demos. Last time Smackdown moved to FS1 it only drew about 900,000.

[Ja'moke]

They should beat them in absolute ratings as well as the demos. Last time Smackdown moved to FS1 it only drew about 900,000.

Yeah but Rampage has only been doing around 600-650k.

[BeardFaceMan]

That's why they're going to pre-load the card, it wouldn't suprise me to see the likes of Punk and Bryan on Rampage this week. I don't think TK would send out a tweet like that unless he had something planned.

[Ja'moke]

He announced the card last night. Punk vs Matt Sydal, Ruby Soho vs The Bunny, and the previously announced Jericho, Hager, & Guevara vs. Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, and Junior dos Santos.

[peanutbutter]

Regardless of how well they do on the night, surely long term this will just lead to more people being aware AEW have a show on at that time?

[BeardFaceMan]

He announced the card last night. Punk vs Matt Sydal, Ruby Soho vs The Bunny, and the previously announced Jericho, Hager, & Guevara vs. Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, and Junior dos Santos.

A bit underwhelming, given the circumstance.

Regardless of how well they do on the night, surely long term this will just lead to more people being aware AEW have a show on at that time?

Indeed, WWE keep saying there is no war and they're the ones firing the opening shots by moving NXT or doing this, which just ends up hurting them and helping AEW. I'll never understand why people call Vince a genius promoter, he's fucking useless.

[Deanjam]

Yeah but Rampage has only been doing around 600-650k.

Ah, my error.

[Ja'moke]

Overnight numbers for this week's Rampage were 466k, and so they'll probably add around 30k to the final numbers on Monday, ending on around 500k. So yeah, they ain't beating Smackdown next week.

[madhair60]

I have to get this out, because I feel a bit bad about it because I know people like him, but I find Danhausen fucking cringe. I hate stuff like that. Just meme wrestlers, does my head in. Nothing against him personally, he seems nice enough, but fucking hell he makes me cringe.

[Ja'moke]

Danhausen's stuff works in an indie setting. He's not someone I'd want to see on weekly TV.

Fun GCW show so far. Cardona adding Chelsea Green to the act works. Can't wait for Mox v Gage.

EDIT: Thunder Rosa just turned up as part of the scramble match. Wrestling is fun.

[Mobius]

Yeah that was a real fun show. GCW also announced they'll be doing a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. They seem to be doing well.

[BeardFaceMan]

I do find it pretty incredible that they don't have any medical staff on hand in GCW for when guys do deathmatches, they have to patch themselves up afterwards, makes the whole thing feel dodgy as fuck. Seems pretty shitty that a guy is willing to cut himself open for you and you're not willing to sew him up afterwards, especially when most of the cuts are on the back where you can't easily treat it yourself. I want to see these companies looking after the people who work there.

[Ja'moke]

Impact's Knockouts Knockdown sounded like a really good show too. Gonna catch up with that later. They announced the Iconics (now the Inspiration) are debuting at Bound for Glory.

I would say Impact has the best booked women's division in America right now.

[BeardFaceMan]

So now the 30 minute Smackdown overrun has been announced as being commercial-free. They're really not taking any chances, are they? This just seems like desperation to prove they're still top dog.

[Ja'moke]

A cool little video from Forbes with Tony Khan explaining the origins of AEW, along with some fun backstage stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLPrjJqDXMc

[up_the_hampipe]

So The Rock is about as good at rapping as he was at being funny in promos from 2011-2016 https://twitter.com/oscos/status/1446941782323912710?s=21

[Mobius]

Check out these match lengths for the Queen Of The Ring tournament, lol.

RAW
Shayna Baszler def. Dana Brooke in 1:25
Doudrop def. Natalya in 3:00

SMACKDOWN
Zelina Vega def. Toni Storm in 2:14
Carmella def. Liv Morgan in 1:35

And of course the final is being held in feminist stronghold Saudi Arabia.

[BeardFaceMan]

And I thought the AEW women's division was booked badly.

Also interesting to see that the reality of Punk isn't living up to the idea of Punk, the viewership for Rampage has declined every week since he made his debut. Diminishing returns on having a lovefest every week, he really needs to do something else.

[Ja'moke]

I don't get people blaming Punk for the weak Rampage ratings when since his debut AEW Dynamite has consistently done over 1 mil (which it only did on rare occasions before then), finished as the number one cable show six weeks in a row, set new attendance records, and did its highest PPV buy-rate ever. While, yes, Punk wrestles on Rampage, he's always advertised for Dynamite too (that's where he does his lovefests). So if he gets the blame for bad ratings on Rampage, he should also get credit for good ratings on Dynamite.

The reality is that Rampage is on at 10 PM on a Friday night. It's a bad time slot. And even worse now it's against the baseball play offs.

[BeardFaceMan]

I don't get people blaming Punk for the weak Rampage ratings when since his debut AEW Dynamite has consistently done over 1 mil (which it only did on rare occasions before then), finished as the number one cable show six weeks in a row, set new attendance records, and did its highest PPV buy-rate ever. While, yes, Punk wrestles on Rampage, he's always advertised for Dynamite too (that's where he does his lovefests). So if he gets the blame for bad ratings on Rampage, he should also get credit for good ratings on Dynamite.

The reality is that Rampage is on at 10 PM on a Friday night. It's a bad time slot. And even worse now it's against the baseball play offs.

There's also crowds coming back, the likes of Bryan and Cole signing, a general surge of interest in non-WWE wrestling, the fact they've been putting on solid shows for months before Punk showed up, so no, Punk shouldn't get sole credit for the ratings, he's not even a big factor. He shouldn't get sole credit for bad Rampage ratings either, but he's a big factor, he's being sold heavily on Rampage and the people aren't buying. People aren't even following him over from Dynamite.

Are you really saying Dynamite got a ratings bump because people want to see Punk cut a 'happy to be here' promo every week?

[Ja'moke]

No, I'm saying you can't equate Punk = bad ratings or Punk = good ratings. I'm saying Rampage ratings are weak because of its shitty timeslot and going head to head with the MLB playoffs.

Bryan v Nick Jackson was the Rampage match the week before, and that show's ratings were low too. In fact, Orange Cassidy vs Jack Evans did a higher quarter than Bryan's match. But I wouldn't blame Bryan either, just like I wouldn't blame Punk. Rampage time slot just sucks.

[BeardFaceMan]

It's not just that the timeslot is shitty, the ratings have been getting steadily worse. And his first TV match in 7 years was in the middle of that. What he's been doing so far just hasn't been working, other than appealing to hardcore smarks who want to relive a moment from 10 years ago. Every other big signing has gone right to work, right in to the action, right in to an angle, Punk still just wants to come out and have the crowd suck his cock for a bit. It's got old.

[Ja'moke]

I dunno, I just get the vibe you've been against Punk from before he even turned up in AEW. You were the one that said you didn't want to see Punk in AEW, right? That his UFC run had tainted him. And you said his return sucked, despite the majority of people considering it one of the best wrestling returns ever. I just feel like you were determined to be against whatever Punk did based on your preconceived notions about him.

Rampage ratings were always going to drop off after the initial buzz of a new show, just like Dynamite (or any new show ever). And the past couple of weeks it's been against the MLB playoffs. It also helped that those first few shows were live, so they had that must-see appeal. Now it's pre-taped shows that you can find the spoilers for days before. I'd be interested in seeing the DVR numbers for Rampage, as I imagine a large chunk of the Dynamite audience just catch up over the weekend with Rampage.

[BeardFaceMan]

I dunno, I just get the vibe you've been against Punk from before he even turned up in AEW. You were the one that said you didn't want to see Punk in AEW, right? That his UFC run had tainted him. And you said his return sucked, despite the majority of people considering it one of the best wrestling returns ever. I just feel like you were determined to be against whatever Punk did based on your preconceived notions about him.

True up until the bit in bold. His return was a great moment to witness, I've just been disappointed with everything he's done since then because it's been a whole load of nothing. I'd say the reality of having Punk back has not been as fun as the idea of having Punk back.

[up_the_hampipe]

As a big Punk fan, I will admit I've not been enthused about his booking so far. It seems like what he wants to do, but it's becoming a little stale already. Part of me is worried that a satisfied Punk won't be entertaining, like his whole appeal is that he needs something to kick against. But I'm sure it's just the repetitive promos and meaningless opponents. I don't think he should go heel, I just want a major feud with someone that matters. I'm sure these young guys are very talented and all, but I'm not interested in them right now, Punk has been gone for over 7 years let's get cooking!

[Gurke and Hare]

It's not just that the timeslot is shitty, the ratings have been getting steadily worse. And his first TV match in 7 years was in the middle of that.

So it started before that match and carried on afterwards? Sounds like it might not be 100% down to him.

Every other big signing has gone right to work, right in to the action, right in to an angle, Punk still just wants to come out and have the crowd suck his cock for a bit. It's got old.

His last two matches (in a fairly short timespan) have come out of angles where he's been jumped by people. It might be fair to accuse him of repetition in angles, but to imply that they don't exists is nonsense. I'm not a fan of the big crowd-pleasing promos myself, but that's far from all he's been doing.

[Ja'moke]

Punk being away for 7 years is most likely why he's easing his way back in. It's not like Bryan or Cole who have been wrestling weekly for the past however many years and so could just jump in at the deep end. Or even Christian who is one of the best in-ring performers from a technical stand-point ever... Punk was never that (although his matches with Darby and especially Garcia have been really good).

I think it's clear that something will switch at some point. Punk has even said this himself, both in interviews and in his promos. Right now he's riding the high. And with the crazy reactions he's getting, who can blame him. The crowd gets to pop, and he gets to shake off the ring rust on the taped show. Meanwhile, the Elite, Hangman, Bryan, Cole can hold things down in the main event scene. But eventually there will come a time when Punk snaps.

[BeardFaceMan]

So it started before that match and carried on afterwards? Sounds like it might not be 100% down to him.

He shouldn't get sole credit for bad Rampage ratings either

Thank you for agreeing with me.

As a big Punk fan, I will admit I've not been enthused about his booking so far. It seems like what he wants to do, but it's becoming a little stale already. Part of me is worried that a satisfied Punk won't be entertaining, like his whole appeal is that he needs something to kick against. But I'm sure it's just the repetitive promos and meaningless opponents. I don't think he should go heel, I just want a major feud with someone that matters. I'm sure these young guys are very talented and all, but I'm not interested in them right now, Punk has been gone for over 7 years let's get cooking!

Yeah, that's what I mean by him going to work. You'd think he'd be like Bryan and be fucking dying to go, not doing the same tedious thing every week. He's better than that, quite frankly. OMG Punk is back after all this time, I know, let's put him on commentary! Honestly feels like they don't know what to do with him or how to use him.

[Ja'moke]

Did you miss Punk putting on a banger of a match with Daniel Garcia last week? Why are we acting like Punk is ONLY cutting promos.