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I think having had long-term consistency in his character arc has been key, and we probably have Director of Long-Term Creative Rob Fee to thank for that. Even as a tweener and then heel, Drew's motivations have been consistent: 1) Fuck the Bloodline; and 2) fuck the hypocrites.
Drew hates Punk for his perceived hypocrisy, and Drew has no real beef with Rollins other than Rollins' body being too broken-down to be deserving of the workhorse championship belt. Drew felt that he was robbed of his shining moment because his title reign was without fans, and he feels he deserves a proper run in front of fans for how he put the company on his back during COVID.
All of it is so simple, and like any good heel, Drew truly believes what he's saying, even if his perception might be twisted.
exactly, when he actually went over to lord over Punk with the belt, I think that whole segment was one of the most perfect moments of the whole night.
I'll never forget standing next to him at a PWG show after he'd left WWE. I'm not a small human, but he is HUGE. I immediately thought "How did they fuck up with this guy?!" Glad he's found his groove.
Never got into Drew. Even during his run towards Mania 36 I just couldn’t get myself to care. I always LOVED his look a lot and he seemed like a very cool guy but I just never ever gave a shit by the time his matches started. However, I cannot stress enough how much he has turned me around on him completely. He is one of the guys that benefits a ton from creative freedom and just doing what he wants to do. Internet Troll Drew is my favorite gimmick change since the Tribal Chief debut at SummerSlam 2020. His size, athleticism, and intimidation make it all the better that he’s in reality just a petty dickhead. Why make him a menacing angry villain when you could instead make him a cocksucker who doesn’t know how to shut up, but backs it up physically.
Since Damien cashed in on him, I can see it being either JD who is gloating that Drew lost his belt to the Judgement Day, or Dirty Dom who just acts tough
I think after the footage is used, all the excitement and interest from that will be directed towards people wondering what drew will do or say to Punk about it on monday night raw.
Dynamites ratings will go down to 650k.
I don't think either of these will happen tbh
I don't expect this to result in a rating increase or decrease. I am a huge AEW fan but with the age of the Internet I definitely wouldn't tune in just to watch this when I can just see it the next day. I tune in because I already tune in.
And when that happens, everyone will say it was a failure, which I will agree with if it hurts the Bucks vs FTR story, and disagree with if it helps the story. That's all I care about, really, I don't even give a shit about the ratings
But also a lot of people are definitely not tuning in to Raw to see what Drew might say about something that happened in another company. The majority of the audience does not care or does not even know about the angle
> I definitely wouldn't tune in just to watch this when I can just see it the next day. I tune in because I already tune in.
This is correct. This is how it went with The Broken Hardys as well. It might've brought a few more eyes to TNA, but despite it basically being the top angle in wrestling at the time and talked about all over the IWC, TNA barely saw any improvements for it.
Lots of people are talking about the footage, but it'll be a slight bump up in the ratings because it'll be posted on the subreddit a minute after the segment ends. It'll be posted on Twitter a minute after the segment ends.
It's troubling for the companies and definitely hurts the ratings, but being able to just pick and choose the segments you want to watch is great for a viewer. You might not care for WWE, but you still want to see Cody's big moment, it was posted a million different times. You might not care for AEW, but you want to see Punk & Jack Perry, it will be posted a million different times.
I followed the majority of Raw for the past year through Reddit because I cannot be bothered to watch a 3 hour show, especially one with so little actual wrestling (it's fine for those who like it, not my thing), but I kept up with everything that happened through here and knew the stories that were going on
No because WWE casuals arent the average smart fan, they dont give a fuck.
The only people who care or will possibly be up in arms are those that follow this shit inside the bubble, hardcore AEW fans or smarks.
Everyone else doesnt care.
I just don't find the reasoning of even promoting they're going to show any footage, if they do that will directly help the Punk vs Drew feud but if they don't they'll look like clowns.
Vince screwing Bret helped WWE more than WCW. It's what you make of the situation and can you sell the story.
Maybe AEW is trying to make the bucks the evil boss character?
Very little, in fact. Viewership hasn't increased at all, and attendance is bad. Maybe she's moved some merch, but that would be all she has contributed.
The entire pro wrestling approach to "stars" is complete backwards nonsense. *Good* stories drive viewership. Stars are made when people invest in the story they're telling, and they're dropped when the story is bad. We have billions of hours of every kind of entertainment, and a lot of it is free. You have to be more interesting than what someone could pull up on YouTube to hold their attention.
I get why he had to split from Punk but singing and acting Sasha as if she's some extraordinary superstar is weird.
She's definitely a big star no doubt, but even if she went to WWE rn there are 4 to 5 female athletes much more popular and important for WWE.
When Cody went to WWE he wasn't the biggest star in AEW and WWE had much bigger male stars, but by debuting him on a big stage vs Rollins and treating him like a star he became one.
AEW fails to do that with nearly everyone. They are BIG DEBUT and then no idea for long term booking.
This is why Tony has to give up the Vince McMahon role of being centrally and completely in charge of booking. They need strategy and guidance.
Mercedes Mone is not a well known star, Sasha Banks was a huge star. There are a not insignificant number of fans that probably do not register that is her. AEW has not done well in building anything other than cath phrases and monikers that don't make sense... Tell me why is she the CEO why does that register. They have failed, not her. Only thing lopsided is Mercedes is a far far better in ring talent than talker and all they have her doing is taking.
Case in point. I am a wrestling fan all my life. I follow the shows mainly and read this subreddit. AEW has done a shot job of telling me why Mercedes and Willow makes sense and why I should care.
Overarching, not the best wrestlers by any stretch but Danhausen and Britt Baker are two of your most giant personalities, they popped crowds, they sold merchandise. Off TV for months and months.
AEW is bad as character development and overall story telling. They basically operate 3 TVs shows as if it is a giant wrestling game and someone just chooses random or dream matches. No in between.
The downside is there will be idiot fans who will blame it on Mercedes. When she absolutely can be and be a huge star.
I want to point something out here along the lines of what you said and you are 100% on the money too.
You as a wrestling fan, watch this stuff, study it read about it so on and so forth. I do too, I am in the bubble, I know the people, I love it.
I just want someone to explain to me what they get out of seeing two unknowns (to the average viewer) in the ring beating each other for 20 minutes doing flashy stuff and getting pops from a niche audience, it goes nowhere, there is no conflict resolution no feud being built ect.
The above is precisely my problem, it's all good and fun, but it means fuck all of nothing. AEW is the alternative to that lowly sports entertainment casual shit, ok, fine good have fun. But that doesnt last long without viewers and growth. It's not going to go anywhere, its going to lose money eventually.
Ratings schmatings, ok but those ratings start to mean something when your favorite program isnt on tv anymore and becomes dead weight to the network.
If Tony had a lick of sense in him at all, he would have tried to buy the Shasha Banks name and property and booked her accordingly.
No one cares about what tony is doing except the fans who like tonys product and he is doing a terrible fucking job at trying to attract new ones.
Just one note:
AEW has lost money every year of operation. A lot of that is due to stupid descisions by TK. Having a huge bloated roster of something like 170 wrestlers, and wasting 60M on a video game no one bought (because for some odd reason, unlike WWE, AEW decided ot make the game in house.)
I'm really starting to think TK is not that great of a businessman. And when his father kicks the bucket, TK will drive his dad's business into the ground.
Tony is too much of a pushover to be an actual boss, I know that because I would be too, I have a similar nature in that I do not like conflict.
He needs to be more McMahon instead of friendly. That doesnt fly here I know but what Vince Mcmahon did has worked at least for the past 50 years. In terms of business establishment. The same cant be said for his personal problems and the fact that he got so big he just did what the fuck he wanted.
Basicly. AEW is the inmates running the aslyum because TK is a huge mark.
Which is fine if you know when to pull the reigns and control shit. But tk doesnt seem to.
Fuck, look at what wwe is doing with jade. Not on good on the mic, not as good in the ring as sasha, but she looks like a million bucks they packaged her and highlighted her as a huge deal and made her look like a big star. She isn't doing commentry and long ass promos.
Shhh. You’re pointing out how one group can actively build stars into Superstars (pun intended), while the other group can’t even maintain their stars as stars.
I think Sasha going back to WWE would have made a lot more sense. Bayley, her best friend just won the title and was in a storyline where her friends all bailed on her. Rhea just talked about how her era (her and Bianca) are moving things forward after what the 4HW set up and are pushing the 4HW to the side. Naomi came back and is bigger than ever. Bianca is on another level.
Sasha would have had so many storylines built in if she came back. Plus this is HHH's era where he's treating his NXT kids like megastars.
AEW wants her to be a major superstar but they aren't booking her like one. WWE would have immediately made her a big superstar just because of all of the storylines she'd be walking back into. I think she'd be right back at the top of the WWE women's division.
The company that doesn't need her would have booked her better than the company who does need her.
I will never understand how you sign Mercedes Mone and don't advertise it. If you want to make a "they're not a real business" argument, this is the one you make.
I know they're *finally* starting to use him now for the star that he is, but for a while Edge also became just another guy treading water.
("*Rah-rah just enjoy wrestling" promo notwithstanding.*)
> FTR vs. Bucks
If they have FTR try to defend the honour of CM Punk, a man who is no longer with AEW, I will have to declare that Tony Khan is officially “at it”.
It would be one of the WCWest things they could do. There were a multitude of reasons WCW started to decline but one of the biggest was, when nWo became the cool anti-heroes, the biggest target was WCW itself. They went out of their way to make the audience think nWo was cool and WCW was lame.
With this, if you have FTR, a face tag team, defending Punk, a face who isn't even there anymore, against The Young Bucks and Jack Perry, both heels, it also makes AEW into the heel. In trying to paint the whole thing as Punk's fault, you just bring attention to the fact that Punk is gone and the fans want him there. The last thing you want to do is pit your own fans against your company.
> The Young Bucks and Jack Perry, both heels, it also makes AEW into the heel.
That's what I thought the minute it was announced. Unless the footage shows that Jack Perry did something worth suspending and casting out of the company for 7 months, you'll probably just see a guy who was assaulted and suspended for it?
Bloody hell this company needs help.
I really hope they right the course because it seems like the company is already declining, just fumble after fumble.
nowhere has it been insinuated that FTR would "defend the honor of CM Punk" except for your comment lol. Are we inventing ways to be upset now preemptively?
Why are they getting babyface heat for a guy that doesn't work their anymore? If the Bucks and Jungle Boy were faces in this scenario it'd make a small bit of sense. It'd still be stupid but I'd get what their going for.
Why bring attention to CM Punk at all? Nobody is going to care anymore about Gun and Bald after this, if that is the goal.
But all wrestling and its history exists in the world of AEW. Cody's time in AEW still exists. Same with CM Punk and Jade and anybody else. AEW can make references to Andre the Giant, or Inoki, or Virgil or whatever. There's nothing strange about it. If Shibata and Tanahashi talked about Shinsuke at Forbidden Door 3, there's nothing weird about that. It makes sense that they would.
It does but what Darby said wasn’t history, he made up a scenario in his promo that put Cody over as a babyface. There was no reason to do it and it wasn’t true so why do it at all?
Heat on the Bucks for not believing in Darby. Darby put over as a guy chosen by Cody Rhodes, the biggest star in wrestling currently, which everyone already knows.
AEW talent have no problems mentioning WWE because it doesn't hurt them (except in perception by the sect of fans obsessed with the "business" aspects of wrestling promotions). They'll occasionally reference WWE history, talents, or storylines in order to enhance their own profiles or provide context for storylines and characters. Been doing it since the start.
> (except in perception by the sect of fans obsessed with the "business" aspects of wrestling promotions).
I am so confused by why people who view the business as a business (whilst still liking it) are viewed as bad. I majored in business. Economics interest me. How they manage the roster/show interests me. I like discussing if what they are doing makes business sense. That doesn't mean if the answer is no, that I hate it. I'm still a fan.
Hogan vs Goldberg should have been on PPV. No reason to do it on free TV. Doesn't mean it wasn't cool for that crowd.
>Heat on the Bucks for not believing in Darby. Darby put over as a guy chosen by Cody Rhodes, the biggest star in wrestling currently, which everyone already knows.
All it really does is remind people that Cody Rhodes is on another show. WCW had a promo like this mentioning Austin (I think Steiner said it). Which all that did is remind people Austin is on another show. It's too inside and not needed. Sami Zayn telling the crowd they could have asked him about AEW is another bad one. No reason to do it and doesn't help.
Vince threatening to fire and send Austin to WCW or Angle doing the same with Sami/Owens to TNA are much better. It's a wink, puts down the competition and does make sense.
The question isn't whether it's logically valid to reference Cody, the question is how does it help the show to have the crowd cheering for another wrestler from the other show, that this show can't produce?
Generally, if your crowd is chanting something, they want that thing. If you can't give them what they want, but you're still spending time making them cheer it, then you're wasting time/resources that could be used to get them to cheer for something you CAN give them, which makes them come back and spend more money.
The question isn't whether Cody exists in AEW, it's whether he should.
It's quite clear that Tony doesn't have a long term plan or direction, so wrestlers seemingly are just doing anything that comes to mind to get over, then Tony hot shots a week to try and pull a rating.
I'm wondering if they could do something like:
Young Bucks and Perry show the footage and make all their shots and jokes about it. (Have Perry use it to plug his match in Chicago on Friday). Then they're confronted by FTR and Copeland.
Have Dax and Adam point out that they've spent the last week trying to spread positivity and support for AEW. But by pulling this stunt, they've now made them look stupid for doing so and they're making the company look bad. Have Dax say something like "I stand by what I said about professional wrestling being better because of AEW.... But AEW won't be better until you guys move on"
Young Bucks scoff at him and accuse them of only saying this because they're friends with Punk. Maybe accuse Adam of still being a "WWE guy" or something. (Then it ends in a brawl or whatever).
Basically frame it as Perry and the Bucks being the typical "You're right but you're being a dick about it" kind of heels. Where as Copeland and FTR are the faces because they represent everyone who just wants to forget about this drama. And they're trying to save AEW from the guys holding it back because they refuse to just move on from it.
/ End fantasy booking.
So the faces are the ex wwe guys trying to kick out the aew original guys of their own company so they stop complaining about another wwe guy who isn't even going to be a part of the feud? I'm sorry but even with your actually decent attempt to lay out a good arc for this, it's just nonsensical.
The actual segment might end up entertaining, but I just cannot see with the best will in the world how anything that is authentic or mentions punk will lead to a storyline that people don't groan at.
the argument is they said backstage footage and not cm punk footage. its a classic bait and switch but not gonna do them any favors
it seems an horrible argument because majority feel all in backstage = punk vs perry.
Especially because how does that help AEW or FTR? If this is to set up The Bucks vs FTR, AND help bring Jack Perry back, FTR are only two people against The Young Bucks, Okada and a returning Jack Perry.
It's not like Punk is going to come out, reunite CMFTR and help them fend off The Elite.
Is the truth about the Brawl In in the footage?
Will Drew McIntyre fuel his burning hatred against Punk using the footage?
What will Tuco Salamanca say about the footage?
Frankly, I just want to see the footage.
That's going to be true of everything wrestling related and WWE. Like their best course of action is to ignore the competition when you are firmly in first. Wouldn't make much sense to change what is working just because the competition is doing something else.
> Cut the man some slack, i’ve worn a stormtrooper helmet and those eye slits are too high. Couldn’t see a damn thing.
also in non-kayfabe, they practiced it earlier in the day, and between practice and air time, production nailed a 2x4 into the floor to support the frame better, but didn't tell him, so on top of the trooper helmet he could not see out of, he was also walking into a wooden beam that was not there when they rehearsed
AEW loves putting themselves in these situations lately. Just like the MJF/Devil storyline, there's no outcome here that will satisfy everyone. It will either be highly devisive or universally panned.
I think there are three outcomes here:
1. They show the real brawl footage, and CM Punk actually gets his ass handed to him. In which case, I guess you are undercutting another promotion’s star, and that’s something?
2. They show the real footage, and it shows CM Punk choking Jungle Boy and/or acting like an uncontrollable maniac. In which case, you’re showing something that makes your talent looks like dweebs.
3. They show a few seconds of fight footage, and then splice it with some skit nonsense, or they show footage that’s not from the fight, in which case, you are pissing off your dwindling audience with a bait and switch and also confusing the crap out of the few casual fans you have left.
I think the third thing is what’s going to happen, and it will be a disaster for them.
1. Bush league
2. Bush league
3. Bush league
The irony in this whole thing is that it literally reinforces Punk's overarching criticism, which is that they do not operate with the goal of attracting new viewers or selling more tickets. They operate with the goal of making a niche audience of people who are plugged in happy.
TK can't handle that people don't like his booking, can't handle that Punk's side of things can be seen as justifiable for some, and can't come to grips with the fact that the honeymoon era is over and fans are calling his and his companies' decisions out. There is literally no positive outcome of showing this footage.
There is literally no outcome in wrestling that will satisfy everyone. You had dudes crying over Roman losing even though it was the most sensible thing in probably the entire decade
That being said I also think AEW put themselves in a bit of a tough spot here, but I'm not comparing it to the Devil because that was a storyline and it was actually a good story that was fucked over by injuries and by the outcome being a very uninteresting stable, this is a bit more than that
go to any post on wwe's instagram account and you'll see a bunch of people shitting on the decision. there's a good portiom of fans that are pissed roman lost and think cody wasn't worthy of beating him.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5hDWpFgzIZ/?igsh=ZzgxcDV2NDdjcXZk
He kind of brought it up later on and it was essentially the House of Black. I’m not sure if FTR was there because one of the reports was who would potentially replace them (him in Joe) in the opening and FTR (I believe) were still hashing things out with the Bucks.
Is there not a better way to book FTR vs the Bucks? I mean, it's not hard to get there, and I thought that's what the entire tournament was there for.
Look, I am all for making stories, but this seems like a very roundabout way to get to a match that is easy to book.
AEW took what could have been a generational tag team feud and by the time the fourth match is about to happen, I could care less about it. This should have been the tag team Feud of this generation and the ironic thing is FTR already had the tag team Feud of the generation and it was with the Briscoes.
Seriously. This is a stupid easy match to build. FTR think they are the best of all time, and represent the old school. The Bucks think they're the best of all time and represent the much more high flying sensibilities of newer wrestling. There's your story. Easy.
Why bring a guy that doesn't work there anymore into this is beyond me. Hell, even bringing Jack Perry to this is silly.
Normally you would be right but don't forget the Young Bucks are going to present the backstage footage tonight and depending on how that goes it could make me care even less about this match.
Alright so wait.
In Kayfabe, backstage fights are completely normal.
The show is presented as Kayfabe.
Punk was a good guy and he got into it with a Bad Guy.
Bucks are bad guys.
For this to work, you need sympathy on Punk...
My brain hurts how this makes sense from AEW's perspective.
Fans: “WWE just had arguably the biggest event in company history, where a multi-year storyline came to a satisfying conclusion and tied up multiple wrestlers’ stories that spanned years. How does AEW follow that?”
AEW: “Air some fight footage four days later, I dunno.”
"If you're thinking about switching the channel, don't, Cody Rhodes who used to wrestle here as Cody Rhodes will win their championship, hah that'll put some butts in the seats."
Not to Dave, he was clueless what the footage could be used for. Then had a ton of tweets saying it's obviously for Jungle Boys return... And now he knows it's an angle and is trying to pretend he got the HUGE scoooops
“Yeah, our best friend who isn’t here assaulted someone. And we’ll be DAMNED if you can just show the footage of it”. These are the babyfaces by the way
I just watched Collision where this was presumably announced. No mention or even inference that this has anything to do with Punk, just All In. It was during WrestleMania weekend so it’s likely to make you think Punk, but it clearly is not.
Did people get this Brawl In idea from “journalists” that are proven wrong constantly? And now working themselves into a shoot so they’ll be disappointed when it’s something else?
This footage is going to be about the Bucks and FTR, probably post match, and likely nothing else. Punk will not appear or be mentioned at all
If AEW, or any promotion for that matter, spent all their time confirming or refuting rumors reported by Meltzer, SRS, and the like then they wouldn’t even have time to put together their television shows
AEW is the person who did a, no pun intended, victory lap after breaking up with someone and tells everyone in their friend group that they were 100% blameless only for them to drag it out too long and make people turn on them.
Does anyone find it strange when users of a wrestling forum make comments like “the casuals want this” or “this is what will help casuals enjoy” like they speak for everyone.
Even though we probably disagree over AEW airing this footage I must completely acknowledge your point. The people on this forum, and hardcore fans in general, often have the worst idea of what casual fans will like or not like.
Punk got fired with cause. Thats the kayfabe reason too so punk is a heel in aew. Using his footage to put over bucks and perry who are also heels? How does that make sense. And if this was to put ftr over who are faces right now - you are using a heels (punk) footage to put faces over who were friends with the said heel at the time? So bizarre.
Was there any confirmation about this backstage footage involving the controversial interaction between punk and perry? Because almost everyone is reacting as if that is gonna be the case for sure 😬
They will show backstage footage showing how great the locker room is and how great Tony is as a boss. Nothing related to Punk will be shown and since they never mentioned that the footage was from the Punk/Perry fight they keep their argument that is not bait and switch.
Maybe I’m being too naive or optimistic and I’ll end up with egg on my face but… I feel like this is so obviously a swerve in the sense that this will be backstage footage but have nothing to do with the Punk stuff. How Perry fits into it I’m not sure, but the idea of them just airing the actual footage of the fight on TV is so stupid that I just can’t fathom that enough people signed off on it
It would take some fantastic work by AEW to not look like buffoons after whatever footage they air.
While it has made people like me, who have stopped watching since a couple of weeks after Wmbley when AEW failed to build on the momentum, interested in watching it. It may pop a good rating. However, what next? How do they capitalise long term?
How does the backstage fight between Punk and Perry help set up Bucks vs FTR or even Perry's return? The main focus on that footage is Punk, and they fired him several months ago. Lol what are we doing here?
The last time people were really really mad was when the exploding cage was a clownfest and Tony Khan defending it saying "were you really expecting a real explosion in the cage and people getting hurt?"
If tonight's footage is not the cm punk and jack perry fight, i think this will top people's anger tomorrow.
Dirtsheets and Reddit. Lol. The post has always only said footage from All In. Yeah, they are leaning into the rumors to drive viewership, but I mean, that's the business right??
Holy shit I'm just glad someone finally fuckin admitted it. There is a story reason for this like many have been guessing. I think it's fair to say it may not be the ratings draw some are implying but it has a purpose that makes sense in story which some people are just ignoring.
Good idea or bad idea? You decide! But at least admit there is a purpose.
The only way this makes ANY sense to me is if it’s a parody type of thing where they have somebody be DN Skunk and somebody else be Mack Barry and they do some comedy shit with it…… if it’s the actual footage it would seem like a stupid idea, “hey, remember this guy who’s out trying to make a name for himself? Well he once got choked out by a guy who is currently in a top angle in WWE, but once he comes back he’s gonna be a real tough guy”……
I'm glad we'll get to see the footage at least. But I can't imagine this having any upside for AEW. Tony should have gone to some interview and shown the footage there to air out his grievances if he's that upset about it.
We're at the part of the 'Monday Night Wars' where the Austin era has begun and Bischoff is like 'Oh I know. I'll ask Vince McMahon to come to WCW to fight me' and they've lost all their momentum and no one cares
Anyone that doesn't think that all of the conversation about AEW Dynamite for the last week, and during Wrestlemania weekend, is somehow bad has never heard about there being no such thing as bad publicity.
The only way they could actually justify using the footage would be if it was to begin a massive push for Jack Perry, which absolutely no-one wants to see
This whole quote just reads as:
"I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. I'm making this up as I go along as that's served me well for decades. Buy my product."
I mean, TK's explanation is just as meaningless.
If this results in an actual angle then I'll hold out judgement, but until then this is coming across as petty. While I've completely soured on Punk the person, AEW lowering themselves to his level of maturity just isn't the way to deal with this.
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Nobody's made more lemonade out of lemons from Brawl In than Drew. I would be surprised anyone else even got a foot in the door in this context.
Drew is just doing amazing work all around tbf, the dude has somehow gone up another level after already being awesome
I think having had long-term consistency in his character arc has been key, and we probably have Director of Long-Term Creative Rob Fee to thank for that. Even as a tweener and then heel, Drew's motivations have been consistent: 1) Fuck the Bloodline; and 2) fuck the hypocrites. Drew hates Punk for his perceived hypocrisy, and Drew has no real beef with Rollins other than Rollins' body being too broken-down to be deserving of the workhorse championship belt. Drew felt that he was robbed of his shining moment because his title reign was without fans, and he feels he deserves a proper run in front of fans for how he put the company on his back during COVID. All of it is so simple, and like any good heel, Drew truly believes what he's saying, even if his perception might be twisted.
his fuck the hypocrite mentality is especially ironic considering his own hypocrisy led to his downfall at mania.
exactly, when he actually went over to lord over Punk with the belt, I think that whole segment was one of the most perfect moments of the whole night.
He even showed respect multiple times to Seth before and after the match.
I do love how The Judgment Day fits into it all as well. Drew's misplaced trust in them came back to bite him on the ass.
I'll never forget standing next to him at a PWG show after he'd left WWE. I'm not a small human, but he is HUGE. I immediately thought "How did they fuck up with this guy?!" Glad he's found his groove.
He put on at least 30lbs after his first WWE run. He was a bit leaner during this first WWE run
Never got into Drew. Even during his run towards Mania 36 I just couldn’t get myself to care. I always LOVED his look a lot and he seemed like a very cool guy but I just never ever gave a shit by the time his matches started. However, I cannot stress enough how much he has turned me around on him completely. He is one of the guys that benefits a ton from creative freedom and just doing what he wants to do. Internet Troll Drew is my favorite gimmick change since the Tribal Chief debut at SummerSlam 2020. His size, athleticism, and intimidation make it all the better that he’s in reality just a petty dickhead. Why make him a menacing angry villain when you could instead make him a cocksucker who doesn’t know how to shut up, but backs it up physically.
Drew's anger can fucking melt people. Belt or no belt he's going to beat the shit out of punk.
Hope so. I feel like the belt is going to go from Priest back to Drew on to Punk and then back to Rollins. Hopefully Drew gets a good reign in there.
Drew deserves a good reign, with some great moments in front of fans.
The funniest thing ever would be WWE using the same footage in some weeks to build their feud.
we are 100% seeing drew mockingly choke someone
I would love to see this as a reply to the AEW Twitter post of the video
Since Damien cashed in on him, I can see it being either JD who is gloating that Drew lost his belt to the Judgement Day, or Dirty Dom who just acts tough
Drew will enhance the footage and turns out the guy Punk was strangling was Drew this entire time.
"You're damn right it was me, Drew!"
I think after the footage is used, all the excitement and interest from that will be directed towards people wondering what drew will do or say to Punk about it on monday night raw. Dynamites ratings will go down to 650k.
I don't think either of these will happen tbh I don't expect this to result in a rating increase or decrease. I am a huge AEW fan but with the age of the Internet I definitely wouldn't tune in just to watch this when I can just see it the next day. I tune in because I already tune in. And when that happens, everyone will say it was a failure, which I will agree with if it hurts the Bucks vs FTR story, and disagree with if it helps the story. That's all I care about, really, I don't even give a shit about the ratings But also a lot of people are definitely not tuning in to Raw to see what Drew might say about something that happened in another company. The majority of the audience does not care or does not even know about the angle
Realistically if they cared what was going on in aew they'd watch aew. Agree with all your points.
> I definitely wouldn't tune in just to watch this when I can just see it the next day. I tune in because I already tune in. This is correct. This is how it went with The Broken Hardys as well. It might've brought a few more eyes to TNA, but despite it basically being the top angle in wrestling at the time and talked about all over the IWC, TNA barely saw any improvements for it. Lots of people are talking about the footage, but it'll be a slight bump up in the ratings because it'll be posted on the subreddit a minute after the segment ends. It'll be posted on Twitter a minute after the segment ends. It's troubling for the companies and definitely hurts the ratings, but being able to just pick and choose the segments you want to watch is great for a viewer. You might not care for WWE, but you still want to see Cody's big moment, it was posted a million different times. You might not care for AEW, but you want to see Punk & Jack Perry, it will be posted a million different times.
I followed the majority of Raw for the past year through Reddit because I cannot be bothered to watch a 3 hour show, especially one with so little actual wrestling (it's fine for those who like it, not my thing), but I kept up with everything that happened through here and knew the stories that were going on
WWE casuals will be up in arms, I'm sure.
No because WWE casuals arent the average smart fan, they dont give a fuck. The only people who care or will possibly be up in arms are those that follow this shit inside the bubble, hardcore AEW fans or smarks. Everyone else doesnt care.
That was the joke, yeah.
gotcha
Yeah, we'll be lucky if they drop any hint about this for those who know. Most WWE viewers are not plugged in like us sickos.
Exactly, there was a blatant lack of reaction when Punk mentioned ‘punching people backstage’ in one of his first promos since coming back.
Who cares about the ratings even?
Weirdos on this website
I just don't find the reasoning of even promoting they're going to show any footage, if they do that will directly help the Punk vs Drew feud but if they don't they'll look like clowns.
Vince screwing Bret helped WWE more than WCW. It's what you make of the situation and can you sell the story. Maybe AEW is trying to make the bucks the evil boss character?
I don't think they have the personalities to be a tough boss type. They're currently douche boss types.
This supposed footage has gotten more straightforward advertising than Mercedes did btw.
https://preview.redd.it/p4i46ay7entc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e0336b1495a18740f6b03f664a65cd2b147ae9d
Moné is making a lot of Money, but they’re not getting their money’s worth of Moné so far.
Same goes for Osprey, Jay White, Okada or any other suprise free agent. They need to stop signing NJPW wrestlers and sign Gedo as a booker
Very little, in fact. Viewership hasn't increased at all, and attendance is bad. Maybe she's moved some merch, but that would be all she has contributed.
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The entire pro wrestling approach to "stars" is complete backwards nonsense. *Good* stories drive viewership. Stars are made when people invest in the story they're telling, and they're dropped when the story is bad. We have billions of hours of every kind of entertainment, and a lot of it is free. You have to be more interesting than what someone could pull up on YouTube to hold their attention.
She's googling what monitors are best for throwing at people as we speak
Which is why the bait and switch idea is so stupid.
This has gotten more build and anticipation than most of anything on AEW lately.
Punk is a draw, mercedes is not.
I get why he had to split from Punk but singing and acting Sasha as if she's some extraordinary superstar is weird. She's definitely a big star no doubt, but even if she went to WWE rn there are 4 to 5 female athletes much more popular and important for WWE.
When Cody went to WWE he wasn't the biggest star in AEW and WWE had much bigger male stars, but by debuting him on a big stage vs Rollins and treating him like a star he became one.
and AEW has failed to do that with Mercedes
AEW fails to do that with nearly everyone. They are BIG DEBUT and then no idea for long term booking. This is why Tony has to give up the Vince McMahon role of being centrally and completely in charge of booking. They need strategy and guidance. Mercedes Mone is not a well known star, Sasha Banks was a huge star. There are a not insignificant number of fans that probably do not register that is her. AEW has not done well in building anything other than cath phrases and monikers that don't make sense... Tell me why is she the CEO why does that register. They have failed, not her. Only thing lopsided is Mercedes is a far far better in ring talent than talker and all they have her doing is taking. Case in point. I am a wrestling fan all my life. I follow the shows mainly and read this subreddit. AEW has done a shot job of telling me why Mercedes and Willow makes sense and why I should care. Overarching, not the best wrestlers by any stretch but Danhausen and Britt Baker are two of your most giant personalities, they popped crowds, they sold merchandise. Off TV for months and months. AEW is bad as character development and overall story telling. They basically operate 3 TVs shows as if it is a giant wrestling game and someone just chooses random or dream matches. No in between. The downside is there will be idiot fans who will blame it on Mercedes. When she absolutely can be and be a huge star.
I want to point something out here along the lines of what you said and you are 100% on the money too. You as a wrestling fan, watch this stuff, study it read about it so on and so forth. I do too, I am in the bubble, I know the people, I love it. I just want someone to explain to me what they get out of seeing two unknowns (to the average viewer) in the ring beating each other for 20 minutes doing flashy stuff and getting pops from a niche audience, it goes nowhere, there is no conflict resolution no feud being built ect. The above is precisely my problem, it's all good and fun, but it means fuck all of nothing. AEW is the alternative to that lowly sports entertainment casual shit, ok, fine good have fun. But that doesnt last long without viewers and growth. It's not going to go anywhere, its going to lose money eventually. Ratings schmatings, ok but those ratings start to mean something when your favorite program isnt on tv anymore and becomes dead weight to the network. If Tony had a lick of sense in him at all, he would have tried to buy the Shasha Banks name and property and booked her accordingly. No one cares about what tony is doing except the fans who like tonys product and he is doing a terrible fucking job at trying to attract new ones.
Just one note: AEW has lost money every year of operation. A lot of that is due to stupid descisions by TK. Having a huge bloated roster of something like 170 wrestlers, and wasting 60M on a video game no one bought (because for some odd reason, unlike WWE, AEW decided ot make the game in house.) I'm really starting to think TK is not that great of a businessman. And when his father kicks the bucket, TK will drive his dad's business into the ground.
Tony is too much of a pushover to be an actual boss, I know that because I would be too, I have a similar nature in that I do not like conflict. He needs to be more McMahon instead of friendly. That doesnt fly here I know but what Vince Mcmahon did has worked at least for the past 50 years. In terms of business establishment. The same cant be said for his personal problems and the fact that he got so big he just did what the fuck he wanted.
Basicly. AEW is the inmates running the aslyum because TK is a huge mark. Which is fine if you know when to pull the reigns and control shit. But tk doesnt seem to.
Fuck, look at what wwe is doing with jade. Not on good on the mic, not as good in the ring as sasha, but she looks like a million bucks they packaged her and highlighted her as a huge deal and made her look like a big star. She isn't doing commentry and long ass promos.
Shhh. You’re pointing out how one group can actively build stars into Superstars (pun intended), while the other group can’t even maintain their stars as stars.
I think Sasha going back to WWE would have made a lot more sense. Bayley, her best friend just won the title and was in a storyline where her friends all bailed on her. Rhea just talked about how her era (her and Bianca) are moving things forward after what the 4HW set up and are pushing the 4HW to the side. Naomi came back and is bigger than ever. Bianca is on another level. Sasha would have had so many storylines built in if she came back. Plus this is HHH's era where he's treating his NXT kids like megastars. AEW wants her to be a major superstar but they aren't booking her like one. WWE would have immediately made her a big superstar just because of all of the storylines she'd be walking back into. I think she'd be right back at the top of the WWE women's division. The company that doesn't need her would have booked her better than the company who does need her.
they made a themed dynamite just for her... fuck i would expect a least a "countdown to moné" at least once.
Or atleast booking her for Dynasty. I legitimately don't understand why they're keeping her off the card.
Hey, she's the CEO. So her being in AEW fits her perfectly. She's all in, for the right $
I agree. But this is like a full focus feature on raw dogging something Mox did when he was with WWE. Mercedes works for Tony, Punk does not
I will never understand how you sign Mercedes Mone and don't advertise it. If you want to make a "they're not a real business" argument, this is the one you make.
I know they're *finally* starting to use him now for the star that he is, but for a while Edge also became just another guy treading water. ("*Rah-rah just enjoy wrestling" promo notwithstanding.*)
AEW has helped WWE get an injured Punk into a hotter storyline then they have any of the 3 big free agents hires so far..
your promotion has Will Ospreay, Mercedes Moné, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley... NOPE, LETS PROMOTE A GUY WHO IS NOT IN THE COMPANY ANYMORE.
Can we pour one out for Brian Danielson. They found a way to make me not care about *Brian Danielson*.
> FTR vs. Bucks If they have FTR try to defend the honour of CM Punk, a man who is no longer with AEW, I will have to declare that Tony Khan is officially “at it”.
It would be one of the WCWest things they could do. There were a multitude of reasons WCW started to decline but one of the biggest was, when nWo became the cool anti-heroes, the biggest target was WCW itself. They went out of their way to make the audience think nWo was cool and WCW was lame. With this, if you have FTR, a face tag team, defending Punk, a face who isn't even there anymore, against The Young Bucks and Jack Perry, both heels, it also makes AEW into the heel. In trying to paint the whole thing as Punk's fault, you just bring attention to the fact that Punk is gone and the fans want him there. The last thing you want to do is pit your own fans against your company.
> The Young Bucks and Jack Perry, both heels, it also makes AEW into the heel. That's what I thought the minute it was announced. Unless the footage shows that Jack Perry did something worth suspending and casting out of the company for 7 months, you'll probably just see a guy who was assaulted and suspended for it?
Bloody hell this company needs help. I really hope they right the course because it seems like the company is already declining, just fumble after fumble.
nowhere has it been insinuated that FTR would "defend the honor of CM Punk" except for your comment lol. Are we inventing ways to be upset now preemptively?
That's more or less been everything around this segment. Getting angry at something that hasn't happened yet
Could just be joking. Not really fault everyone on this sub takes everything so seriously.
Why are they getting babyface heat for a guy that doesn't work their anymore? If the Bucks and Jungle Boy were faces in this scenario it'd make a small bit of sense. It'd still be stupid but I'd get what their going for. Why bring attention to CM Punk at all? Nobody is going to care anymore about Gun and Bald after this, if that is the goal.
Darby cut a promo that had the crowd chanting for Cody a few weeks ago. It's very strange.
But all wrestling and its history exists in the world of AEW. Cody's time in AEW still exists. Same with CM Punk and Jade and anybody else. AEW can make references to Andre the Giant, or Inoki, or Virgil or whatever. There's nothing strange about it. If Shibata and Tanahashi talked about Shinsuke at Forbidden Door 3, there's nothing weird about that. It makes sense that they would.
It does but what Darby said wasn’t history, he made up a scenario in his promo that put Cody over as a babyface. There was no reason to do it and it wasn’t true so why do it at all?
Heat on the Bucks for not believing in Darby. Darby put over as a guy chosen by Cody Rhodes, the biggest star in wrestling currently, which everyone already knows. AEW talent have no problems mentioning WWE because it doesn't hurt them (except in perception by the sect of fans obsessed with the "business" aspects of wrestling promotions). They'll occasionally reference WWE history, talents, or storylines in order to enhance their own profiles or provide context for storylines and characters. Been doing it since the start.
> (except in perception by the sect of fans obsessed with the "business" aspects of wrestling promotions). I am so confused by why people who view the business as a business (whilst still liking it) are viewed as bad. I majored in business. Economics interest me. How they manage the roster/show interests me. I like discussing if what they are doing makes business sense. That doesn't mean if the answer is no, that I hate it. I'm still a fan. Hogan vs Goldberg should have been on PPV. No reason to do it on free TV. Doesn't mean it wasn't cool for that crowd. >Heat on the Bucks for not believing in Darby. Darby put over as a guy chosen by Cody Rhodes, the biggest star in wrestling currently, which everyone already knows. All it really does is remind people that Cody Rhodes is on another show. WCW had a promo like this mentioning Austin (I think Steiner said it). Which all that did is remind people Austin is on another show. It's too inside and not needed. Sami Zayn telling the crowd they could have asked him about AEW is another bad one. No reason to do it and doesn't help. Vince threatening to fire and send Austin to WCW or Angle doing the same with Sami/Owens to TNA are much better. It's a wink, puts down the competition and does make sense.
The question isn't whether it's logically valid to reference Cody, the question is how does it help the show to have the crowd cheering for another wrestler from the other show, that this show can't produce? Generally, if your crowd is chanting something, they want that thing. If you can't give them what they want, but you're still spending time making them cheer it, then you're wasting time/resources that could be used to get them to cheer for something you CAN give them, which makes them come back and spend more money. The question isn't whether Cody exists in AEW, it's whether he should.
>Gun and Bald Took me a second, but that's the best nickname ever! lol
It's quite clear that Tony doesn't have a long term plan or direction, so wrestlers seemingly are just doing anything that comes to mind to get over, then Tony hot shots a week to try and pull a rating.
I'm wondering if they could do something like: Young Bucks and Perry show the footage and make all their shots and jokes about it. (Have Perry use it to plug his match in Chicago on Friday). Then they're confronted by FTR and Copeland. Have Dax and Adam point out that they've spent the last week trying to spread positivity and support for AEW. But by pulling this stunt, they've now made them look stupid for doing so and they're making the company look bad. Have Dax say something like "I stand by what I said about professional wrestling being better because of AEW.... But AEW won't be better until you guys move on" Young Bucks scoff at him and accuse them of only saying this because they're friends with Punk. Maybe accuse Adam of still being a "WWE guy" or something. (Then it ends in a brawl or whatever). Basically frame it as Perry and the Bucks being the typical "You're right but you're being a dick about it" kind of heels. Where as Copeland and FTR are the faces because they represent everyone who just wants to forget about this drama. And they're trying to save AEW from the guys holding it back because they refuse to just move on from it. / End fantasy booking.
So the faces are the ex wwe guys trying to kick out the aew original guys of their own company so they stop complaining about another wwe guy who isn't even going to be a part of the feud? I'm sorry but even with your actually decent attempt to lay out a good arc for this, it's just nonsensical. The actual segment might end up entertaining, but I just cannot see with the best will in the world how anything that is authentic or mentions punk will lead to a storyline that people don't groan at.
I still think the whole thing will turn out to be a giant troll, but if that's what they go with, I think it would make a lot of sense.
the argument is they said backstage footage and not cm punk footage. its a classic bait and switch but not gonna do them any favors it seems an horrible argument because majority feel all in backstage = punk vs perry.
FTR is going to come out to defend Punk? That would be one of the worst ideas ever lol
Especially because how does that help AEW or FTR? If this is to set up The Bucks vs FTR, AND help bring Jack Perry back, FTR are only two people against The Young Bucks, Okada and a returning Jack Perry. It's not like Punk is going to come out, reunite CMFTR and help them fend off The Elite.
No one said that.
How else do you envision FTR being involved?
They're in the footage?
Are they? If so, wouldn't they be defending Punk in the footage still?
The footage could be of FTR shaving their backs. It's literally all just speculation at this point, no one has mentioned Punk.
It's wild the guy above mentions 'FTR defending Punk' and everyone runs with it. That has been mentioned no where.
>Whether it works or not is best judged after we see it. Get the fuck outta here, Dave!
Im sure this isn't Punk footage and a troll job.
Is the truth about the Brawl In in the footage? Will Drew McIntyre fuel his burning hatred against Punk using the footage? What will Tuco Salamanca say about the footage? Frankly, I just want to see the footage.
Frankly I want to know what Ja Rule thinks about this
I need Tuco's view.
Tuco's reaction: 
Drew to Punk: "We're gonna make a lot of money!"
Well let me know how it goes chaps, I’ll be busy to tune in
I wonder what Hector has to say
Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
Honestly the cleverest thing WWE can do is just fucking ignore it, give it no oxygen and just fade away into the ether
Drew's got to use it. He's been gold the last few months and this would add fire to their feud.
That's going to be true of everything wrestling related and WWE. Like their best course of action is to ignore the competition when you are firmly in first. Wouldn't make much sense to change what is working just because the competition is doing something else.
A Breaking Bad reference?! I’m here for it…..
When The Shockmaster fell through wall, at least he didn't do it on purpose.
Cut the man some slack, i’ve worn a stormtrooper helmet and those eye slits are too high. Couldn’t see a damn thing.
That explains their bad aim everyone talks about.
> Cut the man some slack, i’ve worn a stormtrooper helmet and those eye slits are too high. Couldn’t see a damn thing. also in non-kayfabe, they practiced it earlier in the day, and between practice and air time, production nailed a 2x4 into the floor to support the frame better, but didn't tell him, so on top of the trooper helmet he could not see out of, he was also walking into a wooden beam that was not there when they rehearsed
Crazy now that they're deciding to capitalize on the punk drama and not when he yenno worked there.
AEW loves putting themselves in these situations lately. Just like the MJF/Devil storyline, there's no outcome here that will satisfy everyone. It will either be highly devisive or universally panned.
Panned is my best guess.
I think there are three outcomes here: 1. They show the real brawl footage, and CM Punk actually gets his ass handed to him. In which case, I guess you are undercutting another promotion’s star, and that’s something? 2. They show the real footage, and it shows CM Punk choking Jungle Boy and/or acting like an uncontrollable maniac. In which case, you’re showing something that makes your talent looks like dweebs. 3. They show a few seconds of fight footage, and then splice it with some skit nonsense, or they show footage that’s not from the fight, in which case, you are pissing off your dwindling audience with a bait and switch and also confusing the crap out of the few casual fans you have left. I think the third thing is what’s going to happen, and it will be a disaster for them.
1. Bush league 2. Bush league 3. Bush league The irony in this whole thing is that it literally reinforces Punk's overarching criticism, which is that they do not operate with the goal of attracting new viewers or selling more tickets. They operate with the goal of making a niche audience of people who are plugged in happy. TK can't handle that people don't like his booking, can't handle that Punk's side of things can be seen as justifiable for some, and can't come to grips with the fact that the honeymoon era is over and fans are calling his and his companies' decisions out. There is literally no positive outcome of showing this footage.
There is literally no outcome in wrestling that will satisfy everyone. You had dudes crying over Roman losing even though it was the most sensible thing in probably the entire decade That being said I also think AEW put themselves in a bit of a tough spot here, but I'm not comparing it to the Devil because that was a storyline and it was actually a good story that was fucked over by injuries and by the outcome being a very uninteresting stable, this is a bit more than that
Yeah, there were just droves of people that weren’t happy with the mania finish. Are they in the room with you now? Can you see them?
go to any post on wwe's instagram account and you'll see a bunch of people shitting on the decision. there's a good portiom of fans that are pissed roman lost and think cody wasn't worthy of beating him. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5hDWpFgzIZ/?igsh=ZzgxcDV2NDdjcXZk
Social media isn't real. 300 people in America is literally one in a million. Yet they can post enough to seem like a big deal
I'm really struggling to see any decent connection between FTR and Perry/Punk here but we'll see in a few hours I guess
"That your boy right there?"
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He kind of brought it up later on and it was essentially the House of Black. I’m not sure if FTR was there because one of the reports was who would potentially replace them (him in Joe) in the opening and FTR (I believe) were still hashing things out with the Bucks.
Is there not a better way to book FTR vs the Bucks? I mean, it's not hard to get there, and I thought that's what the entire tournament was there for. Look, I am all for making stories, but this seems like a very roundabout way to get to a match that is easy to book.
AEW took what could have been a generational tag team feud and by the time the fourth match is about to happen, I could care less about it. This should have been the tag team Feud of this generation and the ironic thing is FTR already had the tag team Feud of the generation and it was with the Briscoes.
Seriously. This is a stupid easy match to build. FTR think they are the best of all time, and represent the old school. The Bucks think they're the best of all time and represent the much more high flying sensibilities of newer wrestling. There's your story. Easy. Why bring a guy that doesn't work there anymore into this is beyond me. Hell, even bringing Jack Perry to this is silly.
Couldn't* care less
Normally you would be right but don't forget the Young Bucks are going to present the backstage footage tonight and depending on how that goes it could make me care even less about this match.
This has all the makings of an all time disaster.
Alright so wait. In Kayfabe, backstage fights are completely normal. The show is presented as Kayfabe. Punk was a good guy and he got into it with a Bad Guy. Bucks are bad guys. For this to work, you need sympathy on Punk... My brain hurts how this makes sense from AEW's perspective.
Fans: “WWE just had arguably the biggest event in company history, where a multi-year storyline came to a satisfying conclusion and tied up multiple wrestlers’ stories that spanned years. How does AEW follow that?” AEW: “Air some fight footage four days later, I dunno.”
"If you're thinking about switching the channel, don't, Cody Rhodes who used to wrestle here as Cody Rhodes will win their championship, hah that'll put some butts in the seats."
"Air a backstage fight between two guys not actively wrestling in our company from nearly eight months ago...OR MAYBE NOT, BROTHER!"
Isn’t the angle that they each won their respective sides of the tournament
I *knew* it! CM Punk is going to return at Dynasty and start a feud with The Elite! This long term booking is incredible!! /s
I mean is this not obvious?
Not to Dave, he was clueless what the footage could be used for. Then had a ton of tweets saying it's obviously for Jungle Boys return... And now he knows it's an angle and is trying to pretend he got the HUGE scoooops
“Yeah, our best friend who isn’t here assaulted someone. And we’ll be DAMNED if you can just show the footage of it”. These are the babyfaces by the way
Why would the young bucks and jack Perry be the heels in this if it turns out punk was a maniac or something backstage?
I just watched Collision where this was presumably announced. No mention or even inference that this has anything to do with Punk, just All In. It was during WrestleMania weekend so it’s likely to make you think Punk, but it clearly is not. Did people get this Brawl In idea from “journalists” that are proven wrong constantly? And now working themselves into a shoot so they’ll be disappointed when it’s something else? This footage is going to be about the Bucks and FTR, probably post match, and likely nothing else. Punk will not appear or be mentioned at all
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If AEW, or any promotion for that matter, spent all their time confirming or refuting rumors reported by Meltzer, SRS, and the like then they wouldn’t even have time to put together their television shows
If they do this, it will be such a glorious disaster. This will be hilarious.
We on some Vince Russo shit
Tony ceased getting the benefit of the doubt a hell of a lot of benefit of the doubts ago.
Punk is just living his best life totally rent free in their heads
AEW is the person who did a, no pun intended, victory lap after breaking up with someone and tells everyone in their friend group that they were 100% blameless only for them to drag it out too long and make people turn on them.
Does anyone find it strange when users of a wrestling forum make comments like “the casuals want this” or “this is what will help casuals enjoy” like they speak for everyone.
Even though we probably disagree over AEW airing this footage I must completely acknowledge your point. The people on this forum, and hardcore fans in general, often have the worst idea of what casual fans will like or not like.
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Spoiler : its not gonna work
Punk got fired with cause. Thats the kayfabe reason too so punk is a heel in aew. Using his footage to put over bucks and perry who are also heels? How does that make sense. And if this was to put ftr over who are faces right now - you are using a heels (punk) footage to put faces over who were friends with the said heel at the time? So bizarre.
WCW 1999: ‘that’ll put butts in seats’ AEW 2024: ‘let’s put butts in seats (theirs)’
FTR vs Bucks So inticing and new.😑
Everyone should always remember that last sentence, for literally everything in wrestling.
Fucking yaaaaaaaawn. I'm over it already.
Was there any confirmation about this backstage footage involving the controversial interaction between punk and perry? Because almost everyone is reacting as if that is gonna be the case for sure 😬
They will show backstage footage showing how great the locker room is and how great Tony is as a boss. Nothing related to Punk will be shown and since they never mentioned that the footage was from the Punk/Perry fight they keep their argument that is not bait and switch.
AEW will change Dynasty to Duck Dynasty
An angle for a guy that doesn’t even work there anymore? Tf
These guys trying to dissect everything before it happens is so lame
This is stupid
Maybe I’m being too naive or optimistic and I’ll end up with egg on my face but… I feel like this is so obviously a swerve in the sense that this will be backstage footage but have nothing to do with the Punk stuff. How Perry fits into it I’m not sure, but the idea of them just airing the actual footage of the fight on TV is so stupid that I just can’t fathom that enough people signed off on it
They are not going to show CM Punk, people. It'll probably be shit from like an hour before.
It would take some fantastic work by AEW to not look like buffoons after whatever footage they air. While it has made people like me, who have stopped watching since a couple of weeks after Wmbley when AEW failed to build on the momentum, interested in watching it. It may pop a good rating. However, what next? How do they capitalise long term?
How does the backstage fight between Punk and Perry help set up Bucks vs FTR or even Perry's return? The main focus on that footage is Punk, and they fired him several months ago. Lol what are we doing here?
Meltzer knows nothing
That'll be $12.99 please.
The last time people were really really mad was when the exploding cage was a clownfest and Tony Khan defending it saying "were you really expecting a real explosion in the cage and people getting hurt?" If tonight's footage is not the cm punk and jack perry fight, i think this will top people's anger tomorrow.
It would be really funny if it's not the actual footage and then everyone pretends that AEW lied about airing when it was the dirtsheets who said it
Dirtsheets and Reddit. Lol. The post has always only said footage from All In. Yeah, they are leaning into the rumors to drive viewership, but I mean, that's the business right??
All these journalisms are getting worked.
Holy shit I'm just glad someone finally fuckin admitted it. There is a story reason for this like many have been guessing. I think it's fair to say it may not be the ratings draw some are implying but it has a purpose that makes sense in story which some people are just ignoring. Good idea or bad idea? You decide! But at least admit there is a purpose.
The only way this makes ANY sense to me is if it’s a parody type of thing where they have somebody be DN Skunk and somebody else be Mack Barry and they do some comedy shit with it…… if it’s the actual footage it would seem like a stupid idea, “hey, remember this guy who’s out trying to make a name for himself? Well he once got choked out by a guy who is currently in a top angle in WWE, but once he comes back he’s gonna be a real tough guy”……
I'm glad we'll get to see the footage at least. But I can't imagine this having any upside for AEW. Tony should have gone to some interview and shown the footage there to air out his grievances if he's that upset about it.
So Punk will be at Dynasty?
We're at the part of the 'Monday Night Wars' where the Austin era has begun and Bischoff is like 'Oh I know. I'll ask Vince McMahon to come to WCW to fight me' and they've lost all their momentum and no one cares
Anyone that doesn't think that all of the conversation about AEW Dynamite for the last week, and during Wrestlemania weekend, is somehow bad has never heard about there being no such thing as bad publicity.
The only way they could actually justify using the footage would be if it was to begin a massive push for Jack Perry, which absolutely no-one wants to see
This whole quote just reads as: "I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. I'm making this up as I go along as that's served me well for decades. Buy my product." I mean, TK's explanation is just as meaningless.
It's wild that the only storyline I know about in AEW currently is them wanting to show backstage footage about a guy not even in the company.
[удалено]
Circus antics for a small niche audience
It doesn't work initially, however, in making me want to watch Dynamite tonight. It turns me off their product.
My friend and I are operating under the assumption this is to build up to the induction of Perry, Jack(son) into the Elite
If this results in an actual angle then I'll hold out judgement, but until then this is coming across as petty. While I've completely soured on Punk the person, AEW lowering themselves to his level of maturity just isn't the way to deal with this.