If Mercedes, Ospreay and Okada can't get you over 800,000 viewers then something is wrong.
THE WRESTLING THREAD: BROCK LESNAR HAS ENTERED THE CHAT!!!
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If Mercedes, Ospreay and Okada can't get you over 800,000 viewers then something is wrong.
Send her over there and keep her there for at least six months. She'll come back a better wrestler.
I'm not even talking shit....but I think folks are over estimating the reach, draw and importance of Ospreay/Okada and Mercedes.
If what I saw is true regarding Mercedes contract ($10 million a year) and AEW shows don't start producing ratings numbers and ticket sales, then TK is going to look even more like a fool.
If that contract number is true, I'm happy for Mercedes. 801K though? I can't think that number will grow next week. Edge has already shown he isn't a draw in AEW.
At this point I'm baffled as to why they can't draw for their TV shows. It's weird too because they can draw for their ppvs but can't do it for the tv shows. You put a World championship match on right after Mercedes's debut and the viewership still drops. People essentially turned the channel when your World Champion is wrestling. That's very telling.
Mercedes is a big fish in a small pond in AEW. I wanted her back in WWE, but the move to AEW makes sense for her, financially and career wise.
Looking at that roster, she very well could have gotten lost in the shuffle.
Rhea, Bianca are going to be running the women's. division for years to come, and Tiffany Stratton looks money.
She's already the best (arguably) woman on the AEW roster. TK just needs to book her right, and from the look of it, already, it looks like she isn't even eyeing the top woman's title in AEW.
It's the booking and the wrestlers they push.
Why should anyone care about Wardlow and Joe? I love Samoa Joe, but no one in their right mind thought Wardlow had a chance.
And seriously, why the hell would you book your champion as the first match of the show yet book Willow Nightingale and Riho as your main event?
Really?
TK needs to lay off the coke.
They're not gonna have her challenging Toni Storm right out the gate. They have to build to that but we'll see what happens next week.
No way she is making $10 mil a year in AEW. I would honestly be shocked if she was making even half of that.
I like Mercedes/Sasha, but no way she should be making what she's probably getting from TK, but hey, props to her on getting paid.
She's a good performer, but her promos are meh. Even last night, she seemed to get lost in her speech. She needs to be scripted.
She's also injury-prone and I feel like it's just a matter of time before one of these amateurs injures her in the ring.
Was out of town and didn't get a chance to watch Mercedes' AEW debut live but I have no issue with AEW debuting her at the beginning of the show. They did the same for CM Punk and that segment is still the highest rated ever segment of any AEW TV show.
However, that should have been her last appearance until at least next week. Made no sense to bring her back later in the show.
Regarding AEW TV ratings, I had a strong feeling that these recent signings would not move the needle.
While Okada and Ospreay are great in-ring performers they just don't have the draw here in America that they do in Japan.
The fans looking forward to their debuts are already watching AEW every week. They're not pulling in any new fans.
Putting on "bangers" will not draw in more TV viewers, it will just keep your already loyal fans watching and buying PPVs.
Willow and Riho main evented because that's what Mercedes wanted on her debut show. I wouldn't have done it but I'm not the booker.
DIdn't they have Deonna Purrazzo have a face-off with Storm? Lolz Deonna over Mercedes?
The big question going forward is how do you fix the tv shows and get people watching. They can draw for their ppvs but can't draw for their tv shows.
It all starts with story. WWE may have like 38 minutes of actual wrestling on a two hour episode of Smackdown.
People get invested in the story, not "banger" matches.
If AEW started investing in actual storylines that aren't cringeworthy (looking at you Saraya), then perhaps folks will tune into the weekly shows AND the PPVs.
Honestly, your weekly shows should basically be where the storylines happen to sell your PPVs. TK thinks wrestling fans want to see wrestling matches. Most don't, they want to invest in characters (they like) and storylines that are entertaining....
Mercedes is in a larger role than Deonna. She's trying to get the whole division on track and has a bigger responsibility. She can challenge and beat Toni at anytime but right now Toni is having a nice run with the belt so let her run with it until her act gets stale.
Judging by the ratings of their recent shows, her act is beyond stale at this point. I honestly never found that gimmick entertaining. It was fun when she started but it's been corny for quite a few months now.
AEW has storylines though. It's definitely not all matches. Perhaps this writer they got from WWE will help with the quality of the stories, but they do have stories.
Shida vs Athena at ROH Supercard Of Honor! It probably won't happen but I wouldn't be against Shida beating Athena and having a nice ROH World Title reign while Athena returns to the AEW Women's division.
Why not, when you are considered one of the best woman wrestlers in the world you jump straight to the top. You let Deanna Purazzo and Toni Storm start are program once again two NXT (Darlings) knowing you have Mercedes coming into the company. Instead you put her in a program with indy stars. I would have preferred to have TK bring Athena into AEW take the belt off of Toni. Have Athena issue an Open challenge have Britt Baker Jaime Hayter and Mercedes.
The ratings sucked because you did not draw in new or any of the WWE or NJPW Stardom fans. Bring in MJF have him confront Osprey on the Jumbotron. Have Kenny Omega or Moxley welcome Okada set up future storylines. Where was Swerve and Toni Storm your hottest acts right now. The story telling is weak. Setup a Jay White vs Osprey feud get out of this silly Bullet Club Scissors gang shit.
Toni & Deanna have history, thus a built-in story/feud. Same with Mercedes & Willow. That doesn't do much for more casual fans but that's the logic.
They know that's wrestlemania weekend in Philly right. How many events do they think people can go to.
Plus all of the meet and greets.
Stardom - ECW Arena Thursday
ROH - Friday
Friday Night Smackdown
Hall of Fame Ceremony
NXT - Saturday
Wrestlemania Night 1 - Saturday
Wrestlemania Night 2 - Sunday
Raw - Monday
Various indy shows - Friday
APRIL 5 - )Battleground Championship Wrestling: Born To Die (2300 Arena
APRIL 5 - Battleground Championship Wrestling: A Tribute To The Extreme 2 (2300 Arena)
APRIL 5 - Wrestling REVOLVER & House Of Glory Wrestling (Trinity Center for Urban Life)
I get the logic it's bad there are certain free agent signings that you usurp into the starting line up or in the case of wrestling insert or tease into the title picture. Look at what WWE did with Cody he immediately started a program with Seth Rollins and Brock Lesner and then onto Roman. Sasha/Mercedes is that type of signing. She should be in their with the "pillars" of the women division. Britt, Jaime, Toni, Shida or Athena .
Can the younger or less experienced talent keep up with her. Is she capable of carrying a lesser wrestler?
He did but I also don’t feel like Mercedes is the draw Punk is but Boston sure made it sound like she was so maybe that’s the plan because the crowd was in to it.
Honest question.
WTF are TV ratings in 2024?
I had no intention on Earth of watching Mone' debut on live TV simple because I knew that the 'AEW is the future' posters in this thread would keep me knowledgeable on all Mone'/AEW happenings.
Just FYI, for all the AEW posters in this thread. We have one posters who gives a detailed review of the whole show. Other posters who drop 30 second social media clips of all the relevant points from each show.
What incentive do I have to watch the actual 2hr show? AEW fans will give you all the relevant facts in 2 minutes or less.
You watch the show because you love wrestling. I don't get to watch every show live whether it be AEW, NJPW, Stardom or ROH but I do watch when I can because I love those products. Nothing any poster in a wrestling thread or social media platform is ever going to be a substitute for watching the show itself.
The Nelson's rating system is definitely a outdated model because it doesn't track streamers and people who pirate the shows. That's why it's very important for AEW to get that streaming deal because once that kicks in then you're not just dependent on the Nelson ratings anymore you can also track the streamers.
Let's GOOOOO!
Although Nielsen ratings are antiquated in the world of Streaming as @Mastermind2002 mentions, Networks still use these numbers to determine how much they want to invest in a show when it comes to renewals. Also, the amount of eyes a shows pulls in is used to determine advertise dollars.
Keep it simple, if a show is low rated or not growing an audience, it will be canceled or not renewed with a new TV deal.
I don't believe AEW will be canceled/not renewed, however WB/Turner has all the bargaining power in negotiations. They will renew it, but due to the lack of TV growth, AEW will lose out on getting a sweeter deal.
I know tv ratings are still important to the networks. It just annoys me when people rush to post the numbers like they have a dog in the fight. 
At the end of the day, I want all these companies to do well. Competition is key to growth and creativity. Lord knows WWE can always use a reminder that there are other options in the world.
At the end of the day, I want all these companies to do well. Competition is key to growth and creativity. Lord knows WWE can always use a reminder that there are other options in the world.
Same. I want all wrestling companies to thrive.I know tv ratings are still important to the networks. It just annoys me when people rush to post the numbers like they have a dog in the fight.
At the end of the day, I want all these companies to do well. Competition is key to growth and creativity. Lord knows WWE can always use a reminder that there are other options in the world.
Even though I prefer WWE, I support AEW through occasionally watching their weekly shows, buying their first ever PPV and now having attended 2 PPVs in person. Not even a lot of hardcore AEW fans can say all that.
A company like AEW is good for the business because it allows wrestlers to get better deals and competition (whether real or imagined) leads to a better product in WWE and other companies.
I point out the flaws in AEW because I want it to get better and present real competition to WWE so that WWE can stay on top of its game.
We all saw how crappy the WWE product became when it was the only game in town with no real competition before AEW came around.
Yes, TV ratings are outdated and flawed but at the end of the day they are a measuring stick for making comparisons just like SAT scores and other standardized tests are a measuring stick for academic performance despite also being outdated and flawed.
Advertisers and networks need to see some kind of quantifiable numbers when deciding how much money to invest for ads and how much money to pay a company to air its show. It can't just be "well, their fans really like the product and they put on 'banger' dream matches".
Thank you! Comments on here, like they own a piece of the company, are getting annoying.I know tv ratings are still important to the networks. It just annoys me when people rush to post the numbers like they have a dog in the fight.
At the end of the day, I want all these companies to do well. Competition is key to growth and creativity. Lord knows WWE can always use a reminder that there are other options in the world.
Just enjoy the ride.
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I KEEP TRYING TO TELL YA'LL MOTHERFCUKERS THAT I AM A GENIUS!!!!!! Now, when you see me on the news butt ass nakid with a sandwich board talking about the end of the world is here...yeah, no I am on some shyt again and just pray for me that the rehab sticks this time.
