MR. TITO: AEW Needs to Develop a REAL Business Plan During Their NEW Television Deal

Congrats to All Elite Wrestling on achieving a NEW television deal that appears to be above the initial $115 million per year asking price by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to be somewhere between $150 million to $185 million (reports saying closer to the latter) for the next 3 years with an option for the 4th year. That is a metric ton of liquidity that is coming towards AEW for the next 3-4 years and will help either maintain what they have or compete better in the wrestling market space.

That said, AEW has to take the next 3-4 years very seriously. By the 3rd or 4th year of this TV deal, they need to have a strong product that entices WBD to either pay more or another competitor who is willing to offer even more money like what WWE has seen with their recent rights deals.

Why?

Warner Bros. Discovery has around $45 billion in DEBT. They just lost the NBA, their movie properties have bombed repeatedly, and they are still ingesting multiple mergers and acquisitions in just the last 5 years from AT&T to Discovery, while having decades of headaches following the AOL and Time Warner merger. Say, when was the last time you logged into your AOL Instant Messenger? Do you have mail?

In 3-4 years, Cable/Satellite subscribers may be even lower than its current 72 million household estimates, which is down from being nearly 100 million during early 2010s. Smartphones and streaming services have butchered the Cable/Satellite business and as each generation passes, fewer individuals will find the need to watch commercial-heavy cable/satellite channels.

Congrats again to AEW for making this deal, especially as it has been declining lately with viewership dipping below 700,000 for Dynamite weekly while Rampage and Collision are bombing as shows. Attendance has been down… The overpaid free agents from late 2023 or early 2024 are not panning out other than getting Dave Meltzer excited with his star ratings system. YET, AEW succeeded in obtaining a new TV deal because Warner Bros. Discovery is desperate for LIVE sports content because they re-run market is no longer lucrative, thanks to streaming, while airing movies is very expensive and not drawing like it used to, thanks to streaming. While AEW Dynamite draws 700,000 viewers, it’s much cheaper than airing original television series, re-runs, or replaying older movies. Paying AEW up to $185 million, per year, is a bargain compared to what they are paying NCAA, NHL, and MLB especially when AEW pays for their own production team.

But if AEW presents a low-drawing product to an even more declined TV company in 3-4 years, they won’t see $185 million unless Cable/Satellite channels are even more desperate then. However, that $45 billion will come due soon and maybe lower interest rates may save them from real pain.

The AEW business model needs to change. Sorry, but overpaying for talent in the very final years of their prime or past their prime is NOT the way to go. There was a REASON why Sasha Banks wasn’t getting top offers from the WWE. For one, she walked out on them twice and I’m willing to get there is more to that story on her end (though maybe not, given Vince McMahon). During her NXT and WWE days, she worked a higher risk style and probably put more mileage on that thinner frame than she needed to. On top of that, she’s a big proponent of using products made from marijuana, openly bragging about firing up a blunt to watch the Vince McMahon Netflix documentary. I just don’t think the Sasha Banks we saw during 2015-2021 who could have fantastic matches with anyone is the same one we’re watching in 2024. She’s changed, but AEW didn’t see that while the WWE did (hence the lower contract offers).

Another example is Jon Moxley, whom they signed at the end of his prime. Moxley was great from 2019-2020 but has regressed since and has reverted back to many indy habits. All of that WWE skill is gone and for a while, he was bleeding each and every week in his matches. AEW didn’t see his regression and signed him to a major extension just as he was exiting his prime.

Kenny Omega hasn’t been the same performer in AEW, even when healthy. Lots of mileage piled up on the indy scene and in a very physical New Japan. Okada is literally in the same boat. Lots of mileage piled up on that body and now, he’s uneventful in AEW. Will Ospreay is still fantastic inside the ring, but the problem is that he has only been taught how to work the strong style of working and he cannot shut it off. Meanwhile, they failed to teach him about personality, promo cutting abilities, etc. Ospreay needs to send a % of his AEW salary to Dave Meltzer as commission for overhyping him.

And the many, many ex-WWE free agents… Who has excelled in AEW after getting released from WWE? None of these guys are giving WWE any regret.

Look at how the Attitude Era WWE was built… They made a killing off of picking WCW apart with stars in the before their prime, in the early parts of their prime, or completely misused:

– The Undertaker – Left WCW because Ole Anderson didn’t like him. Goes to WWE and has an incredible 30 year career.

– Triple H – Young well-trained prospect whom they never even gave a creative chance to succeed in WCW. Goes to WWE and not only gives them a solid star in the midcard, but eventually becomes a Main Eventer. Now, he runs the damn company.

– Mick Foley – Still in his prime, but I’d argue severely underused. WWE simply changes his name and gimmick, and a major star is born.

– Steve Austin – Watch WCW during the early 1990s and you’d see a blooming wrestler named “Stunning” Steve Austin. Through 1994, however, Eric Bischoff had other ideas as he began signing yes-men old WWE friends of Hulk Hogan’s to contracts. After jobbing to Jim Duggan, Austin is then terminated while recovering from an injury. Goes on to be the biggest star ever in wrestling.

– Chris Jericho – Drew as a midcarder and was punished for it in WCW. Joins the WWE and becomes a major star and gets main event opportunities for years.

– Jim Ross – Thought to be just Bill Watts’s flunky. BIG mistake, as he not only goes to WWE to give them another great announcer in the bullpen (especially with Gorilla retiring), but the man who rebuilt the WWE as as Talent Relations manager.

See how that works? Sign guys who were either poorly used (often rare, but it can happen) or who are on the upward climb. Not only that, but wrestlers or individuals who can make others look better, too.

We always have the ongoing debate of “Who Killed WCW?”… Well, look at who they signed: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash. Yes, they pulled 3-4 years out of each guy but each didn’t get cheaper, with time. In fact, each wrestler became more expensive as their skills began to quietly diminish. However, Eric Bischoff, now completely engulfed in his NWO character, was too much of a mark to notice. WCW was stuck with older, highly paid wrestlers when fans were hungry for new faces.

I look at someone like Kevin Owens who has had a fantastic run in WWE. His contract is set to expire during sometime in 2025. He has expressed interest in working with his old PWG buddies again and there’s no doubt in my mind that Tony Khan would overpay. KO, however, will turn 41 next year and will be entering his 25th year of wrestling next year as well. Holy cow… Yet, if AEW signs him, they are signing a guy whom the WWE has already pulled every last drop out of in the last 10 years.

As I’ve repeatedly alluded to by now, AEW runs the risk of becoming TNA. TNA showed its best growth when pushing its own stars that the WWE never featured or had, such as Samoa Joe or AJ Styles… Then, all of the ex-WWE and ex-WCW stars arrived and began hogging the spotlight, coming to a complete head when Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan arrived to completely embarrass fans with “WCW Lite”.

For the next 3-4 years, AEW and Tony Khan need to focus on making NEW stars or make key signings who could be repackaged successfully. Swerve Strickland is one of the better ex-WWE signings, but he was a lower level midcarder in the WWE and yet a Main Eventer in AEW. With Triple H now in place, I’d expect that top talents in their primes won’t be given up so easily by the WWE especially if morale is better with HHH than it was with Vince. If morale is great, wrestlers could work for less…

If WWE isn’t going to give away talents in their prime or with real potential, what is AEW to do?

You could raid the Indy promotions, but AEW did that during 2019 and it created an inconsistent roster aside from a few gems like MJF who have kept AEW relevant. Indies have been raided by both WWE and AEW for years now, however, so that’s a moot point.

Can’t do a deal with TNA based on issues with their relations before and WWE’s relationship with that company.

Keep trying to bring in New Japan wrestlers, but most fans won’t care. Meltzer overhypes them in his newsletters, but anytime they’ve tried to make money inside the United States by travelling here, they need a ton of help.

If you can’t sign them or acquire free agents, you have to make them.

If only AEW had a guy under contract who did such a thing… You know, someone who signed the CORRECT wrestlers off of the WCW scrap heap… Same guy who signed the correct wrestlers from ECW, particularly the Dudley Boys. Then, the guy who made the most amazing signings of younger wrestlers from the Hardy Boys, Edge and Christian, Kurt Angle, the Rock, and onward with the Class of 2002 from OVW with Orton, Batista, Lesnar, Cena, and many more who would fill the WWE roster throughout the beginning of the 21st century.

AEW has Jim Ross on their roster and do NOT want him to do anything with developing their talent. I’m in complete amazement of AEW not utilizing Ross for talent relations and development.

But instead, AEW will re-establish the Hurt Business. Bobby Lashley is 48 going on 49 for next year. Shelton Benjamin is 49 going on 50 for next year. Scary thing is that their age, they’ll still look larger than most of the roster.

“Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it” – George Santayana

Why is WWE really successful right now? Because their developmental system is constantly pumping in fresh talent and now they have an experienced Triple H who is creating a good WWE culture to thrive in, the WWE is growing. AEW lacks a good developmental talent that properly trains and mentors young talent and pays too much for free agents, with mileage from other promotions or are past their prime, instead.

But again, congrats on the new TV contract… Finally, AEW will likely be out of the red because of it… However, will it matter in 3-4 years if AEW hasn’t improved as a promotion or culture to work?

Roll up the sleeves and get to work, AEW. And actually TALK to Jim Ross on how he revolutionized talent development and relations in the WWE that made them into a powerhouse. Use his wisdom to teach others rather than thinking he’s an older man yelling at clouds, which you’ve essentially done since 2019 (or at least the jealous EVPs have, notably the toxic Young Bucks).

My worries is that Warner Bros. Discovery will start selling parts of itself because of that $45 billion debt and that will cause problems for AEW down the road. Meanwhile, WWE is on USA Network/NBC/Universal and Netflix who are profitable.

How in the hell do you run up $45 billion in debt with Looney Tunes, DC Comics, and many other franchises that just print money along with the top Cable Network? Baffles me, but it’s probably from overpaying and then botching those properties. The Snyderverse SUCKED for DC Comics, period, end of story.

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