Random thoughts about wrestling: AEW’s TV deal, WWE’s overall product, new class of NXT stars

I kinda didn’t know what to write about since a lot of the subjects I wanted to cover were things I had already talked about before. So I thought I would just write about random stuff in wrestling — what I like about the product and what I’m not a big fan of.

So here are my random thoughts about modern pro wrestling.

1. What’s Going to Happen to AEW’s TV Deal After This Current One Expires?

Let’s be honest, there have been a lot of anti-AEW fans out there saying that AEW will die after they lose their TV deal once the new Paramount/WBD merger is finalized. While it’s definitely possible that Paramount won’t renew the contract, considering how anti-Trump the brand has been lately with the “F**k ICE” stuff from Brody King and now hiring Mick Foley, who is a major anti-Trump advocate, it’s not going to be the end of the world for them.

If you look at WWE’s business model right now, outside of NXT and SmackDown being on cable in the States, most of their product is on streaming and they’re doing pretty well with that model. AEW could easily go that route as well. YouTube could be a solution for them for a while, and making their streaming service available in North America could be another option until they get a good deal with a major streamer or another cable channel.

So they still have a lot of options left, and I doubt AEW is going anywhere anytime soon even if Paramount decides to dump them once this deal is over.

Which leads me to…

2. My Problem With the AEW Product

Right now, my biggest problem with the AEW product — and the reason why I don’t watch it — isn’t the in-ring product itself because I have to say that the product has improved a lot this year and they’ve finally found their groove in telling actual stories, which was a major problem for them.

No, my biggest issue is mostly an aesthetic one, as I feel the presentation of the product isn’t helping attract fans like myself. For a show that prides itself on younger talent and bringing a more modern style to pro wrestling, it feels old when you tune in to watch it.

The way they shoot the show feels exactly like watching old WCW shows, probably because they use the same production team that WCW did back in the ‘90s. And let’s face it, the announce team really isn’t doing its job.

The biggest albatross around AEW’s neck, in my opinion, is Tony Schiavone. Nothing against Schiavone because I’ve been a fan of the guy since the ‘80s, but as a play-by-play guy, he feels more like a fan than someone who is supposed to guide you through the story being told in the ring.

The fact that AEW has a WCW feel also isn’t helping because everybody who watched wrestling back in the ‘90s associates him with WCW and how badly things ended there.

The job of an announce team is to help the company sell the product to fans who have never watched it before and get you hooked into the show. Sadly, nobody is really doing that right now because they’d rather get themselves over and make sure the current fanbase stays with them than actually get new fans interested in AEW.

That’s too bad because with how boring the WWE product has been lately, AEW has a great opportunity to grab some of those fans.

3. Thoughts on the WWE Product Overall

Personally, I’ve been a loyal WWE fan since the ‘80s and they will always be my brand no matter what, but quite frankly, I’m getting tired of seeing the same old thing at the top over and over again.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad in WWE land. The fact that they’re finally pushing younger talent is a breath of fresh air. Bron Breakker has been doing a great job climbing the ladder to become a major star for them. Oba Femi is also on his way to becoming their next monster star, and this feud with Lesnar should help establish him as a main event player.

Danhausen is such a fun act to watch every week, and the women’s division is on fire right now.

But at the same time, you still have the main problem of redoing the same stuff over and over again at the top of the card. I love Roman Reigns and I love Jacob Fatu, but the whole family feud stuff is starting to get old quickly because it feels like they always go back to that whenever they don’t know what to do with Roman.

Cody and Gunther will probably have a great match, but I’m not really invested in the feud at all. Sami Zayn being a tweener character isn’t connecting as well as it should, and honestly, I’m questioning why they even have two sets of men’s tag team titles when they clearly don’t care much about tag team wrestling.

I feel like while there’s still a lot of stuff to enjoy with the WWE product, they’re not on the same level they were a few years ago, and some parts of the product — especially at the main event level — are starting to get stale.

4. Thoughts on the New Class of Stars in NXT

We all knew they were going to have to bring in a lot of new talent to NXT once most of their bigger stars got called up to the main roster. For the most part, they’ve brought in a pretty good group of wrestlers, and I’m looking forward to seeing who makes it and who doesn’t.

5. Thoughts on TNA Moving Slammiversary Because of AEW Counter Programming

I get why TNA did it because they knew it would hurt their buy rate if they went head-to-head with Forbidden Door. But at the same time, this is probably going to hurt the brand overall anyway because fans who were thinking about attending the show might not want to buy tickets for an afternoon event.

Based on the latest ticket sale information, that already seems to be happening. So either way, this was kind of a lose-lose situation for TNA.

Quite frankly, I do feel like AEW did this on purpose because they were worried about TNA gaining momentum after moving to AMC.

So let’s face it — anybody who gets angry when WWE counter-programs AEW is going to look hypocritical now because AEW has done the same thing to TNA.

That’s why it’s called the wrestling business because that’s how business works. The bigger company always tries to stop the smaller company from gaining momentum.

6. Fun Stuff to Watch Outside of WWE and AEW

Finally, I just want to give a quick shoutout to two products that I really enjoy watching.

First, I want to talk about AAA. Yes, I know WWE owns the company now, but it also made me fall in love with lucha libre again and helped make the product available to a more mainstream audience. Quite frankly, it’s the best product WWE has produced in years, especially the El Grande vs. Original El Grande feud, which has been one of the best feuds on television this year.

Also, a quick shoutout to WOW, which continues to be a really fun product and lately has been delivering some of the best women’s wrestling on television. If you’re a fan of women’s wrestling and haven’t watched the show yet, do yourself a favor and check it out because it’s a really entertaining show overall.

Conclusion

So those are my thoughts on pro wrestling right now, and I’d be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the current wrestling landscape as well.

If you have any opinions on the current product that have nothing to do with backstage drama or behind-the-scenes stuff, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Let’s just be fans of wrestling without always having to worry about all the backstage nonsense.