The split is expected to occur by mid-2026, if all goes well with shareholders, IRS for tax purposes and the tax-free transaction to allow this to split to occur, and other regulatory bodies.

Why would any corporation do this?

Well, sometimes you just get too large as a corporation that inefficiencies develop and there’s a lack of focus on individual properties that could make the company more money. For example, I’d argue that WBD is sitting on a ton of great Hanna Barbara cartoon properties that they barely use these days. By splitting up the bloated corporation, the smaller half can internally look to see what could be used to generate revenue. If not, the halved corporation can just sell said properties instead.

The biggest benefit of splitting as a corporation is for raising CAPITAL.

The most ideal way to raise capital for a publicly traded corporation is to sell shares of stock and allow the public to invest in your company. Then, the company just has to perform well and then more buyers of stock arrive to not only increase the stakeholders but to boost that stock prices as well.

The REAL issue with Warner Bros. Discovery is the amount of DEBT that they’ve accumulated throughout the years. The AOL merger was a total turd and that’s been affecting them for years. AT&T acquired AOL/Time Warner and didn’t have the best time managing the properties or the company, ran up more debt. Then, it was sold to Discovery for an expensive price tag. Lots of debt rang up for poor decision making plus all of these merger & acquisition costs that always happen.

Right now, their debt is $37.4 billion. To WBD’s credit, that’s actually down from $44 billion from the end of the year, but still a crippling amount of debt (for a lack of a better word).

BUT, if you split both companies into 2 separate corporations, both corporations can raise stock capital to help to payoff the debt that the studio properties or streaming service has rung up along with whatever debt that the television networks have created.

And then with 2 smaller corporations versus managing 1 bloated corporation, each executive team can review all employees, all departments, all assets and liabilities, and create strategies for how to manage their company and make them financially solvent again.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW), once this split commences, will be a “customer” of both the Streaming & Studios group, thanks to their content airing on HBO Max, and the Global Networks group thanks to their content airing on TNT, TBS, and Pay Per Views running through Bleacher Report. That cost would likely be renegotiated as separate deals with both corporations, and I’m assuming that was possibly built into the television rights contract since it was so recent?

The good news? The guys who agreed to sign AEW to upwards of a $280 million per year deal are still with each corporation. CEO of WBD David Zaslav will become President/CEO of the Streaming and Studios corporation (by the way, he HATES streaming) while CFO of WBD Gunnar Wiedenfels will become President/CEO of the Global Networks corporation. Thus, Tony Khan should have some established relationship with BOTH individuals and hopefully, that serves as a plus for AEW and a guarantee that their existing content deal can continue.

My prediction? I think that the Global Networks version will do fine but have issues down the road the further the decline for Cable/Satellite goes. Went from peaking at around 97 million households during the early 2010s to being around 70 million now. Both TBS and TNT struggle creating original content and are still too reliant on live sports and reruns/movies which the streaming services are digging into heavily too.

In my opinion, the HBO Max streaming service should have been placed with the Global Markets half rather than Streaming & Studios. Why? Because with HBO Max being lumped in with the movies/television studios allows cheaper distribution on the streaming service, but LOST VALUE for selling any television or movies elsewhere, including to the Global Network half. THIS is what is KILLING Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, and Disney… When they host their own streaming services, they LOSE out on opportunities to sell their content elsewhere. Instead of making Netflix their own personal ATM machine, they LOSE money hosting bandwidth of streaming services and all of that opportunity cost of selling their content to other platforms.

If they added HBO Max to Global Networks, then HBO Max, with time, could obtain much of the households lost from Cable/Satellite as it kind of happens right now. Many people have cut the cord with Cable/Satellite but have HBO Max streaming service because they LOVE what the HBO studios creates. HBO Max should also be the place for the live sporting content, too, as it somewhat is now as a complete company. Things will change if they split this way.

HOWEVER, by having HBO Max with the Streaming & Studios group and TNT/TBS being with the Global Networks division, it allows for AEW and Tony Khan to negotiate with them SEPARATELY. Part of the problem with AEW obtaining the deal last year was dealing with the BLOATED Warner Bros. Discovery company who didn’t have the full time of the day to talk about a $280 million deal with AEW. Now, however, the Global Network half can focus on retaining and paying for content to keep people tuning into TNT or TBS without having the permission of the previously bloated WBD corporation.

This could be good for WWE, too, believe it or not. WBD was once one company with Channels and Streaming. Now they are 2 companies, one with channels and the other with streaming. In 5 years when WWE’s deal could be up with Netflix (if they don’t renew, opting out of the 10-year deal) and USA Network, WWE now has 2 separate corporations for negotiations, depending on their need to get into streaming or more cable/satellite channels.

The key here is if both the Streaming & Studios and the Global Networks halves can raise enough capital to pay down all of that debt accumulated from years of bad management, mergers & acquisitions, blockbuster movie failures (especially DC universe, yuck!!!), and just bad decision making with major properties that Warner Bros has. Plus, TNT, TBS, and CNN aren’t the cable powerhouses that they once were and the Cartoon Network used to be a favorite channel for many. Seriously, Ted Turner and the older Time Warner company have SUCKED since being acquired by the declining America Online (AOL) group who lost their financial arses literally moments after purchasing Turner/Time Warner from the Dot Com Crash of 2000-2001. All of those great properties and strong sports coverage has carried them through much of the 21st century but it’s damn near impossible to escape BAD management.

Fact is that Warner Bros. Discovery HAD to do something with over $40 BILLION in Debt through the end of 2024. Had they not opted to split up into 2 corporations and raise capital that way, they’d probably have to sell key properties to any buyers who could finance content for billions of dollars. But, by splitting up the corporation into 2 halves, they now have flexible capital options.

Think of it like the idea of WWE’s brand split… Split your roster into halves for RAW and Smackdown and in theory, it allows more opportunities to shine for wrestlers not previously focused. Many Ohio Valley Wrestling performers benefitted from the 2002 split and generally, the 2016 brand split has been successful and WWE has the financial statements to prove it.

So yeah, it’s a good day for AEW… The Debt sickness that has been plaguing their partner, Warner Bros. Discovery, has a chance to get more medication by splitting itself into halves and receiving more capital opportunities to pay down its debt. For AEW, however, they now have an additional corporation to negotiate with and that gives them extra leveraging power.

Win for wrestling fans, too, believe it or not… The more debt that WBD accumulates, they more they’ll attempt to place those higher expenses onto the prices of their goods and services. That includes the prices for Cable/Satellite to host TBS/TNT along with the subscription price for HBO Max. The better that WBD and its new 2 halves can manage its debt, the less than can shove down consumers’ throats through price hikes.

In other words, I approve of this WBD split and consider it a shame at how poorly managed Turner and Time Warner’s assets have been for the past 25 years.

If I were Tony Khan, I’d have my lawyers pouring over the contract details right now just to assure that this corporation split won’t affect television rights or payments. HOPEFULLY, this possibility was discussed and built into their contract.

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The post MR. TITO: Warner Bros. Discovery is Splitting into 2 Corporations… What Does This Mean for AEW? appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

But now… he has become a cancer that needs to be removed.

Don’t believe me, just ask the locker room, non-biased media or even former employers who all have cut ties from him.

He has become what he hated in thin skinned, out of touch, and judgmental… the same things he labeled Triple H.

So far you can argue that Punk has been a bust for what AEW has paid for. For all his great matches, he has been hurt too often and missed time because he is no longer the young man he was. He has dropped pipe bombs that have pissed off locker room talent and caused fights. He has gone on rants during press conferences while making his boss, Tony Khan, look like a substitute teacher who has lost the classroom. And the fact is that he has not been this game changer than people in wrestling has made him out to.

The ratings for AEW have not increased since he arrived sans his debut and his long-awaited return. He is not getting AEW any mainstream publicity as he was never the star on the level of The Rock or John Cena. And he has not helped recruit any stars from other promotions that AEW couldn’t get.

In short for 9 million dollars per year, he has become a failed free agent signing that has not added anything game changing for AEW.

So cut him loose and just let him go somewhere else. Call it addition by subtraction.

For those who argue that you can’t get rid of a star; look at the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB where teams get rid of trade players who are stars but a liability.

CM Punk has become that. He is pro wrestling’s version of Kyrie Irving where everywhere he has gone; he has become a distraction.

Fans will be upset but the AEW target fans will follow AEW no matter what. It’s the casuals, the sponsors and even WBD that will be turned off as CM Punk continues to act out.

It’s time for Tony Khan to channel his inner Vince McMahon and tell Punk… “You’re Fired”.

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The post CM DONE: Why AEW needs to fire Punk appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Tony Khan should heed those words as his actions and comments are the main reason why he is AEW’s biggest enemy and problem. Time and time again he has acted at times more like a fan boy and spoiled brat rather than a professional owner. For years wrestling fans often called TNA’s Dixie Carter or UWF’s Herbie Brooks the worst owners but Tony is nearly as bad or worse due to his lack of professionalism. And it’s been the biggest problem facing AEW.

For starters there are the constant tweets that at times have him coming across as a raving lunatic. His public outburst against Mike Coppinger was at best childish and at worst psychotic. Doesn’t matter if people think that Coppinger was right or wrong in his, it was the fact he started screaming at him on Twitter. First off he is attacking a reporter for the top Sports News Network in the world and cursing at him out which will do him and his promotion no favors. Second name me the last time an NFL Owner blasted a sports reporter over some minor stadium news; you can’t! And Tony Khan is part of the Jacksonville Jaguars brain trust.

But more on that later in this article.

Then you add in his interactions in press conferences where he often comes off as a fan boy rather than the owner. Look at the Ceasaro announcement and when Tony hugged Cesaro and NJPW’s Okada.

It was flat out embarrassing and even Cesaro called it “Strange”. That kind of behavior does him no favors with business owners, sponsors and potential investors who must look at him with concern. In a world where owners of multimillion corporations behave with professionalism, Tony comes across as a raving lunatic.

I get it, AEW Fans are going to tell me that he is passionate and that he cares about the product. That he is a wrestling fan who just cares about the fans and wants to give a quality product. And that is great but when you’re the owner of a company, you aren’t supposed to act like a crazed fan.

The biggest worry is that outside of pro wrestling, he has a horrible reputation among NFL and Premier League circles as an embarrassment. He has gotten into altercations with fans, Twitter spats with players, and generally is considered over his head. And yet in the pro wrestling world, AEW fans bury their heads in the sands and keep lying to themselves that he is not the problem. Casuals look at him and his constant “huge announcements” and view him as crazed out of control. And as a result, the product often feels like its being run by the IWC bookers and no real plan or future.

One of the many reasons why until Tony Khan starts becoming professional in his attitude and behavior… AEW will continue to suffer.

The post AEW’s Biggest Problem…. Tony Khan! appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Friday’s AEW Rampage will feature rising star Hook in action, according to AEW’s official Twitter account.

THIS FRIDAY, May 6 on #AEWRampage with an Earlier Special start time of 5:30pm ET / 4:30pm CT on @tntdrama, the Cold Hearted, Handsome Devil @730hook will be in action! pic.twitter.com/uzhOwQlJpi

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 2, 2022

Due to the nature of TNT’s deal with NHL and NBA, it is uncertain how many times AEW Rampage will be moved on the schedule in the coming weeks. Some of the game series can go their full length, while others can wrap up within four-to-six games.

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The Excellence in Column Writing is upon you here exclusively at NoDQ.com and we’re here for the WEEKEND CHILL edition of my column in which I answer your questions submitted via Twitter, Email, or Comments section below in column. And by definition, a “column” is defined as a “vertical block of words” and “a regular feature or series of articles usually having identifiable heading that reports or comments upon a particular field of interest”.

What “column” isn’t defined as just reading the Headline and commenting on it.

Many of you are just reacting towards a headline promoted on Social Media and ASSUMING what I wrote about. However, if you were to actually CLICK THE LINK, you’d see a written piece full of facts, statistics, business experience, and wrestling knowledge that you won’t find anywhere else. Thus, quit attacking me based on only reading the headline. That is LAZY on your part and actually slanders what I have prepared for you to read.

Also, quit trying to look for things that AGREES with you. That is also lazy! That’s like people in politics only watching FOX News or MSNBC for news that caters to their political slant. To me, when I read something that I agree with, it’s BORING. I like to be challenged and intrigued by something of a different point of view. Right now, we’re living in a world where everybody is tribal about their viewpoints and are actually trying to get the opposite viewpoints cancelled. I’ve heard it on my end just working here at NoDQ, even though my columns are at ZERO financial cost to anyone reading them. You don’t have to click the link if you don’t want to…

We’re heading down a dark path as a country politically but also as wrestling fans as well. Instead of being free and accepting of open speech, we’re aggressive towards becoming the opposite.

Does that put you in a great mood to read some wrasslin’ questions?

Onto your questions.

————————————————-

ASK MR. TITO: Your Questions, My Answers

What did you think about having Zombies attacking Miz during the Backlash PPV?

Didn’t I once write a column that scolded Supernatural stuff? Oh, so it’s perfectly OK to bash Zombies acting as Lumberjacks but it’s NOT OK to call out Bray Wyatt/Fiend for teleporting, having cinematic stuff, and changing in and out of outfits instantly. Yeah, OK, idiot wrestling fans. Way to have quite a double standard.

Of course having Zombies, EVER, on your Pro Wreslting show is STUPID. We all laughed at it when the first ever episode of ECW on the Science Fiction Channel had it, right? So why shouldn’t we laugh at how ridiculous it is now? Except in this case, there were more zombies and then the zombies, themselves, take to Social Media and post pictures of themselves receiving make-up.

Let me just make this blanket statement right now… ANYONE associated with any of the Fiend/Bray Wyatt angles, Zombie Lumberjacks, or what is going on with Alexa Bliss right now needs to be TERMINATED from the WWE. On top of that, they need a permanent BAN from ever working for another wrestling promotion again. If that includes Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, and/or Triple H, they all need to go too. You’re making a mockery of pro wrestling and this supernatural garbage, WHICH DOESN’T HAVE A GREAT SUPERSTAR LIKE THE UNDERTAKER TO CARRY IT, is adding to the decline of Pro Wrestling as an entertainment medium.

If you’re Tony Khan, you have to be observing this WWE garbage and thinking “hey, maybe I should do the complete opposite of that”. That is EXACTLY what Eric Bischoff figured out after WCW Uncensored 1996 Pay Per View. After that awful main event of that Pay Per View, that was a wake-up call to give fans more reality based storylines and to present a show that was anti-WWE. WWE, through 1996, had awful storylines, were still pushing supernatural stuff with Undertaker, and had a bunch of goofy employment gimmicks (plumbers, trash men, hog farmers, etc). The ball is in your court, Tony… Will you please show us why the Observer Fanboys named you “Booker of the Year” for 2020?

Sorry, but No Zombies in Pro Wrestling along with burning people alive. Anyone presenting that in Pro Wrestling, at all, should be BANNED from every participating in Pro Wrestling.

That’s my opinion and I have been consistently stating that in my columns for almost 23 years. Don’t be lazy and say “OK Cornette” because that’s weak on your part when the truth is presented to you. I’ve been saying it long before Cornette began saying it on his Podcast, please and thank you.

Get off my lawn!

*****

What do you think of AEW Dynamite being moved to TBS during 2022?

Told you, so, folks… As discussed in my 05/11/2021 Column, I predicted that the NHL would bump AEW Dynamite off its Wednesday Night timeslot on TNT. Now, what I couldn’t predict is that they’d be shipped off to TBS instead. That was unexpected, but it’s a shift to tell viewers that traditional programming (that includes Baseball, which TBS had for years) is on TBS and TNT, after the Atlanta Hawks, has been for more action packed sports like the NFL briefly, NBA, and now the NHL. TNT only had WCW Monday Nitro in the past, as everything else wrestling wise was on TBS.

And I know what the Observer Boys are saying… “TBS is currently higher rated than TNT and is available in more households”. Both TNT and TBS are normally packaged together but I’ve seen a few Cable packages that actually has TNT listed as a sports channel whereas TBS is always a staple of the basic cable package for any Cable/Satellite company. However, TNT is included on most Cable/Satellite basic channel line ups. The numbers that the Observer Boys are quoting shows maybe 1 million household difference… We’re looking at 85 million versus 86 million. SO WHAT, as that additional million household difference won’t watch more AEW wrestling. Secondly, TNT is down right now because of a failure to produce Original Content. During the Sons of Anarchy days, this probably wasn’t the case… But TNT’s division to create original shows has been failing for years THUS why they are becoming the equivalent of a Sports channel.

And AEW was just moved off of what WarnerMedia or whatever it is now called with Discovery (see below) on that equivalent of a Sports channel. Instead of being lined up with the NBA and NHL, real actual action packed sports, it was placed on a channel that hosts mostly re-runs and baseball. I wouldn’t call that an upgrade, folks…

As my “brother from a different mother” Virtue said… If TBS was the better station, then why isn’t the NHL on that channel? The defense rests.

The important question is still unanswered: What night will AEW Dynamite be on?

I’m telling you this much… If TNT is going to prominently feature the NHL on Wednesday Nights on TNT, you won’t be seeing AEW Dynamite on Wednesday Nights. If Turner Sports is willing to pay over $5 million per year to showcase Wayne Gretzky breaking down hockey games in a “Inside the NBA” like atmosphere, they will NOT want another live sports content show airing on an opposite channel. That is there the lovely 18-49 demographic issue comes in handy, as TNT wants the NHL to gobble that up on Wednesday nights for the $225 million per year that they are paying the NHL instead of the $45 million that they are paying AEW per year (maybe slightly more now).

If I were a betting man, AEW Dynamite will move to Saturday or Monday Nights IF TNT decides to push Wednesday Night as the big night on their schedule. Maybe even Sunday Nights…

Now, as for this additional show, “AEW Rampage”… Eh, it will just be a filler show and feature lower midcard matches. It’s a good little source of revenue for AEW but after 2 hours of watching AEW Dynamite, I’m good for the week. Sometimes 2 hours is too much. LESS IS MORE is something that wrestling promotions these days need to understand. Part of WWE’s decline is that they have too much content out there and within that, the wrestlers are over-exposed for performing too much and nothing feels special any longer.

Good for AEW on SURVIVING the WarnerMedia spinoff and merger, along with the signing of the NHL. THAT is the real story, as they’ll continue to exist until their contract expires during 2024.

More on that AT&T spin-off of WarnerMedia with Discovery, though…

*****

How will AT&T’s spin-off of WarnerMedia to merge with Discovery affect AEW Dynamite on TNT?

Everything depends on how profitable the relationship is with AEW. Reportedly, the extension signed during early 2020 is for 4 years and $175 million in total. If you do the math, AT&T/WarnerMedia was paying them $43.75 million per year (probably slightly higher with AEW Rampage added). However, to really show what a BARGAIN that TNT may have with their programming, divide that by 52 and they are only paying AEW $841,000 per 2 hour show. That is CHEAP considering they are technically paying $200,000 per half hour and AEW is absorbing the entire production costs while TNT is making money off the television ads.

However, what could derail AEW is is new executives are hired and they don’t believe that Pro Wrestling fits the direction of Turner Sports or the television division in general. THAT is what could kill AEW and Discovery already tried Pro Wrestling one time with TNA/Impact Wrestling at one point. That was a disaster.

The executive who brought in and signed AEW for Turner Sports is long gone at this point and so thus AEW is at the mercy of executives who didn’t sign them. However, AEW’s programming is extremely cheap and oddly enough, it’s pulling in that 18-49 demographic on Wednesday nights that advertisers like. I could see them holding their noses for a while…

I believe that AEW will be OK throughout this corporate shake-up, only because their content is CHEAP and probably profitable for WarnerMedia and will continue to be with whatever Warner and Discovery merge into. The bigger issue will be during 2023 when their deal is set to expire… That could be doomsday for AEW, particularly if they ask for a much larger deal. However, if they would simply IMPROVE and have break-out stars by that year, they’d get their money and probably have other Cable/Satellite/Streaming channels lining up for them. For now, they are safe because of how cheap their TV deal is for TNT and that shall continue in the future for TBS.

There will be more executive eyes watching their content, however… All it takes is 1 executive to get upset with an angle or match. There’s a good chance that AEW will get new Standards & Practices shoved down their throats. If you see blood being removed from their shows or language becoming cleaner, you’ll know that it has started.

By the way, AEW curses several times per AEW Dynamite and that’s not a drawing point. It’s one thing if you have “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or the Rock cursing on television and it’s another when you have dorks doing it.

*****

What did you think of WWE releasing Velveteen Dream?

I wrote about Velveteen Dream in last week’s Ask Mr. Tito column and here we are a week later, and he was released. After the other NXT releases occurred (see below), the heat from the online wrestling mob was probably turned up on the WWE and its corporate sponsors. Tired of hearing it, the WWE probably just said “hell with it” and released him.

Obviously what is alleged is completely disgusting, as he reportedly sent photos of himself to minors and was also reportedly communicating with minors via Social Media. However, no criminal or civil charges have ever been filed against the person behind the Velveteen Dream regarding this and the WWE said that they investigated the matter and found nothing. But, the allegations are unusual for someone to allege out of the blue and Dream did confirm that the photo shared was his (“a private photo of mine was shared without my consent”). That’s enough for many wrestling fans to never want to see him again.

What a shame… For the past few years, I’ve been hammering Triple H‘s tenure overseeing Talent Relations (mid-2012 through 2020) for not producing MALE Main Event wrestlers. Velveteen Dream was that breakout star. The guy had everything… In-ring talent, charisma, decent mic skills, and the “larger than life” look to him. He’s ONLY 25 years, too, which means that he’s still learning and will only get better with time.

Because these wrestlers HAVE to be on their phones 24/7 and HAVE to participate so much on Social Media, it creates that opportunity to either take advantage of fans or be taken advantage of by fans. On top of that, being famous will paint a larger target on you. If he was truly hacked, then why did he have that photo on his phone in the first place? What kind of judgment is that, let alone who it may have been “accidentally” sent to? Come on, man…

Look, people have come back from things that have actually been tried in front of courts… Mike Tyson did prison time for sexual assault while the late Kobe Bryant settled out of court for an alleged assault. While both individuals did not prey on minors as Dream is alleged to have done, they engaged physically with their victims. Dream didn’t, though who knows where this stuff on Social Media could have led to if he was actually behind the photo sharing or messages to minors. That’s the issue, whether Dream’s phone was hacked or not. Right now, sex trafficking and pedophilia are hot button issues in the news and politics right now. Whether Dream actually did this or not, the allegations made online will stick to him forever.

So no, I don’t think any other wrestling company will give him a shot… As you can see by AEW’s utter refusal to sign the very available Tessa Blanchard, despite her amazing in-ring talent, they would never sign Velveteen Dream with those allegations. Sinclair Broadcasting would never let Ring of Honor hire him. I’d suggest Impact Wrestling, but as you saw last year, they terminated that guy who did that “suplex”. I’d suggest NWA but I’m sure that they don’t want their YouTube comments flooded with hateful comments.

It’s over for Dream unless he can work hard to prove that he didn’t solicit minors online. We’re talking definitive evidence because all of these wrestling promotions are either owned by corporations, on a corporation’s television station, or have corporate sponsors. NONE OF THEM want the bad Public Relations that comes with hiring Velveteen Dream. It took WWE a while to figure this out and it was likely Triple H repeatedly going to bat for the guy to keep him on the roster to see if the allegations would subside. As seen from last week’s news of Velveteen Dream appearing at RAW backstage, many fans did not forget those allegations. That test balloon popped.

I wonder what he’s going to do now… If no wrestling promotion is willing to hire him, what else could he do? And all it would take is for an employer to do a simple Google search on him and horrible allegations appear. Hopefully, he has good support of friends and family, as I’d worry about Dream’s well being if I were them.

*****

Which of the AEW EVPs will be demoted and/or leave AEW first?

The 4 EVPs of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) are Cody Rhodes, both Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. Reportedly, Omega and the Bucks are close personally while their relationship with Cody is just business. If you were to ask me, I could see Cody jumping to the WWE by himself and leaving Bucks/Omega back in AEW or the other way around with Bucks/Omega bolting to the WWE.

I could see Cody getting tired of AEW and seeking the WWE for a better opportunity now that he’s grown as a wrestler and has become a bigger name on his own. This is AJ Styles all over again from 2016. AJ left TNA wrestling and found his true self working independents, Ring of Honor, and New Japan. Then, when he joined the WWE, he was instantly great and most diehard wrestling fans knew that he significantly improved for the past few years after AEW. Cody has had a similar path. On top of that, Brandi Rhodes is now a bigger name by her association with AEW. I could definitely see Cody and Brandi coming back to the WWE as a pair and benefitting from the nostalgia of him being the “Grandson of a Plumber”. WWE could present Cody and Brandi with better reality television opportunities and the WWE Network/Peacock would probably welcome them.

Bucks and Omega have never hit it big in the WWE. I could see them arriving in the WWE as a trio at some point as invading heels, only to get quickly squashed and jobbed out quickly. They would only join WWE if there was a real fallout with Tony Khan.

If I were a betting man, a glorious return to the WWE for Cody Rhodes is the more likely scenario and Brandi Rhodes will also return as a bigger star. Just look what happened with Drew McIntyre and in my opinion, he’s lesser of a star than Cody Rhodes. The only thing that I wonder with Cody is if he has any personal heat with Triple H. After all, he smashed a throne during one of the early AEW Pay Per Views as a shot at Triple H. If that heat remains, then I’m not sure about Cody’s return.

*****

What is your opinion of the recent NXT talent releases?

My opinion was this: “who?”

The only release that I knew of was the referee who was going off on School Boards and City Councils while in NXT great regarding children wearing masks in this COVID-19 era. And I wouldn’t have known about NXT referee Drake Wuertz had he not made those political statements. Like I give any damns about who referees are these days. Speaking of Drake, he would have been fine if he didn’t wear NXT gear and CLEARLY stream into these meetings from the Performance Center. What a moron. In the WWE’s heads, he gives the appearance as if they are sponsoring him or what he’s saying. Even though the McMahons probably agree politically with him (hence why he wasn’t released earlier), the real issue is that he was wearing WWE branded stuff when he said it. Vince McMahon is more beholden to money than politics.

As for the rest of the releases… I wish them all good luck on finding future work, but again, I’m like WHO? The fact that myself and many other wrestling fans know you, even after watching NXT regularly, is an indicator as to why you were released. That is something to work on as you work independent dates or join the lesser paid promotions like Impact, AEW, NWA, or Ring of Honor. The WWE system is very controlling and sometimes overlooks talent. They wanted Cody Rhodes to be a knock-off version of Goldust, for example, and look at him now. Have faith… Go out there and do something interesting so that fans, like me, will know your name without hesitation.

Many are pointing out, to me, the one that they thought was a HUGE cut and that was Jessamyn Duke and once again, I’m like “who?”. And then many pointed out that she was part of Ronda Rousey’s “4 Horsewomen” along with Shayna Baszler and Marina Shafir. Honestly, I forgot that Baszler was a part of that group and had it not been for Rousey alluding to the group, I wouldn’t have know that they were a “4 Horsewomen” group. Many diehard WWE fans have been begging the WWE to do Rousey’s group versus the NXT 4 Horsemen (Charlotte, Becky, Sasha, Bayley) in a Survivor Series match for years but again, I didn’t care because Rousey’s group doesn’t have much heat.

Of course, I’m sad that someone lost their job. Best wishes to her…

But what people need to realize is that the WWE rarely fails on cutting wrestlers… For every Cody Rhodes that they let go, there are plenty who are just filler on Impact or now AEW. Look at how bad AEW is fumbling with Miro, with only the last 2 weeks seeming as a decent character representation of him (damage has been done). Is anybody excited about the Good Brothers in Impact and now with this Omega angle? Samoa Joe couldn’t stay healthy and he’s getting older. Come on, people…

Fact is that Jessamyn Duke and all of the other cuts couldn’t stand out on NXT and that brand is actually desperate for talent right now. And again, each of the wrestlers needs to ask themselves what they didn’t do or how did the WWE mess them up to understand how to move forward. They should carefully study the careers of AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes, two wrestlers who left their longtime promotions to get better elsewhere. Then, they saw major paydays.

When a wrestler is released and most fans have to look up their profiles online to figure out who they are, that’s a good indication that the WWE should have moved on.

*****

Thoughts on this week’s Dark Side of the Ring or A&E Biography?

I watched both the Dark Side of the Ring with WCW in North Korea and also the Shawn Michaels Biography. Both were well done, in my opinion, and that’s because the main source material (Eric Bischoff & Shawn Michaels) were still alive and heavily contributing. The Dark Side one, though, really didn’t tell me much that I haven’t heard before. In fact, Eric Bischoff did a podcast dedicated to this WCW/New Japan joint shows in North Korea and the chaos surrounding them. Honestly, there wasn’t anything new from this experience.

Ditto with Shawn Michaels’s Biography. From other documentaries and Shawn Michaels’s own books, I’ve heard most of this before. What was STRIKING from this documentary, however, was how enabling Vince McMahon and the Clique members, particularly Triple H, were about Shawn Michaels’s substance abuse. They knew it was going on, as Vince McMahon was desperate back then for star power during the Monday Night Wars and Triple H did insane things on taking care of Shawn such as helping him take showers, get dressed, and make it to bed nightly. Instead of thinking “hey, may Shawn need rehab” they were like “how can we keep this guy upright to appear on Wrestlemania 14”. They could have killed him.

Yes, the fear would be that time off equals no money earned and that was the weird driving factor for Michaels pushing it too far. Michaels, however, was harming himself with his substance abuse during the 1990s and it could have been fatal.

Otherwise, the Shawn Michaels Biography was very entertaining and was packed with a good story of his life. Shawn is a real success story based on how he beat his demons and had a second WWE career that was equal to his first. But damn, we’re lucky that he made it through the late 1990s alive. Seriously.

*****

What are your thoughts on AEW Dynamite’s viewership numbers this week?

821,000 viewers, eh? “But but but but but NBA Playoffs” is what I’m hearing from the Observer Boys. You know, I’d agree with that notion if it weren’t for the following FACTS regarding the NBA:

(a) The highly rated game of the Lakers vs. Warriors STARTED at 10pm EST. You can give me the “but but but West Coast” excuse all you want but the majority of the population still lives in the East and majority of Pro Wrestling fans live here as well. Just look at where the WWE mostly tours and you’ll see them swinging mostly up and down the right half of the map.

(b) NBA’s viewership is DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY from prior years, even from last year’s significant decline.

The FACT is that both WWE RAW and WCW Nitro were able to draw 4-5 million viewers PER SHOW at a time when the NBA had the GREATEST OF ALL TIME Michael Jordan on regular season and playoff games. And I could argue things further that the NHL and MLB regular season games and playoff games also drew stronger 23 years ago, too. Hell, the NFL was on ABC for Monday Night Football and drew WAY MORE viewers than it now does on ESPN. ON TOP OF THAT, there were fewer households owning Cable/Satellite during 1998 than now and we’ve lost about 10-15 million households owning Cable/Satellite since it’s peak around 2012.

The REAL FACT is that if All Elite Wrestling had (a) better creative and (b) a better talent roster, they’d draw more viewers!

Instead, what we get is a poorly constructed show creatively that is poorly executed by a weak talent roster put together by unqualified EVPs. The show is utter chaos from start to finish and nobody is getting over to pull in casual fans.

The Observer Boys need to stop being Public Relations agents for AEW because it harms their objectivity and credibility as news breaking journalists. Period. They’ll expose everything on WWE but then play dumb when Big Show, Sting, Matt Hardy, Brodie Lee, Jon Moxley, and others have been signed. You never hear of any “backstage morale” news stories on AEW and the Observer Boys are way more plugged into AEW than WWE with their sources. While Tony Khan is like a walking ATM machine to most wrestlers, someone backstage has to be upset at their creative direction to really spill the beans.

821,000 viewers and we’re only in Week 6 without NXT present? I thought that NXT was taking away all of the fans?

Expect more surprise celebrities or more gimmick matches in the future… That’s what AEW is going to do to artificially pump up numbers to get near or slightly above 1 million.

Funny how we just bragged about being #1 in that 18-49 Demographic (despite being 19th in total viewership that night). Ooops… You can’t deliver celebrities and gimmicked matches every night until the fans become desensitized to that… What you’re left with after that is, as I said above, poor creative and a poorly constructed talent roster. Tony Khan is an inexperienced guy placed in roles by his rich father to operate a wrestling company, a NFL franchise, and a European soccer team at the same freakin’ time. For help, he’s hired the wrong people with each of those operations. His EVPs for AEW are wrestlers with ZERO managerial or booking experience.

My real question is this… How low can this go? As I’ve repeatedly suggested and proved using statistics, having NXT on Wednesday Nights actually HELPED AEW Dynamite because it broadened the audience of casual viewers who could flip between 2 wrestling shows. Now, both shows are already declining in viewership and the NBA & NHL Playoffs are here. OH WAIT, as I mentioned above, BOTH the NBA and NHL have experienced viewership declines. Let’s stop using that excuse… GOOD WRESTLING will draw viewers. BAD WRESTLING won’t. We have lots of wrestling history and television data to prove that FACT.

Please join me in reality.

So just chill… Until the next episode!

Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments.

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It’s me, it’s me, it’s JDB…

“As a lifelong wrestling aficionado who is privileged to present AEW to longtime and new fans alike, it means a lot to me – personally and professionally – to share the news that All Elite Wrestling will call TBS home beginning in 2022.” – Tony Khan

Today is was announced that All Elite Wrestling will have a new home come January 2022. TBS (“The Superstation” as it used to be called) will now host Wednesday Night Dynamite. In addition, a new one-hour show; “Rampage” (cue Archer reference) will air on Aug. 13 after Dynamite.

In addition to that, four new supershows will air on TNT, much akin to  WCW’s Clash of Champions.

As expected, cue the mindless internet wrestling trolls…

But no matter. Here’s why this move is actually for the best in AEW’s future endeavors.

TBS Outdraws TNT

You wouldn’t think so, right? However, if you look at the top ranked cable channels in 2020, TBS ranks #14 out of the top 150. TNT comes in at #18. In fact as of April 2021, out of the top five cable networks TBS comes in at #4. That is five spots higher than TNT.

Yes, we all know TNT as the “wrasslin'” alternative to Vince’s USA Network, but the fact is more eyes tend to be on TBS than TNT. When AEW finished #1 in ratings for Wednesday night, they did so on TNT. However, Samantha Bee’s “Full Frontal” (on TBS) still finished 11th, and that was at a 10:30PM slot.

With TBS playing old sitcoms on a loop (Friends, Seinfeld, Big Bang Theory, etc.), there is never a reason to reschedule a show due to the NBA or NHL. In fact, with a strong late-night show in Full Frontal, Dynamite may even prove to be a good lead-in of sorts to the broadcast.

With more eyes on TBS, AEW’s ratings could be potentially higher in January.

Wrestling is Back on TBS

Historically, professional wrestling has always had a home on TBS. From Georgia Championship Wrestling, to Mid-South Wrestling, and of course, WCW, TBS has always played home for wrestling in its history.

If you haven’t noticed, All Elite Wrestling pays a certain homage to the past. It’s not just nods to WCW and past wrestlers, but the focus on in-ring wrestling over sports entertainment.

Several weeks ago, Lance Storm calculated the amount of actual wrestling between flagships Raw and Dynamite. AEW Dynamite carried more actual wrestling in the first 30 minutes of their show than Raw had in two hours. 

TBS, and AEW, is simply where professional wrestling lives.

Expansion City

Let’s take a step back and look at what this company has done in less than 2 years.

-Signed a deal with Turner Networks through 2023.
-Expanded to two shows on YouTube and a third network show (RAMPAAAAGE!)
-Will have content on TNT and TBS, which includes 4 annual specials on TNT. Both networks hover in the top 10 of overall cable ratings.
-A consistent ratings draw in both the 18-49 demographic and overall viewers.
-Doesn’t have zombies (unless you count Abadon)

This move is proof that when it comes to professional wrestling, if you build it, they will come. AEW has done well in it’s short history, and this is further proof of such. While the NHL certainly had something to do with the move, overall, it’s a win-win for all parties.

AT&T and WarnerMedia

When AT&T merged WarnerMedia (who own TNT/TBS) with Discovery days ago, it shook the TV landscape a little. Already announced is WarnerMedia’s “Front Row” which will air HBO Max exclusives on TNT and TBS. Some may believe the future of Discovery Plus and HBO Max is in doubt after this news, but I think it will only strengthen the brands.

WarnerMedia has already expressed past interest at integrating more streaming options for cord cutters. I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing AEW programming available on HBO Max, even if it’s Pay-Per-Views, much like the WWE Network on Peacock.

Either way, this opens the door for a plethora of partnerships and ways to integrate AEW programming into various mediums on different streaming platforms. It’s a win-win.

Going Home

I’m going to have to get TBS now. Oh well. It’s worth it.

-JDB

The post Going Broadway: Why AEW’s Move to TBS is For the Best appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.