So we’ve spent a whole month (June) not talking about wrestling… hence the reason why I didn’t specify the name of that extreme television program that aired on SciFi in 2006 (and also because it’s no longer around, so… oops, I guess). But now that that moratorium has come to an end, we might as well catch up on everything that has happened since the last time we touched wrestling, which would have been around the time of the post-PPV edition of Dynamite back in May.
For long time visitors of this web venture that has spanned multiple services over the course two and a half decades, consider this a sort of return to the old school format that this Bite commentary used to adopt before its first retirement in 2012. Hell, those who remember the short-lived Wrestling Rants of 2002 might see this as equally at home.
Believe me when I say that we’re going to have fun with a lot of these things.
So for the third time in four years, AEW’s All In event is making its “big” return to Wembley Stadium and to say that ticket sales have been lagging is being a tad generous. You would think that Tony Khan would have learned a lesson about booking the same event at the same venue every year to diminishing returns (if scheduling conflicts hadn’t forced All In to be in Texas last year, this would have been the fourth straight year in a row), but alas, here we are again.
When Dave Meltzer – who is often considered to be the biggest cheerleader for AEW – points out the flaw in trying to repeat a tradition that only one wrestling promotion was able to accomplish, it’s time to rethink your game plan. This, on top of the fact that Wrestlemania did their second straight Vegas show and that also severely underperformed. Japanese audiences have no problem going to the same place over and over, but the rest of the world is not Japan; we like to visit different places and check out different scenery. Holding the same event in the same place year after year is like keeping the core four of your failing hockey club and expecting different results every year. It’s never going to happen. All In 2027 needs to take place elsewhere. TK should take heed of this.
Since we’re on the subject of AEW, a lot of rumors going around what might happen once AEW’s current deal with Warner is up next year. Naturally, there’s the news of Warner’s acquisition by Paramount Skydance, who already play host to UFC programming… which, for those who don’t get the relevance, is part of the TKO umbrella along with WWE. Naturally, those within WWE began spreading word that AEW might not be around after this deal is done. When addressed about this at the Double Or Nothing media scrum, Tony Khan suggested otherwise, citing a good working relationship with Skydance chief David Ellison through their NFL ties. During his media runs, MJF had scoffed at the notion of AEW in jeopardy, reiterating that their relationship with Warner is solid and suggested they’d consider the source of these rumors before giving it validity.
At the moment, we know nothing about what’s going on with this deal other than it may or may not expire in 2027. I say “may or may not” because the possibility exists that Warner under Skydance might want out sooner and given Ellison’s penchant for cancelling things for tax write-off purposes, that might give some people pause. Concerning the different sides and conflicting rumors to this situation, maybe we ought to heed MJF’s advice and consider the source. WWE sources are naturally going to paint AEW’s fortunes in a negative light and will do whatever it takes to put them in a bad spot while highlighting their own strengths. Likewise, it is not within the realm of possibility for Tony Khan to give a non-answer that tells you nothing other than he expects things not to change. That’s all well and good, but something has changed. Warner is under new ownership. New ownership does not necessarily keep what the old ownership has.
All of this is speculation. We know nothing about this deal and its state other than the contracted expiry date. Everything else is up in the air. Until something more concrete happens, mud will be slung from both sides and it won’t matter. However, as far as key individuals in TKO are concerned, I would suggest focusing on their own affairs rather than try to mess with another promotion’s affairs.
This is the really sad thing, isn’t it? That the drama outside the main programming is more interesting than the programming itself.
Not to say that I didn’t enjoy any programming. I’ve been watching a little more AEW as of late; the Darby title run sort of got me back in the groove of things and the programming throughout June (from what I could watch, at least – we need to control these 3-hour shows better by not doing them) has been fairly solid in regards to the wrestling output. As far as engaging television, however, that’s another story entirely. Simply put, AEW isn’t putting anything that’s actually compelling. There’s a tournament with talent from other promotions that have no chance of winning here, there’s the thing with Will Ospreay and the Death Riders that got a couple laughs here and there, but we’re trying to build this guy as a top contender for the World title at your UK PPV that isn’t selling all that well. It seems like all of a sudden, that hot wrestling show I was watching during the Darby run has decided to go back to being content with great wrestling and nothing else.
Well, I like watching great wrestling, but these days, you can get that anywhere. I don’t need to sit through a two hour show to get it. I need a little more to be invested and have a reason to care… and right now, I don’t have that. This isn’t a strictly AEW problem, either, but given that they’re building towards their All In show, which is supposed to be one of their big premium PPV events, there is nothing here that is successfully convincing me to watch this show. I need more meat and all you’re giving me are bones. Bones, mind you, that I can get anywhere.
In any event, I may have to set aside the All Elite train as Scott D’Amore’s Maple Leaf Pro is posed to be making its TSN debut in a short while and I’m actually looking forward to seeing how that turns out. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the shows they’ve put out thus far and even got a chance to watch a couple other them. Wish those guys all the best and hope they pull one out of the park.
TNA, meanwhile, is a show that has fallen off the radar for me. Ironic given that I’m about to embark on a journey to go through their Bound For Glory PPVs from 2005 to today, which should cover a good three months on a weekly basis. Breaking kayfabe here; most of the write-ups are done, save for some mild edits here and there, and revisiting the shows (and a couple older musings, especially) have been rather enlightening, as it serves as a sad reality that in reviving the TNA brand, they’ve also revived old TNA tropes such as bringing in occasional WWE cast-offs and reviving tired WWE concepts, such as the heel authority figure. Not a knock against Daria Rae, who is largely fine, but the former Sonya Deville wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire during her stint as co-GM in WWE for the brief spell she was in that role and seeing TNA revive that (as well as the heel GM concept in general) felt like digging into tropes that should have stayed dead ages ago.
Hey, the Broken Hardys are back! You missed that Broken Universe. So did TNA, I’m sure, considering the big stink they made almost a decade ago when the Hardys left TNA the first time around and couldn’t get the rights to their creations because Anthem were being a bunch of petty dicks… oh, hey, another old trope brought back from the fold. Nonsensical booking, such as a guy getting fired, attacking TNA personnel, and being “punished” by getting rehired and being put in a World title match? Sure, why not? Hard to imagine that a couple years ago, TNA seemed like it had gotten its fiftieth second wave (or so, I’ve lost count at this point) and was on the verge of becoming something special, to the extent that JERICHO was willing to call it the number two promotion at one point… oh, how silly that perception is in hindsight.
And then there’s the bloodletting of personnel; talent either being let go or asking for their releases. Some even made to choose between staying in TNA or making more money elsewhere… and they’ll often choose the money. Which makes TNA look even more bush league when you give someone the choice to stay with your company or go back to their home country and make money there and they’d rather fuck off back to Mexico.
I’ve heard some people compare current TNA president Carlo Silva unfavorably to former TNA president Dixie Carter, stating that they’re almost one and the same. I disagree on that comparison because at least with Dixie, you can question some of her decisions or call her an idiot – and I’ve been there as well – but every decision she made has always been (in her mind, at least) for the benefit of TNA and trying to push that brand further. There was no serving higher masters (outside of Panda Energy, who largely didn’t give a shit until it started becoming enough of a problem that they ended up selling the thing). The buck stopped with Dixie.
This Silva character, on the other hand, comes across as a total stooge. Every time I see him on screen or in press material with his cheap-ass TNA cap and silly glasses, I can’t help but feel like he’s just the patsy who’s following orders from higher ups. He’s the face of the company who doesn’t come across as someone truly in charge of the company, but rather someone who just follows whatever marching orders he’s given… which is probably why they shitcanned Scott D’Amore a couple years back after he had given his heart and soul to bring that fucking company back into prominence. D’Amore had his own ideas on how TNA should proceed and take advantage of their renewed popularity and Anthem went “That doesn’t work for us, brother.” And he got replaced with this Silva boob.
And now with the relationship with WWE – which used to be a talent exchange of sorts, but you don’t even have that much going on right now – every decision TNA makes is going to be scrutinize. Is this being done for the good of TNA or is it being done under the whims of their TKO partners, who have a certain approach to things that doesn’t quite jive with others? Why do you think TNA freaked out and pulled all their talent from shows that also featured AEW talent or attempting to force talent to give up their bookings in places like CMLL, which happens to be a direct competitor to the WWE-owned AAA promotion?
Something to think about in this regard if you care about the future of TNA… and I’d imagine there’s still a bunch of people who do.
Funny that we mention TKO and WWE because you want to know the one thing that I haven’t done in months? Get a Netflix subscription. No desire or inclination to do so. And you know what the really funny thing about that is? I haven’t really missed it. I keep track of the WWE stuff through online reports and watch the occasional clip… honestly, the only way I can properly follow the product these days without falling asleep or getting annoyed by the billion ads on display. Nothing is going on in that promotion that’s hyping me up. Cody’s spinning his wheels, Roman’s doing his Bloodline thing again, nothing really stands out, and the acts that do get over with the crowd are killed off by talents that have no chance of making it past a certain ceiling or perception. No matter how hard they try, Austin Theory is never, ever going to happen.
I’m past the point of being upset by lousy WWE creative. That’s always going to be a thing no matter who’s in charge. But someone has to explain to me how the guy who used to turn NXT from a fledgling joke of a television show to a worthwhile developmental system to one of the hottest properties in the WWE universe before AEW came along is having trouble recreating that same magic on the main roster with seemingly limitless resources at his disposal. I try to wrap my head around that and I can’t come up with a satisfactory answer to that conundrum. Even with all the rumors and speculations regarding interference from TKO higher ups, it doesn’t excuse the lameduck creative that ISN’T riddled with interference.
Oh and Donnie Boy now owns a piece of TKO. For those who refuse to support any endeavor that he’s involved with, have fun with that conundrum, brother. For the rest who don’t care, hope you folks enjoy the show. Political affiliations mean nothing to me so long as the product being put out is good and the product being put out at this very moment… is not good. I will not outright say that it’s bad or at its worst point because it’s not; I’ve seen much worse and I will not delude you into thinking I’d much rather watch those shows that I know I will hate than sit through this stuff. But we’re at a point where I don’t have to sit through this stuff. I have options. I’ve expressed a number of them here. I don’t need to give WWE the time of day. They have to convince me that they’re worth the investment. They haven’t done that. Oh well…
Is John Cena still trying to figure out his John Cena Classic? Does anyone even know what the fuck that is yet? The more he talks about this thing, the most idiotic it comes across and we don’t even know what this thing is, yet. Even Tony Khan knows what he wants out of his Classic.
On a more serious note… and I normally wouldn’t touch on this because I’ve said my piece years ago and felt content to observe this thing from the side. But now that it’s reached its public conclusion…
So regarding the Vince McMahon/Janel Grant situation that ultimately went into arbitration… look, there are people that could probably delve into this with more knowledge of the inner workings than I do. I don’t feel particularly compelled or qualified to do a whole spiel on this. Part of me did wish that the thing had gone to court, but at the same time, not quite surprised by this, either. That’s as far as I’ll go in that regard because anything further would likely come from a place of ignorance and we have more than enough of that running around as it is.
Does this mean Vince gets welcomed back into WWE? From a creative standpoint, I hope not… and not necessarily due to the allegations – though to say that isn’t a factor is being a tad dishonest – but mostly because no matter how much WWE creative has fallen off in recent years, they will never be as truly god fucking awful as the last couple years under Vince’s watch. It is easily to forget how truly wretched those shows were and no amount of “better than modern WWE” wienies will convince me otherwise. I’ll gladly sit through a year’s worth of modern WWE PLES and ad-ridden nonsense over one IOTA of latter-day Vince horse manure. If nothing else, I’d expect to pass out after the first commercial break.
But in terms of just acknowledging his contributions or perhaps even giving him a Hall Of Fame honor next year, I don’t see why not. Regardless of what you think of the man as a human being, everything that WWE is built upon was due to him. You cannot have that company grow into the juggernaut that it is without Vince McMahon. Of all the McMahons to be honored going forward, he is the only one whose contributions and vision deserves to be celebrated.
But that is as far as I’d go. As a legend and a pioneer, give him those flowers… but keep him away from any position of power. Despite the downturn, WWE is doing just fine. It will continue to do fine. And it will take a monumental shitstorm of biblical proportions to truly harm WWE’s fortunes going forward. They don’t need Vince going forward… but he’s welcomed to stop in every so often.
And that – for real – is my last word on McMahon. I have nothing else to say in this regard.
Well, I guess I should talk about the World Cup proceedings since that’s a thing I used to talk about… or at least, I would if I had been following the event, which I haven’t.
That’s about all I’ve had to say about the past month of missing wrestling posts on this blog. Nothing of note really happened to break the mold and nothing of interest came to mind in doing this recap. It’s just a lot of inflection on the current state of the business. I’m wondering if maybe I should something similar on this other business that I follow to a degree involving a hobby that I enjoy.
Just a thought.
Later.
P.S. If you’re wondering about my thoughts on Sami Zayn finally winning the WWE Championship this past weekend (in Saudi Arabia no less), happy for the dude. Big moment for him that was well earned regardless of the quality of the overall booking. But at the same time… I really don’t care.
