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With AEW’s ratings going up when they’re unopposed, could you see Tony Khan looking to move nights for Dynamite? We know Vince won’t move NXT because that would look like an act of concession, but I could see Tony play it off like “who cares about this war, we want more eyeballs on AEW, and we’ve been winning anyway.”
I have been saying for weeks that I hoped someone would move. Dynamite is blocked by NBA Basketball on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Obviously Monday is out. Friday has Smackdown. The weekends are off time. With that said, I wish WWE would move NXT to Tuesday or Thursday. They went on Wednesday (in my opinion) to try and thwart AEW. It hasn’t worked as they hoped and we have seen their audience go up for the Super Tuesday shows. If I am WWE, I go to USA and say let’s move the show to Tuesday where you will get more viewers and you can pay us more money.
I agree with the assessment that wrestling companies should make the wrestlers the stars, not the brand. So what can AEW do to raise the profile of their top stars to make them megastars the likes of Triple H and The Undertaker (I’m disqualifying Austin and the Rock because their heyday was on another level.). But AEW has TNT as their platform, they have billionaire backing with connections to the mainstream sports world, they pretty much have all the tools that Turner’s WCW did, what do they need to do to raise the profile of the likes of Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega and Cody?
They have to put in the reps. They have try and book them as big time stars. It may or may not work, but that is what they have to try to do. Present them as true top guys and maybe they can transcend to the next level. Obviously, that also means protecting them with how they are booked, but the talent also must be ready to step up as well.
And to follow up on that question,: In your eyes, has AEW done a poor job of making top stars? Jericho has done his damndest to elevate Orange Cassidy, but with the world title picture, there’s nobody who’s challenged Jon Moxley that I believe would have beaten him for the title. Maybe MJF, if they gave him something juicer between his Cody and Moxley fueds, but now I don’t see Lance Archer beating Mox.
I think for less than a year in, they have done a solid job. It’s hard to elevate people so you have to put in the work, as I said above. Of late, I have seen them backslide a bit. I liked what they were doing with Cassidy, but I didn’t need to see the mimosa match as the feud decider. Hangman Page was really working for me, then the last few weeks they have booked him as….I don’t even know what. But again, it’s a learning process. It will take time.
Would it be fair to compare Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford to Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine/Precious? Just as I had been watching AEW recently I felt the act was a modern-day equivalent.
I get where you are going but Garvin was an upper mid card guy. Sabian isn't there yet. Down the road? Maybe. Now? I wouldn't make that comparison.
In addition to the fallout on the Matt Hardy debacle, has there been any further comment from Jericho; Khan or anyone at AEW regarding the recent claims in the number of COVID19 cases coming out of Sturgis? They were pretty cavalier about it when the initial pushback came out re: Fozzy playing and then Jericho being in contact with the locker room. I just read an article that potentially over 260,000 + new cases are being tied to Sturgis. Seems reckless – maybe they should stop commenting on WWE and start worrying about AEW.
First off, the article in question was projecting. With that said, I do believe it was a super spreader event. Lots of people in close quarters not following social distancing protocols is the definition. I haven’t seen Khan or Jericho address it. AEW does test, so Khan probably feels that is what he needs to do and I understand that. I still think Jericho should have been a locker room leader and turned down the gig but he obviously doesn’t agree with me.
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