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AEW RIGHTS FEES, DON’T LET RATINGS LOSERS INFLUENCE HOW BETTER TALENT IS USED, EXPLANATIONS MAKE WRESTLING STORYLINES BETTER AND MORE

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So a lot of people got it wrong about what AEW was going to get for their rights fees, at least for now.  What will they be getting for the new show from WBD and is it a step up?

At this point in time, I don’t know what they are getting.  I could just make up a number and say that sources have told me that, but that’s not how we do things here.  We leave that for other sites.  Until Tony Khan comments on the number, it’s all conjecture.  Hell, even after he comments there’s at least one reporter who will say that it’s not true (as he did after Khan said CM Punk had nothing to do with Colt Cabana not being on TV).  Is it a step up?  It all depends on what AEW gets. If a TV taping costs, say, 400k and Khan gets 500K a week, he gets 5.2M a year. Not a loss but not a big win either. If the Taping costs 400K and he gets 600K a week?  That would be over $10M a year and that would be solid in my opinion.  If he gets double what he is getting now for Dynamite and Rampage, that would take into the $100M gross a year territory and that would be a big win.  It’s also why I doubted that WBD was going to suddenly quadruple (or more) what they pay AEW.  

For years WWE has changed/altered their own history to reflect what’s happening in their current storylines, you’ve spoken about the lack of continuity several times. AEW on the other hand seems to want the average wrestling fan to know every minuscule piece of detail from wrestling history so you can keep up to date with their current storylines, in my opinion a continuity overkill. Would you agree and which do you believe is the better approach, none, which is really frustrating at times or complete over kill where if your not in the loop it’s very difficult to follow.

I fully agree that AEW makes too many assumptions.  A perfect case in point was when Tony Khan repeatedly talked about how Kenny Omega vs. Vikingo was a dream match.  To the fan that knows everything?  Maybe so.  To the fan who doesn't?  They turn on the show and wonder who the guy is.  There is no reason Tony couldn't do some vignettes before a match like that and let everyone in on who the guy is and why they should be excited for the match, but he chooses not to do it.

I’m interested to know, when you say in your articles “our sources”, how does this work.  I mean do you contact them asking for a scoop, do they contact you saying they have a scoop? Most importantly is like one of late 90’s cop shows where you meet a dark shadow in a disused car park (that how I imagine it anyway).

Yes, we meet in the shadows under the cloak of darkness.  We speak in a language that only a few people know.  Then we set the meeting place on fire after we are done talking.  Or, we are just like any other good news outlets and we cultivate relationships.  

What's the status of NXT Europe? We haven't heard anything about its launch since the Endeavor announcement.

I wish I had something to report.  It’s in the pipeline still as far as I know.

It feels to me like AEW has a Island of Misfit Toys feel in how the lineup seems to be a mix of wrestlers who TK's favorites have issues with (Rosa, Punk) and others who have been vocal about their poor usage (Andrade, Miro).  Do you see this as a motivator for those wrestlers?  Or as a "well, gotta find something to do with em" situation?

I see it as a huge negative in both cases.  In the case of the talents that the favorites, as you put it, have an issue with?  I say to Tony’s pets “nut up and shut up”.  A good chunk of the babies, and yes they are babies, are ratings losers.  People turn them off.  Tony shouldn’t let them dictate who gets what kind of push people that they don’t like get.  Anyone can lose viewers for AEW so he shouldn’t listen to the babies if/when they undermine people that they don’t like, or more aptly feel threatened by.  In the case of people who are not used well?  It wouldn’t motivate me to work hard if I did what I could to create a great character, like Miro did with The Redeemer, only to have it used poorly.  What is the point of working hard when the booker then wastes your work?  There are so many people I can think of where this happened, like Wardlow.  He was white hot and Khan just totally blew it with him.  I feel bad for the talents, I really do.  Not everyone is as good or over as they think they are but a lot of them are much more over/better than how their booker has presented them.

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