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DOES WWE MEETING WITH WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY SPELL THE END OF AEW?

Literally for years now I have been painstakingly pointed out the major issues that I think have stunted the growth of AEW and talked about the harm that I think they could cause the company down the road.  I did it because unless the company were to fold, eventually down the road would become the road that they are on right now.  I have done it so often that I am tired of hearing myself talk about it (and I know some of you are too, which I completely understand).

A lot of the less that bright people out in the inter-verse took my valid constructive criticisms of the company as “attacks”.  They said ridiculous things like “You hate Tony Khan” or “You don’t know anything about wrestling!”  Ill-informed people making stupid hot takes about what I say and write comes with the territory and frankly, in my mind when I speak and write it’s for the intelligent, rational people out there, not the people who will deny every fact and accepted truth because “they love AEW!” Smart people can love something and still see its flaws.  

Guess what?  At times I have loved AEW and people with a working memory who have paid attention know that.  Even when I don’t enjoy most of the product, as is the case right now, I still like AEW.  I like that the company provides jobs for hard working people.  I like that AEW gives the talent options that leads to them gaining better contracts for themselves and their families.  I like that the company gives fans a product that it enjoys, even when I do not.  So anyone who say I don’t like AEW is flat out wrong.

As for Tony Khan, I don’t know him so I can’t tell you if I like him or not.  All I can do is analyze the moves he has made, and more importantly not made, where AEW is concerned and evaluate him on that basis.  I evaluate his booking.  I evaluate his promoting.  I evaluate the strong culture backstage that he has never made any effort to establish, and the damage that happens every time wrestlers take advantage of the “no real rules” way that Tony runs his locker room.  

Guess what, part two?  I evaluated Vince McMahon on all of the same criteria for decades.  It’s what my job requires.  

What I saw happen quite often is that the people that love Tony hated Vince, so they were fine with me shredding the old man’s booking but they went ballistic when I did it to their beloved AEW.  They thought I was just mean so they never saw what was reported today coming.

With the report by Mike Johnson this morning about WWE top brass meeting with Warner Brother Discovery to talk about moving Raw to one of their networks, I hope all of the sycophants who refused to listen to the things I was saying before now understand what I was saying my critiques against Tony Khan and AEW.

I was never being spiteful or mean or whatever else the unhinged said I was being.  I was pointing out legitimate problem areas in the company and with my business education and background looking at how they could affect the company when it came time to get a new TV deal.  I was saying the things that Tony didn’t want to hear, so he listened to the “journalists” (and I almost threw up a little bit in my mouth when I referred to them that way) who refused to be fair and honest about the state of his company because their agendas were connected to him and his company.  The best thing about having truth in fairness be my only agenda is I never have to sell out and say things that aren’t true.  Personally, I would retire before I would do that.

I won’t repeat all of the criticisms that I have made over the years because I have made them many times in the past.  What I will say is that I made those criticisms to try and make Tony Khan see the problems that were obvious to many people, include many in his employ, as well as some who have left AEW.  

I wanted Tony to realize that as his product has stagnated, his TV deal was on the horizon.  When Tony said or implied (I honestly don’t remember which it was) that WBD picked up the 2024 option for his programming, I said it was a bad thing.  Why?

Think of it like the NFL.  If you draft a player in the first round, they get a four year deal with a fifth year option that the team can pick up.  If a team is sold on the player, they almost never let it get to the fifth year.  They do a new contract before it gets to that point.  If the player plays out the year, they can become a free agent and go to the highest bidder.  A team that loves their player does not want the situation to get to that point.  Tony Khan, whose family owns an NFL team, is well aware of how this scenario works.  When WBD picked up the option, it was clear to me that they didn’t love the proverbial player, this case AEW.  It told me that the fifth year was a value play for them and then they decide how to proceed with AEW later.  They did not lock up the star player.  They allowed them to go to free agency, which WWE is in right now with Raw’s rights.

Why didn’t they lock up the star player that should have been AEW?  Easy, they didn’t see them as one.  Why didn’t they see them as one?  Just go back and look at the criticisms I have made over the years about Tony and the way he runs AEW.  His actions have led to stagnant ratings.  They have led to continual backstage turmoil.  And maybe most importantly, they led to the way that Tony completely bungled the situation with CM Punk, who Tony himself has said was the stimulus that led AEW to its highest heights.  Now, due to the way Tony allowed the rats on his ship to attack Punk because they were threatened by him, he has turned “One Bill Phil” into “Phil The Happy Thrill”.  And don’t forget, the One Bill Phil reference was attributed to WBD’s CEO David Zazlav, whose company is now talking to WWE about putting Raw on his network (which would almost certainly means AEW will need to find a new home, or at best get a lesser deal than they have now to stay).  

Maybe Tony just assumed that, providing that the rumor is true, that since WBD owned a piece of AEW, he was safe and they wouldn’t make him hit the bricks.  If that was the case, he clearly wasn’t paying attention when WBD made many moves where they took significant monetary losses now with the plan being that it would be the right move in the long run.  Choosing Raw over AEW seems like a move they would make if they can agree on the price.

With all of that said, Tony could still get lucky.  WWE could be too rich for WBD’s blood and they could end up elsewhere.  If that is the case, Tony’s outlook improves significantly because if WBD lets AEW go, I don’t see another network out there that will give him a significant upgrade on what he has now, let along the ridiculous windfall that the hack reporters said was going to happen a while back.

Personally, I hope that Tony does get lucky.  I hope Raw ends up somewhere else, like Amazon perhaps.  As I said above, having AEW around is a great thing for the business overall.  But make no mistake Tony, your home network, and if the rumors are true partner, have sent you a very, very strong message by meeting with WWE.  I know you wouldn’t listen to this reporter Dave when tried to get through to you in the past (and you really should have).  I hope you aren’t as stubborn about listening to WBD because they clearly sent you a message about where you stand.  You had better listen this time.

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