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How is it the WWE owns the rights to Great American Bash and War Games but not The Crockett Cup?
They made the effort to get the former, but not the latter. That would tell me that they didn’t have interest in The Cup.
I just saw that Minneapolis will be hosting SummerSlam in 2026 for two nights. Does this effectively take them out of the running for Wrestlemania? Does that mean another city is being considered for Wrestlemania 42?
I can’t say that definitively but it I would certainly think that is the case. I don’t see WWE going to that market for two big events that close together.
Also, why 2026? What happened to 2025? Is there a different city already locked in for Summerslam 2025?
No one that I speak with knows or is saying. It could be that they are waiting to be in the locale to make the announcement for next year’s show. It wouldn’t shock me to see that happen at Clash At The Castle, with the show being two nights at Wembley, or somewhere similar.
Tony Khan has many booking follies, but in my opinion, the way Orange Cassidy is being presented is the biggest problem that drives away the casual fan and only appeals to the 2000 or so people that attend Dynamite/Collision every week in a 10k seat arena. I mean how can a casual fan watch how this guy wrestles, puts his hands in his pockets like a joke, and then turns into a combination of Super Cena and the Tribal Chief by going over strong against 300 pound guys like Shane Taylor or jacked guys like Brian Cage? Don't get me wrong, this silliness has an audience, but this comedy is even more over the top than Santino Marella antics in a match. Difference is Santino was never booked as strong as Orange Cassidy because for the same reason that WWE didn't want to drive the casual fan away (even more since WWE was half filling arenas for TV during that time as well). In my opinion, as long as Orange Cassidy is presented like this on TV every week, no way they can fill major arenas with this unbelievable presentation (PPVs are a different story). Rant over, what are your thoughts on how Orange Cassidy is presented on AEW TV?
I agree with every, single thing you said. I have never liked the character and I never will. Yes, he appeals to a subset of the overall audience (and is a personal favorite of Tony Khan) but I agree with you that if a casual fan turned on AEW and saw that act, they would most probably turn off the show. It’s ridiculous to the average fan for a near top guy to use that gimmick. It’s undercard comedy stuff.
In reading today's Q&A, you mentioned how a lot of people still don't see that that what made ECW great was the storytelling and characters. Being a bleacher bum from 95-97, I agree completely. Could it be that TK never realized that? I see AEW as being what ECW would have looked like to a 13 year old Tony who wouldn’t yet understand the psychology of storytelling. Dream matches, heavy bleeding, over the top sexual references, cursing, and his incessant pushing of an AEW chant.
That’s something I never considered before. Tony did witness ECW as a young kid and maybe everything did go over his head. With that said, he’s in his 40s now. He should have grown up and smartened up about what sells and what doesn’t, especially as his product isn’t selling the way that it used to. Then again, after some of the stuff that occured on the PPV last night, I don't have much faith that will happen.
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