Yup being the fifth highest rated show on cable, with two special sports events going on, was an awful night. Do you realize how insane this sounds?  5th out of 5 hours of content produced by 126 different channels and you act like this is somehow a horrible result for the show?

If you want to use raw numbers, America's Funniest Home Videos draws twice the viewers Smackdown did.  By raw numbers both Smackdown and Raw would be total failures as neither break the weekly top 50.  Combined they still are behind Survivor's 44th season.

But fifth on a night that is a real problem and AEW should be canceling up shop.

Real question, can you find even one single source that claims WBD is in any way upset with the performance of AEW?  Know you, Tony's boss?  You keep saying this has to be bad for Tony, has WBD at any point shown displeasure with the ratings, or has any adgroup considered pulling it's ads due to lack of perceived valued due to declining ratings?  

For someone that doesn't care...

Less than 250,000 is a bad night. I've acknowledged it was a tough night. But it happened, they rated horribly.

" If you ain't first, you're last " - American proverb.

Nov 28, 2023 23:36:06 GMT RT said:

Nov 28, 2023 14:25:44 GMT Leper Messiah said:

I do wonder, why are so many AEW diehards upset Punk is back in WWE. I mean, wasn't Punk this "massive cancer", so don't they want him to go back to WWE and cause problems backstage?

Or is it the reality setting in that Omega, the Young Bucks, and all of their friends aren't as innocent as that they want to portray them as, and that AEW has hurt themselves more in this situation.

I guess the "greener grass" of AEW is just AstroTurf.

It’s less about AEW vs WWE and more about the fact a lot of people who grew up watching CM Punk and idolizing him learned a lot more about the type of person he is over his AEW run. He’s an egotistical primadonna and a massive hypocrite. It’s like finding out a band you really enjoy are total assholes. It sours the fun.

I don’t care that he went to WWE. I care that for the first time in my life I don’t want to see CM Punk on my TV no matter where he is because he’s an asshole. It sucks.

I’m sure I will get over it though. Went through the same thing with Austin. Eventually I will be able to separate the art from the artist again and I’ll be fine. But I’m gonna be grumpy for a little bit.

You weren't aware Punk could be an asshole if he's pissed at a person?😂

People loved when Punk criticized WWE for it's b.s., but hated when he criticized the EVPs and their friends for their b.s. (because I guess all the Meltzer stars make their b.s. okay). It's all funny, since it's AEW shooting themselves in the foot, since being "PWG with a budget" pretty much caps their ceiling where it's at.

It's not "PWG with a budget" anymore, it's going to be NJPW-lite apparently. Nonsensical booking, little build and focus on high work rate.

That's reportedly why QT was as odds with AEW, as he was pushing for a more entertainment focused show.

That'll pop the ratings.

AEW has given me two of my favourite moments of this year, the ALL IN main event and seeing Jack Perry get stomped out by RUSH. So it hasn't been all bad.

Nov 28, 2023 14:25:44 GMT Leper Messiah said:

I do wonder, why are so many AEW diehards upset Punk is back in WWE. I mean, wasn't Punk this "massive cancer", so don't they want him to go back to WWE and cause problems backstage?

Or is it the reality setting in that Omega, the Young Bucks, and all of their friends aren't as innocent as that they want to portray them as, and that AEW has hurt themselves more in this situation.

I guess the "greener grass" of AEW is just AstroTurf.

They wanted Punk to suffer for going against what they wanted. He didn't suffer which makes them suffer.

Tony probably should have back Punk which probably would have been the best for both companies. Punk could have help the shows flow better for Tony. And the Elite mainly Omega and Page could be produced better in the WWE some to make them feel like bigger stars.

Nov 29, 2023 3:34:45 GMT Leper Messiah said:

Nov 28, 2023 23:36:06 GMT RT said:

It’s less about AEW vs WWE and more about the fact a lot of people who grew up watching CM Punk and idolizing him learned a lot more about the type of person he is over his AEW run. He’s an egotistical primadonna and a massive hypocrite. It’s like finding out a band you really enjoy are total assholes. It sours the fun.

I don’t care that he went to WWE. I care that for the first time in my life I don’t want to see CM Punk on my TV no matter where he is because he’s an asshole. It sucks.

I’m sure I will get over it though. Went through the same thing with Austin. Eventually I will be able to separate the art from the artist again and I’ll be fine. But I’m gonna be grumpy for a little bit.

You weren't aware Punk could be an asshole if he's pissed at a person?😂

People loved when Punk criticized WWE for it's b.s., but hated when he criticized the EVPs and their friends for their b.s. (because I guess all the Meltzer stars make their b.s. okay). It's all funny, since it's AEW shooting themselves in the foot, since being "PWG with a budget" pretty much caps their ceiling where it's at.

Whatever image Punk had as this principaled outlaw was immediately tarnished when he worked that Fox show. It was around that time he was reportedly open to working with the WWE again, before it came out that Vince didn't want to deal with the headache. When it came to AEW, Punk seemed fairly negative with both sides throwing shade at one another. Punk called out AEW's lack of tact when it came to negotiations, while AEW returned serve with the locker room leader story.

I think fans either forgot or moved on from it because Punk was so pro-AEW in the beginning.

What makes it so interesting is the nuance of it. Not even Punk's biggest fan would argue that he's actually easy to deal with. Punk's difficult, he's tempermental, he has delusions of grandeur, he's petty and he's quick to turn on people. It's some of those traits that make him such a compelling figure and somebody you want to see in the ring - either to cheer or boo.

Another reason why Punk was so divisive in AEW is because he genuinely cared. He staked his own reputation to help grow that company and it was all met with derision and petulance. AEW could have had been riveting television if they actually went with Punk-Hangman and leant into the personal problems but they couldn't get the deal done. It was a bad reflection of the company and it's led to a lot of indifference. That's one opportunity the WWE has with Punk/Rollins, where both parties have dragged one another publically but can set aside their differences and make money.

Sprinkled in that is the wrestling media and the role they've played. If you're Pro-Punk, you're also likely in the Cult of Cornette and subscribe to everything he says even when he's openly racist and misogynistic. Then there's Meltzer and Alvarez who are pro-Elite and can't help to use their platform to push that rhetoric while also framing themselves as an objective source. Throw in SRS, Hausman etc. and it just muddies the water.

This is Punk's curtain call, and it's going to be interesting to see whether Punk is just going to clock in clock out like so many guys who have returned (Rob Van Dam, The Dudley Boyz etc.) or if he can have an impact on the show. It's an interesting test for both him and the company.

Punk has go home heat for many AEW fans. We do not want him suffer or be miserable, he just want him to go home because we would rather see anyone else in his spot on TV. Not sure why people are making this into more than it is. Many of us do not like Punk, so we do not want to see him.

Ultimate problem with Punk in AEW is he became full on Hogan. And had a glass body. The glass body I would be more concerned with than his ego right now, as most of these arguments are moot if he spends the majority of his time in WWE at home like he did in AEW. AEW style cannot be blamed either. His foot broke diving into the crowd and tricep tear could have easily happen in WWE as Cody showed with the pec tear.

Nov 29, 2023 2:00:37 GMT c said:

Yup being the fifth highest rated show on cable, with two special sports events going on, was an awful night. Do you realize how insane this sounds?  5th out of 5 hours of content produced by 126 different channels and you act like this is somehow a horrible result for the show?

If you want to use raw numbers, America's Funniest Home Videos draws twice the viewers Smackdown did.  By raw numbers both Smackdown and Raw would be total failures as neither break the weekly top 50.  Combined they still are behind Survivor's 44th season.

But fifth on a night that is a real problem and AEW should be canceling up shop.

Real question, can you find even one single source that claims WBD is in any way upset with the performance of AEW?  Know you, Tony's boss?  You keep saying this has to be bad for Tony, has WBD at any point shown displeasure with the ratings, or has any adgroup considered pulling it's ads due to lack of perceived valued due to declining ratings?  

I’d say WBD negotiating with WWE for Raw TV rights is as clear a sign as possible they’re not sold on AEW.

Hey, ratings mean nothing. Unless you're Chris Jericho and you celebrate Dynamite beating Smackdown when it was bumped to FS1, the only to get mocked relentlessly by people reminding him that a single RAW or Smackdown does more than all 3 AEW shows combined.

Alright I think this thread has run its course. We don't need multiple threads on CM Punk and I'm not having another pointless ratings argument, since everything about AEW eventually devolves into "lol they can't even get 1 million viewers lol."

CM Punk Thread in WWE Forum

AEW General News & Discussion Thread