Apr 5, 2023 14:11:05 GMT KING KID said:

Apr 5, 2023 9:20:46 GMT Jake said:

Mate I wanted the Saudis to buy WWE, more chance of them having a show up the north of England in Newcastle, if that were the case.

Yeah because the UFC doesn’t do international shows…. 

We are going to get a lot more international events now then ever. That also probably means we’re going to get a lot of international wrestlers getting big matches to headline these international PPVs. 

That's okey dokey with me.

Apr 5, 2023 17:10:57 GMT Jake said:

Apr 5, 2023 14:11:05 GMT KING KID said:

Yeah because the UFC doesn’t do international shows…. 

We are going to get a lot more international events now then ever. That also probably means we’re going to get a lot of international wrestlers getting big matches to headline these international PPVs. 

That's okey dokey with me.

Yeah man and I think this is going to be good for the future of the WWE too. 

Once Sheamus feuds with Roman, we’ll get the inevitable Ireland PPV. Sheamus OR McGregor vs Roman. 

I’m excited for this new world of wrestling. 

Consolidation has literally never made anything better. It's always for the worse. This is a better scenario than the Saudis buying it, but still bad. 

Apr 5, 2023 17:14:44 GMT KING KID said:

Apr 5, 2023 17:10:57 GMT Jake said:

That's okey dokey with me.

Yeah man and I think this is going to be good for the future of the WWE too. 

Once Sheamus feuds with Roman, we’ll get the inevitable Ireland PPV. Sheamus OR McGregor vs Roman. 

I’m excited for this new world of wrestling. 

That world does not excite me one iota. 

I liked the separation between UFC and WWE. Both different art forms, but one a bit more palatable to me. If they intermesh them, I can see people on the UFC side feeling like it's hurting the UFC product and people on the WWE side feeling the same way. As much as they occupy much of the same space, they are nothing alike. 

Don't MMA fans mostly hate wrestling?

Yea, I'm all for keeping them separated, if I wanted to see UFC guys on my TV screen, I would just watch UFC in the first place (I lost interest in MMA a long time ago).

Apr 5, 2023 22:17:57 GMT @ness said:

Don't MMA fans mostly hate wrestling?

That question doesn't make sense because MMA and wrestling are the same.

Neo Zeed

Apr 5, 2023 22:13:49 GMT iron maiden said:

Apr 5, 2023 17:14:44 GMT KING KID said:

Yeah man and I think this is going to be good for the future of the WWE too. 

Once Sheamus feuds with Roman, we’ll get the inevitable Ireland PPV. Sheamus OR McGregor vs Roman. 

I’m excited for this new world of wrestling. 

That world does not excite me one iota. 

I liked the separation between UFC and WWE. Both different art forms, but one a bit more palatable to me. If they intermesh them, I can see people on the UFC side feeling like it's hurting the UFC product and people on the WWE side feeling the same way. As much as they occupy much of the same space, they are nothing alike. 

As the great Triple H once said; ADAPT OR DIE! 

I also don’t think UFC and WWE are “always” going to intersect but you best believe we will be getting some UFC guys coming in for Mania or Summerslam programs. As long as they can keep up with Bad Bunny and Logan Paul who really set the new standard for celebrities wrestling.

McGregor is a MASSIVE draw no matter what you think of the UFC and he is a complete machine on the mic.

Apr 5, 2023 22:48:27 GMT Emperor said:

Apr 5, 2023 22:17:57 GMT @ness said:

Don't MMA fans mostly hate wrestling?

That question doesn't make sense because MMA and wrestling are the same.

Neo Zeed

Since they are the same you might as well unify the world title with whatever ufc has.

Have Brock beat Jon Jones and Roman and have him with all the HWT belts!

Unification match!!!

ONE WORLD CHAMPION

Another announcement to open Smackdown.

Second interested party was revealed to be Formula 1. Then and Endeavor at least where the ones putting in bids.

Should shock no one but Endeavor COO Shapiro said after the merge they will be aggressively cutting redundant costs. Likely WWE getting gutted as he also implied they would be taking over domestic deals.

Saudi deal will last until 20 shows have been done total and then it is over for good. Endeavor does not run there.  If they can end it early they will try.

I wonder what morale is like.

Cannot be good for WWE corporate. For the wrestlers, they are likely fine for now. No major signings may happen, but no firing either until merge.

Only guy I heard that wants out is Edge, but that is because he wants a run with Christian and Christian is locked down longer than Edge is.

They'd better not ignore those SYNERGY e-mails!

Apr 7, 2023 22:42:16 GMT c said:

Cannot be good for WWE corporate. For the wrestlers, they are likely fine for now. No major signings may happen, but no firing either until merge.

Only guy I heard that wants out is Edge, but that is because he wants a run with Christian and Christian is locked down longer than Edge is.

Edge signed a three year contract that got extended due to his injury. It should run out some time late this year. He announced his retirement in August of last year for August of this year.

www.timesnownews.com/sports/wwe/wwe-legend-edge-confirms-his-retirement-plans-after-raw-goes-off-the-air-watch-article-93751662/amp

Edge’s decision to leave has nothing to do with Vince, Endeavor, or anything really. He was leaving already.

Could the McMahons actually be future endeavor'd one day? Like a point where whatever WWE is then... they could be gone completely?

No, part of the deal was Vince or Steph needs to helm it.

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WWE on a hiring freeze that saw them have to cancel signing Jay White, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, and Nick Aldis last minute. AEW guys also told that it is unlikely they will be able to sign them back anytime soon.

Logan Paul may be the rare exception due to his business ties to UFC. He would be basically paying his own salary at this point.

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Papa Khan so could have bought WWE too it appears.  Last year he made 4.5 billion.  

Papa Khan has likely already lost a few billion paying for his son's wrestling hobby, and in reality wasn't even considering paying more to see his son replicate the Nitro/Raw " it does say McMahon... " segment in full TK awkwardness.

Apr 9, 2023 14:33:55 GMT NATH45 said:

Papa Khan has likely already lost a few billion paying for his son's wrestling hobby, and in reality wasn't even considering paying more to see his son replicate the Nitro/Raw " it does say McMahon... " segment in full TK awkwardness.

Just like Papa Carter!

Bloomberg reported last year that AEW is immensely profitable already. Not sure why people think he is not making money. Between live gates and the TV deals AEW is pulling in a lot of cash.

I guess when you read things like Punk and Miro (and I'm sure others) exploiting the kid for millions for nothing it's hard to think he isn't just blowing money like your typical money mark. We don't have total access to everything (though seems he'll report like 90% of it!) but seeing the the way TNA and others were about paying guys... it's just hard to fathom it isn't just an expensive hobby.

Different with TNA is Tony gets a live gate and TNA did not. Tony also has a big TV deal, with 175 million for Dynamite along, then more cash for the other shows. If the Sat show is the rumored two hour wrestling show, he is likely getting another 100+ million. If there is a money mark it is not Tony but Warner.  Also has the international deal with ESPN, and a Canadian and UK deal.  

Very likely too Warner now brings him in for the streaming service they are launching too, which is another paycheck.

It was reported that the Warner deal is worth $44 million pa, it was never specified it was purely for Dynamite. The report from WhatCulture (I presume via Fightful) reads as follows:

AEW currently earns around $44 million annually from WBD. Signed in 2019, that deal precedes WarnerMedia's merger with Discovery, which took place earlier this year, sparking rumours on AEW's television future.

November 10th, 2022

whatculture.com/wwe/latest-on-warner-bros-discovery-offering-aew-new-tv-deal

Which suggests that includes Dynamite, Rampage, The Battle of the Belt specials and the reality TV show projects.

Supposedly AEW has grossed over 100 million in revenue by an unknown source with no other evidence, but we have no idea what their expenditure is. You would have to think surely the talent, the staff, the licensing etc. should see them running at a profit, but there's no telling.

Unless I'm missing something, I don't see where the Bloomberg article that everyone else is quoting mentions anything about the company being profitable. That seems to be coming from other sources who jumped to conclusions.

Still let it be said that this is easily the best company to come along since WCW circa 98.

www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-02-02/wwe-challenger-aew-fueled-by-tony-khan-s-wrestling-obsession

AEW’s television contract, which was for $175 million according to the Wrestling Observer, expires at the end of the year, with an option for 2024.

Deal was 175 for dynamite, rampage, the Cody show, All Access and Battle for the Belts were all extra deals made.

AEW is also considering starting a streaming service, likely through a deal with its broadcast partner, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., according to a person familiar with management’s thinking, who asked not to be named. Last year, AEW broke $100 million in annual revenue for the first time, the person says.

Bloomberg Businessweek is not in the habit of making shit up and Kim Bhasin is a respected business journalist.

Tony repeatedly in the last few scrums said AEW is profitable and has been since 2021.  Believe he cleared paying back the investors middle of last year as well.

I do find it weird that people believe Tony is losing money but can also put on one of the largest wrestling shows in history. Like he can draw 90k people but also cannot afford to pay talent makes no sense at all.

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Really curious if this merger gets challenged under antitrust or not. So far no one speaking up, but this does create a massive monopoly in TV sports entertainment. Also Vince better hope the books have no more surprised as the SEC will be reviewing them now.