And unreal that Fire Ant is now doing media for one of the largest wrestling shows ever. Orange truly has made it.

Aug 27, 2023 21:59:12 GMT c said:

Aug 27, 2023 21:55:36 GMT @toddisdrunk said:

Tony just said the actual attendance was 90k with comps. So he Vinced the numbers. It’s wrestling so whatever, but Dave will run with it as a legitimate number, no questions asked.

Numbers were 80k paid and 10k comps which is in line with what Dave has been saying.

Yes but I have eyes. There are not 90k people in that stadium. There are multiple tarps and islands of red empties on the top tier. I’ve seen 94k at Wembley with no tarps, no stage, no empties. It doesn’t check out.

I don’t care that Tony wants to pimp his show. More power to him. It’s obviously a huge show. I could buy 75k legitimate putting it close to the top all time. But there’s no scrutiny from wrestling journalists because he’s their mate. I find that irritating.

Aug 27, 2023 21:32:57 GMT Emperor said:

A remarkable party thread for a remarkable show. How many people in this thread are watching the event?

I was busy doing Go Fest (a Pokemon Go event) with the family, and we're about to go see the new Ninja Turtles movie (which starts in 40ish minutes). The time difference doesn't work for me, but I will end up watching the show as soon as I can.

Aug 27, 2023 22:00:38 GMT c said:

Aug 27, 2023 21:58:44 GMT X-zero said:

Jack Perry is one of the ones that has gone on record that doesn't like to listen to vets. And a few people with podcast have said him wanting to use real glass was dumb backing what Punk said. And he makes a point to say he is using real glass into the camera doing his match.

If all the heat rumors between him and Punk are true, it is also likely he will be released when his contract is up.

Yeah I just caught up reading the thread and didn't know more happen with it.

UK is not like America people could watch week to week what tickets were left and what areas were shutdown. Can be critical of the numbers, but for months the numbers all followed a solid trend ending with 80k sold and the 10k comped to friends and family.

Likely the 10k number is BS if anything is.

Aug 27, 2023 22:13:01 GMT X-zero said:

Aug 27, 2023 22:00:38 GMT c said:

If all the heat rumors between him and Punk are true, it is also likely he will be released when his contract is up.

Yeah I just caught up reading the thread and didn't know more happen with it.

The rumor is SRS solely once again, who covers all of the AEW drama exclusively, with details behind his paywall.  Honestly, it is likely bullshit and Miro said as much.  Everyone trashes Dave or other people, but SRS really is getting known to have drama rumors at each big AEW show that then turns out to have no one else report and people call out as bullshit.

Some All Out matches were set up during the post-show conference.

International Championship match: Jon Moxley vs. the winner of Wednesday's Orange/Penta match

Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Ah Tony confirmed Mone was here at his request. Thought it was weird to have her in the stands as a fan.

Hum, well this is awkward. Tony confirmed the Punk and Jungle Boy stuff in that there was a confrontation.  Which jells with the redditor who said Jungle's mom left at the very start of the PPV and did not return, when it was rumored he was kicked out.

Sounds like Punk gets to keep labor day as his PPV in Chicago yearly.

Tony confirmed Pac is injured again or else he would have been showcased.  He had to change plans due to the injury.  Same with Jamie.

Also did confirm Fox getting pulled was a last minute decision for reasons he would not talk about which is really sad it means the Grandma rumor is likely true.

Edit:

Melzter playfully teasing Tony that he needs to get one of them WWE style PPV deals.

Oct 1st in Seattle be Wrestle Dream, a tribute to Inoki.  Sounds like a special show he is very, very excited about.  Sounding like a crossover show.  

Nov 18 is Full Gear in LA.  

Two west coast PPVs.  Interesting.  

Edit:

Tony confirmed NJPW will be involved.

I've got an hour left to watch. I'm watching it on and off throughout the day, as I refused to get up at 3am to see it live.

It's extraordinary what they've achieved here. To think 5 years ago, the notion that anyone could do 10,000 outside of the WWE was seen as the ultimate " you made it " goal. 80,000.. 75,000.. I don't think it matters. I doubt everyone paid for there tickets, but who cares.. it's a massive achievement for both AEW and the business itself.

Ok, a few notes.

I enjoyed Punk v Joe. I liked the shout outs to Cena and Hogan. Joe being Joe and not giving a fuck is always enjoyable.

I thought FTR v The Young Bucks was enjoyable too. Good match. As expected.

I fast-forwarded through Bullet Club Old v New. I couldn't get into it. Kota in those first few minutes looked like he hadn't warmed up or was content with moving at a casual pace. Everyone seemed to be working hard, I just didn't enjoy it.

Stadium Stampede is where it picked up for me. I really enjoyed this match. It wasn't the usual bullshit that I think of when I hear those words, it was just a fight. And Moxley didn't give a fuck about anyone's wellbeing and that was awesome. Everyone went hard.

I want to hate Yuta because he looks like his Father is also his Cousin, but he always proves me wrong.

Also props to Trent, he took some hits tonight and probably doesn't get enough credit.

Cassidy obviously came out of this looking like a star.

The women's match - am I allowed to say this? I had no interest in, nor do I care for Paige and knowing damn well she was winning, in the interest of time, I fast-forwarded.

Oh, the Coffin Match. Yeah fast-forwarded that too.

Jericho turned me off in a matter of minutes, between his pompous attempt at recreating the Queen at Wembley thing and his awful song, I couldn't sit through it. I watched the first 5 minutes of the match and moved on. I guess he'll get into a Twitter spat next week over the technicalities Fozzy played in front of 80,000.

Just House of Black v The Acclaimed and the main event left. I know the results, so no surprises.

Generally fantastic atmosphere. I genuinely had a smile on my face as the camera panned across the stadium at the start with Bush playing. We are living through an amazing period in wrestling.

Couldn’t watch the show live because I am visiting family I haven’t seen in almost 4 years. My mom gets priority over All In (barely).

So I watched in clips and twitter when I could, and I will go back and watch the whole show next week, but from what I have seen… damn this was special.

Watch Will Ospreay’s entrance and try not to get emotional. That lad grew up thinking of Wembley Stadium as mecca. He watched the original get knocked down, then saw a building replace it that seemed unobtainable. God-like. A place where only the best of the best…the elite, could ever imagine performing. Then he began wrestling, moved to Japan, became one of the biggest stars on the planet, and ended up fighting one of his heroes in a dream match in that very building. Look at how hyped he is when he enters, with the Union Jack over one shoulder and tears welling in his eyes.

Then that hero, in all his egotistical glory walks out SINGING A SONG HE WROTE, AFTER MIMICKING FREDDY FUCKING MERCURY. Somehow, after 30 years in the business doing everything you could ever imagine, he still tops himself for one more “fuck you, I’m Chris Jericho,” before fighting you. Like my god. GOAT. FUCKING GOAT.

Expect 100 more posts from me between now and next week because I got a lot of thoughts. I just hope you all know, like I do, how special tonight was.

The main event was great. 

I was convince we were seeing the double-turn towards the end of it, with Cole cheating his way to the win. And fuck, it looked like it was going to happen. 

MJF is such a great storyteller. It's hard to believe he's just 27 years old.

Even harder to believe he came up through CZW.

I checked out some of the show. Apparently the way to make your matches special on such a big show is to double the finisher kickouts and have a bunch of moves kicked out for the first time ever. Unsurprisingly it was The Young Bucks and FTR who took this to the most absurd lengths. It's what the AEW audience want to see, so I can't exactly blame 'em.

Jericho gets to live out his dream again by being a (terrible) rock star, a wrestler, and a stadium star all at the same time. Good for him. I actually had high expectations that were dampened by far too much sloppiness, the highlight being Jericho's ill-advised attempt at an Oz Cutter. It looked like Jericho got knocked loopy. Ospreay guiding Jericho through the rest of the match was a reminder of the recent Ospreay vs Naito finish.

On the whole the show felt very fan-servicey, with how Orange Cassidy was booked, and Saraya, most of the card. It's certainly a different approach to Wrestlemania or Wrestle Kingdom which is the culmination of many long-term storyline arcs. That's not even a criticism, I doubt AEW is trying to attract more fans as much as it is pleasing the current fans as much as possible with cheap thrills and dopamine hits. And that's fine.

But there is one story in AEW that's paying off more than I could have ever expected. MJF vs Adam Cole. When their friendship angle started, I was skeptical. Then it got good. Then I stopped paying attention for a while. I watched their match against Aussie Open, which struck me as a waste of 2023's best tag team. They were merely a pawn to advance the MJF vs Cole story.

The main event was a completely different story. Brilliant psychology, the match taking many twists and turns, that were unexpected but made perfect sense. MJF has been a sadistic heel his entire career. "The Devil", he calls himself, but even prior to this storyline it was clear MJF's behaviour was driven by insecurity, loneliness, a desperation for attention. Therefore, although MJF being the first to turn heel was the obvious play, it made perfect sense that Cole was the first to turn on his sadistic side. Cole's never suffered from loneliness or insecurity, so it's easy for him to flip the switch and get down to business when the stakes are at their highest. Meanwhile MJF has his first real friend, so he feels betrayed, and finds it impossible to do the evil things to his best and only friend, things that previously came so easily. A compelling dynamic that both guys played really well.

It wasn't all perfect. The one problem I have with MJF and Cole is that they get too cute. I speak mainly of the Double Clothesline spot. That whole thing felt like a rib, like when Jericho was challenged to get the word "It" over. It shocked me that they used a joke move to beat Aussie Open. There was a big spot in the main event based on the double clothesline, which was so silly it took me out of the match, but that was fortunately the only moment where I lost interest.

The conclusion was shenanigan-heavy but it all made sense and felt earned. Roderick Strong hammed it up a bit too much, but acting was never his strength, he did a good enough job. The finish was great, as was the aftermath. Both guys created a great story, they worked it into the match to present a different kind of main event, something with a flavour of originality, and it paid off. Great job.

The rest of the card was fine, but would have also been fine on a regular AEW PPV with the possible exception of Stadium Stampede and Ospreay/Jericho.

One final comment: Takeshita's "music" is fantastic; it's hilarious he got the pinfall and we had five minutes of white noise after the match ended.

I don't think fans knew how to react to Takeshita's music. I love it. It makes them so hateable.

Watched what I missed today. Punk vs Joe was amazing, and their best match so far. One of my favorite Punk matches easily. So many amazing callbacks, a beautiful tribute to Terry as I expected him to do, and just a great reminder of what RoH was all about.  The Hogan vs Hogan spot had me cracking up so much.  This is what I hate about Punk the most, when he is on, he is untouchable.  But his attitude is just so toxic and when he is not on, you can tell as he half-asses everything.  And can tell this match was Punk calling.  Joe likes more traditional stuff where Punk is all about throwbacks and inside jokes.

Bucks vs FTR and Elite vs Bullet Club were good matches but neither really great IMO. The hype of Bucks being FTR greatest opponent rings sour to me when we all know it was the Briscoes. Elite vs Bullet Club I think needed more time to cook to be really great. The talent was there, but the heat was still weird.

Hardcore match was a great Bunkhouse brawl and another fun Terry tribute. Mox countering Orange's bullshit with a fork was hilarious. Great shot near the end of Eddie flicking off Mox. Trent was a madman here. Not known him to do hardcore but man he was a mess. Oscuro appearing was amazing. I am a sucker for shit like that. Match ending as a Taipei deathmatch was crazy as was Claudio taking the hit. This match was likely the best tribute to the Funker anyone has done as he in so many matches just like it.

Women's match should be no shock I went nuts for. Knight family coming out, Sweet Sayara getting involved, Nigel even reminding fans who she is and how dangerous she is was amazing. Sayara winning in her home country was amazing. Then her family coming out was just incredible. And holy shit did Ricky look good. He look his age during the pandemic, as did Sweet Sayara at times, but they clean up nice. For those who do not know, Ricky is 69 (nice). Great day for that family though. Still wish the Hooligans got a dark match or jobbed on Zero Hour though. Speaking of ages, unreal Sayara is only 31. Feels like she had a full career behind her at this point, but realistically, she can go 20 more years transitioning into her mom's gimmick as she gets older of being the old lady who beats on the youngsters.

Coffin match was ok. Sting doing it at 64 was unreal. Wish Fox was able to make the show.

Will brought out the absolute best it Jericho it seemed like, making him look decade younger. Surprised he could get him up so easily for the Stormbreakers. Loved the battle of Judas Effect vs Hidden Blade. Interesting ending with Jericho all alone as the loser. Since AEW started, he never been in this place before.

House of Black vs Acclaimed was fun. Cool to see Julia getting involved more and more. Also shocking to see Acclaimed win here. Hope Acclaimed keep the rules the same. That was a very Black gimmick, and one that made trios matches interesting.

Main event even better of rewatch. Just a great story. Best Cole match IMO. MJF's was Punk with the collar though IMO just because of the history behind it.

That explains the Miro tweet.

Miro banned from collision now.

Sounds like Mone and Tony decided to have her in the crowd to hide her booted foot and tease her for the future. This way they could showcase her, without showing she was hurt and if things do not work, not promise future appearances.  Smart move.

I think I've watched the main event 3 times now.

I had doubts that this match was going to be " big enough " for the ALL IN main event, but those guys nailed it.

Big Dave probably won't find 5 stars for it, but between this and maybe Sami v Roman Reigns, these are easily the two best matches of the year.

The local government have released the official turnstile count for AEW All In.

72,265 is the official figure.

AEW is still claiming that 81,035 paid for tickets.

According to the Arlington Police report, 80,709 came through the turnstiles at Wrestlemania 32.

That's still an incredible attendance and over twice as many as I expected, but it's nice to see some due diligence. For awhile it seemed like everyone was just going to run with the 81K figure which always seemed sus.

If you meme Tony Khan over this, your ire is aimed at the wrong person. Tony Khan is doing what every other promoter has done, wrestling or otherwise, since the dawn of time. How many tickets were sold.

Dave Meltzer is the story here. In the lead up to All In he used the turnstile number of WrestleMania 32 as the threshold for the All In distribution number to beat. He compared apples and oranges deliberately. I don’t care how many obituaries he’s written for Japanese legends, or how many pages he’s written on the Montreal Screwjob, he has no journalistic integrity. He exists to facilitate the agenda he has to push the style of wrestling he likes at the expense of the wrestling he doesn’t like. He is a disgrace.

Sept 14, 2023 8:39:46 GMT @toddisdrunk said:

If you meme Tony Khan over this, your ire is aimed at the wrong person. Tony Khan is doing what every other promoter has done, wrestling or otherwise, since the dawn of time. How many tickets were sold.

Dave Meltzer is the story here. In the lead up to All In he used the turnstile number of WrestleMania 32 as the threshold for the All In distribution number to beat. He compared apples and oranges deliberately. I don’t care how many obituaries he’s written for Japanese legends, or how many pages he’s written on the Montreal Screwjob, he has no journalistic integrity. He exists to facilitate the agenda he has to push the style of wrestling he likes at the expense of the wrestling he doesn’t like. He is a disgrace.

We need to remember the real victims as well, like Will Ospreay who took to livestream to lament his new tattoo celebrating 81K.

I appreciate Dave trying to challenge his perspective and keep up with modern trends but the over-compensation and his antics on social media have really exposed him.

You're right about Tony, we'll always have this:

Hypothetically, how do nearly 10,000 ticket holders forget to show up?

I can imagine a few thousand, maybe at best weren't able to attend for whatever reason.

And I can imagine, that several thousand likely had some sort of VIP treatment and were ushered through a private entrance and weren't counted through the turnstiles. Including media and personalities.

Sponsors may have picked up a few thousand tickets as part of their deals, but didn't give all of them away.

Then consider all the friends, families, partners and kids that likely travelled with and attended the show, rather than allocating some seats, a less than honest promoter might purchase these tickets the old fashioned way to bump the numbers.

Or TK just worked the numbers like every other promotion always has.