Probably the first Dynamite when people gave it a go, and Punk’s debut, would be the top two. Page winning the title three.

If your point is that they need to pack up this backstage Russo bullshit and put a product on the screen that gets new fans interested, I couldn’t agree more. I have no faith in Khan to make that happen.

That's is the exact point Todd

AEW is known more for these mudshow carny moments than anything positive they've done. These moments completely over shadow everything.

Also,

Apr 11, 2024 17:13:41 GMT c said:

Feels like they been seeding Willow's turn for a month now. But agree, it will not work as Willow is so damn lovable. She can be in the ring beating people with a chair viciously and fans will still cheer because it is Willow.  Hoping she is getting scouted by WWE.  Love her in AEW, but let's face it, with her charisma she could be massive in WWE.  Shocked Tony got her at all since she was loved in Booker's fed.

Yeah I assume some fuckery will be done to avoid an interim title if possible. Hopefully Julia can work enough to get a rollup, if not strip her.  Her reign worked, Julia is now a legit wrestler and does not need the title anyway.

My version is over booked but thing it would work in the long run. Don't explain who turns the lights off on Mone. Have Stokely use the pick rule make it where the match must have winner or something. Doing Julie entrance blackout have Mone over Julie when lights back on. Mone tells Willow to pin her. That she is giving her a title like she did last time. Willow looks sad tries to walk away. Kris turns on Willow. They lay willow on Julie for a new champion. Stokely raises both Kris and Mone hands over.

It continues.

---

It now looks like there may even be potential legal issues of the segment.

Following AEW Dynamite many fans noticed that AEW began claiming/removing clips of the CCTV footage from social media, something the company does not often do.

UK Wrestling podcast ‘The Gorilla Position’ even claimed they had been emailed requesting the footage be removed from their Twitter feed.

Many fans have begun speculating that AEW is concerned as in the United Kingdom, where All In was held and the CCTV footage originates, CCTV footage is considered personal data under GDPR legislation.

GDPR legislation in the UK states that personal information should only be accessible to those who need to for their job, therefore by airing the CCTV footage and making it accessible to the general public this could be interpreted as a breach of UK law.

“It is forbidden for CCTV operators to share footage of identifiable people with the media or on the internet for entertainment purposes.

The only footage that is allowed to be released is if it’s to identify someone for purposes requested by the police.”

It appears that CM Punk’s legal team are aware of potential issues with the AEW Dynamite footage as lawyer Steve New, who represented CM Punk and Ace Steel in the aftermath of the 2022 AEW Brawl, took to social media.

Responding to a fan who was concerned by AEW’s use of CCTV and the UK GDPR violations it may have invoked, New stated: “I tried to warn them yesterday afternoon”

Itrwrestling.com

Apr 12, 2024 8:54:09 GMT NATH45 said:

That's is the exact point Todd

AEW is known more for these mudshow carny moments than anything positive they've done. These moments completely over shadow everything.

I would disagree with that but I’m not about to poll all of the internet so I can’t really argue either.

…

They are still promoting Copeland/Willow vs Brody/Julia for Wednesday so either her shoulder is fine or they don’t know anything yet. Guess we will find out in the coming days.

I’m excited for Ospreay/Claudio. That’s gonna be a banger.

Apr 12, 2024 11:36:42 GMT NATH45 said:

It continues.

---

It now looks like there may even be potential legal issues of the segment.

Following AEW Dynamite many fans noticed that AEW began claiming/removing clips of the CCTV footage from social media, something the company does not often do.

UK Wrestling podcast ‘The Gorilla Position’ even claimed they had been emailed requesting the footage be removed from their Twitter feed.

Many fans have begun speculating that AEW is concerned as in the United Kingdom, where All In was held and the CCTV footage originates, CCTV footage is considered personal data under GDPR legislation.

GDPR legislation in the UK states that personal information should only be accessible to those who need to for their job, therefore by airing the CCTV footage and making it accessible to the general public this could be interpreted as a breach of UK law.

“It is forbidden for CCTV operators to share footage of identifiable people with the media or on the internet for entertainment purposes.

The only footage that is allowed to be released is if it’s to identify someone for purposes requested by the police.”

It appears that CM Punk’s legal team are aware of potential issues with the AEW Dynamite footage as lawyer Steve New, who represented CM Punk and Ace Steel in the aftermath of the 2022 AEW Brawl, took to social media.

Responding to a fan who was concerned by AEW’s use of CCTV and the UK GDPR violations it may have invoked, New stated: “I tried to warn them yesterday afternoon”

Itrwrestling.com

When they released the segment without the footage and started taking stuff down I knew there was a bigger reason than “we shouldn’t have aired that.” WBD’s lawyers probably figured out they could air the footage on TV but not release it elsewhere just to be safe.

And I would take everything Stephen New says with a grain of salt. Dude didn’t know the difference between an NDA and contract clause. And if there is any hint of filing a lawsuit with the UK government and Punk’s lawyer is posting about it on social media then he’s even dumber than I thought.

I am sure crack attorney Stephen P. New from the House of Kayfabe is all over this.

Apr 12, 2024 11:36:42 GMT NATH45 said:

It continues.

---

It now looks like there may even be potential legal issues of the segment.

Following AEW Dynamite many fans noticed that AEW began claiming/removing clips of the CCTV footage from social media, something the company does not often do.

UK Wrestling podcast ‘The Gorilla Position’ even claimed they had been emailed requesting the footage be removed from their Twitter feed.

Many fans have begun speculating that AEW is concerned as in the United Kingdom, where All In was held and the CCTV footage originates, CCTV footage is considered personal data under GDPR legislation.

GDPR legislation in the UK states that personal information should only be accessible to those who need to for their job, therefore by airing the CCTV footage and making it accessible to the general public this could be interpreted as a breach of UK law.

“It is forbidden for CCTV operators to share footage of identifiable people with the media or on the internet for entertainment purposes.

The only footage that is allowed to be released is if it’s to identify someone for purposes requested by the police.”

It appears that CM Punk’s legal team are aware of potential issues with the AEW Dynamite footage as lawyer Steve New, who represented CM Punk and Ace Steel in the aftermath of the 2022 AEW Brawl, took to social media.

Responding to a fan who was concerned by AEW’s use of CCTV and the UK GDPR violations it may have invoked, New stated: “I tried to warn them yesterday afternoon”

Itrwrestling.com

I did say earlier but thanks for finding an article that lays it out more than I explained. GDPR is massive and you have to be so so careful with data access and retention. That footage probably shouldn’t have been retained that long if there was no police involvement for one. It should only be stored as long as is necessary and in the UK it’s usually 28 days for CCTV. And if Punk’s legal team is looking into this, that suggests AEW’s didn’t?

If Punk sued and won due to a privacy violation, that would be the most hilarious thing ever.

This was a dumb idea on so many levels.

Apr 12, 2024 19:59:21 GMT KJ said:

If Punk sued and won due to a privacy violation, that would be the most hilarious thing ever.

This was a dumb idea on so many levels.

I would ask for one thing, for Tony and The Bucks to publicly apologise on Dynamite for their naughty behaviour.

No " ackchyuallys... " or bait & switches, just " we are deeply sorry our obnoxious behaviour... "

Apr 12, 2024 20:36:24 GMT NATH45 said:

Apr 12, 2024 19:59:21 GMT KJ said:

If Punk sued and won due to a privacy violation, that would be the most hilarious thing ever.

This was a dumb idea on so many levels.

I would ask for one thing, for Tony and The Bucks to publicly apologise on Dynamite for their naughty behaviour.

No " ackchyuallys... " or bait & switches, just " we are deeply sorry our obnoxious behaviour... "

I can't see Khan or the EVPs doing that, unfortunately. Khan couldn't even bring himself to say "sorry the exploding ring match was a dud". Funny, considering he was a big ECW fan, and all ECW fans remember a trait of the company being Heyman/Gordon willing to say "we're sorry that sucked, give us a chance to make it up to you".

We have our ratings breakdown:

8:00: 0.33 demo rating (987,000 viewers) – Attack on Samoa Joe, Adam Copeland vs. Penta
8:15: 0.31 demo rating (857,000 viewers) – Adam Copeland vs. Penta
8:30: 0.34 demo rating (880,000 viewers) – Backstage promos, All In Footage Segment
8:45: 0.32 demo rating (822,000 viewers) – FTR promo, Danielson promo, Ospreay interview
9:00: 0.29 demo rating (767,000 viewers) – HOOK & Shibata vs. STP
9:15: 0.28 demo rating (765,000 viewers) – Okada match, promos
9:30: 0.28 demo rating (759,000 viewers) – Anna Jay vs. Mariah May, Mercedes Mone interview
9:45: 0.27 demo rating (723,000 viewers) – Samoa Joe vs. Dustin Rhodes

---

We start off strong, thanks to TBBT. Then 130,000 change the channel. 23,000 additional casual observers tune in for CM Punk. Then nearly 60,000 instantly tune out, likely having throw the remote through the TV. Then in the space of 1 hour Bruv, those needles move and 100,000 go to bed having already watched a Samoan battle a Rhodes.

Or something else started at 9pm that drew away casual fans. Which is why single variable analysis is not very useful to draw objective conclusions about watch trends.

9pm EST was also the launch of the new Fallout show on Amazon that many waited several years for.

Apr 12, 2024 20:58:01 GMT NATH45 said:

We have our ratings breakdown:

8:00: 0.33 demo rating (987,000 viewers) – Attack on Samoa Joe, Adam Copeland vs. Penta
8:15: 0.31 demo rating (857,000 viewers) – Adam Copeland vs. Penta
8:30: 0.34 demo rating (880,000 viewers) – Backstage promos, All In Footage Segment
8:45: 0.32 demo rating (822,000 viewers) – FTR promo, Danielson promo, Ospreay interview
9:00: 0.29 demo rating (767,000 viewers) – HOOK & Shibata vs. STP
9:15: 0.28 demo rating (765,000 viewers) – Okada match, promos
9:30: 0.28 demo rating (759,000 viewers) – Anna Jay vs. Mariah May, Mercedes Mone interview
9:45: 0.27 demo rating (723,000 viewers) – Samoa Joe vs. Dustin Rhodes

---

We start off strong, thanks to TBBT. Then 130,000 change the channel. 23,000 additional casual observers tune in for CM Punk. Then nearly 60,000 instantly tune out, likely having throw the remote through the TV. Then in the space of 1 hour Bruv, those needles move and 100,000 go to bed having already watched a Samoan battle a Rhodes.

So what you’re telling me is that it worked like a charm? They got a ratings spike and we are still talking about Dynamite 48 hours later. Sounds like it went exactly as planned with no blowback whatsoever!

Now to open twitter….

Goal posts already moved, people now saying only next week's numbers matter, or the PPV numbers. Of course they claim also the PPV numbers all must be fake because they rise while the ratings decline which does not make sense if AEW is actively dying.

Twice as many pages as the post-Raw Mania thread. Almost a third of the way to the Wrestlemania page count!

People sure have a lot to say about a fed no one is watching.

Yeah, nah. Rough couple of days? It happens every week. There's a lead in from TBBT, and the non-fans tune out. And then 157,000 tuned out between The Buck's segment and the main event. That's maybe a 27% drop off from the opening minute to the closing bell.

Apr 12, 2024 21:20:45 GMT Emperor said:

Twice as many pages as the post-Raw Mania thread. Almost a third of the way to the Wrestlemania page count!

Granted it's just me rubbing salt into the wounds.

And it's a car crash. You can't help but to look and pass judgement.

It's nice to see Shibata getting an actual storyline, even though it involved him being pinned by Lee Moriarty. Looks like it's heading towards Shibata vs Jericho which is reasonably interesting. Shibata vs Hook is also potentially on the cards.

Okada showed up to squash someone, then in the post-match he used a steel chair to beat up FTR and PAC. Okada not being shy to use weapons is a whole new side of his personality.

Apr 12, 2024 21:21:36 GMT c said:

People sure have a lot to say about a fed no one is watching.

I’m just trying to enjoy wrestling over here!

It must suck when people hate watch the product.

Apr 12, 2024 21:12:23 GMT c said:

Goal posts already moved, people now saying only next week's numbers matter, or the PPV numbers. Of course they claim also the PPV numbers all must be fake because they rise while the ratings decline which does not make sense if AEW is actively dying.

You actually believe the crazy spike and subsequent dropoff is unrelated to the much-discussed release of the footage?

Park aside any convo on goalposts. Do you think there are really other drivers?

Apr 12, 2024 21:52:58 GMT Emperor said:

It's nice to see Shibata getting an actual storyline, even though it involved him being pinned by Lee Moriarty. Looks like it's heading towards Shibata vs Jericho which is reasonably interesting. Shibata vs Hook is also potentially on the cards.

Okada showed up to squash someone, then in the post-match he used a steel chair to beat up FTR and PAC. Okada not being shy to use weapons is a whole new side of his personality.

Shibata getting a story was unexpected.  But he is getting a good reaction too it seems from it.  And he is looking better than he has in a long time.

Okada I assume is loving he can really just do whatever he wants now.  I imagine we see more and more that he wanted to do in NJPW but would not fit.

My take is maybe 5% of the audience left just because of Punk. Which is a nothing story. Once AEW confirmed when the footage would show, only 20k tuned in, which to me tells me that no, the big number was not directly from Punk either. In the social media age, I presume that most that only wanted to see this fight, just were waiting for it to be posted there instead of wasting time watching AEW at all.

Apr 12, 2024 22:27:36 GMT c said:

My take is maybe 5% of the audience left just because of Punk. Which is a nothing story. Once AEW confirmed when the footage would show, only 20k tuned in, which to me tells me that no, the big number was not directly from Punk either. In the social media age, I presume that most that only wanted to see this fight, just were waiting for it to be posted there instead of wasting time watching AEW at all.

I think you’re anti-Punk biasness is clouding your judgement.

They don’t pop an out of character number if not for the widely-hyped footage. I think that’s clear to everyone.

If next week goes back to the average, it reinforces the spike. *That* is why people are referencing next week. As a proof point to validate hypotheses.

The boost was like 10% to 15% to the first half of the show. Hardly meaningful movement. Some were interested, and some checked out after, but not to the degree people are making it out that the footage made major waves.

And still think overall US cable numbers are pretty meaningless as only the minority of AEW fans are consuming media on the US cable market.  Which is why the PPV numbers go up while the ratings drop.

Apr 12, 2024 22:50:34 GMT c said:

The boost was like 10% to 15% to the first half of the show. Hardly meaningful movement. Some were interested, and some checked out after, but not to the degree people are making it out that the footage made major waves.

And still think overall US cable numbers are pretty meaningless as only the minority of AEW fans are consuming media on the US cable market.  Which is why the PPV numbers go up while the ratings drop.

No one hypes ratings more than TK, my guy. And the numbers are higher than you said, as toted by him.

Let’s also note *this was the single thing they hyped all week.* It’s been one of the most-discussed decisions in wrestling over the last week.

The fact they declined 250K over the course of the night shows where the interest was.

This isn’t even about shitting on AEW. All reports indicated this was to pop a rating. Your reaction that the bump isn’t because of the footage (no doubt because it’s CM Punk-related) is just so bizarre.

Agree or disagree with the choice; that’s a debate. I really do think you’re being stubborn on purpose here because you don’t want to acknowledge a reality where Punk brings eyes to AEW.

It also shows that 130k of those 250k left before the Punk segment aired which is why I am saying that the numbers people are using are grossly overinflated. When the countdown timer went on screen, only 23000 people tuned in.

This leaves at most about 10% to 15% increase for Punk, which is a far cry from what is being said here that the only reason people watched the show was for Punk. Less than 10% left after the Punk segment. The rest stayed with the show until 9pm, a common time for the start of other prime time programming, including the debut of a long awaited show. IF people left solely because they only wanted to see Punk, they would have left right after, not stuck around for 15 more minutes.

Apr 12, 2024 23:29:14 GMT c said:

It also shows that 130k of those 250k left before the Punk segment aired which is why I am saying that the numbers people are using are grossly overinflated. When the countdown timer went on screen, only 23000 people tuned in.

This leaves at most about 10% to 15% increase for Punk, which is a far cry from what is being said here that the only reason people watched the show was for Punk. Less than 10% left after the Punk segment. The rest stayed with the show until 9pm, a common time for the start of other prime time programming, including the debut of a long awaited show. IF people left solely because they only wanted to see Punk, they would have left right after, not stuck around for 15 more minutes.

It’s as likely they tuned it, it wasn’t first or second, and they just went “fuck it.”

The 8:00pm numbers are simply TBBT overrun numbers. Been this way for several years now leading to several weird theories about why people only care about the first match AEW shows. Unless they leave immediately after TBBT ends, they are counted as watching AEW too for 15 minutes.