From this Monday's past show, it looks like AEW is trying to address some of the points Bischoff brings up here. I do take exception Conrad saying "those women really tore it up" for Willow/Riho--he's nuts. What he should have said was "Willow suplexed herself all over the ring and bumped like a pinball for Riho in a match that should have never been a main event."
I introduced a friend who used to watch WWE a long time ago to AEW and he loves it. Especially Riho. He said she's like an anime chick come to life. You all don't know how to suspend disbelief. I hope the ratings stay at 800,000 because all you ungrateful sods complaining every week don't deserve to watch a show that caters to wrestling fans. Go watch your over-manufactured promo show that occasionally has wrestling matches and doesn't push the most over stars on the roster. Go watch Maxxine Dupree if Riho bothers you so much. @@Haddley333
I like Riho but not as a wrestler. Takeshita's devious little manager would be a good role for her. Putting her in the ring with larger opponents is too silly to watch.
Conrad pretending to not know the Big Bang Theory is Dynamite's lead in is pretty funny. It runs over into Dynamite every week, so unless Connie ain't really watching, he would've seen Sheldon Cooper by now
@@Mr.VAGlNAtry the first few seasons. I think its hilarious and a gold mine just like Two and a Half men (Chuck Llore made both) Probably stop watching, once bernadette gets a lot of screen time and penny/leonard just bitch and moan like a toxic couple every episode, it drops off hard once youre halfway through Dont fall for the "watch it without the laugh track" bs, thats just what close minded morons echo out like parrots. They are not happy people IRL
Tony Khan is desperately trying to find his next CM Punk. I know it seems like 10 years ago already, but Adam Copeland got this SAME EXACT red carpet, "next big thing", "game changer" whatever treatment that Sasha got and 2 months from now people gonna be like "wow this is dead".
@charleswebsterjr.6350 pretty much lol. Also, with how poorly Tony has booked the women not sure what he was expecting number wise with that main event.
That's because of the Big Bang Theory. They always hand them a million viewers or close to it, and they immediately change the channel in the first 5 minutes. They put Mercedes on in the first quarter to make it look like people tuned in to see her when they didn't. And I'm a huge fan of hers.
For casuals, you gotta make them care about these wrestlers, is it his fault he doesn't know their names or is it Tony's for not promoting these wrestlers like big deals?
@@Hunterese123I think u missing the point Conrad literally said Willow name this guy is calling him a clown because he said the ladies match “tore it up”. Saying they “tore it up” is a big ass reach and it’s just showing once again how much of a AEW mark Conrad is
@@look_into_itHe's better than Hobbs, though. You're just looking at size. Hobbs won't draw a cent. Orange has/has the chance to. He's better in the ring. He's a better fit in today's wrestling.
Conrad is clearly friends of Tony Khan and doesn't want to bash the product but I think a lot of the people that drink that Kool-Aid hate WWE with a passion and want anything to succeed and in their minds think it's going to happen.
Conrad's father-in-law is Ric Flair, so there's a bit of family loyalty and not wanting to make Ric's employer mad going on. It's understandable, even if you don't like it.
No, but Mike Tyson was the big thing that brought people back to WWF in the Monday Night Wars. Tony should legit reach out and find popular stars to bring in for segments and feuds.
Look, if you are a Ospreay or Okada or Mone fan, the thing you need to realize is that it doesn't matter whether or not they are the best in the world. They aren't in a company that is going to promote them right and they will become smaller stars from their time in AEW
You are so right! Straight up facts! Everyone whether NJPW, WWE, ROH, TNA Impact, NWA, it don’t matter, when they get here it’s crickets. You want to see them succeed but in your heart you know it will fail. After they show up, next week nothing. Not the wrestlers fault.
The other thing which in hindsight is laughable; not only did WCW have fewer ex-WWE wrestlers on roster as Eric said. I will argue WCW actually did a better job developing talent than AEW ever did. Beyond MJF (who they started to ruin pre-injury) there is noone AEW has made famous. Every wrestler on their roster was famous because of what some other company did with them first (whether WWE or indy or Japan)
Tony is booking his wrestling shows like an independent spot show. There's no story, no build, and the next show will have nothing to do with the week prior. He needs to book and write television. Like Eric said, format the show. Have a story. Each week leads to the next, and that's how you build an audience
It's been 4 years of constant badmouthing of AEW no matter what they do. Corny, Disco, Russo, and Bischoff have steadily manipulated the bias of thousands of fans. Yet over 800,000 people still love it, and the biggest free agents in the world are wrestling there. It's some of the best wrestling in decades and they score in the top 3 on cable almost every single week. They packed over 80,000 in Wembley, they've had great attendance the last three shows, gave Sting one of the best possible retirements he could've dreamed of, and we just had Cope and Christian tear it up in front of their hometown. You all only focus on the negatives and ignore the insane success they've achieved. All they need to do to remain the challenger brand they are is to keep the network happy. This show performs incredibly well for them. They don't care if it doesn't come close to WWE. Maybe in ten years they'll be able to compete, but let's be reasonable. It's not fair to compare their ratings to WWE and to expect them to go beyond a steady 800,000 with minor fluctuations. WWE has over 60 years of legacy. They have the damn Rock. He's one of the biggest stars in the world, and not even related to wrestling. There's no way a place like AEW can possibly compete with that. That's why they're not trying. They're cultivating their niche. If you don't like it, that's fine, but the constant bitching and moaning about this specious claim that keeping a steady 800,000 is bad spreads negativity and is toxic.
The thing is, Tony has writers, so either they are getting a free ride and not producing any content, or they are not being utilized, and Tony is still trying to book everything.
at this point, the only ppl watching AEW are the same ppl who will always watch AEW.. fans who enjoy actual professional wrestling, aren't watching AEW or stopped watching long ago
The one that baffles me is Okada joining AEW after stating he wanted a challenge and to prove himself, doing his farewell show in tears etc. Just to show up basically in a place that isnt a challenge for himself cause of the marks who'll praise anything he does.
I thought many weeks ago how fun it would have been to see someone popular like Chris Jericho pulling into arenas in Mercedes cars saying how much he loves Mercedes week after week. Would have been great teasing promos to hype up Mone prior to her debut.
Whoop that Trick is from an NXT. I know it was done in Hustle and Flow, but I sure THAT crowd was doing in reference to Trick Williams, not a movie from the early 2000s
Hustle & Flow took place in Memphis, which is why the Grizzlies started chanting it, which is why it's being chanted IN Memphis at these kinds of events (and also by extension how it made its way to Trick Williams)
Tony Khan needs to do several 60-90 second vignettes to introduce the wrestlers prior to their debut. The introduction of storylines could be in these vignettes. As much as it pains Tony Khan and his butt licking EVP’s there will never be another AEW debut like CM Punks. Punk added at least 200,000 weekly viewers to the TV shows and buy rates for the PPV’s increased significantly when Punk was there. But that horse is out of the barn never to return. And while we are at it why aren’t there any rules during the matches? What’s the point of even having referees now?
She hasn't been around for a lot of years and people are making it look like she's the Hulk Hogan of women, not even close to him or Cena stature, she think's she's big but she AIN'T ALL THAT!
I think Tony Khan should have done for Mercedes Mone and Will Osprey what TNA did for Kurt Angle. Also I don't feel bad for any of those new major wrestlers in AEW, because they're all making bank. Just like in WCW when you had lower midcard people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
AEW used to get 840k+ a week. Now they're barely getting 800k. That's WITH Mercedes, Okada and Osprey. How long are AEW fans gonna keep lying to themselves and saying "everything is fine?"
Facts from a WWE Hall of Famer who was and still is the only guy who ran the only promotion that kicked WWE in the balls. Sorry, AEW marks but it's the truth
They just debut these guys with zero build every time… then they don’t know what to do with them in storylines and booking… imagine going from the 90s WCW when it was peak with cruiserweights, decent mid card and Hogan, Sting, Flair, Macho and Goldberg to Willow Nightingale and Darby Allin…
@rodericklittle9324 yea I know, but them wrestling fans ain't never chanted whoop that trick in Memphis until Trick got hot lol.. I'm just messing with Conrad 😆
Whoop that trick started making a resurgence at Grizzlies games. The context of the chant obviously had nothing to do with Trick Williams. The people who started chanting did it to diss Cody's mom. Although I'm sure there's a small chunk of those fans who didn't know it and only know it because of Trick Williams. @@louisharrison6593
even if they had their version of WrestleMania, it wouldn't feel big.. they give away street fights and death matches every other week, their storytelling is god awful, the booking is trash.. we've all booked better wrestling with our action figures when we were children
I agree with Eric, I have been watching wrestling for 40 years, and I had no idea who Okada was, or is, because I do not watch New Japan wrestling, so I could care less what Okada does. I could also care less about Will Osprey, or Mercedes Mone either, they do nothing for me.
Hindsight is 20/20. He might realize the way he debuted those guys was a mistake. Unfortunately, it didn’t sink in till after the fact. But I think he’s speaking from a point of, “I made these mistakes, so I can accurately critique this”. He had Ted Turner money/power to work with. Which in the 90’s was the equivalent of Khan money/power. He could afford to make any mistake aside from booking matches poorly. Then, in steps Vince Russo. Lol
@@chrisfrench8006 there's also something to be said for the element of surprise. One of the best things about WCW during its heyday was that on any given week you tune in someone might debut. You lose that element whenever you announce people as well. Hell WWE doesn't announce a lot of debuts or returns either. Brock came back the day after WM with no build up. Cody debuted at WM with no announcement outside of it being a mystery opponent. The Rock also recently made a couple surprise appearances.
I completely agree about the lack of story telling and it's been a persistent problem. The MJF/Cole story was garbage and the payoff was garbage. The fans didn't care at all. What you usually get as well is like what happened this week on Dynamite. Okada wins a belt, PAC comes out on the stage, looks at him angrily and then walks away, and that apparently means that PAC is the next challenger, with nothing behind it other than that they were both involved in a 3 way the previous week. Eddie Kingston and PAC aren't best friends or anything story-wise so it's not like he came out to defend his honour or something. It was super, super lazy.
People knew that Mercedes was coming out at the end. They just didn't care. AEW fans will create the most convoluted excuses rather than admit that she's not that big of a draw.
I started seeing the bullshit, then donkey khan feared for his life and fired Punk…..that show when he announced it, was the last show I’ll ever watch. That company is one big ass clown car
That's the core of their audience. I agree is that they have an issue of growing new fans other than actual wrestling fans that follow wrestling other than WWE. I am not a NJPW junkie, I watch it sometimes, but I am legitimately entertained by Osprey's wrestling even after not knowing about his back story or following his career. I don't care if the match is for a championship or not. I is so entertaining to watch that he can main event with out a title being on the line. It' wouldn't hurt if there was one but it would just add to it.
The other issue regarding Merceds Moné or whatever her name is this week is this: She isn’t a draw. Her going to NJPW didn’t do shit for ratings, couldn’t fill a fucking two thousand seat arena, and didn’t make an impact on UA-cam views. She isn’t on the level of a Becky Lynch or Asuka or Rhea Ripley on any metric you can think of. All she has going for her is her small Twitter following and her familial relationship with Snoop Dogg.
@@Monchegorx OP gets benefit of the doubt for having a sense of humour. Incel is a NPC insult created by terminally online twitter regards who use and make up words they don't even understand themselves
1 of the things I noticed about Eric is that he is giving ways that AEW could become competitive with WWE, not just voicing his dislike of Tony. If there is true competition we have a boom like in the 90's. WCW with the nWo against the then WWF and DX plus all the single names making each company bigger and better was a boom time in wrestling because of the fight. AEW has the talent and should now focus on the next show. Just hiring big names doesn't mean ratings, what they do and the story they tell in long and short term matter more than they are here to wrestle. Brodie Lee was telling a story and it was working before he passed. Using his talent more effectively will produce a better program and ratings more than just hiring more big name talent. Yes it can be a 5* match, but why do I need to watch it? Why is it important? If I miss it what is going to make me kick myself for doing so. I want AEW, TNA, and others to succeed because as a fan I don't want another lack luster period similar to when WCW went out of business and WWE knew they held all the cards so it felt like they didn't care as much. True competition breeds better content for fans, better revenue for the business, and better overall value for the time I invest in your company.
I don’t have cable so I can’t watch TNT or else I would be watching Mercedes who I love. I watch wwe because usa is on fubo and I pay for peacock. I do catch the segments on UA-cam. I’ve been loving timeles Toni Storm, Jade when she was there, and Britt Baker. I wish it was more accessible to viewers.
Thank you Eric for that comment.as a life long fan of pro wrestling I just don't get the hype of okada and a lot others they bring in..I want too but AEW is just throwing these guys on TV with no back story.. smackdown and raw draws millions and AEW can't keep 1 million.obviously it's millions that feels the same way.
What happened to Conrad’s belts??? Before he had them all on display and now it’s just empty, it’s been like that for a while. And where is the original big gold belt???
Eric is right about Okada, however he is a pretty big celeb in Japan. If Tony was smart he’d use his fame in Japan to help him get over in the states but Tony isn’t that smart.
I'm new to Conrad. Legit question because I'm not familiar with his work. Is he on AEW payroll or does he have some kind of financial stake in the company?
Well I had the most fun describing Samis story last yr to a coworker and you can tell that was well booked. Eric is right about aew and about it not being about the stars. They can have the rock and it'll fall flat because Tony can't build a coherent story.
AEW is the ultimate, Mr. Me Too, show. They make it painfully obvious that they're desperate for attention by constantly using profanity and name dropping WWE.
it could be a good thing that certain wrestling shows fail. there is a large mountain to climb and mcmahon found out that the mountain is filled with some pretty dark mystery but the money is good. well, only a little bit... it depends where the money is coming from. dont take in dirty money. if khan finds people with dirty money he should report that group or person to the feds. they may be what keeps a good show down.
How would you not know she was coming back out. She mentions Willow near the end of her segment, which leads into the announce crew saying Willow is in the main event.
Tony has a big issue with the Okatah push hes great but it was not as big of a spash as it should've been. I think it will work out but its still hard to figure he should have really got the red carpet...
They have Jericho, Ric Flair, Christian, and all of the others who have been in WWE for years. They're not utilizing them as they should for the knowledge they contain.
I like Conrad and defend him from haters, but once he attributed "whoop that trick" chants to the movie hustle and flow that came out in 2005 and not for NXTs Trick Williams who :::checks notes::: just wrestled last week, I gave up.
Tony needs a guy that understands TELEVISION to help his vision. I don't know if there's anyone inside AEW, outside of maybe Jericho, that understands television and can help Tony funnel his vision for that format.
If AEW brings Hogan is as a tv GM or anything like that....along with Bishoff perhaps..... controversy and total game changer. I would watch finally lol
Aew always gets a big first segment because of the big bang fans that stick around for 10 minutes after that show ends. The second segment always loses anywhere from 100k-150k.
Conrad tips his cards from 1:40 to 1:45. "Should we have....what could we have done differently." Pretty telling. In any case, Eric was spot on here, basically saying the numbers would not move this week--and the number went from 801k to 800k.
The problem is that Tony Khan lives inside the internet bubble and cathers the AEW booking around the vocal minority that is terminally online. The world outside should be Tony Khan aim to appease, not the neckbeards who watch wrestling even if you have Hornswoggle vs El Torito in a 60 minutes Iron Man match since they don't have anything better going in their lives
Here's my issue with AEW.. they bring in these "big time" international stars that nobody hardly knows in America and present them in America the same way they are presented internationally.. that's not going to work.. when a wrestler signs with wwe, they instantly feel like big deals because they are coming into the big leagues, the top company.. in the minds of any sports fans, if you are being presented as " that guy" you are automatically seen as a big deal... if a player is a generational talent coming out of school and chooses to go to the g league instead of the nba, he's going to automatically be looked at like naw, he ain't that dude.. when superstars come to WWE, they come in with all the bells and whistles.. the pyro, the theme, the entrances, the presentation, etc.. there's no talk about contracts, money, tour dates, 5 start matches or none of that.. AEW wrestlers are missing that "it" factor.. they don't seem all that entertaining.. Okada, Osprey, Jay just seem regular as " SPORTS ENTERTAINERS".. really good wrestlers, but meh.. I'll watch the Rock 30 minute promo over any Okada 5 star match.. the reason aew numbers always pop when they sign a wwe guy is because we know who they are, we've seen them, we recognize them.. they are big deals here in America.. people might hate to here, but WWE has conditioned the minded of wrestling fans to look for certain things in guys to be considered as top stars, which is why 95% of the time, anybody they sign internationally, they immediately send them to the performance center to mold their character into a way it could be presented to the main stream wrestling audience, not just the wwe wrestling audience. Aew has to learn how to present their stars to audiences beyond their core.. they have a problem with that..Okada, Osprey etc are big fish in AEW but would be somewhere in the 10 to 15 ranking in the wwe
From this Monday's past show, it looks like AEW is trying to address some of the points Bischoff brings up here.
I do take exception Conrad saying "those women really tore it up" for Willow/Riho--he's nuts. What he should have said was "Willow suplexed herself all over the ring and bumped like a pinball for Riho in a match that should have never been a main event."
Riho is so terrible to watch.
They sure tore it up. 620,000 viewers watched that match.
I introduced a friend who used to watch WWE a long time ago to AEW and he loves it. Especially Riho. He said she's like an anime chick come to life. You all don't know how to suspend disbelief. I hope the ratings stay at 800,000 because all you ungrateful sods complaining every week don't deserve to watch a show that caters to wrestling fans. Go watch your over-manufactured promo show that occasionally has wrestling matches and doesn't push the most over stars on the roster. Go watch Maxxine Dupree if Riho bothers you so much. @@Haddley333
I like Riho but not as a wrestler. Takeshita's devious little manager would be a good role for her.
Putting her in the ring with larger opponents is too silly to watch.
Conrad pretending to not know the Big Bang Theory is Dynamite's lead in is pretty funny. It runs over into Dynamite every week, so unless Connie ain't really watching, he would've seen Sheldon Cooper by now
He has to. He's a shill.
I know right😂. The Big Bang Theory bringing in the big numbers at the start of Dynamite is very well known to wrestling fans
@@GeeCoach35what's special about the big bang theory? Is it worth watching?
@@Mr.VAGlNA Depends on your humor. It's like deciding what kind of ice cream you like (if you like it at all, lol).
@@Mr.VAGlNAtry the first few seasons. I think its hilarious and a gold mine just like Two and a Half men (Chuck Llore made both)
Probably stop watching, once bernadette gets a lot of screen time and penny/leonard just bitch and moan like a toxic couple every episode, it drops off hard once youre halfway through
Dont fall for the "watch it without the laugh track" bs, thats just what close minded morons echo out like parrots. They are not happy people IRL
Conrad: “Dave Meltzer said…”
Everyone else: “Who cares?”
Bro you forgot to put the fuck between Who cares?
Same with Eric, except you weirdos.
if there was no old Meltzer newsletter to fall back on, Conrad would have to actually go back and do real research to make a real opinion.
it doesnt matter what Meltzer said!
yet here you are@@1untamedbrain
I suspect Bischoff and Conrad know people complain about Conrad being a mark and play up to it.
Like you're not a mark.
He still has go away heat with most of us.
anyone doing more than watching the shows on TV is a mark.
@@1untamedbrain Me!? Of course I'm a mark!
@@deeang349 I agree apart from I'd say even those watching on TV are marks. Including me brother!
Tony Khan is desperately trying to find his next CM Punk. I know it seems like 10 years ago already, but Adam Copeland got this SAME EXACT red carpet, "next big thing", "game changer" whatever treatment that Sasha got and 2 months from now people gonna be like "wow this is dead".
Big Business started at a million viewers and ended in the 600s. Losing 40% of your audience is never good.
After they saw Mercedes mone debut and speech that just went back to what there doing.
@charleswebsterjr.6350 pretty much lol. Also, with how poorly Tony has booked the women not sure what he was expecting number wise with that main event.
I called it Big Problems and Bad Business.
That's because of the Big Bang Theory. They always hand them a million viewers or close to it, and they immediately change the channel in the first 5 minutes. They put Mercedes on in the first quarter to make it look like people tuned in to see her when they didn't. And I'm a huge fan of hers.
@elboogie2324 oh I know. If you take away the Big Bang bump and the overrun their numbers are much worse than they play off.
Riho and the other chick "tore it up?"!!! What a clown.
For casuals, you gotta make them care about these wrestlers, is it his fault he doesn't know their names or is it Tony's for not promoting these wrestlers like big deals?
@@Hunterese123I think u missing the point Conrad literally said Willow name this guy is calling him a clown because he said the ladies match “tore it up”. Saying they “tore it up” is a big ass reach and it’s just showing once again how much of a AEW mark Conrad is
I came here too say the same thing😂😂. Conrad is such a tony dick rider
Riho is like Orange Cassidy to me. I can’t suspend disbelief enough to think either can beat anybody in a fight.
Bro I think I heard they had pockets beat fucking powerhouse Hobbs in 30 seconds on the ppv… disgusting
@@look_into_itHe's better than Hobbs, though. You're just looking at size. Hobbs won't draw a cent. Orange has/has the chance to. He's better in the ring. He's a better fit in today's wrestling.
@@kazman_6899 aew marks with the worst takes possible.
@@kazman_6899He looks like a skinny meth head who lives in a trailer park. That dude should not be on national television.
@@kazman_6899His Superman punch is absolutely pathetic looking. Roman could do it blindfolded and do it better than Orange Cassidy.
LMAO! Conrad thought the Nightingale vs Riho main event match was good 🤣🤣
He thinks anything in aew is good
Man, if ANY of these matches that Conrad and Meltzer love on AEW were on WWE, they would dump all over them. They’re horrible.
The problem with Okada is that Tony didn’t promote his signing.
WWE would’ve marketed him.
WWE would’ve had video packages from new Japan of him fighting AJ and Shinsuke so people could connect to him but AEW does the opposite
Conrad is clearly friends of Tony Khan and doesn't want to bash the product but I think a lot of the people that drink that Kool-Aid hate WWE with a passion and want anything to succeed and in their minds think it's going to happen.
Conrad's father-in-law is Ric Flair, so there's a bit of family loyalty and not wanting to make Ric's employer mad going on.
It's understandable, even if you don't like it.
@@seantaft3853 I always forget he works there.
@@anthonyr8906and you only like WWE
@@micahjohnsonboxing6409 no not true I like all elite wrestling I just don't like Tony Khan booking it.
Tony Khan should sign Sheldon Cooper. He would pop the ratings more than the recent AEW signings
Sheldon&Leonard V The Young Bucks
Behzinga frog splash V Meltzer driver
Jim Cornette and uncle dave as managers
I thought Darby was Sheldon.
No, but Mike Tyson was the big thing that brought people back to WWF in the Monday Night Wars. Tony should legit reach out and find popular stars to bring in for segments and feuds.
With all seriousness they'd probably retain more viewers if Sheldon Cooper had a surprise opening segment instead on Dynamite.
@@adrianpheiffer9960who the hell is that?? 😂😂
Look, if you are a Ospreay or Okada or Mone fan, the thing you need to realize is that it doesn't matter whether or not they are the best in the world. They aren't in a company that is going to promote them right and they will become smaller stars from their time in AEW
You are so right! Straight up facts! Everyone whether NJPW, WWE, ROH, TNA Impact, NWA, it don’t matter, when they get here it’s crickets. You want to see them succeed but in your heart you know it will fail. After they show up, next week nothing. Not the wrestlers fault.
ALL EMPTY WRESTLING
That's almost true lol. Lots of people were leaving the arena during Rampage and Collision
😂😂😂😂. Love it.
Annoying Emotional Whiners
@@mikhailabdurrachman2443 perfect 😂😂😂😂
@@QAZ-OMEN 😂😂😂🤟🤟🤟🤟
The other thing which in hindsight is laughable; not only did WCW have fewer ex-WWE wrestlers on roster as Eric said. I will argue WCW actually did a better job developing talent than AEW ever did. Beyond MJF (who they started to ruin pre-injury) there is noone AEW has made famous. Every wrestler on their roster was famous because of what some other company did with them first (whether WWE or indy or Japan)
Even MJF used WWE to get himself over by constantly mentioning them
Conrad's father-in-law has an energy drink sponsored on this show. He will do whatever he can to convince you it's all amazing.
Funny part is Conrad promotes Henson Shaving razor but has a Moustache & Beard 🤣🤣
Tony's booking is the booking of a mark playing TEW. Plain and simple.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t still booking the show in TEW first and seeing how it plays in there lol
He's a billionaire 12 year old playing fire pro
I tought the same thing!@@Tjptera
he just simply doesn't know what he's doing.. and is unwilling to let someone who knows what they're doing book the show
aew is an indie fed with a bigger budget.
The fact that AEW doesn't see that is crazy
Even Edge compared it to being in the indies during his first AEW media scrum. 🤷🏿♂️
I mean you are right but that is why I watch it , just much better in ring wrestling than WWE
It really is as simple as that , been saying same for ages , indie crap with a big budget, no more or less.
@@Dx-so7jm “much better in ring wrestling than WWE”?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣That’s so funny, I see that you are trolling hard with that comment, so funny 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Is there a way to pay extra and have only Conrad's audio muted? Maybe a blue dot over his delusional AEW shilling face, too?
He’s just playing the heel. There’s no way he believes all the stuff he says… right?
@@scholarishere Just read some of these comments. There's plenty of bozos out here that think AEW can do no wrong.
even the indies have better build up than 97% of the matches of AEW.
I bet the Conrad would be fuming again lol
I agree. I enjoy MLW and NWA more than most of AEW.
TNA in the 2000s and lucha underground is better than this year AEW
I enjoy tna now more than aew.
AEW Is An Indy Promotion, Just Has A Big Budget
@@allencollins5666 exactly.
Can't believe Conrad still quotes Meltzer with a straight face.
Tony is booking his wrestling shows like an independent spot show. There's no story, no build, and the next show will have nothing to do with the week prior. He needs to book and write television. Like Eric said, format the show. Have a story. Each week leads to the next, and that's how you build an audience
The ratings for this past Wednesday when they KNEW all three would be on the show was 800,000.
The same audience as the week before.
It's been 4 years of constant badmouthing of AEW no matter what they do. Corny, Disco, Russo, and Bischoff have steadily manipulated the bias of thousands of fans. Yet over 800,000 people still love it, and the biggest free agents in the world are wrestling there. It's some of the best wrestling in decades and they score in the top 3 on cable almost every single week. They packed over 80,000 in Wembley, they've had great attendance the last three shows, gave Sting one of the best possible retirements he could've dreamed of, and we just had Cope and Christian tear it up in front of their hometown. You all only focus on the negatives and ignore the insane success they've achieved. All they need to do to remain the challenger brand they are is to keep the network happy. This show performs incredibly well for them. They don't care if it doesn't come close to WWE. Maybe in ten years they'll be able to compete, but let's be reasonable. It's not fair to compare their ratings to WWE and to expect them to go beyond a steady 800,000 with minor fluctuations. WWE has over 60 years of legacy. They have the damn Rock. He's one of the biggest stars in the world, and not even related to wrestling. There's no way a place like AEW can possibly compete with that. That's why they're not trying. They're cultivating their niche. If you don't like it, that's fine, but the constant bitching and moaning about this specious claim that keeping a steady 800,000 is bad spreads negativity and is toxic.
The thing is, Tony has writers, so either they are getting a free ride and not producing any content, or they are not being utilized, and Tony is still trying to book everything.
@@1untamedbrain hasn't grown in 5 years. No story, no builds, just spotfest match after spotfest match. It's not badmouthing when it's the truth.
at this point, the only ppl watching AEW are the same ppl who will always watch AEW.. fans who enjoy actual professional wrestling, aren't watching AEW or stopped watching long ago
@@ashtonhaggitt216spotfest after spotfest, texas death match after texas death match
Mercedes is making an absurd amount of money. Don't feel bad for her.
She will make the huge money until they go out of business in 2026.
The one that baffles me is Okada joining AEW after stating he wanted a challenge and to prove himself, doing his farewell show in tears etc. Just to show up basically in a place that isnt a challenge for himself cause of the marks who'll praise anything he does.
It sounds like Eric is speaking the truth.
I thought many weeks ago how fun it would have been to see someone popular like Chris Jericho pulling into arenas in Mercedes cars saying how much he loves Mercedes week after week. Would have been great teasing promos to hype up Mone prior to her debut.
Big Business drew 801,000 viewers.
This week drew 800,000.
7:28
It's like he's prophetic
Their floor rn appears to be around 775k.
Big Business actually drew 798,000 it was updated.
Wrestling Data updated it. It’s 798K now
@@tripleh21 Yup
Whoop that Trick is from an NXT. I know it was done in Hustle and Flow, but I sure THAT crowd was doing in reference to Trick Williams, not a movie from the early 2000s
If WWE plays this right, Trick could be NXT's biggest success since the Shield
they did cause they in Memphis and it was the grizzlies fan chant
It's because of Memphis and the group that wrote the song is from Memphis. That's where Trick Williams got it from.
Hustle & Flow took place in Memphis, which is why the Grizzlies started chanting it, which is why it's being chanted IN Memphis at these kinds of events (and also by extension how it made its way to Trick Williams)
never heard of trick williams.. its from hustle and flow
Tony Khan needs to do several 60-90 second vignettes to introduce the wrestlers prior to their debut. The introduction of storylines could be in these vignettes. As much as it pains Tony Khan and his butt licking EVP’s there will never be another AEW debut like CM Punks. Punk added at least 200,000 weekly viewers to the TV shows and buy rates for the PPV’s increased significantly when Punk was there. But that horse is out of the barn never to return.
And while we are at it why aren’t there any rules during the matches? What’s the point of even having referees now?
Those ladies tore it up…😂😂😂😂. I’m pretty sure one of them tore something, at least. AEW Mark Conrad couldn’t resist.
RE: Okada: NJPW had their lowest TV ratings inside Japan every time he was champion
"nobody knows who Okada is"
Thank you. i get so much hate from guys on twitter and ig whenever I say this.
She hasn't been around for a lot of years and people are making it look like she's the Hulk Hogan of women, not even close to him or Cena stature, she think's she's big but she AIN'T ALL THAT!
Tony Khan would ask Roman to job to Riho
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Meltzer would then give match 6 stars
The Main Event was terrible Willow having to throw herself for Riho was just terrible.
I think Tony Khan should have done for Mercedes Mone and Will Osprey what TNA did for Kurt Angle. Also I don't feel bad for any of those new major wrestlers in AEW, because they're all making bank. Just like in WCW when you had lower midcard people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Malakai Black.. big intro.. fades... Miro.. big intro.. fades.. Claudio.. big intro.. fades.. Keith Lee.. big intro.. fades... get the pattern...
AEW used to get 840k+ a week. Now they're barely getting 800k. That's WITH Mercedes, Okada and Osprey.
How long are AEW fans gonna keep lying to themselves and saying "everything is fine?"
Facts from a WWE Hall of Famer who was and still is the only guy who ran the only promotion that kicked WWE in the balls. Sorry, AEW marks but it's the truth
They just debut these guys with zero build every time… then they don’t know what to do with them in storylines and booking… imagine going from the 90s WCW when it was peak with cruiserweights, decent mid card and Hogan, Sting, Flair, Macho and Goldberg to Willow Nightingale and Darby Allin…
C'mon son.. that whoop that trick chant was for nxt superstar trick williams
EXACTLY... IT JUST ORIGINATED FROM HUSTLE N FLOW WHICH IS FROM MEMPHIS
@rodericklittle9324 yea I know, but them wrestling fans ain't never chanted whoop that trick in Memphis until Trick got hot lol.. I'm just messing with Conrad 😆
Whoop that trick started making a resurgence at Grizzlies games. The context of the chant obviously had nothing to do with Trick Williams. The people who started chanting did it to diss Cody's mom. Although I'm sure there's a small chunk of those fans who didn't know it and only know it because of Trick Williams. @@louisharrison6593
I swore i could hear conrad quietly sobbing in the background as eric criticized AEW again. 😅
AEW also doesn't have Wrestlemania and thats something you can't compete against
even if they had their version of WrestleMania, it wouldn't feel big.. they give away street fights and death matches every other week, their storytelling is god awful, the booking is trash.. we've all booked better wrestling with our action figures when we were children
They have a Dollar Tree version………mmmmmm ahhhh Wrestledream
I agree with Eric, I have been watching wrestling for 40 years, and I had no idea who Okada was, or is, because I do not watch New Japan wrestling, so I could care less what Okada does. I could also care less about Will Osprey, or Mercedes Mone either, they do nothing for me.
I'm sorry didn't Luger show up at the end of the first Nitro? How about all the other ones that showed up with no notice?
Hindsight is 20/20. He might realize the way he debuted those guys was a mistake. Unfortunately, it didn’t sink in till after the fact. But I think he’s speaking from a point of, “I made these mistakes, so I can accurately critique this”. He had Ted Turner money/power to work with. Which in the 90’s was the equivalent of Khan money/power. He could afford to make any mistake aside from booking matches poorly. Then, in steps Vince Russo. Lol
@@chrisfrench8006 there's also something to be said for the element of surprise. One of the best things about WCW during its heyday was that on any given week you tune in someone might debut. You lose that element whenever you announce people as well. Hell WWE doesn't announce a lot of debuts or returns either. Brock came back the day after WM with no build up. Cody debuted at WM with no announcement outside of it being a mystery opponent. The Rock also recently made a couple surprise appearances.
I completely agree about the lack of story telling and it's been a persistent problem. The MJF/Cole story was garbage and the payoff was garbage. The fans didn't care at all.
What you usually get as well is like what happened this week on Dynamite. Okada wins a belt, PAC comes out on the stage, looks at him angrily and then walks away, and that apparently means that PAC is the next challenger, with nothing behind it other than that they were both involved in a 3 way the previous week. Eddie Kingston and PAC aren't best friends or anything story-wise so it's not like he came out to defend his honour or something. It was super, super lazy.
People knew that Mercedes was coming out at the end. They just didn't care. AEW fans will create the most convoluted excuses rather than admit that she's not that big of a draw.
I started seeing the bullshit, then donkey khan feared for his life and fired Punk…..that show when he announced it, was the last show I’ll ever watch. That company is one big ass clown car
AEW needs to build matches how Eric built that Hulk Hogan vs Butcher Starrcade main event, brother.
That's the core of their audience. I agree is that they have an issue of growing new fans other than actual wrestling fans that follow wrestling other than WWE. I am not a NJPW junkie, I watch it sometimes, but I am legitimately entertained by Osprey's wrestling even after not knowing about his back story or following his career. I don't care if the match is for a championship or not. I is so entertaining to watch that he can main event with out a title being on the line. It' wouldn't hurt if there was one but it would just add to it.
The other issue regarding Merceds Moné or whatever her name is this week is this: She isn’t a draw. Her going to NJPW didn’t do shit for ratings, couldn’t fill a fucking two thousand seat arena, and didn’t make an impact on UA-cam views. She isn’t on the level of a Becky Lynch or Asuka or Rhea Ripley on any metric you can think of. All she has going for her is her small Twitter following and her familial relationship with Snoop Dogg.
Conrad, EVERYONE knew Mercedes Moné was gonna be there lmao
Riho has never “torn it up” in her life, nor is she capable of doing so.
Wow….That was a perfect explanation of the incompetence that is AEW booking.
What idiot besides Tony would put riho vs willow in a main event. Willow having to sell for a small child is ridiculous
Bischoff spitting straight facts! I'm enjoying his podcast more and more these days :)
When Eric did surprise debuts in WCW they were actually surprises...
However, you gotta remember, this shit wasn't posted on the Internet either. Access to plans in the wrestling world didn't exist back then.
@@charlied8284 Another one of those, "oh I'm smart enough to use proper punctuation but cool enough to swear while I'm doing it" buffoons. Moving on.
@goodday2760 you sure cry a lot man
I would honestly want to know what the influence of the Bucks and Kenny are in Tony's decisions.
Careful.. you’re gonna hurt incel Conrad’s feelings again..
That mouth breathing neck beard lol... back in my day we called neck beards Harry Tonsils
Conrad crybabies
I'm not the biggest Conrad fan but how is he an incel? Am I missing something, or is that just another run off the mill insult now?
@@Monchegorx OP gets benefit of the doubt for having a sense of humour.
Incel is a NPC insult created by terminally online twitter regards who use and make up words they don't even understand themselves
1 of the things I noticed about Eric is that he is giving ways that AEW could become competitive with WWE, not just voicing his dislike of Tony. If there is true competition we have a boom like in the 90's. WCW with the nWo against the then WWF and DX plus all the single names making each company bigger and better was a boom time in wrestling because of the fight. AEW has the talent and should now focus on the next show. Just hiring big names doesn't mean ratings, what they do and the story they tell in long and short term matter more than they are here to wrestle. Brodie Lee was telling a story and it was working before he passed. Using his talent more effectively will produce a better program and ratings more than just hiring more big name talent. Yes it can be a 5* match, but why do I need to watch it? Why is it important? If I miss it what is going to make me kick myself for doing so. I want AEW, TNA, and others to succeed because as a fan I don't want another lack luster period similar to when WCW went out of business and WWE knew they held all the cards so it felt like they didn't care as much. True competition breeds better content for fans, better revenue for the business, and better overall value for the time I invest in your company.
AEW will never be on the level of WCW in mid 90s. They will never be even better than TNA in 2000s
I’ll be genuinely surprised if AEW still exists by 2026
Conrad, her segment only was the highest because of The Big Bang Theory led in
I don’t have cable so I can’t watch TNT or else I would be watching Mercedes who I love. I watch wwe because usa is on fubo and I pay for peacock. I do catch the segments on UA-cam. I’ve been loving timeles Toni Storm, Jade when she was there, and Britt Baker. I wish it was more accessible to viewers.
Thank you Eric for that comment.as a life long fan of pro wrestling I just don't get the hype of okada and a lot others they bring in..I want too but AEW is just throwing these guys on TV with no back story.. smackdown and raw draws millions and AEW can't keep 1 million.obviously it's millions that feels the same way.
What happened to Conrad’s belts??? Before he had them all on display and now it’s just empty, it’s been like that for a while.
And where is the original big gold belt???
Ah, the "Wall of Other People's Accomplishments." A favorite among streamers.
@@ReinEngel it’s his collection of replicas, why he took it down???
You know he owns the original big gold belt, the one Ric Flair introduced
The Fact that Conrad listens to Dave Meltzer podcast is out of this world.
Eric is right about Okada, however he is a pretty big celeb in Japan. If Tony was smart he’d use his fame in Japan to help him get over in the states but Tony isn’t that smart.
I'm new to Conrad. Legit question because I'm not familiar with his work. Is he on AEW payroll or does he have some kind of financial stake in the company?
The crowd went mild for Mercedes. Her promo appeared to have little thought, and that’s usually the shining moment before they are forgotten
Well I had the most fun describing Samis story last yr to a coworker and you can tell that was well booked. Eric is right about aew and about it not being about the stars. They can have the rock and it'll fall flat because Tony can't build a coherent story.
Eric's cohost comes off as the biggest mark and that's saying a lot in the wrestling media.
Conrad is the biggest fan boy 😂
AEW is the ultimate, Mr. Me Too, show. They make it painfully obvious that they're desperate for attention by constantly using profanity and name dropping WWE.
it could be a good thing that certain wrestling shows fail. there is a large mountain to climb and mcmahon found out that the mountain is filled with some pretty dark mystery but the money is good. well, only a little bit... it depends where the money is coming from. dont take in dirty money. if khan finds people with dirty money he should report that group or person to the feds. they may be what keeps a good show down.
Eric hits it right on the button and that’s my thinking as well.
How would you not know she was coming back out. She mentions Willow near the end of her segment, which leads into the announce crew saying Willow is in the main event.
Tony has a big issue with the Okatah push hes great but it was not as big of a spash as it should've been. I think it will work out but its still hard to figure he should have really got the red carpet...
They have Jericho, Ric Flair, Christian, and all of the others who have been in WWE for years. They're not utilizing them as they should for the knowledge they contain.
I like Conrad and defend him from haters, but once he attributed "whoop that trick" chants to the movie hustle and flow that came out in 2005 and not for NXTs Trick Williams who :::checks notes::: just wrestled last week, I gave up.
As always Easy E spitting facts & truths
Love listen to you Eric.. You tell the truth ..
“There is no creative in AEW”. Exactly!
Joe and wardlo should have been the main event. I was disappointed with big business, but this week wasn't bad
I've said it for years AEW is a generic WCW. I tried to like it but can't bring myself to do it.
Whoop that trick is Trick Williams’ Chant nothing to do with the hustle and flow film
idk who trick williams is but without hustle and flow, the whoop that trick chant wouldn't exist
Lmfao 😂.. not y’all thinking it came from him , it’s from a movie
Tony needs a guy that understands TELEVISION to help his vision. I don't know if there's anyone inside AEW, outside of maybe Jericho, that understands television and can help Tony funnel his vision for that format.
Aew have about 60 ex WWE talent
Why feel bad for them, yes lets feel bad for the talent that are making millions of dollars. Good logic there
Eric nailed it again. Nothing is moving that needle.
Here sure did
💡Sasha Banks won't draw Viewers 💡
If AEW brings Hogan is as a tv GM or anything like that....along with Bishoff perhaps..... controversy and total game changer. I would watch finally lol
Spot on Eric spot on
Aew always gets a big first segment because of the big bang fans that stick around for 10 minutes after that show ends. The second segment always loses anywhere from 100k-150k.
The reason why is because Tony revealed that Sasha Banks was coming to AEW instead of keeping it a secret surprise.
Conrad tips his cards from 1:40 to 1:45. "Should we have....what could we have done differently." Pretty telling. In any case, Eric was spot on here, basically saying the numbers would not move this week--and the number went from 801k to 800k.
The crowd went mild for Botches Banks this week too lol
The problem is that Tony Khan lives inside the internet bubble and cathers the AEW booking around the vocal minority that is terminally online. The world outside should be Tony Khan aim to appease, not the neckbeards who watch wrestling even if you have Hornswoggle vs El Torito in a 60 minutes Iron Man match since they don't have anything better going in their lives
Here's my issue with AEW.. they bring in these "big time" international stars that nobody hardly knows in America and present them in America the same way they are presented internationally.. that's not going to work.. when a wrestler signs with wwe, they instantly feel like big deals because they are coming into the big leagues, the top company.. in the minds of any sports fans, if you are being presented as " that guy" you are automatically seen as a big deal... if a player is a generational talent coming out of school and chooses to go to the g league instead of the nba, he's going to automatically be looked at like naw, he ain't that dude.. when superstars come to WWE, they come in with all the bells and whistles.. the pyro, the theme, the entrances, the presentation, etc.. there's no talk about contracts, money, tour dates, 5 start matches or none of that.. AEW wrestlers are missing that "it" factor.. they don't seem all that entertaining.. Okada, Osprey, Jay just seem regular as " SPORTS ENTERTAINERS".. really good wrestlers, but meh.. I'll watch the Rock 30 minute promo over any Okada 5 star match.. the reason aew numbers always pop when they sign a wwe guy is because we know who they are, we've seen them, we recognize them.. they are big deals here in America.. people might hate to here, but WWE has conditioned the minded of wrestling fans to look for certain things in guys to be considered as top stars, which is why 95% of the time, anybody they sign internationally, they immediately send them to the performance center to mold their character into a way it could be presented to the main stream wrestling audience, not just the wwe wrestling audience. Aew has to learn how to present their stars to audiences beyond their core.. they have a problem with that..Okada, Osprey etc are big fish in AEW but would be somewhere in the 10 to 15 ranking in the wwe
And I believe I've heard you say that.