Was fun while it lasted. Think I'm pretty over wrestling at the moment. I have no interest in Vince's WWE and I'm tired of the overuse of worked shoots in AEW.
Vince has indicated that he isn't coming back on the wrestling side of the business. This is about stacking the board with his majority and forcing the sale of the company, probably because as a condition of the sale he can get rid of the rebels who ousted him and bounce HHH and his daughter from the company.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Vince has indicated that he isn't coming back on the wrestling side of the business. This is about stacking the board with his majority and forcing the sale of the company, probably because as a condition of the sale he can get rid of the rebels who ousted him and bounce HHH and his daughter from the company.
Are him and Stephanie feuding?
I've always assumed that he was the one that wanted Stephanie to be the one to take over when he was ousted.
I've always assumed that he was the one that wanted Stephanie to be the one to take over when he was ousted.
I'm speculating, but She was basically removed from her role at the end of Vince's last reign.
She was also one of the people that pushed him to retire, and Vince might love his daughter (A little too much in story lines). But nobody backs the genetic jackhammer into the corner pal.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Cap - did you see the Acclaimed vs. Jarrett/Lethal match on Wednesday?
Was a total throwback to the days of old school wrestling regarding Jarrett, he was fantastic, his in-ring work and storytelling was top notch - and he's in insane shape and mobility for his age!
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I think it's more interesting the board members that were brought back.
Barrios and Wilson both played a big role in WWE Network and standing it up...which was then transferred to Peacock. Koonin was head of Turner, and Pamon was head of Beyonce's media group. Kahn has extensive experience in media rights. Mckenna was involved with Disney / Universal / NFL media rights.
I feel like what they are doing here is trying to set themselves up for a sale to Universal / Peacock or Disney and have a board that all have extensive experience in the media business for those major players.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 01-06-2023 at 10:19 AM.
AEW has its own problems, its TV viewership is heavily slid last week was about 846k.
I mean this is what happens when you put Jeff Jarrett in your main event in 2023.
They also officially added Jericho to the creative team a month or two ago.
It's just not a good product right now. Even if you don't like the product, AEW was at its best when it was doing long-term, old school storytelling, and building up its young and homegrown guys (e.g. Darby, Jungle Boy, etc.). Now it seems to be all about booking dream matches for smarks and worked shoot after worked shoot. They've become as predictable and repetitive as they used to make fun of WWE for being.
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HHH should just start his own promotion. He's probably be a better booker than Tony Khan, has far more industry experience, has universal respect in the industry. Only thing is he would need a bankroller and a TV deal.
Vince coming back to WWE is the worst possible news I could think of for that promotion. And it was already struggling. Yikes.
HHH should just start his own promotion. He's probably be a better booker than Tony Khan, has far more industry experience, has universal respect in the industry. Only thing is he would need a bankroller and a TV deal.
Vince coming back to WWE is the worst possible news I could think of for that promotion. And it was already struggling. Yikes.
Wall Street disagrees though - which is what this is all about.
Shares are up 22% today and are the highest they've been since October 2019. (Which is about half a billion dollars for Vince if you look at how many shares he has)
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
I mean this is what happens when you put Jeff Jarrett in your main event in 2023.
They also officially added Jericho to the creative team a month or two ago.
It's just not a good product right now. Even if you don't like the product, AEW was at its best when it was doing long-term, old school storytelling, and building up its young and homegrown guys (e.g. Darby, Jungle Boy, etc.). Now it seems to be all about booking dream matches for smarks and worked shoot after worked shoot. They've become as predictable and repetitive as they used to make fun of WWE for being.
It really is bad right now.
Honestly the product has really been trending downhill since Punk Debuted...I feel like that was probably it's peak and downhill since.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 01-06-2023 at 10:26 AM.
I think it's more interesting the board members that were brought back.
Barrios and Wilson both played a big role in WWE Network and standing it up...which was then transferred to Peacock. Koonin was head of Turner, and Pamon was head of Beyonce's media group. Kahn has extensive experience in media rights. Mckenna was involved with Disney / Universal / NFL media rights.
I feel like what they are doing here is trying to set themselves up for a sale to Universal / Peacock or Disney and have a board that all have extensive experience in the media business for those major players.
Stories today point to Comcast as the major interested party. I don't know if Disney would jump on board of wrestling.
Its funny, and just in loose sketches but I think Time Warner is the holder of the AEW TV rights, and they've replaced most of their programming executives and that deal is up in 2023. I would expect that they are going to come down on any negotiation over the swearing and blood and injury stuff pretty hard on a contract extension.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Wall Street disagrees though - which is what this is all about.
Shares are up 22% today and are the highest they've been since October 2019. (Which is about half a billion dollars for Vince if you look at how many shares he has)
How are any of these two points connected? Daydreaming that HHH starting his own promotion has nothing to do with WWE shareholder price today.
So I asked Chat GPT to write a wrestling promo for Hulk Hogan as he takes on Doogie Houser at Madison Square Gardens
This is Hulks promo
Quote:
"Well, let me tell you something brother, it's time for the Hulkster to come out of retirement and step back into the ring. And there's no one I'd rather face than Doogie Howser.
Now I know what you're thinking, Doogie's just a kid. But let me tell you, he's got heart. He's got determination. And I respect that.
But at Madison Square Garden, in a cage match, there's only room for one Hulk. And that's me, brother.
So Doogie, if you've got the guts, if you think you've got what it takes to step into the ring with me, let's do it. Let's see who's the real Hulk around here.
Let's make it happen, brother. Let's tear the roof off the sucker. Whatcha gonna do when the Hulkster runs wild on you?"
Spoiler!
And Doogie's promo
Quote:
"Hulk Hogan, the legendary Hulkster. You've been a hero to me since I was a little kid. But now it's time for me to step out of the shadows and into the ring.
I know you're retired, Hogan. But I can't pass up this opportunity. I've been training for this moment my whole life. And I'm ready to take on the best.
So let's do it. Let's meet in the cage at Madison Square Garden. Let's see who's the real Hulk.
I know I'm just a kid, Hogan. But I've got heart. I've got determination. And I won't back down.
So let's make it happen. Let's give the fans what they want. Let's put on a show.
Hogan, I accept your challenge. Whatcha gonna do when Doogie runs wild on you?"
Of course Paul Heyman had to stick his nose into this.
Quote:
"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman and I am the advocate for the one and only Hulk Hogan.
And let me tell you, I am thrilled to announce that the Hulkster will be stepping back into the ring for a monumental cage match at Madison Square Garden against a worthy opponent - Doogie Howser.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Doogie's just a kid. But let me tell you, he's got heart. He's got determination. And he's not afraid to step into the ring with the Hulkster.
But let's be real here, folks. When it comes to raw power, when it comes to pure strength and brute force, there's only one man who reigns supreme - and that's the immortal Hulk Hogan.
So mark your calendars, folks. This is a match you don't want to miss. The ultimate showdown between the kid and the legend.
Doogie, if you've got the guts, if you think you've got what it takes to step into the ring with the Hulkster, let's do it. Let's see who's the real Hulk around here.
This is going to be a night to remember. Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?"
And of course the infamous match
Quote:
Announcer: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Madison Square Gardens for tonight's main event - a steel cage match between Hulk Hogan and Doogie Howser, with Paul Heyman in the corner of the Hulkster. This is sure to be an epic showdown!"
[Hulk Hogan makes his entrance to "Real American" as the crowd goes wild. Doogie Howser enters to a mix of cheers and boos.]
Announcer: "And here we go! The bell rings and both men lock up in the center of the ring. Hogan gets the upper hand and sends Doogie crashing into the cage. But Doogie fights back, delivering a series of quick jabs. Hogan retaliates with a huge bodyslam, but Doogie kicks out at two.
The two men continue to fight back and forth, trading blows and trying to gain the upper hand. But just when it seems like Hogan is starting to get the upper hand, Paul Heyman gets up on the apron and distracts the ref.
Doogie takes advantage of the opportunity and hits Hogan with a low blow. Hogan falls to his knees in pain as Doogie climbs up to the top of the cage. He delivers a massive elbow drop and gets the three count.
Announcer: "Ladies and gentlemen, your winner - Doogie Howser! But wait, what's this? Paul Heyman is laughing maniacally as he stands over the fallen Hulkster. It looks like Heyman has betrayed Hogan and helped Doogie win the match!"
[Doogie Howser celebrates in the ring as Paul Heyman gloats over his victory. The crowd boos as Heyman and Doogie leave the ring together.]
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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It was your second comment that Vince coming back was the worst possible news for the company…
It is. Stock price aside, he shouldn't be involved in any of the operations, management, or scriptwriting. And I doubt the board will remove Triple H from his control of the product at that level.
If McMahon is just there to facilitate a sale, then so be it. But even then who knows what that would look like - it might include cutbacks to make the company look better for that sale or future investors.
It is. Stock price aside, he shouldn't be involved in any of the operations, management, or scriptwriting. And I doubt the board will remove Triple H from his control of the product at that level.
If McMahon is just there to facilitate a sale, then so be it. But even then who knows what that would look like - it might include cutbacks to make the company look better for that sale or future investors.
From a wrestling perspective it's terrible if he ends up trying to be involved in anyway or oust HHH from his position. Probably even just bad for morale around the wrestlers.
But for strictly the purpose of the sale then I think it seems that the market was favorable to him being part of it - judging by the share price reaction today.
If McMahon is just there to facilitate a sale, then so be it. But even then who knows what that would look like - it might include cutbacks to make the company look better for that sale or future investors.
I mean, ofcourse it is. That's what a sale almost always starts with. It will also be reliant on big short-term bumps to make any sale number bigger with no foresight to what comes after. That means lots of drop in stars taking top billing. Lots of celebrity guests. Lots of sadness for wrestling fans.
I mean, ofcourse it is. That's what a sale almost always starts with. It will also be reliant on big short-term bumps to make any sale number bigger with no foresight to what comes after. That means lots of drop in stars taking top billing. Lots of celebrity guests. Lots of sadness for wrestling fans.
Really though this was going to happen anyways...I think the timing was strategic for sure.
If The Rock, Logan Paul, Stone Cole, and potentially Bad Bunny all show up at Mania which as been rumored at different times then that's going to be a bump for sure and Mania might put up huge numbers.
Even without Vince around the next couple months between Rumble and Mania always seem to be the time of year where the celebrity guests and main stream overlap occurs.
I will say though personally I am annoyed by this...after years of discussion about wanted to go to a Wrestlemania a friend and I made the decision to bite the bullet and go to Wrestlemania this year after seeing the re-sale tickets weren't too bad and not minding where the product was headed. I'm worried the show is going to really suck now depending on how the next two months go, also AJ and Seth Rollins might both be injured now...so that sucks.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 01-06-2023 at 03:35 PM.
The more I think about this though, and if I was say Vince McMahon's lawyer and financial advisor, I'd being advising him to try to get back involved with the company and a potential sale too.
From a business perspective I don't blame Vince at all . He's the controlling shareholder, he owns 38% of the shares which works out to about 28.7 MILLION shares. If they could get about $100 per share for this - which is likely what a sale will take - then that is a $2.8 BILLION transaction for Vince. I'd want to be part of that too, and I've never heard of a businessman that would let another person negotiate a $3B transaction for them.
Plus a potential sale to Comcast / Universal goes back to before Vince being ousted, and he was the architect of the Peacock deal if things are to be believed, so I think for him this is probably just a big piece of closing off his legacy to be involved in a sale. Going out on his terms in a way.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 01-06-2023 at 04:08 PM.
If Vince was any other business man, I don't think I would be overly shocked at all. It would make a lot of sense, you're right.
But this is Vincent Kennedy McMahon. He makes no sense.
I'm not sure there is much risk in him trying to take over creative for the next couple months...I think he's going to play nice.
My guess is he tries to work in some type of power play into the actual sale agreement, where a condition of the sale is he's kept on for x amount of time to lead the company.
Then that's when I think he might try to take back creative...that or he's back in creative by Monday lol
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 01-06-2023 at 04:30 PM.
