After presenting some storyline ideas to kick off the AEW runs of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, today turns towards the more business-oriented side. There have been plenty of missed opportunities from AEW, and today they get more aggressively pitched to grow the brand and show appreciation for wrestling’s past, particularly the portion that caused AEW CEO Tony Khan to fall in love with professional wrestling.
While the company is currently on a hot run in terms of buzz and ticket sales, there are other potential avenues that have apparently been ignored. Perhaps there are valid, understandable reasons. To make an attempt to figure out what these reasons are would be nothing more than speculation.
The bottom line is that today’s pitched business opportunities for AEW is for the company to become simply put, the absolute finest pro wrestling company that it can be outside of Vince McMahon’s world.
Without further adieu…
Where’s the console video game update?
It has been many months since there has been any update on the highly-anticipated console video game, and with the news coming that WWE and 2K are strained after 2019’s disastrous WWE 2K20 launch, perhaps there will not be any substantial update soon.
There’s no good reason to argue against this though:
During the historic All Out 2021 broadcast, perhaps right before the CM Punk vs. Darby Allin main event, show some new footage of the upcoming console game, and if the game already has Punk included, make damn sure that he gets shown in the gameplay footage.
On top of that, while a release date wouldn’t be rational to announce with the event just a week away, it’s time to also release the name of the video game. Maybe go with AEW Best in the World, especially since the bar isn’t too high lately thanks to WWE. Set those expectations and get people excited for what’s to come in the next year or so.
Furthermore, I would jump through whatever hoops necessary to get NJPW’s top stars included in the game. With this move, AEW can truly set itself as ahead-of-the-curve in the industry’s video game department, as the roster would include not just the regulars of the past 2-3 years as well as Punk, Danielson, and other upcoming free agents, but the likes of Shingo, KENTA, Yuji Nagata, Kota Ibushi, Minoru Suzuki, Jay White, Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada, and the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi.
In addition, make sure that the “legends” roster doesn’t just include those who have appeared for AEW like Jake Roberts, DDP, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard, but those a bit more “outside-the-box” like Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, and Jushin Thunder Liger.
And that’s not all, but I’ll save the other ideas for the video game for another section in this column.
It’s Time to Fire Back at WWE’s Destination PPVs
With the announcement that next year’s Money in the Bank event will be emanating from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the first thought that crossed my mind is that it’s a declaration of war from WWE.
While there are certainly a number of reasons why WWE chose Vegas for its first attempt in treating the Money in the Bank brand name as a travel destination event, it comes on July 4 weekend, which is just 5 weeks after Memorial Day weekend, which now belongs to Double or Nothing for the industry’s PPV schedule. Through my lens, that looks like a pretty clear predatory move from WWE to put the traveling wrestling fan into a position of having to choose between either WWE or AEW for a wrestling-centric trip to Vegas next summer.
A move like this comes as no surprise considering how WWE has already conducted itself before AEW even appeared on WarnerMedia cable television, and going back decades when Vince McMahon went above and beyond to kill the territories and try to become the beneficiary of a national monopoly. AEW has also not backed down, engaging in the mudslinging, embracing the “Blood & Guts” comment that McMahon used in his hopes of burying the company to advertisers, and publicly rubbing it in WWE’s face that NJPW was staying put with AEW.
The First Dance shows that AEW has what it takes to fire back at what WWE is trying to do next summer. Announced with less than a month’s notice and NOT taking place on a travel destination weekend like ROH and NJPW’s historic G1 Supercard was at Madison Square Garden, the instant sellout makes it loud and clear that with the right attraction, AEW is more than capable of not just filling an NBA and NHL venue, but can do so at one that WWE rarely if ever wants to pony up the union labor dough to air their broadcasts from in the past decade or so, and can do it without having to piggyback off of anything.
AEW should seriously consider having next year’s All Out event emanate from the United Center, or maybe even go a step further and aim for Wrigley Field. While many would argue that the NOW Arena needs to remain the only home of the annual All Out, shifting to a bigger venue in the market that AEW has already sold out, or going to something bigger than that in the market, would make the most fan-friendly decision.
Yes, there is a pride and mystique that comes with supercard events that have demand which far, far exceeds supply. It can make the event seem even hotter, more anticipated, and can make those in attendance feel an extra layer of blessing for being present.
But I speak not just for many pro wrestling fans, but as a Seattle Kraken fan – the experience in trying to get tickets for events as hot as All Out or the Kraken’s upcoming inaugural season has left so many demoralized and alienated, with the absurd secondary market prices only further adding to that. The only solution to that is to use venues that have a higher supply of seats available to meet the demand.
With Punk and Danielson now in the fold, there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that if the United Center became the permanent home of All Out, it would very, very quickly still sell out, and now *TWICE* the number of fans would be accommodated and rewarded for their support, to be part of an event that has been so special since its “prologue” on Labor Day weekend 3 years ago.
For TV broadcast purposes, the United Center or Wrigley Field would also elevate the viewers’ perception of AEW as a truly major-league brand. I don’t know the words to properly convey how much more big-league that The First Dance looked by taking place at the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks, especially compared to the WWE’s second-rate Chicago venue of choice in the past quarter century that is the Allstate Arena. But I know that I was watching something that presented itself in a way that belonged on the same network that airs some of the biggest NBA games every year.
There could perhaps be some feelings hurt for those who have connections to the NOW Arena. That’s what happens in business. The solution to expeditiously cure those hurt feelings seems pretty easy, which is to have that venue become the annual host of multiple upcoming TNT broadcast supercards. In exchange for losing All Out, the NOW Arena would become a featured venue for major cards airing on a major cable network’s prime time slot.
In mentioning all of this, there is one solid argument against thinking of “upgrading” the All Out venue, and that of course is the neverending pandemic. (But the pandemic is not today’s focus; that comes later.)
Next up, it’s perhaps the most important business opportunity for AEW from the eyes of the lapsed wrestling fans.
Going Over-the-Top
As of this moment, there have been little to no attempts of substance by any underground wrestling company to piggyback off the buzz from Punk and Danielson’s potentially game-changing AEW arrivals.
I sit here stunned that a week after CM Punk appeared live on TNT and made reference to his Ring of Honor farewell that took place on August 13, 2005, ROH has opted NOT to add the match in its entirety to its YouTube channel.
(Perhaps I should not be surprised that Punk’s ROH farewell from 2005 isn’t on the company’s YouTube channel; a year after the untimely death of former ROH World Champion Xavier, the company has yet to upload any matches involving Xavier in their entirety to YouTube, instead just posting a clip from one of his matches against Paul London.)
Furthermore, I sit here stunned that ROH has apparently NOT uploaded The Summer of Punk to its VOD Vault on Honor Club, which includes his initial hometown farewell match against Colt Cabana from Punk: The Final Chapter. In addition, Punk: The Final Chapter is apparently available in bell-to-bell format only, although there’s no way to browse for free and confirm (which is another grating flaw about Honor Club, one of many flaws.)
I don’t understand that if ROH already has Punk: The Final Chapter available to stream, that there hasn’t been a simple commercial with dialogue as simple as the following to advertise it:
Ring of Honor fans, there is no shortage of wrestling history to be found on Honor Club. Now available exclusively to stream on demand, it is the historic Punk: The Final Chapter from August 2005! Witness the emotional farewell match from CM Punk in his hometown of Chicago, as he headlines against fellow Second City Saint member Colt Cabana in a 2 out of 3 falls match!
Also, Jay Lethal teams with the legendary Samoa Joe in a show-stealing battle against the Rottweilers of Low Ki & Homicide in a fight that goes throughout the arena! Plus, Matt Hardy wraps up his first run in ROH in a collision with the rising star that was Roderick Strong! All this plus more, available to stream on demand right now exclusively on Honor Club!
Or even a commercial with dialogue this simple:
Ring of Honor fans, the wrestling world is abuzz with the return of ROH icon CM Punk! Exclusively on Honor Club, you can instantly stream The Summer of Punk, which was CM Punk’s acclaimed ROH farewell tour from the summer of 2005! See him compete for the Ring of Honor World Title in all-time classics involving Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, James Gibson, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Christopher Daniels, plus his emotional 2 out of 3 falls farewell match in Chicago against Colt Cabana! Catch it all right here, exclusively on Honor Club!
The bottom line is that as a VOD service, ROH has failed miserably to tap into its library, only scratching the surface, and that’s just looking at how the company has handled its retro content. There have been numerous complaints about the service for ROH fans in the present day.
As ROH has dropped the ball with its contributions to the streaming world, AEW has stood pat and just simply not bothered having one yet at all. This is also equally inexcusable.
The time is now to get the ball rolling on AEW getting its library available to stream on-demand for a very consumer-friendly price. For a lapsed fan like me that is being drawn in solely because of Punk and Danielson, AEW has denied me the opportunity of looking through its archives to get a deeper backstory on sagas such as Adam Page’s current chase of the company’s world championship, the acclaimed TNT Title reigns of Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin, and such consensus classic battles as Cody against Dustin Rhodes, the Young Bucks against Page and Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks against FTR.
With this VOD disappointment from ROH and AEW comes an opportunity. First pitched by me to The Fix earlier this month on the PW Torch site, I propose that not only AEW make a focused attempt on developing an OTT VOD service, but for Tony Khan to reach an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to get the streaming rights to the ROH library, specifically spanning from the company’s birth in February 2002 through the last show from December 2018 that came prior to the official announcement of AEW’s formation.
Without access to Punk and Danielson’s WWE contributions, ROH is the other top library to access and market and monetize these legends’ pasts. AEW has an audience that would be far more inclined than WWE’s to watch underground wrestling footage from the past; with AEW especially leaning into its newsletter recognition on TNT programming, such legitimacy given to the newsletters could be used to both honor and market the newsletter acclaim that ROH received back in the company’s Rob Feinstein and Cary Silkin ownership eras.
Tony Khan also lived through ROH’s glory days of 2002-11 in real time, and some would say that today’s AEW is an evolution of what ROH was back then. With both the resources as well as the equally important passion towards ROH’s past, there is nobody I trust more than Khan to be the one to put this proposed streaming library together. With his willingness to shell out money for licensed music as well, this may be a chance for some of the copyrighted audio that was illegally used by ROH back then to be left in tact on the library; Khan has already shelled out the money for Punk’s theme song that he used in the 2005 Summer of Punk storyline (sans the Kill Bill intro.)
I know that something like this cannot happen overnight. Perhaps my suggested launch date below is simply not logistically possible, being just 6 months away. But I’m proposing it anyway, as it’s time for *SOMEBODY* to actually put forth something resembling a passionate effort to honor and showcase its incredibly rich past.
I believe that AEW should launch its streaming network, with immediate access to the ROH library, as part of next February’s 20th anniversary celebration for ROH. With this proposed launch date, AEW would allow ROH the opportunity of a bigger stage to celebrate an important milestone. If this were to happen next February as well, it would fall on the 10th anniversary of the WWE Network launch, which WWE and NBCU are certain to have some plans for. This can be one way of AEW competing against that particular anniversary.
If such an agreement can be made, then a talent crossover would obviously not be far behind, if at all. I see this streaming opportunity between ROH and AEW to also be the perfect bridge for the likes of Punk, Cabana, Page, Danielson, Cody, Omega, the Young Bucks, Scorpio Sky, Frankie Kazarian, and Christopher Daniels to be part of ROH’s 20th anniversary celebration, whatever that may be when taking the pandemic into consideration. (Could it also be possible that the ROH World Title would see a defense take place on Rampage or Dynamite?)
Circling back to AEW’s eventual console video game game, I’ll make another suggestion as well, however unlikely and impractical. If AEW and ROH get in bed with each other for streaming and crossover purposes, I speak for many lapsed ROHbots when I say that after 2 decades, ROH getting its first-ever official inclusion in a video game would be something special, especially since the AEW game is said to have elements of the SmackDown franchise and AKI-developed games such as Revenge and No Mercy. And if possible, see if the game could include some ROH talents, especially those who shined during the 2000s glory days such as the Briscoes, Lethal, and Homicide.
To my fellow lapsed ROHbots: picture playing a wrestling video game that for the first time ever, has the ROH logo and ringside decorations of the mid-2000s, clearly taking place inside the Manhattan Center or Frontier Park Field House, reliving such fondly-remembered matches as KENTA vs. Danielson and the Briscoes vs. Punk & Cabana.
A Solution to a Glaring Problem: Subpar Theme Music
If AEW is planning to deliver huge moments and get its acts over to a massive level, the poor theme music across the board has got to be improved. While Khan has shown the willingness to spend for copyrighted music, there may be a more financially sustainable alternative to just using an apparently open checkbook.
Perhaps the most underappreciated individual in WWE history is Jim Johnston. The company’s music composer for 3 decades, he proved to be the unsung hero throughout the rise of WrestleMania, the Attitude Era, the Ruthless Aggression era, and beyond. So many of the industry’s most cherished moments have reached such status thanks in large part to Johnston’s brilliance, understanding how to put together the appropriate tone for each performing act, and often doing so on a larger-than-life scale.
It is noteworthy that for all of Johnston’s contributions to WWE, he has never publicly received the recognition for his outstanding work and achievements, even though he absolutely epitomizes the proposed purpose of the annual Hall of Fame Ceremony’s Warrior Award. His departure from WWE was quiet, no acknowledgement of substance, just tossed aside like he was old news.
There is perhaps no greater example of the phrase “It used to be better” than Jim Johnston. If not done so already, it would be wise of Khan to reach out to Johnston, and offer him the chance to provide the same one-of-a-kind magic that sold millions of records and was heard blasted throughout stadiums and arenas for over a quarter century. This would also be the chance for Khan to do something that he’s proven more than capable of doing, which is to give Johnston the recognition that he has earned for his iconic body of work.
There have been many acquisitions that AEW has picked up from WWE, some that have thrived, some that have not. But there is an argument that if AEW picked up Johnston, it may end up one day being the most meaningful shot at WWE. What is for certain is that with Johnston brought into the AEW fold, Khan would now be able to proudly display that in the theme music department, AEW is the best in the world, leaving WWE in the dust for such a key component of the business.
Although it is recognized that all of these suggestions are easier said than done, each of them would make for a greater experience for AEW’s consumer base as well as many lapsed fans. By accommodating today’s fans with a greater supply of tickets for the year’s hottest-selling show, by continuing to show backbone to Nick Khan and Vince McMahon, by utilizing a cherished library in a way that its current ownership and management team doesn’t have the will to showcase correctly, by taking advantage of the current momentum by providing an update for a highly-anticipated merchandise item, and by bringing in one of the most grossly unrecognized unsung heroes in the history of the business, AEW would continue to establish itself as being as far apart from the WWE mentality as possible, a true #1 company for actual fans of professional wrestling and that values their voice, support, and entertainment dollars.
There will be a final column coming sometime All Out 2021, and it will be different from the rest. So far, suggestions for AEW have been centered on creative directions and fan-friendly business opportunities. In what may be the most radical look at AEW, suggestions will be proposed to help propel the company to the front of the ethical line and be the true leader for pro wrestling that WWE so arrogantly opts not to be.