AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
This past Thursday saw The Players Tribune story "Two In
One" about Jay and Mark Briscoe drop on YouTube and all
social media.
It began with Mark saying: “This is the story of how my
brother and I fell in love with wrestling … This is also the
story of the darkest days I’ve ever been through.” Mark
Briscoe opened up on losing his brother, Jay Briscoe, and
how he fights on to honor Jay's legacy. All Elite Wrestling
and The Players Tribune collaborated on it, with tons of
home footage from the Pugh family to help tell this story
about the lives of these two remarkable wrestlers, fathers,
and young men.
It's a story of wrestling and life, love and loss, tragedy
and triumph...about before and after...
Take the time to watch it with someone you love. Have
tissues ready.
Moving on...there's proof that counter-programming doesn't
always work...and this past weekend it REALLY didn't work.
ALL IN had 28,500 in Globe Life Field 30 minutes before the
show (with WrestleTix reporting 25,671 paid as of Zero Hour)
with a gate reported well over $3,000,000, according to Dave
Meltzer on Saturday night's Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meanwhile, WWE ran NXT's Great American Bash on July 12 at
Center Stage Theater in Atlanta at 3:00 pm bell time,
running directly head-to-head with AEW's ALL IN...and
actually struggled to sell out the venue, the old home of
WCW Saturday Night with 750 tickets sold. As I said
previously, considering that NXT Great American Bash has
traditionally been a TV special, first on USA Network then
CW, I'm surprised CW didn't complain to TKO that Great
American Bash isn't being aired as a special Tuesday night
show that would have popped a better than average rating;
particularly given that NXT ratings have been down recently.
I'm still surprised WWE didn't ratchet up the petty and had
have Mariah May going against Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women's
Title at Great American Bash to try to steal buzz from ALL
IN in general and specifically the Toni Storm-Mercedes Moné
match.
Then, consider what was offered as head-to-head competition:
Oba Femi defending his NXT title against Yoshiki
Inamura...or Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega... a TNA
Heavyweight Title signing ceremony vs. Mercedes Mone vs.
Timeless Toni Storm...or Jordynne Grace/Blake Monroe vs Jacy
Jayne/Fallon Henley...or an unforgettable Jon Moxley vs.
Hangman Adam Page psycho Texas Death Match for the AEW World
Title... even the biggest WWE fan should acknowledge there
wasn't any comparison.
Saturday Night Main Event saw Goldberg taking on WWE World
Champion Gunther. Even considering the reported injury
suffered by Seth Rollins earlier in the show that is rumored
to have caused the last 40 minutes of the show to be re-
booked on the fly...missing the better part of Goldberg's
retirement speech due to commercials and missing time cues
and having to end at 10 pm was absolutely and completely
inexcusable.
Then, there's Evolution. Instead, of running the all-Women's
PPV for the first time in seven years on its originally
scheduled date and location: July 5 at the Mohegan Sun
Arena, Uncasville, CT...on a July 4th weekend that would
have had no opposition; they instead ran it ACROSS THE
PARKING LOT from a Beyonce stadium show AND opposite MLB All
Star festivities, including the 2025 MLB Draft, and the MLB
Home Run Derby X. WWE sent out an email to those seated in
the upper deck last Wednesday, closing it off and moving
them down. As of Friday, only 6,000 seats were sold out of a
15,000-seat arena...and that was progress from earlier in
the weekend.
WWE used the talent of NXT and the women of WWE, NXT, and
TNA as cannon fodder to try by any means necessary to try to
take away ALL IN PPV buys from AEW. That effort appears to
have been a dismal failure, as early buy-rate estimates
appear to be leaning toward one of, if not the, best PPV buy
rate in company history.
Has WWE learned from that failure?
Nope. According to WrestleVotes and Fightful, NXT Heatwave
is scheduled for August 24, tentatively to be held in
Spartanburg's Memorial Auditorium...the same day as
Forbidden Door in London.
But this weekend tells you that even a lot of WWE fans are
pissed at the counter programming and like I said this past
week elsewhere...if you force people to make a choice...they
may well make a choice. This past weekend at least, it
appears that they did. In August, they may well again.
But meanwhile, WWE and TKO's friends continued the online
trolling campaign.... There was a somewhat startling
admission by Nick LoPiccolo, the agent for CM Punk, Drew
McIntyre, Liv Morgan, and other WWE talent that he's is an
admitted anti-AEW Twitter troll? One who's been arguing in
Dave Meltzer's replies for hours about how "nobody in
Hollywood believes" that WBD is paying AEW $185
million/year. His comment about an article that correctly
stated what AEW is being paid in its TV deal: "On what
planet"? His Twitter timeline: filled with WWE and TKO
propaganda. Wonder what happens if one of his clients
decides they'd like to go to AEW? Think Tony Khan is picking
up his phone?
So again...for those who insist that WWE Twitter trolls are
a figment of the imagination of overly sensitive AEW
fans...here you have one: a literal professional troll.
Finally...for those claiming that those of us pointing out
the obvious connections between the parent company of WWE,
TKO and the current Administration are "getting paid by Tony
Khan" (still waiting for my first check, just like I've been
waiting for my check from the Russians for being involved in
the nuclear freeze movement in the 1980s), here's yet more
proof:
Donald Trump said July 3 during a kickoff event to announce
a year’s worth of festivities to celebrate America’s 250th
birthday next July 4, that he wants to hold a UFC event on
the White House grounds with upwards of 20,000 attending.
Trump is a huge UFC fan and regularly attends major UFC PPV
events, dating back to the 1980s (and hosting multiple UFC
events at his hotels when he had those hotel/casinos). He's
close friends with UFC President Dana White, who appeared at
Trump campaign rallies last year. Donald Trump brought White
onstage on Election night to thank him for his efforts.
UFC officially indicated details will be available "in due
time".
Trump has suggested government funds may be available to
make this a free show...at a time when millions are losing
health care and schools are losing funding. ...in order to
create money for a tax cuts for the rich.
Mainstream political websites have ripped Trump and UFC for
the move, going so far as to compare it to having gladiators
at the Roman Coliseum.
Meanwhile, yesterday at ALL IN Texas, Thunder Rosa came out
in a cape saying "Mujer Mexicano Immigrante".
Draw your own conclusions...
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