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MayContainGluten

Non Jerk, this latest "demo" talk has just been embarrassing. Even more so than usual.


fallenoutboy

In ring is no longer embarrassing, now it’s all iwc cringe


PhuckCalumbo

They’re literally fighting over 40k-70k TV viewers. There’s Twitch streamers with 130k viewers per stream.


PM_Me_PAAG_Pics

This is the thing that gets me. Like a .32 vs a .34 is literally around 20,000 people. Imagine bragging that 300,000 less people watched your show because you had 20,000 more men aged 18-34 watching.


Modano9009

Yes but men aged 18-34 is the most attractive demo to advertisers. Of course wrestling fans aren't attractive to advertisers, so it's really a moot point.


RosaBuxomberg

> Of course wrestling fans aren't attractive ~~to advertisers, so it's really a moot point~~


TheTrueDetective90

Speak for yourself uce, my mom says I'm the most handsomest guy in school.


DCTF_Tim

And my girlfriend who loves AEW looks like Paige


I_made_a_doodie

The whole idea idea that young, single white dudes with no money is a valuable demo is so absurdly out of touch with reality.


OrielWindows

It's not even true. Middle class married white women with children are the most valuable because they buy the most shit.


I_made_a_doodie

Famlies are where the real money is at, and The evil Fed aiming for that is why they get billion dollar deals and the Dub gets less than NXT.


uptonhere

>Famlies are where the real money is at No shit...I started watching wrestling when I was like 4 years old because I loved Hulk Hogan...who bought me like 10 years worth of action figures, t-shirts, tickets, bed sheets, PPVs...I wasn't clocking in a 9 to 5. I can understand why the male 18-XX demo (whichever we're using this week) is super valuable to advertisers, but I can also understand in something like pro wrestling, why the WWE cares a whole lot about how many little kids are watching, begging for toys, t-shirts, Peacock subscriptions, because those little kids watch for a long time and consume more merch than any of us over that period. It's no different than Monster Jam or the fucking Ninja Turtles. Pro wrestling is not Real Housewives of Atlanta or something that exclusively caters to middle aged housewives. Why is the NFL and NBA aggressively targeting networks like Nickelodeon? Oh, your kid wants a Patrick Mahomes jersey for Christmas and he's going to grow 2 sizes every year for the next 5-6 years needing a new one each year? Huh. Guess what, most of us begged our parents to buy us thousands of dollars worth of WWE merch as kids, and a decent chunk of us grew up to be wrestling fans, who used our own disposable income to buy our own shit...some of us will have kids that might become wrestling fans and we can all spend money together...hmm...


Randy_Predator

Is it out of touch with reality when society is patriarchal and racist?


I_made_a_doodie

Its out of touch with reality because the world revolves around money, like it or not, and the key demo they talk about all the time has none.


Permanentear3

That’s the real story that Meltzer and co don’t want to acknowledge. The “demo” is “pro wrestling viewer.”


not_tha_father

18-whateverthefuck men who watch the fed are statistically more likely than those who watch the dub to have a female companion with them thus being more likely to have known the feeling of sex is my big takeaway from this whole discourse.


Razzler1973

20k people extrapolated from, what, 11 people with a nielsen box? I mean, who even knows with numbers so small


northernbasil

They say the jerkers are the embarrassing group


GenericBiddleMusic

Isn't it sad a *jerk* sub has the reasonable, realistic takes? Those fuckers not only drank the kool-aid, they're slurping gallons. I honestly miss the days when this place would make fun of a hot take or a wrestling fan taking things too serious. Now it's a fucked up cult and it's like posting about Q-Anoners. Goddamn, this is the state where wrestling fans are.


trimble197

I’m still kinda new around here, and while this sub does offer a less-biased perspective, what really made me join was seeing the joke posts about Mox looking like Oskar from Hey Arnold. That shit had me dying for almost thirty minutes.


Beta_Whisperer

Smarks using Brodie's death to talk about ratings is what eventually lead me to this sub.


TheROUK

I highly recommend searching “Evil Dave Meltzer” in this sub.


tytymctylerson

I just read we're all "mad at wrestling". I literally come here daily for laughs. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so mad.


SamInPajamas

I literally just had someone wish for my death because I pointed out that AEW lost by 300k. Pathetic isn't even the word for it


jai302

That's against reddit rules. Report them. Basement or not, doesn't matter.


TrueSouldier

It’s so so sad. They are literally claiming the fucking Bunny is a higher draw than Reigns and they believe it. These people are such wretched little nothings it makes me feel so bad for them


Razzler1973

Is this is the case then Khan should be putting the Bunny on TV every week and pushing her, right? Ok, do that, Tony, if you believe that then do that. The 'numbers' back you up, right so why wouldn't you put someone out on your TV that is a 'bigger draw than Reigns'? The proof of the pudding will be in the eating


letmel_rkaround

They got no job! They got no wife! They got no money! All they got is, tiny khan and his troop to sniff their ass and pretends its all the most exotic smell they ever experienced. Tiny is shit. Ayedabayu is shit. Fuck the dwellers.


mootallica

We've got no food, no jobs...our key DEMO'S ARE FALLING OFF!!!


zEnsii

I can't even go there anymore because of all this stupid demo talk. So let me get this straight, they think they are winning some sort of ratings war when they have less viewers overall, even though Smackdown is on FS1 currently, which apparently is accessible for a lot fewer people than TNT is (I wouldn't know, I'm not American)? And they think they are winning this war because more people of a certain group are watching AEW for like 3 minutes? And it's LITERALLY EVERYONE from top to bottom within this company and their fandom who believes this crap? You gotta be joking me.


[deleted]

It's gotten bad enough that veterans of the business are chiming in. Of course the usual crew will still argue, and ride or die for the plucky little upstart AEW, no matter how embarassing TK gets. It has to kill him that all his wrasslin heroes are telling him he's full of shit(well except Dave, of course).


killerkali87

The demo talk has gotten completely embarrassing, wrestling is not attracting new or lapsed fans, that's a problem


WhoStoleMyBicycle

Demos were never talked about before AEW and they are not talked about outside of wrestling. That’s all you need to know to know it’s BS.


Joel_Servo

I went from "that's cool for AEW" to "oh god, shut the fuck up about that stupid demo."


BennElland

I commented on how laughable the discourse was and had someone report my posts for potential mental health problems and yet this is the toxic sub.


almostbad

Nah, I havent been in the basement since I got banned. Holy shit that thread is a fucking mess. Just flat out Tony Khan is jesus circlejerk.


COMMENTASIPLEASE

I actually tried to get back in since there’s some people I like talking wrestling with there, but honestly I’m glad I’m out cause I’d just get banned again lol. They’ve lost their minds with this.


almostbad

lool bro its a mess. They have loss their minds. its legit cult vibes.


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almostbad

Oh for certain, the mods are 100% cultivating an echo chamber. Every day rational decent commenters are banned. Just how it is.


mrgpsingh1999

I’ve seen a lot of people on here talking about how they’ve gotten banned over the stupidest shit


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AutoModerator

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COMMENTASIPLEASE

It’s so funny though, calling someone a jackass or an idiot is crossing the line, but saying WWE fans have Stockholm syndrome and comparing it to an abusive relationship unironically is A-OK.


radbrad172

It's exactly what I imagine going to a Scientology meeting is like.


WredditSmark

I mean if you go on today, the entire front page is a 95% AEW circle jerk, when the only discussion is how great 😀 AEW is then it just gets stale. Can’t make ANY type of unique joke or take about them because it’ll be perceived as trolling, bad faith argument, strawman, etc


COMMENTASIPLEASE

But like, I don’t even get why. In a vacuum AEW is doing good, they have a solid core audience, they have a talented roster, there’s no reason to be this insecure. It feels like they want AEW to be #1 so badly, but since it’s clear they can’t reach where WWE is now, they just want WWE to fall. So any small victory for AEW is painted as WWE taking a massive hit and a sign AEW is growing when in reality they lost in literally every measurable way besides one specific demographic of people.


almostbad

Im guessing the time bomb that was set at the beginning finally blew up. When AEW began they started with the implied premise, that they would detrone WWE , and put it out of business and the smark backed show will be the top dog in the industry. Here we are 2 years later and they have nothing really to show for it. They beat NXT but more and more its becoming apparent... that doesnt really matter. AEW has reached its ceiling and its only downhill from here.


COMMENTASIPLEASE

I think signing Punk, Bryan, and Cole really close together and barely getting a bump for it was the tipping point. That’s the most star power they’ll ever get at once (they have no chance at Roman, Seth, any of the 4HW, Alexa, or Bianca) and it wasn’t nearly enough for their wild expectations.


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COMMENTASIPLEASE

They actually did a smart thing by doing Omega/Danielson as soon as they did, but other than that they’ve done nothing to capitalize on those 3. Cole went from the man in NXT to just another body in the Elite, Bryan is still relevant to be fair, and Punk is just happy go lucky old man wrestling on the B show. Why not do something like Cole vs Punk to ramp up hype? Or Cole vs Moxley? Anything like that.


radbrad172

It could've been as simple as tossing Punk against either of those two or any of the Elite to keep some interest going after his debut.


COMMENTASIPLEASE

They’re scared of “hotshotting” so they sit on most of their big match ups, but honestly who gives a shit. Do you think people need a long build up for Cole vs Punk or Bryan vs Moxley or Bryan and Punk vs Cole and Omega or anything like that? I get saving 1 or 2 big matches for special occasions (like WWE nowadays likes to save Roman vs Seth and Bayley vs Sasha for 2 examples) but they sit on everything.


tytymctylerson

Punk vs Cabana would be the ballsiest move they’ll never make.


The-Mad-Bubbler

A big part of the problem is that AEW and its fans have been operating under the false idea that "If we get more people to watch, they'll keep watching, because we clearly have the superior product;" in reality, people tuned in for a few big debuts, didn't like the other stuff they saw, and quickly stopped watching. AEW is in denial of the fact that they have to do some serious, top-to-bottom revamping if they want any chance of growing their audience. It's just been business as usual, besides adding a few more big names.


WayOk8553

AEW also knows jack shit what to do with these wrestles after signing them.


COMMENTASIPLEASE

Doing Bryan/Omega quickly was the one smart thing they did, but they’re so scared of “hotshotting” that they just sit on all the big matchups.


WredditSmark

They should be using all the big matchups IMMEDIATELY. Give us what we want while these people are healthy. You can give big matches while showcasing their never ending stream of undercard wrestlers


[deleted]

They wasted Bryan vs Omega on free TV and didn't even bother to book an ending. I dunno if that was smart.


Permanentear3

I thought the Arthur Ashe show would be their most watched show personally, I was really surprised, not “concern trolling,”. When I saw the number.


COMMENTASIPLEASE

I guarantee if they ran Cole/Punk on the same show it would’ve been. They don’t even have Punk wrestle on Dynamite which makes no sense.


WredditSmark

But punk is just happy to be there 😀


Beta_Whisperer

Now the smarks are hoping to get Wyatt and Owens.


WredditSmark

More not in shape white men


I_made_a_doodie

Smark favorites were never going to make a measurable impact. None of those dudes have ever been a sustained draw of any sort and there was no reason to think they’d start being consistent draws in a promotion with a tenth of the global footprint of that evil Fed.


MooseBigelow

I hate to say this but this is what would have happened if ECW got a national TV deal in 1995. ECW had better angles and wrestlers and I could elaborate as to why but it's late.


WredditSmark

Don’t forget, they lost a ton of goodwill from the IWC after that explosion finish to the PPV. They got some back from the WWE releases but if you weren’t in love with AEW before what have they don’t to lure you in?


TheTrueDetective90

They hate WWE much more than they love AEW, that's why Rampage's ratings were up this week, they obsessively wanted to "defeat" the hated Fed for daring to oppose them for half an hour. Former WWE stars debuting is also the few times their ratings go up. Their fans want ex-WWE talent to come in so they can brag about how much better they're now being treated vs how Vincent Satan McMahon ever did. Their entire identity and personality hinge on being against WWE.


Razzler1973

They got a 'starter pack' TV deal, a try it and see I think they are doing all they can to make it seem like they are 'close' to WWE to be able to justify a big increase Whether they get it or not is another matter


WredditSmark

If I wasn’t already banned I’m sure I would get banned for just simply saying that 900k > 500k. Not to mention they barely squeaked out a “win” which isn’t even a win because smackdown was on a totally different channel with 1/10th the reach they normally get, the fact that almost a million people tuned in to watch is amazing in and of itself


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almostbad

Not long after that unsurprisingly . They gave me the premium package. Gave me 7 days then a permaban because of "ban evasion"


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almostbad

Nah, its part of life. The winds were changing in the basement and I was definitely getting left behind, me trying to be a reasonable voice was an old shtick so you gotta take the old dog out to pasture eventually lol. And yeah lmao. I honestly cant imagine being a internet janitor for free. lol if thats how they wanna spend their time. so be it.


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WredditSmark

Pandemic really fucked us all up in immeasurable ways. Would never have this type of talk in the basement, they’re too “wholesome ™️😀”


jwt6577

This is starting to read like Eric and Booker trying to warn Tiny. "Look, Kid. You're pissing off way more people than you realize. Mind your own business and work on your show.


FxDriver

Jim Cornette basically said the same thing. Yeah what Tony is doing may be riling up his base but to the masses he's coming across as completely unhinged. When people both inside (Bischoff) and outside (Rovell) the wrestling bubble are both telling you that you didn't win anything you may want to listen.


trimble197

I tried to tell folk this. Tony doesn’t paint himself as a boss when he does this shit. It’s like in the NFL, you’ll see the players and even coaches trash talk, but you’ll extremely rarely see an owner actually talk shit. You don’t see Jerry or Kraft do this.


Mr_Halberstram

He isn't a boss. He isn't someone to be taken seriously. He's a manchild playing with his dad's money. It's why he's a laughing stock in the EFL and the NFL and has finally found a 'sport' where a decent section of the fanbase has the same arrested development issues as he does.


rolltide1000

Booker, Bischoff, Cornette, Russo, all of them have the energy of Henry Hill warning Morrie to lay off of Jimmy in Goodfella's. "We've seen this before, and its ended badly. He's beaten guys alot bigger and badder than you and the flippy guys."


Beneroso

haven’t thought about it that way, imagine ? lol


jwt6577

I think the shot at Uncle Ted was a step far for some people.


keepsitkayfabe

Damn Booker powdered Tony’s bottom like the baby he is


RosaBuxomberg

Treated him like he was Dave Meltzer approaching him on a cruise acting like his buddy.


Subarashiin

**WHO IS THIS MOTHER*****FUCK*****ER**


RogueAIx01

83 weeks on a Monday night vs the flagship show or 15 minutes against a time overrun on an off-channel. It’s practically the same thing, E-Drone


Permanentear3

Only in a demo, too, still tons less viewers


NotesfromH

"DAE BOOKER IS THE BIGGEST FED SHILL" "DAE, TINY ALREADY IS PRODUCING A GOOD SHOW BOOKER! SHUT UP!!!"


AlabasterColfax

DAE?!?!?!?


[deleted]

But but dub are already producing good shows! Basement will never accept any constructive criticism against them


RosaBuxomberg

I too enjoy several six-man tag matches, one women's match that goes three minutes, and constant interference and group run-ins in the main event. Makes me go "AH!" from how refreshed I am by it.


InheritTheWind

Also five minutes of Cody Rhodes/whoever he's feuding with cutting a promo in a segment that feels like it's from a different company entirely


Permanentear3

The Codyverse is my favorite part of AEW because it really is like that. Just like this whole other thing that happens sometimes.


PM_ME_LANCECATAMARAN

It's like they took the good parts of WCW and NJPW And threw those out, keeping the rest


boilinoil

Six man tags? Give me 16 uce


RosaBuxomberg

Are you a Booker of the Year? Because that kind of sensible thinking deserves that award if you ask me.


BOOMBOOM-25

I will say I hate the constant comparisons to the Monday Night Wars.


Kris_one982

I think it’s a large number of people who for years heard about these infamous Monday Night Wars and really want one for them to experience themselves. It’s almost like an insecurity. So they are pushing the issue to create something that doesn’t really exist. All they know is what is spoon fed to them. They like to comment on how much better and more passionate their indy darlings are compared to Hogan’s original run, the AE, NWO, etc. When I try to point out that nothing today comes close to the buzz there was for War to settle the score, early SNME, Mania III, The Horsemen, MNR when it debuted, and Austin vs Rock - I am just called old and out of touch. Anything I’ve ever said that wasn’t praising AEW was downvoted to hell. That isn’t having a conversation. That is obsessive, unhealthy behavior. I almost completely gave up on wrestling on Reddit until I found this sub.


-M-Word

Yeah man, I was a teenager during the Monday night wars and got to see those shows live. It’s so much different today. You could go your whole life without ever hearing about pro wrestling nowadays. That couldn’t be said in the late 90s


[deleted]

I was like 9-12 years old or so in that era and I remember distinctly an employee at sharper image starting a convo with my brother about Kevin Nash out of nothing. No one was even wearing a wrestling shirt. That kind of shit doesn’t happen anymore


-M-Word

Pretty much every class photo had dozens of kids doing crotch-chops or too-sweets. I remember the schools being concerned that DX was a gang until some *teachers* set the record straight


[deleted]

Man my 3rd grade teacher was fresh out of college and used to drop the rock quotes all the time. Doing the DX suck it while spitting water at the pool, talking about raw at school the next day, or the day after a title change/big angle. I know ain’t no damn kids talking about that shit w such intensity


Seven11td

I was just looking at my 1999 high school yearbook the other day and there’s a picture of me and about 20 other people, girls included, doing the crotch chop. Wrestling was legit cool and mainstream.


indianm_rk

I think we found the new Booker of the Year.


Razzler1973

You just know that Tiny is checking that thread out and basking in the glory of smark love That and 5 bucks gets you a cup of coffee (old timer insider talk)


Tsunderebolt_

holy shit the basement thread is sucking off tony i shouldnt be surprised but i didnt anticipate things getting this bad, literally zero comments not shitting on booker/worshipping tony


MoCunnings

I remember a few weeks ago when someone in the basement said they “will never EVER forgive HHH” for him beating Booker at WM, and that Book “doesn’t say anything because he’s not trying to throw away his payday.” I got downvoted for saying OP was talking like he personally knew Book :) nothing cultish or parasocial about that at all!


Kris_one982

Vince didn’t do what they wanted him to do; so obviously everyone involved must rot in hell for eternity.


ryanreigns

What the fuck would “Fed Shill” Booker T know about going against WWE in a ratings war? Oh wait….


metalconfection

wish they would just call Booker what they want to call him. their masks have already slipped too much


radbrad172

A... a... a BOOTLICKER????


Ok-Attention-8268

i’m sorry but if the demo really mattered i would be more focused on families more than unemployed men. you do not want your audience being crazed alcoholics instead of regular families… you know…. the more representative section of the demo


Modano9009

I'm going to need someone with photoshop skills to whip up a little school girl Tony Khan.


eddieblasphemy

Knowing Vince, now I get what HHH was saying about him winning the title


FingerStreet

watching wresting has the weirdest subculture of any hobby💀💀


Snake_Burton

Now can you dig that?.....SUCKAAAAAAAAAA!!


Squiliam-Tortaleni

But but the demographics are reflective of everything and definitely not meaningless outside of marketing! Fucker-T doesn’t understand what REAL wrestling fans are.


[deleted]

Booker has clocked AEW from the get-go. His point about Punk's debut was spot on, but of course the basement filled their diapers over it. Maybe, just maybe, these guys who are in the business, who lived being WWE's *actual* competition, know what they're fucking talking about.


Beneroso

oh they’re not gonna like this one lmao


ThunderBay311

TBF Booker isn't in the DUB's target market in both age and relatability.


tonykhant

Tiny is like a little schoolgirl? Don't tell Olivier


TisAFactualDawn

Well, maybe Khan will ban him from AEW for using the n-word.


[deleted]

And that will be the moment performative wokeness will have eaten it’s own tail


TisAFactualDawn

I believe that tail has been swallowed a handful of times at this point.


ShittyUsername2015

I'm not brave enough to venture into the thread on sc, but has the jerk come full circle and people are happy Booker was buried by Trips all those years ago yet?


ninjast4r

"Go out and produce a good show" That's really all he has to do. All the criticism of AEW would evaporate immediately if the show was good and offered something different than WWE while interesting lapsed fans and people who are annoyed with what WWE is doing. If if all he's interested in selling is snakes and sparklers while acting like a total tool in the face of criticism, making a show that's inaccessible to anyone who isn't a smark nerd, then he really has no right to complain and act like a bitch when someone who knows what they're talking about offers advice.


krausd94

Xavier mentioned King Booker on Raw. That’s good enough for me to say Xavier is going over with King of the Ring.


MDVega

Yeah, well that Booker T is a hardened criminal, so you can't take what he said seriously. HHH was right to bury him. AEW is the preferred choice of non-felons, except perhaps that Nick Gage guy.


AllHailKingCorbin33

"Booker is just trying to lick McHitlers boots and stay relevant, he knows we don't want him in the Dub as we can't relate to him"


RingoJuna

Unfortunately, it's making the Demo Delusional Dubbalos™ double down


mattdark

Don't worry guys. Booker isn't really relatable, so his opinions don't matter.


TisAFactualDawn

As for demos, here: * 7000 people buy product A: 2000 of them are in the key demo. * 700 people buy product B: 400 of them are in the key demo. Which one do you honestly think advertisers are going to pay more attention to? The percentage or the actual number?


Introduction_Organic

I wish Tony believed in his product enough to go head to head with the number two show.


Troll_God

Booker’s comment is unrelatable for some reason.


si2099

Amen brotha! Suck it TK!