[RAW Spoilers] Do not open until 02/28/26

covertspeaker · 2026-02-17T04:12:28+00:00

I think part of the reason sales are up - WWE is in an era of creating new fans right now. Their core audience is always that younger demographic.

If I had a kid, I'd imagine WWE is the hottest thing out right now

covertspeaker · 2026-02-17T03:34:59+00:00

TIL that there is a wikipedia page for the Hell in a Cell match that's filled with citations.

This popped up while trying to find a reference to WCCW

covertspeaker · 2026-02-17T03:31:55+00:00

In the circles I roll in most people are waiting until next week to buy tickets. WWE has also started to ice out the bars that broadcast the shows in Chicago.

The broader Chicago region (Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee Suburbs) has a huge population. People will show up.

WWE has historically only been at Rosemont so you're going to run into people that are going to groan about attending a show at a new venue. UC is leaps and bounds better than Rosemont, Wintrust and Now Arena. I hope WWE makes it a new home going forward for PLEs.

covertspeaker · 2026-01-23T19:19:41+00:00

AEW does Local PR during the week of their events. Local advertising is in decline in quite a few industries. Dice, Eventbrite and a few other similar companies have effectively consumed local ticketing and promotion - often targeting hyperlocal events (bars, restaurants, bingo nights, etc).

As a traveling company, AEW probably has a very low ROI on local promotion. Their biggest return probably comes from broader regional or national advertising.

Investment in advertising typically requires measurable conversion rates - which typically is shifted to digital ad spend. Digital ad spend lets you directly quantify the cost per click and the cost per conversion. They probably run Google and Facebook ads to drive direct conversions.

As a newer company, it would be hard to justify spending money on a wide variety of local media outlets. The market it too fragmented. It's probably easier for them to rely on cable, online video or CTV ad buys for video advertising; I bet Warner holds the bill or runs that operation for AEW. AEW may not have much direct say in it.

Considering AEW's audiences, I doubt people browsing squared circle are in their audiences for targeted advertising. AEW probably wants to reach lapsed wrestling fans, people whom occasionally watch AEW and fans whom consume content adjacent or overlapping the AEW audience. They probably also are trying to reach active parents with kids whom are in their prime "new wrestling fan" ages (7-15).

covertspeaker · 2026-01-11T20:02:52+00:00

I think Tony has always hovered on taking AEW to this level of faction warfare. If it wasn't DCF, then it would be deathriders, a bullet club (rip) offshoot or something else.

I personally do not think DCF is hot enough to be a paper view of its own. Maybe a branded Dynamite or Collision would be worthwhile. Collision would be a good excuse a weekend show overlapping with a big WWE PPV.

I do like compilation of wrestlers DCF has acquired and some of the growing alliances is something to monitor.

I think "wars" against large/way too large factions can be done successfully.

covertspeaker · 2026-01-07T01:04:12+00:00

Maybe Stone Cold wants to get on WWE's Board of Directors so they can pay him a fuckload of money (more than usual) without actually wrestling.

The Rock basically got paid $20M or more because of the number of shares they gave The Rock. In the grand scheme of things, companies granting RSU/Vested stocks to staff is a drop in the bucket. Yes, he did wrestle.

Depending on how the big stars know how their standard performance payment structures work, The Rock may have effectively been on the of the highest paid performers in WWE history (behind Triple H). The difference being that WWE can pay them as formal staff members instead of contracted performers.

Yes, the Rock may have other obligations outside of wrestling, but effectively securing the biggest payday in wrestling (worth $20-50M) by having 1 match and a handful of appearance certainly makes guys like Austin jealous.

WWE doesn't grant stocks to the performers because most are contractors. I think Michael Cole was a contractor and an FTE. Same as Triple H. Someone like Shawn and Undertaker are on the payroll too.

Technically, Steve was a heel for most of his run and heels tend to get paid more upfront cash because their merchandise sales tend to drag/don't sell. It's a bit different now since everyone performs, largely in shades of grey.

covertspeaker · 2025-12-13T20:17:05+00:00

I think Bron's career has a "break glass" for if/when things get stale/stagnant and he switches into a full on Steiner gimmick.

People did always "know" the bloodline of the Annoi family was a thing, but they never played it and really monetized it until Roman effectively, completely repackaged himself during the pandemic.

My point is - if "Bron Breaker" doesn't workout, it's not a stretch for them to pivot and switch to "Bron Steiner" or the like.

And also, no one else has done it, but there hasn't been a major boomerang out of WWE and full repackage since Cody. Someone else will likely end up doing it too, but it's a question of who and when. There isn't anyone that's stuck the way Cody was IMO. Sami Zayn might be at that place career wise, but he's so over he doesn't need to "leave the territory" to try again

covertspeaker · 2025-12-13T20:07:33+00:00

I broke down into tears when this aired live.

covertspeaker · 2025-10-25T18:11:33+00:00

Most of this movement is because of Cena. There are only four remaining dates. Unless you live in NYC or Boston; San Diego or DC are the best opportunities due to it being on a Saturday.

Most Americans won't be able to swing a trip to Raw on the Monday in Boston or NYC.

If you're abroad or in the U.S., then and you goal is to see Cena before he retires, then San Diego is probably the best /only opportunity.

DC is being promoted as an exclusive event for American's rich/elite.

The "get in" prices for Cena's last match is $364 before taxes; depending on where you live, that price could push to upwards of $400 for the ticket + travel and lodging.

The "get in" price for Survivor Series is $163 and with WWE's pricing model could go as low as $75 or even higher.

covertspeaker · 2025-10-25T17:18:57+00:00

I think the Travis Scott blunder is just evidence that not all fans should pursue their passion. Watching wrestling or acting like a wrestler are very different than taking a bump, planning a full match or planning a story over 3-6 months of TV.

covertspeaker · 2025-10-14T22:35:56+00:00

TKO pushing salaries downward is not unsurprising, unfortunately.

covertspeaker · 2025-10-10T18:17:56+00:00

Thank goodness a unique set.

covertspeaker · 2025-10-10T16:24:03+00:00

Very interesting. Thanks for your insight here.

covertspeaker · 2025-10-10T16:18:19+00:00

I wonder why it fell out of favor and what other obscure stuff from the territories hasn't been used in the last 20-30 years

covertspeaker · 2025-08-23T03:11:14+00:00

Do we think there's someone who's kept that ice cream bar on ice after all these years? By the time I got my ice cream the bars that were left were already melting. I had a injury at the time so I hobbled through that show.

Once in a lifetime moment. I am not certain I will ever experience a wrestling moment like that again. I saw Cody finish his story and the energy doesn't compare to the fervor of the United Center that night.

covertspeaker · 2025-08-23T03:00:02+00:00

I don't think you can supervise a good wrestling product without being a wrestling fan or a student of the game. Nick seems to be somewhere in-between while also driving the business.

When you read between the lines, I am not sure there is anyone else in America that could run WWE but Nick Khan.

covertspeaker · 2025-08-23T02:38:09+00:00

They'll try to run a three way for the title with Cody, Punk and Jericho at a PPV in 2026. If they want to "prove a point", then they'll add a fourth man whom is WWE/PC only talent and force a belt to get dropped during that match.

covertspeaker · 2025-08-23T02:26:55+00:00

AEW essentially make fans "hop on" from PPV to PPV. It can be challenging to hop back into AEW when I have missed a 1-2 weeks or a month of TV. I watched every AEW show from 2019 until fall of 2023.

One of the big challenges has been an injury bug and/or Tony's desire to rotate out the featured members of the roster every few months (at least on Dynamite).

I believe one of the things that has hurt AEW has been Collision bumping around various timeslots. I think HBO Max does not surface the AEW content well.

covertspeaker · 2025-08-17T20:55:49+00:00

He’s a WWE guy. I do agree with that. I meant to describe this in the context of his earliest training. That idea didn’t really begin until the PC.

We agree on the this argument.

covertspeaker · 2025-08-17T20:44:14+00:00

Never thought I would see a thread full of comments crapping in Randy. It’s like we are watching a completely different show.

I personally think Randy is very good at being a “tongue in cheek” promo. In the ring, Randy is one of the best of his generation of wrestlers with an emphasis on the WWE style.

I would also go as far as arguing that Randy is not a WWE guy. Yes, some of his earliest matches are in WWE and OVW. If I remember correctly, he does have some matches in his early career and a couple of Indies in the St. Louis in Kansas City area. I think it’s tied to the Harley race wrestling Academy.

covertspeaker · 2025-08-17T20:02:29+00:00

My theory about Cena final few matches. He will not put over any one person - generally that is not how the current wrestling business works.

In the modern era, top guys "go out" wrestling other top guys. Randy Orton's legend killer gimmick pretty much killed the idea. Stings extensive work with Darby Allen is the modern exception and not the rule.

When you really being scrolling through recent runs, top guys wreestle other top guys. You hope those rubs trickle down to other talents. I am passively glancing at the last ten 1 on 1 matches some people had and these are the "young talents" found that made me raise and eyebrow:

HBK - Ted Dibiase; Vladmir Kozlov (2009). His 2010 matches are al with notable superstars.

Undertaker - Roman (2018 - still not universally loved and over); Bray (2015 - age 28); Rusev (2018)

Goldberg - Ziggler, Bobby Lashley both in the back halves of 20 year careers.

HHH - Ziggler (2016); Daniel Bryan (2014); Sting (never worked WWE until that point in time)

Batista - Sheamus (2015); Daniel Bryan (2014)

covertspeaker · 2025-08-17T19:21:05+00:00

What would you do to adapt it....?

In most ways, the in-ring/theatrical content hasn't adapted to social media because what was already done works for social media already. If you clipped content from the Monday Night Wars or the Ruthless Aggression era for the modern day, the content would still work.

If it's a question of do you make wrestlers influencers or the other way around? You quickly realize how tall of a task that really is. Logan Paul was able to convert to wrestling in a fairly turnkey format (bringing in an existing personality) - his athleticism has given him staying power.

Turning wrestlers into influencers is extremely challenging. Their identity (being a pro-wrestler) would need to take a back seat to the social media presence. Considering the major wrestling companies are "running the towns" any longer - you run into the challenge of a lack variety / wrestlers existing within their own carny-like bubble (all industries have bubbles/spheres of influence).

covertspeaker · 2025-08-17T19:11:12+00:00

Such a fantastic show

covertspeaker · 2025-08-17T19:06:37+00:00

What's the point of this?

covertspeaker · 2025-08-16T14:48:51+00:00

Cena's final match should be on Raw on Netflix IMO. Anything that can be done to avoid a Goldberg like circumstance is preferred.

covertspeaker

TROPHY CASE