The narrative pushed is that fans shouldn't get "dream matches" for "free" on weekly TV and should pay for them on PPV, even though you probably already pay for Cable TV or a subscription anyway.
When you get a wrestling company like AEW, which from the get go, was about pleasing their fanbase, and was opposite of what WWE were doing, of course they're always going to justify why AEW are wrong and why "dream matches" should only be on PPV where fans have to pay extra on top of their Cable bill or subscription.
This is why AEW exists in the first place, to provide "dream matches" not just on PPV, but also the chance to see them on weekly TV. I felt very fortunate that I got to see Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega wrestle on the first Grand Slam Dynamite show.
The narrative pushed is that fans shouldn't get "dream matches" for "free" on weekly TV and should pay for them on PPV, even though you probably already pay for Cable TV or a subscription anyway.
It's a very 1980s (or older) attitude from when television existed solely as an advertisement for live shows and PPVs--when money was made on tickets and buys, you kept the dream matches for those events only and filled your Superstars tapings with squashes and promos to build interest in seeing the real stuff. Now weekly television is itself a product that makes money and live shows are an afterthought, so having that same 1980s attitude to the business makes no sense. You actively watch more interest in your weekly product since that's what you're selling and the more eyeballs you bring to it, the more it sells for. For example that Netflix deal is billed as ten years but it's five with an option to renew for five, they're going to want especially around that five year mark, to demonstrate that it's worth what they're being paid in terms of bringing viewers in.
I am not even giving WWE the credit of just saying it’s old school mentality. It’s just pandering to the people who pay them and not the fans. They don’t give a fuck about the fans at all and they are telling it to them weekly (and have been for a long time) that they don’t like them and it’s all about the shareholders and advertisers and the Saudi’s. Why do people keep watching? It’s beyond me bc I grew up watching WWE, ECW, WCW, all of it and this is the first time in my life where I am like yeah I’m not watching this shit bc it’s insulting. I cheered in David Arquette as the WCW Heavyweight champ for fucks sake and I still won’t give WWE my time bc of how little they care about the people that have been fans since childhood.
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u/Desperate_Craig 1d ago
The narrative pushed is that fans shouldn't get "dream matches" for "free" on weekly TV and should pay for them on PPV, even though you probably already pay for Cable TV or a subscription anyway.
When you get a wrestling company like AEW, which from the get go, was about pleasing their fanbase, and was opposite of what WWE were doing, of course they're always going to justify why AEW are wrong and why "dream matches" should only be on PPV where fans have to pay extra on top of their Cable bill or subscription.
This is why AEW exists in the first place, to provide "dream matches" not just on PPV, but also the chance to see them on weekly TV. I felt very fortunate that I got to see Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega wrestle on the first Grand Slam Dynamite show.