John Pollock and Brandon Thurston discuss ticket sales for AEW Grand Slam, the Vince McMahon feature, and all the latest news.
John & Brandon are joined by Bill from WrestleTix to discuss tonight’s AEW Grand Slam event at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the trend of the promotion’s ticket sales, the success of All In, and “drop counts”.
Plus: The L.A. Times feature on Vince McMahon, fallout from the completion of the TKO merger, Max adding a live sports tier, WWE Raw getting hammered against Monday Night Football & notes from this week’s ratings.
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On the first Sunday of each month, Wrestlenomics Radio is free for everyone. Wrestlenomics Radio is available every week exclusively for subscribers at patreon.com/wrestlenomics.
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Brandon Thurston, Chris Gullo and Jesse Collings talk about the latest news in wrestling business:
0:00 Intro
7:47 WWE Raw record low against record Monday Night Football audience
11:15 TKO merger closes on Tuesday
14:56 Mark Shapiro, Fox CFO Steve Tomsic on Smackdown rights
28:14 WWE layoffs begin
31:50 TKO YTD revenue report
34:07 Competitors names in risk factors for TKO report
40:44 AEW All In drop count of 72,265 disclosed by local government
1:00:17 AEW attendance update
1:13:21 AEW Collision TV ratings update
1:17:52 NXT has highest TV ratings in years for Becky Lynch main event
1:26:33 Fast affiliate ratings for WWE Smackdown
1:35:37 CMLL Aniversario
1:38:25 Subscriber question: Would it be wise for WWE to put their flagship show behind a paywall like Amazon. How many areas of consumer metrics in their business will be impacted besides Ratings?
1:43:23 Subscriber question: Thoughts on Jade Cargill leaving AEW? Is it a bad sign for AEW that a homegrown talent is making the jump to WWE?
John Pollock and Brandon Thurston discuss the completed merger between WWE and UFC to form TKO Group Holdings and all the ramifications of the deal.
John & Brandon speak with Patrick Auger of The Fight Business Podcast and runs the Auger Consulting Group to discuss the merger, short and long-term ideas, the combination of resources, and what this will mean for wrestlers & fighters in both promotions.
Plus: TKO dividend payout and Vince’s big payout, lowest WWE Raw audience in history, NXT does a huge number, Royal Rumble 2024 location, and more.
➡️ Subscribers have exclusive access to reports like this for 90 days after publishing. SIGNUP NOW.
Brandon Thurston, Chris Gullo and Jesse Collings talk about the latest news in wrestling business:
0:00 Intro
7:13 TKO merger to be completed Tuesday
13:46 Collision vs. Dynamite ticket business
25:02 Post-CM Punk AEW Collision TV ratings anxiety
31:55 Smackdown to Amazon?
38:45 WWE and AEW year-over-year trends
47:15 Charter vs. Disney threatens to further unwind cable
58:10 Fast affiliate rating for Smackdown
59:46 WWE in India
1:03:58 Subscriber question: “Do you think the big drop-off in the Smackdown rating this week may coincide with WWE convoluting the Bloodline storyline. Last week Jimmy wanting to rejoin Bloodline makes no sense to the story arc since WrestleMania.”
1:06:00 CMLL discussion
1:11:29 Adam Cole and Tony Khan’s response to CM Punk question at All Out media scrum.
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John Pollock and Brandon Thurston are guestless this week and open the forum for your questions to be sent in along with the latest news & notes.
They chat the latest on AEW’s decision to terminate CM Punk’s contracts, the business of WWE Payback & AEW All Out, television ratings from the past few days, Saudi Arabian investment in the PFL and how it affected WWE’s stock, LightShed’s update on the WWE domestic TV rights & lots more.
Brandon Thurston and Jesse Collings talk about CM Punk’s firing from AEW the day before All Out and what it means for AEW’s business going forward. Plus, Brandon is live from the Pittsburgh airport, having just attended WWE Payback the night before.
