cero2k wrote: ↑Mar 2nd, '21, 09:52
I also don't know why people are so fixated with 'sports-like presentation' and records, for one, it's being taken sooooo literally, and two, things evolve and need to be adapted, I think people forget that none of these guys are experienced bookers OR promoters. "Promises and hype are not to be trusted", c'mon, you didn't start watching wrestling with AEW, there is not a single promotion in the world where you could and if there is, then they're stupid for not evolving as necessary. People who left because it wasn't 'sports-like presentation' where never going to follow it anyway.
Why are people so fixated on the "sports-like presentation" and the records? Because THE F*CKING BOSS/PROMOTER/BOOKER TOLD US THAT WE SHOULD BE. The idea that "promises and hype are not to be trusted" does not apply to talk about what the fundamental basis of the product will be. If you tell me "hey BRM, I just direct this documentary about polar bears. Do you want to see it?" and I say "sure, I love documentaries about polar bears!" and then you show me the movie and instead of a documentary on polar bears it's actually a buddy-cop movie, I'm going to be pretty pissed. Or, to use a wrestling context; ROH promoted their first show by promising no bullsh*t finishes. If they had done a bullsh*t finish on the first show, do you think people would have come back for the second show?
And it's the same for Cody telling us that we don't need to watch BTE or any other shoulder content to understand what's going on. If the booker says that, then we have no reason not to believe him (and he'd be an idiot to tell us that if it wasn't true).
Just because "none of these guys are experienced bookers or promoters" doesn't
excuse them for doing a poor job. It just means that a poor job is more likely. And even so, it doesn't take an experienced booker or promoter to know that you don't go out there and tell Wade Keller or mainstream sports sites something about the fundamental nature of your product if you can't guarantee that that's the way things are going to be.
And I disagree that there isn't a single promotion in the world where you can't trust the hype. Look at Gabe-booked ROH and early EVOLVE. They said "no bullsh*t" and they avoided bullsh*t at all costs. Ditto for Baba when he changed direction at the end of the 80s (although he never said it out loud). ECW promised you "EXTREME!" and gave it to you. Ditto for CZW.
But even if the idea that "promises and hype are not to be trusted"
were true, if I were AEW, I would make a priority to try to stand out by establishing myself as the promotion that
does tell the truth. Being trustworthy is important in any endeavor where you are asking people to give you their money.
The issue is not that AEW evolved away from the "sports-like presentation" but rather that their entire run has been "we're a sports-like presentation... except for the times when we decide not to be." That's not "evolving." Evolution is a shift in one direction or the other. It's the curve on a graph, not a schizophrenically scattered set of points on a graph that can only be connect by zig-zagging.
And why do you assume that :people who left because it wasn't 'sports-like presentation' were never going to follow it anyway?" Isn't that one of the top criticisms of WWE? It stands to reason that a large of number of wrestling fans who don't watch WWE would be looking for a sports-based presentation.