>>13931637You probably are happy. Meanwhile, non-Smark AEW fans are wondering where Orange Cassidy, Ricky Starks and some of their other favorites went. Where's Jon Moxley, why doesn't he care about the World Title any more? Is there an injury update on MJF or Rey Fenix? Where did La Faccion Ingobernable disappear to? etc.
Tony treats the fanbase like they're all sitting around waiting for new awesome wrestlers to debut, when plenty of fans prefer what AEW already has but with more advancement, storylines and involvement. There's so many things that drag out for too long, so many people that disappear for long stretches with no explanation.
AEW somehow has too many TV hours and not enough TV hours at the same time. You don't need a full month to crown new AEW Tag Champs when you can do a one night tournament and get it over with. Getting Hook in longer matches is great, against Jericho is not. Getting Okada a title is great, in 16 minutes with minimum build is not. Copeland/Christian would have been much better as a 15 minute match with drama before/after instead of 24+ minutes, a sloppy finish and then rushing to start Rampage.
AEW has more potential and opportunity than any wrestling company in the last 30+ years. At some point, Tony has to get it through his skull that his vision of wrestling - long duration dream matches with minimal build - is only a draw for already-existent fans. It is not enough to keep casual fans tuning in and it doesn't create enough new wrestling fans to sustain the product. Attention spans are too short, people are far too well-rounded (read: smooth-brained) to specialize their TV viewing as was done in years past. People aren't going to follow their favorite wrestler across 5 hours, 2 channels and 3 shows.
These are balkanized times and they call for a balkanized approach. If Tony is unwilling to do that, AEW may as well quit cable TV, be on Showtime/Cinemax/HBO, and go full TV-R minus the titties/ass.
