One of the major criticisms of All Elite Wrestling, and there's some validity to it, is that it's booked as an independent show with a budget. It's a multi-layered scenario that highlights many of the reasons that the indy circuit takes place in VFW halls instead of major arenas.
We've seen glass fly into the crowd on more than one occasion, which is an invitation for one of the fans to be willing to sue when they know a billionaire owns the company. We saw the ill-fated pizza cutter spot that was right before a Dominos commercial. prompting the pizza chain to drop their advertisements on the show. Hangman Page drinking blood, and Jon Moxley getting legitimately impaled by nails certainly shrinks the target demographic of the product.
It might make the diehard fans pout, but pro wrestling on a national stage is at a completely different level than most of the shows they watch. They are more boxes to be checked, more masters to serve, and the balancing act of a dozen other miscellaneous aspects to juggle at any given time. The reason that pro wrestling groups are willing to attempt to maintain that juggling act is very simple, the ability to do so is how the most money is made in the industry, which is the entire point of the business.
Yes, as I wrote about earlier this week, there will always be a debate between the art and commercialism in sports entertainment, but that can apply across the board to many different genres, both inside and outside the scope of live entertainment. In many ways, it's the nature of the beast, the opportunity to maximize profits has to translate to often catering to the lowest common denominator since that allows for the widest demographic of customers. For example, Extreme Championship Wrestling revolutionized the presentation of the industry in the United States, that was the art of extreme and thus its lasting legacy that has endured well beyond 2001 when the company folded. At the same time, the unwillingness to tailor itself to something that was more adoptable to sponsorships or advertisements in an effort to stay true to its the original vision of the art is what eventually caused it to go out of business. In a similar, but less dramatic and less overall impactful fashion, Ring Of Honor had a huge effect on the business that can still be seen today, but it was sold a few different times because the original formula couldn't sustain itself.
The entire point of getting on national television and the expanded reach that it provides is based on the ability to make more money in the process, regardless of what avenue that is. With more exposure on television, there's a chance for more fans to watch the show, which opens the door for more ticket sales for a live touring schedule, more pay-per-view buys with the ability to use the TV platform to sell the PPV broadcast to the audience, ad revenue from the commercials, and of course, the ability to fully merchandise the product.
For the television networks, especially within the evolving media landscape, the goal is simple, generate steady and consistent ratings to be able to secure decent ad rates from the companies that want to advertise their products. The reason a shoe company would be willing to buy time to put commercials on specific networks is that they want a level of assurance that they can market their products effectively to the demographic that will be a realistic customer to purchase the product. For example, you might not get a red bull commercial on the Hallmark Channel, but there's a reason that Monster Energy is one of the UFC sponsors. Along the same lines, there's a reason that Red Bull sponsors sports like snowboarding and BMX, but you won't see a multivitamin logo for senior citizens at the same event. The effort to target demographics is a staple of consumerism, not just the media industry.
That's why television networks, particularly at a time when there's more media options competing for viewers than any other time in history, take their ability to secure those advertisers very seriously, as they should since its their primary revenue stream. The reason that media conglomerates are willing to spend billions of dollars of the massive media rights deals for sports programming is to maintain the market share of viewers, a portion of consumers that gets divided by every podcast, streaming platform, and Youtube video that looks to garner viewers for the same purpose, to secure advertisement revenue.
That's why when I read the initial report from The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer that Warner Brothers Discovery executives asked that Brody King, who is scheduled to challenge for the AEW world title this weekend on TNT, not be a part of Wednesday's Dynamite broadcast because of the anti-ICE chants during his prior match against MJF, I was somewhat surprised, but I wasn't shocked. As I wrote about previously, controversy can create a buzz, and because of that, there's an argument to be made that Brody King should beat MJF for the belt since it would immediately make the company stand out from WWE based on TKO's close ties with Trump.
According to Fightful Select, WBD issued a statement that they didn't ask for any talent not to be included on any of the All Elite Wrestling programming this week, and mentioned that Brody King is scheduled to appear on the TNT network for the Collision show in Australia. I take everything that Meltzer or Fightful Select report with a grain of salt, which is usually the right decision with any of the pro wrestling rumor mill. Mike Johnson, who is the most accurate reporter of pro wrestling news, explained that Brody King simply wasn't scheduled for the Dynamite taping because of travel logistics for the event in Australia.
After being rebuffed with a statement from WBD and then the report from Johnson about why Brody King wasn't at the Dynamite show, Meltzer tweeted the correction and looked to move past the situation with a series of retweets to flood his timeline, appearing to try to sweep the blunder under the rug.
We've discussed revenue streams, and let's keep in mind, Meltzer makes a living off of subscriptions, he has to keep the speculation of pro wrestling worth the price of that subscription so his statement on the Wrestling Observer Radio show was probably just to keep his newsletter as a topic of discussion with something that was based on an assumption rather than any direct sources. Meltzer has a vested interest in keeping his reports worthwhile to the demographic that is willing to pay for it, not to directly report news. Don't get me wrong, if Meltzer can continue to make a living from his newsletter, good for him, that's capitalism.
Make no mistake, from a historical perspective, Meltzer is one of the best resources anywhere, but given the political nature of the situation and the possible implications, this was a very glaring blunder.
However, the reason that I wanted to pen this article is to point out that while Meltzer assumed something and reported it as fact, that doesn't mean that the issue won't become a problem that someone would have to address in the future, specifically if Brody King continues to have a featured role on television. Regardless of what someone's opinion is on the ICE enforcement in the country, the chants of profanity aren't something that a network will be thrilled about because of the impact it could have on potential sponsors. While the FCC doesn't directly regulate cable television the way that it does broadcast TV, there are some limited regulations for specific content.
Furthermore and most importantly, a wrestler wearing an "Abolish ICE" t-shirt is something that can obviously have an effect on sponsors so it's not as though, it's a situation that can be glossed over either. There's no doubt that the almighty dollar will dictate the decisions, as it usually does, so if the advertisers take notice, you can bet the sponsorships will be more important to the network than Brody King being on the show.
Of course, it's commendable that Brody King has continued to raise money for those affected by ICE enforcement. Anyone's opinion on the enforcement itself doesn't take away from the nobility of the gesture to help others. That being said, while Meltzer's report was glaringly false, it spotlights why AEW should be careful with how it books its product on every level. This isn't an independent show for 400 people in Reseda, it's a national television platform, and the simple fact of the matter is, there are parameters of how to monetize it to its fullest potential. With the scuttlebutt around the situation, it will be interesting to see if the discussion around it will impact the decision for the winner of the title match.
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