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Cook’s AEW Revolution 2022 Gambling Picks

Much like The Acclaimed, AEW Revolution has arrived! And Steve Cook is back with your gambling picks for the evening!

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Much like The Acclaimed, AEW Revolution has arrived! And Steve Cook is back with your gambling picks for the evening!

It’s been a minute since I did one of these! This is our first pro wrestling gambling column of 2022, largely because I forgot to do one for the Royal Rumble. These things happen, but now we’re back for AEW’s first PPV event of the year. Revolution looks like it should be a fun night of wrestling, but wouldn’t it be even more fun if you made some money in the process?

I think so! That’s why I’m taking a look at the BetOnline  odds & seeing where you can make some money. Every match except one has a line. Good times! Let’s start a betting revolution…

Buy-In Match:
House of Black (Malikai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. Death Triangle (Pac, Penta Oscuro, Erick Redbeard)

This was added during Friday’s Rampage show, and I’m not really sure why. Does the Buy-In really need three matches? I would have saved this for Dynamite, as that show will probably be light on the wrestling like most post-PPV shows are. Maybe Redbeard’s not allowed to leave the state of Florida, I don’t know.

If a line gets added to this prior to the show, expect the House of Black to be favored. Buddy Matthews losing his first AEW match would be enough to get a lot of online folks to riot.

Buy-In Match:
Hook (-1000) vs. QT Marshall (+500)

There’s no reason to even put this match on the board, as we all know that Hook is killing QT for his sins. Some have complained about this whole thing, and I have no idea why. The perfect way to use QT Marshall is have him work with a rookie and make them look like a million bucks, and I have no doubt he’ll do that here. As awesome as Hook is, it’s too early to book him in the “dream matches” that people think they want to see. Having him go through QT and people on that level first is the right way to go.

Buy-In Match:
Kris Statlander (-170) vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch (+130)

This feud’s been somewhat under the radar for awhile now, and really hasn’t done much for either wrestler. Perhaps actually having a singles match will help?

Hirsch is the heel, but Statlander’s interview where she said she understood why Hirsch’s parents put her up for adoption didn’t exactly get the face reaction people were hoping for. Leyla had beat Kris up a few times, so some dislike is understandable…but it felt like a little too much to many viewers. In Statlander’s defense, it’s not like aliens are known for having human feelings like compassion or understanding. It also didn’t help that nothing was done until the booking of this match three weeks later. The whole thing just seems awkward, you know?

It should be a decent wrestling match, but it also has less heat behind it than anything on the show. I guess Kris Statlander wins since she’s got slightly more buzz behind her right now, but I remember when she had a lot more.

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match:
Keith Lee (+100) vs. Orange Cassidy (+800) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (+1000) vs. Ricky Starks (+650) vs. Wardlow (+100) vs. Christian Cage (+1000)

Winner gets a TNT Championship match against either Sammy Guevara or Scorpio Sky, who’s getting a shot this Wednesday. It’ll probably be Sammy, so I wouldn’t read too much into that part of the situation. Some interesting names here, but the most interesting name is that of Wardlow, who seems to be on the verge of telling MJF & Shawn Spears where to go. Having him win here would be a big move in that direction, and that’s what I think will happen.

If you’re looking for an underdog to make some money on, which is what we try to do here…Ricky Starks winning is always a good thing in my book.

Six-Man Tornado Tag Team Match:
Andrade El Idolo, Isiah Kassidy & Matt Hardy (+250) vs. Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara & Sting (-400)

Sammy, Darby & Andrade put on quite the show on Friday night, resulting in Sammy retaining the TNT Championship. Which is fine, but it seems like there may be some dissension in the ranks, as Darby did not adhere to the Code of Honor after the match. Will Darby be able to get over his defeat by Sunday night?

There also seems to be dissension in the AHFO ranks, as Matt Hardy’s behavior has become more & more erratic lately. It was bound to happen at some point. Kassidy has been very impressive taking beatings lately, so expect some more of that. I’m expecting a win for Darby, Sammy & Sting, mostly due to Sting being more able to hold a team together than pretty much anybody else in AEW. You just don’t want to disappoint Sting.

TBS Championship Match:
Jade Cargill (c) (-1500) vs. Tay Conti (+600)

On one hand, Jade Cargill is in a weird spot. She has a championship belt without really being ready for it on the wrestling side of things. Jade’s had a couple of good matches, but you can tell she’s quite green (her hair tells you this too, I know) and has a long way to go before becoming the type of wrestler that can have a good match with anybody. On the other hand, she has a star presence the likes of which very few people in AEW else have, and it’d be insane to have somebody beat her right now. Jade might be green, but green is also another term for money.

So, while Tay Conti is a very improved wrestler and would be a fine TBS Champion any other time, it’s hard for me to tell you she’s going to beat Jade Cargill. She isn’t.

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match:
Jurassic Express (c) (-115) vs. reDRagon (+175) vs. The Young Bucks (+225)

The Jurassic Express seem like the smart pick here, as a win over two of the top tag teams of the past decade on PPV would bump Jungle Boy up yet another notch. Both reDRagon & the Bucks losing, presumably due to some type of miscommunication, is the type of drama that the Bucks are all about and could make multiple episodes of BTE about. If I was to pick one of the underdogs I would go with the Bucks because you can’t really count them out of winning anything ever, but it seems like Jungle Boy’s time.

And Luchasaurus too.

Jon Moxley (-115) vs. Bryan Danielson (-125)

You have to watch out sometimes when you tease wrestling fans. When I heard Bryan Danielson pitch Jon Moxley the idea of them joining forces to teach the next generation, I immediately assumed it wouldn’t happen. Moxley’s character is more about creating violence than grooming the future, and Danielson as he currently operates can’t be trusted as a partner in such a venture. So I didn’t think much about it, even though Danielson did do a heck of a sales job. He did such a good job that now many AEW fans actually want to see this thing happen, and will be disappointed if it doesn’t.

Unless, of course, Danielson finds a different partner. Which I think happens, and leads to Bryan Danielson getting the win here.

Chris Jericho (+250) vs. Eddie Kingston (-400)

Eddie Kingston hasn’t won the big one in AEW yet. He’s lost every match he’s challenged for a championship in. He’s lost every PPV match he’s had. Looking at Eddie’s AEW win-loss record, the most accomplished wrestler Eddie holds a victory over is Lance Archer, who has his own difficulties in big matches. If pro wrestling didn’t have pre-determined outcomes, there’s no way in hell Eddie Kingston would be the favorite in this match.

He is favored, largely because this seems like the type of match Chris Jericho loses. Jericho is at the stage of his career where it’s more productive to have him lose matches like this one. A win over Eddie Kingston does nothing to affect Jericho’s status one way or another. Looking at Eddie’s previous PPV matches, it always made more sense for his opponent to win. CM Punk’s first loss was being reserved for MJF. The rest were championship matches where other people made more sense to take the strap from the champion. This one, Eddie should win.

That all being said, picking Chris Jericho could make more sense from a financial perspective. AEW seems to have already decided that wins & losses don’t matter with Kingston, and Jericho emerging victorious somehow would be an interesting way to continue this story. I might throw a few bucks on it.

AEW Women’s World Championship Match
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (c) (+225) vs. Thunder Rosa (-350)

This one seemed pretty open and shut to me earlier this week, even as an unapologetic fan of the Good Doctor. As much as I love Dr. Baker and everything she’s done to represent AEW in the best light possible, it feels like Thunder Rosa’s time. After all, who else is there for Britt to beat after she beats Rosa? Even I would have to admit that Thunder Rosa would be a deserving champion and would have a good number of challengers ready to face.

Then Thunder Rosa pinned Britt Baker on Dynamite, and my thoughts & opinions on this match turned upside down. We all know how it goes. If you’re standing tall on the go-home show, you’re losing at the PPV. It’s a law of averages kind of thing, along with basic psychology. One would have expected Britt & the criminally underrated Jamie Hayter to win the match, or for Thunder to pin Jamie while Britt looked on like “naw you ain’t doing that to me!” Nah, we just had the challenger pin the champion heading into the PPV. Which doesn’t bode well for the challenger. Neither do reports that Rosa was injured during this match, so expect the odds to get more even leading into the show.

If we follow Wrestling Logic 101, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. sure seems like the smart bet here. (This is where Greg tells us that Tony Khan has no idea what Wrestling Logic is, so there’s no reason to worry about that. I would never say such a thing since I’m a nice guy.)

Dog Collar Match
CM Punk (-270) vs. MJF (+180)

Given that MJF won the first encounter between these two, one would expect Punk to win here to even the score, right? Not so fast, my friend. I’ve seen CM Punk have a couple of dog collar matches in my day. Granted, they took place many years ago, back in the early days of Ring of Honor, but they serve as examples for what I expect to follow.

Punk’s first dog collar match in ROH was with Raven as part of a violent feud pitting a brash young man against a wily veteran. Punk & Raven bled buckets in the feud that established CM Punk as one of ROH’s brightest stars. The dog collar match was Raven & Punk’s second singles match in ROH, and observers thought that Raven would even things up after Punk won their first match. That didn’t happen.

Punk’s second dog collar match in ROH was with Jimmy Rave as part of a violent feud pitting a brash young man against…well, Punk wasn’t as wily a veteran as Raven, but he was definitely the more established name in comparison to Jimmy Rave. Rave established himself as one of ROH’s top heels through his battles with Punk. Rave had won their first match in Chicago, and people thought that Punk would even things up in their second match with help from the dog collar. That didn’t happen.

See the trend? Veteran loses the first match, thinks they’ll get the win in the re-match by bringing out the dog collar, gets burned. Punk bleeding buckets this week on Dynamite makes me wonder for a minute, but I still think MJF is a decent bet if you’re looking for an underdog to make some coin on.

AEW World Championship Match
“Hangman” Adam Page (c) (-600) vs. Adam Cole (+350)

The Hangman title reign so far has delivered some pretty amazing matches. His matches with Bryan Danielson tore the roof off, and his hardcore battle with Lance Archer gave him that bloodbath every AEW Champion needs to be successful. If there’s a complaint one could have, it’s that he’s not having enough matches on television and isn’t dominating the airwaves like World Champions people of my age were used to seeing back in the day. Personally, I think Page’s Twitter takedown of Glenn Jacobs more than cancels out any gripe one could have with his personality on television.

Adam Cole has been something of a polarizing figure since entering AEW. Live crowds react well to Cole, playing along with his entrance gimmick and popping for his big moves. People watching from home have been more critical of the Bay Bay. Even those that were fans during his time in NXT & prior don’t seem to have been impressed by Cole’s AEW work thus far. They’re disappointed in his physique, his size, his personality, pretty much everything that they thought he could overcome on the WWE main roster. Now that he’s in AEW, all these things are problematic. It’s not like anything’s changed, which is my main beef with the Adam Cole Experience in AEW. The only thing he’s missing is Roderick Strong.

We’ve got two Adams. One is the chosen one of AEW, the man who inherited the torch from Kenny Omega. The other was the face of WWE NXT for most of its run against AEW Dynamite. It seems to me that the smart thing to do would involve having the guy you’ve built up since day one of your company get the win over the guy that represented your competition for so long. At least the first time they meet. We can talk about what happens down the road. It seems too soon to take the title off of Hangman Page to me.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy AEW Revolution! Or not. I get paid the same either way.


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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Reaction

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

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WWE Royal Rumble 2024 Results

It’s the Royal Rumble! A favorite of many fans, the Rumble kicks off the Road To WrestleMania. Greg DeMarco is here with his live reactions to the event!

The WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, and while the Men’s Royal Rumble Match isn’t for the World Heavyweight Championship like I suggested, it’s still the most anticipated event of the year.

Why? The Unknown.

That’s right–in this age of the internet (usually incorrectly) telling us everything it possibly can about what is going to happen in the world of wrestling, the Royal Rumble stands out because despite what we’re told (or, more importantly, what we choose to listen to), the event is always full of fun and surprises.


Check out Steven Mitchell’s 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Results & Review!


Women’s Royal Rumble Match

  • They really are driving home the “main event WrestleMania” point this year–strengthens my thought that women will main event Night 1. Triple H would catch a ton of heat if he keeps women out for the third straight year.
  • NAOMI! Good to see her back, and the emotional response she had.
  • Love Michael Cole calling out Naomi’s time in TNA, and recognizing her as a former Knockouts Champion.
  • Entering #3 doesn’t bode well for Bayley. I honestly don’t think she is gonna win.
  • JORDYNNE GRACE! I saw the reports earlier today. This is a much bigger deal than Mickie James, because Mickie was a returning legend.
  • “TNA HAS A WEAPON!” So glad to have Pat McAfee on the call.
  • Honestly, Jordynne Grace belongs in WWE.

  • Asuka comes in, and they sell the surprise of Bayley. STORYTELLING, people!
  • Something tells me when we get Kairi Sane in there, The Kabuki Warriors will eliminate Bayley.
  • Ivy Nile enters, and I immediately want to see her go toe-to-toe with Jordynne Grace.
  • What if they pulled some crazy sh*t and had Jordynne Grace win???
  • Just step through the ropes next time, Bianca.
  • When I first saw the C4 clock, I thought I would get tired of it But I am already used to it.
  • Here’s Kairi Sane, time to set the plan into motion!
  • This crowd does not appear to like Tegan Nox.
  • Welp, there goes my idea o Asuka and Kairi eliminating Bayley.
  • That was a hell of a way for Jordynne Grace to go out.

  • I think Michael Cole secretly loves to call a Meteora.
  • There’s a reason Maxxine Dupri doesn’t wrestle much.
  • That tandem Code Red was very Young Buckish. And that’s not a compliment.
  • Hair,…gear…this might be the messiest Royal Rumble yet.
  • Ah, here comes the winner, Becky Lynch (I am calling Becky eliminates Bayley to win her second Royal Rumble).
  • LOVE the scoreboard of time in the Rumble for selected wrestlers.

  • R-TRUTH?!?! (Funny story, it was Truth’s spot that Nia Jax took in 2019.)
  • If you push Mia Yim, she’ll take it further than you could imagine.
  • “How is everybody the most athletic person on Earth?” – Pat McAfee
  • Surprising that Roxanne Perez, at #27, is the first NXT entrant. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Tiffany Stratton of Blair Davenport since we only have 3 more to come.
  • Amazing reaction for Jade Cargill. Give her time, she’s definitely going to be a huge star.
  • JUST GIVE HER TIME.
  • Seriously, Nia Jax had to help Jade eliminate her–A LOT.

  • Greg Was Wrong: It is indeed Tiffy Time in the Royal Rumble.
  • Back to Jade–she is insanely over.
  • I know it won’t be, but this should be Tiffany Stratton’s official main roster call-up.
  • Liv Morgan returns at #30, and good for Liv. She nearly went wire-to-wire last year.
  • Liv Morgan: “Thank you!” Pat McAfee: “No problem.”
  • Tiffany Stratton eliminating Roxanne Perez is, to me, an invitation for a match with them on Raw this Monday.
  • Still love the scoreboard as Naomi passes an hour.
  • The camera is catching a lot of in-ring communications right now.
  • And Jade Cargill eliminates my pick to win. Bye Becky.
  • Jade Cargill in the final three of the Royal Rumble (with Liv Morgan and Bayley) is huge for her.
  • Hell of a debut for Jade Cargill.
  • And a huge win for Bayley.

Winner of the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Bayley (eliminating Liv Morgan to win)

Fatal 4-Way Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns (champion, with Paul Heyman)

  • Glad to see AJ Styles got his tights back. Pants AJ Styles (but still with the football gloves) was not working. Not just bring the beard back to your face Allen–the think beard also ain’t working.

  • Pat McAfee campaigning for Roman Reigns to be given at least a 26% chance is amazing.
  • Say what you want about LA Knight, he’s a damn star and totally belongs in this match.
  • Roman completely sandbagged Randy on the table drop. I don’t think it was on purpose, but he definitely didn’t jump.
  • Roman Reigns is very much like Gunther in that he does the simple things SO WELL, like a jumping clothesline. That’s how you do it.
  • Yes, I compared Roman Reigns to Gunther. Don’t @ me, I’m right.

  • RKO City, Bitch.
  • Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here’s Solo! (At some point, Solo will get tired of saving Roman’s ass.)
  • Solo ’bout to go through that barricade.
  • Solo indeed went through that barricade.

  • Yes, we had the Solo interference mid-match, but honestly in the end Roman won that clean.

Winner, #ANDSTILL your Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul (champion)

  • Kevin Owens wearing Zubaz shorts in the Performance Center fight makes me very happy.
  • Logan Paul talking about a full time run, and now he’s putting on size.
  • Logan’s headband didn’t list very long.
  • I honestly hate it when modern-day wrestlers bust out a crotch chop.
  • If you were watching the Royal Rumble and didn’t know who Logan Paul was, you’d just assume he was a pro wrestler. That says everything you need to know about how good he is at this.
  • ANOTHER crotch chop. Now we’re at 2 too many.

  • Cue the “Better Buckshot Than Hangman” tweets. But they might be right.
  • I love the idea of a Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and Grayson Waller stable.
  • C’mon, there’s NO WAY Ryan Tran could see the knucks on Kevin Owens’ hand given his placement. It’s the little things.
  • Finish here tells me we’ll see KO vs. Logan Paul again. I’d guess on TV, if not in Australia.

Winner by disqualification, #ANDSTILL WWE United States Champion: Logan Paul

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

  • Jey Uso coming at #1 was expected thanks to the internet reports. But I still think Jimmy should be #1 and Jey #2, for the reaction shots on Jimmy.
  • Grayson Waller talking himself to the ring is perfect.
  • “No Yeet!” Grayson is a brilliant performer. I’d make a Roddy Piper comparison here, but y’all would get at mad at me.
  • Good to have Andrade back in WWE. Great reaction for him when the mask came off.

  • SmackDown superstar Carmelo Hayes! I really really really hope Trick is also in this match, just for the chants.
  • Melo pointed to the sign, C’mon, man.
  • Do you send Andrade to Smackdown, or do you send him to Raw and let him do his own thing?
  • Oh goody, Karrion Kross is here. Yay.
  • (Yes, that’s sarcasm you read.)
  • Dominik Mysterio is so good. Give him time, he’s going to be a huge star.

  • The Royal Rumble was a great place for the Apple Spot.
  • Here comes Bob Lashley–please just eliminate Karrion Kross.
  • Lashley wearing the WrestleMania white gear more than 2 months early.
  • Austin Theory still gets his concussion effect entrance, despite it being the Rumble.
  • What if–hear me out now–Finn Balor wins the Royal Rumble to get the shot at Seth Rollins, and Priest uses his briefcase to make that match a triple threat at ‘Mania?
  • I know he didn’t, but it sure looked like Jimmy was swerving while he drives in that interaction with Gunther.
  • Kofi did tell us the Rumble Magic wasn’t happening anymore.
  • Give me Ivar vs Gunther!
  • Bron Breakker is a star. It’s inevitable.
  • Of course Omos would be in the Rumble. Good to see MVP on my TV as well.
  • “I didn’t know humans came that big!” – Pat McAfee
  • I half think Pat McAfee didn’t know he was entering the Rumble.
  • Nice moment for Bron Breakker eliminating Omos. WrestleMania match?
  • R-Truth trying to get Dominik (Tom or Nick?) Mysterio to tag him in is brilliant.
  • DOM MADE THE TAG!!!
  • “And now R-Truth is the legal man.” – thank you Michael Cole.
  • Michael Cole delivers multiple TNA references tonight, along with a Dolph Ziggler reference. God Bless Michael Cole.
  • Imagine for a second that this was CM Punk’s actual WWE return.
  • The reaction to Drew McIntyre’s entrance is a reminder that they don’t actually need him.
  • Sami Zayn enters at #30, also known as “Not The Rock.”

  • In the ring, Drew McIntyre is amazing. Just keep the microphone away from him. (And stop the damn counting!)
  • And there goes my choice for the Men’s Rumble!
  • Love having both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in the press boxes watching to see who wins.
  • Punk kinda looks like Chris Jericho in there. Seriously.
  • Between Punk and Cody, Cody is the right choice. I really don’t want to watch Punk right now–he needs to hit the cardio, and hard. Given Seth Rollins’ injury and Punk’s conditioning, WWE would be smart to make the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 40 a multi-man match.

Winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble: Cody Rhodes


Overall thoughts on the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

For at least the second straight year, the Men’s Royal Rumble Match was kinda disappointing. Not the result–that’s fine. But the match itself. It just wasn’t nearly as exciting as the Women’s. Of the four matches, I would place it 4th in terms of enjoyment.

Great moments for both Bayley and Cody Rhodes. Logan Paul continually shows that he deserves to be considered a pro wrestler, not a celebrity who is wrestling. Pat McAfee is a joy on commentary. Jordynne Grace is a WWE Superstar, regardless of what company she is signed to. Bron Breakker is a star.CM Punk is very out of shape. Cody Rhodes is about to become THE guy, and he deserves it.

Overall I give the event a thumbs up, but they have to do something about the Men’s Royal Rumble Match moving forward.


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WWE Raw Heads To Netflix: What Does It Mean?

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

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WWE Logo Metalic

Monumental news drops as WWE RAW is moving to Netflix. Is it truly a game changing move? Greg DeMarco analyzes this shift for the TV wrestling business.

Being a wee little kid in the 80s, I am “lucky enough” to remember having 3 TV channels, and my dad explaining what an 8-track is, how shocked I was when I say a laser disc for the first time, when I bought a 6 CD changer, installed my own car stereo, and all the way up to the fact that I have now been watching WWE pay-per-view/premium live events on the WWE Network and Peacock for 10 years. Hell, in the same month (February 2014) I signed up for the WWE Network, cut the cord to drop cable and got Sling TV. I have since moved onto YouTube TV which is highly recommended.

Over the last two years the NFL has put Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, simulcast to various streaming services, and less than 2 weeks ago put a playoff game exclusively on streaming when a Wildcard Weekend showdown between the Chiefs and Dolphins was only shown on Peacock.

And now it’s fully permeated into pro wrestling.

WWE and AEW are both in the midst of a very important time on the business side, with all of their TV rights up for grabs. The first domino fell when SmackDown On FOX became SmackDown on USA Network, and soon after we learned that WWE NXT was moving to broadcast television and joining The CW (which is also rebranding, but just to CW).

The AEW suite of programming that includes Collision, Rampage, and their most successful show Dynamite is up for renewal with Warner Bros/Discovery, and Tony Khan has been optimistic about the relationship and potentially an increase in rights fees.

That brings us to Tuesday morning, and the likely groundbreaking WWE announcement that Raw is moving to Netflix, starting in January 2025. Triple H tweeted that they’re changing the game, and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro (who knows a thing or two about shifts in media consumption) used the word “transformative” in his statement, and I really think he couldn’t be more right.

But what does it all mean?

Wrestling Remains A Strong Media Product

I have been claiming this for over a year now. As many online will cite a decline in TV viewership for both WWE and AEW, the TV product has been a strong value to networks. Even in dropping SmackDown, FOX themselves said they didn’t pump enough resources into the show, and that the advertising return wasn’t what they wanted. That doesn’t mean the product (TV value, we’re not talking about creative here) isn’t strong. It’s so strong that USA Network picked up SmackDown for $280 million per year, giving WWE an increase over the FOX deal. CW is paying $20-$25 million annually for NXT, and now Netflix is paying $500 million for RAW.

Why? Because wrestling isn’t just a strong media product, it’s consistent. And that is key.

Look at this quote from Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria:

“Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

Now cross reference that with a comment from CW President Dennis Miller from back when the CW/NXT deal was announced:

“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round.”

What do those statements have in common? The year-round, 52-week nature of wrestling programming. It’s an unbeatable value for networks. It’s cheaper than a deal with a major sports league, and it’s not finite. Wrestling joins news, talk, and sports talk as the only year-round programming available to networks. And WWE and AEW have shows that essentially always land in the Top 5 after you factor out live sports. You can’t beat it.

What Does This Mean for Netflix?

Don’t get it twisted, this is also a huge leap for Netflix. Prior to the WWE Raw deal, Netflix has only experimented with live events, streaming the live Chris Rock “Selective Outrage” special, and showing The Netflix Cup live (a golf event featuring athletes from their F1 series “Drive To Survive” and their golf series “Full Swing).

WWE is the perfect partner for Netflix as it gets into live programming. It’s sports entertainment: sports like programming (which Netflix has done) that focuses on storytelling (which Netflix has obviously done). And no one does it better than WWE. It’s essentially plug-and-play for Netflix, the perfect solution for their live programming aspirations.

The perfect solution that they were willing to pay $5 billion for.

What Does This Mean for AEW?

The biggest risk to an AEW renewal with Warner Bros Discovery was WBD picking up WWE Raw–and that risk has been eliminated by Netflix. Don’t discount that fact–Netflix did Tony Khan a huge favor by throwing $500 million per at WWE. The path is clear for AEW to remain on the Turner networks.

But at what price?

I know I usually write as if I have all the answers, but I have zero idea either way on this one. WBD no longer has any other options if it wants to keep wrestling (except for TNA, who recently expressed a desire to be on a bigger network), and AEW (at least, Dynamite) is a weekly Top 5 program for them on Wednesdays, on cable.

On the other hand, AEW doesn’t exactly have another network begging for their services. The reason WWE could get a yearly increase for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT is because it was truly a bidding war. Unless Tony Khan gets another network involved, any threat of walking away from a deal doesn’t really hold water.

So if I were a betting man (and who would ever bet on this) I would expect an announcement of a renewal for AEW and WBD relatively soon. We may not know the terms of the deal, I will take a shot in the dark and say that AEW gets a small increase (not the “nearly double” that had been reported last year).

Regardless of the increase (or not), given AEW’s recent attendance challenges, this likely renewal would have to be viewed as a win for the company.


Personally, this is simply an amazing time to be a fan. We’ve seen WWE go from one live TV show per week with Monday Night Raw, through the Monday Night Wars, the addition of SmackDown and later NXT, to being this global juggernaut that is commanding half-a-billion dollars per year for Raw. I also think this makes Raw the flagship once again. All of this comes after Vince McMahon is largely out of power, Triple H has taken over creative (and holds a pretty good success rate so far), and the company was sold to Endeavor, and merged with the UFC as a business entity under the TKO banner.

If you know me, you know I am a huge follower of the business side of the wrestling business. I often care less about WHAT wrestling companies do, but HOW they do it. I have always gravitated towards that, since middle school. And for the past near 24 months, I have been like a kid in a candy store.

The Peacock deal for the WWE Network runs out in 2026, right? The fun never stops!


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