Wrestling Thread

American Dragon

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With WWE firmly entrenched in a late stage capitalism dystopian hellscape of advertising because they are owned by a private equity firm (Silver Lake, which owns Endeavour, which owns TKO), it would not surprise me in the very least if WWE looks like this in the near future for PLEs at least
  • Every match has a sponsor
  • Every PLE has a sponsor (probably does already but it not then it’s definitely happening)
  • An entire B-level PLE is renamed for a sponsor. Maybe even an A-level PLE if they find someone stupid enough to do that.
  • Every entrance has a sponsor
  • Every wrestler on the show is sponsored
And if it works out they eventually expand all of the above to every single tv taping.

And then more general stuff
  • Every championship belt has a sponsor. The belts likely even get the sponsors logo slapped on it
  • Ad reads/product placements during promos, backstage segments, entrances, entrance music, and video packages. Product placement is a common thing in movies and tv shows and WWE already does it with the sponsors on the tables. Only inevitable it creeps in everywhere else as well.
  • Moves get renamed after a sponsor - think like instead of the Miz having the Skull-Crushing Finale he has the Candy Crusher Finale. Or a Snapmare Takeover being renamed to Snap Into A Slim Jim Takeover
  • Every wrestler has logo patches on their gear. Some WWE wide like in pro sports leagues and then some only on a specific wrestler like I read that Dom has (or had) with Dude Wipes
  • Perhaps even a wrestler having a sponsored name and/or gimmick? That’s probably the furthest from happening because then that would mean the sponsor would potentially have to get a cut of merch revenue from anything sold for that wrestler.
 

American Dragon

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This might be the best one

Jacoby Brissett: 1999 Jeff Jarrett​

In 1999, Jeff Jarrett demanded $300,000 from the WWE to lose the Intercontinental Championship before leaving for WCW. Jeff Jarrett largely over-valued himself, much like Jacoby Brissett is right now by wanting more money from the Arizona Cardinals.
 
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Nightwish

Senior
Jul 10, 2025
334
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With WWE firmly entrenched in a late stage capitalism dystopian hellscape of advertising because they are owned by a private equity firm (Silver Lake, which owns Endeavour, which owns TKO), it would not surprise me in the very least if WWE looks like this in the near future for PLEs at least
  • Every match has a sponsor
  • Every PLE has a sponsor (probably does already but it not then it’s definitely happening)
  • An entire B-level PLE is renamed for a sponsor. Maybe even an A-level PLE if they find someone stupid enough to do that.
  • Every entrance has a sponsor
  • Every wrestler on the show is sponsored
And if it works out they eventually expand all of the above to every single tv taping.

And then more general stuff
  • Every championship belt has a sponsor. The belts likely even get the sponsors logo slapped on it
  • Ad reads/product placements during promos, backstage segments, entrances, entrance music, and video packages. Product placement is a common thing in movies and tv shows and WWE already does it with the sponsors on the tables. Only inevitable it creeps in everywhere else as well.
  • Moves get renamed after a sponsor - think like instead of the Miz having the Skull-Crushing Finale he has the Candy Crusher Finale. Or a Snapmare Takeover being renamed to Snap Into A Slim Jim Takeover
  • Every wrestler has logo patches on their gear. Some WWE wide like in pro sports leagues and then some only on a specific wrestler like I read that Dom has (or had) with Dude Wipes
  • Perhaps even a wrestler having a sponsored name and/or gimmick? That’s probably the furthest from happening because then that would mean the sponsor would potentially have to get a cut of merch revenue from anything sold for that wrestler.
I'm going to assume this is written by AI and that you didn't spend this much time thinking about and typing allll this out just to be snarky about a wrestling company you don't like.

You spend more time hating WWE than loving AEW lol. Reminds me of the most popular UofL board when we were rolling with Cal and they were in trouble with the NCAA. Most of their posts and topics revolved around a hatred of UK and not love for their own teams.
 
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American Dragon

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I'm going to assume this is written by AI and that you didn't spend this much time thinking about and typing allll this out just to be snarky about a wrestling company you don't like.

You spend more time hating WWE than loving AEW lol. Reminds me of the most popular UofL board when we were rolling with Cal and they were in trouble with the NCAA. Most of their posts and topics revolved around a hatred of UK and not love for their own teams.
AI isn’t that intelligent.
 

Laparkafan

All-American
Sep 5, 2004
14,031
9,805
93

This might be the best one

Jacoby Brissett: 1999 Jeff Jarrett​

In 1999, Jeff Jarrett demanded $300,000 from the WWE to lose the Intercontinental Championship before leaving for WCW. Jeff Jarrett largely over-valued himself, much like Jacoby Brissett is right now by wanting more money from the Arizona Cardinals.
That’s funny and likely correct - didn’t warrior do the same thing for a wm match and then got fired
 
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Laparkafan

All-American
Sep 5, 2004
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I'm going to assume this is written by AI and that you didn't spend this much time thinking about and typing allll this out just to be snarky about a wrestling company you don't like.

You spend more time hating WWE than loving AEW lol. Reminds me of the most popular UofL board when we were rolling with Cal and they were in trouble with the NCAA. Most of their posts and topics revolved around a hatred of UK and not love for their own teams.
Agree it’s a wild unsolicited distortion
 

GeraldV

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I’m pretty sure that if I were a dude wrestler, there would be nothing I’d like more than to slap the **** out of awful fans harassing the women talent.
 
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American Dragon

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These fans gotta lighten up


Since we all unfortunately know bad fan behavior is never going to change, WWE needs to start taking security more seriously. Especially when they opt to book a hotel where they can't close it off to the general public (which is what they normally do for the staff hotel) because they wanted easy access to a casino.
 
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Laparkafan

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Since we all unfortunately know bad fan behavior is never going to change, WWE needs to start taking security more seriously. Especially when they opt to book a hotel where they can't close it off to the general public (which is what they normally do for the staff hotel) because they wanted easy access to a casino.
Ya casinos are notorious for the long walk.
I agree something major has to change. This social media era creates a pseudo reality where fans feel more comfortable approaching talent and it’s not good.
It happens in airports and other places too.
 

GeraldV

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Ya casinos are notorious for the long walk.
I agree something major has to change. This social media era creates a pseudo reality where fans feel more comfortable approaching talent and it’s not good.
It happens in airports and other places too.
Let TKO make a security team, slap a sponsor's logo on the shirts so they can make more cash, and send them out to protect the talent.
 
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MegaBlue05

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Mar 8, 2014
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Mania thoughts:

1. I would’ve been pissed if I bought a $3000 ticket to see all those ads live.

2. Punk/Reigns, Rollins/Gunther/IC title ladder match and Drew/Fatu were the only Mania worthy matches. The rest was “this could’ve been on TV” considering the time or lack thereof of matches. I’ll add Oba/Brock for the spectacle, but that was a Raw squash match.

3. TKO/WWE is ruining the fan experience for me in the name chasing more money they don’t really need. WM42 was shameful. It was like sporadic wrestling matches broke out at an advertising convention. My WWE fandom is waning as I feel my fandom and intelligence were insulted for two straight days. To hear TKO wants more “celebrity” involvement makes my skin crawl, especially when said celebrities are a tiny YouTuber who looks like a child, an annoying sports podcaster and a failed rapper turned country singer with bad face tats.

Because of this, I am All In on AEW and mostly out on WWE. (I know WWE will always have the better production value and star power, but what’s star power worth when the wrestling show features hardly any wrestling?)
 

Laparkafan

All-American
Sep 5, 2004
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Mania thoughts:

1. I would’ve been pissed if I bought a $3000 ticket to see all those ads live.

2. Punk/Reigns, Rollins/Gunther/IC title ladder match and Drew/Fatu were the only Mania worthy matches. The rest was “this could’ve been on TV” considering the time or lack thereof of matches. I’ll add Oba/Brock for the spectacle, but that was a Raw squash match.

3. TKO/WWE is ruining the fan experience for me in the name chasing more money they don’t really need. WM42 was shameful. It was like sporadic wrestling matches broke out at an advertising convention. My WWE fandom is waning as I feel my fandom and intelligence were insulted for two straight days. To hear TKO wants more “celebrity” involvement makes my skin crawl, especially when said celebrities are a tiny YouTuber who looks like a child, an annoying sports podcaster and a failed rapper turned country singer with bad face tats.

Because of this, I am All In on AEW and mostly out on WWE. (I know WWE will always have the better production value and star power, but what’s star power worth when the wrestling show features hardly any wrestling?)
Pretty much agree although Brock was WM worthy since he essentially “retired”
 
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American Dragon

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Ya casinos are notorious for the long walk.
I agree something major has to change. This social media era creates a pseudo reality where fans feel more comfortable approaching talent and it’s not good.
It happens in airports and other places too.
I can’t help but think all these blur the lines money grabs WWE (and other entertainment/sports ventures) keeps doing to get fans up close and personal with the talent is playing at least a small part in creating a mindset in some fans that they are obligated to this type of thing.

Create a desire to participate in these things and to know more about the behind the scenes and personal lives stuff, it’s going to cause a demand for more and more.

Once you start breaking the walls down between real life and tv, it’s very hard to put them back up.
 

American Dragon

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I ain’t trying to blame WWE for the fans behavior. It’s ultimately the fans’ responsibility for acting like a normal human being.

But when fan behavior is a problem you can’t expose them easy access to what they want. You got to treat these people like alcoholics at this point. You give them easy access to the stuff they shouldn’t have easy access to and they are going to take it.
 

Nightwish

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Like I said, they got fans feeling like they are obligated to and owed access now.


Can you please stop trying to spin everything into an anti-WWE stance where they're somehow at fault? Everyone with common sense knows you're not supposed to harass the talent, grab them, take pervy photos or video of them, get in their personal space at airports, or follow them into public restrooms filming for a reaction. How tf are you going to say "See? THEY (WWE) got fans thinking they're owed access." That shifts blame away from the weirdo fan and onto the company for weirdo fan bad behavior.

I think you've gotten worse within the last year. Not everything in pro wrestling has to be some gotcha moment.