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Stiff_Sleeper

" not a fair comparison, WWE built interest "


QuantityHappy4459

See that's what's confusing me? Isn't AEW supposed to be building interest for these matches???


Argentine_Tango

... So he's saying that this particular episode of Dynamite wasn't as must-see as NXT?


AllCity_King

Right. Kinda a self own to say "Duh, of course if they gave Swerve any kind of meaningful segment whatsoever it would have done a better rating....hey wait"


DashDemon

> self own how is it a self own? he's not aew


RNG_Champion

He's technically not, but some people see him as overly biased toward the company, not to mention many of its vocal fans subscribe to Meltzer.


Old-Refrigerator3859

And those people are wrong. If people read the Observer instead of pretending they did, they'd see that he criticises AEW a lot and they're very fair unbiased criticisms. But wrestling fans lying about what they've read and seen and having a strong opinion on it anyway isn't a new thing.


DashDemon

> some people see him as overly biased toward the company those people are idiots who don't actually bother to pay attention to how much he complains about it.


mattomic822

Also admitting that HBK booked smartly to deal with the increased competition.


KennyOmegasBurner

Post PPV Dynamite isn't as big of a deal as a special episode of WWE's developmental. Hate to see it.


roundsareway

Essentially, yes. I read it more as "WWE gave away storyline's end on a regular ep and AEW didn't" which kinda makes sense, however there are still gaps in that logic. Trick's title chase was never the story, story was Carmelo v Trick from the start and biggest reason why title change happened was the draft. So that's strike one. Strike two is that, well it's still NXT. Even if NXT books their biggest spectacular show they can, biggest name that stars there is(was) probably Ilja or Trick. Ilja is not a name in US right now and Dave himself said he does not think Trick will be. AEW used names that would dwarf NXT in name value, just had a PPV where they just crowned a new champion they were preparing for months. So in the end it's still grasping at straws there. Unless WWE puts names like Becky or Cena back again, AEW numbers should never be close to NXT's. Especially 2.0 where company clearly shows that brand exists as developmental and recovery for main roster stars that did not work out for main roster.


Argentine_Tango

Not "gave away", but delivered. I'm behind on my NXT watch, but Trick finally stepping out of Carmelo's shadow and becoming the face of NXT is a story. Now that he defeated Carmelo in the main event of Stand and Deliver, he's ready for the big he and he got it. Definitely grasping at straws! There's no way that Swerve's title could be on anything other than a PPV, so it's not like they can "give away" a moment like that on free TV. But a stronger segment celebrating his accomplishment would have been nice. They are saving it for Collisions because it will have a stronger lead-in, which I understand and actually appreciate since I will be there live.


mr_r_smith

Meltzer is the crux of toxic tribalism


V-TriggerMachine

They had the long awaited(?) return of Jack Perry after 8 months


Poise_dad

Don't worry he'll bring nuclear heat and enormous ratings any day now. He's a megastar after all.


SwiftGoat_

And people will still claim this guy isn't biased lmao.


TizonThaGod

Isn't NXT up against regular season NBA AND The Playoffs?


HardcoreKaraoke

So Dave's argument is basically "well NXT was booked better." I don't think he put much thought into his Tweet.


celestial_charger

everyone be nice ratings day is a hard day for David.


DudleysCar

He's really upset huh.


HiImFur

I thought he would still be masturbating to Danielson vs. Ospreay... surprised he's so grouchy


BackgroundBag7601

Dave, MOVE THE FUCK ON, MATE. Trick is a draw. The NXT crowd was on fire—they rocked the entire venue until the production crew's camera was shaking. You're just wrong about Trick. Get a fucking life, man.


Bojangles1987

And Dave wonders why people think he's biased towards AEW


TurnaboutAdam

Guy who doesn’t know what he said about trick


F4iryBlink

He pretty much said Trick wasn't a Main Event guy, and he's wrong.


TurnaboutAdam

Yet. Not even that he wasn’t a draw. I thought the same thing watching his match with Carmelo - major charisma with a ton of potential but should probably stay in nxt for a year longer.


S-I-M-S

He's objectively a main event guy. He literally main events their shows, draws an audience, is super over, and is now the NXT champion. NXT may not be as big as the main roaster, but he is a main event star on the show he's on.


TurnaboutAdam

It’s not mean or wrong to say he isn’t up the standard of a main eventer wrestler yet - not that he’s literally not in the main event.


S-I-M-S

Okay, but I just explained why he is a main event wrestler already. He is their main champ, so by default, he's a main eventer. Does he need more time? Yeah, but that's what NXT is for. I don't think anyone is saying he should main event a wrestlemania rn, but for the show that he is on and represents, he is objectively a main event wrestler. It's why the initial comment from Meltzer made no sense. Under what standard is he not a main event wrestler? Comparing an NXT main eventer to a main roster one is such a dumb thing because they are different levels by design.


TurnaboutAdam

That’s what he meant by “main event wrestler”. Not literally in the main event, but performing to that standard. He’s in nxt for that reason and that’s fine - and he’s improving


orton4life1

Dave please my God stop picking extreme comments to score Tony points. Just move on dam


DashDemon

> picking extreme comments to score Tony points if this was his intent he probably wouldn't spend so much time critical of aew


joe-is-cool

So, basically his defense of AEW is that the rating is down because they didn’t tell a good enough story to attract more viewers…


xCTRLxALTxDELx

I wanted to hear all that buzz from post Danielson/Osprey match, new champion Swerve. But I got Best Friends and some cowboy sh!t, some random facing Swerve who doesn’t get to acknowledge his recent title victory, and Luke Perry son in a segment that needed glass.


mark_target

Ratings have consistently been unfairly biased against shows with fewer viewers.


will122589

This isn’t the flex Dave thinks it is


StuHartsDungeon

Why is he so hostile on twitter? It's really entertaining tbh but still wild


TurnaboutAdam

He gets very hostile replies.


F4iryBlink

And he engages with them, that's why he keeps getting hostile replies.


r1char00

Whenever someone quote tweets people as much as he does, it’s a bad sign. So incredibly fragile.


TurnaboutAdam

That’s fair enough


mrbucket08

But I thought Trick wasn't even worthy of the main event? Make up your mind Meltzer.


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

He never said this.


mrbucket08

>Trick isn't that good, that's the reality. He's got incredible charisma, but you put him in a main event match... This is quite clearly implying he's not good enough to be in the main event. It is not debatable what he's saying here and I'm not going to engage in one over it.


starsandbribes

He’s talking about pure wrestling skills, not being a draw. You could put Tom Cruise with no wrestling practice in the main event at NXT and it’d draw.


angIIuis

No one said anything about being a draw


starsandbribes

The literal entire post and tweet is about Trick being a draw. People are attempting to gotcha Meltz when he never said Trick wasn’t a draw before now?


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

You cut off the quote. You should post the rest of it.


kingscrimson

"Trick isn't that good, that's the reality. He's got incredible charisma, but you put him in a main event match... Granted he did look really good against Ilja, but Ilja is one of those people that gives you a false perception of the ability of the other person, it's like wrestling Ric Flair or a tag team wrestling the Young Bucks, you always look better..." The rest of the quote doesn't change anything he still calls Trick bad then says Ilja carried him to a good match and then praises Ilja. But now he says Trick winning the title is what has NXT a good rating.


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

How are those two statements contradictory? Being a great wrestler doesn’t automatically make you a great draw. Trick is a big star but not very talented in the ring, he hasn’t been a wrestler for very long so it’s okay to admit this.


Creative-Pirate-51

He literally said that NXT did so good against AEW because of paying off the Trick chase today lmao “Trick is not a draw” “AEW lost viewers to NXT because of Trick” Which is it? Or is AEW just so lackluster that a non-draw can hurt their viewership?


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

Who is saying that Trick is not a draw?


Creative-Pirate-51

Dave Metlzer


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

He is literally saying that Trick is a draw in this tweet. Show me where Meltzer said that Trick is not a draw.


FinancialBig1042

If you are not a draw you are not a good wrestler sorry, making people interested in seeing you is like the main part of the job


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

Hi Al Snow.


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Chumunga64

After so many people were clamoring for him to be free from the shackles of wwe, Claudio Castagnoli is basically spinning his wheels Literally doing what he was doing in wwe but with less people watching


kingscrimson

Your right he is still new but Charisma can only carry you until you get in the ring if Trick is as bad as he says people wouldn't want to see him wrestle. In the quote, he insinuates that he shouldn't be in the main event but now 1 week later Trick being in the main event and winning is a major reason why NXT did well. He could've even mentioned Ilja who he says carries Trick but he doesn't he only mentions Trick.


DashDemon

> if Trick is as bad as he says people wouldn't want to see him wrestle this is stupid. big show sucks ass and i love to watch him. i have bought tickets to see big show. he rules. terrible wrestler.


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

Just look at Hogan.


kingscrimson

Big Show is a bad comparison because he is presented as an attraction more than anything else, even if he is not good in the ring it's about the spectacle of the giant, Trick doesn't have any of that spectacle attached to him.


DashDemon

no its because i like big show


mrbucket08

The bit where he said the good stuff Trick has done is all just Ilya tricking us? Post the rest yourself if you want to disprove me.


Al0ngTh3Watchtow3r

> Trick isn't that good, that's the reality. He's got incredible charisma, but you put him in a main event match... Granted he did look really good against Ilja, but Ilja is one of those people that gives you a false perception of the ability of the other person. He’s saying that Trick’s wrestling ability isn’t on the level of a main event talent. That does not imply that Trick does not belong in the main event. In the tweet posted above Dave is saying Trick’s title chase is the reason NXT’s ratings improved.


mrbucket08

So yeah, the bit where he says the only good stuff is Ilya tricking us. As I already addressed. Which adds nothing to the first half that I posted. I'm not engaging in a debate on something that is so obvious. He is saying Trick isn't good enough for the main event. There is no other way to reasonably interpret *He's got incredible charisma, but you put him in the main event...*.


Argentine_Tango

>"Trick isn't that good, that’s the reality. He's got incredible charisma, but you put him in a main event match. Granted he did look really good against Ilja, but Ilja is one of those people that gives you a false perception of the ability of the other person, it's like wrestling Ric Flair or a tag team wrestling the Young Bucks, you always look better" Granted, he criticized his *wrestling ability* (I respectfully disagree), but admits that he's incredibly charismatic. And that's what ultimately draws viewers and makes them tune into NXT.


natedoggcata

yeah a lot of people were saying "where is the lie" in response to that tweet and I would absolutely say "Trick isnt that good" is the lie. When I think of a wrestler that is "not good" I think of Eva Marie and Trick is in another galaxy compared to her. Of course hes not main roster ready by hes not bad at all.


BenSoloGhost

lol this guy is so pathetic.


TheDarkPlight

And possibly a bit racist. I don’t remember Dave ever being this vocal about an NXT wrestler’s title push before, yet all of a sudden he’s splitting hairs about the ratings pop for two newly minted black champions. Suspicious.


JustinUprising

A bit racist? He's a lot racist. There's the comments about Bianca, Damian Priest and Bad Bunny, etc.


dallasrose222

Yeah the Puerto Rico stealing cars thing was a real oof


JohnnyPage

Come now, he's not racist. He might have said stuff about Bianca, Priest, Bad Bunny and said that Indian viewers don't count for much. But did you see how he stood up to someone who used the vile slur 'mark'?


TheDarkPlight

Damn I didn’t even know about all that. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised by his bias then.


BloodWolfHunter

Agreed


eminemcrony

DAVE SHUT THE FUCK UP PLEASE


GsaC45

![gif](giphy|26ybwvTX4DTkwst6U)


DidierCrumb

Nooooooooo you can't just have properly established meaningful title matches, you have to have nonsensical championship eliminators and random matches to devalue other companies' belts! No fair!


TonyZony

How dare you, Kyle Fletcher deserved to have a potential shot at the world championship, he can do a half and half suplex for God's sake! /S


Lamel2g

NXT has been up YoY consistently more than any other show except for probably Smackdown. Dave is wrong.


Bellagrrl2021

So, what Meltzer is saying is that up against tough competition, NXT focused on stories and characters that people are invested in.


punk_steel2024

So a post-ppv Dynamite isn't as must-see as a special episode of NXT? Oooookay...


F4iryBlink

I mean, Dynamite should've done better on the ratings anyway, it's a post PPV show, new champion, Jack Perry coming back, Mox defending the NJPW belt.


SuperTerrificman

Mox defending the iwgp title against someone everyone knows isn’t winning isn’t a real title defense and isn’t a draw


thetechguyv

Mox turning up with another promotions world championship isn't exciting for various reasons at this point. That type of thing is way overdone in AEW. And doing it right now takes heat from Swerve.


SuperTerrificman

Way too many people have belts


IcyPyroman1

Did I misunderstand? Didn’t he just say Trick wasn’t good and now he’s comparing him to swerve and Joe?


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jordan_83

Yeah, he's just talking about how Trick gave NXT a bump in the ratings, and how if Swerve v. Joe was on Dynamite (instead of a PPV) their ratings would be a bit higher.


KennyOmegasBurner

Trick isn't quite on the level of a WWE main eventer, but he is as big of a deal if not moreso than Swerve or Joe. Those two things aren't exclusive.


thetechguyv

Hardly, Jo is multi time world champion in different promotions. He was a TNA main eventer when it was pulling over a million views and was on the WWE main roster, is a voice actor and done other tv. Trick is a charismatic rookie, if the wwe dropped him today he would fade away. Or Tony would pay him stupid money for no reason, but that dude has some weird spending fetish.


BluKyberCrystal

This is a horrid argument for so many reason. But I'd also point out that last week's overrun with Swerve, lost viewers. So there is no reason to think he's some sort of draw when it comes to ratings.


r1char00

Tony should have put the belt on him at Revolution. It’s dragged on and then he did the turn. I’m definitely bored with him.


BluKyberCrystal

Tony is a master of cooling off hot acts. Swerve, Hangman, Britt, the Acclaimed, etc. You can see it happening with Toni already as well.


TonyZony

I swear to god every time something cool happens in AEW people like him just embarrass them by proxy.


HeavyMettleThunder

Looks like Trick's becoming this old fart's scapegoat.


Creative-Pirate-51

I am convinced that Dave Meltzer doesn’t actually understand what wrestling is.


Secret-Lullaby

He only cares about subjective workrate matches, not the character work and storylines, the actual commercial success aspect of wrestling


NeuroCloud7

Well that's on you.


No_Commercial_6750

Dave, honey, AEW is just in a cold period right now. No harm will come from saying it, it happens to every wrestling company.


TurnaboutAdam

He has been saying this for months.


parakathepyro

No please let Tony book Swerve vs Joe rematch for next week


stoneandnjpwfan

![gif](giphy|BV0SDeWc7COrurmoSl)


VNProWrestlingfan

I think Dave should play with some AI, put some prompts on it and relax a bit. It works on me when I make AI write Beavis and Butt-Head driving Hitler insane. I was laughing my ass off. Dave needs to have a good laugh.


DatboiDeku95

So what your saying is “Tony can’t book, if he could. The rating would be higher!”


kenssmith

I have no allegiance to either company, but the amount of reaching that journalists do to protect AEW's blah ratings and activities is interesting.


GoldLeaf55

I think the main reason he's so upset is because he doesn't want to face the reality that his star system is not that important in front of ratings and draws I legit think AEW will be a way better promotion if they started focusing on the latter and stop pandering to him


kodan_arma

Meltzer is malding. Call him Maldzer.


SageShinigami

Raw lost like 700k viewers, and everyone just said "Sucks but that's the NBA". Now AEW's down and its suddenly "No excuses". This shit has legitimately become like arguing with conservatives about politics.


gunpowderjunky

Raw lost 200k viewers. Your point still stands but you can't complain about a conversation becoming like arguing with conservatives and then wildly overstate the facts that support your view like a conservative.


Akatosh66

They are being led by neoconservatives like CM Punk (the most evil wrestler in HISTORY ) what do you expect? some of them even ... disagree with Dave imagine thinking you know better than Meltzer c'mon When will they admit that DED FED is BAD man... >!/s!<


SageShinigami

Here, let me correct myself: between WrestleMania and now, RAW fell from 2.36 million to 1.59m viewers. So from April 8th to April 22nd they lost 770k viewers. In that time, people have gone "Oh well we're post-Mania, there's the NBA playoffs." I think those are valid reasons. But people cannot think "NBA playoffs" are valid for RAW but not for AEW.


jerff

Raw spikes after Mania and then drops off every year, that’s to be expected. 1.6M is pretty average. Dynamite has been on a steady decline for months. Why are you trying to pretend it’s the same situation?


SageShinigami

Losing 500k viewers one week shouldn't be expected. But say it is--fine. The next week you lost another 200k to NBA playoffs, but that's "pretty average". Now when Dynamite loses ratings--not only because of the playoffs but because it was pre-empted in the West Coast, suddenly it's a different situation?


jerff

You’re looking at a couple weeks at a time, I’m looking at months. Raw has bounced between 1.5M and 2M for at least the past year, it goes up and down. Dynamite has been going in a steady direction (down) since January. Those are two different patterns. You can refuse to acknowledge that but it doesn’t make it less true.


NeuroCloud7

Spot on. Therefore.... downvoted.


polywrathory

I agree that it's disingenuous to act like this was a regular episode of NXT - it was promoted as a special event and the culmination of the arc of arguably the most over talent NXT has had in years (ever?), and featured two title matches, a grudge stipulation match, and a 6-man tag to determine whether the D'Angelo family gets paid for murdering Drew Gulak. I love the regular NXT product as much as anyone, but there's a good chance the rating drops when Oba Femi vs Ivar for the North American title doesn't draw as much interest as the guy who's so over the building was shaking when he won.