Differences Between TKO and Vinces Business Styles

[@stingrey1571]

One major difference I noticed. ZERO shit jokes and gimmicks since the merger.

[@WickedCool23]

Not to quibble, but there was a toilet seat spot, just this weekend

[@markstrike-y1g]

This was a very well done video.

[@KyrieKirigiri]

Another thing is WWE completely dropping home video (DVD, Blu Ray) after Vince left. That and how now the availability of the tape libraries are all up in the air because of the Netflix stuff. Vince may be a greedy businessman first and foremost, but he is still a wrestling fan at his core and loves the business - that compared to faceless corporate suits who know nothing apart from 'Make more money at all costs' is night and day. The mat sponsor thing you brought up is one example of this - maybe Vince didn't put sponsors on the mat because it reminded him of WCW or he thought it ugly, but also maybe he never did it because he thought it was too far in terms of commercialising the sport - 'The Mat is Sacred' as Gunther would say.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Whoa! Is your profile pic Chloe Price?! Awesome

[@xyeah5483]

That I agree with. Vince might not be "Best for Business", but he was really better for us fans than we really want to admit. Despite all the bad stuff he's done, which is very inexcusable, he is first and foremost a pro wrestling promoter, one who started his career from the territorial days of the 70s and who took over a family business, the territory of the McMahons, and achieved his goal of turning it national (and eventually, international). The only reason we have access to so many stuff from the older days nowadays, and the the fact that the WWE Library is so well maintained, is because Vince is a wrestling fan who still put the business before some quick bucks. While he still put the money first, he made sure not to forget his roots along the way. I cannot say the same about TKO, who will just spend their time maximizing profits out of this

[@SidneyJupiter]

I’m not saying this based on anything I’ve seen confirmed, just speculation and observation. But I don’t think they’re transitioning the archival content to Netflix (or at least limited degree), they’re shutting down the wwe network internationally but lately they’ve been going absolute ham on uploading old content to KZbin (including old full shows too), which kinda indicates what the plan is. New stuff + RAW/NXT/SD - Netflix, old stuff - KZbin, which tbh I don’t think is even a bad call

[@KyrieKirigiri]

@SidneyJupiter It would mean they could control to a heavy degree what people see. Say goodbye to any matches from people who have been blacklisted like Owen, Brock, Benoit, Vince, etc and all of the territories stuff that has little demand from the general public

[@dwaynejpeterkin]

@@xyeah5483you didn’t appreciate him when he was around don’t cry now that he’s gone

[@WickedCool23]

Another thing I’ve noticed in the TKO era, is more willingness to put outside promotions over, by name, on tv

[@Kaltagstar96]

I'm also liking that they're referencing wrestlers' time in other promotions, when Jordynne Grace showed up on NXT or when the Motor City Machine Guns showed up on the main roster, nobody was like "Who are these new wrestlers that nobody has ever seen or heard of before?"

[@bdot187um]

Capitalism always finds a way to kill the enjoyment outta everything💀

[@JM-fr5ge]

It’s the American way.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

So is innocent until proven guilty, but no one seems to believe in thay anymore

[@JayReaction530]

well communism isnt exactly a ball

[@SheriffOutlaw]

It's been too long! Welcome Back Dave! Excellent video like always

[@MangyStray]

Great video Dave! Always glad to see a new Dave knows video

[@cdprice]

May need a video on the advancement of Wrestling Schools and how WWE is turning itself to the NFL with signing college athletes.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

If and that's a big IF, WWE ever got as popular as the NFL or even close, then I think colleges would matter more. As it is, no one is signing up for the pro wrestling team in college, hoping to get scouted. Amateur wrestling, which is already in school, is barely hanging as is

[@cdprice]

​@@DaveKnowsWrestling NXT is doing a literally Storyline about the NIL taking over old way of getting into the business. Like you said if this is a thing than right now is the baby era of its season.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I think that's a joke, seeing that the NIL program is all but being replaced by the WWE ID initiative. And even still look at how many recruits and how many successes NIL has. It's a handful at best. College Football has an entire draft every year. It's not even close

[@dumisatonyjohnson8145]

@@DaveKnowsWrestling The WWE will never be as popular as the NFL ever again And that company hasn’t been since the Attitude Era

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I didn't say it was

[@johnpittsii7524]

Thanks for the amazing video ❤

[@davidsimpson9771]

Does nobody understand how much money these ring ads bring in? We had the same issue in hockey a few years ago when they started putting ads on the ice itself. Then a year past and nobody cared. I promise nobody gonna care once theyre used to it

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I think people get it, but they just don't care. I understand it's a massive payday... I'm convinced Logan Paul is just paying WWE to be there. But I still think it's tacky. We are all so used to it, but there was a time when some people had huge moral objections to commercialism. People don't say that anymore

[@fawkesclub2590]

Love the work you put into your videos I do miss the class room videos I'm curious why are major promotion has never broken out in Canada?

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Not sure what you mean by the class room videos, but as for major promotions out of Canada, there were Stampede Wrestling and Maple Leaf Wrestling just to name a few

[@fawkesclub2590]

@DaveKnowsWrestling did you not do some sort of skit with a few others where you seemed to be teaching them about wrestling Maybe I'm just confused 😕

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Oh yea.. I know you mean now. That buildings been demolished... I sure miss the place though

[@IBelieveinJoehendryTNA]

vince play favorites and now triple h is playing favorites.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

How Bobby Lashley ended up in AEW

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

It's what every promoter does

[@seand7042]

Everybody has favorites

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Sure it does. Every promoter pushes who they think is the best. You just don't like it when the promoter doesn't like the same guys you do

[@lucaslonchampt613]

3:36 About 80% of which can be found in France

[@TheGood888]

So here's the question, then... how big could WWE theoretically get as a global brand? As stated in the video, WWE is nowhere close to the likes of the NFL, NBA, MLB etc. But if those have already reached their peaks, how much can WWE close the gap between them in terms of recognition, relevance, popularity and profitability? Likewise, should we compare WWE to the major sports brand, or should we focus on how it compares to entertainment giants? If it's not AEW or any other wrestling promotion, then who is WWE's true competition?

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I mean sky's the limit really. Especially considering that WWE has more global presence than the NFL and other similar companies and yet they still do better than WWE

[@bdot187um]

Believe you me none em have the global reach that wwe has.

[@stingrey1571]

wwe is actually more global than the nfl. wwe has more equal footing with mlb and nba. dont forget EVERYTHING takes a back seat to futbol/soccer outside of america.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I think you misread. Nobody said WWE didn't have more global presence than the NFL.

[@Ticketman99]

The closest thing would be fellow TKO property UFC, which seems to be just a little behind WWE at the moment.

[@HostWithTheMost]

I liked Baron Corbin as the Lone Wolf; I just wish his material was better.

[@ektran4205]

overbloated roster

[@DAHARRISHERE]

THIS VIDEO IS REBEL X APPROVED

[@MangyStray]

I was just watching Cain vs lesner and it got me thinking, UFC had had tons of advertising on the ring , and also advertising on people’s trunks , do you think one day we will start seeing wrestlers trunks with brand names patched all over them, (I could totally see Seth Rollins trying to be the next slim Jim spokesman)

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Remember Brock had the Jimmy Johns logo when he came back to WWE. So it already happened

[@newcastle1782]

hello dave, i just watched your dkw awards for 2023 and i noticed you mentioned that edge isnt a draw. do you think that drew mcintyre is not a draw because he gets low ratings in the rating quarters? i think he just latched onto cm punk and rode that wave, he clearly isnt a draw, thats why he lost the title in 5 seconds at mania. do you concur? thank you, love you, goodbye.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Yes, while I like Drew, I never thought of him as a big needlemover. I didn't check his recent ratings stats, but he never ranks too high up with his merch. And when he was champion during a time period where everyone was stuck home, somehow WWE had worse ratings. So, while I like Drew, I can't say he draws

[@dbone3356]

"...as good as AEW might be doing..." 😂😂😂 The only reason they're still around, is because TK is a money mark. Or, an "angel" as he would have been referred to as, back in the day. If he needed to run his company like a business, they'd be dead by now. Remember how bad WCW was in 2000? I went to a WCW *house show* in early 2000 that had *triple* the house of the average Dynamite taping. Bangers and cagematch ratings and stars from Uncle Dave are all well and good, but... Come on!

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

First, I mainly worded it that way to shut the AEW marks up from attacking me. I'm still in defense mode from recent years. However, with that being said, as I have talked about previously, house show attendance and traditional means of measuring a promotion don't really matter like they used to. The big corporate moves count for more. And no, I would not say AEW is being run well as a business. But they still maintained their inexplicable deal with Warner. So I have to give them that.

[@dbone3356]

@DaveKnowsWrestling First, the AEW die-hard, apologists will attack, no matter what. Unless you verbally fellate TK, like Uncle Dave does. Though, even he will occasionally admit when something didn't work. But most of the time, there are exhaustive mental gymnastics to explain why AEW is doing well, actually. Does live attendance matter as much as it used to? Maybe, maybe not. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound? What good is a 7 star in the Tokyo Dome, "banger" if hardly anyone sees it? Granted, I've had it argued that just because more people go to McDonald's than a Michelin star restaurant, doesn't make McDicks the better dining experience. And, I can see that perspective. Having said that... "But, their new tv deal." Is the new "But, Wembley." Which, they didn't use, this year, because of the attendance drop from the year before. Also, the Australia thing, moving from a stadium to an arena. They stopped running house shows after like 6 months because they were getting, like, 1,000 people, if they were lucky. They've killed 3 shows now, and two were only on KZbin, couldn't they have run those forever, if viewership didn't matter? It's been longer that Dynamite has had over a 1.0 than Nitro beat Raw in the ratings. Also, my previous WCW 2000 house show vs Dynamite taping comparison. I'm sure there's a couple other examples I'm missing. Didn't they have to do a tv taping at a comic con that was in the area, to get people to attend? Didn't they run an arena with a low capacity for a month, and struggle with attendance there? But, again. As long as TK never gets tired of dumping his father's money into AEW to play booker, AEW will never die. Though, no one can look at all the attendance, and viewership issues and think "this is fine."

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Eh look at the comment section, I've been left alone. I find that the AEW superfans can be reasoned with... mostly... as long as you don't completely dump on them. They don't like feeling attacked. Even if you're not attacking them, you just gotta make sure they don't FEEL that you are. They can be a touchy bunch

[@dbone3356]

@DaveKnowsWrestling Fair. And true. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate AEW, per se. I love the idea of another National wrestling promotion based on the US. Even if they are closer to TNAs level than WWEs. It's still great that all the men and women in the business, not just wrestlers, but ref's, ring crew, production, camera, etc... They all have another place to work. And they don't have to move to Japan or Mexico to do it. So I absolutely do *not* want them to go out of business. Though, I do find it funny that pretty much since Vince bought WCW, there was a lot of complaining about how Vince had a monopoly on wrestling, and how it was a bad thing, and they were wishing that another rich dude would come along and start a wrestling promotion, and competition is good. Then when Vince returned for that short period to sell WWE, there was a lot of chatter about wishing TK would buy it, take the talent he wanted and shut it down.

[@errole]

Let's go

[@robertrogers074]

Interesting title.

[@abhishantshetty6962]

Stephen p new interview

[@spiderphil]

No more Summerslam guitar riff

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

There never was

[@diondrehall9263]

I hate the logos in the ring.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

So do I

[@alvianhunternugraha_thegame07]

Me too

[@jdixon390]

I honestly really like Corbin. TWFS were huge fans and he seemed like a throwback amongst indie wrestlers back in 2017.

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Well statistically someone had to

[@jdixon390]

@DaveKnowsWrestling hahah yeah I guess so, I thought he had a really good showing when he returned to the main roster and then nothing happened with him.

[@dwaynejpeterkin]

People are now realizing Vince was good for business when he’s gone

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I mean, I've done been pointing out the dumb business moves Vince has made for years. I feel like it's a good chunk of this channel. But I don't think he's bad for business just to be clear, just that he may not be the very best is all

[@arnoldvelasquez6473]

@dwaynejpeterkin not really, this whole video has indicated why Vince being now gone is the ABSOLUTE BEST thing that could've happened to WWE. We all knew it for decades.

[@dwaynejpeterkin]

@@arnoldvelasquez6473 yet there is people complaining about the wwe being bland not to mention they don’t have any stars that have mainstream appeal so far they haven’t made any noise they only make noise when a legend returns

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

Then you are missing the very point of this video. "Noise" and fan reactions are not only anecdotal at best. Moreover, they have no monetary value of their own

[@williamtyler7143]

One thing I don’t get about TKO is why keep HHH in charge of creative? The viewership keeps falling under him. I wouldn’t give him much credit for the revenue as WWE was transitioning to being more B2B years before the Endeavor deal. Granted, I am biased. I absolutely hate HHH booking-I prefer Sports Entertainment model. But I think a big part of good business is maintaining a good casual viewership, which Vince seemed to do well before COVID, because ratings are the main thing sponsors look at, correct? I think the HHH’s model is similar to TK’s where it’s mostly loyal hardcore fans that are the target. I think the personal vs business theme is going to fall on Triple H at some point, as I think the SD viewership (also affected by with the USA move) could fall to peak Dynamite numbers sometime next year if they keep going down like this

[@williamtyler7143]

@ The model isn’t literally the person. It could’ve just been someone else following the same structure Vince did. Nevertheless, that’s not exactly my point there

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

I have no idea what you're talking about. The viewership isn't going down. If you mean it has been since Mania.. fine, but it always does. The numbers are on par for the same time period over recent years. Additionally, I never understood what people meant by "sports entertainment" being different from other booking styles. The definition changes depending on who you ask. I personally think it's just something fans who have never worked in the business make up in their own headcanon. But if you mean more character based storytelling and less focus on wrestling.. well that's been happening. See everything with the Bloodline. So I'm not following you on any front

[@williamtyler7143]

@ The views are going down though. Before COVID, Raw averaged 2.4 mil in 2019 and now they’re struggling to barely hold 1.5 mil. Even going from 2022 (Vince’s last year) to 2024 the loss of viewership is nearly 10% from ≈1.75 to 1.6. What I, and I think a lot of other disaffected fans, mean by sports entertainment is a model where the “entertainment” (segments, promos, comedy, looks, charisma) take just as much precedence, if not more, as the fake fighting. HHH often pushes bland cruisers who put on long banger matches. A typical SE show would be like a Russo era Raw where an episode could have a plot with segments dispersed through the show and even midcard segments that have plots (Al Snow & Bossman with the dog) and the wrestling is mainly an extension of those entertaining segments as opposed to being a big 20 min thing. I think of the Bloodline thing as just being a stretched storyline from the Thunderdome, whereas pure HHH booking is just boringly repeated no effort promos leading to long banger matches or lazily put together tournaments leading to long banger matches; overall, a major emphasis on wrestlers with work rate, rather than entertainment value-he literally gave those indie shmucks MCMG the tag belt on their first day. I guess it could be summed up in: Would you rather book a Bobby Lashley pose down or another 30 min Gunther banger? The Sports Entertainment booker would rather the former

[@DaveKnowsWrestling]

The ratings going down from 2019 was still under Vince's watch, so I don't know how that's hhhs fault. Also, 1.75 to 1.6 is an insignificant difference. So saying you're surprised they're keeping him on based on viewership is an overstatement. Btw I am no hhh fan for the record. And as suspected, your assessment of the sports entertainment model is just your perception, not anything concrete from an insider level. Gunther is champion, is he smaller? Sure, Cody has the belt, but his push to the main event also started under Vince. So again, not sure where you're going with this. Now I haven't clocked episodes from last year to now segment by segment, so I don't know if there are more or less promos, but I think this is probably just another headcanon thing for you. It feels about the same to me. As stated, Im not a hhh guy at all. But if we want to break him down, let's do it with facts and not our perceived fanbased interpretations. The point of this video was to think like a business person, to think like an insider. Using anecdotal evidence is the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish

[@arnoldvelasquez6473]

You like the 'sports entertainment' model but can't appreciate the long term and deep storytelling now ? Or do you mean you like slapstick corny and poop jokes for short attention spans a la Vince..