AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
In an update from the April 22 blog on Government overreach,
hate, and pro wrestling, Nyla Rose worked together with Pro
Wrestling Tees for a t-shirt, simply with "Her" and a
picture of Nyla Rose on the front, announced on Twitter with
the following:
Ok well the cats outta the bag ya big noseys!!!! I was
waiting for the official graphic but Yes this is a real
shirt you can buy with your money to wear on your body AND
ALL proceeds will go to @FreedomOkla and hopefully we can do
some good for the people that live there...
As a reminder, Oklahoma's State Athletic Commission "warned"
AEW about having Nyla Rose compete against cisgender women
in the state with a threat of sanctioning AEW and Nyla Rose
with a potential Oklahoma State Athletic Commissions Act
violation that could result in "a misdemeanor conviction, [a
fine of] up to $1,000 [and ...] up to 30 days in jail.
[Promoters] Violators could also face an additional fine of
up to $500 or up to 1% of gross revenues received pending a
commission hearing"
So, for you that feel like I do.....that such a threat is is
an act of government overreach, and just plain hate,
consider going to Pro Wrestling Tees to buy this t-shirt.
100% of royalties will go to Freedom Oklahoma, Oklahoma's
only statewide 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy organization at
https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/promotion-tshirts/aew/nyla-
rose-her-all-royalties-will-go-to-freedom-oklahomas-
501c3.html
If you'd like to donate directly, go to
https://www.freedomoklahoma.org/donate
In a quiet but firm way of supporting LGBTQ rights and
challenging Oklahoma, AEW is also selling the t-shirt at
Shop AEW at:
https://www.shopaew.com/catalog/product/view/id/74008/s/nyla
-rose-her-all-royalties-will-go-to-freedom-oklahomas-
501c3/category/5343/
In other news, Warner Brothers Discovery announced its 2024
Upfronts are nine days from today...on May 15. More than a
few AEW fans are hoping this could be the stage for
announcing, a TV deal renewal for All Elite Wrestling with
WBD. At last year's Upfronts on June 17, Warner Brothers
Discovery officially announced AEW: Collision. Here' s
hoping we get more news on May 15.
The best I've reliably seen online comes from Andrew Zarian,
who last indicated that AEW and WBD are deep in
negotiations, and that an individual (lawyer?) was involved
in the process. Beyond that, zero details have come out. It
ought to be remembered that AEW and Warner Brothers
Discovery are still in the exclusive negotiating phase of
the process, so no other suitors could be considered.
What seems like it could be part of this process has
involved three-hour blocks involving Dynamite/Rampage or
Collision/Rampage. The initial reason has been because of
NHL and NBA playoff scheduling needs. But there had been
stories that WBD had initially wanted a three-hour Dynamite,
that Tony Khan had been reluctant, to do so; and the one
hour Friday Rampage was the compromise result.
The whole NBA saga has likely delayed the process. As this
writing, there's been no announcement if NBC/Comcast has
stolen it away from TNT, or if WBD will match the bid. It's
a guess at best as to what the decision will mean for AEW,
as a higher bid for NBA (in theory) means less money for
AEW...but no successful bid means a less desirable TBS/TNT
for cable/satellite providers and less they can
charge...which in theory means less money THAT way for WBD.
Yet no NBA means that WBD would have to depend on the
successful properties they DO have such as NHL and AEW/ Time
will apparently tell.
With only one exception, numbers have been up for Rampage
airing in these three-hour blocks, which suggests that a new
deal would have this setup. Hoping it's Saturday...late
nights are easier to deal with on weekends.
Finally, thoughts on Paul Levesque...after what had to be a
triumphant weekend in France...making yet another press
conference misstep.
Paul Levesque in the post-Backlash press conference made a
crack suggesting Fightful (and another media outlet) wasn’t
a "credible media source" when asked a question by a
reporter about the Drew Gulak situation. Mind you, this is
the same Fightful that is on the WWE press list, is at most
PPV/PLE media scrums, has interviewed more AEW and WWE
active talent than you can count, and has even had Denise
Salcedo appear on WWE PLE pre-shows.
Paul Levesque owes Sean Ross Sapp and the staff of Fightful
a public apology for his remarks Saturday. Fightful takes
great pains to be accurate and thorough with what they
write. What he did has caused harassment to Sapp at a time
he didn't deserve it or need it.
For those that dismiss the crack...let's put it this way: if
someone says something about YOUR business that's
demonstrably false....you're entitled to an apology...for
starters. Fightful depends on member support to pay their
staff. Comments like that can hurt their bottom line given
their business model, which is Fightful Select membership,
plus viewer/listener donation via Superchat and Humperchat
on their numerous podcasts, and some business sponsorships.
Levesque (through WWE PR) apparently has apologized
privately to Fightful, but that apology will only even be
heard by less than 1% of the audience that heard his
original comments at best. That's chickenshit behavior on
Levesque's part.
Let Levesque tweet a damn public apology then. Forget
private apologies. Let him act like a professional and a
business executive and do the right thing.
Until next time...
