I'm expecting Cody to be willing to lose his butt on this. And if he pools with Amell then we got something wild here.

 

The problem is it will come down to the card because it isn't enough of a draw to have lots of names on the card. At least not a 10K person draw.

If they're intending to deliberately lose money, the real statement being made is "we are idiots and Dave Meltzer worked us into a shoot."

Exactly. I can hear the Dream's voice in my head now: "Oh son! Never be ya OWN money mark!"

What I see happening is that they stay within their means, make it into a big cultural event/pilgrimage, do an impressive number, fall short, make a big profit and then push it for the following year as something to top. It builds in reputation and within a few years, they get there.

I was trying to think of potential cards they could throw out there that would be a big enough draw on their own. This is kind of what I was looking at in my head. I am assuming no Daniel Bryan:

 

Kenny Omega vs. CM Punk

Young Bucks vs. Rey Misterio and tag partner

Chris Jericho vs. Naito/Okada maybe with the IWGP Title on the line.

Mark Henry appearance if possible.

 

I think the question there is, can that get you to 7000-7500 so you can cheat yourself the rest of the way there?

Bucks vs Jericho/Rey will happen somewhere

A series of twists and turns that got them to Jericho-Omega vs Young Bucks might work.

What's the assumption with Punk getting booked? Isn't that dude fully settled, comfortable and away from pro wrestling at this point? I can't imagine there being an offer on the table that would convince him, a dude very wrapped up in his own legacy, to come back for something that doesn't interest him.

What's the assumption with Punk getting booked? Isn't that dude fully settled, comfortable and away from pro wrestling at this point? I can't imagine there being an offer on the table that would convince him, a dude very wrapped up in his own legacy, to come back for something that doesn't interest him.

I don’t think anyone is assuming that he will be booked, just speculating on what it might take for them to actually draw 10K.

 

What's the assumption with Punk getting booked? Isn't that dude fully settled, comfortable and away from pro wrestling at this point? I can't imagine there being an offer on the table that would convince him, a dude very wrapped up in his own legacy, to come back for something that doesn't interest him.

I don’t think anyone is assuming that he will be booked, just speculating on what it might take for them to actually draw 10K.

 

 

Ah ok, I was wondering if he had teased something that I hadn't seen.

If they're intending to deliberately lose money, the real statement being made is "we are idiots and Dave Meltzer worked us into a shoot."

Cornette on his show said if they draw a big crowd to eat the loss to make themselves look like big draws. Which would make them money long term.

I disagree with him. There's one wrestling company in North America where they can make a lot of money. I'm not sure how much more attractive the Bucks or Cody can get when that company already sells 50,000 tickets to WrestleMania before they announce a match. There are no bidding wars in 2018. Like most Cornette stuff, he lives in the past.

So All Pro Wrestling runs the Cow Palace and they draw pretty well without The Elite. They've run Cody on top before and drew in the 1-2K range. That's just local in a big market, and not even a huge wrestling-frenzied market at that. I'm sure they lose money a bit, but still, it's somewhat of a template.

 

The money making thing is spot on, though. I also think when NJPW comes stateside that their ticket pricing is going to be used as a model for what they try to do. There's a vague template here, but it's not going to be wildly profitable. Don't know how much they'll paper, but it might come into play, although I hope I'm wrong.

I disagree with him. There's one wrestling company in North America where they can make a lot of money. I'm not sure how much more attractive the Bucks or Cody can get when that company already sells 50,000 tickets to WrestleMania before they announce a match. There are no bidding wars in 2018. Like most Cornette stuff, he lives in the past.

It would increase their value with New Japan and WWE. Cody is probably going to return to WWE at some point, he can still leverage more money.

So New Japan sold out 5,000 tickets in 20 minutes for their March 25th show in Long Beach.

 

Cody and the Bucks need NJPW to let them have 1 big singles match with two of their stars and the All In show is good for 7 or even 8k with just that, specially because they'll probably be a good number of japanese talent working the show anyway (maybe even a Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks match). I think there's no doubt they are filling that building, only question is if they will need any papering or not.

So New Japan sold out 5,000 tickets in 20 minutes for their March 25th show in Long Beach.

 

Cody and the Bucks need NJPW to let them have 1 big singles match with two of their stars and the All In show is good for 7 or even 8k with just that, specially because they'll probably be a good number of japanese talent working the show anyway (maybe even a Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks match). I think there's no doubt they are filling that building, only question is if they will need any papering or not.

They’ll have Omega, which is the main NJPW draw in the US. The ROH show in Chicago in October sold out as soon as he was announced for it. They are doing him vs Cody at the Mania weekend ROH show but I’m sure he’ll have a big match at this show.

It's gonna be at the Sears Center Arena in Chicago, TNA used that building years ago.

 

This is an amazing story about Cody escaping the shadow of his dad by embracing it, and really makes it seem like All In is Cody's Starrcade in terms of trying to create something of his own.

Of all the emotional items in that great read, the image of Dusty cursing out a video store clerk will stick out for awhile.

Jesus that was a hard read.

This is an amazing story about Cody escaping the shadow of his dad by embracing it, and really makes it seem like All In is Cody's Starrcade in terms of trying to create something of his own.

Thank you for sharing this. Great article.

Interesting note in the latest Observer. It seems that Dave and Cody have a Trading Places-style bet over whether this show will hit their target.

I gotta say, that article really hit home for me. My dad wasn't a world famous wrestler, but he had 4 kids with his first wife before marrying my mom so I know what it's like to have brothers you don't really have anything in common with and a dad who doesn't really get your interests but tries his best to figure it out.

2018 is so insane that I'll make my prediction here that they sell at least 6,000 tickets the first day. This is going to be indy fan Mania, they'll come from around the world. Unless it comes out that the lineup is going to be really weak, no Omega, etc.

2018 is so insane that I'll make my prediction here that they sell at least 6,000 tickets the first day. This is going to be indy fan Mania, they'll come from around the world. Unless it comes out that the lineup is going to be really weak, no Omega, etc.

 

I think there are a lot of people who self-identity very heavily with pro wrestling, who want to feel like they are part of something, and who have a decent amount of disposable income without strong responsibility-driven drains upon their time and money. I don't think this is a crazy notion. I certainly wouldn't bet against you.