{"id":108966,"date":"2020-12-02T11:04:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T17:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=108966"},"modified":"2020-12-02T14:50:54","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T20:50:54","slug":"heydorns-take-aew-gambling-on-tonights-gateway-match-to-boost-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/12\/02\/heydorns-take-aew-gambling-on-tonights-gateway-match-to-boost-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: AEW gambling on tonight\u2019s \u201cgateway\u201d match to boost audience"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3189030048\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Winter is coming to AEW, but Dynamite feels pretty darn hot to me.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, live on TNT, Tony Khan and company will present their biggest television show to date, and they\u2019ve lathered the broadcast with premiere material like I\u2019ve lathered my hands with sanitizer for the last eight months.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-102397 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The story of tonight begins and ends with Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship. It\u2019s a PPV level, main event match that commands attention and focus. So, why is it on free television? With AEW still firmly rooted in the PPV business, why give this away and leave potential revenue on the table? It\u2019s a smart, logical question to be sure, but here\u2019s the answer.<\/p>\n<p>Ever heard of a gateway drug? If not, the Webster definition is \u201ca drug whose use is thought to lead to the use of and dependence on a harder drug.\u201d So, think of tonight\u2019s enormous main event between AEW\u2019s two biggest stars as the company\u2019s gateway match. Revenue be damned at the moment. Moxley vs. Omega is being given out for free to be the drug that leads to future AEW dependence.<\/p>\n<p>With Omega where he\u2019s at right now and the run Moxley has been on for the last year, this match is the biggest match AEW can book \u2013 especially with the championship on the line. I\u2019m guessing here, but more eyeballs will be on tonight\u2019s product since the debut episode of Dynamite over a year ago. Khan is counting on that. Omega vs. Moxley alone may deliver well enough to give casual AEW viewers their fix of the brand and entice them to keep coming back like the rest of the AEW addicts. That\u2019s certainly part of the goal. To make sure AEW earns those new addicts though, the up-and-coming talent needs to shine and show how fresh and relevant the AEW brand is.<\/p>\n<p>Orange Cassidy has been a bright spot for AEW in its first year of existence and one of its homegrown stars. He needs to be prominently featured in the Diamond Battle Royal. Fans who have never seen him will get their first look, and it should be a look that forces investment and keeps them coming back. This means a smart balance between his comedy shtick and competitive wrestling and that same balance by the commentary team so as to deliver a narrative that engages the new eyes to want to see more.<\/p>\n<p>The same goes for Darby Allin, Ricky Starks, and Powerhouse Hobbs. The bright lights will be on them and Cody Rhodes in a tag team match where they get to introduce themselves to the bigger wrestling world. Allin has an innate presence about him that needs the spotlight. Starks and Hobbs both have unique traits that should be highlighted well enough to hook the audience into coming back. For Starks, it\u2019s his ring work and obnoxious heel tendencies. For Hobbs, it\u2019s natural charisma, comfort, and athletic prowess in the ring.<\/p>\n<p>For the veterans like Jericho and Cody, they need to just be them. Jericho can soak up the moment with the limited audience belting out his entrance music, and Cody can act like the star he is for a large audience that may still view him as a silly mid-card, Goldust wannabe.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1857866564\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Britt Baker needs to deliver tonight as well. The AEW women\u2019s division has been running on fumes for the better part of six months, and Baker is the sole act to define herself in a way that got over. Her heel mannerisms and dismissive attitude can be a hit if finessed right, and tonight she\u2019ll have an opportunity to showcase that in a way that can refocus her division while highlighting her as a star and challenger for Hikaru Shida\u2019s AEW Women\u2019s Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Tony Khan is gambling tonight. He\u2019s sampling his best stuff in Moxley vs. Omega in an effort to grow his loyal fan base. The needle is in the veins. We\u2019ll see how strong the drug really is.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>NOW CHECK OUT HEYDORN&#8217;S PREVIOUS TAKE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/11\/19\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-survivor-series-2020\/\">HEYDORN\u2019S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Survivor Series 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3192543948\"><div id=\"pwtor-1497699910\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Winter is coming to AEW, but Dynamite feels pretty darn hot to me. Tonight, live on TNT, Tony Khan and company will present their biggest television show to date, and they\u2019ve lathered the broadcast with <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/12\/02\/heydorns-take-aew-gambling-on-tonights-gateway-match-to-boost-audience\/\" title=\"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: AEW gambling on tonight\u2019s \u201cgateway\u201d match to boost audience\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6454,53],"tags":[6121,6120,6461,6118,6465],"class_list":["post-108966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-heydorns-take","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-aew","tag-all-elite-wrestling","tag-dynamite","tag-tony-khan","tag-winter-is-coming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-02-at-2.48.59-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108967,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108966\/revisions\/108967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}