AEW manager and producer Arn Anderson explained why 50/50 booking doesn’t work on the latest episode of his Arn podcast. The Enforcer also touches on Rusev’s babyface turn in WWE, and why he thinks the world title match should always go on last. Highlights can be found below.
Why 50/50 booking doesn’t get anyone over:
“I was probably one of the first to say on this 50/50 booking, and I’m talking way back when, that if you have this one for me and one for you, nobody gets over. I said here’s where we are getting Vince. I said all of the talent is 8-8. If you put that in football jargon, are you going to get behind a team that is 8-8? Nobody gives a sh*t about the guy who is 8-8. The one that is 12-0 is the one that I am going to love to see get beat, or be 13-0. When everyone is 8-8, they all mean the same, which means they mean nothing. That was exactly how I proposed it and laid it out and presented it, and it was met with less than favorable response.”
On Rusev turning babyface:
“Well, I didn’t particularly want Rusev to turn babyface, but the fans, when they call for it, jump on it. Don’t wait 3 weeks. Don’t wait 2 weeks. Don’t wait a month. If they suddenly are clamoring for a particular talent, for whatever reason, even if it was something that just happened last week that made them think completely different about the talent, and this week they seemingly out of nowhere they start cheering for a guy, I say put the flames to it. Put the pedal down and go with it. Don’t wait until it cools off again and then wonder why it didn’t get over. That’s what I saw happening. It was one of those things, Rusev Day, that got over. But, it sat there in neutral for so long that it kind of teetered out. When you get a guy like that who the fans suddenly get behind, the office should get behind them to.”
Why the world title match should always headline a show:
“The old school me would say the World Champion goes on at the end of the night, every night, period. Through seeing the evolution of the business and things getting switched around and having so many matches on a card and all these different variables out there, sometimes a match is bigger than the World Title, if it’s a personal angle. I would say when the Undertaker’s streak was going, it was thought of the main event more than whoever was in the World Title match. I think the steak was more important than that. I thought that’s how strong the streak was. I think you have to look at who had the most heat. Who sold the most tickets? Who was going to drive that PPV? What is the feature that you are going to say is our main event? On any given night, as loaded on talent as they (WWE) are, you could have any of three or four matches that are qualified for the main event. It just depends.”
Check out Anderson’s full comments here. (H/T and transcribed by Wrestling News)