“Now
that I have your attention, here’s the truth.”
– ec3??
The
“Control Your Narrative” concept has manifested
itself from an idea, to a movement, to a live touring/televised
wrestling company.??
“We,
collectively as wrestlers, can no longer wait. We
can not wait on companies that answer only to shareholders.
Companies where billionaires collect talent as “toys.”
Companies that fire their entire roster for the mistakes
their office made. Companies that are complacent in
presentation. ??
To
create true change, you have to be bold. You have
to bet on yourself. With CYN, talent bet on themselves.”
-ec3??
What
has started as a self produced concept focused on
character development/wrestling through a “cinematic
lens,” CYN content was created by ec3 and his
partner Jedediah Koszewski in April of 2020. ??
“The
world was changing and everyone felt fear and anxiety.
The best therapy is to create.” – Koszewski??
“The
talent that has reached out, wanting to create with
us has been humbling. It’s an honor to help tell
their story.”??
One
of these is former #BraunStrowman, Adam Scherr.??
“I
was so impressed with what CYN was creating that I
told ec3 and JC how much it inspired. How I would
like to create with them one day.??
The
next day I was released. Things happen for a reason.?
This
is what’s next.” – Scherr??
All
talent featured in CYN asked to be a part of the project.
On
3/31 CYN: Dallas, debut of Killer Kross takes place.??
“If
you want to Control Your Narrative, all you have to
do is knock.” – ec3??
At
CYN there is no corporate hierarchy. There are no
investors wanting to use the sport just to profit.
There are no contracts, agendas. There is only passion
to create.??
“This
company will be bigger than one person. I promise
my undying effort to create a platform for wrestlers
to do what they love and freedom they crave. For fans
to have an unforgettable LIVE experience with an engaging
TV presentation. ??
AEW
Dynamite's TBS debut averaged 1,010,000 viewers on
Wednesday night, up 3.6 percent from the final episode
on TNT. It’s just the second time since October
6 that the show has topped one million viewers.
In
the 18-49 demo, Dynamite drew a 0.43 rating, up 16.2
percent from last week. That’s the show's best
number in the demo since September 29.
This
is also the first week that Dynamite aired live on
the West Coast since October 6.
Dynamite
finished
second on the cable charts in 18-49, trailing
only an NBA game on ESPN that averaged 1.7 million
viewers and drew a 0.53 in 18-49.
The
show was up in every age group with the exception
of people over 50. In that category, Dynamite was
down 2.8 percent from the previous week.
The
biggest increase, by far, was in the 18-34 age group,
where the week-to-week jump was 79 percent.
The
show also increased more with women than with men.
In the 18-49 age group, women were up 20 percent and
men were up 10 percent. In 12-34, the difference was
even more dramatic. Females in that demo doubled last
week's number, while males were up 45 percent.
As
compared to this week last year, when Dynamite aired
head-to-head with NXT New Year's Evil and also against
news coverage of the United States Capitol insurrection,
Dynamite was up 52.6 percent in overall viewers and
up 72 percent in the demo.
Listed
below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership
and 18-49 demo numbers for Dynamite. The debut show
on TBS was up 8.7 percent in viewers and up 22.9 percent
in 18-49 from the 10-week averages prior to this week.
As
noted, the controversy surrounding Tony Khan and Big
Swole was a hot topic this weekend. It began with
an episode of Big Swole’s “Swole World”
show that aired on Call-In. During the episode, the
former AEW star pointed to a lack of diversity in
the top spots of the company as one of the leading
factors in her departure in 2021.
Tony
Khan responded in a single tweet, pointed to how other
people of color have succeeded in AEW, and then said
he let Swole’s contract expire because her wrestling
wasn’t good enough.
“The
top 2 @AEW execs are brown (me & Megha)!! Jade,
Bowens, Caster, Dante, Nyla, Isiah & Marq Quen
all won on tv this month. The TBS Title Tournament
has been very diverse. I let Swole’s contract
expire as I felt her wrestling wasn’t good enough.
#AEWRampage Street Fight TONIGHT!,” he
wrote.
Swole
continued to retweet posts throughout the day yesterday,
but it wasn’t until this morning that she finally
posted a tweet of her own. In it, she implored the
wrestling community to listen intently to her podcast
because she believes her words are being misunderstood.
“It’s
Sunday, take time to actually listen to the podcast
instead of reading headlines and excerpts. Understand
diversity isn’t just a statistic, counting us/POC
isn’t the mindset,” she writes. “Not
one time did I ever mention anyone as racist. Comprehension
is key.”
One
AEW star that quickly reacted to the situation in
frustration was Lio Rush, who demanded that Tony Khan
apologize for his statement to Big Swole. But since
that transpired, it looks as though Rush had a heart-to-heart
with Tony Khan and has more optimism toward their
process.
“I
want this to be clear… I do not consider this
to be a diversity issue, and I at no point have thought
or said that AEW or Tony is racist,” Lio Rush
writes. “We can all clearly see that wrestling
as a whole and the AEW roster is perpetually diverse.
The issue at hand was a racial insensitivity issue.
“Having
spoken to Tony and Megah, we have discussed the endeavors
to further understand the struggles of the black community.
I am grateful to be able to understand more about
Tony and Megah’s own ethnic backgrounds and glad
that they are actively seeking input from an African
American perspective. I am proud to work for a boss
and company that try to make these strides in social
equality,” Rush continues. “I look forward
to working with Tony to keep making steps towards
positive change. I pray that 2022 is a year of positive
change in all aspects. Happy New Year and GOD BLESS.
#BeTheChange”
Other
AEW stars like Powerhouse Hobbs, Jade Cargill, &
Shawn Dean also made statements concerning this ordeal.
You can see their various statements at
this link.
