ASK TITO: Mickie James and WWE Garbage Bags, CM Punk, Ronda Rousey's Pregnancy, and More

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The most reacted to columnist online has returned for another weekend edition of Ask Mr. Tito, posted exclusively at NoDQ.com, where I take your questions via Twitter, Email, the Comments below and answer them via a new column. Many of you are believing that you’re “sticking it” to ol’ Mr. Tito with a reply or a quoted retweet, but in reality, you’re only driving my numbers upward. Thanks guys!

I gotta say, folks… WWE is trying to milk a few extra drops out of the Wrestlemania 37 hype, as we’re just getting nothing but recycled stuff ASIDE from the return of Charlotte. For example, we thought that we were moving on to a Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns feud, which is actually NEW, but then Seth Rollins injects himself into that storyline to keep attacking Cesaro. It’s more Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre, too, as I thought it was over after Drew went to sleep via the Hurt Lock at Wrestlemania.

BUT maybe this is OK? Wrestling used to take its time between major shows. With monthly Pay Per Views, it creates a major ADD complex with fans on top of having to endure 5 hours of WWE television shows per week. If WWE were to rush having Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns for the Backlash show, what will they do for the rest of the summer? So I understand the Wrestlemania 37 recycling for the most part and the “Backlash” Pay Per View used to be utilized as a quick “Wrestlemania revenge” show. In fact, go watch WWE Backlash 1999 and be SHOCKED that the Rock vs. Steve Austin is actually headlining that show for the WWE Title. They wrestled multiple times on Pay Per View, besides Wrestlemania, believe it or not.

Yet for the WWE, they quickly move onto different feuds after each monthly Pay Per View ends but yet we’re slowing down on the storylines just now?

My prediction remains in tact about the WWE… The “Draft” or the “Superstar Shake-up” is coming, probably sometime in May or June. ALREADY, WWE RAW’s ratings are averaging BELOW 2.0 million viewers in just the 2nd week after Wrestlemania. It took TWO WEEKS, folks… Yikes! WWE will push out the Shake-up or Draft for a quick ratings grab to be briefly above the 2.0 million mark again and then fans will realize that the chemistry built among the rosters for the past year has become broken and we’ll be back under 2.0 million again.

Everything needs fixed in the WWE… Better managers surrounding Vince, Creative needs terminated, better Talent Relations and Development system, and being less corporate. Good luck fixing all of that when IDIOT Television Companies are actually declining at a faster rate than the WWE and are willing to pay $200 million per year for something drawing UNDER 2 million viewers.

Yeah, I’m the negative guy when I point out FACTS on how WWE’s lower quality programming has declined from 4 million viewers about 6 years ago at this time during 2015 to being under 2 million. Maybe you are just too willing to enjoy the taste of Vince McMahon’s turd sandwiches and act like you enjoy the taste of it!

Onto your questions.

ASK Mr. Tito – Your Questions, My Answers

What did you think of the WWE delivering Mickie James’s belongings in a garbage bag?

Obviously, right after a termination, the visuals are bad. Making matters worse for the WWE, Mickie James was quick to go to Social Media and show the entire world what someone at the WWE just did. Now… And here is where I’ll probably offend… The fact is that the WWE didn’t just have someone hand Mickie a garbage bag. If you look at the actual video taken by Mickie, the garbage bag of her belongings was actually in cardboard box and was likely mailed to her. In my mind, the WWE conveniently saved Mickie a trip to the WWE locker room at the Thunderdome arena in Tampa by gathering her belongings and mailing them to her. From what I can gather, and correct me if I’m wrong, she lives in the Virginia area. Thus, if she returned to the Virginia area after she was terminated, then this delivery saves her a trip to Florida.

WWE could have thrown her stuff away instead of mailing it back to her in a garbage back that was boxed up with postage paid by the WWE. By mailing her stuff, she saved time and money. Again, WWE could have thrown that stuff away… After all, much of her stuff was probably created by the WWE’s seamstress in terms of tights and wrestling boots. Technically speaking, much of what was sent back to Mickie was probably created by WWE in some fashion.

Yeah, the garbage bag is a bad look… But what other bags are available in a locker room to gather things? Would it be more offense to have a WWE Shopzone bag with your things in it? It’s not like the WWE has much available in a locker room. Besides, most wrestlers travel with their gear so that they can wash it at home and protect it.

Mark Carrano took the axe to the face as a result of controversy… For those who don’t know him, he was the SVP of Talent Relations reporting to Triple H for much of the 2010s and he has been with the WWE since 1998. He had his role changed up a bit for the past year to become the “Senior Director” of Talent Relations after Triple H’s role was changed. Then, for whatever reason, John Laurinaitis was recently brought back and Mark began reporting to him. If I were to guess, Carrano worked for Laurinaitis too in the past. He’s a corporate stooge but to be fired because he instructed someone to gather up Mickie James’s things and mail them back to her possible Virginia home?

And from what the Wrestling Observer is reporting from a few sources, this is standard procedure if any wrestler leaves stuff behind in a locker room. They gather your things and send them too you.

Everybody is getting hung up on the garbage bag thing, as if the WWE was sending a message to Mickie James or something. I don’t know… WWE has a lot to lose from a Public Relations standard by sending messages like that and you can see how quickly Triple H, Stephanie, and John Laurinaitis took to Twitter slap down this controversy. Mark Carrano was scapegoated for this controversy and thus ends his 23 year career with the company.

BUT – We’re losing focus of the REAL controversy in all of this… The WWE’s termination system. Go watch HBO‘s Hard Knocks series and when an NFL team makes a cut. They sit the talent in the SAME room and speak to that person, one on one, about why they are cutting them from the team. They speak to them like a human being and then they point out the positives that the talent could work on along with offering to provide good references to another team. WWE does not do that. They send a wrestler a message, whether it is by Fedex mail, email, or even text and then they announce it on their websites and Social Media for the world to see. NOTHING face to face and that has been the WWE’s way for 30+ years now.

THAT is what needs fixed… Not sending back someone’s belongings by mail in a garbage back, but treating your talents like actual human beings by having FACE TO FACE meetings regarding terminations instead of announcing it from a distance LIKE A COWARD. Then, you can walk with them to their locker to clear out their belongings right then and there. You know, like MOST OTHER WORKPLACES. If I were terminated today from my position, my boss and I would be in the Human Resources office for a discussion as to why I’m being let go and then we’d go to my office together to collect my things. WWE just fires them and doesn’t do it face to face. THAT IS THE DAMN ISSUE, not your things being mailed back to you in a garbage bag!

Honestly, I’m not that offended here over the belongings being mailed back… Yeah, the garbage bag could send a bad visual but damn it, my belongings were mailed back without me even having to drive or fly back down to Florida to get them! On top of that, WWE is transporting liquids such as hygiene products and perfumes… And let’s be even more honest about Mickie James. WWE rehired her during 2016 and gave her another 5.5 years worth of money and name recognition. That is on top of the WWE employing her before that from 2003-2010, pushing her to the moon with Trish Stratus for that infamous Wrestlemania 22. Yeah, we all remember that match, the one where WWE Network had to censor a specific moment (which we all loved at the time when it happened).

I found it awkward that Mickie James’s response to Stephanie McMahon‘s apology was adding further complaints about how she was “presented for the last 3 years”. Huh? YOU HAVE A PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM AN EVP! You won, girl! You don’t have to eliminate that good will. In fact, you have apologies from Stephanie, Triple H, and John Laurinaitis… Instead of spiking the football for receiving those, you bury yourself by complaining more about how you were used for the past 3 years. Come on… You’ll win, in the end, when the WWE comes crawling back to you for a Hall of Fame spot but your added “3 years” complaint drama might delay that for a big.

She had a great WWE career and in all likelihood, some day, she’ll be placed into their WWE Hall of Fame. I believe that the WWE could have kept her and maybe involved her with NXT training, but I cannot advise on what the WWE specifically needs for the Women’s division because Sara Del Rey is doing a great job already with training.

I can understand the visual of the garbage bag, but it was mailed to her within a cardboard box… Saved time and money to make a trip to Florida to gather those.

BUT AGAIN – The real issue is how the WWE communicates the terminations to its wrestlers. Not much respect at all and that is a Vince McMahon thing and his family members should start advising him better on taking care of talent.

I also believe that Mark Carrano was going to be released eventually anyway. Nick Khan, who shall be the future CEO of the WWE in my opinion, is cleaning house within the WWE Corporation. If you saw how Mark was on Total Divas, you should be cheering for this corporate stooge to be leaving the WWE. Sad part is, however, is that he’ll likely be replace with a corporate stooge who is loyal to Nick Khan. In case you haven’t noticed, the in-ring product in the WWE still sucks and viewership has declined a bit since Nick joined the company. So you found a desperate NBC/Universal to give you money for Peacock… Congrats! Until you help improve the product’s in-ring quality, you’re just another corporate stooge taking advantage of other desperate corporations with these TV deals.

*****

Will CM Punk return or not to Pro Wrestling?

CM Punk is such a tease, especially lately. Him doing the FOX Sports show, commenting on it more often on social media, and recent comments on New Japan’s Will Ospreay indicates, to me, that he wants back in. However, Punk is picky and wants the right situation where he’s not only financially compensated for his skill set, but also something that isn’t creatively reckless with his career. Right now, both WWE and AEW are bad destinations for him and he wouldn’t go to either one unless structural changes are made.

For AEW, I believe that Punk doesn’t like the 4 wrestlers being EVPs… When they reached out to him to join AEW via Text Messages, that was a slap in the face to him. He expected more professionalism from guys labeled as “Executive Vice Presidents” and the fact that Cody texted him probably insulted Punk the most. After all, they worked together for many years and to think that them being co-workers equals the ability to text for a serious job offer… I don’t think so. I also believe that many see through the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega not just for their wrestling minds (or lack thereof) but their inflated perception by loyal AEW fans.

With WWE, it’s simple… Punk feels betrayed by Vince McMahon on promises not kept along with terminating him from the WWE on Punk’s wedding day to AJ Lee… Worse yet, Punk has a toxic relationship with Triple H and as far as we know, Triple H isn’t leaving the WWE anytime soon and will likely become more powerful in the future when Vince retires or passes. With Vince still there, it is likely that a big money offer was made to Punk… However, from his view, nothing about the WWE’s Creative structure has been fixed since Punk left during 2014 and has, in fact, become worse. Besides, Punk was forced to job to a green Roman Reigns during January 2014. What do you think would happen now?

In my opinion, Punk still has two great options:

(1) Try New Japan. Their in-ring product fits with how CM Punk wants to wrestle. Like Jericho, Punk could join them for several big matches on several big shows without allowing the travel to Japan to wear him thin.

(2) Return to Ring of Honor. I have said this previously… Sinclair Corporation needs to make a multi-million dollar deal with CM Punk and bring him home to the brand that he helped build and make famous. Give Punk whatever he wants Creatively and featuring Punk on all of Ring of Honor’s syndicated shows would be huge. In my opinion, RoH is the perfect situation for Punk and it would help Sinclair’s investment into Ring of Honor. Sinclair has 294 stations throughout the United States and owns stations in bigger cities too.

Punk should be in WWE or AEW by now but both promotions are creatively obtuse.

*****

What do you think about the WWE’s 1st Quarter 2021 earnings?

Well, overall, Net Income is UP for the 1st Quarter at $43.8 million this year versus $26.1 million last year. However, there is more to this story… Last year’s 1st Quarter had more revenue, as it generated $291.0 million versus $263.5 million this year. However, the COSTS were way down for the WWE… On the revenue side, last year’s 1st quarter had a Saudi Arabia event and other live TV and Pay Per View events mixed in. On the cost side… Fewer wrestlers to pay and reduced payouts from touring along with holding events at 1 arena has saved the WWE a ton in costs. When you’re running a business, it’s not just driving up revenues but how to manage increasing costs. In the case of WWE, they reduced expenses. Looking at their overall balance sheet, it looks like they paid down some debt too.

Other highlights…

Their “Media” revenues are down and if I were to guess, advertisers are paying less at the moment and the new WWE Network deal has yet to kick in. In a recession, advertisers are cutting back on their own marketing expenses and that is likely the reduction of about $14 million seen during the 1st quarter 2021 versus 2020.

Live Event revenue is non-existent… Obviously, they weren’t touring. This is about a $17 million difference from last year.

Consumer products or merchandise is up. GREAT news for the WWE, considering that the WWE isn’t touring right now. I don’t know about you, but my email inbox is getting bombarded with WWE Shopzone stuff thanks to having the WWE Network. Many great deals by WWE merchandise right now and fans are probably jumping on it as their Incomes are coming back. The economy is beginning to recover and thus confidence to spend money on non-essential items happens again.

There are other metrics throughout… It doesn’t matter. As long as WWE has the big TV deals that pay them $400 million per year between USA Network & FOX and now this Peacock deal that pays them an additional $200 million per year, the WWE’s financials will always look good. What always gets underrated by financial analysts is WWE’s cost cutting measures and keeping overall operational expenses low.

*****

Should AEW or WWE go back to touring?

Honestly, I would only tour for Pay Per Views. What people keep forgetting is that BOTH promotions were seeing attendance declines through late 2019 and early 2020. AEW started off hot in 5,000 seat arenas but soon began to tarp off sections due to unsold tickets. WWE has been tarping off more than half of 10,000-15,000 seat arenas for a while for television and was beginning to cancel Houseshows because of poor attendance. As seen by WWE’s financials last year, they made MORE money by not touring.

For AEW in particular, remaining at Daily’s Place is perfect for them and they should consider remaining there for TV Shows. That way they can keep building on a loyal local crowd for their TV Shows to present themselves well for Pay Per Views. For the WWE, they’ll return to the big arenas for TV shows but I believe that Houseshows might be done for or will be done sparingly for certain markets. Even at half tarped, WWE drawing 5,000 fans at their HIGH ticket prices still makes a profit. WWE fans spend more per capita than any other fanbase on the planet. The loyal fanbase will buy anything.

My advice for AEW is to tape all Television at Daily’s Place and then try larger arenas for Pay Per Views. For the WWE, I would limit or possibly eliminate Houseshows for the moment until the demand is there. RAW and Smackdown television shows will still make you money and of course Pay Per Views will as well. NXT will definitely need to stay at 1 place for TV shows, as they tour poorly.

*****

What do you think about Ronda Rousey’s pregnancy?

What do I think about it? I’M HAPPY FOR HER! There is no greater accomplishment in life itself by being able to create another life. Ever since her last WWE match at Wrestlemania 35 during 2019, she has been trying to start a family. I’m so happy that she accomplished what she wanted. My best wishes on health to Ronda and her new child when it is delivered to this world. God bless them and their family.

This, by the way, is what professional courtesy looks like. I won’t get into any specific detail other than that statement.

Now, before we heard of Rousey’s pregnancy news, myself and my fellow NoDQ co-worker Virtue were going to have Ronda Rousey as a Debate topic. Specifically, if she should return to the WWE or not. I’m pretty sure that he was 100% on her returning, as she’s a bigger draw than most of the women and helped justify the Wrestlemania 35 main event (which I agree). However, I’m a bit hesitant on her returning… So call me 50%.

See, I recognize her star power as being a major draw for Ultimate Fighting Championship. I cannot deny that. However, that star power isn’t fully being capitalized in the WWE. Why? Because she wasn’t trained well by the WWE Performance Center. If you look at the injuries that have mounted on her, which is the real reason she left the WWE, it was due to how she’d take falls in and out of the ring. Just watch that Wrestlemania 35 match and see how a few spots actually hurt her due to Ronda landing wrong or not knowing how to perform a spot correctly. The WWE signed her and rushed her into the ring as a full-time performer. Big mistake.

On top of that, because she doesn’t have the experience of being a long-time wrestler or was trained properly, she doesn’t appreciate the business. In fact, she takes it personally… When she was a babyface and her starpower just wasn’t enough to keep the fans cheering for her, she was visibly upset. In comparison, see what a TRAINED PRO like the Rock did at Wrestlemania 18. He fully recognized that the Toronto fans were cheering for Hogan and instead of pouting in the ring, he embraced it and began working like a heel. Everyone LOVES that Hogan vs. Rock match for that very reason! She is too thin skinned personally and untrained to deal with fans who aren’t buying what she’s selling. She has badmouthed the business and the fans, which most pros know not to do as well.

In comparison, look at Brock Lesnar… He was well trained by the Ohio Valley Wrestling system under Jim Cornette, Danny Davis, and Rip Rogers. If you look at how Brock Lesnar works, it is EASY for him. He bumps perfectly, sells like a champ (besides Ambrose), and he understands the pro wrestling business, inside and out. You don’t see him slamming fans because ultimately, it’s their money that transfers to his pockets.

That would be my issue with Ronda Rousey coming back to the WWE… Does she (a) appreciate the business and (b) is she trained enough to take better bumps and not hurt herself. My biggest issue with Ronda, however, is that she SETTLED in working for the WWE because UFC and acting gigs dried up. WWE pays her well, but he is only working for them because they are the only ones willing to pay her millions and feature her as if she’s legit. However, the trade off is that she has to take bumps inside the ring and that can result in serious injuries like a herniated disc. I don’t believe the passion is there with Ronda to actually want to work for the WWE… And that’s what I would have debated with my good friend Virtue.

I guess now, we’ll have to debate garbage bags being delivered to terminated WWE wrestlers?

So just chill… Until the next episode!

Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments.

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