ASK TITO: Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul, The Acclaimed, Saraya in AEW?, CM Punk, Sammy Guevara, and More
Back from the Retirement Home for Internet Columnists and back in your face with another Excellence in Column Writing. Honestly, I wouldn’t have ANY desire to write if the wrestling headlines were so large. My 2022 viewership has honestly relegated to viewing the Royal Rumble and maybe parts of Wrestlemania? With Vince McMahon’s resignation and AEW crumbling, there’s just too much out there that needs my analysis. I’ve been covering this profession since October 1998 (24 year anniversary coming of Mr. Tito), and thus I feel the need to cover massive game changing headlines.
The question is this… Will these events of 2022 cause changes for the better?
It all depends on how Triple H and Tony Khan act…
For Triple H, he just has to put over new wrestling stars. Fans were getting tired with the wrestlers that Vince pushed and tired of the repetitive creative. In addition, Vince hated Tag Team wrestling which many fans love when it’s at a high level. Women’s wrestling booking was in dire need of logic, too. For the latter 2 points, those were Triple H’s strengths in NXT, as Tag Team wrestling was excellent there and the female greats that you see in WWE had some of their best years in NXT (Bayley, Asuka, and Sasha especially). The thing that Triple H HAS to work on is developing the next TOP DRAWING Main Eventer. You can throw a World Title on anyone (Kevin Owens, Finn Balor), but that doesn’t mean they are a “draw” and can be trusted to pack a house mostly by themselves. HHH either pushed veterans or dark brooding characters that had zero personality or charisma to draw as a babyface.
Tony Khan has a major mess on his hands based on the personnel he has in his management team and his highest paid star. The worst part is that everything has been made public thanks to backstage leaks to dirtsheets and CM Punk having enough of the drama to thrash AEW on a live mic. What needs to be seen is if ANY efforts were made by CM Punk to discuss his problems with EVPs/Page with Tony Khan and what efforts, if any, were made by Tony Khan to reign in his EVPs and their buddies from creating unnecessary drama. Regardless, Tony should have shut down CM Punk ripping AEW publicly at the All Out Media Scrum instead of letting CM Punk badmouth his company and its employees for 25 minutes. HUGE mistake and that is in addition to Tony’s own personal comments about WWE having Pay Per Views on the same week as him, saying he is “not going to sit back and take this f****** sh**”.
Just unprofessional behavior from the top down for AEW… And this drama and bad public relations come at a terrible time for AEW, as they need to put on a professional game face to retain and possibly enhance their media deals in the wake of a changing corporate environment… Just in a few years, their TNT/TBS channels went from being owned by AOL/Time Warner to AT&T to Discovery… When things change hands so many times, there are redundant departments and managers along with costs that need to be cut. If you go back to 2000 when AOL and Time Warner merged, it was their new executives that heavily frowned upon the “Crash TV” style that World Championship Wrestling (WCW) had in addition to the millions lost attempting that shock value style of television. By March 2001, AOL/Time Warner sold WCW to the WWE for LESS than $5 million.
In my view, Tony is going to be forced to clean house (see ya EVPs and CM Punk) while incorporating a new management team. Otherwise, his Television partners and Corporate Sponsors will NOT want to spend their money on a risky adventure that could make them look bad.
Onto your questions.
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ASK TITO: Your Questions, My Answers
What are your thoughts on Comcast’s NBC/Universal possibly acquiring Warner Bros/Discovery?
If this truly does happen and NBC/Universal owns the Warner Bros/Discovery universe of channels, products, media, and film/TV properties and archives, then All Elite Wrestling (AEW) needs to hope the following to remain on TNT/TBS…
(a) NBC Universal will still need content for TNT/TBS
(b) WWE is willing to play nice and not get push that another wrestling company is now doing business with NBC/Universal.
Difference, though, for (b) is that the WWE is a major business partner of NBC/Universal with their WWE Network stuff appearing on Peacock and from what I understand, it’s been very helpful to have it on that network. It would be one thing if WWE just had a deal with USA Network, but WWE has deeper roots with NBC/Universal and Comcast. I believe that when the 2024 deal comes up, WWE will at least retain RAW on USA Network and then extend the Peacock deal for WWE Network. It’s working out well for everyone.
Things could be cool if AEW were to somehow remain on TNT/TBS and then we could see company cross-over events between AEW and WWE… But Triple H is too competitive to allow that and I believe that WWE’s deeper relationship with Comcast and NBC/Universal would likely show AEW the door.
Furthermore, this whole CM Punk vs. EVPs/Page drama along with Tony Khan mismanaging it is something that would be eyed by both NBC/Universal and Warner Bros/Discovery as a problem to purge before NBC/Universal takes fully over. It’s a good reason why Tony should show a “sense of urgency” to clean up his company ASAP.
2024 is looking to be a pivotal year in Pro Wrestling if these rumors of an acquisition by NBC/Universal of Warner Bros/Discovery really happens. WWE’s television deals are up that year too… Crazy scenario is if WWE finds a better deal elsewhere and maybe WWE Network stuff begins to appear on Paramount+ along with RAW returning to Viacom channels (bad decision, in my opinion). Then, AEW could have NBC/Universal to themselves… You could say that AEW needs to grow a bit before filling WWE’s shoes, but NBC/Universal can sign AEW for a much cheaper deal than WWE. Corporations make money by paying less money out.
AEW needs to clean up their act and possibly begin looking at other channels for support, if true.
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What is taking so long on AEW punishing CM Punk or not?
Corporate liability due to the EVPs of a company wanting to abruptly confront an injured CM Punk.
As it turns out from AEW’s All Out Pay Per View, CM Punk was actually injured on the job. Torn triceps, I believe… Yeah, Punk said what he said during the Media Scrum and I agree, 100% inappropriate and unprofessional. But those are just words and at any time, Tony Khan could have cut him off. HE DIDN’T, thus the CEO/President of AEW is the enabler. After the scrum, however, the EVPs + at least 2 other non-EVP wrestlers entered CM Punk’s locker room for a confrontation. That’s MUCH different than scheduling a meeting to talk with JUST the EVPs. The foolish decision by Omega and the Bucks to at least have 2 back-ups (Cutler, Nakazawa) completely screws things up.
What SHOULD have happened is that the Bucks/Omega should have held meetings with Tony Khan and then the focus becomes what CM Punk said on the All Out Media Scrum. Instead, the EVPs took their own actions to confront CM Punk directly and in a mob-like style with 3 EVPs and at least 2 other wrestlers as back-up (Cutler, Nakazawa). Hence why Tony Khan suspended the EVPs, Cutler, and Nakazawa although I’d argue that Cutler and Nakazawa were innocent bystanders to the bad decisions of the EVPs.
Punk was injured from his All Out match and a gang of 5 wrestlers entered his locker room, without Punk’s permission, to confront him about the Media Scrum. Because of the TITLES of the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, who threw the “first punch” becomes irrelevant because Punk was injured on the job and it’s very likely that Punk’s contract makes AEW liable for any injury sustained while on the clock. While injured, Punk’s agreement pays him at least the guaranteed money owed to him during the timeframe that he is in recovery. Notice how Punk had the triceps surgery immediately? Well, you have to, but Punk didn’t want to delay the recovery stage to give AEW any room to issue a punishment.
If CM Punk didn’t get injured at All Out, then he’s an active wrestler who gets paid based on how active he is. Then Tony could suspend him… The injury is delaying things, on top of the EVPs confronting Punk with a pair of non-EVP wrestlers backing them up. How would it sound in court when CM Punk’s lawyers allege that his injured client was confronted aggressively by a mob of 5 people, 3 of which were company EVPs?
I don’t see this being resolved for a while unless as the Pro Wrestling Torch advises, a significant buyout is presented to CM Punk to let him out of his contract and avoid serious lawsuit. The injury protections in Punk’s contract + EVPs confronting an injured employee aggressively completely screws AEW from a legal standpoint.
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Did Saraya (formerly Paige in WWE) make the right decision by joining AEW?
If they are paying her a ton of money, then yes she made the right decision if she truly wants to wrestle again. In the WWE, they didn’t want her to wrestle based on her injury history… Plus, not many people realize this, but Paige has scoliosis which is curvature of the spinal cord. If you remember watching a past WWE documentary on wrestler tryouts, they actually denied a female athlete because she had surgery to repair scoliosis. It’s very likely that Paige’s injury history plus the curved spine caused the WWE to keep her out of action.
If Saraya believes that she can carefully perform in AEW and to prove WWE wrong, then that’s on her to show it. Just remember, you’ve entered AEW where there is a LACK of quality control on matches, as veteran wrestler agents are often ignored and botch videos of the women’s division, especially, are everywhere.
That said, Paige was the “Godmother” of NXT’s Women’s Wrestling. She was the trendsetter that everyone in that NXT territory looked up to and followed, as she was a legitimate in-ring performer compared to what else was there prior (some good examples, like Beth Phoenix). Paige bought into the NXT system and the likes of Charlotte, Becky, Sasha, and Bayley followed in her footsteps. If AEW can get the same leadership out of Saraya for their Women’s division, it’s a big win.
Much has changed since Paige/Saraya was last an active wrestler, but as a professional and her personal life. There is a major need for rebuilding of one’s brand here and proving that she’s a capable and reliable asset. WWE had concerns about that, too, which also kept her on the sidelines. It’s likely that she has matured from those events, but does she still “got it”? We’ll have to see… This is a BIG signing if and only if she can perform at a high level AND if she can make other wrestlers in that female AEW division better.
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How happy are you for the Acclaimed as new AEW Tag Champions?
They are my favorite thing in Pro Wrestling right now, period.
They are proving that with a little creative freedom granted to a wrestler that caters to someone’s personal strengths and personality, wrestlers can still be successful in 2022. Max Caster and Anthony Bowens are both stand-up guys whom you want to root for in pro wrestling. They have EVERYTHING going for them right now… They look cool, play off each other well, the raps are freakin’ hilarious, have catchphrases (Scissor Me!), and they are good wrestlers on top of that. What makes Max Caster’s well written raps do well is Bowens selling the lyrics, such as when Caster ripped Prince (Bowens sold he was against that) and Vince McMahon (the shock on Anthony’s face!).
They are just COOL and I wouldn’t take those AEW Tag Titles off of them for a long, long time.
Think about this… The Acclaimed are so cool that you can fit a veteran like Billy Gunn into the group and he’s beloved, as well, by the fans. He fits right into their antics and adds credibility to the group because he’s collected many Tag Titles.
They are one of the few things that I like in AEW and I hope that a returning Young Bucks team doesn’t ruin them.
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Who should have won the AEW Title at Grand Slam?
You have to go with Jon Moxley. Bryan Danielson is actually damaged goods based on how AEW has presented Danielson since his debut last year. He should have been treated as a serious star, and he initially was with last year’s Grand Slam match with Kenny Omega that was enjoyed by most fans. However, he’s been wrestling many midcard AEW performers since and having competitive matches with them. Then, he got injured trying to keep up with the spot heavy crowd.
While Moxley needs some work, too, he at least looked strong in his recent CM Punk feud and he’s technically an AEW original because he debuted at the Double or Nothing Pay Per View in a huge way. Bryan is not and what AEW needs right now is one of their own to represent the company.
That said, Tony Khan should restrict where Moxley works… No Indy events, please. It’s my understanding is that AEW talent can act like true Independent Contractors if and only if they receive proper permission from AEW officials (I’m assuming Tony or the EVPs). Obviously WWE would be off the table, but Moxley and others have been approved to work elsewhere even when they held AEW titles. I believe now, especially with another wrestler jerking himself off while Moxley had him in a chokehold, that Tony might say “no” a little more often to where Moxley works. Seems like Moxley really wants to hit the Indy scene HARD and without a filter, but Tony has an AEW contract to uphold.
Just remember, however, is that Moxley should have been on vacation right now but he was called back thanks to the whole Punk/EVPs situation. We’ll see how well this backstage situation goes… I would imagine that Moxley might get a few “yes” allowances to work elsewhere on the Indy scene because Tony inconvenienced Moxley and his family for disallowing their vacation.
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What are your thoughts about Ken Shamrock wanting WWE’s attention?
Ken is a 58 year old guy who wants a piece of the WWE lucrative pie. Simple as that, which is why he’s throwing hints out there that it might be a cool idea for him to join the WWE Hall of Fame. He’s smart… Just getting that Hall of Fame ring would allow him to increase his presence at autograph signings not just for MMA, but for Pro Wrestling as well.
Should he get in, though? Yeah, I think so… He was really the first MMA crossover breakthrough for the WWE and helped open the early door for future MMA fighters to possibly try it. At the very least, just being in the UFC gives you credibility and if you can pull off the pro wrestling “act”, you can have a lucrative career.
That said, I saw what he did with Joey Ryan and thus you forever get my “FINGER OF SHAME” for that. How dare you say “yes” to doing that in Impact Wrestling?
What I’m amazed at is how UFC doesn’t utilize him more for appearances and other media events. He has done a few things, but not as much as other past UFC veterans. That might be a telling sign as to why WWE hasn’t done business with him in over 20 years. However, as far as I know, he didn’t have any heat with the WWE upon leaving and I don’t know if his return to wrestling, through TNA, upset anyone in the WWE or not. Considering he was a midcarder in the WWE at best, probably not.
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What are your thoughts on Ricky Steamboat coming back for a match?
If there is a promoter out there willing to absorb the liability of an older wrestler becoming injured or dying in his ring AND if the older wrestler really wants to do it… I have no problem with it. At the end of the day, we’re preaching freedom in America and denying someone opportunity that doesn’t affect others (besides his family, if he gets hurt or dies) is not what this country should stand for. Plus, Steamboat is a very safe worker and would likely be smart inside the ring to not injure himself.
Of course, wrestling drama king Ric Flair chimed in and wants to wrestle more matches, too. Again, same thing with Ric… If a promoter is 100% OK with taking on the liability of the older wrestler becoming injured or dying, and the older wrestler really wants to do it (and his family is OK with it, as they were with Ric’s “final” match), then who am I to judge?
If Ric Flair or Ricky Steamboat were wrestling at a place within driving distance, I’d probably go. Why not? I’ll reduce my expectations HEAVILY about match quality, but guys like Steamboat and Flair are my childhood. I specifically became a big wrestling fan because of that Ric Flair vs. Sting match from Clash of the Champions #1 and was cemented as a wrestling fan thanks to the 1989 feud between Steamboat and Flair. THEY MATTERED to the 8-9 year old version of me and I’ll never forget that. Hence, why I have met both guys but to see them wrestle one more time, why not? And again, match quality wouldn’t matter… It’s seeing wrestling legends perform BECAUSE THEY WANT TO.
If promoters, wrestlers, and their families are 100% behind the older wrestler returning, then the fans can be too. If you don’t want to see an old man struggle to wrestle again, THEN DON’T WATCH IT.
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What are your thoughts on War Games being added to WWE Survivor Series?
Well, haven’t we had arguments about making Survivor Series worthwhile again? This certainly creates some attention and excitement about it.
Here’s the deal, though… Can we have a reason WHY both pairs of teams need to participate in War Games, though? Don’t just make it RAW vs. Smackdown brands… There has to be a reason of pure hatred for why 2 teams of wrestlers are willing to harm themselves in a dangerous match. If not, we’re in the same boat as last year with the 5 on 5 RAW vs. Smackdown matches, just with a cage gimmick slapped on top of it.
Something simple like Roman Reigns’s Bloodline versus a team of babyfaces, possibly picked between both RAW and Smackdown brands. Put a title shot or shots on the line if anyone successfully pins Roman or the Usos? Something like that…
Adding War Games to the mix might be fun for one year, but if it’s just the same old RAW vs. Smackdown crap, then I’m passing. It will be just another fixed gimmick Pay Per View held on a specific month. Add it to the pile of crap like Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Extreme Rules.
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Thoughts on Logan Paul vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Saudi show?
It’s a gimmick… In my mind, it’s too early to offer Paul a title shot. That said, I believe rushing this match indicates that Logan Paul’s availability may be limited and the WWE is just striking while the iron is hot. They are paying this guy millions a year to work for the WWE for just 4 matches, at the most, and yet here we are, rushing him to the unified WWE champion.
With this probably being a business decision, probably based on Paul’s lack of availability for 2023, I’m OK with it.
That said, this is WAY TOO EARLY… Let Logan Paul work for a while and get some convincing matches in before rushing him to the top. While Paul has accomplishments fighting elsewhere, looking like a credible pro wrestler is HARD to do. Ask the many celebrities who have tried it… Personally, I would have let Logan Paul work for a year against various opponents and if he looks credible after that, then push him towards Roman Reigns. Signing a celebrity and then rushing him to a World Title match on a Pay Per View (I refused to call it the other WWE name) just seems like we’re skipping the line on the contendership process. That said, WWE really doesn’t have many contenders for Roman as he’s defeated everybody on the roster and nobody has the true fan backing to defeat Roman.
Double edged sword here, as Roman literally has nobody else to wrestle BESIDES Cody Rhodes when he comes back from injury and I believe that Logan Paul’s availability might be limited in the future. However, I wouldn’t have pushed him this early to the top.
Now, if Logan were to defeat Roman… Yeah, that would be ridiculous and a cheap publicity stunt on the level JUST ABOVE David Arquette winning the WCW World Title. Yeah, Paul is tougher and more credible than Arquette, but Paul still shouldn’t win the WWE Title this early as a newly signed celebrity to a wrestling contract. I’m just saying, it’s too EARLY to give him the World Title and giving Paul the title this early is hotshotting it just like WCW hotshotted their World Title over 22 years ago. Obviously, Paul is more credible as a fighter than Arquette, but in terms of tenure as a Pro Wrestler, they are the same and neither should be champion this early.
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Thoughts on where Bray Wyatt will end up?
He’s a Triple H guy and thus will return where HHH exists. Plus, AEW is falling apart right now, so why would Wyatt join them? He’ll go where the money is better (WWE) and to a boss he likes (HHH).
Do I believe that these weird vignettes are for him? Yep… The lights flickering for Alexa Bliss, too, is a sign for her too. She’s a Triple H gal, too.
Bray Wyatt/the Fiend is definitely coming back, but booked more like an actual wrestler than an over-produced act. My guess is that both Bray and Triple H want the character to appear as a credible wrestler instead of what happened during 2019-2021 that was embarrassing as hell to watch. It wouldn’t surprise me that Bray would wear the Fiend mask to the ring but then take it off to wrestle… In other words, the Fiend and the Funhouse character were merge into one when they wrestle, kind of like Hulk and Bruce Banner merged into a singular guy for Avengers Endgame and onward.
AEW is in trouble now as a free agent destination with this drama going on… Whenever a Vince McMahon released wrestler from 2020-2022 has an option, they’ll return to Triple H’s WWE.
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Should Solo Sikoa have vacated his NXT North American title?
Yes. He’s going to be a full-time WWE roster wrestler now and him losing the belt cheapens his involvement with the Bloodline right now. Sikoa is very inexperienced, but the WWE wants to have the credible family member in the Bloodline stable. I would expect heavy involvement of Sikoa on houseshow matches and undercard to quickly gain him some experience, as I expect the Usos and Roman to help quickly train him as well. What a benefit of Sikoa to have Paul Heyman around, too.
NXT is the minor league system of the WWE, period. Him leaving that promotion and dropping the title means nothing to me. WWE has bigger plans for him as part of the Bloodline and I’m 100% OK with that. As the numbers show, none of y’all watch on Tuesdays anyway, so who cares about that midcard title of NXT?
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Will Malakai Black return to AEW or rejoin WWE as Aleister Black?
First and foremost, can we just call him Tommy End or Tommy Black? Who on earth is responsible for naming this poor fellow?
Usually, AEW signs wrestlers to 3 year deals based on past precedent. If that was truly the case with Malakai Black, he left the WWE during May 2021 due to a release and appeared in AEW during July 2021. Thus, he has just under 2 years left under his contract. At the very least, he signed a 2 year deal and thus has almost 1 year left as he had to sign a conditional release with the company.
I tried to research this online, but nobody reported the terms of that conditional release. If I were to guess, it could range from 6 months to whatever is left on his contract (1-2 years). It could be more or restrictive against WWE only. Hard to say, as the only strong conditional release example known and enforced was when WWE released Brock Lesnar out of his WWE contract during 2004 which had restrictive conditions against performing in another wrestling company or even a MMA promotion for 6 years. When Brock performed for New Japan and later UFC, this prompted the lawsuits between WWE and Brock.
But Tony Khan is a weak spined individual, as seen by his recent blow-ups backstage in AEW. However, his DAD IS NOT. It all depends on what AEW’s legal council advised and if they were trying to boldly predict other wrestlers from jumping off the ship.
That said, Malakai Black really isn’t much of a threat to do much in the WWE if he rejoined. We already saw him in the WWE and his 6 foot, heavily tattooed frame with brooding personality was barely noticed. You can keep blaming Vince’s Creative for mowing him, but Vince McMahon has been there for DECADES chewing on Jim Ross, John Laurinaitis, and Triple H’s call-ups. The FACT is that Aleister Black, Karrion Kross, Tommaso Ciampa, and other heavyweight contenders are interchangeable from Triple H’s signings.
What Tony needs to do is weed out wrestlers who don’t want to be there along with any problem wrestlers creating drama backstage. His roster is TOO BIG to cover the amount of shows per week for AEW and many of the ex-WWE wrestlers were released for a reason. Nobody from the 2020-2022 WWE cuts have “come back to haunt them” and Tony has multiple of those releases.
I would suggest that Malakai Black will eventually return to WWE in due time… I’m guessing 6 months from now and then he’ll obtain his other stupid name, Aleister Black.
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Do you believe that Sammy Guevara is leaving AEW?
The real question is this: Would WWE sign him? He’s a 5’10”, less than 200 pound guy who acts like a kid. If WWE will eventually bring back Sasha Banks, you’ve got instant HR issues already based on his past public comments about her (led him to be suspended in AEW). Granted, Sammy is now a happily married man, but if the WWE is choosing between having Sasha back while keeping her happy or upsetting her about signing Sammy, then Sammy wouldn’t get a job.
It could very much be a contract ploy for Sammy, as problems with CM Punk and the EVPs would create an increased need for other AEW originals to need to be pushed.
The problem that I see with Sammy is that he really doesn’t fit anywhere unless a promotion actually creates a Lightweight or seriously pushed Cruiserweight division to cater to him. He’s just a smaller guy and based on his more youthful look, he just doesn’t look credible against larger wrestlers. However, if you put him a division with wrestlers similar to his size and fighting for a lightweight title, he would thrive. How AEW doesn’t even try to create a Lightweight division is beyond me and how WWE fumbled repeatedly on Cruiserweight division is also beyond me.
Sammy probably sees himself as an AEW original and building block for the company, and he does have his fans… I just don’t see the fit in WWE unless the Cruiserweight Division is where he lands. Thus, any hints about leaving are likely being performed for a new AEW contract.
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What’s the deal with Insider News providers getting so angry on Social Media?
Well, when you have thousands of followers and many of them get legitimately angry at you over wrestling opinions, it gets old really fast… Also, there are many online who like to purposely troll you by annoying you with their little games or just harassment. In my case, I’ve had several death threats sent to me that I’ve kept and/or forwarded to authorities if extreme.
At the same time, though, you have to be “above it all” and just accept that a % of your audience has anger issues taken out on you are they are just trolls. You just have to walk away from it or slam it hard, but in a convincing way that it doesn’t hurt the appeal of your audience. People want “cool, calm, and collective” from their content providers and if they see a content provider going nuclear on someone online, it could the appeal of said provider.
I’m probably guilty of falling into the troll trap on occasion, but usually my responses are concise, consistent, and direct to said troll that calls them out for who they are and shows how ignorant their response is. Been doing this for almost 24 years now and in my opinion, the attacks during the Attitude Era were thousands time worse than today’s. Today’s fans seem to use you to vent their own frustrations whereas the previous ones took things very personal. For example, I’d make comments about the Insane Clown Posse appearing for WWE or WCW and I would get showered with emails from ICP’s fans.
My advice is just to ignore the trolls or slam them shut while not making a fool out of yourself. Recently, a bigtime insider news reporter went off on one of our NoDQ staff members, as that staff member was doing his usual annoying Twitter troll routine. All he had to do was block him, but instead, he fell into the trap and kept responding, eventually challenging him to a fight. Same thing happened about 6 years ago when a fellow LoP columnist was trolling the same news insider and he wanted to legitimately fight him too. Dave Meltzer is also getting constantly harassed online for his wrestling opinions and makes a fool out of himself by falling into the traps, too. In my opinion, Dave’s brand has diminished partially because of his online image in addition to his horribly biased wrestling views.
Just look at Pro Wrestling Insider (PWInsider). Scherer and Johnson are highly respected over there because they don’t wage wars online nor do they take the trolls’ bait. They just do their jobs in a professional manner and their reputation allows them to write news articles for a living. If you look at NoDQ, Aaron Rift presents himself as a professional on Social Media and his YouTube channel, even though he is heavily challenged by haters and trolls alike. He also deals with maniacs like myself and Virtue yet we’re still both here in some fashion.
When you’re at the top of your profession, you should take steps to remain at the top and that includes maintaining an image that your readers can trust. If you have sketchy or unprofessional dealings with other people online, which includes threatening them back, it’s not going to work for you long-term. You have to accept that a low % of your audience are just pure a**holes or trolls, and just move on knowing that they are envious of you for your hard work and position. THAT is why they screw with you.
If I ran a business online, my Social Media would only be used to hype an article that I’ve written or for POSITIVE communications with loyal followers only. The second you’ve entered the gutter, the trolls have won the battle. Go watch “The Dark Knight” and see the whole purpose of the Joker’s game was to lure Harvey Dent into the gutter. He succeeded and it risked forever tarnishing any accomplishment that Dent had. In summary, don’t do anything that causes you to look Two-Faced to your audience…
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That’s all I have in the basement, for now, so back to the Retirement Home I go! If more breaking news comes out, as I’m sure it will, I may find the need to comment on it. Until then…
So just chill… Till the next episode!