ASK TITO: Triple H Loses NXT to Bruce Prichard & Vince McMahon, AEW All Out Predictions, Daffney, Nia Jax vs. Charlotte, and More

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The weekend Excellence in Column Writing has returned with more answers to your questions sent to me via email, Twitter, or the Comments below. Think about this for a second… I could just drop just 1 column during the week, during the highest volume days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) and be done for the week. Nope, I am here to give my long-time readers and my NoDQ.com audience some legitimate content to read and enjoy over the weekend. Can you name another content provider who is that generous? Because I can’t.

I’m just LAUGHING at the turf battles that WWE and AEW fanbases are creating. Instead of enjoying BOTH for what they are and be THANKFUL that competition is FINALLY here again, many fans are actually digging their heels deeper into their favorite side. It’s hilarious to see the 180 that fans are making regarding the WWE, as they were once “mean & nasty” for the 4/15 and other talent cuts yet they are cheering for AEW to actually fail with any of those talents that they sign? And they don’t enjoy that CM Punk has returned?

I’ve heard it for a DECADE now on how bad the WWE has become, how “out of touch” Vince McMahon now is, and how awful the PG Era has ruined Creative. Yet, when a legitimate competitor rises, y’all don’t want it. Huh?

You guys are OUT OF YOUR MINDS… Is AEW perfect? Hell now… Just click any of my AEW themed column links below and I display the issues of this start-up promotion. But they are a start-up promotion and in LESS than 3 years, they are on the cusp of legitimately challenging WWE for the #1 spot, at least here in North America. It’s hard to ridicule Tony Khan as “Booker of the Year” from the Observer Boys when the WWE is just awful and not improving whatsoever. Yay, Brock Lesnar is back for another part-time run. Oh hey, Becky Lynch is back and they are trying her as a HEEL again.

Come on guys… You can cheer for a promotion to succeed, especially when it HELPS THE INDUSTRY FOR THEM TO EXIST, while also being critical of them. In my opinion, the Executive Vice Presidents in Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, and Cody shouldn’t be EVPs. They should be wrestlers, as their talent and booking decisions actually caused a slower start for AEW. Just watch any AEW show from December 2019 or early January 2020 while trying to hold your lunch in. Seriously, how long are the Young Bucks going to keep pushing the idea of the Dark Order?

WWE needs real help and you’re starting to see internal changes that could help facilitate it. I have said it for YEARS about NXT and the Developmental system. They weren’t signing guys who could legitimately draw in the WWE. Signing older, independent, or smaller wrestlers is NOT the key to success. You have to go young and you need to put in a legitimate trainer to develop guys into real workers. Matt Bloom is no Danny Davis or Rip Rogers, period. When Pat McAfee can get trained briefly in a barn by Rip Rogers and look like the most experienced star in NXT, you’ve got problems. WWE has to hope that John Laurinaitis can audition, recruit, or scout more home grown athletes like Roman Reigns or they are so doomed in 2 years.

AEW, with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and other former WWE Stars potentially on the way… They could pose a real threat to WWE to achieve #1 status in North America. And as I keep saying, the WWE is 1 Roman Reigns injury away from total failure. If they lose him, Smackdown will drop below 2 million and those FOX Executives will begin to get nervous. Then, the WWE will overpay more to Brock Lesnar to “save” them again and it won’t work.

Onto your questions.

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ASK TITO: Your Questions, My Answers

What is your opinion of Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard taking over the production of NXT?

First of all, the Internet needs to stop being so sympathetic to Triple H. He didn’t do a good job with NXT once it shifted to a weekly 2 hour LIVE show during the Fall of 2019. In fact, that move to USA Network completed exposed his product. NXT Takeovers were fun because they were 3-4 times a year that you could just check your brain at the door and enjoy an Indy Spotfest with WWE Production filming it. The shows were fun, no doubt. Also, the Women’s Division used to be fun but the further that NXT got away from Paige‘s influence on the roster, the weaker the Women’s Division has become. Once you pulled out the 4 Horsewomen (Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, Sasha), there hasn’t been that many successes on the bigger WWE stage ever since.

Of course, you know my opinion on Triple H signing and training Male Wrestlers. His track record on grooming future Main Eventers is POOR. Just look at the last decade on who won World Titles and you can count on 1 hand guys that Triple H signed and groomed in NXT. His signed guys have been heavily featured on NXT on USA Networks for the past 2 years and we’re barely hanging over 700,000. Remember that promise when moving to Tuesdays? “Without AEW, we’ll have larger numbers”. WRONG. Same old crap. Triple H was Talent Relations guy from Mid-2012 through early 2020. However, he was also head of Creative from late 2013 through mid-2019. Thus, not only was he signing the wrong guys and not preparing them (thank you head trainer Matt Bloom), he didn’t stick up for his own guys in Creative.

Let’s get that out of the way, first. Triple H did NOT do a good job with Talent Developmental, first and foremost. In fact, he made it worse by building that cushy Performance Center and overpaying NXT trainees. Second, he was signing smaller wrestlers, Independent wrestlers, and older veterans from other companies. Sure, that looks great for 3-4 Takeovers, but for a weekly 2 hour LIVE show, fans will become indifferent about spotfest types of matches. Finally, to own 2 hours of real estate on the USA Network, which is available in 85 million homes, and only draw 700,000 viewers is pathetic and sad. USA Network could seriously begin airing reruns of “Murder She Wrote” and it would get the same amount of viewers. If NXT was soooooooooooo good and “superior to the WWE” as many NXT marks would insist, then why wasn’t it outrating RAW? Why couldn’t it defeat the other spotfest show, AEW, consistently?

You’re DAMN RIGHT that WWE should have demoted Triple H. He is costing the WWE money by not drawing ratings for NXT on USA Network, not grooming any future Main Eventers, and creating the wrong culture for Talent Developmental.

Now… What I’m also saying is that Bruce Prichard is the WRONG guy to have anywhere near a Creative Team, let alone now supervising RAW, Smackdown, and NXT. Bruce is a BIG IDEA guy and not someone who can grind out the writing of 2-3 hour shows. If you go back to the Attitude Era, his contributions were usually to pitch ideas but he was never involved with the day-to-day writing of the shows. It’s just his specialty. If you just let him pitch ideas to Vince at meetings, that is where Bruce excels. Trying to format 2-3 hour shows is not. What you need is a grinder as a writer, much like Vince Russo, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman, and Dusty Rhodes were back in the day. Bruce just isn’t that guy and thus NXT will look lame in the upcoming weeks.

Why can’t the WWE just have Paul Heyman oversee NXT as the booker? Just give the guy free reign because where Paul excels is on psychology and forcing wrestlers to utilize their strengths while hiding their weaknesses. Have Paul quietly work behind the scenes at NXT and then continue to do his job at Smackdown. Simple as that. If Vince doesn’t want that, at least have Paul act as a consultant to Bruce. Having Paul AND Bruce oversee that brand would bring a combined wealth of experience to NXT’s creative process.

The real question is this… What exactly is your job at WWE right now, Triple H? When the consultants go around in the movie Office Space, someone should ask Triple H “what exactly do you do you around here?”. John Laurinaitis took over Talent Development and Relations. The Executive Directors (formerly Paul Heyman & Eric Bischoff, now Bruce Prichard) took over WWE’s Creative Team. NXT’s production is now being overtaken by Bruce and Vince. I guess he still helps with the Live Production of shows? He’s usually at the backstage table with Vince? HHH is also a WWE Board member, which is nice…

The internet has to let go of the thought that “Triple H is God” for what he gave them with NXT, particularly the Takeover events. They were flashes in the pan, as he could put all of his talent’s energy and safety (dangerous spots happening there) into 1 event. Yet, that got exposed when NXT was forced to do 2 hours of LIVE television on USA Network. HHH struggled to groom any future Main Event stars. Braun Strowman didn’t last and I’d argue that Finn Balor & Kevin Owens are not permanent Main Eventers. He signed too many smaller or older guys. Then with the Women’s Division, once Paige’s influence left, the Women’s Division has become weaker and weaker at NXT. None of those ladies could come up and be relevant now and thus the WWE’s Women’s Division bench has been quite thin lately. But damn it, the training needs to improve at NXT. Nobody down there can cut promos nor can anyone comprehend what in-ring psychology means. Matt Bloom is a weak trainer and Shawn Michaels is too much of a natural that he cannot teach what he knows.

It’s likely that NXT will fail under Bruce & Vince and will lose its USA Network timeslot. Maybe that is a good thing? Return it to a 1 hour weekly show for Peacock and let the operation work in the dark. What’s missing right now from the WWE is the “element of surprise” when a talent debuts. Remember when any wrestler debuting from the talent developmental territory was a big deal? Well, when they were wrestling in Louisville or somewhere in Florida weekly, not everybody saw those wrestlers perform. Remember how cool it was when the Shield debuted? How about when Kurt Angle was granted “Team Angle”? How about Brock Lesnar’s HUGE debut? John Cena made a huge impression upon his debut. WWE is missing that and taking NXT back underground would be a smart decision.

*****

What are your thoughts on the “shoot” between Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair?

My thoughts are consistent with what I’ve said previously on Nia Jax. She has a track record of hurting other talents when working matches. Whether things went wrong or not in that RAW match, it’s a FACT that Nia hit Charlotte in the face with 2 legit looking punches and then dropped Charlotte on her head during that match. Nia is careless and self-destructive.

As I’ve said before, WWE used to not tolerate wrestlers who were sloppy like this or were suffering from poor conditioning. Go ask Mark Henry and Big Show from the year 2000. Both guys were sent down to the Ohio Valley Wrestling territory to get in better physical shape and to relearn how to work. THIS needs to be done with Nia Jax, badly. And if you asked her cousin, the Rock, about what happened to Mark Henry or Big Show during 2000, he’d agree that it needed to be done.

Nia showed promise in NXT… But that was when she constantly worked in the Performance Center to keep her in good shape and when she made much less money. For someone of her size, she really doesn’t have much real strength. Conditioning with her is a real issue and it is harming other workers. It’s time for WWE to reconsider her as a talent and get her help if she wants to have a successful career. With each incident, her perceived value to fans keeps dropping and the WWE has a harder task of getting her over.

Also – WWE needs to sit down with Charlotte and iron out some differences. If this match fell apart due to Charlotte’s lack of motivation lately due to how Andrade was treated, then the WWE needs to remind her of (a) who pushed her to become a star and (b) who has made her the highest paid female in the company. Andrade has got into her head and is helping to ruin her career that she worked hard to achieve in the WWE. WWE has been completely supportive of Charlotte, even for the past 2-3 years when extensive time off was needed. She should know that a 5’9″ unremarkable wrestler who can’t talk would never succeed in the WWE and he’s already become “just another guy” in AEW.

WWE putting a pissed off Charlotte versus and a poorly conditioned Nia was a recipe for disaster and WWE management needs to get into high gear to help both talents. The Culture of the WWE is very toxic backstage and is not nurturing talents to be great right now. In fact, it doing the complete opposite. Nia believes that her spot is protected thanks to her bloodlines while Charlotte thinks that “WWE is terrible” thanks to Andrade whispering that in her ear.

*****

What did you think about Buddy Murphy’s social media post controversy?

Given the Politically Correct society (or “woke” as others call it) that we’ve become where anything alluding to something controversial in the past is offensive, Buddy Murphy’s post of two arms in the air and breaking loose from shackles upset many people. The old “how dare you compare WWE to slavery” comes up. Last time I checked, shackles with leg or arm clamps and chains weren’t only used for slavery. That was the typical prisoner set-up before more cage like structures were created. Furthermore, what do Police officers still use to this day to apprehend criminals? Oh yeah, handcuffs and the also have the versions that lock up the legs as well.

Let’s stop getting offended by anything that alludes to a part of negative history. Where there shackles for slaves? Yes… But they were used many other places, specifically prisoners or people captured in War.

HOWEVER – What really needs to be said about Buddy Murphy is how STUPID he is to ridicule his former employer. THAT is the issue.

For all of you younger folks reading this, NEVER burn a bridge behind you with a former employer, even if they terminate you. Why? Well, your next job could contact your previous employer about your character. Worse yet, if you post stuff on Social Media about your former employer, that stuff sticks around for ever. Since Buddy Murphy is a public figure, that image of shackles will NEVER go away. Anyone Googling him can see what he posted about his previous employer. If and when Buddy seeks another employer, they can easily Google that and it could defeat him getting another job. What if Buddy Murphy wants to remain a wrestler and nobody wants to hire him? He’d have to consider returning to the WWE… Well, he ruined that opportunity.

Trust me on this one, folks… The “hills have eyes”. Stuff that you post about your employer will STICK and they’ll find it. HR Departments are actively looking stuff up on potential employees and they more access to the depths of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, than you know. Furthermore, any fellow co-workers that you “Friend” or “Follow” on Social Media will have access to whatever you post. NEVER and I repeat NEVER Friend/Follow co-workers at your workplace. Anything that you post can be printed out or screenshot to be used against you.

I don’t see anything racial with Buddy Murphy’s post, as he doesn’t have a history of being racist in his past. However, his judgment is still poor by slandering his prior employer and that will limit opportunities for him in the future. THAT is why that post is stupid. Anyone looking to tie racism into this story is looking to create that story anyway. Unless Buddy had a history racism, you have to let go of that agenda. Shackles have been used for more than just slaves and they still remain in the form of handcuffs used by Police throughout the world to this day. How else are you going to restrain a criminal?

Quit looking for Politically Incorrect stuff on everything, guys. Good God… Where do y’all find the time to not just be offended by stuff all day, but to complain about it as well? It’s exhausting.

*****

Do you believe that Tessa Blanchard will be signed by WWE or AEW?

Sigh… See, I’ve legitimate sources speak to me about Tessa Blanchard and they are folks close to Impact wrestling who knew about her exit from that promotion and what she wanted or was receiving from WWE/AEW. She left Impact due to financial issues, as Anthem wouldn’t pay her top star money despite her being the Impact Champion when her contract was up during 2020. Not sure if that was a decision based on the 2020 pandemic or if Anthem didn’t see value in giving her extra money.

For AEW and WWE, I’ve consistently heard the same exact things. AEW doesn’t want her due to the allegations of racial slurs used towards another female wrestler and reportedly from her being a little intense backstage with other women. From what I hear, several women who had “bad experiences” with Tessa have been in the ear of the EVPs (Bucks & Omega specifically) and that has prevented her from joining AEW. WWE, on the other hand, is well aware of her reported controversies and has been lowballing her on deals. From what I can gather, they would want her to return to NXT.

With WWE now wanting to change NXT, I just don’t know if WWE has interest any longer in her talents. She is a very young 26 but she’s an Independent Talent that the WWE wants to shy away from, reportedly. The issue remains to be money and WWE has been terminating many wrestlers now. Thus, what they’d offer Tessa would be low. I believe WWE’s lowballing offers and putting her in NXT is a direct result of the alleged controversies.

Unless AEW has a change of heart or unless Tessa is willing to take a lower paycheck and join NXT, I would suggest “no”. My sources told me that Tessa wants paid and she was particularly upset with how Impact was being indifferent towards her when a new contract was being discussed.

It seems like alleged Racism and Pedophilia will stick with wrestlers forever and prevent them from obtaining jobs. Velveteen Dream is done even if he, and briefly the WWE, claimed innocence. Tessa had denied all allegations of making racial slurs… And I would boldly say this… Would a racist date minorities? She dated Richochet for a while and is now engaged to Daga. I know that fact is uncomfortable to say, but that fact is out there. Maybe things got heated backstage between two women backstage and the heat of the moment brought something out. I don’t know… But what I do know is that these allegations are keeping a super talented female on the sidelines when she could help out WWE or AEW right now.

Hopefully, AEW signs Tessa and she’s the wildcard entrant for the Women’s Casino Battle Royale match.

*****

How would you book CM Punk in AEW?

I’m not going to fall into the Fantasy Booking mode here… Basically, what I’d tell AEW is to give CM Punk creative freedom on the microphone and don’t give him humiliating losses for a while. In fact, he’s the guy defeating Kenny Omega for the AEW Title, maybe sometime early next year? From there, start building up MJF to be the one to defeat him for the AEW title.

Aside from those AEW Title suggestions, I’d just let CM Punk perform and entertain. Just go out there and have fun. THAT is when CM Punk is at his best and he doesn’t necessarily need title belts to have a heated feud or a great match. That’s why this Darby Allin feud will be fun. We all know that CM Punk will do everything in his power to make the match entertaining and he’ll likely do that with any AEW opponent.

What ruined CM Punk in the WWE was an agenda driven Creative Team who outright hated him as a talent and wanted to push others instead of him (like Miz, Alberto Del Rio, Ryback, and Roman). While the WWE wanted to push others, they’d poorly book CM Punk to humiliate his character and devalue him as someone to push in the future.

*****

Thoughts on the Daffney’s passing?

It’s incredibly sad. At the age of 46, she felt the need to post a “cry for help” video and then she unfortunately followed through. Why did it have to come to this? Why is it that wrestlers, past their athletic prime, feel like they have nothing after their careers end? From what I could see, her last real role in wrestling was through 2015 though she made a brief appearance for Ring of Honor during 2018.

Post wrestling life is tough, particularly as that life of working as an Independent Contractor leaves you nothing afterward unless you’re a dedicated saver. That said, traveling expenses add up and so do different state taxes that you’re wrestling in. She worked for WCW during its final years and then TNA for a brief while. I don’t believe she was in much of a position to earn top dollars to retire by the age of 40.

This is where I have issues with Pro Wrestling. Promotions, particularly if they are receiving bigtime Television money, have to employ wrestlers. We’re not just talking about base pay for their services, but payroll taxes, healthcare benefits, and pension. They are BUMPING FOR YOU, as that is a legitimate workplace hazard, and therefore wrestlers should be treated like employees with full benefits. Sorry, but AEW was profitable during pandemic 2020 and WWE saw record breaking profits during 2020.

That or Pro Wrestlers should be allowed to join Acting Guilds and both WWE/AEW have to support it. Are wrestlers reading from scripts? Yes. Are they on television? Yes. Are they acting? Of course they are. Wrestlers are ACTORS. By your 40s, you cannot physically perform the same way as you could when you were younger, and yet you’re punished for giving everything physically for that promotion.

Furthermore, it’s a JOKE that the WWE doesn’t involve more former wrestlers backstage. Are telling me that ex-Hollywood writers would be better at formatting a wrestling show than Edge, Christian, Mick Foley, Beth Phoenix, or any wrestler with 2 decades worth of experience? WWE has a 40 person Creative Team full of ex-Hollywood writers who have FAILED (or else they’d still be in Hollywood) and Dana freakin’ Warrior. Are you telling me that writers with zero wrestling experience can tell a wrestler how to get over more than an ex-wrestler?

It’s a shame about Daffney. She’s another victim of the profession that chews its talents up when they are younger and then spits them out when they are older. At 46, she’s probably in constant pain all day and may had some CTE going on. Wrestlers need to start working together to support their fellow wrestlers and stand up to promoters who pay them bare minimum. WWE is crushing it with record breaking profits but cutting wrestler salaries and wrestlers at the same time (not correlated).

Until wrestlers stick up for themselves and collectively work together to put leverage on promoters, they better hope that they have saved every penny or nickel because when their mid 40s rolls around, revenue opportunities won’t be there. And then what? It’s going to be a painful and depressing next 30 years as you deal with the injuries sustained at the hands of the greedy wrestling business.

My condolences to Daffney’s family, friends, and all of the fans who enjoyed her. For me, honestly, I just saw her WCW career and that’s it. As a character during very bad times for WCW, she was entertaining.

*****

May we have AEW All Out 2021 Predictions?

If you’re going to twist my arm… Here is my overall prediction: CM Punk vs. Darby Allin will be the Main Event. Nobody is going to be able to follow THAT MATCH in Chicago, period. Furthermore, to beat Chicago traffic to get home, many might bolt after they watch Punk vs. Allin. We’ve seen Christian and Kenny Omega already before, thus, it’s OK to push them down the card. Had this show not been in Chicago, it’s a different story.

Quick predictions:

– Casino Battle Royale = Tay Conti wins with Rubo Soho (hopefully with Rancid’s song as theme music) as the wildcard entrant.

– Jon Moxley will hopefully defeat Satoshi Kojima.

– Paul Wight isn’t coming back to lose a match, he’ll defeat QT Marshall

– Chris Jericho will save his career by defeating MJF

– Miro retains against Eddie Kingston via the help of his debuting wife.

– Lucha Brothers defeat Young Bucks to become AEW Tag Champs

– Britt Baker retains over Kris Statlander.

– CM Punk defeats Darby Allin in a very competitive match-up. Punk is there to put over Darby in a losing effort.

– Kenny Omega retains over Christian.

Looks like a fun show and I fully expect Adam Cole and/or Bryan Danielson to debut. Reportedly, Andrade might be looking for an opponent at All Out or Kenny will see either Cole/Danielson at the end of his match. Maybe… This show should be all about CM Punk and big debuts should be held off for future AEW Dynamite shows.

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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