ASK TITO: Cole/McAfee, Rock/Bryan, AEW Blood, & More Submitted by Mr. Tito on 08/08/2020 at 08:39 AM
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Welcome to ASK MR. TITO, in which I obtain your questions via Email, Twitter, other forms of Social Media, or the Comments section and answer them each weekend as a column here at NoDQ.com. At my prior place, I observed the need for weekend content so I thus began to write "Ask Tito" columns for the weekend. However, also attached to those columns was an opening rant and then my "Last Word" rant to make very extensive column. What I shall do now for NoDQ is to spin out those rants as single weekly columns and then just have nothing but a straight Q & A for these weekend columns.
Special THANK YOU to the NoDQ audience for having me. It's been a week and I greatly appreciate the hospitality shown so far. Since I've become online friends with Virtue and Aaron Rift, I've been monitoring NoDQ closely and liked the environment that I was seeing between the content providers and the audience. Make no mistake about it, I'm not leaving the place that I've been loyal to for over 21 years unless it's a destination that is worthwhile to me. Just in one week, this place has really impressed me and made me feel at home. I really appreciate it.
And if any of you know me, I produce columns like clockwork and will work hard for you. Hopefully, with time, we'll continue to grow the NoDQ brand together. My initial plan is to write 1 weekly column on a specific topic and then write Ask Mr. Tito on the weekends... Should a major Current Event happen, I'll reserve the write to write an extra column as needed... Maybe if a big Pay Per View happens, we'll see about reviewing that as well.
Onto your questions...
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Do you believe that the Adam Cole and Pat McAfee is a work or a shoot?
It started off as a shoot and now it is being converted into a work.
What you saw from Adam Cole at Pat McAfee's radio show was raw emotion and feeling slighted on his show. For most of the interview, they were having fun until it got a tad personal between describing each other's professions. Then, Pat McAfee dared to ridicule his size and Cole snapped. Unless Adam Cole can fake having welled up eyes from being really upset, he's not faking it. Then, cursing Pat out with multiple F-bombs is something that WWE Corporate would NOT sign-off on, nor would USA Networks or any Corporate Sponsors.
A few days later, Triple H appears on the show and he's doing major damage control and trying to advise Pat on how to speak to wrestlers in the future. At the end, Triple H advises him to personally reach out to Adam Cole to talk it out. What Triple H did NOT say is "come appear at an NXT show on camera to confront Adam".
In my opinion, Adam took things personally on the Pat McAfee show, particularly after being mocked over his size... Then, following the discussion with Triple H, cooler heads prevailed and Adam and Pat's discussion led to discussing business. "Look at all of the free publicity both of us are getting" and thus hatched a wrestling angle to convert a real life incident into something that can be used to put eyeballs on the screen. The wrestling bug has bitten Pat and he sees his one shot to try his hand at wrestling. Pat is a fan of wrestling, after all, and even has a wrestling ring that he once bought during a drunken night of fun.
It started off as a shoot but has since been converted into a work... Not the first time that has happened. See Matt Hardy vs. Edge during the mid 2000s, for example. Sometimes, you just luck into situations.
For anyone believing that this has been 100% of a work, you're goving TOO much credit to the WWE Creative Team. How can you, on one hand, ridicule the WWE Creative Team for its poor handling of RAW and Smackdown (RAW Undergrown anyone?) and then give them credit for pulling off this Cole/McAfee "angle"? You gotta be consistent... WWE has tried to involve other celebrities for the past few years and getting them involved with matches. Nobody cared because they were clearly staged.
Adam Cole snapped on a radio show and it may have saved his WWE career. Now, he can do business on a whole different level. Cole's contract is reportedly up either sometime this year or next... Something like this, especially if he can make Pat look credible, is something that will help him further his WWE career.
And I'll give credit to the WWE Creative Team for this NXT Angle... It was pretty damn good. Confrontation looked credible and I liked how Pat McAfee is using his kicking leg as a punter as something dangerous to even a wrestler.
The thing I worry about is that Pat is much larger than Adam Cole and as a big ol' country boy and former football player who tried to tackle people on punts, I believe that he could actually defeat Adam Cole in a real fight or at least have a fighting chance. WWE has to work with Adam Cole here to make him look tougher and bigger. I don't mean giving him the old "Vitamin S" of the past, but he's seriously a few inches short of 6 feet tall and lighter than 200 pounds. In other words, he'd fight right in with AEW's midcarders.
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Are you happy about AEW using blood on their shows?
Yeah, why not? In a real fight, people should get busted open.
My only problem with AEW is the fact that Jon Moxley and Matt Hardy are getting busted open by Cruiserweights. Darby Allin is 5'8" and 180 pounds soaking wet while Sammy Guevara is 5'10" and 185 pounds. Just tiny dudes and AEW has a roster full of them. They need a Lightweight division first before ever allowing more of these size mismatch matches.
AEW Dynamite had 2 blood spots and following the first one, that helped them surge past 900,000 for the first time before COVID-19. Just be careful not to overdo it. In my opinion, what hurts AEW is that they give you too many sweets instead of giving you an entire course meal. If you eat Cake for each and every meal, you'll get sick quickly... However, if you have a more solid meal with fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, etc, it is then OK to have a dessert after a meal. AEW often delivers too much cake to its audience and often with wrestler mismatches on sizes.
They really need a Lightweight division and then just embrace the high risk matches with smaller wrestlers... Cody and Moxley having to sell for smaller wrestlers is hurting the AEW brand.
Getting back to the question, I'm happy to see blood. Realism improves the image of pro wrestling and a good blood spot can add heat to any occasion... Just not one where a 6'0"+ taller wrestler has to sell for anyone well under 6 feet tall and under 200 pounds.
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What are your thoughts on the WWE hiring a new Chief Revenue Officer?
I don't know... He's a head of the sports media agency who represents athletes and other entertainers in media. Is an agent really capable of figuring out how to generate more revenue for a corporation? I figure that he'll be a strong negotiator for deals and maybe THAT is where Vince McMahon needs major help right now at elderly age... But aside from negotiating new TV deals and other deals, what is his product knowledge? And how can he modernize the wrestling product?
And think about this... WWE did many salary cuts and employee layoffs while also being stacked with many EVPs, SVPs, VPs, and other managers. In the middle of a Recession, they are paying him a base salary of $1.2 Million, sign-on bonus of $5.0 Million, incentive award of up to $1.9 million, and $15 million in stock options over the next 5 years. Unless he can prove to generate new forms of revenue, it's another redundant title on top of the many officers that WWE already has in place. Besides, what is a Chief Brand Officer (Stephanie) if she doesn't know how to generate revenue for her own brands?
Time will obviously tell if this guy is worth anything or not, but the WWE is certainly paying a bigtime penny for him... Nick Khan can certainly get a major payday in the future if he can negotiate updated TV deals for the WWE during 2023-2024.
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Would you be excited for a Rock vs. Daniel Bryan match?
Are you kidding me? Where do I sign up for THAT match?
Several AEW diehards were giving me crap like "well, you were critical of Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin"... For one, Jon Moxley is no Rock, period, end of story. Secondly, Darby Allin actually shorter and much lighter than Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan is 5'10" but he's legitimately over 200 pounds with bulk and muscle. Darby looks like he is allergic to weight lifting and possibly eating.
Daniel Bryan has more than proven himself at the highest level with major Wrestlemania matches and against major superstars. Could Darby Allin put on a credible looking match against Kane? I don't think so..
If the Rock wants to have a strong looking final match with the WWE, he should pick Daniel Bryan. Bryan has made about every opponent look strong and I would imagine that he'd sell like a champ for the Rock. Bryan made Kofi, Roman, Kane, Brock, Cena, Styles, and Triple H have some of their best matches. Rock needs someone who is energetic and is motivated to help Rock mask his ring rust. Rock and Punk didn't quite do that during 2012-2013 and thus Rock was heavily exposed as a wrestler.
Just look at the enthusiasm that both Rock and Bryan share and it could happen...
Of course, it might not happen if someone is operating a football league...
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What are your thoughts on the Rock (with his Investment Group) buying the XFL?
He would have been wiser for buying a ketchup Popsicle when wearing white gloves.
XFL has been tried twice with serious network coverage and it failed easily. Tens of millions thrown at the venture to help it succeed plus major network coverage (NBC, UPN, TNN during first run, ESPN/ABC/FOX during second run). It just doesn't work. Football fans are satisfied with their helpings of High School football on Fridays, College Football on Saturdays, and NFL Football on Sundays DURING THE FALL/WINTER SEASONS. After that, it's a break from football to enjoy the Spring and Summer months to watch other sports. XFL trying to push substandard football with less talented players during the wrong season will always make it fail.
NOW - The only way that the XFL could succeed is if the NFL makes some major mistakes during this upcoming season. Things are getting very political right now in the sporting world and what many of the athletes don't realize is that sports is an escape from reality for fans. If they are reminded of society's issues during the games or non-stop focus on what happens during a song (or an anthem). If the XFL just presents itself as a straight up sport without politics and if NFL goes on out on the deep end, that's the only chance fans would flock to the XFL. If you don't believe me on that point, just look at how Washington fans embraced the Washington franchise due to how poorly the Washington Redskins NFL Football Club were being operating.
Bad investment, Rock... Almost looks like you made this XFL purchase to help Vince McMahon's Alpha company bankruptcy hearing finalize with a buyer in place. Otherwise, it's going to be a bad investment that will cost him and his ex-wife millions.
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What are your thoughts on Marty Jannetty's confession?
As I look at my basement wall of autographs, I'm coming to the realization that my bodycount among my celebrity autograph wall has gone up. I had New Jack up there and now Marty Jannetty. Come on, man.
If Marty did kill another man during the past, it's very likely that the guilt has carried over Jannetty for most of his life and career. Same thing happened with Scott Hall who shot someone in self-defense. It's very likely that the ongoing guilt combined with the excesses of the wrestling business ate both guys alive.
It's a lesson learned for people to own up to their mistakes or it will eat you alive for the rest of your life. For Marty and Scott, it's very likely that the guilt was always there and being in the wrestling business was an escape for them. However, the party came to them and they could self-medicate away their problems.
We'll see what happens if the authorities step in or if it gets ruled as self defense. Either way, it should be a lesson learned to not let something fester for too long.
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Do you plan on joining NoDQ personnel on camera?
Maybe. I'm more of a writer... For me to appear on camera, I'd do it in disguise to retain my "Tito" mystique. When I was flirting with appearing as a guest on NoDQ shows in the past, I purchased a wrestler's Luchador mask and an Afro Halloweek wig to conceal my appearance. Thus, if you see some maniac with an afro, a wrestler's mask, shades, and probably a suit on camera for a future NoDQ show... That's me!
But if I appear on camera, it would be for a special project or as an emergency fill-in. I don't want to intrude on what the current NoDQ guys are doing, as I have plenty to offer on the written side instead. Plus, I'm a little camera shy, as I have yet to appear on camera that is streaming to thousands of people.
Myself and Virtue have talked about doing a debate show for years, much in the vein of Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe's Undisputed TV show on Fox Sports 1. If you've seen us on Twitter, our debates can get intense... We'd try to bring that same energy or intensity to something on screen with a moderator. The "Great Debate" show that Virtue has was an initial model for that but I've never appeared on it.
When the right opportunity presents itself, I'll eventually start making video appearances in disguise.
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That's all I have for you this week on Questions. I will likely have a rant type column up during Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday for you to enjoy or as news happens. Until then...
So just chill... Until the next episode!
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