ASK TITO: Post WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Questions, Wrestlemania 41, Charlotte Flair, Triple H, and More
The Excellence in Column Writing has returned to NoDQ to answer your questions as submitted by email (mostly with longtime readers), social media (Blue Sky or private X/Twitter), or the comments section below. I heard it from a good source that several of the WWE hating AEW fanboys have “retired” from commenting and contributing to this website. My response is this: don’t let the door hit you on your militant arse on the way out!
Look, I have nothing personal against All Elite Wrestling (AEW). If you read my columns from 2019-2021, you’ll see that I was heavily rooting for them to succeed and I have heavily credited them as the thing that reinvigorated WWE to take things seriously again. Yeah, if you read my columns from 2010 through 2020, I was hammering the WWE and holding their executives accountable. That’s what I do and have done since late October 1998. For those just cherry-picking my recent issues with how Tony Khan and the Bucks EVPs are operated is as ignorant as Lebron fans holding up Michael Jordan’s last 2 years with the Washington Wizards to dictate his entire career.
Personally, I don’t hate AEW but my criticisms of it are based primarily on the TONE of Tony Khan, the Bucks, its state-run media, and its die-hard fanbase who think that AEW is the GREATEST THING EVER. THAT is the issue… It’s literally like listening to NBA fans tell me that their current game is great, when it’s not… It’s like both sides of the political aisle who seem to vote more against the other side’s base of voters versus the actual candidates.
When I state my opinion that I just don’t find the current AEW product enjoyable and then list facts that probably others agree with me (struggling to fill arenas of 2,500 tickets at lower prices, lower PPV buys, lower viewership, and low merchandise sales), I’m met with pure venom, hatred, and anger as if I just pushed their parents down a flight of stairs.
And can the “Observer Boys” finally come out and admit that they are on the AEW payroll? Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez operate as AEW’s state-run media and are like the Sean Hannity and Jesse Waters of FOX News constantly pushing agenda instead of actual news. I find it HILARIOUS how they are micro-managing WWE’s RAW on Netflix and NXT on CW numbers yet they gush over the tiny demo of AEW Dynamite each week. Both are already wondering if WWE’s 10-year deal with Netflix is already in trouble despite Netflix appearing happy with their deal and RAW consistently ranking #1 on most viewed shows after each RAW airs.
Dave and Bryan, where are those MAX numbers for AEW Dynamite that we keep hearing hype about yet you never report it?
On the flip side, the FINGER OF SHAME needs to go to WWE online fans as well. Look, while I may not 100% agree with Jey Uso or Charlotte Flair winning the Royal Rumble matches, I’m not going to lose my crap about it either. I can understand why WWE went that direction and I have a level of TRUST with Triple H’s led management team to do things correctly. But damn, many of you online need some therapy if a pro wrestling show gets you this mad.
Sorry, marks, I can’t get The Rock into the ring and deliver Rock vs. Cody or THE dream match of Rock vs. Roman Reigns that we’ve all hoped for. Neither can WWE, apparently, as Rock wisely sees bigger paydays in making terrible action movies than relying on his previous profession. Without the Rock, suddenly CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns becomes the top match available and the WWE needs to milk that… Hence why plans could be changing to something we weren’t expecting for Wrestlemania 41.
But if you don’t like what WWE is presenting you, then watch AEW… See what I did there? I just presented you with the alternative. As a wrestling fan, your choices are pretty much just WWE or AEW, while I send you “congrats” for somehow finding TNA on television.
Or stop watching if wrestling disgusts you… I quit cold turkey during June 2007 and didn’t watch a single episode of RAW, Smackdown, or Pay Per Views for over 2 years following the Chris Benoit murders and subsequent drug busts afterward. I was ready to walk away, again, after 2018’s disappointing WWE year, but then AEW arriving as a competitor brought me back in.
I used to be a HARDCORE baseball fan through the mid-2000s, but then the drug scandals and other drama scared me off as a fan for good. I’ve never looked back… When the NHL allowed players to headhunt my boy Sidney Crosby during the 2010s, that was enough hockey for me. NBA has pissed me off with their load management, money, and too many attempts at building superteams. NCAA is corrupt to me and I want no part of their sports that are reliant on recruiting to outplay other colleges versus actual strategy or coaching.
Go back and read my columns… You won’t see too many TNA or Ring of Honor show reviews or topics. I didn’t care much for those promotions, so instead of bashing them to make you miserable, I excluded coverage of their promotions from my columns. Currently, AEW is a confusing promotion to me with no real creative direction or safety protocols for their workers. So, in return, they receive less coverage and you agree, hence the lower attendance, viewership, PPV, and merch numbers.
If you don’t like something, then don’t throw your dollars OR time at it. Many AEW fans who attack WWE fans are ridiculous… You dislike WWE, so why get into debates about WWE or trying to lambaste WWE fans for liking what they like?
BUT on the flipside, any WWE fan criticizing the current WWE product is equally ridiculous. You have it SOOOO GOOD right now. We can bring back Vince McMahon if you want the same micro-managing creative madness that made RAW lose over 2 million television viewers in a brief period of time during the 2010s. Is that what you want? Vince McMahon to return?
Spoiled, spoiled brats… Get over yourselves. Enjoy what you have right now, because wrestling goes in cycles with peaks and valleys. We’re in a peak, but all it takes is an ACL tear of Roman Reigns and it could harm business. Each wrestler is getting older by the second, too… And there’s no guarantee that the younger crop of wrestlers can replace the existing top stars.
Thus, enjoy the ride… Take it from someone who has been complaining about wrestling for a good portion of his column writing career. It will make you miserable after a while and I’m probably only here this long because I enjoy being Mr. Tito and participating in the community that I’ve built with many longtime fans.
On to your questions…
ASK TITO: Your Questions, My Answers
Do you think that fans booing Charlotte on RAW presents a problem for WWE wanting to push her as a babyface?
WWE never learns with Charlotte, which is the issue of her winning the Royal Rumble. Thanks to making her 14-time champion in just 10 years, she’s basically Randy Orton who was overhyped and pushed excessively to have many title reigns too. After so many snap judgments to make them Champions repeatedly instead of having faith in their opponents to hold the titles longer, WWE fans take it out on Charlotte and Randy.
I think with Charlotte, she’s become her heel character and she cannot shake it. For example, the heel move a few years ago was to marry Andrade and then create lots of drama once Andrade was released and joined AEW. There was a coupe to also get Ric Flair and Charlotte Flair to join AEW and that created some tense times between the very supportive WWE of her and Charlotte. Then, the drama backstage and on-screen with Becky Lynch. The abject jealousy that Charlotte had for Becky instead of being happy for a longtime fan also tarnished Charlotte.
She just can’t be a babyface, as fans remember seeing their other favorite ladies having shorter title reigns because of a Vince McMahon snap-judgment to get the title back onto Charlotte. And then Charlotte became the character full-time and that has dominated her lifestyle to be “elite” and above everyone.
But I’d argue her heel character has never been that good… Does not have a good sense of cutting effective promos and has resorted to using short-cuts for heat (like badmouthing her own Dad). So, the WWE will try to push her as a babyface but then the boos will force her back into the same old heel character.
There just isn’t the personality to her that Alexa, Becky, Rhea, Liv, and Asuka have that have allowed them to DO MORE WITH LESS compared to Charlotte who is probably the best in-ring worker but struggles to sell personality to hype a match. History will look upon her as the “female Randy Orton” who has had some personal struggles throughout her wrestling career that have impacted the greatness of what could have been.
THAT is why many fans have an issue with her winning the Rumble. What will be so great with her winning a 15th women’s title when there are 2 on each brand to achieve and she did it 14 times already in 10 years?
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Thoughts on WWE Royal Rumble 2025 being the 3rd biggest WWE gate of all time?
Thanks for rubbing it in, longtime readers, as I contributed to this show (but only saw the Women’s Rumble). You just HAD to be there… That place had 70,000 people and knowing the ticket prices as I do, everyone paid at least $160, at minimum, to be there. The floor was packed, which meant that all of those $1,500 and $3,000 seats were sold. Inner bowl was packed, which meant tickets ranging from $550 to $1,500 were sold. Middle section was packed, which was all $300 to $550… And then after that, the upper decks with the cheapest seats being $160.
But that outside Fanatics WWE Shop had LONG, LONG lines… WWE made a KILLING by allowing fans to use their timeframe waiting outside to buy WWE stuff rather than waiting until they got inside which also had many merchandise stands. Looking throughout the stands, everybody had WWE merchandise on whether it was belts, YEET hands, shirts, tons of hoodies sold, etc. The food venues were selling commemorative cups which sold like hot cakes.
Then, when I was walking and getting rolled around the stadium during the DIY vs. MCMG tag team match, there were LONG lines of people waiting to buy merchandise and food.
WWE made an absolute KILLING and the fans were willing to depart with their money.
THAT is the sign of a strong company and I’m fascinated if the WWE can seriously keep this momentum up without burning their fans out with high prices.
And if you compare WWE selling 70,000 tickets with high prices to AEW struggling to sell 2,500 tickets with low prices, you’ve got a pretty good measuring stick who is #1 and who is a DISTANT #2 right now.
Wrestlemania 40 is the only show that beat this with its 2 nights and having the Rock advertised to literally be on both shows. And it’s Wrestlemania.
Wrestlemania 41 is going to SHRED these records to price gouge fans in Las Vegas, a luxury destination, rather than good ol’ Midwestern Indianapolis. Then, we have the 2-nights of SummerSlam to think about in Minneapolis as well.
What a shame that WWE could be renting out this great Royal Rumble to Saudi Arabia for a while…
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Do you have any issues with the Sports Ticker or Advertisements displayed on the screen?
Took me a moment to accept the sports ticket, but then I appreciated after a while. If you watch any other sport, it’s there… Plus, some of the information improved the quality of the Royal Rumble, such as how many participants were inside the ring, how many were left, and what number was next.
The sponsors… Eh. Now, WWE has had sponsors on the screen before, but it is getting heavier with ads on the program thanks to Endeavor/TKO owning the WWE while Vince McMahon always wanted something to look a particular way.
However, the ads will only piss me off and only if the quality of the product becomes terrible. For example, watching an NBA game now and seeing their courts littered with ads. I’m pissed off because it’s a 3-point contest and anything on that court will then begin to piss me off.
With the way WWE is milking money out of everything now, there’s NO EXCUSE not to pay wrestlers fair market value. In fact, if I were the wrestlers, I’d start thinking about a few things with all of this money pouring in…
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What if Triple H steps down from the WWE? What is the WWE’s succession plan?
Well, with Triple H, he heavily delegates authority and places a ton of trust in his direct reports to actually carry out responsibilities. HHH isn’t a micro-manager, which is why I think WWE could survive for a few moments if he stepped down… But who takes HHH’s place is an issue for WWE to really think about. Would that be William Regal, who was Triple H’s trusted hand in NXT? Since it appears that Shawn Michaels manages NXT, I believe Regal could be shadowing Triple H on duties. The issue with that is that Regal is actually older than HHH.
I figure that once HHH is done with WWE, and I don’t think that will be for at least 10 years, we’ll see talent and creative divisions be run separately as opposed to just 1 person and then both will just leapfrog to whomever HHH reports to.
Very tricky question… I still say Stephanie McMahon is going to return, in some capacity, to help Triple H unless she has her own ambitions in other places, like maybe politics. Stephanie is impressive and she has now hit her experience peak to where she can excel after learning for many years.
What Triple H and WWE need to start thinking about is getting many of their wrestlers into management positions to allow them to continue working for the WWE rather than filling WWE’s management with Hollywood writers or marketing executives. That’s what made WWE lame for the last 20 years while preventing many retired veterans from ever contributing to the WWE.
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Do you have any problems with Triple H getting into the WWE Hall of Fame?
Of course not, he deserves it as an amazing in-ring talent. Anyone suggesting this is HHH spiking the football or self-glossing is out of their minds. This was organized by Nick Khan, Shawn Michaels, and Undertaker and he was completely taken off guard, as was Stephanie.
This is why I argued that Vince McMahon should have put himself into the Hall of Fame… You don’t know when you don’t have the opportunity to reflect on your career, in front of your peers, and thank who you need to thank. You never knew if you’ll pass away soon or, well, get cancelled by filthy details of a lawsuit.
On his end, hopefully Triple H takes the 2025 class serious to surround him. Sid Eudy and Demolition DESERVE to get in, along with Batista. Let’s go!
Oh, and it’s time to elect WWE composer Jim Johnston, who was vital in making WWE great for 30 years and WWE theme songs have suffered since his exit.
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Are you OK with Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins for Wrestlemania 41?
Sure, that will be the obvious main event of Day #2, Punk gets to headline Wrestlemania, and we’ll get to see the usual Triple Threat where 2 guys wrestle while the third guy literally sleeps for 5 minutes on the outside. Yeah, I said it.
But LESS IS MORE. Punk vs. Roman is the match that we want, but once it happens, it’s one less thing that WWE can hype. Furthermore, I can see the idea of rewarding Seth Rollins for his heroics last year.
I’m still holding out hope that Rock is willing to work Wrestlemania, but Hollywood pays more and a successful Wrestlemania, anyway, for the Rock lines his pockets without him as a Board member.
Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ