ASK TITO: WWE MITB Briefcase Winners, Stephanie Vaquer, John Cena’s Retirement, and More

The Excellence in Column Writing is upon you, with many imitators out there but only one who brings you consistent written greatness for almost 26 years now. Welcome back to ASK TITO where I’ll take your questions on current events and reply to them, in column form, with my snappy answers. Usually a column posted close to a weekend here at the great NoDQ.

Here is where I want to start today… Do online wrestling fans even realize how GOOD they have it right now?

Go back to 2018, for example… TNA wasn’t even close to a competitor, ROH wasn’t making any traction, New Japan had some good years but their shows were difficult to find here in the United States to even watch, and AEW had yet to be invented. All you had was the WWE and damn that was a struggle to watch through 2018. WWE kept pushing Roman Reigns as the #1 babyface, John Cena was long gone, Brock Lesnar was losing steam, Tag Team division was treated poorly, and the Women’s Division was Charlotte Flair or nothing. It was Vince McMahon becoming obsolete in his micro-managing ways and pushing terrible forms of comedy on his 3 hour RAW shows or the Smackdown that he didn’t care about on Tuesdays.

If you covered wrestling online during the 2010s, especially the latter half, it was miserable. Pretty much discussing a declining WWE, as seen by lower viewership & attendance, or following the other entities that had no chance of ever challenging WWE.

Then, AEW arrives during early 2019, signs a few big names (Moxley, Jericho, Omega, Cody, etc.), puts on a Pay Per View, and scores a prime time deal with TNT for Wednesday Nights. Then, they throw around a few dollars to acquire several ex-WWE guys that WWE thought nothing of releasing while also signing CM Punk.

Suddenly, we had competition on our hands… With RAW doing down to 1.5 million and Dynamite getting 900,000, they were within reasonable striking distance.

What did the WWE do?

– Took title reigns more seriously.
– Finally pushed Roman Reigns as a heel, after years of fans begging the WWE to do so.
– Put Paul Heyman in a prominent role with their chosen top guy.
– Paid their talent more money not to leave and join AEW.
– Bring back Triple H once Vince retired during 2022 with a fresh perspective.

As a result, viewership increases but live attendance and merchandise have SURGED for the WWE.

I would argue that THIS era of the WWE is the BEST it has been since the Attitude Era version of the WWE, and I’d argue that the Bloodline is the BEST storyline since the New World Order storyline through 1997.

AEW on the other hand, well, they’ve declined somewhat lately… BUT, they still exist and act as an option for fans to watch more prime time wrestling whether it’s on Wednesday nights on TBS now, Fridays on TNT, or Saturdays on TNT.

Meanwhile, NXT is greatly improving over the past year, as Shawn Michaels has gained experience and now knows how to better communicate his knowledge to the wrestlers. On top of that, WWE has formed a partnership with TNA, of all promotions, and it could pay HUGE dividends once NXT begins airing on the CW Network that is available in about 100 million households.

Yet, instead of appreciating this current era, all I’ve seen for the past 2 weeks is the WWE and AEW tribes fighting over whether or not AEW Forbidden Door or WWE MITB/NXT Heat Wave were superior events or not.

Would you like to go back to 2018 again, where it was WWE or nothing?

You miserable online wrestling fans…

Go watch the Wrestlemanias of the 2010s, as headlined by Roman, and then just watch the Wrestlemanias of the 2020s. Holy cow, a MAJOR difference in how the WWE overpushed an inexperienced babyface Roman versus carefully pushing Roman as a heel now. Meanwhile, WWE’s undercard wrestlers are thriving and seeing better opportunities than ever. Before, Vince McMahon could stomp on any developmental wrestler but now, they have valid opportunities to not be humiliated within 10 seconds of their debut.

And CHILL on AEW… They are in rebuilding mode, as the losses of Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, along with recovering from the drama of the Punk tenure, still has given them a hangover. MJF and Omega’s injuries have delayed and rewritten plans, too. They made mistakes of overpaying Okada, Ospreay, Mercedes, and Copeland instead creating and developing their own superstars that weren’t in New Japan or WWE previously.

The current WWE growth mirrors the late 1990s growth in that a WCW competitor rose up and forced WWE to change its creative and which wrestlers to push. During 2019-2021, the AEW competitor arrived and forced WWE to change its creative and which wrestlers to push. Get rid of Vince McMahon completely and install Triple H, and then that changed creative and talent vision greatly changes the WWE for the better. WWE is a much better working environment now than it was just 3 years ago. That’s CRAZY to think about, while AEW needs to realize that the Young Bucks are their toxic problem just as Vince was WWE’s.

But even if you want to rip into AEW’s booking and storylines, their Pay Per Views are generally good and loaded with action… If you just watch AEW’s Pay Per Views (foolish to go monthly, in my opinion, on Pay Per View) and watch the WWE’s PLE events, you’re eating quite well at the moment…

Many of you don’t appreciate the greatness that has been presented to you. WWE is stronger today, thanks to competition, and AEW still has a decent chance to remain a reasonable competitor. Much different now than it was during miserable 2018.

If you don’t believe me, go back into the archives and watch WWE or AEW events. Oh yeah, AEW didn’t exist during 2018 and WWE’s 2018 events mostly were lackluster.

Today, there is pure excitement regarding the matches of AEW Pay Per Views and the moments on WWE Premium Live Events.

If you’re stuck in a tribe, just enjoy your product and don’t worry about the other product. Save yourself some rage and blood pressure by not getting into fights with the other tribe. Simple as that.

Onto your questions.

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Did you know that you appeared on Part 3 of Who Killed WCW?

NoDQ owner Aaron Rift showed me this… Around the 35th minute of Part 3 of Vice TV’s Who Killed WCW, there was an online quote posted and it had my name on it:

Russo’s greatest service to Wrestling

everyone should wake up. Hogan is gone. Russo deserves a little credit.

And it is labeled as “Posted by With Mikey G and Mr Tito on Jul 14, 2000”

Wow… Aside from random signs held up at arenas and appearing on shows/documentaries later, this is a first where a possible quote from me was featured on a program.

BUT, I’m unsure if it was mine… I read my column archives from the July 2000 timeframe and I say no such thing. Only other place where I’d post something could be Lords of Pain’s message board system which by July 2000 was EZ Board. Back then, I was one of the moderators of that forum and I’m wondering if my involvement or moderating of comments caught me in Mikey G’s web. I remember a poster with that name and I’m guessing it was pulled from a comment of Mikey G’s. The grammar doesn’t look something I’d write, so I’m guessing that the quote is his and I’m associated with the thread somehow as a moderator.

Looking back on my July 9th to July 14th comments, while I do get my digs into Hulk Hogan, as I was tired of his act at that point, much of my opinion back then was associated with Booker T becoming WCW Champion no matter how it was accomplished. I gave Russo a free pass that night at Bash at the Beach 2000 because it created the end result of Booker T finally obtaining World Championship gold. Thus, I don’t think it was me who said it or else they would have just had “Mr Tito” there on the spot. Mikey G said it, I believe, and I’m likely in that thread acting or seen as a moderator. Maybe I started the thread that it was posted in?

I was digging deep into the Wayback Machine and just cannot find the EZ Board posting from Lords of Pain during July 2000. The pages appear to not exist and if you catch a later EZ Board version, it won’t let you navigate.

Regardless, it’s a cool moment to see something that you may or may not have written appear on the screen 24 freakin’ years later.

By the way, this begs the question… If I cannot pull up that EZ Board posting, who saved and retained it? Seems like it was pro-Russo, so it makes me wonder who was watching my posts and maybe screenshotting ones as well back then? Amazing that someone would possibly retain it for over 2 decades and then use it on a documentary.

*****

What are your thoughts on Stephanie Vaquer signing with WWE instead of AEW?

Being totally honest here, as I don’t live and breathe what New Japan or CMLL do, but her wrestling appearance at AEW’s Forbidden Door was the first time that I’ve heard of her or seen her wrestle. And I’m likely speaking for the MAJORITY of wrestling fans. So with that in mind, it’s not a big signing unless you read certain news letters or follow with crowds who are deep into NJPW or CMLL.

That said, if I was ANY free agent wrestler right now through July 2024, WWE would be the #1 place to go while AEW is a distant #2. That’s just a fact, as WWE attendance is way up while AEW’s has declined. WWE has MASSIVE new television deals, while AEW has yet to sign a new TV deal.

So what if she wrestled on an AEW show? She wasn’t under AEW contract, so therefore, she can go where she pleases.

And it’s not like the WWE just signed anyone earth shattering, let’s get a hold of ourselves here. She’s a female wrestler who has worked for international promotions that are niche promotions to a tiny group of wrestling fans. Let’s slow down on this being a massive free agent signing. Unless it’s a known name that got over in a North American based promotion, they aren’t instantly going to get over in WWE. Just a fact… Hence why Okada and Ospreay are NOT drawing in AEW, as New Japan only has a limited amount of fans here in the states. Their AXS show regularly drew LESS than 150,000 and drew so poorly that it didn’t even make the Nielsen viewership charts (TNA is in that boat now).

For anyone to get huffy and puffy about this free agent signing, as if she “betrayed AEW” can just stick it. AEW’s women’s division has ruined enough female wrestlers, thank you, while WWE has made female wrestling relevant thanks to Triple H’s development of them.

*****

Thoughts on the Rhea Ripley/Liv Morgan/Dominik Mysterio love triangle?

I love me some Dirty Dom! Notice how his character is bringing out the best in other characters? Rhea’s career has done nothing but surge thanks to Dom bringing out the best in her personality as a character, and now Liv Morgan’s character has significantly evolved. See, THIS is what I’ve been talking about for YEARS about female personalities in wrestling.

Y’all have been attacking me for YEARS about my praise for Miss Elizabeth and Sable as non-wrestling (mostly) personalities and how they were the biggest female draws. Those ladies drew money by looking good on the outside or inside of the ring. For Elizabeth in particular, she made us care about her well being with Macho Man while Sable just flaunted her sexuality. Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle weren’t much as in-ring performers, but drew lots of eyeballs with their sexuality and teasing fans or other characters.

Trish Stratus became a great wrestler, but her angles with Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Christian/Chris Jericho is what got her really over as a personality and THEN she became a good wrestler. Oh, and what was her greatest feud? You can give me Lita all day, but the Mickie James storyline was perfection. Mickie James obsession was easily the BEST women’s division storyline ever and its callback at the Royal Rumble got the entire arena cheering.

Personally, I found Liv Morgan to be a bit boring and overrated… But I don’t think that now with this new angle with Dominik. I’m compelled to watch her segments every week now and am glad that she finally has an interesting angle and personality for her character. Once again, it’s another case of the Triple H Creative regime finding value and enhancing an undercard performer.

Dominik Mysterio… What a stud. You can give me the nepotism all you want, but Rey Mysterio NEVER acted that well as a character compared to his son.

I’m loving this storyline and the further Dom and Rhea can get from Judgment Day, the better. They don’t need them.

*****

What are your thoughts on Mariah May turning on Toni Storm?

It was good… Mariah May is a solid talent, one of the few good AEW talent acquisitions in that division, and I loved how violent it became. Makes me wonder if the Warner Bros. Discovery executives might have a cow about that, but if it drew numbers…

*checks viewership numbers* Oh, we’re still under 700,000 viewers? I thought when the NBA or NHL Playoffs were done, viewership would go back up again?

The thing about Mariah May is unless you watched Stardom for the past few years, which again, isn’t many, then she’s quite fresh as a talent. That’s different than Okada and Ospreay who have been featured and hyped as being “great” in New Japan thanks to Uncle Dave assessing 6-7 stars to each of their matches. While the Observer boys gush over Stardom, too, it’s not as much as the guys who give them the “O-face” (Okada, Omega, Ospreay).

This is what AEW needs more of… Talent you’ve never seen in WWE or any other large mainstream promotion or events performing for AEW. That’s why their big free agent spree is so foolish because they are overpaying for talents at the end or past their prime.

But I just wonder how Warner Bros. Discovery thinks of that situation or if they loved it and want some more of it. I would bet that they disliked it…

*****

How do you think John Cena’s WWE career will end?

I think he has to put over someone younger. Yeah, he can wrestle CM Punk again for fun, but the time honored tradition is to put over someone else.

THAT SAID, we thought he already did that by putting over Solo Sikoa but before and after that match with Cena, Solo was losing many matches.

Someone like Bron Breakker could be good… But I think someone like the Miz may deserve that rub. I realize that Miz is older, but Miz ate a lot of chow during 2011 and pretty much ran scared of John Cena for that Spring. Put an older and more confident Miz against him, while letting him beat Cena cleanly, would be good company move. Then Miz can ride on that momentum himself that he was the last to finish Cena and then anyone Miz puts over gets some benefit too.

Personally, I wish that Cena could redo his AWFUL Wrestlemania match with the Undertaker. That was such a waste of time.

I’d like to see one more Cena vs. Brock Lesnar match, if Brock is allowed to return…

*****

Do you think that CJ Perry (Lana) returns to WWE?

Oh yeah, and I could see her even taking a cheaper rate just to professionally be with her friends Liv and Bailey again. She’s also a Triple H signing and was released when HHH wasn’t there. I could see her reprising the female manager role.

I don’t see WWE overpaying her to return, though, and money doesn’t always buy happiness. But working with your friends and possibly your new boyfriend does.

I really liked CJ Perry’s WWE special that discussed her personal life. She’s seems like a really great person and I wish her well.

*****

Thoughts on the Money in the Bank briefcase winners? Did they waste it on Drew McIntyre?

No on that second question. To me, the Money in the Briefcase concept is a JOKE. Could you imagine the insanity if that existed in Boxing or UFC? Get done with a 10 round boxing match, but someone invades your post match to challenge for the title that you just defended.

I’m fine with Drew McIntyre trying to immediately cash it in because now we won’t have it hanging over our heads for the Men’s division. We’ll get real contenders going for titles and not what is essentially stealing an idea from the 24/7 Title or the 24/7 rules for the Hardcore Title. Now, we have certainty for the World Title situations heading into 2025’s big events and I’m 100% fine with that. If you can prove to me how that briefcase helped Damien Priest, then I’ll laugh at you. He shouldn’t have won the briefcase, nor should he be champion. Holding the briefcase until Wrestlemania 40 didn’t get him over.

If you want to fix the Money in the Bank briefcase situation, then eliminate the 24/7 rule. Challenges must be made with at least 1 week in advance.

Tiffany Stratton was the right person to win it. Yes, she’s new, but she’s highly skilled and has already proven to be an equal to most of her peers. Other than Chelsea Green, she was the most qualified to win that briefcase. Hopefully, she challenges ahead of time.

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So just chill… Till the next episode!

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