ASK TITO: WWE Releases, Charlotte's Return, Pat McAfee on Smackdown, NXT/AEW Viewership, & More

Follow Mr. Tito on Twitter by going to the following link: @titowrestling

Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING, the weekend edition known as “Ask Mr. Tito” where I take your questions from Twitter, Email, or Comments below and answer them in column form. I call it my “weekend chill” columns… But many of you diehard WWE marks weren’t chilling about my last column entitled MR. TITO: Celebrity Newcomers Should NOT Dominate WWE Veterans Inside the Ring.

I heard the usual excuses seen underneath my columns like “Tito hates everything”, “You have to suspend disbelief”, or “WWE is about Entertainment, hence the ‘E'”. The usual brainwashed excuses as to why WWE “fans” accept a lower quality product. Meanwhile, many of my longtime Indy contacts and even several veterans who worked for major promotions in the past were actually THANKING ME for sticking up for the wrestlers. Many of my longer term readers understood completely what I was writing about, as they’ve seen the lessons of prior Celebrity wrestling involvement too. THAT is what matters to me…

You can attempt to “Ratio” me all you want but with time, you’ll agree with this early adopter on wrestling takes. In fact, I’ve seen many of you begin to criticize Triple H as his NXT promotion cannot draw flies right now and you’re starting to realize that maybe he isn’t the best talent recruiter in the world. Ya think? Whether you press “Like” or if you Reply or Quote Retweet me, what I see are total numbers reacting to my columns. If you think that your mouseclicks are going to insult me or scare me away, you haven’t seen the feedback that I received during the Monday Night Wars when WWE, WCW, and ECW were all around at the same time. I received death threats simply for having a wrestling opinion.

At the end of the day, I’m just 1 writer presenting columns for NoDQ.com… Sure, I’m high profile because I’ve been doing this for 22 and a half years, but you still don’t have to click what I post. I’m nice enough to always label my columns as “MR. TITO:” or “ASK TITO:” to distinguish me from the rest of the pack… You don’t have to read it… But I think that it’s shameful for anyone to attempt to silence or cancel someone’s opinion simply because you disagree with it. To me, reading stuff or listing to audio shows where I mostly agree with a viewpoint is boring… And with time, I find myself not being loyal to any political party and thus can listen to both sides to choose which one is the more reasonable adult to put in charge.

Say it with me, guys… “It’s just a wrestling column and not life”.

On to writing more things that will offend people.

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ASK MR. TITO: Your Questions, My Answers

What did you think of the WWE’s “Spring Cleaning” April 15th releases?

I need to say this beforehand… I don’t want anyone to ever lose their job, particularly right now in this economy. While many might suggest that there are “many options” out there to wrestle, nobody pays higher dollar than the WWE. That’s a fact and you can ask anyone who has joined AEW since leaving the WWE. They are all getting paid less from Tony Khan. Your other options are Ring of Honor (cheap), Impact (cheaper), or NWA (cheapest). Japan and Mexico have many promotions, but you have to live in another country and there is no guarantee that the top promotions there want anything to do with you.

With that said, as I look through the list of releases that happened on 4/15/2021, which I guess has now become “Future Endeavors Day”, I don’t see any big losses for the WWE. Sorry, but someone has to say it. WWE didn’t terminate the next Steve Austin, the next Undertaker, or the next Mick Foley. Some might find work elsewhere, but they’ll have an impact like most of the 4/15/2020 releases from last year. And in my opinion, the WWE released bigger names with those cuts compared to this year. WWE isn’t sweating any of them joining AEW, believe me. And again, I hope they find work and keep getting paid to wrestle… But their impact will be minimal at best, especially since Impact and AEW are proving to be weak landing spots for WWE released wrestlers.

Let’s review each released wrestler:

– Samoa Joe: If this were 2005, the WWE would be out of their minds. But this is 2021 where mileage and injuries have piled up on this guy and he’s not the physical freak of nature that he once was. In fact, he actually found his calling with announcing and performing interviews. Did you see those interviews during the NXT Takeover shows? They were perfect… He’s an excellent talker and he should have embraced his new role. Nope, he wants to wrestle and the WWE doctors refuse to clear him. Now, he’ll likely join AEW but they’ll find out why the WWE doctors won’t clear his 42 year old body. He’ll make a brief splash there, but it will be short lived when it is soon realized how old he looks in the ring.

– Kalisto: Eh, 5’6″ smaller wrestler who could do flashy moves but cannot cut a promo. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, Andrade. He’s probably a fun wrestler to have on House Shows but the presentation on TV wasn’t there. Just a Rey Mysterio clone but without the charisma and promo skills that made Rey-Rey great.

– Wesley Blake: Just a midcard side role that just didn’t stick out. However, he’s well trained and worked with Dory Funk before joining the WWE. Good size, too. He’s the kind of guy that a promotion could hire, rename, and present differently and everyone would quickly forget about his WWE career. He’s only 33…

– Bo Dallas: Why did the WWE never try to team him with Bray Wyatt? I’m baffled by this to this day. Otherwise, he always had a character that nobody could take seriously even though he was obviously talented and had great size. He is ONLY 30 years old and might be worth hiring to call him by his real name Taylor Rotunda. That way, they can actually embrace his bloodlines for a change.

– Mojo Rawley: Gronk is gone and won’t be coming back, thus so are you. I just didn’t think he fit well in the wrestling business. Maybe on personality, but the in-ring ability was always awkward. At least with Mojo, he has several backstops as he’s well educated, used to play football, and now a former pro wrestler. He could use the MBA that he earned or go somewhere to coach.

– Tucker: Just didn’t amount to much after turning on Otis. WWE always wanted Otis out of the deal and Tucker just became the odd man out. He has great size and is still young… The problem is his training, as he was part of Triple H’s NXT system and that hasn’t shown favorable for Male wrestlers. He’s another guy who could be renamed and repackaged somewhere and could easily make his WWE career forgettable.

– Chelsea Green: This one never received an appropriate shot on the main WWE roster… She’s beautiful, taller than most female performers, and has experience outside of the WWE system that made her look and perform differently. Nice thing about Chelsea is that she was using her real name and thus can take that anywhere. While I’m not sure that she’d reach Becky/Charlotte/Bayley/Sasha heights, she could have been on the next tier. If they flaunted her sexuality (just check out the pictures that she posts on her own Instagram), it could have made her a star. This is a lost opportunity, in my opinion, but she was injured in her WWE debut and I believe that the WWE dislikes her being engaged to Matt Cardona aka Zack Ryder. This is a factor harming another wrestler or two whom I’ll about to mention.

– Mickey James: I don’t like this release, as I’m a huge fan of James… As a veteran, she could have some value as a supporting role elsewhere. She has Impact roots, she’s married to the NWA champ, and could really be a helping hand in AEW. On top of that, Mickie James is her real name and can continue to be called that elsewhere. She’s 41 years old, about to turn 42 but she still got it and is still beautiful.

– Billie Kay: Eh, wasn’t a fan. Outside of the Iconics as a comedy tag team, her in-ring ability was awkward and her personality was over-the-top for the bad gimmick that WWE gave her. Just watch her performance at the 2021 Royal Rumble and you’ll understand this release. She looked confused in the Tag Team Turmoil match at Wrestlemania 37 and that probably did her in.

– Peyton Royce: I’m more shocked by this release, as it was unexpected… But, she has been talking to management about a better role and taking those complaints to Social Media, too. Many were praising her promo a few weeks ago but it felt scripted to me. Sadly for her, she does not own this “Peyton Royce” name and will this have to change it elsewhere. Like Billie Kay, she just lacked confidence inside the ring and you could see the hesitation when taking bumps or executing moves. She’s a beautiful lady and WWE could have pushed that in a non-wrestling role… And again, as a recurring theme with these cuts, she is married to Shawn Spears.

I don’t know, man… I could see some success with wrestlers if they were completely repackaged and shed their WWE look to start over, but that will take a ton of work to accomplish for some of these wrestlers.

As an opinionated writer, I have to be totally honest on my views of each wrestler… But, I do wish them the very best in the future. They’ll find work, as working for the WWE will get you in the door for any wrestling promotion out there. If anything, being cut by a major promotion has had a history of lighting a fire under someone’s arse to become better and then make even more money with the WWE later on. Right Drew McIntyre?

*****

What do you think about Charlotte Flair’s WWE return?

First of all, here is what I want to say to here… Why on earth would you ever be upset at the WWE? Because your 5’9″ (maybe), 200 pound boyfriend who cannot cut a promo wasn’t getting appreciated by WWE Creative? Meanwhile, YOU have been for the last 6 years and maybe that kept Andrade employed longer than probably he should? Come on, Charlotte… You have been around the wrestling business long enough and you KNOW what the WWE machine wants. His skillset will keep him as a midcarder at best in the WWE and honestly, the same elsewhere. I’ll bet on that. At his size and inability to cut promos to present himself well, he wouldn’t succeed like other wrestlers his size or even smaller. Both Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. (using them as examples due to height, not ethnicity) were loaded with charisma, speaking ability, and unique move sets. What do you have Andrade that gives you credibility to stand out in the “land of the giants” also know as WWE?

NOBODY, except Roman Reigns, has received more favorable booking from WWE Creative than Charlotte Flair. Period. She is a TEN TIME Women’s Champion in LESS than 6 years being on the Main WWE Roster. Do the math! That is almost 2 World Title reigns per year and she has seen some serious blocks of time off for the past few years.

What is your complaint, Charlotte? That the WWE didn’t push your boyfriend to the moon like you? Be realistic here… You know how the business works and what the WWE wants. At Andrade’s size and inability to cut promos, it wasn’t going to happen. Furthermore, it’s very likely that Andrade remained employed and on the same roster as you to keep you happy. When he asked for his release, WWE eventually gave it to him with no non-compete clause attached. Holy cow, how generous is that?

Just chill… The WWE is more than taking care of you, often at the expense of the other women on the roster. Becky Lynch won the 2019 Royal Rumble and yet you somehow were inserted into that Wrestlemania main event with Rousey too. Huh, imagine that.

To answer the question after my long winded and necessary rant, I’m glad that she’s back but I worry that Rhea Ripley will now become an after thought because Charlotte always gets here way with WWE Creative. With Andrade gone, WWE Creative might fear that she’s a “flight risk” and will probably push her hard again. And that will hurt the rest of the WWE Women’s roster which is kinda thin right now anyway.

Let me get into something else with here… Internet Trolls ripping her new physique. Screw you guys, she looks beautiful. Yes, she is thinner, but that’s down from excess muscle mass backed on her body. She is one of the tallest Women’s competitors and that natural size could be enough, but she also had a bodybuilder frame to her. If you follow her on Twitter or Instagram, the more slender physique has been obvious for a while… But she looks great and healthy. What is there not to like? You’re going to get the same Charlotte Flair performer but potentially more attractive looking as well (hopefully, she has new tights too to upgrade the prior ones). I always thought that she carried too much muscle mass and that it kept her from being faster inside the ring. We shall see.

But any internet troll negatively commenting on looks needs to simply look in the mirror. You are not perfect yourself. It’s as if all Internet Fans have like 5% body fat and the ladies are chasing them down the streets as if they were the Beatles. Many people just seem to “get off” on attacking people online on Social Media. Which again, gets into my argument of why WWE wrestlers are even giving that close of access to their fans if the corrupt ones can easily ruin it for everyone.

*****

Were you surprised by Pat McAfee joining as a WWE Smackdown announcer?

You know, I was suspicious of the reasoning for why the WWE pulled McAfee off of NXT as a wrestler. He had too much talent on the microphone to let it go to waste on the Farm System promotion. And then, Pat confirmed that he’s been talking to the WWE for a while now for something to do and then this announcer spot opened up (which means that WWE knew that they were going to release Samoa Joe for a while now). I’m not that surprised that he’s doing something on the main roster but becoming the color commentator was unexpected. He’s on the #1 branded show and alongside Michael Cole.

I enjoyed Night #1 with Pat McAfee… Obviously, he’s very new at this, but I thought that his commentary made the presentation more fresh than before with Corey Graves. I used to like Corey, but he’s just become another Michael Cole out there. Pat is from a different perspective and is more of a fan commentating on the action rather than the wrestler. It’s different and I enjoyed week #1. Pat will get used to it and get better with time.

Where I worry is if this begins to deteriorate his daily Radio Show. He is EXCELLENT at his job and amazing during the NFL Football season. He is going to wear himself out if he is calling Pay Per Views. He’s making killer money with radio show that also streams live on YouTube daily along with that Fan Duel sponsorship. He really doesn’t need the WWE, to be honest, but I wonder if taking the Smackdown deal means that major networks have closed the door on him calling NFL Football games?

I’m happy for him and will actually enjoy Smackdown more with him on commentary. Good luck, however, trying to call matches with Vince McMahon in your ears.

*****

What do you think about the RAW Viewership after Wrestlemania 37?

It’s terrible… Yeah, it is up from other recent RAW shows, but barely scraping 2 million viewers is beyond sad when just 6 years ago, this show did over 4 million. On top of that, last year’s post-Wrestlemania 36 RAW did a better number and that was in the thick of COVID-19. And with no surprises, other than Charlotte returning, RAW is doomed for the summer. They have nothing interesting in their farm system to bring up, nor are there any good free agents to sign.

I seriously expect the announcement of a Draft or Superstar Shake-up here in the upcoming weeks. They’ll milk the brief Wrestlemania momentum through the Backlash show and then try some gimmick to spark some interest.

Honestly, if you look at RAW’s numbers, the first hour started off with 2,125,000 viewers and then dropped to 2,091,000 by the second… Worse yet, and this speaks volumes to the advertised main event, the third hour is 1,862,000. YIKES.

For WWE Smackdown, it all depends if the WWE seriously wants to push Cesaro as the #1 babyface challenger to Roman Reigns. To me, that is a perfect feud. Cesaro finally has momentum and it would be great to see Roman get placed into the Spin or the no-hands UFO move… On top of that, Cesaro is guaranteed to get great matches out of Roman Reigns and that can headline multiple Pay Per Views in a row for the WWE if they choose. Because otherwise, it is Slim Pickens for the WWE on babyfaces as Roman has already dispatched of Edge and Daniel Bryan. He pinned both at the same time! I just don’t see Big E as being ready just yet… He still feels like a New Day member to me… If only someone wrote a Column to help out Big E… Who could that be? Who? Who? 02/16/2021 – How to Push Big E in the WWE

And again, that is why I think that a Superstar Shake-up is coming… Vince will want to feed more top names to Roman Reigns and I could see Drew McIntyre shifting to Smackdown for a 2-3 month feud to consume time.

*****

Thoughts on NXT and AEW’s viewership numbers after week 1 without each other competing on Wednesday Nights?

NXT did just over 800,000 and AEW pulled in its 2nd highest viewership number ever with 1.2 million. Good for them… But the real question is: Can you sustain it? Is Mike Tyson going to be available and doing something interesting for each of our shows? Are you going to have title bouts and maybe a title switch on each show?

I already predicted this, folks… You’ll see an initial bump, which has happened, and then both will come back to earth. CHOICE helped draw viewership together on Wednesday nights and now, they have forced fans to only watch one show per night. Now, we also have a possibility that AEW Dynamite will be the 4th consecutive night of wrestling that fans will have to endure if there is a Sunday Pay Per View.

Good for you, AEW fans… You finally broke 1 million again, what, for the 4th time? It’s not a matter of pumping up one week, but can you sustain higher numbers over a longer period of time. Smart money says you can’t.

NXT, in my opinion, will drop hard… I’m talking like under 600,000 consistently in a few months. Whenever there is WWE roster cuts, they usually do some call-ups from NXT to fill in some RAW and Smackdown gaps.

*****

What do you think about a Fan reporting that they tested postive for COVID-19 after Wrestlemania 37?

Any fan attending that event knew the risks. WWE and the Raymond James Stadium took every precaution with Social Distancing the seats to requiring masks be worn as fans entered the stadium. Now, did they masks start coming off when people made it to their seats? Sure they did… But we also OUTSIDE for this event.

Look, everyone knows about COVID-19 right now. We’ve had it banged into our head for over 1 year now and you know how quickly that virus can spread among a large crowd. If you bought tickets for Wrestlemania 37, YOU KNEW THE RISK. If you attended that event and happened to become infected with COVID-19, that is on you. Your fault. Now, for all you know, you could have contracted COVID at a Gas Station, a Rest Stop, or even at the Hotel that you were staying in before and after Wrestlemania. Many restaurants on the way there and also on the way back. Don’t go on social media and try to specifically blame Wrestlemania 37. BLAME YOURSELF.

Yes, we are getting vaccinated but that doesn’t mean everyone is getting vaccinated. Many of the younger folks under 40 haven’t received their opportunity to get a shot yet and there are now a few new strains of COVID floating around. This Pandemic is serious and probably won’t go away for a while. If you’re going to roll the dice and attend an event with 26,000, you better know the risks.

But you also need to know who to blame. YOU.

Wrestlemania 37 didn’t give you COVID-19. Your choice to attend a large gathering during a pandemic did.

WWE and Raymond James Stadium took every precaution as recommended by health officials. Just to show you how serious, Raymond James Stadium can hold up to 75,000 for special events like Concerts. Thus, WWE Wrestlemania 37 was at 1/3 capacity for their event.

You know, it’s like performing construction on the Death Star or doing roofing for a Mafia family. You know the risks and if something happens, it is your fault. Wrestling fans need to listen to their heart and not their wallets.

*****

What’s the most insane reader feedback that you’ve ever received?

As I mentioned above, death threats simply for having wrestling opinion… Especially when I was younger and writing during the peak of the Attitude Era. There were more wrestling fans consuming the product and they primarily used Email to send feedback.

There are two cases, though, that I can specifically speak about regarding feedback to my columns.

For one, anytime that I mentioned the Insane Clown Posse, my inbox was full! And let’s just say, I wasn’t a big fan of their WWE or WCW work and my idiot younger self would purposely slam them just to see the amusing reaction. Yeah, I was trolling them… Not proud.

The other unique feedback that I received was from a performer highlighted in the Best of Backyard Wrestling videos with multiple volumes that they used to advertise and sell. I used to review every video and book that came out when I was younger. If you’ll recall what the Best of Backyard Wrestling videos became, they weren’t about actual wrestling but the more extreme stunts with chairshots, high dives, homemade tables, and hitting each other with lighting fixtures. One of the performers did not like my review and actually threatened to sue me over what I wrote. I wasn’t critical of the person in particular, but just the performances on the video. So I showed this “legal threat” to several buddies in College who were in law school and they even showed it to their professors for advice. The professors said that any performance showcased in media becomes public domain and your opinion is protected as long as you specifically review what the performer allowed to be placed in the public space. Again, I wasn’t critical of the wrestler personally but I was of their performance on the video getting slammed through tables or getting hit with lightbulbs.

The Best of Backyard series had up to 6-7 videos and even had a video game made. Not sure what anyone is complaining about unless the performers in the tapes didn’t get paid?

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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ASK TITO: WWE Releases, Charlotte’s Return, Pat McAfee on Smackdown, NXT/AEW Viewership, & More