In defense of Mr. Tito and the WWE Women’s Mid Card Title

After reading Mr. Tito’s latest column and then seeing the comments section and reactions, I took a long thought on his point. And while I don’t always agree with him, I enjoy his columns as they are thought provoking, provide insight into arguments and generally get people to react.

That is what columnists are all about in that we want you to react, talk and discuss things.

If you’re not doing it, then you are just wasting time and space on work that nobody is reading or caring about

So let me state that Mr. Tito was right… and he was dead wrong about WWE making a mid-card women’s title. He was right in that the women’s mid card title is a mistake as I agree with him on that part. The last thing the WWE needs is more titles that fans may or may not care about in the first place.

But he was wrong in that the problem is the title or women are not draws themselves but rather, to be quite bold…. WWE HAS NO MORE ROOM ON TV FOR THEM.

Even with RAW and Smackdown going to three hours for a spell, the fact remains that in the current state of the WWE there is simply no more room for another title or even for talent to get over. The television schedule is stretched to maximum capacity and current right now there is not room or time to go around.

For those who disagree, think of this like a wedding in that you have only 30 available spots between you and your significant other and way too many people to invite. Doesn’t matter if you offer open bar, you can’t fit everyone in there and that means that too many people are going to be pissed off.

That is the problem that is facing RAW and Smackdown right now as each week, you can see WWE struggling to get people involved in storylines and getting them over. Even with a loaded roster, a booker who understands the industry and a slew of experienced and talented agents, WWE is having trouble to fit everything in.

Look at RAW right now for example and realize that right off the bat, the show has to feature segments with the Big Six. Those Six are Gunther, Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre and Dominik Mysterio who are the main heat draws. They are the guys who you can feature throughout the show and they will bring in the crowd.

Then you have the New Generation of Stars in Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Bron Breakker, Iyo Sky, Lyra Valkyria and Kaiser. They are the ones the company is banking on to help lead the company into the next decade when some of the older stars retire or move on. They have proven they can hang and that they have connections with the fans that are undeniable and draws

Add in the veteran established performers who have the confidence of Paul and the fans in New Day, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, The Miz, R-Truth, Finn Balor, Chad Gable and Bronson Reed. Then add in Final Testament, Pure Fusion Collective, LWO, Judgement Day, Damage Ctrl, The Creeds, Alpha Academy, Viking Raiders, Wyatt Sicks and Natalya and you can see that the numbers are just overwhelming.

There is simply not enough room to get everyone on TV even if you did trios matches when you factor in promos and backstage segments.

It has already creeped its head up with the women’s division as not enough of the roster is over. Tune into RAW right now and you can notice how often women matches lead to bathroom breaks or snack breaks. Unless its Rhea, Liv, Raquel Rodriguez or Iyo, too often fans don’t have the interest or desire to care about them.

Blame it on bad creative, the talent not being that good, RAW being too long, aliens, inflations… hell you can blame Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for all I care. It still won’t change the fact that currently most of the female roster of RAW alone does not get a big reaction from the fans..

Remember when the Women’s Tag Titles were being battled over by Pure Fusion Collective vs Damage Ctrl vs. Katana and Kayden? The fans really didn’t care and too often you could hear a pin drop when they were wrestling. The only reason the titles are being defended now is because the champions are two of the most popular performers in the company, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair.

The question is how do you get more time for female WWE superstars and more opportunities without cutting a good amount of talent? And I don’t mean letting three wrestlers go who weren’t on TV often or even big factors but I mean legitimate talent that might be painful to let go.

I mean letting go of fan favorites like R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Sheamus and the New Day. I mention them because these are the wrestlers who get major storylines, major exposure and often 5-15 minutes on RAW.

Let me know if you still are with me or if you are going “Hell no” and telling me I am crazy.

For the fans of the Wyatt Sicks, do you want to see them come up and have segments tied up in promos or matches? That is another 10-15 minutes that is tied up when they pop in multiple segments or do backstage skits/videos. Maybe that should be something that WWE should do; get rid of the Wyatt Sicks and The Judgement Day (sans Dom and Liv).

Or better yet… less CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso promos!

I can imagine the hate I am getting right now as people are freaking out and probably calling me a fascist or an AEW stan.

But those are some of the options that would have to be considered if you want to not just introduce a women’s mid card title but get them more time on television. Tough choices are going to have to be made and proven draws are going to have to be give less time on television.

And the problem with all of that is right now the truth that nobody wants to admit is that over half of the women’s roster is just not over with the majority of the fans. Blame it on bad creative, Vince McMahon or just that they are not good enough but too many of the talent are not over to justify more time.

Despite what the IWC thinks, pro wrestling is a business that is mostly about putting butts in seats, eyeballs on viewers and making money. Its why Roman Reigns and the Bloodline are all over Smackdown along with Cody Rhodes; because they make the company a ton of money. There is no way in hell that WWE is going to lessen their time if they don’t have to just to get female talent over because the Internet demands it.

And don’t get me started on the “smart marks” who claim that when WWE goes to Netflix it will be commercial free. I have yet to meet the wrestling executive or TV executive who is going to pass up on making money and give up a revenue stream.

The problem with any wrestler is that by nature they will look out for themselves due to the unwritten law of the industry. That its every man and woman for themselves and there is nobody who is going to back you up if you lose your job or can’t make ends meet.

In a perfect world there would be more time to get more mid-card women on the show, to make bigger stars out of Chelsea Green, Michin and Blair Davenport, or to just given women more exposure. It’s a novel idea and many of us who are fans of women’s wrestling have wanted to see that.

But the fact is that there is just not enough time to get every title on television let alone the entire roster. Every hour of wrestling is basically 43-45 minutes of live content and then 15 minutes’ worth of commercial time. And with each roster featuring over fifty wrestlers, too often a lot of the roster finds itself just in catering as there is not enough time

Which then begs the question who would you be willing to give up watching on TV and cutting for the main roster?

For the readers who say that I am cruel, miserable and that I want to see people lose their jobs, I would say that you don’t get it. This isn’t something I am advising, nor am I rooting for it to happen as I don’t wish that on any wrestler.

What I am telling you is that this is the reality of the situation that Mr. Tito had made with his column and that I am making. That the WWE business model and way they operate successfully is not about giving talent time on TV just for the sake of it. It’s bad business and you have to go with people who are draws and are making money for the company.

Right now, there is very few female wrestlers on the main roster that are over with the fans and make the company money. Outside of Rhea, Liv, Iyo and Raquel, the Raw Roster is full of a lot of talent that hasn’t been able to get over to that next level. Smackdown is a bit better with Naomi, Bayley, Nia Jax Tiffany Stratton and Biance/Jade but even they have too much talent and not enough time.

The tag team titles have not even helped elevate the talent as often the teams that win are two singles wrestlers put together just to keep them on TV. The majority of the tag teams that were established early as tag teams or pushed as teams have not gained any traction.

So once again how many people are willing to see the WWE part with established talent or take bigger names off TV. It’s easy to say take say DIY, Pretty Deadly or Alpha Academy off TV but what if it means that LA Knight or Bronson Reed are let go so that more women can get on TV. Are you fans willing to go that far or open to having less of Cody, Roman, Punk and Drew?

Mr. Tito was spot on when he said the women’s mid card title might be doomed to fail but not because women do not draw.

The fact is that right now with TV time being prime real estate for WWE, there are no vacancies for the majority of talent, let alone female talent.

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