MR. TITO: Wrestling Fans Attending Live WWE Events Need to Put Away the Damn Smartphone and Enjoy the Show!

After WWE Elimination Chamber 2026, I went to WWE’s YouTube Channel and enjoyed CM Punk entering the arena in Chicago with Sirius by Alan Parsons Project as his theme song along with former Chicago Bulls announcer Ray Clay introducing him. If you grew up during the 1990s, the Chicago Bulls, who won 6 titles out of 8 years, introduced their team with that music and hype man. As many joke today, when the opposing team saw that entrance, they were automatically down by 10 points through pure intimidation. Then, they had to play the freakin’ Bulls players who were introduced (Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, either Horace Grant or Dennis Rodman, etc.) or deal with Phil Jackson’s coaching decisions.

So, I really appreciated CM Punk coming out to that great music as his entrance entrance and the WWE being willing to pay for Alan Parsons’s amazing music for that event in Chicago. Seeing the official WWE footage, it put chills down my spine and made me remember the time when NBA was actually fun to watch during the 1990s before greed and “load management” took over during the 21st century NBA. It’s like the critic in the Pixar film Ratatouille named Anton Ego taking a bite of his childhood favorite dish and remembering back to when his mom would prepare him food.

Since CM Punk’s entrance was in my search history, the YouTube algorithm fed me CM Punk’s Chicago Bulls entrance from multiple fans who shot the video. Sometimes it’s nice to check out recorded videos by fans, as the WWE production truck can play tricks and hide the audio or let the announcers speak over the crowd noise.

As I watched fan video after video, I was horrified by something that I’m seeing at many live events these days. Whether it’s a wrestling event, sporting event, or a concert, EVERYBODY has their damn phones up and are recording video.

True story, a few years ago, I attended a comedy show of the legendary Jerry Seinfeld. Of course for most comedy events, cell phones are advised to be turned OFF, no photos or videos or allowed, and some comedy shows even confiscate phones before they see a comedian perform. During the show, Jerry had a hilarious bit about people who are filming everything on their cell phones from vacations to sporting events to concerts. He joked that instead of observing the atmosphere and seeing everything with your own eyes, you were viewing everything through a tiny phone screen instead as your experience.

Then, as Jerry joked, you’d realize when watching your videos in 10 years that your smartphone, NOT YOU, had a great time at all of these events or vacations. YOU didn’t enjoy them, your damn smartphone did. And all you remember is watching through a tiny damn screen.

With the prices that WWE commands these days for live events, many fans are paying all of that money just to watch the live event through a tiny phone screen. Why not just watch the PLE on your phone instead of attending the live event just to film it with your phone?

And then you get folks who live stream themselves at the event. Again, you’re distracted from just taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the big show that is front of you. Plus, with due respect… Nobody else cares about your live experience watching a WWE event that they can view with better quality when they stream the PLE. That and being an influencer is a tough job with so many trying and most having little success.

Go to a movie theater… The theater HIGHLY advises YOU to NOT use your cell phone or smartphone there. Why? Well, for one, they don’t want piracy but two, the theaters themselves don’t want distractions FROM THE EXPERIENCE of watching a film. I 100% agree with theaters enforcing this, as I have many, many memories of seeing films with a big live audience.

For example, seeing any of the Star Wars films debut late at night with everybody full of anticipation. I remember everybody in the theater laughing so hard at Wedding Crashers and Hangover (I damn near lost my breath laughing at both). For the horror slasher film Jason X, being there to hear the outburst of longtime Friday the 13th fans when Jason destroyed those poor girls in their sleeping bags was priceless to see with my own eyes. How about any of those Avenger films? When the full team assembled, when Thor arrives in Infinity War, when everybody is turned to dust, and then when everybody comes back. CHILLS go down your spine thinking about everybody witnessing those amazing film events with their own eyes.

With any great moments from film, they were enjoyed because YOU PAID ATTENTION to what was in front of you!

Holding up your smartphone to capture a concert or a WWE event DISABLES you from enjoying what is in front of you.

And with respect to movies in a theater versus attending a live concert or WWE event, seeing a movie in a theater is MUCH CHEAPER than attending a WWE event or concert. Especially these days with HEAVY price gouging on both WWE events and concerts. Just today, Live Nation received a minor $200 million slap on the wrist for supposed price gouging from the Justice Department that is NOTHING compared to the billions they earn on concerts each year.

In my mind, you’re wasting your money going to an arena and watching through your smartphone. Many others are filming it, anyway, which you can retrieve later if you really HAD to have that event recorded in any way, shape, or form.

But we could go further with your smartphone usage….

WWE attendance, DESPITE its HIGHER prices and DESPITE its top stars picking and choosing when to actually perform, hasn’t declined much since 2023-2024 when attendance grew significantly. Sure, Wrestlemania 42 isn’t selling as well as Wrestlemania 41, but it has still sold over 40,000 tickets and at absurdly high prices to make an easy profit for TKO. Other wrestling promotions would KILL for 40,000 tickets sold at their much lower prices, but even with a cheaper ticket price, they can’t sell as well as WWE.

Yet, why are WWE fans still willing to pay absurdly high prices at WWE events?

Well, maybe they are using that smartphone too much in addition to taping the overpriced WWE events that they are attending. The PHONE keeps them HOOKED on the WWE and creates a false sense of satisfaction or reality.

If you want a really fun exercise as a WWE fan, then why don’t you read aloud the messages that WWE’s social media has or the emails that WWE regularly sends. As you may notice when reading either aloud, both are being very positive towards you as a fan and attempt to manipulate you with flattery and favors. In other words, the fine folks at TKO know that higher prices would upset normal people but they know, with the right wording by a clever marketing department, that they can keep their loyal WWE fanbase hooked and paying extra for everything. WWE’s ticket and merchandise sales remain high, despite higher prices, and WWE loyal fans are nodding when paying $30 for ESPN+ which doubled or tripled what you previously paid for WWE Network or Peacock.

This isn’t limited to WWE… Notice how ANY streaming service is so positive to you with their marketing emails and then are extremely polite to you when trying to cancel their service. Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides nothing but flattery when you use their service to keep you hooked and dependent on it as a tool.

It is pure manipulation, folks, and delivered conveniently through your smartphone to keep you hooked.

WWE’s marketing group creates the impression that you’re part of their big family and are granted so much freedom to express yourself as a fan, whether it’s online or during a live event. In truth, it’s a distraction just to rob you of your hard-earned money.

And then there’s the voluntary punishment that you deliver yourself. Thanks to the smartphones delivering Social Media conveniently to you, debates and engagement about WWE or other wrestling products are thrown your way to keep you engaged and creating a feeling of empowerment. Many fans using phones are screaming at fellow wrestling fans ALL DAY LONG on Social Media or other forums as a serious form of pleasure. That’s right, you are GETTING OFF on telling someone digitally where to go with themselves and how wrong they are on their puny wrestling opinions.

I can relate… I unfortunately fought those good fights online for many years as Mr. Tito, but about 3-4 years ago, I put my social media accounts on private while disconnecting myself from many wrestling social media accounts from my news feed. Now, I primarily use Social Media just to feed me news headlines from trusted sources rather than seeing other people’s rabid opinions that encourage me to reply for a fight. Now, I just check Social Media for the news and then I move on with my life…

The only thing keeping me attached to wrestling is this damn column… Hell, I probably wouldn’t be a wrestling fan without it.

Since I’ve disconnected from Social Media as a wrestling fan, I feel ZERO inclination to get into stupid online fights with fans or even fellow NoDQ staff. I also feel zero sense of loyalty to pay WWE whatever they want and I’ve saved SO MUCH TIME by not being as plugged into wrestling online as I used to be. I’m more sane of a human being, I’d argue.

I could walk away at any point now, as I’ve heavily considered it over the past year. What’s keeping me holding on is my desire to keep helping Aaron Rift and his NoDQ.com website. He’s been very welcoming of me and my baggage from day one, and I feel a sense of loyalty to somehow keep going on my end. However, I have more of a sense of loyalty to NoDQ than I do for WWE. I have still yet to watch any episodes of RAW or Smackdown for 2026 and I have only watched Royal Rumble just because I had ESPN+ to watch the College Football championship during January. I’m really not that excited for Wrestlemania 42, as Punk vs. Roman doesn’t do much for me after seeing it partially last year in a Triple Threat last year and I don’t feel much heat or desire to anticipate that match. That and it’s still hard to top the excitement of Wrestlemania 40 or 2025’s run with John Cena that were exceptional.

So far for 2026, I’ve spent only $30 for January’s ESPN+ while watching barely a few minutes above Royal Rumble 2026 participating in WWE content. If NoDQ were to shut down, I would easily walk away because I’m not letting WWE’s propaganda control me. That is a contrary thought process to most wrestling fans who are getting increasingly hooked to keep following wrestling thanks to their addiction to smartphones and social media.

Thus, I’m not an old grandpa hear and yelling at the clouds… What I’m telling you is that your smartphones are making you bigger wrestling marks than ever. That propaganda conveniently fed through your phone is keeping you HOOKED even as TKO decides to RAISE WWE’s prices. And thanks to that phone, you foolishly feel empowered when you complain with other fans about WWE’s high prices. Yet, when a big WWE event rolls around, you’d feel a sense of disappointment if you didn’t attend it or pay $30 to ESPN+ to watch it. Why? Because that phone is keeping you hooked to the WWE product and causes you to look the other way as they price gouge you and limit the quantity provided in return.

Wrestling fans are paying higher prices to attend or stream but are receiving SHORTER events with SMALLER cards in return.

Yes, I absolutely believe in “less is more”, but I’ll be damned if those 5-6 match WWE events looked a lot more appealing on $10-$15 Peacock than they do on the $30 ESPN+. I hilariously reviewed ticket prices at an arena where Smackdown is happening and compared the SAME seats that I purchased 8 years ago versus what appears now. It has more than tripled…

And I could afford paying for ESPN+ monthly or daring to go to this upcoming Smackdown… But I don’t wanna.

I just don’t feel that the return on my higher investment is there, along with my time.

And the WWE product is better now than it was 8 years ago when I attended that live WWE event. However, I am not as loyal as a WWE fan to be willing to pay for it or spend my time watching it.

Trust me folks, unplug from WWE’s propaganda machine and the daily wrestling discussions that you have on Social Media. Instantly, you’ll realize “why am I spending so much money and time on this stuff?”. Again, it’s not an issue of quality, as the WWE of the 2020s is MUCH BETTER than the WWE of the 2010s. I’ll debate that with anybody… But the price gouging SUCKS and TKO Corporation showing ZERO empathy towards loyal WWE fans also SUCKS.

However, many hooked on their smartphones are overlooking the daily propaganda that the WWE feeds them daily, along with the flattery and phony empowerment that Social Media provides.

If you have declared yourself as a “wrestling influencer”, I hope that you have a back-up plan. YouTube and Social Media barely pays, merchandise providers have high mark-ups for themselves, and all it takes is a small controversy to cut off that money train, as cancel culture has killed many.

Remember as Jerry Seinfeld said… When you watch a live WWE event through that phone, you’re not enjoying that event. Your phone is. Your phone is having a GREAT time when you’re staring at it like a drone. Then, in 10 years, you’ll watch your own recorded videos and realize that your phone, not you, had a great time being at these events. Spending your hard earned money for gasoline, wear & tear on your card or flight ticket and/or rental car, paying for parking, and then overpaying for tickets are each more ridiculous wastes of time and money when you’re attending that event to stare at a tiny screen. You know, that same tiny screen that you’re watching daily and nightly on your couch…

But on that tiny screen, you’re also receiving flattery from the WWE propaganda machine via marketing emails and TKO’s marketing department jerking you off, as a fan, on social media. And then the personal empowerment of “owning” someone in a wrestling debate gives you constant vindication of your perfect wrestling opinions.

Funny, I would literally write a similar column about politics and smartphones/propaganda and the same exact point gets across. Ever notice how the most militant right or left wingers are hooked on their phones and/or social media? Notice how that relative or co-worker that screams at you the most are receiving constant “vindication” by staring at their phone and reading complete garbage on Social Media?

Take away your phone, email, and social media accounts and what do you have? Absolutely nothing tangible. Despite all of that time spent on your phone, you have nothing to show for it and that includes your terribly filmed videos.

Retain your smartphone, then the WWE will keep its hooks in you and then you’ll keep overpaying for their services. Before you know it, you’re also a mark filming live WWE events that you paid highly to attend.

And I know, I’m yelling on top of my hypocritical mountain and being judgmental as a columnist with this very column. But in case you haven’t noticed yet, I haven’t written as many columns lately for the past year and a half while NOT spending as much time watching this wrestling stuff as you do.

Go ahead and keep telling me to “stop yelling at the clouds”. However, the FACT remains that wrestling fans are still willing to pay HIGH PRICES for WWE content while spending all day debating and spending themselves emotionally on social media about WWE.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ