MR. TITO: Wrestling Fans Too Focused on R-Truth, but AEW Losing Mariah May to WWE is a BIGGER Story
Right now, the drive-by online wrestling fans are attacking the WWE (or TKO) for even daring to release 53-year old R-Truth. In truth, his contact was expiring and WWE offered him another one but a deal that offered less than before. R-Truth rejected that, so thus his contract is allowed to expire. With R-Truth being there for 17 consecutive years, he probably received multiple guaranteed base salary raises and thus he was an expensive midcarder who has only wrestled 6 matches during 2025 (6 within 5 months), with 2 of which happened within a week of each other (match against Cena on SNME and against JC Mateo on the following Smackdown).
MEANWHILE, a 26-year old former AEW Women’s Champion and 2024 Owen Hart Tournament winner Mariah May debuted on NXT.
But which story is getting more headlines?
That a 53-year old wrestler was released or a 26-year old top female performer left All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in her prime to join WWE?
Of course, the outrage is for a guy whom everyone has remembered for the past 25 years in pro wrestling. They remember the times he forgot that he was not in a Money in the Bank match, putting a ladder up during the Royal Rumble, referring to Dominik Mysterio as “Dom and Nick” Mysterio, among other hilarious things… But those funny memories are compounded from a 25-year career in the WWE, with 7 years or so taken in TNA and Truth returning to the WWE to work for the past 17 years. YET, he was a midcarder for most of his career and mostly a comedic act who had a ceiling.
WWE literally did the same thing to “Edge” or Adam Copeland as you know him now in AEW. He was in his early 50s and rather than re-signing him to an equal or higher salary, WWE offered him a lower guaranteed salary due to his age. Copeland rejected that and took AEW’s money. There is a consistency in WWE’s policy, whether Vince McMahon is there (and he was for Edge’s release) or not.
WWE doesn’t want to pay you once you hit your late 40s, and their analytics folks are crunching numbers to determine $ of revenue divided by guaranteed salary. Braun Strowman found that out with his first release.
I get it, timing is terrible, letting someone know on a Sunday afternoon…
BUT…
How much more is left in R-Truth’s tank?
Because I see plenty of runway for Mariah May’s career at age 26 along with her in-ring ability and supermodel stunning looks (not being sexist, that matters in a presentation form of entertainment like wrestling). She has at least 15 years of peak performance left in her, while R-Truth will be 68 years-old in 15 years.
Do you see why many of your statements are getting ridiculous?
And again, why are we overlooking that AEW just lost a massive free agent?
Former AEW Women’s Champion who is 26 years old, GONE from their company.
Just like Jade Gargill…
In fact, outside of 2019 when AEW obtained Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) from the WWE as a free agent and Bryan Danielson, has anyone else made a massive impact for AEW when the exit was THEIR choice?
Mind you, Edge and Christian just didn’t have their contracts renewed by WWE or were offered lower deals. WWE could have kept both if they offered better contracts.
Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) walked off the WWE job and took a few years before joining AEW. Granted, she did negotiate with WWE for a possible return, but they lowballed her on a deal after she walked out on them twice.
Chris Jericho was long gone from WWE when he joined AEW. Doesn’t count.
Many other wrestlers have been picked up by AEW because WWE outright released them from their contracts. It wasn’t their choice to leave WWE…
But I can show wrestlers who CHOSE to leave AEW to join WWE:
– Cody Rhodes (rejected offer to return as EVP, too)
– Jade Cargill
– Mariah May
– Penta
– Rey Fenix
– Ricky Starks (now Saints)
– Ethan Page
– Stephanie Vaquer (worked one AEW event, immediately signed with WWE)
There are other younger wrestlers reportedly eye possibilities at the end of their AEW deals, too.
AEW did NOT learn what harmed World Championship Wrestling during the late 1990s. As WCW was rocking and rolling during 1996-1997, he gave massive extensions to the veterans while any incoming former WWE star that joined WCW received a big deal too (Hennig, Bret Hart, etc.). With all of those high contracts on the books that are guaranteed, WCW had to justify using them rather than developing and pushing younger wrestlers beneath them on the roster.
What does AEW now have on their roster? Highly paid Christian Cage, Adam Copeland, Will Ospreay, Okada, Mercedes, Jericho, Moxley, and the EVP trio of Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. I purposely leave MJF out of that group because of his much younger age, but AEW has to keep pushing and featuring him with the big contract in place (he’s talented, mostly worth it). Effectively, Tony’s spending spree has caused a BLOCKADE up top and thus many younger wrestlers are seeing WCW’s history repeating itself (except the Khans have better revenue streams to survive longer).
YET, instead of pointing out how AEW cannot keep their talent without severely overpaying them, the drive-by online wrestling fans, probably consisting of passive aggressive AEW fans, are focusing on the following stories to attack Triple H and/or the TKO ownership of the WWE:
– R-Truth and Carlito’s releases
– Slim Jim sponsoring rings and tables
– Vince McMahon starting his own entertainment company
– Trumpeting MVP’s claims about Triple H
And it’s so easy to swat down each one.
– R-Truth and Carlito’s contract expirations are consistent with WWE policy about age of performers and revenue gained versus guaranteed salary
– Wasn’t Slim Jim the one sponsor who broke the WWE during January 2024 when they wanted to pull their ads as long as Vince McMahon was Chairman of TKO? YEAH, that happened. Now, they are willing to give their money to a company no longer helmed by a sexual predator.
– Vince McMahon starting his own company? 14 & I? Good look with that in your late 70s and past history.
– MVP is a 51 year-old non-wrestler, Bobby Lashley is a 48 year-old wrestler, and Shelton Benjamin is 49 years old. You can pull that card all day, but WWE has consistency with their policy on age UNLESS you are exceptional draws like Cena, Punk, or Mysterio. Sorry, but Lashley wasn’t a strong draw and while I love Benjamin’s ability, the drawing power is questionable.
Stop deflecting what is really happening!!! WWE is assembling one of the most LOADED talent rosters of all time that can literally fill 3 full brands of wrestling (RAW, Smackdown, and NXT) while AEW cannot keep younger talent around. That’s a FACT.
AEW couldn’t even retain CM Punk, who was the guy getting AEW back over the 1 million viewership hump and the FIRST main eventer to help AEW achieve a $1 million gate. Instead, their culture sabotaged him with lies and going off-script, while trying to attack him backstage with many NDAs signed afterward. THAT is the culture that still remains, along with Tony Khan showing favoritism towards his high priced free agent signings.
Say, that sounds like WCW during 1997-1998… Toxic backstage for the younger wrestlers yet favorable for the overpaid wrestlers at the top.
And WWE is taking the bullets this week for being fiscally responsible for output and age of wrestlers versus salary paid?
R-Truth has only wrestled SIX TIMES in 5 months for 2025!
Mariah May’s contract was expiring to join the WWE, and yet she still worked 4 matches in less than 3 months for 2025.
This is why YOU ARE FANS and why you’re NOT running any wrestling companies. Your outrage, lack of logic, and lack of business sense would cause the house of cards to fall immediately!
I write this column as a big fan of R-Truth… I literally wrote the other day that he would still have VALUE as both an occasional wrestler but also as a TEACHER. Truth got over based on his personality and character versus his in-ring ability. What do the NXT wrestlers need taught to them besides their athletic ability? Personality and character. THAT is why I think it was a big mistake for WWE to release him, because he could have been the perfect coach for future talents. Then, they could still use him for the part-time wrestler he has become.
But make no mistake, a 53 year-old part-time midcard act should NOT be receiving massive headlines as AEW losing its younger stars in its 6th year of existence. Mariah May is a BIG signing for the WWE and stocks the WWE’s pond for years with great matches and moments, along with more work inside the ring that an older veteran like R-Truth wasn’t producing.
WWE, through a couple of smart signings, just gave their Women’s Division a major shot in the arm by signing a 32 year-old Stephanie Vaquer and a 26 year-old Mariah May. And they get to wrestle a 28 year-old Rhea Ripley for YEARS.
Go ahead and mock WWE for selling out to sponsors, pulling massive money out of cities to host big events, or signing big streaming deals… They won’t lose top free agents that can make a difference elsewhere, EVER, nor will they ever let AEW raid their developmental system of their top stars.
Meanwhile, AEW needs to figure out that signing Dave Meltzer’s favorite wrestlers as free agents and ex-WWE stars will NOT make them become the #1 company. They have someone on the AEW roster named Jim Ross who built WWE’s developmental system and they need to talk to him about developing new stars from the ground up.
Create a 5-year plan… By the time 5 years are up, Netflix will likely ditch the WWE and USA Network will be in worse shape with fewer subscribers. Endeavor was purchased by a Private Equity firm who will strip down WWE and UFC’s assets for their investors and pick said companies clean. Triple H will be a little older and might be over it by then, too… Tony is still young and by 5 years with a true talent development plan in place, he could be in a good position to get closer to that #1 spot.
You have Jim Ross right there and God bless the man, he’s fighting for his life with cancer. Tony should grab a handful of legal pads and start writing things down from Jim’s spoken word on talent. Use advice from Jim to create a strategic plan to build up AEW to be stronger in 5 years with a proper talent developmental system instead of the one that is in place where the WWE can easily pick off your best talents.
Sucks that R-Truth was released, but the truth is his release is more normal business for the WWE versus losing a former champion still in their prime like AEW has had repeatedly done to itself.