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Smoke Break Psychology: The Lost Art of Criticism

That Donnie — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:36:48 +0000

Anyone who has read my stuff knows my “gimmick.”

I put that in quotation marks because, while it is a gimmick in the sense that I present it as part of my column persona, it is also real. I truly do smoke a bowl, let some of my anxieties and mental-health issues fade into the background, get myself into a better headspace, and write.

I do not have to express it the way I do in these columns. I use it for flair. It gives me a through line—the kind they taught us about in creative-writing classes—to add coherence and keep people interested.

But for one column, let’s drop all of that.

No gimmicks. No character. No filter.

This is not That Donnie, TD, or any of those versions of me.

This is the man behind the mask.

I struggle with writing columns sometimes. Not because I lack content or ideas. I have a plethora of ideas sitting in my Keep Notes. I have a small handful of finished columns waiting to be edited, proofread, and organized in my cloud storage. And I have even more ideas tucked away in what could be called my mind palace—if you know, you know.

The issue for me is always this:

What is part of the problem, and what is part of the solution?

I try to hide behind gimmicks and clever writing techniques, but the truth is that I reveal plenty of myself in my writing. I wear my proverbial heart on my sleeve. So, for a brief moment, I want to provide some insight into who I am.

Not to preach. Not to climb onto a high horse. Not to proselytize.

Just to provide some understanding.

On the surface, I probably come across as a laid-back, modern-day hippie. In a lot of ways, I suppose that is accurate. But at my core, I identify as a Bahá’í.

I know most of you may not know what that means, and even fewer of you are going to Google it, so here is the brief version.

The Bahá’í Faith began in Persia in the mid-1800s. At its core is a simple belief: unity.

Bahá’ís believe there is one God and that religion is progressive. Abraham, Moses, Muhammad, Jesus, Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and many others are all seen as divine messengers. The belief is that they taught the same essential truths, but each brought the message humanity could understand and needed for its particular time, culture, and stage of development.

Another central teaching is that science and religion are the two wings of one bird. They must work together. Anything in religion that directly contradicts science is superstition.

There is much more to it than that, but the word that always comes back around is unity.

The whole hippie idea that we are one human race and should work toward unity rather than division is deeply prevalent in the faith. We should embrace our differences while also putting them aside when the greater good calls for it.

And when unity is the key teaching, anything that creates division or invites judgment has to be approached with caution. If I am standing back, judging people, and taking part in the same forces that drive division, then I am not working toward unity.

That is how I try to approach daily life.

I am not saying I am a pacifist, because I am not. Ask anyone: if you push my buttons, I have a fierce temper. But I try to be careful about what I put into the world. I try to ask myself:

Will this create something positive or negative?

Is this meant to spark positive change or positive thought?

Or will my words and actions create more division and feed into a world already divided over damn near everything imaginable?

One path can give something back, even if it is only making one person’s day a little better or a little easier.

The other serves no purpose beyond a brief dopamine hit—instant gratification that gets thrown out into the world and leaves everyone wanting more.

That is where I struggle with writing a wrestling column.

Take Tito, for example. How often do we see the same braggadocious behavior?

“My columns get the most clicks.”
“I have the most engagement.”

Maybe he does. Maybe he does not.

But why does it need to be quantified?

If a piece of writing is good, and it truly says something that can be defended—something that is not clickbait—then it should stand on its own. It should not need to be constantly measured and advertised.

Read those columns, though. Read the comments. The tone is often standoffish. The same tired arguments get rehashed again and again. I call them tired because they are the same points repeated endlessly, just polished up to look new with fad phrases and clickbait terminology.

The goal is not positive feedback or real discussion. The goal is to stoke the flames of discontent and division.

But can he really be blamed?

Because even when I do not write, I am part of the problem too.

I come here. I see a new Tito column. I read the headline. Before I ever click the link, I already know what I am in for.

Some bragging.

Everything getting pigeonholed into what our generation wanted to watch, without realizing our generation is closing in on 50 and the world is moving past us.

Blaming TKO.

And then, here is the key:

A few sentences designed specifically to generate comments.

Be a little controversial. Be standoffish. Be brash. Take a page from the current political landscape.

How many times have you, the reader, hit refresh on a Tito column’s comment section just to see who said what? To see who he is trolling now, or who is trolling him?

I hear the clicks.

They are not unique.

They are manufactured.

They are not earned.

Wrestling is not perfect. But let’s be real: nothing is.

As fans—scratch that, as human beings—we should always want better. We should always strive for progress. There is nothing wrong with criticism when it is rooted in wanting something to improve.

But let me offer an example.

“Greed” has been a Tito staple for a while now. TKO is pricing people out. TKO is raising ticket prices. TKO is making fans pay for Netflix, cable television through USA, ESPN, Peacock, and everything else just to keep up.

Then a title changes hands on free television, and suddenly there is outrage because it happened on free television. I thought people are supposedly being priced out?

Just because the new champion was not the choice of one writer, we have to pretend it is some great injustice?

Did you not, at least partially, get what you were asking for?

Then there is the question of cohesive storytelling.

For months, Johnny Gargano has been in a funk. For months, two men have tried to pull him out of it: CM Punk and Sami Zayn.

Anyone who cannot see the logical path toward Johnny becoming a heel stooge for Sami has not been paying attention to wrestling. It is Wrestling 101.

Nobody is saying Gargano suddenly needs to be a main-event-level world champion. He is a heel stooge. Do I really need to list all the heel stooges who have stood beside heel champions throughout wrestling history?

And Sami does not deserve the belt? Why not?

He is over as a heel. He does strong mic work. And as a heel, he does not need to have the same clean-cut, heroic presence as Cody Rhodes or CM Punk.

That is Wrestling 201: the face chasing the heel is almost always more compelling than the heel chasing the face.

Is it perfect? No.

But what would you do differently?

Criticism without solutions is just oral masturbation.

If engagement is the name of the game, and clicks and hits are what drive a website, then why not try to create engagement the right way?

So here is my challenge to you, the reader:

Make engagement matter.

Not just for trolling. Not just so I can cherry-pick questions that may or may not have been sent to me privately. If there is something you want me to write about—topics, questions, feuds, wrestlers, booking ideas, whatever—ask below.

Anything that gains traction through comments and likes, I will write about to the best of my ability. I will put my own spin on it, and I will try to make it worth your time.

Meanwhile, I do have a joint rolled and ready. Then I have to make a decision: do I work on the book I have been writing, or do I finish the book I have been reading?

Seriously, if you get a chance, read Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. It is a great book. If you are that interested, hit me up. I may be able to hook you up.

Next time, I will try to get back into character.

I promise.

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CM Punk line from WWE SmackDown promo gets censored by Netflix

Aaron Rift — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:03:48 +0000

As seen during the September 11th 2026 edition of WWE SmackDown, CM Punk lost the WWE Title to Sami Zayn. Just prior to the match, Punk stated the following about Zayn in a backstage promo…

“If you think I came to Mexico City, where some of the greatest pro wrestling fans in the world reside, to lose my title to a guy who broke his hand jerking it to his nine-day fluke title win, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

Punk’s “jerking it” phrase was bleeped out on the Netflix replay. Fightful.com noted that the line was not listed on WWE’s internal rundown for SmackDown, suggesting it was something Punk said on the fly.

"My name is CM Punk and I have approved this message" @CMPunk is ready to defend the Undisputed WWE Title against Sami Zayn tonight! pic.twitter.com/rG4WlrT4iE

— WWE (@WWE) September 12, 2026

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CM Punk issues statement following his WWE Title loss to Sami Zayn

Aaron Rift — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 16:22:30 +0000

As seen during the September 11th 2026 edition of WWE SmackDown, CM Punk lost the WWE Title to Sami Zayn. After the match, Punk issued the following statement via Instagram…

“I lost. 67 day undisputed title run. At 47. I’d like to say I did it on purpose for my boy Je’Von Evans but nobody wants to lose. Here’s the thing: Winners lose way more than losers do. I don’t have to try again. I get to try again. I didn’t have to come to Mexico. I don’t HAVE to do house shows. Iget to. I get to wrestle in front of the best fans in the world in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. I don’t have to get the title back. I get to try to get the title back. I don’t HAVE to come to work. I GET TO COME TO WORK. So I’ll See you all in Corpus Christi. I will get MY title back. You don’t have to watch. You get to.”

“A sincere final thank you to all the fans in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. You came out and helped us set records, cheered your hearts out and showered us with love. Truly a wonderful bunch of beauts and a rich fantastic culture. A pleasure to wrestle for you. It has been thirteen years since I saw you all. I promise I’ll be back much sooner next time.”

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MR. TITO: After Sami Zayn Won the WWE Title From CM Punk on Smackdown Last Night, I’m Done Defending WWE or Triple H

Mr. Tito — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:14:08 +0000

I’ve said for a while now that WWE may have peaked during 2023 and maybe through Wrestlemania 39, but the product stayed hot and ran on fumes through Wrestlemania 40 the next year. It’s not been the same WWE since Wrestlemania 40, especially, because Cody’s chase is over, Roman Reigns does NOT work as a babyface character, CM Punk becomes more corporate, and the next generation of wrestlers (Solo, Jacob, Bron, and maybe even Oba) just lack the impact or superstar power of the group they hope to replace.

BUT – I’ve attempted to defend the WWE that has existed since 2024… I’d rather watch 2024-2025 WWE than to watch almost any year since 2013 during the 2010s. I liked the John Cena 2025 Retirement tour, flaws and all. I think the match quality is higher with Triple H in charge, as Punk vs. Roman is my favorite match of the year as an example. Often, I’m calling out corporate meddling from TKO, who seem to be micro-managing the WWE exactly as Vince McMahon did during the mid to late 2010s (almost as if he’s calling shots through them).

However, I think that it’s officially time to stop defending this WWE machine, whether it’s TKO’s corporate meddling or Triple H lacking balls to take control of the company.

Last night, Sami Zayn won the WWE Title from CM Punk on a random episode of free WWE television known as Smackdown with the help of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae distracting and then Kevin Owens delivering an accidental blow to Punk with the title belt.

Now, I 100% get why Kevin Owens would be there and causing chaos, as he’s been feuding with CM Punk. Totally understandable.

But since when are we accustomed to FOREVER LOWER MIDCARDERS like Gargano and LeRae being inserted into the main event just looked cheap. I’m personally glad that both are receiving an opportunity to shine and wish them well, but them interfering looked cheap. This is different from members of the NWO or Bloodline interfering because they were established as members of a group and there to protect who actually had the world title. Gargano and LeRae haven’t been used or featured well in the WWE since they were called up from NXT and now, they are determining the outcome of a WWE Title match.

You know, the REAL World Championship, the one that has the original WWE lineage, the WCW lineage, and 2 separate brand splits.

And I’m even more sorry to say this, as I overall like this wrestler… But Sami Zayn as a two-time WWE Champion? Really?

I was happy for him winning it initially at the Saudi Arabia PLE, as it was a nice “lifetime achievement” award for his past contributions to the WWE. In my opinion, he made the Bloodline storyline better during 2022 and the drama surrounding his role fueled what I think is one of the best Wrestlemanias ever with #39 during 2023. Just watch that ending to Royal Rumble 2023 and attempt to admit that you didn’t feel something. We all did and it made us more addicted to the WWE that year.

Now, however, hotshotting the WWE Title to him during a random episode of Smackdown feels very “WCW during 2000”-ish to me. You know, when we had like 20 different title changes during that year. What, is Vince Russo now booking the Smackdown brand for the WWE?

It’s very likely that TKO, with maybe some nudging from NBC/Universal, is encouraging BIG THINGS to happen on WWE Smackdown because after all, viewership is BARELY hanging on to 1 million viewers hovering around 1.2 million lately. Folks, we’re in ECW on TNN and TNA Impact on Spike TV formerly TNN) viewership territory and they were 2nd or 3rd bananas in the competitive wrestling arms race.

BUT, we’re also in the territory of Triple H favoring his ex-NXT students… HHH was the one who inserted Sami Zayn into the Bloodline and that choice is significant because Sami was coming off his major loss to the Jackass crew at Wrestlemania 38. Remember him losing to that big mouse trap? Though Sami actually match an entertaining match out of that, he still lost yet HHH had his back and put him with the Bloodline to eventually go from losing to Johnny Knoxville at Wrestlemania 38 to headlining Night #1 of Wrestlemania 39 and winning the tag titles with Kevin Owens over the Usos in a major match of consequence.

HHH and HBK have ALWAYS had Johnny Gargano’s back and have pushed him to the moon when they could. They let go of his tag partner Tommaso Ciampa, which I’d argue had more marketability with the WWE, but opted to retain Gargano. Candice has a losing record in the WWE and is one who puts everybody over. While that role is relevant, as someone has to lose, but we’ve seen others released by the WWE who also put over other wrestlers non-stop. I’m NOT calling for either to be released, but my point is there exists some bias and love for Johnny Gargano by Triple H and it’s placing him in big spots like this.

HHH does show bias to any NXT call-up that he personally groomed or ones, especially, who listen to his advice. Bronson Reed is a perfect example of that, and gee, look who just attacked Oba Femi. What a coincidence? He also joined the newer Bloodline group and later joined the Vision.

So with that, I’m no longer going to defend this WWE regime, as everybody is impaired now. TKO is micro-managing everything and with that, Triple H is there to only “die on a hill” to defend and push the folks he personally likes. That ending to Smackdown was an abomination and CM Punk deserved better as a World Champion.

I’m also here to declare that 2023 was the official peak of the WWE, maybe even Wrestlemania 39 being the tip because post Wrestlemania 39 had its issues, too. Things magically came together for Wrestlemania 40, but that was honestly a sh*tshow on how that happened and everyone’s expectations have been forever high because of that event.

For me, TKO has fully taken over and the leader that was Triple H from 2022-2023, who literally saved the WWE from the Vince McMahon scandals and MADE IT BETTER, is now a former shell of himself.

This sucks because now it feels like the WWE has returned to “late 2010s” mode and the alternatives to watch are overrated.

We are in a declining period of wrestling, something that I wrote about and predicted during 2015 when WWE began dismantling John Cena as its top guy and bulldozing everybody with a dominant Brock Lesnar and an inexperienced babyface attempt called Roman Reigns. Funny, if we’re in “late 2010s” mode, then a babyface Roman Reigns fits right in.

The ONLY way we’ll see a boomtown in pro wrestling again is if any wrestling promotion creates a valid developmental system that adequately prepares younger wrestlers to step up. AEW doesn’t have a good system, as they are free agent dependent, and WWE is still dependent on wrestlers from prior developmental systems such as OVW and FCW, as the NXT developmental system stocked and supervised by Triple H has not restocked the WWE roster like the other systems have.

When Matt Bloom is your Performance Center trainer, and when you have open casting calls for anybody off the street to come to you versus actually scouting athletes to join (as Ross, Brisco, and even Mark Henry did), things will fall apart. Matt Bloom training is hilarious, as if he demonstrated the skillset as Prince Albert, A-Train, or Lord Tensai to teach to younger wrestlers. Go watch “Lord Tensai” completely sandbag Ryback’s finishing move and then realize THAT is who is training wrestlers for WWE. In comparison, the women have a GREAT trainer with Sarah Del Rey and gee, all of them are performing well and WWE has an entirely new division to market and sell along with superstars to send all over the country.

So yeah, WWE is in decline, TKO is micro-managing, and Triple H is in “f*ck it” mode where he’ll only care pushing his friends or favorite students. Sami, Johnny, and Candice need to THANK Triple H for always having their back.

Hey, at least Triple H is consistent… He’ll ride or die with the folks who personally showed him appreciation, like the Clique during the 1990s, anybody who worked out with him in the gym (Batista, Sheamus), and now his NXT students and signings. I’ll give him that.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

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WWE and Mitchell & Ness accused of stealing CM Punk artwork for merchandise

Aaron Rift — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 11:36:19 +0000

David Stenken, head graphic designer at Pro Wrestling Tees, is accusing WWE and Mitchell & Ness of copying his CM Punk merchandise design from 2021.

When CM Punk returned to professional wrestling at AEW Rampage in August 2021, a new T-shirt was released to commemorate his comeback. Stenken, who worked on the merchandise as part of his role at Pro Wrestling Tees, claims that a recently released CM Punk hoodie from WWE and Mitchell & Ness copied artwork from his original design.

Stenken made the allegation in a post on Instagram, sharing the designs and pointing out the similarities between the two pieces of merchandise…

“What a time to be alive lol. This @cmpunk design was one of my career highlights. It was the highest selling piece of AEW merch that year and one of their best selling of all time. I was there at the United Center when he came out. It was all over the building in lights. That seems like a whole lifetime ago in wrestling years – but what’s old is new again lol. @wwe and @mitchellandness have tag teamed against me and stole my art for their latest collab. Which sucks. Does anyone know a good lawyer?”

Stenken later updated his post…

“Mitchell and Ness took the apparel down. I’m assuming there is some sort of review happening and someone is getting in trouble. I will still leave this post up for posterity.”

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A post shared by Lord David Stenken (@biggstankdogg)

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Will Ospreay thought CM Punk’s altercation with Jack Perry at AEW All In 2023 was a promo

Aaron Rift — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:58:21 +0000

While speaking to Ariel Helwani, Will Ospreay was asked about how AEW has evolved since the 2022-2023 period. Here was the exchange…

Helwani: “You arrived at the very tail end of—well, actually, it was post-CM Punk, but it was right around the time that all the stuff kind of blew up with CM Punk. And it felt like the locker room was a little bit, you know, there was a rift, there was drama, there was all this stuff.

And what I continue to hear is it’s night and day. I heard this from Adam Copeland last week when he was on the show, that it’s just a completely different place. And so you can’t necessarily speak on maybe what it was like in ’23 or ’22, but I’m wondering if you can describe what’s so great about it right now and what you’ve heard about how it’s evolved. And I know this is something you’ve taken a lot of pride in being part of the change at AEW, and it seems like it’s all coming to fruition. How would you describe it these days?”

Ospreay: “I can’t comment that much because I wasn’t there. I was there at the Punk and Jack Perry thing. I was going over the match in my head, and I was sat there thinking to myself, like, ‘Oh, flipping hell. I need to get this right and this right.’ And I was making sure that everything was going on in my head.

And I heard a commotion, and I thought they were cutting a promo. So I got out of dodge, and then it was like I saw Punk walk past me and I was like, ‘Oh no, I know exactly what’s happened.’

So it was funny because it was one of those things where, like, you obviously read sh*t all the time on the internet, and then just to see it happen in front of you, it was just kind of like, ‘Oh, that’s lame.’

Every time I’ve come here, it’s been super enjoyable.”

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The reason why WWE Champion CM Punk wrestled at NXT live event

Aaron Rift — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 19:51:14 +0000

WWE Champion CM Punk wrestled at an NXT live event on August 15th 2026, teaming with Tavion Heights and Myles Borne against The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, Jackson Drake and Ricky Smokes). In a behind-the-scenes vlog, Punk explained why he wanted to make the trip to NXT and get involved with the next generation of WWE talent…

“There’s a very selfish motivation for me being here. I want to stay ready.

Yes, I’m the champion. Yes, I wrestle on television, but to me, I don’t wrestle often enough. I need more reps. I think I’m better the more often I wrestle.

There is an element to giving back, though, obviously. I have great respect for this business, and I’m just following in the footsteps of the people who came before me.

Hopefully, somebody watches and learns and observes from me, and they can pay it forward when they have the opportunity to do so.”

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Video: CM Punk wears Iyo Sky’s robe for his entrance at WWE live event

Aaron Rift — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:22:42 +0000

CM Punk continued a 2026 trend of wearing other WWE Superstars’ entrance gear at the August 23rd WWE live event in Calgary. Punk made his entrance wearing Iyo Sky’s robe and then recreated her signature entrance pose as the crowd cheered.

Why yes, CM Punk did come out at #WWECalgary in Io’s robe pic.twitter.com/ZnlMlPHEjE

— jk (@_jkuhn) August 24, 2026

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News regarding CM Punk’s hockey goalie mask that was worn on WWE SmackDown

Aaron Rift — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 17:47:01 +0000

As seen during the main event of WWE SmackDown on August 21st 2026, CM Punk successfully defended his WWE Title against Kevin Owens. During his entrance, Punk wore a hockey goalie mask designed by makeup and visual effects artist Jason Baker. The mask also featured a tribute to Punk’s late dog, Larry.

Baker shared details about the mask on Twitter/X by writing, “Best in the world inspired Goalie mask for the Coach @CMPunk created by me. And yes, those are Larry the dog’s actual paw prints on the side. Jacket & gear by @byJolene.”

Punk retained his title against Owens following interference from Sami Zayn. Zayn wanted Owens to use the title as a weapon against Punk, and when Owens refused, Zayn hit Owens with it.

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A post shared by Jason Baker (@bakingjason)

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Shoot interview video of Kevin Owens discussing locker room incident with CM Punk

Aaron Rift — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 19:49:48 +0000

In a July 2014 interview published to the Title Match Wrestling YouTube channel, Kevin Owens aka Kevin Steen addressed a story that he and CM Punk nearly came to blows backstage at a Ring of Honor show. Here is what Owens had to say…

“People know me for wrestling in a shirt. I still wrestled in a shirt back then, and I still do to this day. But I had a singlet, and Gabe, before I started, Ring of Honor told me, ‘Can you wrestle just in the singlet? Because I don’t want guys wrestling with shirts on my show.’ Even though Homicide did and plenty of people did. ‘Yeah, all right, whatever.’

So I wrestled in the singlet and it was fine. I just felt like the singlet wasn’t me, and I don’t know why. That’s stupid, but—and you could say it’s because I’m trying to hide the fact I’m fat, but everybody knows I am, you know what I mean?

So I don’t know why, but I just find the T-shirt looks better. Some people might disagree strongly, but that’s fine.

I wrestled just with my singlet at PWG before, and they told me, like, ‘Can you wear the shirt? You look better with the shirt. The singlet just doesn’t—it’s just not you.’

Anyway, so after a couple months of wrestling without the shirt at Ring of Honor, I asked Gabe [Sapolsky]. I’m like, ‘Can I just wrestle with the shirt on? It’s like, I just feel more comfortable. Like, I feel like I can be myself. When I don’t have the shirt, I just feel like I’m this wrestler dude.’

And Gabe was like, ‘Yeah, fine, whatever.’ But it wasn’t ‘yeah, fine, whatever,’ because he went and told Punk what I said.

And then that afternoon, before the show, when I was going to wrestle, and I had already decided, like, on the way up there, that I was going to wrestle without the shirt because I figured I’d already started without the shirt at Ring of Honor, so why would I just start wearing it out of nowhere now? So I’d already made the decision to just wrestle my singlet and gut it out.

But that afternoon, Punk just made a crack about me wrestling in the shirt, but whatever. I didn’t care. You know, I think Punk and I were on good terms. It was fine. I took it as a joke. You know, I don’t think he was trying to humiliate me. I really don’t think so. Other people probably saw it differently.

I did the match in the singlet, and I came to the back and I was blown to shits. I was blown up. But Punk was just—and it was a very small locker room, and people were, you know, minding their own business and talking their stuff out. But Punk was just, standing there looking at me, and I was blown, and I figured, ‘Oh, I’ll joke with him. I’ll joke back.’ And I said, ‘Are you happy now?’

But I guess he took it like I was trying to show him up, which I wasn’t trying to. I was literally trying to have a relationship with this guy and just joke around with him. But I guess I was blown, so maybe my tone was off. I don’t know. He got very upset. He yelled at me and he said I was disrespectful and all this stuff.

And for what it’s worth, If I had been in his position, maybe I would have thought the same. And now I know Punk a lot better, and I think he knows me a lot better too. And that’s now it’s just like a far thing. It’s like it never happened, really. But people still talk about it because there was a lot of people in the locker room and everybody saw it.

But I ended up just saying, ‘Okay, I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m sorry.’ That was it. It was no big deal. But, you know, the next day online, it was being reported we almost came to blows, which is not true.”

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