“You work together to create the best possible match you can. I remember I was working with Samoa Joe once in AEW, and Tony wanted something that neither one of us felt. We basically said, ‘Maybe we should think about it,’ or whatever. And Tony, you could tell, he just was very—not disappointed, but he very much wanted us to do this.

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While speaking to the media after All Out, AEW President Tony Khan reacted to Fightful’s report…

“I was kind of surprised they [WWE] would say that because we’ve done very, very well. AEW’s having an incredible year. We were Sports Illustrated’s Pro Wrestling Promotion of the Year. Why would they be surprised that we would sell out? We’ve sold this arena out many times, and AEW’s having a fantastic year.

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“One difference between the two I see is Vince had no checks and balances. If he wanted, I don’t know, an 18 wheeler full of milk with a pump that you’d use to spray, he could get it like that. Triple H right now doesn’t have that since he’s under the TKO umbrella. He can’t just decide I want to spend a hundred thousand dollars on a truck right now.”

Morrison also commented on how AEW President Tony Khan is different from Vince…

“As far as Tony Khan goes, you know I would compare Tony to Vince a lot, like Tony Khan probably could have done anything he wanted, anything, you know? That’s the freedom you get with that amount of money, but he’s a wrestling fan and decided he wanted to work in the business of professional wrestling and he also decided he wanted to work really hard because he does work really hard. He’s at all the tapings, and I sometimes think he’s a lot like Vince except with a good heart, if you know what I mean.”

Vince McMahon & Triple H: The Difference, as detailed by John Morrison [EXCLUSIVE]

Vince McMahon was the head booker of WWE for decades before Triple H took over the creative reins of the company, a few years ago.

The post John Morrison on Tony Khan: “I sometimes think he’s a lot like Vince McMahon except with a good heart” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“This has been a great week. I’ve made it no secret, dozens and dozens of times I’ve gone on the record and said I look forward to a time when hopefully it will be Paramount and Warner Bros. together. I think it’ll make AEW stronger. I’ve said it time and time again, and I believe we are very close to that time.

https://t.co/yciiZ3HhVt

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) September 23, 2026

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Brian Cage has been an AEW contracted performer since 2020.

So my question is this, for Tony Khan and the Executive Vice Presidents of All Elite Wrestling… Do you have a drug testing and/or wellness policy with any consequences for failed tests?

First, I scoured AllEliteWrestling.com myself and also utilized Artificial Intelligence (AI) to review the website as well.

Also performed various search engine reviews if any existing drug testing policies were out there. Nothing found.

Best I could do was many places alluding to the “right” of AEW to perform a drug test, on a wrestler, if desired.

I also reviewed AEW’s mission statement on their website. While they’ve always call themselves a “pro wrestling” organization, with various wrestlers balking at the term “sports entertainment”, AEW’s own Mission Statement says, and I quote: ”AEW is built to create moments of a lifetime – memorable, inspiring and spectacular – by providing our fans with the best wrestling matches and entertainment anywhere. We believe providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for all AEW events is central to that mission.”

The word “entertainment” is clearly there, and that’s important on the basis of how AEW is regulated in each state where it holds live events. Why? Because unlike boxing or mixed martial arts (MMA), they won’t be regulated by the State Athletic Commissions who often require testing of athletes for drugs and other health conditions (just saw a recent documentary where an athletic commission found that boxer Tommy Morrisson had HIV and denied him from fighting).

AEW’s trademarks are also marked as “Entertainment Services”, further described as “exhibitions” and “performances”.

Again, point being, as much as they boast about being wrestling, they are classified exactly like the WWE which means the ability to exploit wrestlers as “independent contractors” and to avoid State Athletic Commission required testing because they aren’t a sport but are entertainers. In other words, just as Disney on Ice performers aren’t drug tested as “entertainers”, neither are pro wrestlers.

So, what have other reports said about AEW having any drug testing?

RingsideNews.com transcribing Fightful.com Select’s Sean Ross Sapp from 9/15/26: ”in all his conversations with people from AEW, nobody has ever told him they were drug tested”. Note, he’s just saying that he never heard of it in all of his years reporting on AEW (or TNA).

WrestlingHeadlines.com transcribing Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer on 6/17/21 said, in AEW’s then 2-year and a half existence that “talent do have something in their contract about being tested” (confirms other reports) but that “it does not seem that anyone has officially been tested as of yet”.

But then, and get this… Meltzer talks about Brian Cage during June 2021: ”One person in particular named Brian Cage who people even write jokes about on their own show. So I guess if they write jokes about it I can mention his name since they freakin’ talk about him and needles and everything, but whatever.”

In the immortal words of Sealab 2021… We have UH OH!

We have Brian Cage admitting to PED usage and then you have a top news insider and someone who knows AEW intimately well (often cheering for them to succeed) with Dave Meltzer alluding to Brian Cage possibly using them 5 years ago.

Sooooo… Let’s ask this question with Brian Cage admitting to using PEDs and now TRT, no State Athletic Commission testing, AEW classified purposely as “entertainment” with “performance” and “exhibition”, and top news reporters being unaware if any testing has ever happened. Could AEW have a issue with Performance Enhancement Drugs (PED)?

I’m just asking the question…

After all, people in the press asked questions during the early 1990s, like Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, and that prompted the Federal Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the WWE and Vince McMahon for distributing steroids to its wrestlers. Further, after Chris Benoit died, WWE was subject to legal investigations due to its non-public Wellness Policy since early 2006 (following Eddie Guerrero’s death) that only made violations public after June 2007 when Benoit’s murders and then suicide happened. Oh, and that Florida online lab sting happened shortly after that.

WWE and its McMahon promoters were raked over the coals for (a) the 1994 federal trials alleging steroid distribution and (b) the Chris Benoit murders + Florida online lab sting of 2007.

Hell, any time that a former WWE wrestler died earlier than the normal rate of expectancy, it was always labeled as if they took some sort of drugs during their tenure with the WWE or had to remain dependent on them after leaving the WWE.

WWE took all kinds of arrows for allegations regarding PEDs and later, their loose testing on them that happened from during 1992 when the federal investigations began and through June 2007 when Benoit murdered his family. And again, any time that a wrestler died, their tenure with WWE was blamed.

And this isn’t a WWE column, so I’m not here to defend them… Because Vince McMahon is an admitted user of PEDs, it’s hard to argue that he wasn’t at least “looking the other way” when his wrestlers may have used them. After all, he has a track record of pushing and mostly signing very muscular and chiseled wrestlers.

My point is this: If you’re going to be a BIG BOY wrestling promotion like the WWE, then you should be ready for ANY criticism or allegations that come your way.

Including this very question: Hey Tony, Brian Cage recently admitted to PED use on a podcast. Are you able to provide evidence of drug testing and show documentation of punishment if anyone was in violation of abusing PEDs?

And let it not stop there… What about OTHER drugs or maybe any kind of substance abuse?

Only thing found is Jeff Hardy for a 2022 DUI and driving with a suspended license. However, AEW’s testing didn’t prompt that suspension. Hardy’s own arrest and it being made public did.

And I hate to say this in light of recently deceased wrestlers who were NOT found to be in any association with drugs… But if a current or former AEW performer does pass away in the upcoming years, do we start questioning AEW about their drug testing policies or any “wellness” policies like we did WWE for decades for any wrestler deaths?

I’m just asking questions, along with asking for consistency.

If you’re going to compete with the WWE and act like a top wrestling promotion on display, then you better be ready to answer a few serious questions, Tony and his EVPs.

At the very least, AEW needs to have a serious discussion and review of Brian Cage to what he’s admitted to publicly.

Again, just asking AEW to be consistent here if they are going to act like a big boy wrestling promotion.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

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If you enjoyed AEW All In 2026, be proud of it. I’m NOT here to belittle you for enjoying the show or parting your hard-earned money to either attend the show or watch it on Pay Per View. This is not a column here to criticize AEW on its workrate or style.

However, this column will describe why AEW is stunted in its growth and has a similar problem that plagues the WWE to limit its growth, too.

Ready for it? Let’s review AEW’s current champions following the All In 2026 event:

– AEW World Champion: Will Ospreay (free agent signed during late 2023)

– AEW International Champion: Okada (free agent signed during early 2024)

– AEW Continental Champion: Jox Moxley (free agent signed during mid 2019)

– AEW National Champion: Andrade (free agent signed during 2025, also previously signed during 2021)

– AEW TNT Champion: Darby Allin (AEW Original)

– AEW Tag Team Champions: Adam Copeland (2023 signing) and Christian (2021 signing)

– AEW Trios Champions: Swerve Strickland (2022 signing) & The New Level (aka New Day, 2026 signings)

– AEW Women’s Champion: Mercedes Moné (signed early 2024 as a free agent)

– AEW TBS Champion: Persephone (2025 signing from CMLL)

– AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions: The Brawling Birds (both working indy or international circuits prior to joining AEW, but more or less originals nationally with AEW)

So besides Darby Allin, AEW is a company that signs free agents and pushes them to the top? Do I have that correct?

In other words, no home grown talent gets pushed and then put over on AEW’s biggest show of the year.

To that extent, I’d argue the SAME problem exists with the WWE with the exception of maybe pushing a few of their homegrown talents close to their expiration dates (Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, John Cena, CM Punk technically, and Brock Lesnar).

Right now in the WWE, it’s not so much that they are pushing free agents to the top, but they aren’t moving on from their main eventers and completely disallowing any recent younger signings or developmental wrestlers to rise up. For example, Oba Femi… We thought Wrestlemania 42 was his big moment when he demolished Brock Lesnar, but then Lesnar attacked him and then defeated Oba in their next match. Sure, SummerSlam 2026 gave us good vibrations, but the fact is that WWE literally wasted 4 months on not pushing Oba to the top from Wrestlemania 42.

Bron Breakker has repeatedly been misused and denied entry into the top main event scene. Ditto for Jacob Fatu, whom Roman Reigns took care of several times. Solo Sikoa hasn’t been important to WWE’s plans since Roman took care of him to start 2025. Aside from the Women’s Division, what the NXT developmental system is bringing up isn’t as strong as what OVW or FCW once provided, but even then, once they do make the main roster, Creative seems to want to immediately cut them at the knees and remain veteran dependent.

WWE has grown since the pandemic because they pushed home grown talent to the top and luckily for them, they had multiple wrestlers ready to hit their prime years when they did it. Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and I’d argue to an extent, Kevin Owens, waited patiently after the terrible 2010s when Vince McMahon micro-managed the WWE roster and then once Jey, Roman, and Sami were repackaged with the Bloodline and Kevin Owens was inserted into the mix, we had an explosion of growth through 2023 and Wrestlemania 39 that created tides that lifted all WWE boats that year.

And then WWE had the potential to put Roman Reigns over even further with him defeating The Rock in a match. Could have happened at Wrestlemania 40, but the better time to happen was at Wrestlemania 41. Rock got busy with movies and that opportunity to make Roman even bigger just disappeared. Now, he’s clinging on to the same playbook and WWE thinks that their fans will eat the same recycled storylines as before. Dominant Roman surrounded by the Bloodline, but this time, as a babyface group.

Meanwhile, younger talents can’t get over in the WWE.

WWE peaked in growth through 2024 and has been on the slow decline since 2025 because they are too veteran heavy. Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Cody Rhodes have formed a veteran wall that cannot be breached by developmental talent. Meanwhile, WWE’s top brass is trying to milk those veterans for everything they have and hence, why tired fans just won’t pay the insane prices that the TKO corporation wants to charge for WWE events.

AEW just doesn’t have a developmental system… For some of the wrestlers they have tried, they either fizzed out or they somehow got jobs to become WWE’s problem (hello Jade Cargill). Their promotion began by signing free agents from the independents, New Japan, or WWE. That’s fine for a base and introduction, as I’d argue that Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho contributed significantly to AEW during 2019-2021, but then AEW became entirely dependent on free agency. It was nice to have CM Punk back, but AEW didn’t create him and only benefitted from him walking away from the WWE 7 years ago. And then that blew up in their face not just at All Out 2022 or All In 2023, but due to their marketing boasting a “younger roster” while CM Punk in his 40s was not the same worker.

Following AEW All In 2023 and its fallout, that’s when Tony signed many free agents to big deals such as Okada, Ospreay, Mercedes, and Adam Copeland who, by the way, are each holding a title belt in some form for AEW right now.

The result of the late 2023 and early 2024 AEW shopping spree? TV viewership kept declining and attendance for AEW’s live shows, other than Pay Per Views, is deemed a success if it can break 4,000 people with lower ticket prices.

To AEW’s credit, they can put on fun and exciting Pay Per Views… Nobody, including me, denies that.

But I can attend many independent shows who put on tremendous shows, too, but they aren’t getting national attention. For pro wrestling, it’s easier to find great athletes than it is to find great showmen. With time, I’ve agreed that pro wrestling has some of the best athletes in the business today compared to previous years. They can pull off moves and keep the energy going much more than prior generations… However, prior generations of wrestlers did “more with less” and used charisma and psychology to carry the match without having to risk their bodies with high-impact moves. Their moves-per-minute were way down and that allowed them to literally work over 300 shows per year. If wrestlers today worked 300+ matches per year today, AEW’s healthcare bills would bankrupt the company based on the high tempo and high risk style AEW presents.

Here in 2026, it’s not hard to put on a great wrestling match at least in terms of athleticism. Without much innovation happening these days with new moves, wrestlers have blueprints on what will peak the interest of those who give out match ratings using the star system. Just string along “x” amount of moves, have many false finishes, and just keep the energy up and you’ll at least get 3 stars in a match. Increase the high risk moves, and 4 stars or more are coming your way.

The dirty secret for AEW, however, is that they are keeping the free agent signings on top while the rest of the wrestlers are just burning themselves out with this high-risk style. Then, AEW just finds more athletic bodies to keep cycling in and out of the roster to fill that high risk need. However, anyone working hard in AEW from underneath are NOT rewarded and hit a ceiling because Tony keeps preferring to push ex-WWE or ex-New Japan guys on top.

As I’ve said before, AEW has wasted money on Jim Ross. Not that signing him as an announcer wasn’t worth it, but that they never let Ross advise on building a developmental system. What Jim Ross did during the late 1990s through 2005 was remarkable and restocked the WWE roster for decades to come and that momentum kept going through FCW and NXT. While wrestlers at the WWE Performance Center are NOT trained as well as they were at OVW or FCW, the point remains is that WWE has the potential to debut the next homegrown star in the future. Lucky for AEW, WWE is currently pissing away any recent developmental call-ups.

AEW lacks a strong developmental system to present never-before-seen wrestlers on a national level to its fans. Fans like to invest in the process, cheering on someone who debuts and then climbs the ladder all of the way to the top. It’s a time investment to see a wrestler at their humble beginnings to become World Champion and those memories keep you around as a wrestling fan. Watching that process is intoxicating and keeps that wrestling addiction going.

Take John Cena, for example… We all saw his big “ruthless aggression” debut against Kurt Angle, but then we saw him struggle on the WWE roster for the rest of 2002. Then, on a random Halloween episode, he cuts a promo where he raps and suddenly, a new gimmick is born. From late 2002 through early 2005, we got to witness John Cena grow as a character and go from becoming United States Champion to World Champion by Wrestlemania 21. Then, Cena was a great World Champion which kept the rewards going. John Cena always delivered, even when good opponents during the early 2010s. However, Cena made you believe that Miz, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, and CM Punk were big superstars simply by working against John Cena who sold like a champion for them. Then, the 2025 retirement tour was a pure payoff and I think many Cena “haters” also jumped aboard, as they now fully realized how great Cena was back in the day.

WWE is botching their own process of debuting wrestlers and letting them naturally climb the ladder… AEW just doesn’t have such a process.

Instead, they shower those 2023-2024 free agent signings with love and put them over on their top show of the year. Looks like Tony Khan has to continually justify the high contracts that he’s paying each of those wrestlers.

AEW will NOT grow by signing free agents and then pushing them hard against any talent who have been there for a while.

Didn’t we just learn this lesson from Dark Side of Wrestling about Jeff Jarrett’s TNA tenure? TNA began going downhill during the late 2000s and early 2010s because of all of the veteran ex-WWE, WCW, and ECW wrestlers they signed and pushed over wrestlers deemed TNA originals or at least first-timers to the national spotlight. Those 2010s shows literally tried to push the same New World Order wrestlers (Hogan, Hall, and Nash) that WCW made famous together during 1996 as if 14-15 years doesn’t age or diminish any wrestlers.

Let’s go further… How did World Championship Wrestling (WCW) die again? You had Eric Bischoff mismanage the company and give out massive contracts to veteran wrestlers who were kept on top to justify those big contracts. Plus, Eric became a mark after he joined the NWO during November 1996 and went out-of-his-way to make that group strong throughout 1997, 1998, and 1999 even when the NWO gimmick was beyond its prime. Wrestlers like Paul Wight (Big Show) and Chris Jericho knew what was up and sought the WWE for greener pastures. By March 2001, WCW was dead and AOL/Time Warner had massive wrestler contracts to pay off.

You need a developmental system and then require proper planning to debut, build, and push new talent.

If you don’t have a developmental system and push fresh talent, there won’t be any “big” veterans to sign in a few years…

Let me make one last point…

Know what system has a developmental system and has been thriving for the past 10 years? WWE’s developmental system for FEMALES. Their talents are all homegrown or were journey wrestlers until joining WWE. Liv Morgan, now WWE Women’s Champion, was a Hooters waitress and they developed her into a massive star that nobody had before. WWE presented Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks (now Mercedes in AEW), Bayley, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belaire, and many, many others to the public and got that division over because each star were NOT seen anywhere else before.

Rumor has it that AEW wants Bayley and Bayley wants to possibly join the promotion to join her real life friend, Mercedes… That’s fine, but Bayley is a late 30s wrestler who has accomplished so much already in the WWE. What could you gain that hasn’t been presented or accomplished before with that particular wrestler?

AEW just doesn’t make anything their own… They just borrow other people’s already created stuff.

They have NOTHING original to show for it.

Go ahead and call me an “AEW hater”. At no point, did I bash any performances from AEW All In 2026 or any of its roster.

My point is that AEW is too dependent on free agency and Tony is pushing the wrestlers that he chose to sign with million dollar contracts versus homegrown talents that the fans helped make into stars for Tony.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: The Problem with AEW All In 2026 and its Current Champions or Pushed Free Agent Wrestlers appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Now, let me get into a question that has been sent to me multiple times by loyal readers and that is about Conrad Thompson and his opinion about Roman Reigns being “overrated” and is like an “industry plant” would be in music (someone groomed for the position) but for WWE.

I’ve already answered this with multiple columns covering WWE’s current events. In my opinion, Roman was indeed “shoved down our throats” during the 2010s. Then, they finally turned him heel but not only that, gave him Paul Heyman and some creative freedom on promos. Add to that, the cool Bloodline storyline with the Usos, Solo, and Sami Zayn all playing important parts that literally fueled WWE’s happenings from 2021 through 2024 including adding the freakin’ Rock to the storyline and group during early 2024. After Wrestlemania 40, Roman Reigns hasn’t been the same effective draw without the group than he has been with the group. In addition to the price gouging, Roman and the Bloodline’s drawing ability hasn’t been there like it was through early 2024.

BUT – Roman Reigns learned from that 2021-2024 experience and has grown as a performer, and thus I believe he’s still the top WWE draw right now. We’re not getting to 50,000 Wrestlemania tickets or 30,000 SummerSlam tickets without him at the very top of the card against legitimate opponents in CM Punk and Seth Rollins. But again, shows during 2024 and 2025 with him on it and in prominent spots drew higher. Price hikes are there, but Roman isn’t as cool now as he was when he was the “head of the table” with the badass heel Bloodline group.

A more legitimate criticism would be “peaked” or “slightly past his prime”, but I’d argue that he has creatively suffered, too, because there was NEVER an adequate conclusion over what happened with the Bloodline during 2024. Oh, I know that Solo tried to take it over, but Roman was absent when the “new” Bloodline attacked Paul Heyman during late June 2024 and Roman didn’t appear until August. We never had that Rock vs. Roman “battle of the Bloodline” feud either, which could have made Roman into an absolute megastar had that headlined Wrestlemania 41 during 2025.

WWE’s two best matches for 2026 are, in fact, Roman vs. CM Punk from WM 42 and Roman vs. Seth Rollins from SummerSlam 2026. Who is the common denominator, again?

What I find more impressive about Conrad’s opinion is how much attention it caused. Congrats on a successful podcast network, Conrad, as your words appear to matter. Hopefully, everyone is buying stuff from your ads or getting their mortgages through you.

Truth is that I don’t listen to any of these “Ad Free” shows because the podcasts featuring Jeff Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, or others feature more of Conrad’s opinions over what the wrestler or personality thinks. That, or it’s just reviewing what Dave Meltzer said in a past issue of the Wrestling Observer. I don’t need to hear the producer of the show hogging the spotlight, nor do I give a damn about the producer’s opinions when I’d rather hear the wrestler or wrestling personality’s opinion based on their past experiences or recollection. I didn’t tune in for Conrad’s two cents, and I believe Kevin Nash and Jim Cornette’s podcasts suffer, too, when their producers interject excessively about their opinions (though I think Brian Last complements Jim better than Conrad complements any of his podcast teammates). The only time that I don’t mind Conrad’s opinions is when he fact checks someone who is clearly lying or withholding information, such as Eric Bischoff. Eric deserves that!

Conrad has made his podcasts mostly about himself, hence why his opinion on Roman Reigns has become viral this week. While I applaud Conrad for giving such wrestlers or personalities a platform, he doesn’t have to spoon-feed them topics, walk them through something, or ask how they felt about what Dave Meltzer wrote 30 years ago. And then, insert his opinion. Jim Ross’s podcast was WAY BETTER when it was Jim on his own because his thoughts and his creativity driving where the podcast went. That, and he didn’t have someone interjecting their personal opinion on every topic.

That’s the issue… Not that “Roman Reigns is overrated”, but maybe we, as society, overrate the opinions of commentators or any shock value they may have. And that includes anything I say as a columnist, too, let’s be fair… Look at ESPN right now, as they are shedding actual journalists in favor of paying opinionated folks like Stephen A Smith or Pat McAfee more. What happens when people sour or get tired of their opinions, too? ESPN’s viewership is going to continue to swirl down the tubes.

It’s as Aaron Rift said on a recent episode of NoDQ Review… Conrad’s opinion about Roman Reigns might have been true during 2019, but is wrong now. Roman was a big part of that Bloodline group and yes, since 2024, he’s not as great as he was that year… BUT, I could say that literally about every wrestler on the WWE roster right now in comparison to 2024. WWE’s roster is tired, as there aren’t many key match-ups left to run and the wrestlers are looking worn out from this endless cycle of 2-3 hours of RAW, 2-3 hours of Smackdown, houseshows, and PLEs on the weekend plus traveling to each one. Nobody is drawing like they once did, and WWE lacks any younger wrestlers (or ones that could stay healthy) to replace the aging veterans.

Congrats again to Conrad for building a successful platform… But, just remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Your words are being played publicly and therefore, everyone is allowed to freely disagree with your opinions too and ridicule you if those opinions are ridiculous. For many who enjoy Roman Reigns and appreciate his work for the past 6 years, they have been very free to disagree with you.

Oh, and Conrad… You’re not a comedian. Your ad spots where you attempt to be funny are total cringe, especially those older ones with Manscape’s products. If you’re not legitimately funny, don’t try to be.

Onto your other questions.

ASK TITO: Your Questions, My Answer

Do you believe that Brock Lesnar has retired?

Nope… Between music and wrestling, we’ve witnessed many false retirements only for your old favorites to always come back. Hell, wrestling columnists do that too…

Until Brock Lesnar vs. Gunther happens, I’ll NEVER believe that Brock Lesnar has retired. Why? Because TKO can cut Lesnar a big check to wrestle 1 more match at any time. With WWE having up to 12 PLEs per year, there’s always a card that may need an impact player or a bigtime match-up, especially with the injury bug repeatedly biting or the need for guys like Roman to take so much time off.

I still project Gunther vs. Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 43 and maybe that will be it? I don’t know, but I think that improvised moment at Wrestlemania 42 has really lessened the effectiveness of if and when Lesnar retires.

*****

Do you believe that Oba Femi benefitted from working with Brock Lesnar?

I need more time to see what happens for the rest of the year and what feeds into 2027. Many are projecting Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi at Wrestlemania 43, but I’m not there yet (still holding out hope that Rock vs. Roman happens).

To me, it seemed like Wrestlemania 42’s match was mostly well done to put over Oba and the push should have continued then. However, Lesnar jumped him and then defeated him to instantly kill that momentum. 4 months later, are things really better for Oba with a win over Lesnar at SummerSlam? I just don’t know and worry that damage has been done.

HOWEVER, I watched Oba Femi backstage on Season 3 of WWE Unreal. Maybe he was nervous around cameras backstage, but he seemed to lack confidence when talking with Triple H and others backstage. If you’re going to be a main eventer in WWE, you need to thump your chest and clearly be the men amongst men to take that top spot. I just don’t see that swagger with Oba yet in just his 5th year as a performer.

Remember from our above Roman Reigns discussion… Roman didn’t get good until 2020 with putting it all together, and that’s 8 years after his main roster debut and even further from his FCW/NXT work as a developmental talent.

We need to stop assuming that wrestlers like Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar are common. No, they are absolute freaks of nature who shouldn’t figure out MAIN EVENT pro wrestling that quickly. I don’t see Oba as that quick learner or someone who wanted it as bad as Angle did. He has the gigantic “larger than life” look, however, that you cannot teach… It’s up to having GOOD creative to make him look good moving forward, instead of backward like maybe the Lesnar feud did.

But again, I said that about Cody Rhodes during 2024 and Cody came out stronger after his “best of 3” Lesnar feud. But Cody was far more experienced and pulled out great matches consistently to make up for it.

*****

Thoughts on Chelsea Green becoming interim Women’s Champion?

I’m soooooo happy for her! She totally deserves it for being a unique and entertaining talent in the WWE. I’ve HATED the way she was just treated as a midcarder, despite her real toughness and height having to put over much smaller and not-as-tough opponents.

Could WWE have built her up stronger before winning the Women’s Title? Absolutely…

BUT, you cannot complain about Michael P.S. Hayes’s comments from WWE Unreal Season 2 on one hand and then complain when WWE actually gives you what you want with Chelsea winning a world title. The schizophrenic wrestling fans strike again, as they flip and flop on their opinions and are never clear on what they truly want.

I’m 100% for this and hope she has a satisfying run. She needs to start winning cleanly and consistently as champion and see where it goes. Women’s wrestling in the WWE needs a newer face at the top, as their roster is tired too with the same people on top for freakin’ years.

Chelsea deserves it.

*****

Do you think that WWE will get in trouble with Rockstar Games over attempting to trademark “Vice City”?

No. WWE is using it in a different context and I suspect that if there is an issue, WWE will resolve it with Take-Two Interactive who owns both 2K Sports (WWE’s video game publisher) and Rockstar Games.

In fact, I’m willing to bet that WWE already reached out to said corporate partners and cleared it.

This isn’t a big deal. WWE is using it in the context of a pro wrestling character with the last name of “Vice”, while Vice City is the Miami-like area in the Grand Theft Auto series. Used differently, won’t interfere much at all.

On a side note, GTA Vice City was such a fun game… Just silly, stupid fun back in its day.

*****

What do you think will happen with many AEW wrestlers with contracts up for renewal in 2027?

Samoa Joe, Okada, FTR, Hangman Page, Jon Moxley, Young Bucks, Mercedes Mone, and Kenny Omega each have their deals up during sometime within 2027. I expect each to re-sign with AEW if they are offered close or slightly higher money than what they are currently have.

Easier schedule for equal or better money… What’s not to love?

The one that is interesting would be Jon Moxley because he’s the third member of the Shield. There’s value in WWE trying to get him back and being reasonable with how his character is presented.

With the way WWE hasn’t cared about Tag Team wrestling on the main roster, I would have maybe suggested FTR jumps, but not anymore.

Kenny and Okada going to WWE would be interesting, but I just don’t see their AEW work being that appealing to WWE officials to want to import into their promotion.

I’d love to see Sasha Banks back in the WWE, as Triple H is now in charge and Vince McMahon was the problem before.

I predict most, if not all, will re-sign with AEW with WWE showing some interest in those mentioned above before AEW offers each money to stay.

And that’s your AEW coverage in today’s column.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

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Meanwhile, AEW All-In, which is AEW’s top event, has sold 33,000 tickets at Wembley Stadium.

But let’s compare WWE’s 2nd or 3rd event in SummerSlam versus All-In on reasonable terms.

All-In tickets are priced, after conversion, as low as $31 and at maximum, just under $2,000 for the floor.

WWE SummerSlam had it’s cheapest price around $70 (though discounted at the event drew near), but the close floor seats were over $3,000 but the “Elite” level seat ticket packages were selling at $25,000 for both nights ($12,500 per night).

Oh, and WWE SummerSlam sold for 2 nights in Minnesota… AEW All In is at Wembley Stadium, in a British market that is hungry for a big wrestling event and have been begging WWE for Wrestlemania to appear there. Wrestlemania would get Live Aid crowds is it there in England, but until then, English wrestling fans are settling for attending AEW All In.

But we’ve seen a downward spiral of AEW’s #1 event, haven’t we?

– AEW All In 2023 (1st year in Wembley): 72,265 per turnstile, but AEW claims 81,035 tickets were actually sold

– AEW All In 2024 (2nd straight year in Wembley): 46,476 turnstile, but AEW claims 53,385 tickets were actually sold

– AEW All In 2025 (Global Life Field where the Texas Rangers play): 21,973 turnstile, but AEW claims 27,245 tickets were distributed… WAY DOWN here in the United States as the top AEW event!

And now All In 2026, back at Wembley, just over 33,000, still declining each year AEW tries to host events in that massive stadium.

Ehhhhh, and you have the nerve to ridicule WWE SummerSlam’s attendance, despite its HIGHER prices being the main culprit to cause lower WWE attendance?

FACT is that AEW has lower ticket prices, yet being a cheaper option to attend a live wrestling show is NOT drawing fans. When you go beyond AEW All In, there’s a steep drop-off for its next Pay Per Views. For example, AEW Redemption on July 24th only drew 7,107 fans. At best, AEW Pay Per Views could draw up to 15,000 for usual staple events like Double or Nothing but again, this is at lower ticket prices.

AEW fans mocked Wrestlemania 42 for its 50,000 and 55,000 nights, but that’s with absurdly HIGH ticket prices charged by TKO and the stupid high prices to attend anything in Las Vegas. Yet, if you look at WWE’s numbers, they consistently draw 15,000 or more for EVERY PLE while obtaining around 10,000 or more for every RAW show.

WWE outdraws AEW on ticket sales by a WIDE MARGIN despite the absurdly high prices AND the supposed “better quality” of matches that AEW has, according to the heavily biased Wrestling Observer’s joke of a star system.

Seriously, this is a valid question to ask… If AEW has such great matches, why aren’t they drawing larger audiences to events?

Because they don’t have better matches than WWE. No-selling 450 splashes DOES NOT make a great match! Yeah, I saw that utter garbage from the Young Bucks, as one completely no-sold getting hit with a 450 splash from the top rope in order to immediately hit a superkick on someone else. THAT is what Dave Meltzer rates 5-6 stars in his toilet paper of a newsletter!

Let’s go through the numbers to prove a point that AEW is in DISTANT second place right now with the WWE. This isn’t even a competition at this point based on how LOW AEW is drawing on attendance and viewership.

AEW Attendance Numbers – Data courtesy of Wrestlenomics.com’s WrestleTix

AEW Dynamite Average Attendance per quarter:

2021 Q3 6.9K
2021 Q4 5.6K
2022 Q1 5.0K
2022 Q2 6.3K
2022 Q3 5.7K
2022 Q4 4.3K
2023 Q1 5.6K
2023 Q2 5.1K
2023 Q3 4.9K
2023 Q4 4.5K
2024 Q1 4.1K
2024 Q2 3.6K
2024 Q3 3.9K
2024 Q4 3.1K
2025 Q1 2.7K
2025 Q2 3.9K
2025 Q3 2.5K
2025 Q4 3.3K
2026 Q1 3.1K
2026 Q2 3.2K

AEW Collision Average Attendance per quarter:

2023 Q2 6.5K
2023 Q3 4.3K
2023 Q4 3.4K
2024 Q1 3.0K
2024 Q2 3.1K
2024 Q3 2.0K
2024 Q4 2.1K
2025 Q1 3.5K
2025 Q2 2.2K
2025 Q3 1.5K
2025 Q4 2.0K
2026 Q1 2.8K
2026 Q2 2.0K

During 2021 through 2023, could someone tell me what individual was with AEW back then? You know, a massive free agent signing that they convinced to come out of retirement? Oh yeah, CM Punk! The second they kicked him full out of AEW, attendance CRATERED.

AEW Dynamite went from consistently drawing 5,000 or more fans per show (often above 6,000) to now drawing below 3,300 fans per show. Holy cow!

AEW Collision is a complete joke on attendance. Drew when CM Punk was around initially at above 6,000 during 2023 to a terrible 2,000 through the 2nd quarter 2026.

Meanwhile, WWE RAW is drawing strongly since their Netflix deal at about 11,000 or more in attendance while Smackdown fluctuates between 8,000 and 11,000 in recent times. That’s a BIG GAP between what WWE attends on their television shows versus what AEW does on theirs.

Just as there is a BIG GAP on what WWE draws on their PLEs versus and AEW’s Pay Per Views. Go ahead and compare All-In to SummerSlam. Be my guest to compare AEW’s #1 show in a foreign land with pent-up demand versus WWE’s arguable #2 or #3 show in Minnesota (no offense to Minnesota, as it’s a nice place but not a wrestling hot bed). Again, All-In has 33,000 tickets sold versus Wrestlemania pulling in 50,000 one night and 55,000 for the next.

And AGAIN, the difference in ticket prices. WWE sells MORE tickets at HIGHER prices than AEW does with their LOWER prices.

If fewer are attending AEW events, then fewer are buying AEW merchandise, too. AEW doesn’t have a strong online merchant presence, either. WWE blows them out of the water with merchandise sales.

Next, let’s discuss AEW Dynamite VIEWERSHIP, with data courtesy of Gerweck.net who has been compiling reported viewership and ratings data for years from official sources.

4Q-2019 898,333
1Q-2020 883,000
2Q-2020 708,462
3Q-2020 832,929
4Q-2020 817,077
1Q-2021 775,154
2Q-2021 792,769
3Q-2021 1,103,538
4Q-2021 895,769
1Q-2022 1,000,154
2Q-2022 916,231
3Q-2022 998,615
4Q-2022 907,846
1Q-2023 906,538
2Q-2023 855,231
3Q-2023 884,615
4Q-2023 810,692
1Q-2024 810,462
2Q-2024 711,923
3Q-2024 694,615
4Q-2024 588,538
1Q-2025 618,077
2Q-2025 626,923
3Q-2025 610,769
4Q-2025 482,846
1Q-2026 628,250
2Q-2026 635,385

Another reality check, AEW fans. Since 2023, you’ve ben consistently under 800,000 viewers… Heck, since the midway point of 2024, you’ve been UNDER 700,000 average viewers.

And I know what you’ll tell me, “Cable/Satellite subscriptions are down”, blah blah blah blah blah.

True, they are down… But AEW’s attendance is significantly down, too.

They go hand in hand, folks… AEW’s inflection point is that very AEW All In 2023 first event at Wembley. THAT is their peak and consequently, the final show of CM Punk before Tony Khan terminated him.

Viewership, merchandise, and attendance are all DOWN since 2023. Statistical FACT!

And that’s despite signing free agents like Adam Copeland (Edge), Will Ospreay, Mercedes Moné, Kazuchika Okada, Bobby Lashley, & Ricochet since late 2023, while also giving the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega extensions as Executive Vice Presidents (EVPs).

Despite those signings and re-signings, all AEW numbers have declined and remain low.

Despite all of the high star-ratings that AEW mark newsletters give literally every AEW match, it’s not drawing in more viewers nor is it packing buildings. Only the Pay Per View shows draw decent live audiences, at best.

And I love the argument of “AEW is still on Pay Per View”. Really? AEW’s biggest show, AEW All In, draws around 180,000 buys while the rest of the shows draw between 100,000 and 140,000 buys. Like, does everyone realize that 180,000 buys used to be considered a BAD NIGHT for the WWE anytime it happened? We’re talking about those late 2000s ECW brand shows, too… Most of WWE’s shows sold over 200,000, even when they over-saturated the market or when quality began to drop during the 2010s.

At 180,000 buys or less, the Cable or Satellite companies are eating more than half of that.

AEW is currently receiving around $185 million per year for all of their shows airing on Warner Bros. Discovery and the deal runs through the end of 2027, with an option to add on another year to extend it through 2028. However, AEW obtained that deal from a declining Warner Bros. Discovery that has been getting killed by streaming services and was in dire need of live sporting content (well, besides the NBA). Now, AEW faces a real dilemma of the Ellisons buying Warner Bros. to shove into their Skydance/Paramount Global corporation and I wouldn’t be shocked that they shred Tony’s deal and call it a “merger & acquisition” expense to write off for tax relief.

Plus, I theorize that they want RAW on Paramount+ (or what remains when I’m guessing HBO Max merges with it) once Netflix opts out of the RAW deal by the 5th year through 2029 as Netflix wants that afternoon NFL deal that CBS currently has. With the Ellisons paying off these recent mergers, they might have to let the NFL go but could afford signing WWE instead and letting Netflix overpay for the NFL to harm that streaming service.

LOW AEW Dynamite viewership, plus how poorly AEW Collision draws, could ultimately cause AEW to receive the boot off of TBS/TNT and HBO Max especially once this merger completes (and it will, the justice department will enable it).

So yeah, LAUGH IT UP about WWE SummerSlam 2026… There’s a bigger iceberg heading your way, AEW fans. That, and your ship is led by a trust fund baby (though he’s a nice guy) named Tony Khan and completely incompetent fools with the Young Bucks as Executive Vice Presidents no-selling 450 splashes to hit more choreographed superkicks.

As greedy as TKO is and as much meddling as TKO performs, their guys at least have experience in business or wrestling. TKO executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro have years of experience running businesses or serving as agents to drum up business. Nick Khan managed so many deals for his client and is an experienced executive that has made WWE grow ten-fold since the late 2010s. Yes, Triple H married into the McMahon family, but he’s been with the WWE since 1995 but has been an executive of WWE since the early 2010s.

AEW is STILL the weaker promotion, by a wide margin, and with zero capability to ever chase the WWE… Unless the WWE comes crashing down to their lower level.

Thus, WWE made more on each night of WWE SummerSlam 2026 than AEW will with their flagship All In event in Wembley despite similar attendance.

FACT is that if WWE slashed their ticket prices at ALL venues, those arenas would be packed because the WWE’s product is desired right now. Put AEW’s prices on WWE events they’d sellout everywhere because demand is still STRONG for the WWE product but things like incomes, strained by high inflation everywhere, are causing fans to second guess attending WWE events at their higher prices.

So, there you go… Your ignorant taunting of tarps at WWE SummerSlam 2026 caused me to write an actual AEW column. Go ahead and attempt to refute my facts.

AEW is in second place and its fans have ZERO credibility to taunt the MUCH LARGER WWE for any reason whatsoever. AEW wishes that it could host a 2-night event that could draw over 30,000, as they struggle to do that with their very top show right now with lower ticket prices.

WWE > AEW by a mile.

And Triple H > Tony Khan on Creative, any day of the week.

WWE Roster > AEW Roster

WWE’s Matches > AEW’s Matches

But WWE can’t draw fans in Minnesota with absurdly high ticket prices. Yeah, you got the WWE right there.

In fact, I DARE AEW to take WWE’s pricing model and see how many fans would actually attend. Let’s see how dedicated AEW’s fans are with stupid high prices to attend events. Let’s see how you really measure-up to the WWE, AEW!

AEW is forever the juvenile promotion that had CM Punk drawing higher attendance and over 1 million viewers to AEW Dynamite, but decided to internally and externally attack him instead of hoisting Punk on their shoulders. WWE has Punk and is thriving with him.

AEW is the inferior wrestling promotion, period, compared to the WWE.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: For the AEW Fans Laughing at WWE SummerSlam 2026’s Attendance… Why Do You Ignore AEW’s Poor Numbers Since 2023? appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“I’m here to talk about something that affects 1 in every 300 people. It affects a lot of people close to us, and it’s a terrible disease, ALS. And it hits very close to home in AEW and in the NFL. And for Team Gleason, Steve Gleason, a great NFL veteran and somebody part of the fight against ALS.

You can donate and work with AEW at aewtogether.org/rebelheart. Rebel Heart is an episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite coming up in Athens, Georgia on September 9th. And the fight against ALS is very close and important to us in AEW because it affects somebody that we really care about in AEW, somebody that’s been with us for many years who’s been diagnosed with ALS, and that is Tenea Brooks, known to the fans and everyone in AEW as Rebel. And we’re having Wednesday Night Dynamite Rebel Heart September 9th in Athens, Georgia. The tickets are on sale now. You can get your tickets to support the fight against ALS at this show in Athens, Georgia at aewtix.com.”

Approximately 1 in 300 people will develop ALS in their lifetime. In support of @RebelTanea and all those affected, @TonyKhan accepts the #IceBucketChallenge & nominates Coach Coen, James Gladstone, and Tony Boselli @AEWTogether | @AEW pic.twitter.com/9MPFzNoquv

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) July 31, 2026

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“A lot of the AEW stars are well-seasoned, they’re well-trained, and they’re invested not only in the product. And that’s why Tony Khan, he’s the owner-operator, he’s hands-on, he’s there, he’s making the calls, and it’s a great guy to work for. And he puts a product for families to go out and enjoy.

If you’re thinking about going, on the fence, that’s when you got to go because you’re going to miss something very special in wrestling.”

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