Through 2025, now under TKO’s rule, the WWE earned $1.7 billion in revenues. If we apply that same 15% rule, the pro wrestlers should earn around $255 million.

Anyone care to bet me that they are NOT earning that?

As we saw in the news, multiple wrestlers were asked to take 50% paycuts. This prompted the New Day to ask for their releases and were granted them, as those longtime WWE employees and actual merchandise sellers were insulted at the notion of taking 50% off of contracts that TKO signed. Reportedly, one longtime wrestler did take the 50%, with some guessing Miz or another wrestler thinking that leaving the WWE would jeopardize his opportunities (LA Knight?) without his trademarked WWE name.

Meanwhile, TKO Executive Chair and CEO Ariel Emanuel received total compensation of $67.4 million while the CFO earned $23.1 million and the COO earned $42.6 million. What, they couldn’t take 50% paycuts themselves? Nick Khan, who is president/CEO of the WWE and also on the TKO board, made over $24 million during 2025.

And before you suggest that these “Chief” positions are doing such a great job, then why does TKO carry almost $5 billion in DEBT despite UFC and WWE having revenues pouring into their coffers? Also, why did the Endeavor corporation have so much debt that it needed Silver Lake to finance them and buy them?

In other words, WWE wrestlers are getting SCREWED on their network while TKO and WWE executives are pulling in the money.

Hell, Triple H is earning $2.8 million according to Sports Illustrated. He’s the Chief Content Officer who actually puts the shows together and then produces them live at the events as well. He’s putting in way more work than those sitting in cushy offices all day, and HHH has to be micro-managed by these TKO fools as well.

As we head into Labor Day, it’s time for WWE wrestlers to STAND UP and stop swallowing the turd sandwiches that WWE, with this TKO corporate daddies, keep serving them.

WWE wrestlers are the ones taking the bumps in the ring, getting thrown through tables, having to travel all over the country or world, work through injuries, be away from their families, and have to do countless charity and personal appearances for TKO and WWE. Furthermore, they are silenced from expressing themselves personally and WWE/TKO owns all of the copyrights that the wrestlers help build up as a solid brand.

What wrestlers don’t realize is that they have all of the power. If each walked out and refused to do a televised wrestling event, which puts the Netflix, USA Network, and ESPN+ deals in jeopardy, the WWE could be in trouble with each of those companies with those television deals. Further, wrestlers need to understand how MAD fans are at TKO right now for price gouging them on live events and merchandise while feeding them to the price gouging streaming wolves with Netflix and ESPN/Disney. If wrestlers were to walk out today, fans would back them because they’ve been pissed at TKO’s corporate antics for the past 2 years.

Yet, the wrestlers are afraid to stand up to these corporate cowards.

And I’m full aware of what the WWE did to keep labor unions away during the Vince McMahon era. Vince liked to push one wrestler really hard, such as Hogan and then Austin/Rock, then Cena, and the eventually Roman Reigns along with supporting others like the Undertaker. By coddling up to the top person on the card, Vince knew that he could keep drawing if the top guy was loyal and therefore made the rest of the roster expendable. Without Vince, Roman Reigns remains the highest paid guy followed by Cody Rhodes, who happens to be represented by WME which serves as an agency where several TKO executives still work as agents (Ari Emanuel, for example, represents Pat McAfee personally).

For a union to actually form in the WWE, they would need the top main eventers to be willing to support the union. Hulk Hogan wouldn’t, as he stooged out Jesse Ventura to Vince McMahon during 1986 (right before Wrestlemania 2) when Jesse tried to suggest that wrestlers unionize and hold up Wrestlemania 2 to accomplish this feat. Once that ended, Vince further demolished the territory competition to make his promotion the #1 in the land and made it difficult to argue. Then, Austin, Rock, Triple H, and Undertaker with John Cena later playing the game came along and accepted being loyal main eventers for Vince.

Personally, I’ve always argued that wrestlers should desire to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) which is now called SAG-AFTRA. WWE wrestlers are clearly following scripts both in their promos and how matches are laid out with backstage producers. They are also taking prepared stunts. They are televised each week on Netflix and USA Network, along with PLEs now on ESPN+. WWE has been long established as a form of “entertainment” with an court precedent in place when state athletic commissions tried to regulate pro wrestling during the late 1980s.

Admittedly, there are economic consequences of unions, historically speaking…

– Unions work in strength in numbers, even with a portion of those numbers are weaker performers.

– Pay for union workers is often due to seniority and not just merit or performance.

– If current workforce shrinks, then ability to fund benefits, such as retirements and pensions on a pay-as-you-go system becomes a major financial problem.

– Labor stoppages, such as strikes or lockouts could occur when a contract is up or nearly up or if there’s a new disagreement between the parties.

Right now, both the NBA and NFL split revenues almost halfway between the ownership and players. 50%, compared to wrestlers earning 15% on contracts that can be cancelled at any point. NBA contracts are fully guaranteed, while NFL contracts are mostly guaranteed and are often subject to renegotiation if a player outperforms their current deal.

One could argue “well, if the wrestlers get paid more and take in more revenues, then TKO will raise its prices”.

Great argument… BUT TKO IS ALREADY RAISING THEIR PRICES!!!!!!

They’ve been gouging fans HARD over the past 3 years… Know what is causing them to price gouge? Total greed, as top executives are pulling in 8 figures a year and laughing as the wrestlers take the bumps on their behalf.

It’s now or never, WWE wrestlers. If you want to be pawns for the WWE brand that TKO wants you to be, then keep working under the current terms and they’ll pick you off individually one-by-one. Otherwise, take ownership of yourselves as a locker room and hold greedy TKO executives accountable.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: With Labor Day Here Again, WWE Wrestlers Should Consider Unionizing Against the Greedy TKO Machine appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Netflix’s broadcast censored the blood by blurring Jey’s face, as well as the blood on the ground. Following the show, Paul “Triple H” Levesque shared the full backstage footage on social media with the blurred portions removed.

Destructive.
Dangerous.
And at #WWERaw. pic.twitter.com/pqVbLnO6bH

— Triple H (@TripleH) September 1, 2026

The post Triple H publishes uncensored footage of Royce Keys and OTM’s attack from WWE RAW appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“I think Hunter [Triple H] wants to maintain and think that Motorhead wrote those songs. I don’t think he’s a very big fan. I think, when he was coming out of wrestling into more of a behind-the-scenes role, he clearly wanted his own guys and he perceived me as Vince [McMahon]’s guy. I think that’s why I’m not being asked to write themes anymore.

I’d be happy to do it [write more themes] but you have to be asked, I think that the chances that Hunter’s going to ask are close to zero, that the WWE music group is going to call me up, I think, is zero. And that the guy who’s currently doing the themes for WWE, I think, is zero.”

The post Former WWE music composer Jim Johnston says he would be happy to write more theme songs 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

The post ASK TITO: Roman Reigns Overrated?, Brock Lesnar Retirement, Oba Femi, Chelsea Green, WWE Using Vice City, and AEW Contracts Up for 2027 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

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 get that. If you are the guy who wants to take the spot, it is frustrating when there’s guys above you who have the spot, and that’s the thing.

The post Triple H: “99% of the time in this business, the person gets over, then gets the push” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“Let me just say this. I appreciate this. I appreciate how much you’re a man of your word. I also appreciate that you’re a man. Come to cross the line. You crossed the line, but we settled it the way we do in WWE. You got in the ring and you fought for what you believed in. Doesn’t matter the outcome, matters that you fought.

"I believe in what you did" @TripleH has reinstated @RealNickAldis as the General Manager of #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/uczwxblYn9

— WWE (@WWE) August 2, 2026

The post What happened with Triple H and Nick Aldis after WWE SummerSlam went off the air appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Did you get all of that?

OK… Since Vince McMahon resigned from the TKO Board of Directors and then sold most of his TKO shares during early 2024, he’s been in a few legal wrangles. For one, he quietly used WWE money to pay for the NDA settlements instead of his own and because he didn’t disclose these legal matters, it was a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) violation of not informing investors of such legal risks. With a new administration in place, they settled out of court and Vince paid a fine and reimbursed WWE for some of the NDA settlements. Next up, the Justice Department investigated Vince for sexual abuse crimes, but a change in administrations caused this to be dropped as well. Finally, the civil case between Vince and Janel Grant, as Janel alleges Vince stopped paying the NDA settlement and Vince alleged she breached the NDA contract by speaking to her friend. They are now settling privately with an arbitrator and with that, Janel dropped the civil case.

So, with Vince McMahon now free of legal issues, there are actual wrestling marks who are literally BEGGING executives at TKO to bring Vince McMahon back!

That’s right, the SAME Vince McMahon whom they were attacking during the 2010s as “obsolete”, “senile”, and “out of touch” while accusing him of “micro-managing” everything (which I covered THIS COLUMN for the MANY bad creative decisions he oversaw)… They want him to return now.

Really? So you’re telling me that you want an 80 year-old (soon to be 81) guy to rejoin an office setting or a backstage area full of women? Again, you already denounced his 2010s creative work, so why would you want that back?

Many idiots are like “well, he’d be better than Triple H”? Really? Because the last 5 years under Triple H’s tenure has made MORE MONEY than the last 5 years under Vince’s full tenure. Sure, Vince had to deal with 2020, but WWE was sinking badly during 2017-2019 with RAW viewership dropping, merchandise sales declining, and attendance dropping. Remember, they began SHRINKING houseshow events during 2019 because of poor attendance.

Triple H is doing a great job on creative, especially when he has free reign with the pen as he had during 2022 and mostly during 2023 (Vince meddled a tad during that year). The PROBLEM is the corporate overlords within Endeavor who keep putting their hands into the pike at TKO and within WWE. For one, they’re deciding to price gouge WWE fans on ticket prices, merchandising, and handing them over to ESPN and Netflix to be price gouged there. Secondly, they are encouraging ANY wrestler who is represented by Endeavor’s folks via the WME agency to be pushed. Hence why Becky Lynch, Logan Paul, Nikki Bella, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes are always pushed and why they tried to shoehorn Pat McAfee into the Cody vs. Orton match at Wrestlemania 42. Ari Emanuel, who serves as TKO’s CEO and Pat McAfee’s agent, called Pat the “next Sylvester Stallone” and he was dead serious about it.

Further, COO Mark Shapiro of TKO said that TKO had “complete creative control” over the WWE. Exact quote.

Triple H is just a manager of the creative team, but he’s really a vessel to pass along communications from TKO executives or their analytics team on what to do next.

Thus, if Vince actually returns, he’ll be that vessel for TKO’s communications and analytics, too. And Vince already played that game by constantly kowtowing to USA Network, FOX, Mattel, and other corporate sponsors while bending the knee also to the Saudi government for their money.

But to desire to bring Vince McMahon back would be to accept, 100%, of the monster that he really is. By supporting his immoral and potentially illegal behavior, you’re an enabler and possibly a terrible person yourself.

Let’s just look at the Vince McMahon issues that we’ve heard about since April 2022. Just those, alone…

– Janel Grant for $3 million as a NDA settlement for conduct from 2019 through 2022 before Linda McMahon discovered the relationship threatened to divorce Vince. The relationship began as consensual with Janel, but quickly morphed into threesomes, defecations, and trying to offer her to other WWE employees (like Brock Lesnar and Michael P.S. Hayes) with John Laurinaitis taking the bait.

– Former female wrestler who left the company during the mid-2000s for $7.5 million, settled during 2018. Reportedly gave Vince oral sex for a push, but instead of pushing her character on television, he wanted more sexual favors. She refused and then her contact wasn’t renewed in 2005.

– Former female wrestler was sent naked photos of Vince during 2008 and Vince made sexual advances to her. Vince settled with a $1 million NDA settlement

– Female manager (not sure if that’s a performer or a corporate employee with the title of “manager”) was paid $1 million via NDA settlement to remain quiet about a sexual relationship with Vince McMahon.

– John Laurinaitis lost his job as Talent Relations EVP during 2012 due to “sexual misconduct” and resulted in a $1.5 million NDA. Bear in mind that John Laurinaitis was also involved in the Janel Grant case and is a big source of the “trafficking” allegation by Janel with Vince passing her on to Johnny Ace.

– In 1992, Rita Chatterton accused Vince McMahon of sexual assault dating back to 1986. If you watch the Vince McMahon documentary on Netflix, Vince admits they had a “consensual relationship” to acknowledge that they were together. During December 2022 before Vince McMahon could return to the WWE during early 2003, Vince chose to settle out-of-court for this ongoing legal threat to the tune of “multi-millions” with an undisclosed sum (Rita was asking for over $11 million in damages)

^ THAT is what you want returning to an office or backstage area with female employees around.

Really? Could you look your wives, sisters, mothers, or any other females in your lives and say it with a straight face “I support Vince McMahon”?

If you haven’t, please try…

We’ve established that Vince McMahon did a TERRIBLE job during the 2010s overseeing and micro-managing WWE Creative. Now, we’ve established him as a danger to other employees and a financial risk as well.

But wait, there’s more… I’ve only covered the issues that have come up since April 2022. What about the other problems in the past with Vince McMahon?

– Accused of steroid distribution during the early 1990s, indicted and went to trial during 1994. Yes, Vince McMahon was exonerated, BUT he totally let Dr. Zahorian freely roam WWE locker rooms and toured often in Pennsylvania just to ensure the good doctor could attend those events. Vince won the case because a poor performance by the prosecution and bad witnesses used, but there is ZERO dispute that Dr. Zahorian (a) sold steroids to wrestlers and (b) sold steroids personally to Vince. Vince and many wrestlers are on record saying they purchased steroids or other prescription drugs from Zahorian.

– Only had drug testing briefly after the 1994 trial. Wrestlers back on the gas during the late 1990s and first half of 2000s until Eddie Guerrero passed away in 2005. Then a “Wellness Policy” was created but it didn’t punish nor did it publicly announce any wrestlers caught with any substances or performance enhancements. It wasn’t until Chris Benoit’s murders/suicide and then the online pharmacy scandal afterward that caused the Wellness Policy to have more teeth beyond 2007.

– Utter refusal to acknowledge concussions were an issue for his wrestlers. Again, the wake-up call was Chris Benoit and then Chris Nowiski convincing Vince that brain injuries were serious. Years upon years of forcing wrestlers to work through concussions took untold damage on wrestlers, including Benoit. Wrestlers took pills to compensate or steroids to heal faster from injuries.

– The “Ring Boys” scandal of the 1980s and early 1990s, where younger boys who were employed to help set up WWE rings were sexually harassed and/or “exploited” by several WWE employees accused and were later fired.

– Jimmy Snuka’s controversy from 1983 when his girlfriend Nancy Argentino died of traumatic brain injuries in their shared hotel room. Vince is on record of talking with authorities for a prior domestic abuse claim regarding Snuka and Argentino. With the way it was believed that Nancy died due to “falling”, it’s suspected that some intervention occurred with Vince or WWE regarding this case. It was re-opened during 2015 and Snuka was finally indicted with a grand jury reviewing evidence. Later dismissed due to Jimmy Snuka being in poor health to stand trial.

– Accused of sexually harassing and groping a female employee at a tanning salon during 2006. While no charges were filed after the police were called, it’s unknown if Vince made any payouts. But, this is within the pattern of behavior.

– Admitted in Playboy magazine to “cheating” repeatedly on Linda McMahon. While this isn’t illegal, it’s just evidence of an aggressive sexual appetite that Vince has and would later financially pay for.

OK, Vince-loving marks… Do you really what this 80 soon-to-be 81 year old back who has a pattern of BAD behavior plus is actually TERRIBLE at his job as proven by the utter creative trash we saw during the 2010s that caused many wrestlers to leave the WWE out of utter creative frustration?

Go rewatch the WWE of the 2010s and tell me that you want Vince McMahon back. Did you enjoy those Jack Swagger, Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and Jinder Mahal pushes? Overpushing an inexperienced Roman Reigns as a babyface? You must enjoy the taste of a crap sandwich and enjoy it, as Vince is quoted as saying many times.

Hell, go rewatch the WWE of the 2000s… Lots of utter crap there. WCW/ECW Invasion, anyone? Katie Vick? Botched New World Order in 2002. Shoving oversized goofs like A-Train and Nathan Jones down our throats?

As someone on X/Twitter once put out (apologies, as I forget your name or where I’ve quoted you previously)… Guys like the Rock took utter CRAP that Vince McMahon gave them and made it look great. Because of guys like Rock and John Cena polishing the TURDS that Vince McMahon’s creative gave them, it created a false sense of belief that the creative was good but the wrestlers performing it were bad. Many wrestlers suffered because of the BAD creative given to them that they personally couldn’t overcome compared to top tier talents like Rock or John Cena who could turn any lemon into lemonade.

Look at the difference between Roman Reigns of the 2010s, written primarily by Vince McMahon, versus Roman Reigns of the 2020s who was written by Paul Heyman with some creative freedom given to Roman. BIG DIFFERENCE when your career isn’t micro-managed by a senile old man named Vince McMahon.

Yet, fools still want Vince McMahon to return to the WWE and run creative again.

Even with all of the evidence, including your own quotes about how you hated the 2010s WWE, ya still want him back.

The FACT is that all of these Vince McMahon LOVERS are in their late 30s or above, and they still think that the late 1990s Attitude Era felt like yesterday. YET, they always seem to overlook the Vince McMahon-led WWE of 2001 through early 2022. And I understand this idea, because at my age in the 40s, it feels like the 1990s were just yesterday, too.

HOWEVER – I DO NOT want to return to the Vince McMahon creative style of the 2010s. NO THANK YOU. And to me, the Attitude Era is long gone and can’t be replicated, ESPECIALLY with a Vince McMahon who is 26 years older than the peak years of the Attitude Era and with a lot more bad documented behavior since.

The current issue with the WWE is that TKO executives micro-manage everything, as their tenacles are all over UFC and ruined that brand since the mid 2010s. Now, they want to play in the WWE and control things there too.

Further, the issue about Triple H is NOT about Creative… It’s about talent. Triple H’s biggest weakness is talent development, as his system just doesn’t scout wrestlers well, nor do they train MALE wrestlers that well either. If TKO wants to be a hero, they’d segregate that duty from Triple H and put someone else in charge. WWE is too veteran heavy right now with the younger crop that came up through HHH’s system not paying off. By the way, talents like Bron Breakker or Tiffany Stratton were John Laurinaitis signings.

WWE’s roster is tired and exhausted from doing 2-3 hours of RAW per week, 2-3 hours of Smackdown per week, more houseshows again, and monthly 3 hour Premium Live Events (PLE). Their wrestlers in their late 30s or in their 40s are getting exhausted or injured from demanding schedule.

THAT is nothing Vince McMahon could solve and his creative would run into the same exact thing, except he’d push just 1-2 veterans at the top instead of 5-10 wrestlers.

So go ahead, keep praising Vince McMahon and being nostalgia for any photos you took with him… But you have recent years of sample creative data, like the 2010s, to review how Vince managed the WWE company and then you have all of these legal issues + terrible treatment of women.

Open your eyes and see how bad TKO is micro-managing the WWE right now, just like Vince McMahon micro-managed the WWE during the 2010s.

But hey, we live in a society today where many people look the other way at bad behavior as long as it serves some weird desire (like “owning” another group of people).

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: Calling Out Wrestling Fans Who Want Vince McMahon to Return to the WWE and TKO appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“Bro, this is the worst creative in the history of the WWE. This is worse than Stephanie [McMahon] because Triple H is the politician. Triple H is in the seat, and now we’re seeing what Triple H can do. And let me tell you something, bro. What Triple H can do is not pretty.”

Russo also expressed skepticism that Triple H would ever be open to a conversation with him to discuss creative ideas…

“You got a guy like Triple H. Obviously, they’re having a problem creatively. Is Triple H ever going to have a conversation with ME? Absolutely not. And, bro, that’s stupid because I can help you because I’m not as close to it as you are. I’m seeing it completely differently. And you may be missing how casual viewers are looking at your show.”

The post Vince Russo says Triple H’s booking is “the worst creative in the history of the WWE” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“Whether we’re doing something right or we’re doing something wrong, I love that passion. I love it. It’s amazing. They’re not always going to agree with everything that happens.

The post Triple H on the mixed reactions to WWE: “I love the hate, I love the love, it’s all passion for what we do” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.