According to Fightful.com, there is currently a hold on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans from March 12th through April 21st, 2029. A source who has worked WWE events in the city told Fightful that the hold was placed in connection with WWE.

The hold does not necessarily mean WWE would use the Superdome for six consecutive weeks. Major stadium events can require extended load-in periods, and a lengthy hold could give WWE flexibility to finalize the exact dates for an event.

New Orleans and WWE have a hold on the Superdome for the spring of 2029, when WrestleMania would be scheduled, sources told @FightfulSelect

We have more details, including WWE's response for subscribers pic.twitter.com/ijOtnU3YYo

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) October 7, 2026

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Reportedly, the country of Saudi Arabia is paying the WWE upwards of $250 million to host WrestleMania 43. Prior to 2027, only Canada (twice) was fortunate enough to host WWE’s biggest and most trademarked event since its inception in 1985. Prior to WrestleMania 43, Saudi has paid the WWE $100 million for Royal Rumble 2026 and around $20-30 million per various other Premium Live Event (PLE) shows. This relationship with Saudi Arabia has been a very lucrative one for the WWE and now TKO since 2018. However, it has come with a few headaches, too.

For example:

– Saudi Arabia’s government is based heavily on Sharia Law. You may look that up yourself, but it’s a good reason why we have “separation of church and state” here in the United States. State-run religion tends to historically dislike any other religions contrary to the one that the government practices. Further with Saudi Arabia, they are just now granting various rights and opportunities to females now that weren’t there in the past. During WWE PLEs, the country runs various ads and video segments in attempt to advertise how much they’ve evolved lately.

– The assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi occurred during October 2018, which put a ton of world attention on the country. If you’ll recall, there was political pressure on Vince McMahon to not host a recent PLE there during that time (Crown Jewel), but he still had the event anyway despite lots of political pressure not to.

– Following the Crown Jewell 2019 event, WWE wrestlers were stuck in a plan for almost full day due to a reported payment dispute that Vince McMahon had with the country of Saudi Arabia for hosting their events. While Vince and top wrestlers got the hell out of dodge via private plane, up to 200 wrestlers, production crew members, and other WWE employees were left stranded and the plane wasn’t allowed to leave… Or that’s one side of the story, as WWE claimed mechanical issues. Then why keep them on the same plane?

BUT, I would say since 2019, it’s been a smooth experience and the country of Saudi Arabia seems to like working with the TKO/Endeavor group. UFC has had 2 of its events in Saudi Arabia, for example, and there have been no hiccups with WWE. After all, both Royal Rumble and WrestleMania went to Saudi for $350 million. Safe to suggest that the relationship is doing well right now.

WrestleMania 43 will be in Riyadh… On September 19, 2026, a fuel storage depot near the Riyadh Airport was attached by drones and missiles. This was reportedly performed by Houthi, a religious group based out of the country of Yemen with close ties to Iran. Weeks prior to this, they successfully struck the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Want to know why gas prices shot up during September? There you go, this very attack. Other places and military bases have also been struck lately, along with a few Saudi Arabia tankers in the Red Sea. While Iran conducts its own strategy within the Strait of Hormuz, the Houthis have been performing its own attacks the Red Sea. Both waterways surround Saudi Arabia on both sides.

Why is Saudi Arabia being attacked? It’s who they know and associate themselves with lately…

During late February of 2026, Israel conducted military strikes on Iran with the United States providing additional military support on the country of Iran. Prior to this, strikes occurred during June of 2025 to “obliterate” their nuclear facilities. These strikes continued that premise, but also had direct strikes on the leadership of Iran and ended up killing the Ayatollah and other top Iranian officials.

Iran’s response has been rather unique… Instead of getting revenge directly on Israel and the United States, they’ve opted to attack any Middle East country who serves as an ally for either country. In addition to strikes directly on Israel, they’ve aimed drones and missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, and of course, Saudi Arabia. Sometimes, they were aiming at United States military bases in the regions (hence the casualties), both other times they were hitting key infrastructure such as oil or natural gas refineries which takes years to rebuild (hence, another reason why gas prices are up). Iran also realized that they could control the Strait of Hormuz, which is a waterway connecting the Persian Gulf (remember that from Desert Storm of 1990-1991?) and the Gulf of Oman waterways that many Middle Eastern countries use to transport oil to various countries.

As Iran has attacked all of these different countries, most of which are allies with United States, they are causing each country to burn through their interceptor missile munition supplies to shoot down any missiles or drones that Iran sends their way. In many cases, we’re looking at $2-5 million interceptor missiles shooting down drones that might cost up to $30,000 each. Each of these allied Middle Eastern countries have burned through their protective stockpiles and now it makes them more vulnerable than ever. This military equipment can’t be made fast enough to protect against future attacks. It also costs a ton of money to make (Patriot missile types, especially).

I’m not here to assess blame, but merely to express danger that WrestleMania 43 has around them in Saudi Arabia… Look at what is surrounding Saudi Arabia as a country right now. Iran is nearby with only a waterway (Persian Gulf) and the country of Iraq between them on its Eastern border. Further, they share a Southern border with Yemen which is where the Houthis live. In other words, they are vulnerable from attacks from the South and from the East right now in their country, and that’s scary when you consider they’ve burned through interceptor missiles and other projectiles already. Saudi Arabia also has Israel to its North, while also having Lebanon to its North as well. Both countries have their own Iranian proxy groups in the form of Hamas and Hezbollah.

There’s a ton of danger surrounding Saudi Arabia as they attempt to host WWE’s biggest show during April 2027.

Now, if I were a betting man, I would suspect that WWE WrestleMania 43 will have extra security in place for this event. It’s very likely that the United States military will be on HIGH ALERT for both nights of WrestleMania 43. That’s right, TWO nights of WrestleMania to be on-guard and to ensure that nothing happens. BUT, there needs to be protection of the wrestlers flying into the event, too, and would cost money.

In my opinion, though, there presents TOO MUCH RISK on the WWE performers, any WWE employees, and any Saudi Arabian fan attending the event. Heck, any WWE fan who is able to actually travel to this from other countries, too.

So, MOVE THE DAMN EVENT!

WrestleMania 43 was supposed to be originally held in Nashville, TN. Award it back to them.

WrestleMania 42 was supposed to be originally held in New Orleans, LA but was shifted back to Las Vegas for another price gouging year. Award WM 43 to them.

Sorry, but what’s happening in the Middle East is bigger than ensuring that TKO’s executives receive 8-figure bonuses at year-end.

What you see happening now has been building since the 1940s and especially towards the United States since the 1950s following the coup of their government. Through the late 1970s, the Islamic Revolution happened and installed the religious government that has been in existence ever since and led by the Ayatollahs (3 family members with direct bloodlines) who are seen as religious figures more than leaders of a country. The current Iranian leaders have disliked the United States since their 1953 coup that reinstalled the Shah, while their ongoing rivalry with Israel was made worse with the Shah government installed by the U.S. was very favorable and friends with Israel.

Since the late 1970s, Iran has been not just an outspoken critic of the U.S. or Israel, but also funded proxy groups to help facilitate their viewpoints and to perform various attacks. For example, Hamas, who is funded a reported $100 million annually by Iran, launched attacks on Israel during October 7, 2023 which killed over 1,200 people. This deadly attack response prompted a sharp response by Israel on the Gaza Strip and would set the stage for what we’ve seen during 2025 and 2026. Prior to recent events, Israel and Palestine were always off and on peace deals or ceasefires, but politics or other events have ended those.

In other words, WrestleMania 43 happening in a nearby country is at risk being close to international and religious stuff that has been cooking for over 70 years now and has really escalated with recent attacks and other activity in the Middle East.

Right now, as of 9/22/26, Saudi Arabia has a TRAVEL ADVISORY with the entire country at Level 3, which suggests “Reconsider Travel” with additional areas inside the country considered as Level 4 for “Do not travel”.

Here is what the advisory says, and I am quoting directly from this advisory on 9/22/26:

*****

Reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to risk of Iranian drone and missile targeting of American interests, armed conflict, terrorism, exit bans, and local laws regarding social media activity. Some areas have increased risk.

– Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive important updates and alerts from the U.S. embassy or consulate. Enrolling helps the U.S. embassy or consulate contact you or your emergency contact in an emergency.
– Review the Country Security Report for Saudi Arabia.
– Monitor local media for breaking events and be prepared to adjust your plans.
– Many prescription medications need prior approval before bringing into or taking out of Saudi Arabia. Before you travel, register any listed prescriptions at the Controlled Drug System (CDS) website. This approval process may take several weeks.
– Review our information on Terrorism and travel to High-Risk Areas.
– Have a plan to leave in an emergency that does not depend on U.S. government help. – Review our information on Crisis Response and Evacuations.
– Keep travel documents up to date and easy to access.
– Stay aware of your surroundings.
– Stay alert in large crowds or tourist spots.
– Avoid public displays of affection, particularly between same-sex couples.
– Visit Saudi Arabia’s website for information about public decency regulations.
– Do not carry, produce, use, or distribute illegal drugs in Saudi Arabia.
– Review local laws and conditions before traveling, including our Saudi Arabia country information on arrests.
– Review our information for Gay and Lesbian travelers.
– Before you travel, delete any sensitive photos, comments, or past content that might be seen as controversial or inappropriate in Saudi Arabia. Do not post, share, or like such content while in Saudi Arabia. Do this for your social media accounts, cameras, laptops, phones, and other accounts and devices.
– Visit our page regarding Arrest or Detention Abroad for more information on what happens when you or a loved one is arrested abroad.
– Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page for the latest Travel Health Information for Saudi Arabia.
– We highly recommend that you buy travel insurance before you travel. Check with your travel insurance provider about evacuation assistance, medical insurance, and trip cancelation coverage.
– Whether you’re a first time or frequent traveler, use the International Travel Checklist.

*****

Are you freakin’ nuts, TKO and WWE?

Why potentially subject your WWE “independent contractors” and employees to this?

Why cause our hard-earned tax dollars to be spent on protection so that you can make $250 million in Saudi?

Why are you putting your own fans at risk for attending this WWE event in a danger zone?

I have a solution… Each and every TKO executive MUST attend WrestleMania 43 and then have to leave the event using commercial airlines. Yeah, I guarantee this event gets moved immediately!

Read the “potential targets” section again…

Potential targets include:

– Important political, cultural, or religious locations
– Places visited by U.S. citizens and other foreigners (!!!)
– Tourist locations and large gatherings (!!!)
– Hotels, and locations where American citizens gather (!!!)
– Transportation hubs
– Markets and shopping malls
– Entertainment venues (!!!)
– Government facilities

Majority of that SCREAMS WrestleMania 43.

You can say whatever you want about the Saudi Arabia government and why WWE (now TKO) is doing business with them. We’ve been arguing that since 2018.

However, this is a discussion about SAFETY because Saudi Arabia has had missiles shot at them and drones attacking them, while having bases and critical energy infrastructure destroyed.

And this issue won’t heal itself overnight, and is in fact becoming worse. These Houthi attacks are escalating and hitting that East-West pipeline is why you’re paying over $4 per gallon unleaded and why truckers are paying a record $6+ per gallon for diesel. Anywhere something gets shipped by truck, they’ll increase their prices too.

Move the damn event!!!

WWE wrestlers need to realize that they have leverage right now. Want us to wrestle in Saudi Arabia? PAY US MORE while ensuring our SAFETY for this event.

And if you were predicting Rock vs. Roman Reigns to finally happen at this event? There’s NO WAY that the TKO would send one of its Board of Directors to this event. However, if TKO wants to make a statement, then boldly have the Rock wrestle and perform there…

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: WWE and TKO Should Seriously Consider MOVING WrestleMania 43 Away from Saudi Arabia Due to Safety Concerns appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Through Wrestlemania 6, nobody could deny that Ultimate Warrior was clearly #2 and trending upward. Also, Hulk Hogan didn’t exactly have a great post-Wrestlemania 5 time after having the ridiculous follow-up feud with Zeus who became a character-turned-wrestler from the awful WWE produced film No Holds Barred. Rather than milking Hogan vs. Savage a little longer, WWE shifted the focus on making an actor somehow figure out pro wrestling quickly on the fly.

During 1989, the WWE did really well financially because they had two separate houseshow circuits that were killing it throughout the country. On one hand, you had the A-Show that featured Hulk Hogan as the headliner and defending the WWE Title. Meanwhile, the B-Show was still killing it with the Ultimate Warrior headlining that show. WWE packed houses across the country with both Hogan and Ultimate Warrior on top, while the merchandise involving either Hogan or Warrior sold extremely well.

In terms of drawing power and merchandise sales, nobody came close to Hogan or Warrior through the beginning of 1990. Thus, it seemed reasonable that the Ultimate Warrior could take the top spot from Hogan and run with it. Especially now with Hogan getting older and maybe peaking through Wrestlemania 5.

And I’m right about Hulk Hogan. He did, in fact, peak through 1989… While Hogan did make a comeback to the main event through 1991 and became WWE Champion again at Wrestlemania 7, business continued to decline throughout 1991 with Hogan as champion. Then, came Royal Rumble 1992 where Hogan was booed after he helped eliminate Sid Justice insomuch that the WWE actually edited those boos and the commentary on the home video version of the show.

Hulk Hogan did well as the returning hero in 1991 because of the old Jim Cornette philosophy of “how do we know how much you’re loved if you don’t go away”. Having Hogan lose during 1990 and then return as the “knight in shining armor” during 1991 helped boost interest in Hogan for his return to the main event. However, it was short lived and by Rumble 1992, wrestling fans were beginning to boo him heavily.

Proves to me, too, that WWE could have turned Hogan HEEL during 1992 and could have made money years before WCW got to benefit from turning Hogan heel during 1996.

Let’s get back to the Ultimate Warrior. He was VERY OVER through Wrestlemania 6 and fans were split in that PACKED Toronto Skydome. However, what nobody could fully predict is that Warrior would go a bit off the deep end after this event. His marriage began to fall apart as he began to pick up bad habits on the road. As he was now asked to do more fan events as WWE Champion, he wasn’t always cheerful to fans during those. Warrior also wasn’t “one of the boys” like Hogan was, as Hogan built relationships with wrestlers and developed long-term friendships with everyone. Jim Hellwig, however, was a complete loner and very introverted. These things were overlooked on Warrior’s rise to the top, but then placed under the microscope once he was on top.

However, WWE did him no favors AFTER Wrestlemania 6. Warrior’s opponents? Curt Hennig, Ted Dibiase, and Rick Rude. Warrior already disposed of Rude over the Intercontinental Title during 1989, yet that’s who Warrior had to feud with for the big spot on SummerSlam 1990. Ted Dibiase was deep in the midcard during 1989 and 1990 after almost becoming WWE Champion during 1988. Curt Hennig was also a midcarder, as he’d become Intercontinental Champion several times during 1990. Warrior was also repeatedly tagging up with the Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) to take on all 3 members of Demolition repeatedly.

The “Warrior failed as champion” narrative falls apart when you see who he was wrestling during 1990. All midcarders. Why are you doing that with your World Champion?

What WWE should have done after Wrestlemania 6 was to immediately feud with Macho Man Randy Savage. Instead, the WWE let Warrior wrestle midcarders and waste 8 months as WWE Champion before he lost to Sgt. Slaughter at Royal Rumble 1991 when Macho Man, whom I just mentioned, interfered to begin the Warrior vs. Macho Man feud at Wrestlemania 7. By the way, the Savage vs. Warrior match at WM 7 was amazing and shows the missed opportunity of having Savage immediately challenge Warrior for the WWE Title during 1990. Savage, of course, was getting jobbed repeatedly to Dusty Rhodes during the first half of 1990.

I also thought that ”Rowdy” Roddy Piper could have been an opponent for Ultimate Warrior after Wrestlemania 6, too. Piper wrestled “Bad News” Brown at Wrestlemania 6 and that as a bit controversial with Piper painting half of his body black.

Either Savage or Piper would have been adequate feuds for Warrior and if needed, either man could have become WWE Champion to potentially set-up a big drawing Wrestlemania 7 with Hogan and Savage doing it again or Piper vs. Hogan, finally, with a one-on-one at Wrestlemania.

But instead, Warrior wrestled Hennig/Dibiase/Rude, who are each fine wrestlers but were midcarders then, and then lost the title to the COMPLETE JOKE Sgt. Slaughter character who became an Iraqi Sympathizer.

You can call Warrior a “failure” as WWE Champion all you want, but he was given no favors by WWE creative during 1990 after Wrestlemania 6. Then, he was given Randy Savage during 1991 and those guys blew the doors off of everything at Wrestlemania 7 with their Retirement Match which received 5-star ratings by many publications while the rest of the show, including Hogan vs. Slaughter, did not. However, after Wrestlemania 7, Hogan was the #1 pushed guy again.

Let me stress a few points…

If Ultimate Warrior was “such a failure”, then why did Vince McMahon bring him back at Wrestlemania 8?

If Ultimate Warrior was “such a failure”, then why did Vince McMahon bring him back at Wrestlemania 12?

If Ultimate Warrior was “such a failure”, then why did Vince McMahon want to bring him back during late 1997 as documented contract negotiations show?

The FACT is that the Ultimate Warrior was fed midcard opponents throughout the rest of 1990, while Vince McMahon had crazy ideas of presenting the Desert Storm events of the real world during 1990-1991 into the WWE. Vince convinced Sgt. Slaughter to turn heel and Hulk Hogan was just the more ideal “American Hero” to pit against Slaughter versus Hogan. Thus, pushing Hogan back to the top was more ideal than the Warrior.

WWE wasting Roddy Piper (who may have had movie or television commitments) or Randy Savage during 1990 just irks me. Missed opportunities there.

BUT, the fact remains that Ultimate Warrior drew houses and sold merchandise, with his numbers being the closest to Hogan versus any other wrestler. The problem is that Warrior may have peaked with the chase for the title, but he was given no help from creative back then to ever truly know.

The Ultimate Warrior last wrestled for the WWE during 1996, which was when the WWE was hitting the valley of their decline since that 1989 peak. Yet, 30 years later, Warrior’s merchandise still sells well to this day and anyone who grew up as a kid when Warrior was peaking still speaks highly of him. Further, yes, Warrior was a troubled guy, but he redeemed himself by being a happily married man and father. His WWE return during 2014 was emotional with his Hall of Fame speech, returning to Wrestlemania, and then returning to RAW to make his final promo ever.

Many have tried to duplicate Warrior, including WCW to openly lied to fans and presented them with Rick “the Renegade” Wilson instead of bringing in the Ultimate Warrior. Many, many independent promotion knock-offs. Yet, nobody can capture that lightning-in-a-bottle that Jim Hellwig brought with this amazing character. Best in-ring wrestler ever? Nope, but among the top larger than life characters ever.

Warrior 100% deserved to win the WWE Title and was worth the roll of the dice to defeat a potentially declining Hulk Hogan after 1989’s peak. The issues with the WWE were more internal, as WWE had some sharks in the water to deal with back then and possibly creative issues happening after Wrestlemania 5 (Zeus push and Iraqi War storyline, while wasting Randy Savage and Roddy Piper for over a year).

So for all of these YouTube accounts constantly bashing the crowning of the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 6. Most of you weren’t there or were in diapers during the peak Warrior years. He was OVER bigtime back then and moved so much merchandise. So it didn’t work out after Wrestlemania 6? Not much worked between 1990 and 1997. Did you watch Wrestlemania 9?

In my opinion, WWE wasted the talents of Roddy Piper and Randy Savage during the early 1990s, and they entirely botched the acquisition of Sid Justice as well. Sid could have been “the man”, but WWE’s usual desire to keep Hogan strong as a babyface got in the way. Brother. I also thought that the WWE blew the effectiveness of the Undertaker during those early years as some of those feuds became quite goofy with the “monster of the month” feuds. Why the WWE let Yokozuna get severely overweight is beyond me. Razor Ramon should have been pushed as a main eventer.

Point being, WWE’s creative was terrible during the early 1990s if your name wasn’t “Hulk Hogan”.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

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Working within or alongside many corporate structures, I understand the crowning of Sami Zayn. He’s a company man who worked hard, obedient to the cause, and has multiple standout moments where he went above and beyond. I could argue the same about Jey Uso in the WWE as well, along with Darby Allin in AEW becoming their World Champion recently. Sami, Jey, and Darby put in the time and effort to deserve a reward. That’s what you also try to achieve in the corporate setting, although there’s a difference between a reward and an acknowledgement versus a permanent promotion to a higher role in the company.

As wrestling fans, our expectations are often through-the-roof and we demand absolute quality from wrestling promotions. On their end, wrestling promoters are working 7 days a week and 15 hours a day to help satisfy our expectations. It often doesn’t match, but there are times when promoters listen to fans too closely and translate short-term momentum into what they think are long-term gains. However, once the title is achieved for a particular performer, it is soon realized that achieving the title was their peak. The very best wrestlers have peak moments AFTER they become World Champion. For example, look at Stone Cold Steve Austin from Wrestlemania 14 in 1998 through just before he left at Survivor Series 1999. Austin grew infinitely as a star after becoming world champion.

Title belts are where my expectations are a bit higher. To me, being world champion means that you’re “exceptional” and are justified being in the Main Event of multiple consecutive wrestling cards. Your name at the top of a live show, PPV/PLE, or on a television show is what draws people into wrestling. Having the World Title means that at the moment, you’re the absolute best not just right now, but moving forward as well until another guy becomes at least your equal (if not better). I realize there are people like Vince Russo and others who call championships as “play titles” or something to that effect, but who is on TOP of a wrestling card matters. While the midcard has its own moments, you endure a 2-4 hour show because of the LAST MATCH which often features the World Heavyweight Champion.

In my opinion, Sami Zayn will hold the WWE Title for a short period of time. He’s a great hand, always capable of putting on great matches, and is a great character. But, what he’s lacking are those drawing intangibles of feeling “larger than life” that draws people inward for a promotion. His lifelong chase is over, so what else is there to do for Sami Zayn? Honestly, I get that feeling often with Cody Rhodes though I think that Cody has more “larger than life” context to him, thanks to the Rhodes legacy, but not by much versus Sami. I’ve been somewhat lukewarm on Cody since Wrestlemania 40, as his personal chase is over and he’s satisfied his “story” of the Rhodes family wanting to achieve the WWE Title. However, Cody is at least a solid and dependable babyface who has kept stable numbers as champion.

Jey Uso is a complicated story because in my opinion, he was a BIG part of the Bloodline storyline especially during its infancy. Without Jey pulling out great matches out of Roman during 2020, the Bloodline storyline is off to a slow start. Yet, Jey sold being Roman’s cousin and was emotionally questioning why Roman changed his ways. Then, when Sami Zayn joined the group, it was Jey Uso who went through different levels of emotions about Zayn’s addition. In my mind, Jey Uso separated himself from his brother Jimmy Uso as a wrestler because unlike Jimmy, Jey developed a character and uses his charisma to the fullest.

2025 is always a hot debate, especially at Royal Rumble 2025 and then Wrestlemania 41. There, Jey won the Rumble match and then went on to defeat Gunther to become World Champion. Through late 2024, Jey Uso was the #1 merchandise seller and had live crowds pumped with his entrances. That seemed like “main event” momentum, but as you saw on WWE Unreal, there were questions by the WWE Creative Team about his confidence and performance ability in that top spot. Then, you’d watch matches after he became champion and they were struggles to get through, even including several botches that online fans still laugh about to this day. Jey definitely peaked as world champion at WM 41 and just didn’t quite have anything to offer afterward. He’s back in the midcard.

Darby Allin is one of the “Four Pillars” of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), or in other words, one of the 4 wrestlers considered “homegrown” by AEW even though each of them were working for other promotions before AEW. But, being within those pillars means that AEW was each of these wrestler’s big national breaks. In addition to Darby, MJF, Sammy Guevara, and Jack Perry are wrestlers that the WWE or TNA promotions have not used before on a national stage.

Look, I’m not going to bash Darby’s contributions to AEW. In my opinion, he’s a valid draw for the promotion and has provided many exciting moments. That said, many of the “exciting” moments involve very dangerous stunts that could have badly injured him or worse. Thankfully, he’s still operational through 2026 and to me, he’s AEW’s version of Rey Mysterio Jr. Exciting smaller wrestler who brings an extra level of excitement to matches. Of course with Rey Mysterio, he’s safely wrestled at a high level for 30 years now. I don’t believe we’ll be seeing a 30 year career for Darby, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised in the future.

Like Rey Mysterio, I disagree about making Darby a “World Heavyweight Champion”. Darby Allin is billed as 5’8” and 180 pounds. There’s a reason why amateur wrestling, amateur and pro boxing, and mixed martial arts (MMA) have weight classes. Size and strength matter in combat sports. Now, with pro wrestling, rules are different and the use of foreign objects, distractions, holding tights, feet on the ropes, an excited referee counting too fast, or other fluke situations can counter that. And that’s how Darby, along with Rey Mysterio, can become champion.

With Darby, aside from his insane stunts, what is “larger than life” about him? After seeing many dangerous stunts, the allure to see another dangerous stunt creates a feeling of being desensitized with fans. If you’ve been a fan since the late 1990s, you remember that feeling of seeing wrestlers going through tables occasionally back then but now it’s almost in every match during the 2020s especially during the WWE vs. AEW “war”. Darby on the top of the card isn’t a strong draw for live shows, TV shows, or Pay Per Views because he’s very dependent on his stuntwork. That totally contrasts with the World Champion he defeated, MJF, who does more to sell a match with his personality, charisma, and mic work before the match even begins. MJF doesn’t have to shock fans in attendance with dangerous stunts because his character already has the fans’ attention before the match even begins.

But again, I’m not here to bash the decisions of making Darby Allin, Sami Zayn, or Jey Uso as World Champions. I’m a believer that hard work and effort deserves reward. Each of these 3 men have made significant contributions to their respective promotions and said promotions wanted to give them a reward. In the case of Allin and Uso, those rewards were temporary and their World Title reigns ended quickly. I expect the same with Sami Zayn.

Does these “lifetime achievement awards” or “participation trophies” cheapen the respective World Titles?

It’s a great question… What made the WWE boom with growth from late 2020 through early 2024 was pushing a very strong World Champion with Roman Reigns. THIS HEEL Roman Reigns was produced and written by Paul Heyman who groomed Roman into an absolute star and someone worthy to hold championship gold for over 3 straight years. This version of Roman, backed by Heyman and the Bloodline, drew people in thanks to its aura and the wonder of who could actually defeat this group. The draw was the “sense of urgency” to beat not just a man, but a machine and this is literally the same idea behind what made New World Order great (go through the group to get to Hogan) and the Four Horsemen great (go through the group to get to Flair).

Since Wrestlemania 40, we’ve had Cody Rhodes as WWE Champion and he held it for an entire year. I thought that reign was kind of weak, though the wrestler availability question comes into play with Roman and Rock disappearing after WM 40. I thought John Cena did great as WWE Champion and made for a great 2025 year as champion. His match with Cody at SummerSlam 2025 erased their low energy effort at Wrestlemania 41. Since then, Cody has lost the title twice in 10 months to Drew McIntyre and now Sami Zayn. Though I’m happy for Drew and Sami, while always happy for Cody… I’m just not feeling the excitement that was there for a dominant heel group protecting Roman.

Kind of like how I’m NOT feeling the excitement for the BABYFACE version of the Bloodline reforming around a BABYFACE Roman Reigns. It’s not the same because the “sense of urgency” to take down the Bloodline isn’t there. I’d re-add Paul Heyman and turn the Bloodline HEEL immediately if I were in charge of WWE Creative. Show no mercy in whatever epic beatdowns could occur to re-establish them as heels, make the group more violent and blood thirsty than ever.

However, the WWE Title is just part of the WWE… Yeah, we’re still in the Brand Extension World, so we have 2 titles to help dilute what a World Title should be in terms of drawing power.

The World Heavyweight Championship returned to the WWE, as it was made-up during 2023 just as the prior version was made-up during 2002 during that brand extension. We have 2 brands, let’s create a second title… In the case of the 2023’s creation, RAW created it because Roman took a lot of time off back then and often avoided RAW. In just 3 years, the title has changed 10 times. If that isn’t a sign of bad booking and bad championship experimentation, I don’t know what is.

Jey Uso’s world championship reign is with this very title. Now, I don’t want to keep harping on Jey Uso’s 2025 reign, but it was preceded by Damian Priest before him (Gunther would win his first World Title by defeating Priest, then Jey Uso defeated Gunther). Sorry, but Priest DID NOT deserve the World Title. Unlike Jey, we don’t have data, crowd reactions, or merchandise sales to validate pushing Priest to the title. He was just a solid worker and personal developmental project of Triple H, likely making him champion to help justify past NXT and Performance Center decisions. Priest was NOT a good champion and is yet another victim of the Money in the Bank cheap cash-in.

That’s WWE’s other problem… For the past 16-17 years, in addition to giving “lifetime achievement” or “participation trophy” awards, they’ve REPEATEDLY got it wrong on their World Champion selections. They either crown someone who is just good at chasing or being entirely wrong.

Let’s go through them once again…

Jack Swagger

The Miz

Jinder Mahal

Initial reigns of CM Punk before 2011

Initial reign of Daniel Bryan before 2013

Roman Reigns before 2020

Alberto Del Rio

Dolph Ziggler

Finn Balor

Kofi Kingston

Braun Strowman

Big E Langston

In my view, guys like Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt deserved it for temporarily hitting that “exceptional level” on top while Bobby Lashley’s role with his stable justified him as champion. Some of Seth Rollins’s reigns were a tad weak, especially that 2015 run, but I don’t 100% place it on him. For example, he becomes champion at Wrestlemania 31 and then they censor him from doing the Curb Stomp. Seth is consistently good overall.

These other guys, though, were either in the WWE for a brief period of time and then rushed to the World Title or were just lacking of that Main Event presence. Jack Swagger had no business being champion early in his WWE career and he was hampered by that early push. Alberto Del Rio was over in Vince McMahon’s mind, but interjecting him into 2011’s “Summer of Punk” was such a major mistake. Kofi Kingston and Big E gets into that same realm as Jey or Sami as rewards for efforts and success within the New Day, but neither man flourished after they became champion.

WWE tried so hard with Braun Strowman and he had the look and strength to pull it off… But there’s a reason why he looked less than an alpha versus Brock Lesnar because he couldn’t protect another wrestler inside the ring. With Braun, though, WWE often moved on but they NEVER moved on with Roman Reigns and kept shoving that babyface character down our throats. Guy by the name of “Trae” on X/Twitter made the incredible point that the Rock did “long-term harm to wrestling” by performing well DESPITE terrible written material handed to him by Vince McMahon’s creative team. To that extent, I’d also argue that John Cena also made lemonade out of Vince McMahon’s lemons (not his nards, but his bad writing) that everything was totally exposed when Roman repeatedly stumbled over the scripted lines. “Suffering succotash!”

Jinder Mahal had a massive losing record on RAW but when he moved to Smackdown, he was instantly pushed as a main eventer and won the World Title immediately. Sorry, but he shouldn’t have sniffed the World Title, let alone holding it for many months. Miz is a solid midcard character, but World Champion? Now, I think WWE could push him now as an experienced hand (even though he’s always involved with celebrity matches), but back during 2010 and 2011, I don’t think so. Feel the same way about Finn Balor… A solid midcarder and someone who needs to paint-up his entire body to feel “larger than life”. Dolph Ziggler is a tough one for me, as the in-ring talent has always been there but I think the presentation of his character, both himself with his own intangibles (or lack thereof) and WWE Creative’s use of him could be called into question. Who knows, maybe we missed the BIG World Title reign from Ziggler due to him getting concussed immediately after winning his World Title?

Let me add to this point… The Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in SUCKS and should be banned from ever being cashed in during or after a match. The same reason why we HATED the 24/7 title shares the same feelings on the MITB briefcase. It is total BS that a current match can be interrupted by a cash-in to create a Triple Threat or that a defending champion, who just went through 20-30 minutes of absolute hell to defend their title, has to instantly wrestle another match. This SUCKED as an idea for Wrestlemania 9, so why are we REPEATEDLY doing this STUPID idea for over 33 years afterward? Seriously, Wrestlemania 9 is considered the WORST Wrestlemania not just because of the lack of good matches, but that ending SUCKS so bad with Hogan instantly being able to challenge Yokozuna to a match after he defeated Bret Hart for the WWE Title.

“Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it” -George Santayana

IN MY OPINION, WWE has crowned WORSE champions than Jey Uso and Sami Zayn… At least with Jey and Sami, I understand it as “lifetime achievement” awards. Jey and Sami have had long careers, many great matches, and contributed significantly to the WWE’s biggest storyline.

BUT, I’ve also seen Sami Zayn wrestle the cast from Jackass. Though he gave an amazing effort to get that match over and I totally commend him for it, the point is that Sami let himself be defeated by Johnny Knoxville in a wrestling match. Jey Uso couldn’t get a good match out of his brother Jimmy, which is possibly the only weak link in the Wrestlemania 40 event. That match was just AWFUL, as fans were baffled at how 2 brothers couldn’t somehow put on at least a decent match with each other like the Hardys could.

With Darby Allin, he’s an honest standout amongst the AEW roster despite his lack of size. Aside form MJF, Jon Moxley, and several veterans who have joined AEW as free agents, they have a bunch of similar working and performing wrestlers. His style at least stands out and gets noticed… His pond doesn’t have the much larger fish compared to the pond where Jey Uso and Sami Zayn swim. Hence why you didn’t see me write a column bashing Darby Allin’s title victory… Honestly, he kind of deserved it when compared to most of the AEW roster as a fish in a smaller pond versus WWE’s bigger pond with much larger fish.

I totally get why Jey Uso and Sami Zayn have won world titles… They put in the effort, provided many great moments, and got over. Now, are they “exceptional” to be worthy as champions and to NOT just peak when winning the title? It didn’t happen with Jey, as WWE quickly returned the title back to Gunther, and I’m predicting a brief title reign with Sami. I’m happy for him, but I think this is his peak moment and there isn’t anything to achieve further nor do I believe he has that drawing power to magnetically draw in more fans as champion. I seriously hope that Zayn proves me wrong, though.

With Zayn winning the title right now and possibly having a short-term title reign, we now know that Wrestlemania 43 will no longer be about Sami Zayn “achieving his dreams” of becoming a world champion. GOOD, because Wrestlemania needs to be reserved for putting over absolute top drawing stars with one of them being worthy of winning the Royal Rumble. Think about Wrestlemania 42 and what somehow sold over 50,000 tickets DESPITE absurd levels of price gouging by WWE and the city of Las Vegas. CM Punk as World Champion with Roman Reigns winning the Rumble match. THAT is the kind of match that should headline any Wrestlemania or at the very least be in a World Title match on that show.

For some of the wrestlers mentioned today, such as Finn Balor and Darby Allin… Why can’t any wrestling promotion have a successful Lightweight or Cruiserweight division? Everybody has to wrestle as a heavyweight these days… Through 2026, everybody mocks Eric Bischoff for choking on his WCW promotion but his Cruiserweight Division from 1996-1998 was incredible and gave birth to many top tier stars who wouldn’t get a shot otherwise. Create a Lightweight/Cruiserweight division and take it seriously… If horribly run Boxing and MMA promotions can get weight classes over, so can pro wrestling.

So yeah, World Titles should be granted to the absolute best performers in your wrestling promotion who can draw BEYOND the chase to the title.

Every GREAT world champion peaked AFTER they became champ, not when they became champ.

Do you smell what I’m cooking?

Hulk Hogan wins the WWE Title in 1984 and exponentially grows the business. Macho Man wins the title in 1988 and draws houses while Hogan is off filming No Holds Barred, brother, and then continued to draw strongly throughout the 1990s with many more title reigns. Austin wins and did nothing but grow the business. Rock wins and just got better and better as champion with his feuds with Foley and Austin. Look at Triple H’s ridiculous 2000 year! Cena got better with age and his many title reigns.

Then, look at other reigns… Bret Hart wins the WWE title in 1992, but many consider his 1992-1993 reign to be weak. Maybe his 1994 one, too, though I loved that Backlund feud. Bret, though, was a total badass as champion in 1997 and I’d argue he began WWE’s rebound to the top. His dance partner, Shawn Michaels totally hit a peak by winning the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 12 and was a weak babyface champion. However, Shawn returned with a vengeance in 1997 as a heel and also contributed to WWE’s 1997 rebound. The Undertaker was rushed to the title in 1991 and I didn’t think much of his 1997 run… But damn, many revolutions of his character, he had like 25 more years and memories still in him! Those 3 are examples of situations where the chase could have been the peak but then boom, the changed their characters and created additional drawing power.

Ultimate Warrior definitely peaked at Wrestlemania 6. Total chaser, but not a long-term solution.

Sgt. Slaughter was a “lifetime achievement” award winning champion and an Iraqi sympathizing character, too, and that’s why WWE’s business SUCKED during 1991.

Diesel (Kevin Nash) is an example of rushing someone to the title early before their peak.

Thankfully, Triple H was punished for the “Curtain Call” incident of 1996 or else maybe he would have been rushed to the spotlight too early. Turns out, the extra 2-3 years of midcard seasoning was 100% what his career needed.

Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar were probably rushed too early to the World Title, but both men were absolute freaks. However, I’d argue that early success may have ruined both men’s long-term prospects and both were gone from the WWE by 2006.

Chris Jericho, through early 2001, felt like a “peaking from winning title”, but the man creatively reinvents himself often and keeps you wanting more. There’s a reason he was the first AEW champion and he set that promotion onward to a successful path since 2019.

Chris Benoit was a “lifetime achievement” award as a crowned champion, while Eddie Guerrero was a “peak when winning title” moment. They celebrated together at Wrestlemania 20 but after SummerSlam 2004, neither man was champ and they were midcarders until both men ultimately passed soon thereafter.

Randy Orton is clearly as a rush-to-the-title early guy and I don’t believe he’s ever recovered from that. WWE could just never get his character right or ready to be champion, despite trying many many times.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were victims of cash-ins of the MITB briefcase, but later had more justified World Title wins with many peak years afterward.

I always thought Christian’s WWE World Titles were in “lifetime achievement” mode. Good for him and for the way he put his body on the line for WWE, well deserved. This guy is similar to Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. In contrast, Edge had that extra gear and could pivot his characters as needed.

John Cena and Batista, in my opinion, were built perfectly and went on to stellar careers to keep growing in their top spots. Coincidentally, both were crowned champions at Wrestlemania 21 and helped stop the freefall of business decline WWE saw from 2000-2004. Their chases were perfect but both men had more to offer as champions thanks to their drawing abilities and great match capabilities in big spots.

Hopefully, all of this makes sense…

And I think getting a title shot, having a great spot on a big PLE/PPV card, or having a LONG career with any wrestling promotion is a reward in itself. You don’t need a World Title to be “great”, as WWE’s Hall of Fame has many wrestlers who never won that Championship.

Arn Anderson always brags about how much money he made despite mostly being a midcarder for his entire career. Yet, many fans consider Arn to be an all-time great despite only holding tag team and midcard titles. Arn, however, got to occasionally taste that main event spotlight and work with some of the all-time greats. On one edition of WCW Monday Nitro, I remember Arn Anderson pinning Hulk Hogan!

Same idea in sports… Many place an emphasis on winning the championship, yet what is overlooked is actually making the championship game. It’s HARD WORK just to have a winning season, let along making playoffs and then beating the very best to win a title. Often, too, it’s a team sport where injuries can create impact. Charles Barkley is arguably a top 25 NBA player of all time and he only made it to the NBA Finals one time. Yet, his peers know how good he was and now, he gets to articulate how his basketball knowledge with ease on the Inside the NBA broadcasts. Dan Marino was a total stud as a Quarterback but he only made the Super Bowl just once.

Your ENTIRE CAREER defines you, not just a brief moment of being on top.

That’s what I’m trying to tell you, folks… If Jey Uso or Sami Zayn retired WITHOUT winning a World Title, they’d be forever remembered for their contributions. They have many great 4 to 5 star matches that often replayed by fans in addition to storyline moments that you can enjoy a quick “bump” on YouTube as needed. Both men have had AMAZING careers.

BUT, we have to save those World Titles for THE exceptional wrestlers who can draw television viewers, PLE streaming subscriptions, PPV buys, or butts physically in an arena or stadium simply by being on top of the card. The World Title is a representation of being the very best in a profession both in the short-term and for the long-term.

In business, doing a major change in the short-term and then correcting it shortly thereafter is usually seen as a mistake. For example, if your company promotes someone to be a executive and then you terminate them or quickly change their duties.

Giving someone the World Title at Wrestlemania 41 and then having them in a random 6-man match at Wrestlemania 42 is seen, easily, as “correcting a mistake”. That was Jey Uso, who is now rehashing his Bloodline character. Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Title at Wrestlemania and then getting murdered on the first FOX Smackdown during 2019 was “correcting a mistake”.

It just doesn’t look strong for a promotion to randomly hand out World Title reigns and then have a snap judgment afterward. That includes these “lifetime achievement” award winners, wrestlers whose peak is winning the actual title, or wrestlers who just weren’t worthy of the company’s top recognition.

Right now, it’s up to Sami Zayn to prove everyone wrong and change the narrative if he grows into an even more powerful wrestler as champion versus peaking when becoming champion. I will gladly admit to being wrong if he creates exceptional business for the WWE as champion.

History is on my side, brother… I’ve seen this before.

At this moment, though, I’m happy personally for Sami Zayn… Good for him on placing a “cherry on the top” of a great WWE career.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: Should WWE or AEW Use World Titles as Lifetime Achievement Awards or Participation Trophies? appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

In Piper’s book, he explained that if Hulk Hogan defeated him during their WWE run together, it was OVER for his career in the WWE. Once Hogan scored the pin over Piper, then Hogan would move on and Piper was out of the main event picture. This happened to several wrestlers such as Paul Orndorff, Iron Sheik, King Kong Bundy, etc., with the exception being Andre the Giant because they drew a ridiculous amount of money together. Piper gave an example of how WWE was pushing Hogan too strong to the moon, as he and Mr. T swept away in a limo after Wrestlemania 1 while Piper and Paul Orndorff had to find their way back to the hotel rooms themselves.

Right now, everyone is wondering what is wrong with CM Punk or where has he been since Wrestlemania 42. We’ve had the following “news” or “rumors” floated out there by many claiming on social media to have “sources” and also journalists speaking to their regular “sources”, such as:

– CM Punk is now using steroids.

– CM Punk played politics before and during the event of Wrestlemania 42

– CM Punk was requested to take a paycut

– TKO officials have soured on CM Punk

– ESPN officials are upset about subscription numbers of WWE fans and low viewership numbers for Wrestlemania 42, somehow blaming CM Punk for that entire event

– WWE and TKO officials blame CM Punk for Wrestlemania 42 not drawing well in Las Vegas versus 2025.

– CM Punk is upset at how WWE has treated and used AJ Lee

– CM Punk is being punished for yelling at and knocking down the phone of a person harassing AJ Lee and Bayley after Wrestlemania 42

– WWE creative has nothing for CM Punk after Wrestlemania 42, hence why Jacob Fatu feuded with Roman instead of any rematches.

– RAW has too may stars, so CM Punk will be moved to Smackdown to create a “balance”

And it goes on and on and on…

True story, some of my biggest drawing columns have involved CM Punk. That time when I claimed “CM Punk was buried by Triple H” following their Night of Champions 2011 PPV drew an insane amount of page views. Aaron Rift, owner and webmaster of NoDQ.com, has repeatedly said that anytime CM Punk does something significant, viewership always pops. Punk is an incredibly polarizing figure to which you are either all-in or want nothing to do with Punk, with usually on in-between. Further with Punk, he leans left-wing and isn’t afraid to show it… Thus, he strikes a nerve as a wrestler and with his political views.

Hence, why RUMORS kept circulating on CM Punk. Everyone is either a big fan or Punk just pissed them off.

Let’s chew into each rumor, one-by one…

CM Punk on steroids or performance enhancing drugs.
Nope, he’s straight-edge. Folks, I speak from experience as I subscribe to the same straight-edge lifestyle. No alcohol, no drugs, and I even refuse medications from doctors particularly on the pain side. It’s like a religion to us and that dedication to refusing to put anything in our bodies to get us high, numb the pain, or to enhance performance is who we are. Probably why we’re so easily agitated because we’re living live without any prescribed or chemical filters… There’s NO WAY he’s taking PEDs.

Looking at the photos circulating of him working out, it’s not like he’s in body builder mode. You can get that way by working hard and carefully eating, even at his older age. AJ Styles looked jacked at his age and there were no indications he took PEDs, either.

Remember, WWE still has the Wellness Policy in place even with TKO inheriting it.

Look at those photos again. If Punk were gassing, the muscles in his shoulders would get overly jacked and veins appearing there are usually the signs of someone juicing. He just has larger biceps because he’s actually lifting weights versus the lighter workouts he has historically performed.

Maybe he knows that he’s going on a heel run and wants to look jacked so that you THINK he’s a hypocrite?

CM Punk played politics during Wrestlemania 42.
I think this happened… Re-read what I said about Roddy Piper. Punk knew that once Roman Reigns dispatched him, it was over. As proof of that, WWE immediately moved onto Jacob Fatu for a 2 PLE show feud while “creative had nothing” for Punk.

So yeah, heading into the event as World Champion, CM Punk probably knew this was the last time he was ever going to main event Wrestlemania if he lost at WM 42.

BUT – Punk lost the match like professional and didn’t need someone like the Undertaker to tape his fists and wait at the door in case he didn’t do the job. You know, like Undertaker really had to do at Wrestlemania 14 to ensure Shawn Michaels did business.

CM Punk refused to take a paycut.
Punk is a massive merchandise seller with a loyal fanbase. I guarantee that WWE and TKO’s analytics are “off the charts” with Punk and probably argues that they are UNDER paying Punk for his services.

Now, that doesn’t stop TKO from being total d*cks, but I think they’ll slow walk Punk into a paycut for 2027 after he doesn’t draw as well on Smackdown versus RAW because Smackdown is now the secondary show that requires his fans to give up their Fridays to see him.

TKO officials have soured on CM Punk.
Bingo. I think this is a massive issue and is based on Pipebomb 2.0 or Pipebomb 2026 as the streets call it.

Question for my readers who work in a corporate setting. Have you ever been in a meeting with senior management when there’s a lower-level staffer basically cuts a shoot promo on them or the company? Maybe they complain about transparency, about benefits, not knowing the path to grow as an employee, etc., or maybe they openly disagree with management on a particular practice or procedure? Now, this staffer could be 100% correct BUT these senior managers have massive egos and worked hard to obtain their positions. The LAST thing that they want is for a lower-level staffer to make them look bad in ANY setting whatsoever. Then, in behind-closed-door meetings, that staffer is ridiculed by said senior managers and then that staffer’s direct report supervisor is called in for a meeting about that staffer. “Why do you have such a know-it-all in your department?” or “we didn’t like their tone” is what they’ll likely hear.

That CM Punk Pipebomb cut just before Wrestlemania 42 called out TKO executives for price gouging WWE fans and protecting Roman Reigns. You don’t think that the TKO Board, plus its Silver Lake and Endeavor overlords, heard that? Oh, their thin skin was ripped apart and their egomaniac Hulk versions came out with pure anger.

And I guarantee they called Triple H immediately afterward and I’m betting that Triple H showed them a document of talking points that DID NOT include going that hard on TKO executives or the golden goose Roman Reigns. That covers HHH’s arse and the good boy secures a new extension as Chief Content Officer for kissing that corporate arse.

Speaking of Roman Reigns, who is he represented by again? William Morris Endeavor or “WME”. Notice that “E”? Yeah, Endeavor… Roman uses Endeavor’s corporate overlords, also still working side-hustles as agents and primary managers of WME, to represent him in Hollywood.

So if you attack TKO and then attack Roman Reigns, that is double dipping on the attacks towards TKO executives and their talent agency.

Oh, and who is Roman Reigns “related to” again? And I emphasize “related to” because they are not blood cousins but close family friends… The Rock. Rock is a TKO Board Member and is thus part of the overlords who could get offended by a wrestling promo.

CM Punk better be careful when he joins Smackdown because Cody Rhodes also uses WME for his agent representation. Be very careful what you say about him, Punk…

ESPN officials are upset about subscription numbers of WWE fans and low viewership numbers for Wrestlemania 42, somehow blaming CM Punk for that entire event
I think that ESPN is poorly managed and has been for years. There’s a reason why their viewership for Sportscenter, for example, has declined heavily. Instead of giving us highlights and something fun to watch, they delved into social justice and identity politics too much. Instead of understanding the concept of “time and place”, they just put the pedal to the metal and stopped denying everyone highlights and fun content to watch. ESPN’s downfall is one of the main reasons for cable/satellite subscriptions dissolving, while they are also one of the main causes for cable/satellite bills going up with their premium price paid by those providers.

How can you blame Punk, anyway? Roman was in that main event, too, along with the AWFUL Night #1 show. Fact is that Wrestlemania was more appealing at $5 to $15 to watch versus $30 on ESPN+.

Think about it this way… Why is Wendy’s and McDonalds failing? Because their UTTER CRAP FOOD tasted better when it was less than $10 versus than being over $10.

Same concept with WWE…

Now, I could see ESPN’s bullsh*t executives scrambling and looking for answers after cutting a 5-year, $1.6 billion deal with WWE and maybe blaming someone… But Punk was in that same main event of Night #1 for Wrestlemania 41, so how can you blame him? If anything, it’s just blaming the older looking fella as a scapegoat.

That said, if TKO’s ears are sensitive after Pipebomb 2.0, then maybe they start using ESPN’s complaints to get Punk?

WWE and TKO officials blame CM Punk for Wrestlemania 42 not drawing well in Las Vegas versus 2025.

Again, Punk was in the main event of night #1 for WM 41. TKO’s executives have come out and said that doing Las Vegas twice in a row ruined the appeal.

What nobody is saying is this… Wrestlemania 41 outsold WM 42 because of John Cena. Remember, we were mocking Wrestlemania 41’s ticket sales being stuck around 40,000 to 50,000 and then Cena’s heel turn changed things and boosted sales to over 60,000.

Absurdly high prices during 2026 versus 2025 also killed ticket sales.

If Punk is to blame for WM 42’s ticket sales, it’s again, sensitive TKO officials looking for something.

CM Punk is upset at how WWE has treated and used AJ Lee
I think they used her well, considering she was part-time and hasn’t been in the business for a while. If they gave her a massive work schedule and burned her out, then I could see Punk being pissed. No, WWE actually treated her well and I think Punk has been proud of her reasonably successful return. N/A on this one.

CM Punk is being punished for yelling at and knocking down the phone of a person harassing AJ Lee and Bayley after Wrestlemania 42
Again, this one would be in the “TKO is looking for something on Punk” department. While it initially didn’t look good, I think the context was later understood as this “fan” was harassing Punk’s wife AJ Lee and Bayley. Did it look good? No, but AJ Lee is Punk’s wife and he was defending her against a troll bothering her.

WWE creative has nothing for CM Punk after Wrestlemania 42, hence why Jacob Fatu feuded with Roman instead of any rematches.
I think this is true, as suffering a major loss at Wrestlemania 42 does require a cooldown period. I think this gave Punk some scheduled time off to re-charge.

I believe this was by design and often happens with other wrestlers. I think the whole plan was to move Punk to Smackdown to get those last few drops of heat out of him before he retires. Punk is 47 going on 48, and that’s OLD in WWE years compared to the rest of the roster. Punk will return to Smackdown and feud with Cody, possibly returning to the heel version of CM Punk to finish his WWE run. Then, Punk can become a Hall of Famer. Personally, I’d Punk to the Creative Team but I don’t think TKO officials would like that.

RAW has too may stars, so CM Punk will be moved to Smackdown to create a “balance”
Meh, Punk feuding with Cody has been the plan all along after Wrestlemania 42. I really don’t see it as more than that.

So, what do I think about it?

Mr. Tito’s THEORY on CM Punk

CM Punk is 47 years old, going on 48. This big Wrestlemania 42 push was it for him, and now we’re on the backside of his career. The plan has always been for Punk to put over Roman at Wrestlemania 42 and then go to Smackdown to feud with Cody Rhodes. After that, WWE would have a 48 year-old superstar that they’d have to consider using in other capacities after both Roman and Cody have dispatched him.

Now, could there be pushback by CM Punk about these plans? Maybe? It’s difficult to get old, especially in athletics or entertainment when the producers or coaches tell you that you’re “too old”. While Punk cuts great promos, he’s not as effective inside the ring thanks to age. To a younger audience that WWE really wants to appeal towards, that shows. Punk’s core fanbase is aged 40 years or older who will watch WWE anyway whether Punk is on the shows or not.

I really think that Pipebomb 2.0 pissed of TKO executives and there could be some truth to Punk being held temporarily off of television. I’m willing to bet that Triple H has advised said thin-skinned TKO p*ssy executives that CM Punk being on Smackdown will help Cody Rhodes (WME repped performer). That said, I doubt we’ll ever see Pipebomb 3.0 and Punk will be totally scripted for anything involving Cody.

That’s it… Some friction, but I think that Triple H and CM Punk are on good professional terms and Triple H is man enough to handle the TKO executives anytime their panties are in bunches.

If CM Punk wants to headline Wrestlemania once again he either needs to (a) have a very effective heel turn on Smackdown or (b) join the WME agency. Seriously, this is my advice to ANY WWE wrestler or potential wrestler right now. Sign with WME as your representation. Sure, it’s probably more expensive than other agencies, but it guarantees you a WWE job and incentivizes TKO executives to put pressure on Triple H to use or push you. Remember, they wanted to make Pat McAfee the “next Sylvester Stallone” which is possibly the most hilarious quote ever.

I think many on Social Media are trying to become the next Dave Meltzer or Sean Ross Sapp, so they claim that they have “sources” by either making stuff up or having the loosest of sources talking to them. For example, I know a few independent wrestlers that I could contact and inquire if they’ve spoken to any of their WWE or AEW buddies lately. I’ve heard some things here and there, but nothing that I can get a valid second source on to report. Oddly enough, wrestlers blab and gossip here in the 21st century versus trying to keep a tight lid on the kayfabe jar (but they were blabbing in the 1980s and 1990s, let’s get real!).

In summary, CM Punk did a great job putting Roman Reigns over at Wrestlemania 42. Maybe he did too good of a job on his Pipebomb 2.0 speech that could limit future opportunities, but he has an entire run on Smackdown to prove himself as a corporate buddy if he makes Cody look like a million bucks during their feud. Punk isn’t on steroids, there’s no heat about AJ Lee, and he’s not the reason why ESPN views are down or why Wrestlemania 42 didn’t draw better than WM 41 at the same location.

In fact, CM Punk has been the answer since his late 2023 return. With Roman Reigns taking excessive time off, WWE needed another big name to step up and Punk was there. Since CM Punk’s late 2023 return, he’s wrestled in 59 total matches and that includes recuperation time during 2024 when he tore his triceps muscle. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns has only wrestled 17 times since that timeframe. Funny how an older wrestler has been more of a workhorse than the guy he put over at Wrestlemania 42.

But hey, Roman is represented by WME agency and has a big role in the Street Fighter movie to sell, while CM Punk is represented by someone else and isn’t getting those movie roles to promote.

CM Punk is too valuable, still, to release… Let’s see what happens after he puts over Cody Rhodes and see if any possible friction between him and TKO still exists.

Remember, folks, executive or senior management have egos… Don’t shatter their fragile egos in front of everybody, as that’s career suicide for you because they’ll badmouth you everywhere they can and actively discredit anything that you do. Nobody likes a “know-it-all”, at least according to them.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: Why Has CM Punk Disappeared from WWE after Wrestlemania 42? Is WWE or TKO Angry at Him? appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

And if you’ll notice, the artists NEVER and I repeat NEVER blame higher ticket prices for poor ticket sales. They aren’t going to bite the Live Nation hand that feed them. You know, the Live Nation corporation, who manages most top musical acts for touring while freakin’ owning Ticketmaster, that was recently found to be in violation of anti-trust laws for the strong-armed control they have over larger arenas. I’d also argue they price gouge, but I also think that the artists give them the green light to do so. As loyal as Taylor Swift acts towards her Swifties, I didn’t quite see her telling Ticketmaster to stop their dynamic pricing from price gouging her fans.

What I always go back to is the simple laws of Economics, you know, that class that some of you slept through as a requirement for degree in college. Law of Demand states that price and quantity demanded have an inverse relationship… When prices go up, quantity demanded should go down (vice versa when prices go down, quantity demanded should go up). Now, if you would have woke up from your beauty sleep during the class, you’d later hear about “determinants of demand” such as income, tastes & preferences, confidence about the economy, and prices of related goods (substitutes and complements) causing a consumer to be willing to pay more.

Well, have you been the gas station lately? According to GasBuddy.com, gas prices are around $4.56 per gallon and both CPI and PPI inflation numbers from April 2026 were significantly high. This is on top of the inflation from 2022-2023 that never went away following the excessive printing and borrowing of money in response to the 2020 COVID-19 recession. Real or inflation-adjusted incomes haven’t kept pace for years, and 2025 and 2026 have seen companies scaling back jobs due to the implementation of more automation or artificial intelligence (AI). In the case of TKO, they just have greedy executives and tell Triple H to release wrestlers to avoid giving away pennies form that $546.2 million net income earned during 2025.

“Blue dot fever” has already hit other sports for years… Prices went up excessively for various MLB, NHL, NBA, and UFC events… BUT, I’d argue that quality went down for much of those leagues or at least things didn’t change enough to justify the high price.

And that’s the thing… The price. Take Wendy’s and McDonald’s right now. Both are getting CRUSHED financially right now with same store sales seeing massive declines. Why? Because their lousy fast food doesn’t taste as good with higher prices. Period!

Sorry, but Jennifer Lopez and Meghan Trainor’s music isn’t that good to justify those prices. They might struggle to sell out a big arena with lower prices. Lack of quality music + lack of good recent music equates to LOW SALES in 2025-2026. I figured that the Post Malone and Jelly Roll concert would sell well, as both guys are well liked and have crossover appeal in different genres of music. Nope, Post announced that he had to cancel multiple shows to “devote more time to his next album” but the Ticketmaster seating chart showed blue dots (or unsold seats) everywhere. In that case, the prices were just too elevated.

Yes, inflation has been way up for the past 5 years… With that, costs of hosting venue prices have gone up whether that is a stadium, arena, or a hotel with a conference center attached. Despite TAX MONEY funding and often fully paying for said venues, those venues will claim that the higher prices are there to cover their expenses of buying food from wholesalers, paying employees, paying utilities, etc. Yet for those arenas and stadiums, aren’t there ads plastered everywhere? Don’t they have the ability to host multiple revenue generating events per year besides the sports teams that they host? Just a complete scam.

More dollars chasing fewer number of goods/services isn’t the only reason why inflation is up. For one, Live Nation just got busted in court for being a monopoly. The department of justice is actually challenging the NFL for price gouging their fans by placing NFL games exclusively on streaming services like Peacock, Netflix, Paramount, and Amazon Prime. Then, in the food industry, the Kroger CEO actually admitted to price gouging on groceries when he was under oath and testifying why his company should acquire the next largest grocery chain in Albertsons.

Of course, we know that TKO doesn’t hesitate when tasked with price gouging WWE fans. Fanatics is overcharging WWE fans for WWE merchandise. If you want to watch RAW or PLEs, enjoy Netflix and ESPN raising streaming prices on you with both services being over $20 or more per month. If you watch Smackdown on Cable/Satellite, your Cable/Satellite package has natural monopoly powers granted to them to overcharge you. Then, we have the greedy TKO led by the greedy Endeavor executives who raised prices on UFC stuff (but not on fighter pay) working with Live Nation (a known monopoly now) to place higher prices on WWE live events. This is on top of TKO/WWE auctioning their events to the biggest cities (Las Vegas) or countries (Saudi Arabia) who are willing to pay extra for their cities or countries to host top WWE events. TKO has adds all over WWE rings, too… All of that revenue coming in ($1.7 billion during 2025), and yet TKO feels the need to price gouge and screw longtime WWE fans.

Yeah, in case you haven’t noticed a theme with my columns, I think TKO sucks and the Endeavor folks + Nick Khan are merchants from hell. They can all suck it.

TKO hate aside, let’s review if WWE is having “blue dot fever” yet or not.

First and foremost, let’s compare Wrestlemania 41 versus Wrestlemania 42. WM 41 had just over 60,000 in attendance while WM 42 had just over 50,000. You could argue that WWE “killed the town” by being there twice in a row, but WWE significantly raised prices year over year. Plus, Las Vegas’s prices have been through the roof lately since Wrestlemania 41 and they literally paid $6 million to the WWE for Wrestlemania 42 as an economic boost to their city.

Again, being in the same host city for twice in a row could see marginal returns setting in… So, let’s analyze the other WWE shows for the past few years.

Before I go further, I want to credit Wrestlenomics.com’s WrestleTix site for the data. If these numbers are wrong, blame Brandon Thurston.

WrestleTix’s most incomplete data is the WWE houseshow data, as it’s missing data for the 2nd quarter last year and so far this year. Going by the data available, it appears that houseshows went from 5-6 thousand for much of 2021-2023 and the first half of 2024, but then surged to over 8,000 attendees by the end of 2024 and the start of 2025.

Since early 2025, WWE houseshow attendance appears to be averaging between 6,000 to 7,500. Honestly, those are decent numbers considering how BAD houseshow attendance became during the 2010s, especially after John Cena stopped having a full-time schedule (i.e. babyface and overpushed Roman Reigns was NOT drawing), but the sporadic houseshow data that Wrestlenomics has shows a decrease since an early 2025 peak.

How about Monday Night RAW? RAW is showing the same exact trend… Peaked in attendance with 13,600 on average, which is freakin’ amazing, but has since cooled to be between 10,000 and 12,000. While this is lower, it’s still above WWE RAW’s attendance numbers from 2021 through 2023.

What about WWE Smackdown? I’d argue this one should be more impacted, given the shift in talent from being the brand with the Bloodline storyline to Cody and friends. This one is different from the others and as I expected, the Bloodline cooling down may have driven fans away. Peak Smackdown attendance was during the 2nd quarter 2024 where possibly the greatest Wrestlemania existed and may have helped viewership for the start of that quarter. Smackdown had 12,400 in average attendance but has since settled between 8,000 and 11,000. Like RAW’s numbers, that is better than 2021-2023.

But I’d argue that 2021-2023 were rebuilding years after the terrible decade that was during the 2010s (RAW lost over 2 million viewers between 2015 and 2020) and the awful COVID-19 year where WWE became really bad in front of no crowd. However, looking at the data, you can see attendance metrics surging form 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023, and then 2023 to 2024. WWE was rapidly improving, hence why Endeavor bought them and why ESPN/Netflix threw so many at the WWE.

Since early 2025, or maybe since the second quarter of 2024, statistically speaking, there is a decline in WWE attendance at least for RAW, Smackdown, and houseshows. The numbers, or at least Brandon’s, don’t lie.

I wonder how the Premium Live Events (PLE) are drawing with live attendance?

We know that both Netflix and USA Networks numbers since the start of 2025 are both down… Fewer viewers, even when live attendance is over priced.

So that could mean that maybe the quality isn’t there, anymore, for the WWE too? Like the music industry?

While I think that WWE is MILES AHEAD of the utter creative trash of the 2010s, WWE’s recent creative hasn’t been as good as it was through 2023 and then the involvement of the Rock through early 2024. After Wrestlemania 40, a shine came off of Roman Reigns when you stripped away Paul Heyman, the Bloodline, and the heel persona. Roman just isn’t the same after losing to Cody at WM 40, but is made to look even weaker without ever wrestling or defeating The Rock in a match. John Cena returning for his retirement tour showed how many MILES AHEAD he was versus most of the WWE roster. Being totally honest for 2026, I really miss having John Cena around. He felt larger-than-life during 2025, even with that botched heel turn holding him back. I like CM Punk, but he’s an older version of CM Punk and a corporate version as well. I think we’ve already seen the best out of Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, but WWE keeps going to the well with both of them.

Wrestlemania 42 lacked excitement with many fans, though I think that CM Punk’s superhuman efforts to sell essentially saved WM 42 with his match with Roman. But even then, what are we left with? Roman Reigns vaguely reuniting the Bloodline and easily dispatching Jacob Fatu within 1 Pay Per View? And Roman is reportedly going to miss the entire month of June, as his usual “summer vacation” happens once again. Then, on RAW during Monday, Brock Lesnar unretires and attacks Oba Femi to erase the accomplishments Femi had for defeating Lesnar at Wrestlemania and then retiring afterward. That match feels cheaper now and Lesnar’s true exit will feel diminished, too.

What about for future events? Can you see the “blue dot fever” happening for upcoming WWE events? Well, let’s just take a peak at the next WWE PLE, shall we?

Well, here’s the problem… WWE is going to be in Italy and Saudi Arabia for their next PLEs. The next North American PLE event is SummerSlam 2026 in Minneapolis, MN at the U.S. Bank Stadium on August 2nd.

And guess what? 2/3 of the stadium on the seating chart are shown as “No Seats Available”. Two-Thirds!!! Depending on how stadium is shaped for the event, it can hold between 50,000 and 73,000. Doing the math, they’ve only made around 16,000 to 24,000 seats available thus far by closing off much of the stadium!

And if you go to Ticketmaster.com for SummerSlam 2026 tickets, there are MANY blue dots for tickets available for BOTH nights of SummerSlam!

And prices are actually lower for SummerSlam compared to other PLEs… $90 for upper deck isn’t bad, $300 for lower bowl is reasonable compared to other 2025-2026 big WWE events.

In summary, WWE’s got the BLUE DOT FEVER!!! SummerSlam is NOT moving tickets! 2/3 of the stadium is sectioned off and there are plenty of seats available. While WWE has more than 2 months to move tickets, these big events should sell more tickets. WWE sold over 50,000 on Night 1 and over 60,000 on Night 2 last year for SummerSlam 2025.

Gee, I wonder why Brock Lesnar unretired? Expect him to HEADLINE SummerSlam 2026 in a retirement match against Gunther.

Higher prices + lower quality = UNSOLD quantity. Music industry and now the wrestling industry is seeing that.

Then you have All Elite Wrestling (AEW), who has lower ticket prices for their events. Yes, some of their Pay Per View events do sell slightly over 10,000, to their credit, they are still struggling to get above 4,000 average tickets sold for AEW Dynamite. For Dynamite in particular, AEW attendance has been cut almost in half since 2021. That is WITH a lower price model than the WWE, and yet fans won’t attend.

AEW is returning to Wembley Stadium for their All In Event and they’ve got the “Blue Dot Fever” for their show during August. They drew 53,000 during 2024 (which was way down from 2023) and so far, they’ve only sold just over 24,000. Yikes, and that’s on top of last year’s big 2025 drop with the event in Texas.

It’s a good thing that desperate Cable/Satellite and Streaming channels are willing to overpay for content right now to potentially offset the symptoms of the “blue dot fever”.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: Does WWE Have “Blue Dot Fever” from Declined Attendance Versus Higher Prices Like the Music Industry? appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Now, the ones who were called out insisted that good ol’ Mr. Tito was “crashing out”. If you have been following politics lately, many Generation Z (defined as being born between 1997 and 2012) commentators have been using that slang term to label how someone is reacting. For example, it’s often used to describe our current President of the United States and WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump when he posts over 50 times on his Truth Social account or when he goes on the attack during a speech or press conference. “Crashing out” is defined as a slang phrase by the Merriam Webster dictionary as ”to become suddenly, uncontrollably angry or distressed”.

When I wrote that column on 5/1, I was perfectly chill and calm when I wrote it… I never used vulgarity, personal attacks, or hatred within that column whatsoever. There were just a handful of stories that came out, based on past opinions, that validated what I said previously so hence why I wrote a column about it. The “Told You So” title came from my famous 2011 column, one of my highest drawing columns ever, when I hammered fans for not seeing the Triple H burial of CM Punk during their one-on-one PPV match that year. Every reaction by opposite parties was their actual quotes, as I wasn’t slandering anyone. YET, in return, those who were called out went NUCLEAR and posted a zillion times beneath my column.

Awwwww, poor babies… Does it suck when the shoe is on the other foot?

Look, folks… I’ve been writing these very columns since October 1998 and I estimate that I’ve written at least 4,000 to 5,000 times for LordsofPain, Top-Rope, and now NoDQ combined. Each of those columns have generated thousands or tens of thousands of page views and often come with loads of criticisms. I’ve even received death threats in the past. I always laugh when someone even suggests “Tito can’t take feedback”, yet when you look at the vulgarity and insults of said feedback, you wonder why I either ignore it or decide to hit back. But what I LOVE is when I turn the tables on the haters and it causes them to “crash out” in response.

If you ever notice, it’s the same 4-5 haters grandstanding in my comments section each and every time.

And if you notice, good ol’ Tito does NOT censor what they say. Their feedback is clearly posted without any censorship.

The “Mr. Tito TOLD YOU SO” column was just a means to hold people accountable and it worked very effectively. My 5/1 column was ranked #5 among ALL viewed NoDQ posts, and that includes news posts that normally draw much better than opinionated posts. Further, another NoDQ columnist tried to get a rub off my good name by writing a response column. Many haters claim that nobody reads my column, yet how is it getting enough page views to keep up with news posts? How is it generating so much feedback? Why is it prompting other columnists to respond to me with their own columns?

Like me or not, I still got it. Actually, I never lost it. Every website that I’ve posted a column on, it’s the most viewed opinionated piece by a margin.

And I’m BACK IN YOUR FACE today with more “I told you so” vindication based on past opinions that were heavily criticized.

If you don’t like what I’m posting, DON’T READ IT! You have my personal invitation to F off and never read my columns again. How can I be relevant if you’re not reading my columns? Ever think of that? Instead, the haters just keep adding fuel to the fire.

Let’s get into this week’s “told you so” topics.

Told You So #1 – TKO is greedy

Since late 2024, I’ve been HAMMERING the TKO corporation, holding company corporation of UFC and WWE, for their corporate greed whether that’s about their ticket prices, signing up for services that will price gouge WWE fans (like ESPN), or giving Saudi Arabia opportunities to host Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania before other deserving countries.

Yet in response, such as where my buddy Joe often posts, he asks “touch the doll where TKO touched you” or something to that effect. Many of you have felt that I’ve unjustly attacked TKO, even suggesting that Triple H has been behind much of TKO’s greed. Yeah, the EVP of Creative and Talent is making corporate decisions instead of the layers of executives above him in both WWE (Nick Khan) and TKO’s organizational chart and board of directors.

Let’s take this past week… Reportedly, multiple wrestlers were requested to take a 50% paycut by WWE or else become released. New Day, who were just 1 year into a 5 year deal with the WWE, refused to take said 50% paycut and were released.

Let’s review WWE’s revenue streams, shall we?

– Earning $500 million per year from Netflix
– Earning $280 million per year from NBC/Universal
– Earning $320 million pear year from Disney/ESPN
– Earning $100 million for Royal Rumble 2026, $250 million for Wrestlemania 43 to be hosted in Saudi Arabia
– Increased merchandise revenue from Fanatics deal
– Higher event revenue from cities paying extra to host + ticket sales

Per TKO’s 10-K report, WWE earned around $1.7 billion during 2025 alone. However, from TKO’s 10-K report, I cannot find a line-item expense report for WWE specifically. Rather just what is defined as TKO’s net income of $546 million from a $4.7 revenue pie for everything. In other words, TKO spent more than $4 billion in expenses for 2025!

While putting on a WWE show is capital intense and same with their marketing expenses, and the same goes for UFC… There’s no way that TKO isn’t netting a wider Net Income from their combined activities.

And WWE employees are not taking a large portion of WWE’s expenses, trust me on that one.

WWE has up to 200 wrestlers on their combined roster, if that. Some are like Roman or Brock and are breaking the bank, while others in developmental make up to $100,000 per year or lower card wrestlers on main WWE wrestles make up to $300,000. Fewer live event gates to payout versus before. No Pay Per View money to distribute, so less going on top of downside guarantees. We could be reasonable and suggest that WWE wrestlers, on average, make maybe $1,000,000 per year… So if we had $200 million in total WWE wrestler salaries among 200 wrestlers, that’s a lower expense digging into that $1.7 billion revenue number. In fact, that’s LOW in terms of total labor costs. NFL players, for example, earn 48% of the league’s revenues with other leagues being similar. We’re looking at maybe 12% for WWE wrestlers?

Thanks to TKO being a publicly traded company, you can truly begin to see where the money is REALLY going.

Publicly traded companies have to release a Proxy Statement each year that describes executive compensation.

If you add up the total compensation among the 4 top TKO executives, they are pulling in a combined $43 million (bonuses + base salary). That’s JUST the top 4 executives, as they have Senior VPs, Vice Presidents, and other levels of officers and staff reporting upward to them. It gets expensive, real fast. Plus Board of Director compensation and one board member that appeared was WWE CEO/President and TKO Board Member Nick Khan with his $24 million in compensation. We also have stock awards, on top of previous stock awards of offerings (like Rock begin given like $30 million in TKO stock for joining the TKO Board).

TKO reports $1.9 billion in operating costs and $1.5 billion in selling, general, and administrative expenses.

Then you go further into the well…

Endeavor, who bought WWE, had $5.7 billion in debt before they were acquired by Silver Lake and that investment group has a metric ton of debt due its fund being involved in various acquisitions such as purchasing Electronic Arts or a part of Intel. TKO, itself, is reporting $3.8 billion in debt.

Members of Endeavor operate as agents for WME, including TKO President/CEO Ari Emanuel. Pat McAfee, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and others are represented by WME… Hence, any money that they make in WWE goes directly back to the agent executives of TKO.

The FACT is that TKO is burning through cash on other expenses other than the WWE’s or paying off its executives other management. WWE is no longer a wrestling company but a money transfer service.

You’re getting ripped off as fans because of pure financial greed by those who founded Endeavor, those who just bought Endeavor, and those who use revenue streams to justify borrowing even more money from banks. Sooooooo much commercial debt on the balance sheets of the largest banks and I present that some day, an economic crash will come when these big corporations are totally unable to pay off these big loans to perform these acquisitions. Disney is like $40 billion in debt and there are many corporations like that carrying a ton of debt.

But as loyal WWE marks, you’ll somehow still defend TKO’s greed and be willing to pay $29.99 for ESPN Unlimited, high ticket prices, or enjoy seeing your Netflix subscription price increase.

*****

Told You So #2 – Triple H as EVP of Talent

This one will be brief… Besides New Day, who were both John Laurinaitis signings, the majority of WWE releases seem to be Triple H signed wrestlers.

I keep telling you, folks… Triple H’s biggest weakness is assessing talent. That, or he’s spread himself too thin that he overthinks or doesn’t think about talent signed. I also think that he has a WEAK head trainer in place with Matt Bloom who dazzled fans, for years, as A-Train, Prince Albert, or Lord Tensai.

Triple H’s system has struggled to groom and develop main event talent that are as great as what Jim Ross or John Laurinaitis signed. That’s just a fact. HHH’s best guys, pre mid-2012 signings, have been Kevin Owens and Gunther as wrestlers who developed in HHH’s system. Oba Femi and Bron Breakker, by the way, were John Laurinaitis signings…

I continue to maintain that WWE could instantly improve its developmental system by luring Jim Ross away from AEW. Be humble and praise Jim Ross, while letting him consult WWE’s management team on scouting, development, and getting the most bang for your buck. Let Ross hire new trainers on the male side, as the women’s wrestling side is pretty good in WWE developmental.

HHH just isn’t good at signing younger MALE talent and then developing them into bigger stars. The success stories for his system is less than what Ross and Laurinaitis signed.

*****

Told You So #3 – Vince McMahon should NOT return to WWE

Many wrestling marks, who love to nitpick what Triple H does or blame Triple H for TKO’s meddling have an odd affinity for wanting Vince McMahon to return. Sure, I’ll agree that Triple H isn’t perfect and yes, the past 2 years of Hall of Fame self-glazing has been ridiculous between him and Stephanie… But I’ll take WWE since mid-2022 versus ANYTHING during the 2010s when Vince McMahon micro-managed everything and tore up any script handed to him.

Let me remind you of the 2010s…

WWE tried to push Miz, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Finn Balor, and Jinder Mahal as World Champions. Seriously, WWE tried that… I could even argue that maybe Braun Strowman was a reach as champion.

Overpushing an inexperienced Roman Reigns from 2014 through 2019. And that was on top of destroying the John Cena cashcow at SummerSlam 2014 and diminishing CM Punk’s top spot role. Roman was not ready for the top role and headlined many Wrestlemania’s with BAD matches against exceptional opponents.

Brock Lesnar dominated everyone, yet had to lose to Seth Rollins twice in one year. Made zero sense.

As an older WCW fan, I was happy to see equity put back into Bill Goldberg… But damn did he get overpushed and looked terrible doing so.

Flushed the tag team division down the tubes. Yes, New Day beat Demolition’s record for a lengthy title reign, but who, besides the Usos, were actually considered as a great tag team as opponents? Go back and look who Demolition wrestled during their reign and it’s a literal who’s who of best of all time tag teams!

First half of the decade had awful women’s wrestling with no care or attention to it. This promoted “Give Divas a Chance” and then Triple H’s great crop of females arrived during 2015. However, Vince only pushed Charlotte while everyone else had to bow down to her. WWE had so much potential with Sasha Banks that they wasted, while it took years to recognize Becky Lynch’s talents. How Vince took a top merchandise selling Bayley and morphed her into what you see today is beyond me.

Remember Corporate Kane and the Authority? Ugh…

Summer of Punk ruined… Daniel Bryan marginalized by Randy Orton and the Authority (“B+ player”).

Ridiculousness of the Wyatt Family. Went from a cool stable that was feuding with the Shield to completely goofy. The Fiend was an awful gimmick change, especially when you set him on fire and he had to wrestle in a burned outfit for a while until miraculously healing.

Stardust, anyone? That was Cody Rhodes and that was how WWE used him during the 2010s. Drew McIntyre was in 3 Man Band as a jobber!

Jobbing great in-ring wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler.

Many, many poor attempts at comedy.

And remember with Vince McMahon, not only did he create trouble with women in the office space and backstage at arenas (allegedly with MDA payouts), he was the one who sold out to Saudi Arabia and also forced the sale to Endeavor.

You’re an absolute IDIOT if you want Vince McMahon to return. Things have been SO MUCH BETTER creatively for the WWE since June 2022 when Vince stepped down and Triple H took over without Vince micro-managing his job. HHH, for example, made the Bloodline angle better by adding Sami Zayn to it and made the Cody vs. Brock feud better and end strongly to continue Cody’s push. CM Punk has thrived working for the older Triple H, while WWE has a collective group of wrestlers who can draw and not just the top 1-2 guys that Vince pushed to the moon.

So STOP it with your Vince McMahon love. You’re a mark for the past, yet you don’t even realize how BAD the past was.

Let’s measure WWE in quality based on decades, shall we?

1) 1990s
2) 1980s
3) 2020s (so far)
4) 2000s
5) 2010s

FACTS since Triple H took over Creative during mid-2022: Attendance boomed, viewership went up, merchandise really went up, and new TV deals broke the freakin’ bank.

Want to know why TKO can price gouge on WWE events? Because Triple H’s creative puts on quality WWE shows and fans, with high demand for WWE products, are willing to fork over their hard-earned dollars.

Go ahead, deny my 2010s facts… WWE sucked during that decade and we’re much better off NOW than we were a decade ago. RAW went from 4 million viewers to less than 2 million, attendance dropped to below 5,000 often for shows, houseshows began getting cancelled, and Pay Per View buys dropped so much that the WWE Network was created.

TKO cannot price gouge if 2020s WWE lacked quality. Period.

*****

Told You So #4 – AEW still isn’t good

I need to give credit where it’s due about AEW… Through late 2018, I had it with WWE’s terrible creative (see above) and I seriously thought about walking away. Then, AEW arrived and created competition and made wrestling fun for a brief while.

Then, however, the wheels fell off… AEW was quickly exposed as a company with weak leadership under Tony Khan and a toxic workplace for many that has prompted the likes of Jade Cargill, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk to leave the promotion and thrive in the WWE afterward. The backstage attacks by the Young Bucks and their flunkies really hurt things and their free agent signing spree has proven ineffective for drawing. Many consider their shows and matches great, but their bouts are often about shoving as many high risk moves per minute to keep that sugar high going of wrestling fans.

The end result is that AEW is consistently under 700,000 for its flagship AEW Dynamite show and most of its shows struggle to sell up to 5,000 with LOW ticket prices in place. Pay Per View buys have declined.

While most wrestling publications and YouTube channels are bashing WWE and trying to somehow encourage AEW, I find that a struggle… Yes, I even once advised to help AEW succeed by forcing yourself to watch them, but even I acknowledge that as a mistake. Their shows just aren’t good, and I don’t necessarily blame the wrestlers. I blame the guy at the top, Tony Khan, and the management team that surrounds him.

For Sting to go out there and compare Tony Khan to Ted Turner was insulting. Tony is a “maverick” just like Ted was, proclaimed Sting. Love ya, Sting, but maybe you’ve taken too many bumps inside that ring.

Without Ted Turner, there was no competition against Vince McMahon. Ted provided the channels to host wrestling, while buying an almost bankrupt NWA Mid-Atlantic to keep a promotion alive. That is way different starting up a promotion with lots of money behind it and being a distant 2nd place while being a place where ex-WWE free agents often struggle.

The NERVE of Tony to once say Ted Turner “didn’t know 1% of what I know about professional wrestling or WCW would still be on TBS/TNT”. Ted Turner’s WCW promotion defeated Vince McMahon and changed the business for the better. You never defeated Vince McMahon, EVER, and briefly helped wrestlers get paid. Now, WWE wrestlers are being forced to take 50% or else go to AEW to suffer.

Again, numbers don’t lie… Under 700,000 viewers for the flagship show, fewer tickets sold despite lower prices, poor merchandise sales (they closed the merchandise division!), and lower Pay Per View buys.

AEW is LUCKY to be in an environment where LIVE sports content is winning ridiculous sums of money by cable companies. That won’t last on the next contract, as the Ellisons are receiving TKO money for UFC being on Paramount+ and I fully expect them to get the WWE RAW contract and maybe the PLE one in 5 years. Enjoy the television money, while you can, because you’re day of reckoning is coming UNLESS you get your crap together and develop the next irresistible star… But you don’t have a developmental system that could create one.

Therefore, stop telling me “WWE sucks, watch AEW instead” when watching AEW is a less enjoyable experience than the corporate WWE experience.

*****

Told You So #5 – WWE is too veteran dependent

This relates to my “Triple H is bad at Talent Relations” argument, but we just saw a WWE Backlash event where (a) Oba Femi was left off the card, (b) Bron Breakker had a few botched moves, and (c) Jacob Fatu immediately lost to Roman Reigns.

That’s your next crop of wrestlers behind your Punks, Codys, Romans, and Seths…

This is the MAIN WEAKNESS of the WWE that if a competent AEW were in place, they’d exploit it and create a BETTER developmental system to create brand new younger stars to overcome WWE. Instead, AEW has a poor developmental system and relies on free agents to hopefully “save” them. Sorry, but nobody is tripping over themselves to see the latest Will Ospreay match and he is a great in-ring worker, I have to admit. But he, too, is a veteran and AEW is a roster loaded with veterans versus newer and exciting younger wrestlers who will be the big stars of tomorrow.

WWE will continue to push the same 4-5 guys at the top and they’ll get older, while their replacements are currently non-existent. Having a strong developmental system matters and the WWE just doesn’t have that under Triple H. I’ve been telling you so about him as EVP of Talent Relations for over 13 years now!

——————

LAST WORD: See, no “crash outs”, just ol’ Tito spitting facts and proving my past positions as being correct. Watch the usual suspects lose their minds in the Comments section because that’s what they usually do underneath popular columns. If what I do was so easy to replicate, why aren’t there more people trying this?

But go ahead, leave your comments… I always need new fodder to use for the next “Told You So” column.

So just chill… Until the next episode (or crash out, LOL)!

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO TOLD YOU SO: TKO Forcing WWE Wrestlers to Take 50% Pay Cuts, WWE Better During 2020s than 2010s, AEW’s Struggles, and More appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“As a globally recognised event with the capacity to attract tens of thousands of international visitors and generate substantial international media exposure, WrestleMania presents a significant opportunity for Ireland to strengthen its position as a leading destination for major event tourism.

The wider regional benefit to counties such as Kilkenny would be substantial, with strong potential for tourism spillover, increased domestic travel, and enhanced international visibility for Ireland’s secondary tourism destinations. Ireland is well placed to present a credible and competitive bid for WrestleMania, given our strong international tourism brand, proven track record in hosting major events, and global reputation as a welcoming destination.”

If Ireland were selected, Croke Park in Dublin would be the most likely venue due to its size, though Ireland could face competition from London, where Wembley Stadium has already proven to be a destination for wrestling events like AEW All In.

The post Kilkenny councilor is pushing for a future WWE WrestleMania to be held in Ireland appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Seeing lots of feedback on Wrestlemania 42 with it mostly being “weak night 1, stronger night 2” and many are even questioning the idea of a 2-night Wrestlemania. I don’t know, those 6-7 hour 1-night Wrestlemania shows were brutal. THAT SAID, these PLEs on ESPN are shoving in so many advertisements, as you’re probably watching like 30% advertisements now.

Here are my takeaways from Wrestlemania 42 and I’ll put them in a is of 10 to keep it convenient.

#1 – Pat McAfee heel turn meant NOTHING for Wrestlemania 42
Told you so that it was BAD BOOKING to randomly turn Pat heel and have him join Randy Orton, whom he had zero connection with previously and ditto for Cody Rhodes. All news reports show that it was Pat’s agent, Ari Emanuel (also the President/CEO of TKO) forcing the issue following Pat signing him to become his agent during February. Pat was so out of place and acting as if a wrestling mark was out there to be a heel manager. He attacked Cody to start the match but then got his arse handed to him to put on a stretcher job. He later returned in a referee shirt (WTF??) to interfere further, but then Randy Orton turns on him?!? Wait, what was the point of Pat McAfee turning heel? Orton would then lose the match anyway.

After the match, Randy Orton punted Cody Rhodes and legitimately injured Cody. That’s BS and hopefully TKO tightens the bolts to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again. Cody’s eye may be permanently damaged by that or could have been.

#2 – Happy for Paige, though confused about the Women’s Tag Title situation
Paige is one of the best women’s talents and it’s a shame that her relationship with Alberto Del Rio shook up things for her personally and professionally. That said, she’s still young and she looked fantastic in that ring on Saturday. The crowd gave her flowers, too, and it was a nice moment to see her winning. However, that Wrestlemania 42 match was supposed to be the coronation of the Bellas winning the tag titles and not just Brie & Paige. This possible snap judgment decision to give them the belts kind of rubs the shine off of the Bellas winning the tag titles if Brie already won the tag titles.

#3 – Retirement for Alexa Bliss? Is AJ Lee gone?
Alexa Bliss posted a big THANK YOU on his social media accounts and I think her big tribute to Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania was also a “goodbye” to the business. I think this is it for her, as she might be stepping back to be a mother full-time or possibly have more children. In my opinion, the WWE used her incorrectly since that MASSIVE Royal Rumble 2025 return in which her pop blew the roof off of Lucas Oil Field’s stadium (I was there, it was LOUD). HOWEVER, I do appreciate that her teaming up with Charlotte Flair helped repair Charlotte internally and allowed Charlotte to find the joy in pro wrestling again.

After her match with Becky Lynch, AJ Lee announced that she’d be stepping away from the ring too… She’s been in and out of the ring since her return, so taking long breaks is common… But I think she accomplished all she wanted to with a comeback and just wants to chill with a normal life. I wouldn’t be surprised that CM Punk, too, steps back and maybe considers starting a family with AJ Lee. Why not?

#4 – CM Punk was amazing.
That’s a 47-year old dude out there in the Main Event of Wrestlemania 42 and I’m so proud of him, as he finally headlined the big show and CRUSHED IT with a 5-Star Match with Roman Reigns. Best part was CM Punk selling the effects of the match, as he should because he took multiple Superman punches + a shot with the steel steps as he was hanging upside down from the top rope on the outside. That moment when he collapsed during the GTS meant everything. CM Punk just delivered Roman his BEST Wrestlemania main event match and remember, Roman has many of them in his holster. Punk delivered huge and cemented himself as an all-time great.

Honestly with CM Punk, where does he go now? He came back, proved that he could be a professional in a reasonable setting, and headlined Wrestlemania which was his goal during the 2010s when he walked out of the WWE. I would not be surprised if he retired, knowing that he righted the wrongs of his prior WWE career and also proved AEW wrong with this amazing second WWE run.

#5 – Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
Very happy that Oba Femi won and if I were WWE, I’d place a rocketship onto his arse and light that thing on fire to push him to the top. THAT SAID, I really didn’t like how the match went, specifically the complete no-sell of the F5 by Oba. Sorry, but that move ended the Undertaker’s streak and defeated many people in the WWE. It barely hurt Oba, who went on to Chokeslam and then Powerbomb Lesnar with barely any effects of that move. Other than that gripe, I’m glad that Brock Lesnar did business here and put the younger guy over.

And then, Brock Lesnar retired… Those fans in that Las Vegas stadium really felt that and in return, Lesnar got emotional as he was unlacing his boots and hugging Paul Heyman. Since 2012, Lesnar has dominated our lives as pro wrestling fans and in my opinion, Lesnar was the “saving grace” from the 2010s being even worse than what they really were with Vince McMahon’s creative micro-managing.

I still think he’ll wrestle Gunther at SummerSlam and possibly defeat him there, but I’d be perfectly content with Lesnar retiring here. Him hanging it up after losing to Oba makes Oba’s win even more impressive. “I made Lesnar retire”. That’s much different from Gunther defeating Goldberg or Cena because you knew their retirements were coming up. This was more of a random decision, as Lesnar just retiring sells the fact that he knows his time is now up and cannot defeat a monster like Oba Femi.

#6 – Jade Gargill experiment is over.
Look, I won’t deny that Jade looks like a million bucks. She’s beautiful and sculpted like a god. I’ll never deny that… But damn, was she built with 2 left feet? For as hard as both AEW and WWE worked, they tried and tried to make her a professional wrestler but it just did not stick. This goes to show you how natural talent makes a great wrestler and not fully the promotion with its smoke & mirrors. Rhea Ripley bounced all over that ring to sell whatever Jade sent to her, but to anyone watching for a long time, we know what’s going on and know which wrestlers understand how to work.

#7 – No surprises at all.
Many were expecting surprises, including myself, for both Cody/Orton or Punk/Roman and we got nothing… The Rock still hasn’t shown up yet and wasn’t behind Pat McAfee. Once again, this “TKO Era” likes to present surprise appearances throughout the year but craps the bed when it comes to its top show Wrestlemania.

#8 – Concerns over wrestler safety.
I’m surprised that TKO doesn’t show more concern for wrestler safety… There were crazy moments in that Ladder Match and then the “punt” by Randy on Cody could have caused permanent damage to Cody’s sight. There are ways to make things look convincing without, ya know, actually harming another wrestler. Night #1 was a bummer with a bad main event between Cody and Orton, thanks to stupid interference from Pat McAfee, and then to have Cody get legitimate injured was the crap icing on the cake.

#9 – 50,000+ fans still isn’t bad.
I thought that the Las Vegas football stadium looked full and the crowd seemed loud. Getting 50,000 at those high ticket prices is still an accomplishment. AEW’s top show, All In, has less than 20,000 tickets sold in Wembley this year and that’s with cheaper ticket prices. All In last year only did around 22,000 last year and again, with cheaper tickets. History will show that the WWE raised ticket prices too high for Wrestlemania 42 and probably should have gone to another city rather than burning out Las Vegas for a second year. However, all things considered, they still sold over 50,000 tickets and that crowd was still hot.

But damn, quit price gouging loyal WWE fans, TKO. You have all of that TV revenue money, Saudi money, getting Las Vegas to pony up for another year, having Fanatics ripping off fans for merchandise… Bunch of greedy bastards. Think about this, folks… All of this WWE and UFC revenue pouring in and these idiot executives at TKO still have $4 billion in debt. Now, I realize that every company utilizes Commercial Loans to finance things rather than burning through cash but Endeavor itself had over $7 billion in debt before a private equity firm, Silver Lake, bought them to restructure that very debt. That tells me there is more greed within Endeavor and TKO than even we know.

#10 – Roman is champ again, don’t blow it.
Since Wrestlemania 40, Roman Reigns has only wrestled TWELVE TIMES… For both 2024 and 2025, Roman disappeared for 3 months following Wrestlemanias and then would often be barely available during some of the fall months. Yes, I totally agree with the concept of “less is more”, but at least appear and do something. Brock Lesnar made more frequent appearances with his part-time contract than Roman has for the past 2 years.

Even during 2023, Roman would disappear for months as World Champion which is why RAW created its own World Heavyweight Championship to counter that extended absence.

I’m NOT saying to wrestle every single RAW or Smackdown, or perform on every single PLE. Cody Rhodes did that and over-exposed himself since Wrestlemania 40. What I’m saying is show up for the actual paying WWE fans in attendance and tuning in on television.

What is hurting the NBA right now? Players taking nights off, even when they are fully available to play. This “load management” stuff has devalued seeing the NBA live and in-person, along with destroying viewership numbers for regular season games (good lord, what did NBC and Amazon just over pay for?).

Roman is champion again and instead of taking blocks of months off, just fly him in for an appearance… How hard is it to fly him on a private jet just to cut a promo?

Again, I’m not asking for him to WRESTLE at every RAW/Smackdown or perform at ever single PLE… Make appearances and make your presence felt.

WWE, in my opinion, has suffered since Wrestlemania 40 because BOTH Roman Reigns and the Rock disappeared after teasing they’d finally wrestle. The friction from their egos being on the same Bloodline team and then Roman losing at Wrestlemania 40 should have set things in motion. But noooooo, Roman takes 3 months off and Rock only appeared 1 more time during 2024. Then, the opening show of RAW on Netflix was a total joke and Roman honestly hasn’t recovered since.

Now is the time to re-establish Roman as the #1 wrestler for the WWE and we need to see him just a little more… Not saying wrestle every night, but good lord, is it asking much to perform on at least half of the PLEs and maybe show up to 1 or 2 shows per month? That fits well into the “less is more” concept.

Overall, Wrestlemania was “meh” for Night 1, and pretty good for Night 2. Overall, good show despite the struggling hype and TKO meddling to get there.

Wrestlemania 42 reminded me of how much TKO sucks with the sponsors everywhere, 3-4 minute advertisement breaks, and the over-produced show.

*********************

THE LAST WORD

60 minutes for a Hall of Fame speech for Stephanie McMahon.

Tell us how much of a mark of yourself that you are without telling us that you’re a mark for yourself.

Look, Stephanie McMahon was a good on-screen character for her time… I thought her 1999 work as the victim of the Undertaker’s scheme was good and then I liked her teaming up with Triple H through 2000. After that, it was total hit or miss with her often being a dominant heel that never “got hers”. She kept away from any babyfaces retaliating against her, aside from Ronda Rousey beating her up at Wrestlemania in that mixed tag match.

She had a long tenure as EVP of Creative from late 2000 through late 2013. Lots of issues with that time, too… Yes, she did hear John Cena rapping on the back of the touring bus and then incorporated that onto WWE television… But her creative almost got him fired throughout 2002 before that! So many issues with the 2000s WWE, from letting Triple H run RAW into the ground from 2002-2003 to being agitating to Paul Heyman when he was running a successful Smackdown show. The way that women were treated was terrible under Stephanie, as we endured 3 Minute Warning and Divas Search under her creative watch. Ironically, it was her husband Triple H who took better care of female wrestlers creatively.

She didn’t deserve 60 minutes and it’s a CRIME that WWE made fans sit through her speech early in that show.

The FACT is that Stephanie McMahon would NEVER be a character, let alone an executive, if her name wasn’t “McMahon”. This Communications major would probably be working in a marketing department somewhere or maybe a news reporter for a TV channel. Instead, she was pushed to the very top because of her name. Don’t get me wrong, she has some talent… She grew up around the WWE and understood how to cut a promo or generate heat as a character. However, her ego often got in the way and she never let anyone one-up her as the opposition (besides Rousey).

Meanwhile, Sid Eudy is a “legacy” inductee to the Hall of Fame and he received less than 2 minutes of a video on that show. What a joke. Sid was a two-time WWE champion and became said champion because WWE’s pushed Shawn Michaels FAILED to draw as World Champion. Sid won at Survivor Series 1996 because HBK was tanking and then regained the title when HBK “lost his smile”. Sid helped the WWE safe face back then when they needed a credible champion. Yeah, I know, “scissors Sid” or “softball Sid”, but at least Sid didn’t compare his family to the victims of 9/11 like Stephanie McMahon did.

Triple H is too nice of a husband… He restored her confidence by putting her back on WWE shows and now this 60-minute Hall of Fame speech. But come on, quit self-glazing yourselves. WWE’s Attitude Era was built on the Rock and Steve Austin’s characters and whatever they did. FACT is that WWE houseshow attendance began to slide after Austin left to have neck surgery during November 1999 and then RAW’s viewership began sliding after Wrestlemania 16 before it joined TNN. Then from 2000 through 2004, RAW’s viewership kept sliding with Triple H dominating that show as the champion of that brand.

If you want to make a good argument about “getting rid of Triple H”, the past 2 Hall of Fames would be your argument. They are kind of rewriting history from their 2000s and 2010s transgressions, which is a shame because Triple H legitimately saved the WWE from itself during June 2022 when he took over during a very complicated time with Vince McMahon’s bad office behavior towards women being fully exposed.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

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I could go super negative about the show as a whole, but there were probably a few good moments in the show. All of those were over shadowed by the main event. This whole Pat McAfee thing was trouble from the start. I get WHY the suits at TKO did it. It made for some nice corporate synergy between them and ESPN who sunk a lot of money into being the sole provider in America to carry WWE PLE’s. Thank God for VPN’s by the way…just saying. But yeah they spent a lot of money to carry the WWE and damn it they want a return on that investment. So we got Pat McAfee because he’s on ESPN.

Corporate synergy is the name of the game. I mean if you watched ESPN at all in the last two weeks you can see all the damn coverage they gave them. I’m sure it drove “real sports” fans nuts seeing all this rasslin stuff on the network…but they were just trying to make back their investment. So after all that I have to ask. TKO…was it worth it? Was it worth having one of the worst Wrestlemania main event’s in modern history? The match itself was all right, but the story is was drives the match and the story was crap.

Originally I think they were going to go with a story that Randy Orton was talking to himself. I think Orton with a Dissociative Identity disorder could have been some fun stuff to watch. It would have made perfect sense for Orton to be talking to an Alter personality rather than Pat McAfee. But alas that would take true creativity and honestly that is something the WWE hasn’t had in a long time. I know I have praised Triple H in the past for his creative vision…but I think all that praise has run out. Now I know all the McAfee stuff came from above him and he had to make due. I just don’t get how they could drop the ball. Pat McAfee is a very unlikable person. And I say that as someone who does like him. So him being a heel for this should have been easy.

Now, as I said I thought the match was all right. They took care of McAfee being a disruption right away when he tried to attack Cody only for Cody to get the upper hand and Cross Rhodes his ass. As an added bonus if you can call it that…Jellyroll magically appeared and he ended up elbow dropping McAfee through the announce table and they stretchered him out much to the delight of everyone watching. But apparently Randy Orton had an injured back (probably from carrying the load of the entire first night) or he’s really good at acting. Either way Orton was wrestling as the underdog in this match and it felt odd to be honest while watching.

I was happy when we got some blood courtesy of Randy Orton hitting the post. That was a nice little thing this match desperately needed. Later in the match Cody Rhodes got busted open the hard way with a punch over the eye and he was bleeding a ton. He also cracked open the back of his head when he went for that Super Cody Cutter only for Orton to counter it into an RKO. So I was not disappointed with the blood in the match. That’s for damn sure. What I was disappointed with was the ending when McAfee came back out in a referee’s shirt after Orton RKO’ed Lil Nat’ch. They could have stacked the deck against Cody by “corporate” making Pat a special guest enforcer before the match but again that would have taken creativity. It would have made perfect sense for him to be a referee at that point and to try and screw Cody out of the WWE title with a fast count.

But perhaps I’m just being too nice here. I really wanted Randy Orton to win and it didn’t happen. As I said in previous columns, I believe Cody is better at the chase for the title than actually being champion. But if you’ve listened to the crowd for the last few weeks, it’s clear something is turning and people are getting sick of QB1 Cody. He’s getting more boo’s than cheers and a change is needed. I think the problem is the WWE just is not comfortable with a heel being a champion that is cheered for like a face.

The WWE has always been a company where the face stands tall. The bad guy can’t win. People have to go home happy. Well who the hell went home happy after this mess last night? What made the events of last night even more infuriating was Orton taking out Pat McAfee. Does this mean Orton did a double turn. He still ended up beating up Cody Rhodes after the match and standing over him with the title in his hand…just not as the winner. I’m sure NoDQ will have plenty of updates on WHY things happened in the coming day and days, but at this moment I’m just shaking my head at what could have been.

On the plus side perhaps the rumored Backlash main event of Orton/McAfee vs. Cody/Jellyroll is now off. Or it could be worse. McAfee could want revenge and we get Orton vs. McAfee. I’m sorry I put that out into the universe just now. Let’s hope I didn’t will it into happening. My point it is they don’t know what they are doing and honestly I can’t wait till they cover all of this on Unreal just to see how they spin this mess of a show.

I can only hope night two of Wrestlemania is not this bad because if it is, I’ll have another column to write. Punk vs. Roman is a pretty straight forward I hate you…you hate me story so it’s not like it’s hard to screw that up. I still can’t believe we got such a lousy first night of Wrestlemania this year. Short matches and too many commercials. Well like I said there were a couple of positives on this show. The big one was the return of Paige where she came back to the WWE and got a Wrestlemania moment with Brie Bella as they won the Women’s tag team titles. I fully expect them to lose the tag titles rather quickly, but it was great seeing Paige back. It boggles my mind how AEW had her (like they had others who are now in the WWE) and they really did nothing with her. But AEW mess ups is for a different column and right now I am rather exhausted.

So barring anything on a colossal scale of terrible happening that over shadows even the events of this first night of Wrestlemania, I shall be back next week. Until then, thanks for reading and as always you can leave feedback down below, on Twitter or actually e-mail me at phantomlordnyc@gmail.com

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