I was pulling for L.A. Knight to win the Money in the Bank briefcase. I would have also like Penta to win…so either one of them I thought would be a good choice for the briefcase. Instead we got Seth “Freaking” Rollins. It was the most boring pick because we all know Rollins will cash in and win and we’ll be back to him as champion. It’s odd because I do like Paul Heyman being with him and him having Bron Breakker and BIG Bronson Reed as his muscle. I just don’t want to see him as champion. It’s like I keep saying in the words of Lemmy himself…”The Chase is better than the Catch”. Rollins makes a good guy to feud with and chase for the title. But he is boring as hell as champion. Plus Jey Uso is way too over to take the title off of right now. Also, I would hate to see Rollins become champion for a number of reasons.

So with this column, I was trying to think of a fitting topic and I saw a tweet on twitter while scrolling and it said something to the effect of how Karrion Kross not being featured in ANY of the MITB qualifying matches was a really tone deaf decision on the part of the WWE. Kross has only been getting a minute or two of tv time while being relegated to Main Event (I had no idea that was still even on) in matches that have been getting good reactions from the crowds. He’s been getting such good reactions that his shirt is selling pretty well on the ol ShopWWE. So much so that they are actually selling his shirt at RAW.

You would think someone who is over with the crowd would be more prominently showcased. Instead he’s just there in the background and maybe getting a minute to get over a really complex storyline. They say you should reach for the brass ring in the WWE or wrestling in general. The problem with that is sometimes the powers that be don’t want you to grab that ring. And what happens if you do grab that ring anyway? Why they’ll just put you back into your place. Remember Zakk Ryder? He is the textbook example of what happens when you reach for the brass ring even though management doesn’t want you to. Oh sure, Ryder…now known as Matt Cardona has transformed himself on the Indies into one of the biggest names around. But you would think someone like that would get some interest from the WWE again. Nope…he’s said they have yet to even give him a call. Granted, he makes way more money on the Indies and with all his Major Figures products…but I’m sure a call would be nice.

But Karrion Kross is just one of many people who get themselves over and suddenly “creative has nothing for you”. Wrestling is a weird business. You want people who can make you money, but only if it’s the “right” people. L.A. Knight as I mentioned before is another one. He’s super over with the crowds, sells a lot of merchandise and for whatever reason the company just does not want to pull the trigger on him for that next level. I’m afraid to say this, but L.A. Knight has plateaued in the WWE. Now from a money standpoint I’m sure he’s doing pretty pretty good…so a lot of guys would love to be plateaued like him. But you just know he’s capable of so much more and he should have won that damn Money in the Bank briefcase.

I’m hoping the budding feud between Karrion Kross and Sami Zayn is going to go somewhere. Kross is doing the devil on the shoulder gimmick and Sami keeps turning his advice down. Sami is another guy who has plateaued in the company. He’s upper midcard and he’s in a good spot for the rest of his career. Just don’t ever expect him to win the World title. No matter how much the fans might demand it.

Speaking of fan demands, at the end of the Money in the Bank event we all got the shock of the year as this man in black came out through the crowd to attack John Cena. He pulls off his hoodie and it’s none other than Ron Killings…aka R-Truth. Last week he posted on twitter that he got released because his contract was coming up and they were not going to renew it. There is a lot of debate if this was a “work” or not. According to Mike Johnson on PWInsider.com it was not. “R-Truth is indeed back and will be going under the Ron Killings name going forward, at least initially. He was in discussions with several about appearances and independent bookings several days ago, so the decision to bring him back happened over the last 72 hours.” When asked about it at the post show press conference, Triple H simply said “All part of the show”.

We fans and our demands can be heard time to time. At Wrestlemania 30 at the peak of the Yes movement, the WWE did a pivot and ended up putting Daniel Bryan in the main event and he ended up winning the World Heavyweight Championship. Had they not done that we would have got one of the most boring main events in Wrestlemania history with Batista vs. Randy Orton. But the WWE for the most part does not like giving into fans and their demands. Now me personally, I’m a conspiracy theorist at heart so I want to believe that this was a plan all along and either way Truth is about to get the biggest push of his career. Ron Killings when he’s serious is a great heel and a great face. So to see him drop the comedy to go after John Cena should make for some good television.

All I know is when it comes to Karrion Kross, L.A. Knight, Ron Killings, and others our voice does end up helping in the end. So buy those shirts. The biggest thing is we have to show they are a value to the company. Maybe just maybe they can break that plateau I spoke of and they can keep climbing to the mountain top.

On that optimistic note I am done for this week. I promise to be back quicker next time. It’s just writing these columns is very labor intensive and I don’t want to half-ass it for you the reader. So until next time you can post your feedback down below, on twitter or email me at phantomlordnyc@gmail.com

The post The Phantom Rant: Riding the plateaued wave of a Kross and Knight appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

We’ve all enjoyed the antics of R-Truth in the WWE for the past 17 straight years and even though we don’t see him weekly, when he’s there, he has always made it count with his unique comedy. From entering the Women’s Royal Rumble, thinking another Royal Rumble was a Ladder Match, wondering where “Dom and Nick” Mysterio were, and the several times he thought he was involved with a match only to say “my bad, that’s on me”… R-Truth has given us moments that we can NEVER forget as wrestling fans and better yet, those moments are replay-able. I have seriously watched him put up a ladder in that Rumble Match so many times and I love it every time!

His release hurt because he had a big program with John Cena on the way out that it reminded many fans of how good he once was. WWE’s reason was that at 53 years-old and earning multiple salary promotions through 17 straight years of work, he was earning too much guaranteed salary per his output. As I indicated in a recent column, R-Truth has only wrestled 6 times during 2025.

BUT, now he’s back…

However, why is he back?

(a) Was this a work the entire time and he was going to be always be a surprise during the tag match at Money in the Bank?

(b) Did the fans actually force the issue and cause the WWE to rethink the expiration of R-Truth’s contract?

I think (b) because many details came out, specifically about the WWE offering him a lower offer than his current deal and that’s consistent with how they’ve treated other veteran wrestlers.

Thus, wrestling fans, DO YOU SEE THE POWER THAT YOU HAVE?!?

And STOP being REACTIVE to situations like this… Be PROACTIVE and heavily support your favorite wrestlers and be vocal about wanting to see your favorites more often instead of them being stuck on the sidelines often.

Did you NOT remember what happened during 2024 with Cody Rhodes and the WWE trying to crowbar his match with Roman Reigns away to allow for Reigns versus The Rock at Wrestlemania 40? Then, y’all went nuclear and forced that the WWE not only change it back to Roman vs. Cody, but to book it to allow Cody Rhodes to defeat Roman Reigns and end that extensive World Title run.

The FACT is that the MAJORITY of WWE’s business is still here in North America. FACT!

Where does WWE tour mostly again? North America, specifically the United States of America.

Who offers the WWE their biggest television contracts again? Oh yeah, AMERICAN companies such as NBC/Universal for USA Network (ha, “USA” Network) and Netflix who are damn near paying WWE up to $500 million per year.

Who buys the most merchandise? United States fans BY A MARGIN.

So, what if you stopped watching USA Network/Netflix, stopped attending WWE events, and stopped buying merchandise here in the United States?

Do you REALLY think that the international markets can fully pick up the slack? Sure, Saudi Arabia pays between $20 to $30 million per event, but that’s because they host 1-2 per year… What if they hosted 10 events per year? Oh yeah, WWE would eat those travel expenses to get there… Same thing about Europe and Australia. Yeah, they pop for their WWE tours, but that’s because WWE tours them so scarcely. However, if WWE tours them more often, they’ll get burned out on them. Furthermore, international markets just aren’t providing those massive television dollars as the United States can, the biggest media country of the world and it’s not even close.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE POWER THAT YOU HAVE?!?!?!

If fewer United States fans stopped watching RAW on Netflix, NXT on CW, Smackdown on USA Networks, attending live WWE events, and boycotted all merchandise, TKO’s revenues would tank and when that gets reported, the TKO stock tanks especially since Endeavor racked up a ton of DEBT in order to acquire WWE.

Thus, I don’t EVER want to hear any fans complaining about a released wrestler EVER again, along with any wrestlers who appear to deserve a push. YOU HAVE THE POWER to push them over the top and lucky for you, Triple H’s hearing is better than Vince McMahon’s.

Speaking of Vince McMahon, FINGER OF SHAME to all of the IDIOTS who said “Vince McMahon wouldn’t have fired R-Truth”. Huh?

Did you not see all of the wrestlers he terminated during 2020-2022 when the WWE was raking in RECORD PROFITS?!? And they were completely unannounced, too.

How about that massive Non-Disclosure Agreement for like $7 million, which involved a female wrestler whom Vince McMahon requested oral sex in order for her character to be pushed and after she performed such duty, Vince McMahon requested more services instead? When she refused, he depushed her character and eventually released her.

How about all of those wrestlers that Vince McMahon starved or stuck with bad gimmicks? Why did Cody Rhodes leave the WWE during the mid 2010s? Vince refused to let him out of his Stardust gimmick. Shelton Benjamin was given a stereotypical overweight black mama. How about those terrible outfits that FTR was going to wear per Vince? How about MANY, MANY OVW, FCW, and NXT call-ups who were terribly used? How about all of those female wrestlers who degraded based on how Vince and Kevin Dunn felt about them personally?

So tell me, how is R-Truth’s released even comparable to some of the mistreatment that Vince gave many, many talents?

Vince shows loyalty to the top stars who keep making him money and that’s it. Why was he so loyal to the Undertaker? Because Undertaker drew money for literally anything that he did. DUH!!!!

But remember, Vince is petty, too… Remember during the mid 2000s when he let the Rock’s contract expire and the Rock was pissed off about it because it created major issues with the nickname of “The Rock” for marketing of his movies. WWE let his contract expire, yet they still retained copyright of that nickname. Caused friction between the WWE and the Rock for a while, but smarter heads luckily prevailed on that one.

Can we stop it with the Vince McMahon love? Yes, he gave us this great WWE platform and we should always respect that… But Vince’s effectiveness managing talent and handling creative literally died over 20 years ago. He’s been an utter shell of himself in both of those buckets ever since and within those 20 years, some deviant sexual habits came to light.

I could have SWORN that I repeatedly read how much the vaunted Internet Wrestling Community HATED Vince McMahon’s mid-to-late 2010s storylines, pushes, and champions with many fans calling him “senile” and wanting him to leave the WWE. I didn’t have to swear on it, as I can still pull up the Tweets from the late 2010s to see how much ALL OF YOU hated Vince and wanted to go. Hell, many of you initially supported All Elite Wrestling as a means to “stick it” to Vince McMahon’s brand of wrestling.

Go ahead and attempt to tell me that Vince McMahon “heard you” following the 2012 “Summer of CM Punk” stuff and the 2013-2014 Daniel Bryan stuff. Yeah, he heard you alright… After CM Punk won the WWE Title at MITB 2011, what happened? Ruined that title reign in the weeks afterward and then through SummerSlam 2011, while CM Punk went on to lose multiple Pay Per Views in a row (like 3-4 straight). The “YES!” chants grew louder and louder, so Vince tried to place Daniel Bryan in the Wyatt Family. Fans rebelled and along with Orton vs. Batista tanking Wrestlemania 30 ticket sales, a quick change was made. But what happened AFTER Wrestlemania 30? Feuded with Kane and was marginalized as champion, not being featured as the top guy. Has their chance to repair things in 2015, but they made him a midcarder again.

Vince DID NOT hear you booing babyface Roman Reigns from 2015 through early 2020… Sure, he eventually turned Roman during August 2020, but Paul Heyman made Roman into a credible heel NOT Vince. And again, he listened to WWE fans going nuclear on him about babyface Roman Reigns for 5 straight years from 2015 to early 2020, and yet Vince did NOTHING but push harder and have Roman headline repeat Wrestlemania after Wrestlemania that caused many bad shows during the late 2010s.

So STFU about Vince McMahon being “loyal to talent” or “listening to fans”. I just ended that stupid argument with a few paragraphs and I have plenty more receipts where that came from.

Did Vince McMahon “hear you” on any of those 2020-2022 WWE releases? No, but Triple H sure did and he tried to bring many of them back. Just as he heard you going nuclear about Cody Rhodes losing his Wrestlemania 40 spot against Roman and just as he’s now heard you on R-Truth’s contract expiration.

Thus, you as a United States wrestling fan have two distinct advantages in your favor… For one, you’re still the biggest client group that the WWE has and losing their faith, trust, and loyalty would be detrimental to WWE and TKO. WWE and TKO is sure testing all of that with HIGH ticket prices, but until fans reject those ticket prices, it’s just a sign of WWE fan demand increasing. Secondly, Triple H listens to fans…

Still don’t believe me about Triple H listening? Well, once he knew that the Rock wasn’t going to wrestle at Wrestlemania 41, he tried a few things on the card such as Rollins vs. Roman vs. Punk and Cody vs. Cena instead. He heard backlash regarding those matches, so what did he do? He created a fantastic finish to Rollins vs. Roman vs. Punk by having Paul Heyman turn on both Roman and Punk while HHH changed the dynamics of Cody vs. Cena by having Cena turn heel. The result? Wrestlemania 41 moved more tickets thanks to Cena’s heel turn and Rollins vs. Roman vs. Punk was not only considered “match of the night”, but “match of the year”.

This is what pisses me off about wrestling fans right now… You have it SO GOOD right now and don’t even realize it. Things SUCKED during the 2010s, yet some of you NERDS are still showing fondness for Vince McMahon to return to those terrible times. Why don’t you just meet up with him and request him to do the same things he reportedly did to his victims and maybe let him traffic you around, too? It’s like you’re in a cult or something with Vince as the abusive leader.

While TKO and WWE are constantly finding ways to diversify where the revenues are coming from, they are doing so because there’s so much dependence on one country for the majority of its revenues. Thus, they are literally telling you how much power YOU, the United States wrestling fan, has because they are trying to obtain more international funding and opportunities. They know that a breaking point of high prices is coming, so the more they can push internationally, they less risk they have for the future.

For example, if you don’t like the Royal Rumble being in Saudi Arabia next year, then DON’T WATCH IT. Purposely unsubscribe to Peacock or wherever it is streaming next year for January 2026. Then, you’ll get that event back here in North America.

Don’t wish to see any of your favorite wrestlers get released? Then start buying their merchandise, buy their themes on iTunes, attend live events when they wrestle, only watch a show when they are wrestling, and get as loud as you can on social media. WWE’s analytics team tracks that data heavily and it would be beneficial for your favorite wrestler.

Don’t like WWE pimping out to all of these sponsors and having ads placed everywhere? Boycott ever guying anything that WWE advertises. Besides, Slim Jims are BAD for you. One tiny 4-inch stick that is purchased in a box with other meat sticks has 10mg of Cholesterol and 130mg of Sodium. Pretty much quadruple that for the longer ones purchased at gas stations and then you have the Monster Slim Jim or even the “Savage” one. Lots of fat in them, too.

And damn it, hold your favorite wrestling promotions ACCOUNTABLE when a wrestler is poorly used. Call them out and rally the troops to help your favorite wrestlers.

If you want your favorite wrestlers to be actually used and pushed, FIGHT FOR THEM. Like ya did for R-Truth, but only in a reactive fashion rather than something proactive.

Follow me on Blue Sky!

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post MR. TITO: R-Truth’s Return Proves that Wrestling Fans Still Have Leverage Against WWE and TKO appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“So we can confirm the initial report of our good friend and former guest of WrestleVotes Radio, Andrew Baydala, that the location of this year’s Money in the Bank PLE has been decided and agreed to with the show calling the Intuit dome in Los Angeles, California, home in 2025. This will mark the first PLE to take place inside the brand new Intuit Dome, of course, the host of the debut of Netflix back in January. This will be the 16th Money in the Bank pay-per-view of all time and the first taking place inside the state of California.” (quote courtesy of WrestlingNews.co)

Via Twitter/X, Baydala mentioned June 7th as the rumored date. WWE has not officially announced plans for this year’s MITB event.

Houston has been the working plan for over a month, but it seems they could have shifted to LA.

Stay tuned.#SmackDown #WWE https://t.co/Tg8XhNwlsb

— Andrew Baydala (@AndrewBaydala) March 14, 2025

The post Report on planned location for WWE’s 2025 Money in the Bank PLE appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Here is where I want to start today… Do online wrestling fans even realize how GOOD they have it right now?

Go back to 2018, for example… TNA wasn’t even close to a competitor, ROH wasn’t making any traction, New Japan had some good years but their shows were difficult to find here in the United States to even watch, and AEW had yet to be invented. All you had was the WWE and damn that was a struggle to watch through 2018. WWE kept pushing Roman Reigns as the #1 babyface, John Cena was long gone, Brock Lesnar was losing steam, Tag Team division was treated poorly, and the Women’s Division was Charlotte Flair or nothing. It was Vince McMahon becoming obsolete in his micro-managing ways and pushing terrible forms of comedy on his 3 hour RAW shows or the Smackdown that he didn’t care about on Tuesdays.

If you covered wrestling online during the 2010s, especially the latter half, it was miserable. Pretty much discussing a declining WWE, as seen by lower viewership & attendance, or following the other entities that had no chance of ever challenging WWE.

Then, AEW arrives during early 2019, signs a few big names (Moxley, Jericho, Omega, Cody, etc.), puts on a Pay Per View, and scores a prime time deal with TNT for Wednesday Nights. Then, they throw around a few dollars to acquire several ex-WWE guys that WWE thought nothing of releasing while also signing CM Punk.

Suddenly, we had competition on our hands… With RAW doing down to 1.5 million and Dynamite getting 900,000, they were within reasonable striking distance.

What did the WWE do?

– Took title reigns more seriously.
– Finally pushed Roman Reigns as a heel, after years of fans begging the WWE to do so.
– Put Paul Heyman in a prominent role with their chosen top guy.
– Paid their talent more money not to leave and join AEW.
– Bring back Triple H once Vince retired during 2022 with a fresh perspective.

As a result, viewership increases but live attendance and merchandise have SURGED for the WWE.

I would argue that THIS era of the WWE is the BEST it has been since the Attitude Era version of the WWE, and I’d argue that the Bloodline is the BEST storyline since the New World Order storyline through 1997.

AEW on the other hand, well, they’ve declined somewhat lately… BUT, they still exist and act as an option for fans to watch more prime time wrestling whether it’s on Wednesday nights on TBS now, Fridays on TNT, or Saturdays on TNT.

Meanwhile, NXT is greatly improving over the past year, as Shawn Michaels has gained experience and now knows how to better communicate his knowledge to the wrestlers. On top of that, WWE has formed a partnership with TNA, of all promotions, and it could pay HUGE dividends once NXT begins airing on the CW Network that is available in about 100 million households.

Yet, instead of appreciating this current era, all I’ve seen for the past 2 weeks is the WWE and AEW tribes fighting over whether or not AEW Forbidden Door or WWE MITB/NXT Heat Wave were superior events or not.

Would you like to go back to 2018 again, where it was WWE or nothing?

You miserable online wrestling fans…

Go watch the Wrestlemanias of the 2010s, as headlined by Roman, and then just watch the Wrestlemanias of the 2020s. Holy cow, a MAJOR difference in how the WWE overpushed an inexperienced babyface Roman versus carefully pushing Roman as a heel now. Meanwhile, WWE’s undercard wrestlers are thriving and seeing better opportunities than ever. Before, Vince McMahon could stomp on any developmental wrestler but now, they have valid opportunities to not be humiliated within 10 seconds of their debut.

And CHILL on AEW… They are in rebuilding mode, as the losses of Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, along with recovering from the drama of the Punk tenure, still has given them a hangover. MJF and Omega’s injuries have delayed and rewritten plans, too. They made mistakes of overpaying Okada, Ospreay, Mercedes, and Copeland instead creating and developing their own superstars that weren’t in New Japan or WWE previously.

The current WWE growth mirrors the late 1990s growth in that a WCW competitor rose up and forced WWE to change its creative and which wrestlers to push. During 2019-2021, the AEW competitor arrived and forced WWE to change its creative and which wrestlers to push. Get rid of Vince McMahon completely and install Triple H, and then that changed creative and talent vision greatly changes the WWE for the better. WWE is a much better working environment now than it was just 3 years ago. That’s CRAZY to think about, while AEW needs to realize that the Young Bucks are their toxic problem just as Vince was WWE’s.

But even if you want to rip into AEW’s booking and storylines, their Pay Per Views are generally good and loaded with action… If you just watch AEW’s Pay Per Views (foolish to go monthly, in my opinion, on Pay Per View) and watch the WWE’s PLE events, you’re eating quite well at the moment…

Many of you don’t appreciate the greatness that has been presented to you. WWE is stronger today, thanks to competition, and AEW still has a decent chance to remain a reasonable competitor. Much different now than it was during miserable 2018.

If you don’t believe me, go back into the archives and watch WWE or AEW events. Oh yeah, AEW didn’t exist during 2018 and WWE’s 2018 events mostly were lackluster.

Today, there is pure excitement regarding the matches of AEW Pay Per Views and the moments on WWE Premium Live Events.

If you’re stuck in a tribe, just enjoy your product and don’t worry about the other product. Save yourself some rage and blood pressure by not getting into fights with the other tribe. Simple as that.

Onto your questions.

———————————————

Did you know that you appeared on Part 3 of Who Killed WCW?

NoDQ owner Aaron Rift showed me this… Around the 35th minute of Part 3 of Vice TV’s Who Killed WCW, there was an online quote posted and it had my name on it:

Russo’s greatest service to Wrestling

everyone should wake up. Hogan is gone. Russo deserves a little credit.

And it is labeled as “Posted by With Mikey G and Mr Tito on Jul 14, 2000”

Wow… Aside from random signs held up at arenas and appearing on shows/documentaries later, this is a first where a possible quote from me was featured on a program.

BUT, I’m unsure if it was mine… I read my column archives from the July 2000 timeframe and I say no such thing. Only other place where I’d post something could be Lords of Pain’s message board system which by July 2000 was EZ Board. Back then, I was one of the moderators of that forum and I’m wondering if my involvement or moderating of comments caught me in Mikey G’s web. I remember a poster with that name and I’m guessing it was pulled from a comment of Mikey G’s. The grammar doesn’t look something I’d write, so I’m guessing that the quote is his and I’m associated with the thread somehow as a moderator.

Looking back on my July 9th to July 14th comments, while I do get my digs into Hulk Hogan, as I was tired of his act at that point, much of my opinion back then was associated with Booker T becoming WCW Champion no matter how it was accomplished. I gave Russo a free pass that night at Bash at the Beach 2000 because it created the end result of Booker T finally obtaining World Championship gold. Thus, I don’t think it was me who said it or else they would have just had “Mr Tito” there on the spot. Mikey G said it, I believe, and I’m likely in that thread acting or seen as a moderator. Maybe I started the thread that it was posted in?

I was digging deep into the Wayback Machine and just cannot find the EZ Board posting from Lords of Pain during July 2000. The pages appear to not exist and if you catch a later EZ Board version, it won’t let you navigate.

Regardless, it’s a cool moment to see something that you may or may not have written appear on the screen 24 freakin’ years later.

By the way, this begs the question… If I cannot pull up that EZ Board posting, who saved and retained it? Seems like it was pro-Russo, so it makes me wonder who was watching my posts and maybe screenshotting ones as well back then? Amazing that someone would possibly retain it for over 2 decades and then use it on a documentary.

*****

What are your thoughts on Stephanie Vaquer signing with WWE instead of AEW?

Being totally honest here, as I don’t live and breathe what New Japan or CMLL do, but her wrestling appearance at AEW’s Forbidden Door was the first time that I’ve heard of her or seen her wrestle. And I’m likely speaking for the MAJORITY of wrestling fans. So with that in mind, it’s not a big signing unless you read certain news letters or follow with crowds who are deep into NJPW or CMLL.

That said, if I was ANY free agent wrestler right now through July 2024, WWE would be the #1 place to go while AEW is a distant #2. That’s just a fact, as WWE attendance is way up while AEW’s has declined. WWE has MASSIVE new television deals, while AEW has yet to sign a new TV deal.

So what if she wrestled on an AEW show? She wasn’t under AEW contract, so therefore, she can go where she pleases.

And it’s not like the WWE just signed anyone earth shattering, let’s get a hold of ourselves here. She’s a female wrestler who has worked for international promotions that are niche promotions to a tiny group of wrestling fans. Let’s slow down on this being a massive free agent signing. Unless it’s a known name that got over in a North American based promotion, they aren’t instantly going to get over in WWE. Just a fact… Hence why Okada and Ospreay are NOT drawing in AEW, as New Japan only has a limited amount of fans here in the states. Their AXS show regularly drew LESS than 150,000 and drew so poorly that it didn’t even make the Nielsen viewership charts (TNA is in that boat now).

For anyone to get huffy and puffy about this free agent signing, as if she “betrayed AEW” can just stick it. AEW’s women’s division has ruined enough female wrestlers, thank you, while WWE has made female wrestling relevant thanks to Triple H’s development of them.

*****

Thoughts on the Rhea Ripley/Liv Morgan/Dominik Mysterio love triangle?

I love me some Dirty Dom! Notice how his character is bringing out the best in other characters? Rhea’s career has done nothing but surge thanks to Dom bringing out the best in her personality as a character, and now Liv Morgan’s character has significantly evolved. See, THIS is what I’ve been talking about for YEARS about female personalities in wrestling.

Y’all have been attacking me for YEARS about my praise for Miss Elizabeth and Sable as non-wrestling (mostly) personalities and how they were the biggest female draws. Those ladies drew money by looking good on the outside or inside of the ring. For Elizabeth in particular, she made us care about her well being with Macho Man while Sable just flaunted her sexuality. Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle weren’t much as in-ring performers, but drew lots of eyeballs with their sexuality and teasing fans or other characters.

Trish Stratus became a great wrestler, but her angles with Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Christian/Chris Jericho is what got her really over as a personality and THEN she became a good wrestler. Oh, and what was her greatest feud? You can give me Lita all day, but the Mickie James storyline was perfection. Mickie James obsession was easily the BEST women’s division storyline ever and its callback at the Royal Rumble got the entire arena cheering.

Personally, I found Liv Morgan to be a bit boring and overrated… But I don’t think that now with this new angle with Dominik. I’m compelled to watch her segments every week now and am glad that she finally has an interesting angle and personality for her character. Once again, it’s another case of the Triple H Creative regime finding value and enhancing an undercard performer.

Dominik Mysterio… What a stud. You can give me the nepotism all you want, but Rey Mysterio NEVER acted that well as a character compared to his son.

I’m loving this storyline and the further Dom and Rhea can get from Judgment Day, the better. They don’t need them.

*****

What are your thoughts on Mariah May turning on Toni Storm?

It was good… Mariah May is a solid talent, one of the few good AEW talent acquisitions in that division, and I loved how violent it became. Makes me wonder if the Warner Bros. Discovery executives might have a cow about that, but if it drew numbers…

*checks viewership numbers* Oh, we’re still under 700,000 viewers? I thought when the NBA or NHL Playoffs were done, viewership would go back up again?

The thing about Mariah May is unless you watched Stardom for the past few years, which again, isn’t many, then she’s quite fresh as a talent. That’s different than Okada and Ospreay who have been featured and hyped as being “great” in New Japan thanks to Uncle Dave assessing 6-7 stars to each of their matches. While the Observer boys gush over Stardom, too, it’s not as much as the guys who give them the “O-face” (Okada, Omega, Ospreay).

This is what AEW needs more of… Talent you’ve never seen in WWE or any other large mainstream promotion or events performing for AEW. That’s why their big free agent spree is so foolish because they are overpaying for talents at the end or past their prime.

But I just wonder how Warner Bros. Discovery thinks of that situation or if they loved it and want some more of it. I would bet that they disliked it…

*****

How do you think John Cena’s WWE career will end?

I think he has to put over someone younger. Yeah, he can wrestle CM Punk again for fun, but the time honored tradition is to put over someone else.

THAT SAID, we thought he already did that by putting over Solo Sikoa but before and after that match with Cena, Solo was losing many matches.

Someone like Bron Breakker could be good… But I think someone like the Miz may deserve that rub. I realize that Miz is older, but Miz ate a lot of chow during 2011 and pretty much ran scared of John Cena for that Spring. Put an older and more confident Miz against him, while letting him beat Cena cleanly, would be good company move. Then Miz can ride on that momentum himself that he was the last to finish Cena and then anyone Miz puts over gets some benefit too.

Personally, I wish that Cena could redo his AWFUL Wrestlemania match with the Undertaker. That was such a waste of time.

I’d like to see one more Cena vs. Brock Lesnar match, if Brock is allowed to return…

*****

Do you think that CJ Perry (Lana) returns to WWE?

Oh yeah, and I could see her even taking a cheaper rate just to professionally be with her friends Liv and Bailey again. She’s also a Triple H signing and was released when HHH wasn’t there. I could see her reprising the female manager role.

I don’t see WWE overpaying her to return, though, and money doesn’t always buy happiness. But working with your friends and possibly your new boyfriend does.

I really liked CJ Perry’s WWE special that discussed her personal life. She’s seems like a really great person and I wish her well.

*****

Thoughts on the Money in the Bank briefcase winners? Did they waste it on Drew McIntyre?

No on that second question. To me, the Money in the Briefcase concept is a JOKE. Could you imagine the insanity if that existed in Boxing or UFC? Get done with a 10 round boxing match, but someone invades your post match to challenge for the title that you just defended.

I’m fine with Drew McIntyre trying to immediately cash it in because now we won’t have it hanging over our heads for the Men’s division. We’ll get real contenders going for titles and not what is essentially stealing an idea from the 24/7 Title or the 24/7 rules for the Hardcore Title. Now, we have certainty for the World Title situations heading into 2025’s big events and I’m 100% fine with that. If you can prove to me how that briefcase helped Damien Priest, then I’ll laugh at you. He shouldn’t have won the briefcase, nor should he be champion. Holding the briefcase until Wrestlemania 40 didn’t get him over.

If you want to fix the Money in the Bank briefcase situation, then eliminate the 24/7 rule. Challenges must be made with at least 1 week in advance.

Tiffany Stratton was the right person to win it. Yes, she’s new, but she’s highly skilled and has already proven to be an equal to most of her peers. Other than Chelsea Green, she was the most qualified to win that briefcase. Hopefully, she challenges ahead of time.

——————–

So just chill… Till the next episode!

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