ASK TITO: Recent WWE Talent Releases, Hogan’s Freestyle Promotion, Mercedes, Samantha, and More
The Excellence in Column Writing is back in your face with another edition of “Ask Tito”, where I take your questions sent via email, social media, and the comments below that are mostly current events in nature. The beauty of my columns is that with me writing these on a 100% voluntarily basis, there are “no strings attached” which fits us entering the month of May (it’s “gonna be Maaaaay!”). Plus, I give zero Fs on what the haters think. I write what I want, when I want, and your ill-fated attempts to cancel me just won’t work. It’s difficult to terminate someone who provides drawing content for free, especially when I present things professionally.
Lately, I’ve seen 3 camps flaming wrestling fans online or attacking my columns:
(1) AEW marks who love Tony Khan and the Young Buck’s table scraps
(2) Vince McMahon lovers who worship the guy, no matter what laws or morals he has broken, and want to have him back ruling the WWE.
(3) Grifters – People who provide wrestling opinions for a living and emphasize a particular take for an overreaction from the audience.
Right now, all 3 camps are leaning in HARD with their “Rock vs. Triple H” feud takes, claiming that WWE is internally tearing itself apart. They listen to any random thing that the Rock says or posts, and then assume that he wants to wreck the gravy train that is lining up his back accounts easily as a WWE board member.
And I adore the recent conspiracy theories of how the Rock wants to install Brian Gerwirtz in place of Triple H. That’s right, the writer who took on more creative power as the 21st century began and helped Stephanie lose over 2 million viewers through 2005. The “lead writer” of the Rock’s material, as if it’s terribly difficult to write things like “do you smell what the Rock is cooking”, “Smackdown hotel”, and “know your role”. That guy, who has managed NOTHING in his life, let alone talent relations and live events. Big difference between just a member of the writing room versus attending production meetings, managing talent, developing talent, and speaking to venues, sponsors, media companies, and corporate types.
Go ahead, install Brian in Triple H’s role. The WWE Titanic will sink if Brian, or almost any Rock flunky, takes that job.
And THAT is exactly what persons (1), (2), and (3) specifically want.
Person (1) is an AEW mark. They know that Tony and the Bucks cannot grow AEW organically with their creative decisions, so thus they only way they can compete is bringing WWE down to them.
Person (2) loves the taste of Vince McMahon’s turd sandwiches. The only way that a desperate TKO Corporation would bring Vince McMahon back is if Triple H was removed from the top spot.
Person (3) just wants chaos to grift on, and a WWE without Triple H will reduce that company’s stability significantly and cause the WWE to decline. Then, through attrition, the wrestling scene gets competitive again BUT over a smaller audience. Person (3) thinks short-term, but always fails to think long-term.
Me?
I’m enjoying the BEST version of the WWE in YEARS.
To me, it’s the best version of the WWE since 2005 when John Cena and Batista were finding their footing along with Edge getting a solid main event push. Kurt Angle was healthy again and battling Shawn Michaels. Chris Jericho had some of his best work on the way out towards his brief retirement. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit were no longer main eventers, but were putting in solid midcard work (sadly, Eddie would go by the end of the year).
Further WWE got away from 2005, the more quality began to escape it for the rest of the 2000s, year-by-year. By 2010, the talent roster was depleted and the roster was restocked with FCW wrestlers and they just weren’t as great as the OVW developmental stars. Then for the rest of the 2010s, it was Brock Lesnar (fairly) and Roman Reigns (incorrectly) dominating the entire roster. COVID was a wake-up call to the WWE and they finally found a good role for Roman with a heel turn, pairing him with Paul Heyman, and creating the Bloodline. Improvements came from there and got better during mid-2022 when Triple H, with more experience now, applied some tweaks.
So I’m not complaining. Could it be better? Of course… But I fully understand the variability of the Rock’s availability from Hollywood acting and changes in his own mind, such as presenting a family friendly version of himself when starring in Disney films.
But I enjoyed Wrestlemania 41. Wasn’t an all-time great Wrestlemania, but only a few shows out of 41 have been, to be honest. Honestly, there are maybe 10-15 Wrestlemanias that I’d want to rewatch while the rest might have me being selective on watching a match or so. Wrestlemania 41 is FAR from being an all-time BAD Wrestlemania show. If you think that Wrestlemania 41 was an all-time worst show from that series, then you are TOO CYNICAL.
And for everyone to call Travis Scott’s interference as the “worst moment in wrestling history” or that Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena was the “worst Wrestlemania match or main event in WWE history” hasn’t watched enough wrestling. Many awful matches on Wrestlemania, but main main events that have been a letdown too.
But worst moment of all time?
Have you seen Vince Russo or David Arquette winning the WCW Title?
Did you see Hulk Hogan winning the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 9?
Fingerpoke of doom during Hulk Hogan vs. Kevin Nash from the first WCW Nitro of 1999?
Judy Bagwell on a forklift?
Vince McMahon’s “Kiss My Ass” Club?
Katie Vick?
Oh, did you mean WORST Wrestlemania moment? Did I hear you clearly?
Many BAD Undertaker matches against hosses, see Wrestlemania 9 in particular.
Wrestlemania 9 in its entirety
Michael Cole wrestling on a Wrestlemania and winning.
Steve Austin’s heel turn to finish Wrestlemania 17
Lawrence Taylor main eventing and winning at Wrestlemania 11
McMahon in every corner for Wrestlemania 16
Travis Scott’s interference was a MEANS TO THE END. It got the WWE Title from Cody Rhodes’s waist to John Cena’s waist. THAT is what matters because there is more value in Cody as a chaser than champion. Cody benefitted for years for being Dusty’s son and bucking the AEW system, along with receiving incredible favorable babyface booking to prop him up. For the past year as champion, he was over-exposed as a scripted personality and didn’t look strong against weaker opponents like AJ Styles or Logan Paul. Cena totally outclassed Cody in their promos together and made Cody look weak.
I know, I have hurt many of your feelings with what I just said, but it’s the truth. Persons (1), (2), and (3) want Triple H fired or retired, Wrestlemania 41 wasn’t the worst Wrestlemania in history, Travis Scott’s involvement wasn’t spectacular but we’ve seen much worse (at least he had “heat” from being at Elimination Chamber and punching Cody), and Cena vs. Cody wasn’t a bad wrestling match.
Many of you online act as an echo chamber and hop on bandwagons for ridiculous things said online. Stop giving a damn and just see through the ridiculous criticisms that wrestling gets, especially now with the WWE being the BEST it has ever been in the past 20 years.
Again, if you don’t like what you’re seeing with 2025’s WWE, then go back and watch the WWE CRAP from the 2010s while Vince McMahon was still in charge and micro-managing the crap out of everything and inserting his bad humor into the product. Be my guest… Go watch those historically BAD Wrestlemanias from that decade, too, you stupid marks!
“Tito is attacking fans”, no, I’m telling the TRUST about people who think they are fans. Big difference.
And you’ll see some comments below, trying to attack what I just said. Here is an easy game to play… Guess which commenter fits which role? AEW mark, Vince McMahon mark, or wants chaos in wrestling.
Onto your questions.
ASK TITO: Your Questions, My Answers
Thoughts on recent WWE releases?
Even in good times, releases happen… So don’t be alarmed, as the “WWE sky isn’t falling”. What this means is that the released talent have either already peaked or won’t hit a peak with their current tenure. HOWEVER, this does not that the careers of the released are completely over. No, it should be a WAKE-UP CALL for those released and if they want to remain employed as a wrestler, then maybe they should improve their craft or seek some sort of change. Look what happened when WCW released Undertaker, Steve Austin, and Mick Foley. More recently, look what Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre did after their releases. They found work outside of the WWE and changed things up.
Let’s look at those who were released:
Kayden Carter
Katana Chance
Dakota Kai
Braun Strowman
Shayna Baszler
Riley Osborne
Gigi Dolin
Cora Jade
Jakara Jackson
Eddy Thorpe
I honestly don’t know who a few of these are and I have yet to watch the new NXT show on the CW… I think with Dakota Kai and Cora Jade, they just couldn’t retain momentum in the WWE and stand-out. I know that both have many online fans, but online fans aren’t the majority and their obsession with those two aren’t selling tickets or merchandise.
Braun Strowman has had multiple chances and he has succeeded on some of those chances, struggled in others. I just never saw drastic improvement and father time has caught up with his speed and strength. Still, he’s a big body with WWE experience and should find good work.
Always found Shayna Baszler to be praised too much by the online community. I didn’t get it, but good for her on retaining WWE employment for so long.
I thought that Gigi Dolin never had a fair shake in the WWE, though, and the talent and look were there. Life in the WWE just hasn’t been the same since the Toxic Attraction stable broke up. Now, she’ll return to being Priscilla Kelly, and with her real name, comes the possible reputation of extreme stuff done on the indy scene such as the infamous tampon segment. I thought the rebranding as Gigi helped her get away from that reputation.
Again, if you one of the wrestlers released, MAKE THE WWE PAY FOR IT by succeeding elsewhere. Blueprint is there for the WWE to not only rehire you, but to sign you for a big deal and legitimately push you.
*****
What do you think of the new Hulk Hogan’s Real American Freestyle promotion?
I have a question in return for you… When, besides being associated with Vince McMahon or Ted Turner, has Hulk Hogan or Eric Bischoff had significant success? That’s the real question… Because even when Eric had all of the resources in the world during 1998, he still screwed up WCW as a promotion and then proceeded to make it worse during 1999. Then, Eric returns to WCW to drive more nails into its coffin during 2000 while trying to scheme AOL/Time Warner to absorb all of his bad wrestler contracts while his Fusient group would take over WCW and the television timeslots.
Remember Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in TNA? Yep, made that promotion much worse and they had a decade-plus hangover from that after a solid 2000s decade.
For Hogan, name me one movie, which he starred in, that people gave a damn about in the box office?
Sure, Hogan Knows Best had a few good seasons, but that fell apart and eventually tore his own family apart. Everyone’s heads grew and now they are a family divided, sadly.
Given their track record OUTSIDE OF spending or receiving Ted Turner or Vince McMahon’s money, when did they succeed without it?
I have ZERO trust in them to start-up a company that features freestyle (or amateur) wrestling prominently. For one, it has NEVER been a popular sport and the early versions of Pro Wrestling went away from just grappling all day by adding punching, kicking, slams, higher risk moves, etc. Nobody wants to see two dudes rolling around on a mat, or else it would have been more popular years ago. For amateur wrestlers, the pipeline has become Mixed Martial Arts where their ground game makes them equally as dangerous as any effective striker. Teach an amateur wrestler various martial arts and striking capabilities, and they are set in MMA.
NO THANK YOU to whatever Eric and/or Hogan want to try as a project. They’ve tried many things together or independently, yet they always revert back to what they did during their WCW or WWE years. Think of how much money they would have saved if they didn’t spend it on projects like this one that went no where. I appreciate them taking risks, though, but take good risks rather than thinking about having a professional freestyle wrestling league.
Given how much Hogan lies about the past and how Eric either conveniently misremembers or always covers for Hulk Hogan, I wouldn’t have any trust in this promotion.
*****
Thoughts on Liv Morgan getting cast in a movie?
Honestly, good for her. It’s a testament to how well she did during 2024 and coming out of her shell, while still being one of the featured players in the WWE.
I have nothing else to say other than I’m happy for her. Hopefully, giving her opportunities like this, here and there, will keep her in the WWE.
WWE did some of their best women’s division activity ever during 2024 and we need more of that, instead of less of it.
*****
What do you think about Samantha Irvin’s claims about being “shadow banned” from YouTube?
Oh lord… For one, Google is about making money. If something was GOOD, they won’t go out of their way to “shadow ban” something that could ring up massive advertisement money. Trust me, they probably have reports filed all the time on Taylor Swift videos, for example, yet her stuff isn’t “shadow banned”.
Simple truth of this matter is what Samantha released isn’t what the public wants to hear or watch. Simple as that. Put out better content, and they’ll listen.
There’s no conspiracy out there of Google giving a damn about what an ex-pro wrestling announcer puts out as music and wanting to ban it due to possible complaints, dislikes, or trolling comments. Again, go underneath any Taylor Swift comment section and it’s TOXIC on YouTube. Ditto for anything Disney puts out on YouTube, along with literally anything Beyonce has out there. Beyonce won Country Album of the Year and that genre went nuclear on her. Yet, that hasn’t affected her business.
Samantha – How about you increase the QUALITY of your video uploads and then more views will come your way. That’s how the YouTube business works, even when they put in so-called filters for things that are violent or political in nature. High volumes of viewership will somehow find audiences not just from YouTube’s search algorithms, but from Social Media posts.
BUT, to show you what a good sport that I am, I’ll post YOUR VIDEO RIGHT HERE for everyone to click and enjoy.
134,000 views at the time I am writing this and this was posted 3 weeks ago. Yeah, the public isn’t fully into it yet and it’s not YouTube’s fault. This is your FIRST video that your channel has posted.
Get over yourself.
*****
Thoughts on AEW running shows at the old ECW Arena in Philadelphia?
Why not? If you’re struggling to fill 5,000 to 10,000 seat arenas, then get creative and find more intimate venues with your fans. Furthermore, GO WHERE THE FANS ARE. Having an event at the older ECW Arena will turn heads and cause many diehard fans who attended shows for years there to consider attending AEW shows.
My only worry is that the ECW Arena venue is like 25 years older from when ECW used to run shows there. Back then, there were complaints about the LACK of air conditioning and it was pretty much “balls warm” when events were held there. Hopefully, the venue has seen some modernizations throughout the years.
While you’re there, bring along past ECW stars who can still sort of go. I think someone like a Stevie Richards, who is gaining a great following on his YouTube channel (see Samantha Irvin, it can be done!), would be a great ambassador and they could cross promote. That said, I like Richards doing stuff on his own so that he’s not impaired when he reviews their stuff.
It’s like the old Sam Kinison comedy routine of bringing people “where the food is”. Well, Tony should bring his shows to where the fans are. Their venue choices have been poor, and therefore, shows like Dynamite and Collision are always looking half empty. Start small, and then go to bigger venues when the momentum is there. Wrestling 101.
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Thoughts on Mercedes Mone starting up a text buddy service for $99.99 per month?
What does it matter to you? If you don’t want to pay Mercedes or have interest in her service, then DON’T SPEND YOUR OWN MONEY. Others may and that’s their business.
It’s not like she’s misleading about her service… Terms are stated up front, pay $99.99 per month and you’ll hear from her on your phone. Same thing goes with any female wrestlers who are on OnlyFans. If that offends you, then don’t spend your money on OnlyFans. Wow, what a concept… When you know what the product or service is and what you’re getting for your money, then there’s no issue with me (though prancing around on OnlyFans for THAT content just lends itself to building years of creeps).
But when you do things like meme coins, those NFT images, or various made-up forms of cryptocurrency, that’s BS and any public figure offering that stuff for a quick buck needs to just burn in hell. Investment scams are going through the roof right now in these areas and any “mark” for a wrestlers, celebrity, or politician is clearly getting scammed under false pretenses with this stuff. Yet, the person offering this garbage is never held accountable.
Whoopee, Mercedes is offering text messages for $99.99 per month. You know what you’re getting and you know how much money you’re losing by enrolling in this service. Information up front is better than getting scammed on these crypto, meme coin, or NFT schemes.
Amazing how much money switches hands simply by preying on the stupid, but also how easily the stupid can get outraged as well.
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Thoughts on TNA banning bleeding from their shows?
If you look at their reasoning, it was to build better relationships with their media partners.
Gee, that sounds kind of familiar to a company whom they have a working agreement with for the past year…
I think that the WWE isn’t done with their buying spree and these recent WWE releases are no mistake. WWE has a whole crop of younger talent coming up, along with looking for places internationally to function. It wouldn’t surprise me that TNA gets purchased by WWE as a developmental ground and to allow WWE to capitalize on the video library.
First thing that I immediately thought of when I heard this story was “hey, they are becoming like the WWE”. They are probably in the early stages of being bought by them.
Besides, excess blood, particularly on television shows, is DUMB. Don’t know why AEW Dynamite let’s many of their wrestlers bleed often rather than saving it for Pay Per Views when it counts. Simple logic. Plus, Pay Per Views aren’t on television partners, so have at it on an uncensored show.