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Bookmark Mr. Tito's Column Archive to read the current and past columns. Welcome back to the columnist who is often duplicated but never correctly replicated... The one who knocks, Mr. Tito, exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. Oh, what's that I see? Monday Night RAW's viewership DROPS HARD back under 3 million once again. KABOOM! The RAW before and after a loaded Survivor Series just scraped above 3 million... But if you look at the last 13 weeks, we're 11 out of the last 13 weeks being UNDER 3 million viewers. And RAW deserved it... Nothing but utter Creative Crap this week. A REAL corporation would have the Board of Directors meet and assess the situation... They'd look at the FACTS such as RAW losing over 1 million viewers since early 2015, live attendance declines for RAW and especially Smackdown shows, and why attendance for NXT shows has suddenly dropped off. Stagnant WWE Network growth. The entire plan to grow fans in India has completely failed with WWE Network subscriptions declining there and WWE being forced to cancel one of the houseshows due to poor ticket sales. Then, the WWE Board of Directors would perform job evaluations over the Creative Team and make necessary changes. Oh? The former WWE Creative Team EVP is on the Board? And she's married to the current EVP of Creative? Oh, and the current Chairman of the Board and CEO/President of the WWE Corporation constantly overrules the current EVP of Creative? That's a pretty active Board Chairman, folks, who occupies dual roles... I am LAUGHING at how the WWE boasted that Roman Reigns's Intercontinental Title picture had the "most likes" for any of their Instagram postings YET that specific wrestler cannot draw JACK or S**T. The BIG DOG didn't draw on Monday 11/27 nor has he EVER drawn since his MEGA-PUSH began during early 2014 and escalated after the Evolution vs. Shield feud concluded. Now, not even the Shield reunion can save him... Certainly, it hurts that WWE already watered that group down with awful marketing (instant t-shirt creations!), inserting Kurt Angle and enemy Triple H into the group, and making the group about Roman and not evenly dividing the spotlight with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Roman Reigns is NOT OVER despite the tremendous "booking welfare" delivered to him in the form of defeating CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Randy Orton, Undertaker, John Cena, and the rest of the WWE roster 100% clean. And what will you get out of Roman defeating Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34? WWE already pushed Roman to look strong over Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31. It is a FACT that Roman had Lesnar beat at that show before Rollins did his Money in the Bank cash-in. So did that "rub" help Roman? I don't think so... Ratings began to DROP HARD with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were placed on top of the company and I actually performed statistics to verify that as a fact! Roman was found to potentially subtract one whole ratings point when he's World Champion! Who does Roman Reigns wrestle AFTER he slays Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34? Seriously, who else is on that roster that he HASN'T beat? If you want to give me Braun Strowman, I'll point to the fact that both already repeatedly wrestled through 2017 (good matches, to be honest) but that Braun is "damaged goods" from that terrible loss to Brock at No Mercy 2017. HUGE mistake that was as that Lesnar match (plus 10 additional minutes added) should be the Wrestlemania 34 spotlight. Braun is naturally a "larger than life" character and it's a feeling that WWE repeatedly fails to manufacture with with Roman. You cannot teach personality, charisma, or ability, nor can you attempt to fool fans that it exists with a particular wrestler. Did y'all see that Roman Reigns vs. Elias match from RAW? Good lord... Roman was sucking wind for the entire match, almost relieved that there were multiple chinlock spots throughout the match. He was sweating instantly during the match as well. Come on, WWE doctors, evaluate that guy. Something is wrong with Roman. The guy works the extensive WWE schedule and yet his cardio doesn't match it. The excessive sweating is just another symptom of something going on. Aside from that, the match was actually getting pulled by Elias. He was carrying the #1 babyface by taking bumps and hitting big moves to keep it competitive. Roman did his paint-by-numbers moves. If you're the #1 guy, you can put on a performance that elevates anybody. Ric Flair, Steve Austin, the Rock, Triple H (2000, especially), AJ Styles, Bret Hart, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena can take on any wrestler and give the impression to the crowd that their opponent is actually in the match and can win. Roman for the past year has wrestled nothing but top level talent... In the case where he wrestles a recent NXT call-up, he looked BAD... In fact, the guy with less experience (Elias) was carrying him to that 15 minute match. If you're unable to carry any wrestler to a somewhat compelling match for 15 minutes, you DO NOT deserve to be a WWE Main Eventer. WWE has been forcing Roman Reigns for 3 years and this is what they have to show for it... But hey, he has the most LIKES on Instagram for his carefully prepared picture with the Intercontinental Title. THAT will put butts in seats! Doesn't help that WWE is, once again, pushing the "Walking Glass Ceiling" named Kane. He cannot defeat the very top guys that WWE wants to push but he'll destroy all of our fan favorites whom we want the WWE to push. HOW is Vince McMahon this obtuse? How can a man who GREW the business significantly not just once (Hulkamania) but twice (Attitude Era) not be able to comprehend how bad his current WWE sucks? How can he not read the scripts completed by his WWE Creative Team and walk them over to the shredder? How can Vince NOT surround himself with smart wrestling minds to assist him in running the company well? I always like the excuse thrown at me "if you don't like WWE's product, stop watching it". My response is so simple... In the Mike Judge directed film Office Space, there was a character named Michael Bolton and everybody gives him grief because he shares the same name of Pop singer Michael Bolton. His response? "Why should I change my name? He's the one who sucks!". Thus, why should I stop being a wrestling fan if it's the WWE who sucks? WWE is the most accessible product on the planet. I don't have to dig through YouTube clips, subscribe to a particular Satellite service just to get a channel, or have a premium Cable package to get another channel... As a WWE fan, I have shows on the USA Network, Hulu, or clips on YouTube.com... Then, for just $9.99 per month, I have all of their Pay Per Views streaming to me on my favorite device and I can watch them repeatedly whenever I want. I really do feel like I'm the ONLY one holding the WWE's "feet to the fire" on improving Creatively. Seems like much of the press is too accommodating based on who controls them editorially, finances them, or threatens to cut off their access to the WWE... From day 1 of this column back during October 1998, I've demanded BETTER from my favorite wrestling companies. And I just don't criticize, I advise... Hell, I even compiled an entire column full of WWE positives. I want the WWE to become a strong and dominant wrestling company that does over 4 million viewers on RAW, easily sells out 10,000+ venues again for all shows, and makes Pro Wrestling COOL AGAIN in pop culture. That's all I'm asking... And you have to make financial choices... Aside from saving money, one of the reasons why cutting the cord with Cable was so easy was that my demand to see a 3 hour RAW on Monday Nights was declining... I couldn't take it any longer with the WWE product stretched across 3 hours with lots of commercials on the USA Network. So long... Then I went to Hulu for its 1.5 hour showings with fewer commercials. Well, Smackdown has SUCKED with Jinder Mahal so I no longer watch Smackdown as much on Hulu and just check YouTube.com clips. We're getting to the point where I may just watch YouTube clips and say "hell with it". I boycotted the WWE Network from its start during 2014 through June 2015 due to how the WWE treated CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. WWE is repeatedly going to the Columbus, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh arenas for houseshows, TV tapings, and Pay Per Views... Have only been to 1 houseshow in the last decade. I haven't bought WWE merchandise in a while. I watch with the hope that somehow Triple H will take some of his booking magic from NXT during 2015-2016 and maybe spread that to the WWE Roster. However, he's too loyal to his father-in-law Vince McMahon for his daughter's hand in marriage, making him a WWE superstar, and the lots of money that Vince has made for Triple H. The EVP of Creative is going to stand down because Triple H owes Vince bigtime for life changing matters. Maybe I'll just have to "wait it out" for when Vince McMahon finally steps down or, well... You know. How about that? My hopes are place on Triple H to "save" the WWE business model. If you've read me since October 1998 and my older thoughts on Triple H, especially from his 2002-2013 work... You'd be shocked to hear me praising Triple H. Seeing what HHH did in NXT from 2015-2016 made me a believer and nobody else backstage can save the WWE. Everyone is a pure "yes man" to Vince or are just not challenging his ideas. More on HHH in a bit. ------------------------------------ FUN FACT: During the early 1990s, now-former NBC Today Show host Matt Lauer interviewed for a job with the WWE. He was interested in becoming a television personality for the WWE's World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) experiment that would feature and promote bodybuilders like a wrestling promotion. However, Matt Lauer did not get the job and reportedly missed it due to WWE's dislike of his "skinny" look. How about that? ------------------------------------ Let's talk about sex, baby... You know, the WWE has its own history with sexual harassment accusations... Just go back to 1992 and see some old Donahue clips with Vince McMahon defending the WWE against a few accusations. Not just steroids, but 2 members of WWE's management were accused of a few things... Then, you had Sable's bag getting crapped in during 1999, various backstage antics and relationship problems by being on the road for a while, and attempting to give a former alcoholic drinks... But we also have 1 wrestler, let's just say, had some issues during the 2000s but yet he kept getting propped up for major spots in the company. The Divas Search contest placed a bunch of non-wrestling women on the road and that presented to interesting events on the roads. HOWEVER... That was then, this is now... And I'm going praise Triple H once again. In light of this era where sexual harassment and even assault accusations are getting heavily (or finally) reported at the workplace... Also the question of equal opportunity at a workplace... Triple H has CHANGED the way females are represented in the WWE. In some ways, I'll give some credit to AJ Lee for publicly ripping Stephanie McMahon for not supporting women's wrestling and supporting equal pay for female wrestlers... But ironically, it's Stephanie's husband who built the developmental infrastructure to eventually make women's wrestling as a legitimate midcard attraction. WWE needed it, too, as their lack of attention and detail towards the Intercontinental/United States and Tag Team Titles has caused a midcard weakness for the WWE. The women are proving to be a valid attraction for the undercard and worthy of major spots on Pay Per Views. Look what Triple H has accomplished with his developmental system and female wrestlers... LOADED WITH TALENT and featured prominently on his NXT cards. Before the recent talent raids, it was a legitimate attraction for NXT. In fact, NXT was the first WWE based Pay Per View to have female wrestling headline a Pay Per View like event. Paige, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Asuka, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, and others to come... It even prompted WWE to eliminate the word "DIVA" and to officially call it the Women's Division. Respect... And have you heard any troubling harassment stories with those Women's wrestlers yet? You can give me Paige, but that was not harassment or forced... It was 3 wrestlers having a little bit of fun on the road... Rest assured, I guarantee that Triple H would BURY any male wrestler who harasses any of the females on the WWE roster. Say what you will about Triple H, but he's always had his head screwed on straight... A bit competitive and protective of his Clique buddies... I did not like his 2002-2004 work and he has had his thin skinned moments. I certainly believe that he had a hand in CM Punk and Daniel Bryan's destructions. But the results of his NXT work speaks for itself, particular with the Women's wrestling division becoming a real asset for the WWE. I'm guessing HHH considers it as a "badge of honor" and wanting to be a role model to his daughters. He probably saw the Divas Search garbage of the late 2000s and said to himself "would I want my daughters to see that?". And again, it was his wife, Stephanie McMahon as EVP of Creative, who was the total enabler of that Divas Search crap. Again, isn't that funny? HHH shows more respect towards women in the WWE than his own wife. Look at Paige... She's getting another chance to succeed. She's been through a lot with the leaked videos, Wellness Policy violations, and the relationship with Alberto Del Rio. Yet, all is forgiven and here she is with 2 other newer females on the WWE roster with a brand new angle. How about that? I know that Emma was recently released, but think about how the WWE kept her despite her little shoplifting charge. Then, Triple H rehabbed her in NXT to get yet another chance on the WWE roster. It didn't work out, but can't deny the effort in trying to make it work with her by Triple H. HHH deserves major praise for his work with the WWE Women's division and building it up into asset for the WWE midcard. I can imagine that he's making his daughters proud along with many female fans who are finally seeing female athletes getting legitimate respect in pro wrestling for a change... Instead of just being eye candy. ------------------------------------ THE LAST WORD I'm calling out YOU, 2K Sports and WWE Games... FINGER OF SHAME TO YOU for failing to inform gamers on what's holding up the Nintendo Switch version. DOUBLE Finger of Shame! OK, that's the Nintendo fanboy in my speaking. I haven't owned a console version of a WWE game since WWE Day of Reckoning 2 for the GameCube. I avoided the Wii, as I wanted more out of a console than just to play bowling, and the WWE never touched the Wii U. But what's happening is quite simple. It wasn't until shortly after the Nintendo Switch's successful March launch that 2K Games announced that WWE 2K18 would be on the Nintendo Switch. These games are in development for a year in advance and figuring out how to port it on the Nintendo Switch has been a challenge. Why? (a) Playstation 4 and Xbox One are far more powerful than the Switch. Therefore, 2K has to reduce the game's performance a tad to port it to the Nintendo Switch. (b) Nintendo's physical games only hold up to 16 GB. Speaking from experience through owning LA Noire and NBA 2K18, both games required me to download many GBs onto my micro SD card. NBA 2K put 20 GB on my micro SD card! Reportedly, 2K Games requires that Switch owners have at least 24 GB available to fully download the rest of the game at purchase. Honestly, I can wait... I'm snorting Rocket League for the Switch like cocaine, so I'll be OK on my gaming fix. But my issue is how quiet 2K Games have been about the delay. It just doesn't seem like the company is properly informing gamers about this delay. Gamers are used to delays. They happen. Do you see any gamers rioting in the streets due to the RockStar Games delay of Red Dead Redemption 2? Please... We have plenty of games to play. Take your time and don't release a botched product. Hell, I waited for YEARS to get a new 3D Zelda game and damn Nintendo waited until the Switch's release to finally put out "Breath of the Wild". Delays mean that you're taking extra time to get it right the FIRST time. Nothing irks me more than a game releases and then requires multiple patches during the first week. Just tell us, 2K Games or WWE... When will the Nintendo Switch version of WWE 2K18 be released? I don't if the game is delayed until 2018... JUST TELL US! I'll get over it and I'll praise you for your honesty. This silent treatment is making me frantic and wondering if the game will truly come out sometime. It's beginning to make me re-think my preorder. I will say this... If and when WWE 2K18 arrives for the Nintendo Switch, I will be writing a FULL review of the game. And I just don't play wrestling games casually... I used to 100% complete them in my day. I played WCW/NWO Revenge, WWE Wrestlemania 2000, WWE No Mercy, WWE Day of Reckoning 1 & 2, and hell, I completed the Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E. wrestling game. I'm an oldschool fighting game player, as I heavily played Street Fighter 2 and the Mortal Kombats when I was younger... I don't just play them, I obsess over them and try to get good with every fighter. Recently, I became pretty good with Smash Brothers. If and when I have this game, my gameplay will be thorough and then I'll prepare a legitimate review for you to read. But get a damn Nintendo Switch anyway, regardless if WWE 2K18 appears. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are all time great games and things like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and Mario + Rabbids just pad the library. 3rd Party support has been good so far and I've tried to support them as much as I can. I want to support WWE 2K18 in order to convince 2K Games to keep trying to place games on the Switch. That's what you have to do, folks... If you REALLY LIKE something, you vote with your dollar. As I suggested above with my dollars/time with the WWE, that's how you can punish the WWE for what you deem low quality. Watch less, attend less, and buy less... I am getting near the point where I'll just watch YouTube clips of RAW & Smackdown and then catch the Pay Per Views on the WWE Network. And if 2018 continues the 2017 trend of weaker Pay Per Views, a financial decision will be made. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. Bookmark Mr. Tito's Column Archive to read the current and past columns. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2017
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