The Bratpack

First up - please be sure to check out our weekly, episodic wrestling entertainment shows (LoWdown and SHOWDOWN!) on youtube or hangouts. These shows can be seen on Tuesday and Thursday at 6pmEST/11pmGMT. 
Secondly - please make sure to follow our panelists on twitter as well. @Fallout_WWE @Wrencis @y2stump and @Lambey332 

With that out of the way the following is an issue that I have been waiting to write about for some time and may leave an unpleasant taste in many peoples mouths but its the facts that hurt most I guess.

Time to embrace the hate

The IWC has a huge problem. That problem is that we believe we are always correct and that we know the best way to book a show. Now WWE has not always put on the best show but that does not mean you book better than them when 4 of your friends say "WOW DUDE YOUR IDEA WAS MUCH BETTER." Maybe it was but no one cares. This problem then runs down the unruly path that is "thisguyshouldbepushed alley". Many people are of the opinion that fresh new stars need to be created and pushed and I wholeheartedly agree. New is sometimes good. But is it right to forget about or just push that older talent aside?

When CM Punk became the voice of the voiceless many people believed he should have replaced John Cena as top dog but to the disappointment of these individuals he was always second fiddle and they demanded he must be placed above the proverbial brass ring that so many are told to reach for. CM Punk was then given the top heel role in the company at that time and was on TV for so long that people slowly began to give him less reaction and pay less attention to him. This is when "the little train who could" Daniel Bryan began his rise in WWE. While Bryan had been WHC he had never been WWE champ and as most of the IWC know, the WWE champ is the "real" prize to aim for. Now while many Punk loyalist stood by him they also began to wish for change in WWE. They wanted a new face and they had dubbed Bryan as the guy to do so. Bryan was called "the best wrestler in wwe" "the most underrated star" and "the best since benoit" on his rise by so many fans. And sure enough "the little train who could" got his push. But then as he reached up and grabbed the brass ring one voice in a sea of billions said "Is Daniel Bryan too small to be heavyweight champ?" This then set the internet off. The internet then decided that this was probably a true statement and that Bryan was "over rated". So now with an over rated Daniel Bryan in the main event the wwe universe took it upon themselves to take to their computer chair horses and suit up as the keyboard warriors to let Vinnie Mac know that Cesaro must be THE guy. As Royal Rumble came about people saw that CM Punk and over rated Bryan were becoming "stale" and repeating the same matches over and over again. But then it happened. The Voice of the Voiceless ran away home. He left and the keyboard warriors were left wondering "who shall replace him"? Then the keyboard warriors rose to the challenge, they knew Bryan must be champ and that Cesaro must get his push and The Shield must disband. 
Wrestlemania came and went and all of a sudden The Shield looked close to splitting, Cesaro got a push and Bryan was champ. The keyboard warriors relaxed in their chairs and watched raw without a single complaint...........for the whole of ten seconds. Daniel Bryan was now feuding with Kane, Cesaro was in a meaningless relationship with Heyman (who just promotes Lesnar) and Punk was gone.

4 months on and the shield have split, Bryan is gone/injured and Cesaro is in the midcard. That was some great booking keyboard warriors! 

See, I speak like the keyboard warriors have any influence on the product. The fact is these so called "booking experts" need to learn that they arent right and cant always get their way. Sometimes a guy has to stay on top for a while and get a push. For instance, most recently, Roman Reigns. Reigns looked ready to be pushed as a star. The internet loved him back in January stating "he IS THE GUY" and now, on the day he is injured they claim "its just a work cause wwe has gone off him." Have WWE gone off him or have you? 

The fact is new guys can't get a push without the internet feeling force fed. There is no singular way to be given a push that doesnt result in someone being force fed down your throats. There just isnt. If you demand that someone be pushed then you sure as hell better be ready to put up with them being on top 98% of the time. WWE needs to build stars to look strong and there isnt always a credible way to do so without having them win matches. My favourite situation goes a little like this;

CENA = THE GUY
ROMAN REIGNS = CENA REPLACEMENT
CENA WAS PUSHED HARD
OMG THEY ARE GIVING REIGNS THE CENA PUSH

Now how in the blue hell do you have an issue with this? Cena, who is arguably the most over star since Austin and Rock, had a strong blue print for his push. If you label Reigns as the next Cena WHY THE HELL WOULDNT WWE FOLLOW THAT BLUE PRINT?! 

The end of this story is that fans need to make up their minds and stop changing them so frequently. Its like todays fans have been spoilt by the previous eras and now expect that everything should be the same. Learn that sometimes its ok to be green and that its ok to be stale. This isnt something that i say often but if you dont like a product go find an alternative. The funny thing is, all those who claim that they are loyal wwe fans dont even trust the company to book the guys right.But hey, they would probably say that was stale in the end too right? Time to acknowledge them for what they are, THE BRATPACK.

So keyboard warriors I offer you an open challenge. Go one month without complaining about the product and find the good things about it. If you find less good things than bad then maybe the wwe product isnt for you and you dont know as much as you think you do.

Share your thoughts by leaving a comment or by getting in touch on twitter at @LevellerLOW

The choices now

Just one day before Night Of Champions Roman Reigns has been taken into hospital to undergo immediate surgery. This procedure is prevent any further damage happening to Mr.Reigns after doctors identified that he had a incarcerated hernia. For those of you who don't know this is essentially a hernia that has, in the most simplified way, imploded on itself. This would have been something that Roman may have been unaware he had but it is certainly a good thing that it has been caught early and with that being said this now leaves Night Of Champions one match down. So where do WWE go from here;

OPTION 1

Have Seth Rollins go out and cut a promo and demand that referee count Roman out. Seth is declared the winner and gains serious heel heat as Kane congratulates him. 

OPTION 2

Same as above but before the Ref gets to the ten count have Reigns' music hit and then have Ambrose attack both Kane and Seth from behind. Ambrose gets a pop and Seth gets the heel burn.

OPTION 3

Have no match at all and just replace it with another throw away slot

OPTION 4

Debut someone in their first match against Seth on the PPV. Why not use the current NXT champ?

In all honesty I see WWE taking either option 1 or 3. I would love 2. What do you want to see happen? Let me know on twitter at @LevellerLOW

(side note)
HILARIOUSLY A SELECT BUNCH OF IDIOTS ARE CLAIMING THAT THIS IS A WWE PLAN TO WRITE ROMAN OFF BECAUSE THEY DON'T LIKE HIM................ These people are idiots. 

Building A Beast

Right now Brock Lesnar is the most dominant force in WWE. FACT. He beat Undertakers streak (which if kayfabe is to be believed is the most sought after goal other than the wwewhc at wrestlemania) and then beat the face of the company, John Cena, upon his return match. Now while this is all well and good WWE will need to keep his momentum going or the pay off when Brock is finally beat will be lackluster to say the least. Let's take a look into how we would book Lesnar as dominant going forward. 

1. Competition

In order to remain a dominant champion Brock Lesnar needs to have viable opponents who can challenge him and look believable while doing so. None of this fantasy booking of Bryan vs Lesnar upon his return or Dolph vs Lesnar. It just doesnt work. Now, if rumour is to be believed then Big Show could be Lesnars next viable opponent. Many people still think of Big Show as a monster who was wasted away by suffering too many face/heel turns and especially after the whole crying situation. Big Show is currently in a program with Harper and Rowan and if WWE really want to make Show look imposing again they will have him beat both guys on his own. I warn you in advance that over the coming months you WILL see some of the smaller guys that you all chant for get beaten. THIS IS NOT BURIALS ITS JUST BUSINESS. 
After Show you have Mark Henry who still has unfinished business with Lesnar. Again, if they want Henry to look strong have him beat Rusev and go on the war path by opening up the hall of pain to anyone and everyone. If Henry beats Rusev then he has just got the crowd behind him, he has beaten someone who hasnt been pinned and he gets to face a bigger named opponent. Hell make it his retirement feud. 
Kane is also an option. Yes. He is. Think of it this way. Lesnar beats all those that HHH throws at him and then he decides he can leave. This breaks contracts and HHH gets pissed so he struggles to find anyone willing to step up to the plate except for Orton, Kane and Reigns. HHH doesn't want Reigns involved due to the fact he "dislikes" him, Orton could feud with Lesnar first and then Kane can be built to want revenge for HHH and for Taker. The story is there and all "monstrous" guys are viable candidates for a Lesnar opponent. IF WWE WANTS TO MAKE MONSTERS THEY WILL USE THESE GIANTS IN ORDER TO MAKE BROCK LOOK BIGGER. All it takes is one month and a video package from quite possibly the best promo/production guys on the planet and they will have the average fan believe that these men could be challengers. Lesnar could even retire Kane. It works and gives new space on the roster.

I would also say that each challenger should only be allowed one match and one rematch. 

2. Story line

While Lesnar does not need to be on RAW every week there still needs to be some form of mention of him. The pretaped videos are great and they are really showing Lesnar at his best but they wont work forever as the fans today get bored far too easily. In order to make these feuds meaning full they need to make sure they have strong plots that push the main event and not just "hey! LESNAR! I CAN BEAT YOU!" I suggest the following storylines (let me know your thoughts on twitter as to which you would want to see best)

• Orton vs Lesnar - never happened on the main roster and would be fresh
• Henry vs Lesnar - redemption/retirement angle
• Show vs Lesnar - redemption angle for royal rumble
• A Returning Kurt Angle vs Lesnar - great throwback to a previous feud
• Sheamus vs Lesnar - a huge brawl/HIAC match.

There needs to be a mixture of matches as well to ensure that Brock isnt just going to show that he can suplex every guy that comes at him. I really wish they had given Cena/Lesnar at NOC an I Quit stipulation. By adding gimmicks to every couple of matches it shows that Brock is dominant in every sense of the word. 

3. A twist

If the plan truly is to have someone go over Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31 then there needs to be some kind of twist that gets the fans to stop cheering for Brock. Going into NOC this week I can say 75% of the crowd will cheer for Brock. THIS NEEDS TO STOP. Brock needs to be a heel. No arguements. Just a straight up heel. Maybe have Brock tease that he may go back to UFC with the title or that he may just refuse to wrestle because he feels his opponent beneath them and thus making the audience lose out. My favourite option would be to have Brock turn on Heyman and then go into business for himself. Give Heyman to someone who needs him. Brock doesnt need to say anything to get heel heat. His actions can do it so why not give Heyman to someone who needs it and then have Brock just destroy everything and everyone until he gets his way. 

Lets re-cap 

• Whatever happens over the course of the next 6 months Brock Lesnar needs to remain undefeated if they plan on having a huge pay off at mania.
• Lesnar needs to be a heel. Not a tweener but a heel
• The matches he is involved with need to have big fight feels
• There needs to be genuine threats to Brock or at least in the eyes of the casual fan
• Each challenger needs to be given 2 PPVs max

Oh and last but not least. Lesnar needs to be untouchable. Only in his last few months as champ should there be some kind of weakness shown on this behemoth. This would add new dynamics to matches and teach Brock what its like to feel like he is the hunted and not the hunter. This weekend at NOC will determine how strong they want Brock to look. I dont expect the match to go longer than 15 minutes and I suspect Brock comes out on top. 

Lets us know your thoughts on twitter by getting in touch at @LevellerLOW and be sure to keep an eye out for all of our new features that will be happening very soon. 

The Circus That Is Wrestling

As part of our "re-branding" process we are creating monthly features that will join our regular articles. The first of which is "Guest Blogger" where we are inviting a guest article write to join us once a month and this time our guest comes in the form of the ever lovely Krysta Ibach

Low Card
Mid-Card
Main Event...

Every wrestler wants to Main Event...Yet not all wrestlers can make it to Main Event WWE and that’s just facts...

(Sorry to all you Dolph Ziggler fans)

But to tell a great story you need more than just the main event; you need the mid-card...and the low-card. And solid wrestlers are required for all levels...the wrestlers that are rock solid in the cards...and those wrestlers who can swing between the cards with ease.
The IWC have their favourites; the ones they champion and extrude their virtues and how they are being criminally underutilized by creative and need to be placed in the main event...sorry folks but that shit isn’t going to happen. Some wrestlers are Mid-Carders and will be for their WWE careers (most Mid-Carders seem to do better in the Indies, and end up as Main Event Talents there...most recent example would be Drew Galloway who in his first outing with the promotion for Evolve/Dragon Gate USA won the EVOLVE Championship; yet the highest he got was the IC Title/Tag Title in WWE). There are others who will always be in the Low-Card...examples being Ryder; Slater; O’Neill. Despite the recent wins Slater has had as of late he most likely won’t get past the low end of the mid-card. The show that is WWE is more like a 3 ring circus...if a little afternoon soapy...than say a weekly sit-comor drama. As with a circus you have your points of tension...in a circus it’s those moments of watching an aerial acrobat do the high wire; trapeze or a lion tamer and his lions; in WWE it’s the Main Story Lines and Main Events. Also as with a circus you have the comedy shtick; in a circus it usually involves clowns, small cars and dancing bears...in WWE it usually involves Slater...Hornswoggle...and those two dude and their bull. Comedic relief to give counter point to the high tension moments (well...what would be considered high tension moments); sprinkle in the pretty girls in whatever they happen to be wrestling in which corresponds to the circus’ female trick riders and acrobats.

This makes Vince and Triple H the ringmasters; assisted on mic by Paul Heyman (when he needs to push Lesnar as The Beast Incarnate) to keep the crowd engaged and invested in their show. Although lately; it seems as if Vince is running Barnum and Baileys’ while Trips is running The Ringling Brothers. Both the same company however; Vince has got the red tour...and Trips the blue.

Author’s Note: Barnum and Bailey’s originally started out as separate entities 1875 and circa 1860 respectively before they merged in March 1881. Ringling Bros’ was started in 1884 by 5 of the 7 Ringling Bros. in 1907 Ringling Bros. purchased Barnum & Bailey’s Circus; both circus’ were run separately until 1919. They run two tours; a Red Tour and a Blue Tour. End of Author’s Note.

Now the fact that they seem to run two different ‘tours’ wouldn’t be a huge problem; for they had
operated a two shows; RAW (The Red Label) and SmackDown (The Blue Label) and save for Title Holders who could bounce between each show; everyone else on the roster was basically to stay put unless they were traded or won a contract for the other show. Now it is very different; there really is no brand split and almost everyone who shows up on RAW could show up on SmackDown...except for Jerry ‘ The King’ Lawler who rarely shows up on Smackdown; which explains why he pooches some of the wrestler’s names; because he doesn’t see them. This is why they have an issue; you can tell that two men are trying to run the same show...sometimes it works and sometimes it goes straight TITS UP. This is reflected in where wrestlers sit on the card...if they even show up on the card (house shows are one thing...TV shows are entirely different.) This is why it seems confusing ...because two men have two very definite ideas of how the story should be told...two different ringmasters who have separate ideas on when the acrobatics are to be brought out...and when to send in the clowns.