Guest Blogger - Wrestling with meatballs

EDITORS NOTE - Dont forget to get in touch with our guest blogger Krysta and be sure to tune into LoWdown on Tuesday between 6/8pm EST to get interactive with us and share your thoughts. Give Krysta your feedback on twitter at @krysta_ibach 

Wrestling, much like pasta, can get bland...

Spaghetti, Fettuccini, Fusilli, Ziti, Cavatappi, Macaroni, Penne, Rotini, Rigatoni, Fiori, Rotelle. 
All kinds of pasta; usually made from wheat; each shape is well suited to a specific sauce. But if eaten naked; shapes mean little as it all tastes the same.

So it is with wrestling; regardless of what the wrestler looks like; if they all do just a 5 move set (AKA the five moves of doom [FMOD]) and do them in the same order (and some of them do...don’t deny it!). Then regardless if the wrestlers are killing it in the ring; it comes across as stale and uninspired. 

John Cena would be a prime example of this; even with his recent programs with the Wyatt’s, Lesnar...even with Randy Orton – who contrary to popular belief they actually haven’t faced off as much as people claim they have; but the matches are always the same...STU (STFU); Attitude Adjustment (AA); RKO...RKO...RKO...RKO (Handy that it’s also Randy’s initials...incase a AA scrambles his brains); Five Knuckle Shuffle (You Can’t See Me); Kick out...kick out...kick out...RKO...RKO (Out of nowhere...thank you Maggle) STU ...AA...Clothesline...clothesline...drop out of the ring... run around the ring... sneaky move ...RKO ...RKO ...RKO...AA...Five Knuckle Shuffle...Pin for the win. RKO in retaliation. So regardless of how little they actually do face off; it’s all the same shit so it begins to feel as if we have seen this tired old story more often then we actually have. 

This argument can be applied to almost any ongoing pairing on the roster both current and past. However it shouldn’t matter how often two wrestlers face off; it’s more about the kind of match they produce, which lends itself to the argument of allowing wrestlers in WWE have an expanded move set. Like all good pasta dishes you’ll always have the ‘Go-To’ sauce that will get the job done; but you also have the ‘WOW’ sauce recipe to pull out when you have return guests, because you don’t always want to be serving the same marinara when a white wine sauce would be the better offering. Same with wrestlers; if they face off against someone they have wrestled a few times and they trust one another in the ring; then that should be the time to pull out some of the stops in the match; to ‘WOW’ the 
crowd...wowing the crowd will bring them back for more, and will keep them talking. Don’t believe me, just track the twitter-verse under #RAW and see what people are talking about. It’s pretty safe to say they aren’t raving about Orton’s RKO...Sheamus’ Brogue Kick (outta nowhere!) or even Cena’s AA. It’s why Bray Wyatt got as over as he did; he was fascinating; Daniel Bryan too...he mixed it up. Cody Rhodes doing flips off the Steel Cage; people talk about that. 

WWE may be the only big name game in town but even so; they need to break out the white wine sauce...because the Marinara is just not razzing the berries anymore. I’m here all week...try the chicken tika...

Out With The Old In With The New

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Stale. One hell of a word. Its a word we have began to throw around all to often as a collective community as well. So without trying to use that word again I ask "Is it time for a new breed of star to rise?".

On the current WWE roster there are, according to WWE.com, 90 current roster members (this includes commentators, interviewers, little people and injured stars). How many of these stars would you say have the stardom that the majority of wrestling fans want to see? I would say less than 50%. We have stars, legit stars, such as Big Show, Mark Henry, Kane, Khali (star in India regardless of most peoples ignorance), Randy Orton and John Cena who have all been there for years. Is it it time for these stars to move on? 

For my personal preference I would say that something needs to happen. Something needs to change. WWE take so little in the way of risky moves now that it's becoming increasingly difficult for the lifelong fans like myself to watch even with the knowledge that "sometimes things happen for a reason". A lot of fans are saying that guys like Ambrose and Rollins should be THE mani guys at the moment. The fans clearly want to see new stars. So, is it time WWE began using their current stars to make new ones? 

Every year for the last 3 years on the anniversary of his debut we are subjected to a history of John Cena. Hell WWE even made 10 Year strong t-shirts. But do we need to be reminded of how long we have seen the same guy? Surely that must make some heads turn and fans realise how long we have seen the same stars face each other? Look at Big Show. He has been a full time roster member since 1999 and Mark Henry and Kane even longer. How often can we see a Big Show heel/face turn? How often can we see Cena/Orton (by the way they have faced each other less on PPV than you'd think)? How long will it be before we demand WWE replace Kane with another monster?

Im beginning to believe that time is now. It's time for WWE to use these older stars to start putting over the "new breed" and to start creating the future that they can mold in their hands. Ultimately WWE has been in this position back in the early 90s and they got out of that just fine. I want to see matches like Seth Rollins vs Jericho, Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton, Stardust vs Goldust. Wrestlemania 31 needs to be about the changing of the guard. We had our nostalgia filled Wrestlemania 30. NOW WE NEED TO SEE THE CHANGES. We need the time for 6 months of chaos. Let the new guard run the show. I expect at least one retirement match at Wrestlemania 31, I expect 1 big showcase match (STING vs Taker) or at least a moment, I expect a big tag match and all the belts to look important as the new stars fight the old stars to cement the beginning of their legacy? Is it too much to ask that by Wrestlemania 32 we see 4 new stars headline the card? I don't think it is and I know there are so many of you out there wanting the same thing as me. 

This week gives us HIAC and we have been told we are having a co-main event. Ambrose and Rollins will face off and then Cena and Orton will face off. Its so far rumored that Orton/Cena will close the show. DO YOU FEEL THIS IS THE RIGHT CHOICE? Should the new breed be showcased or should the old dog be teaching the class? Let us know your thoughts on twitter at @LevellerLOW and as always. THANKS FOR READING. 

Bunnies and Gators and Bulls OH MY

EDITOR NOTE - Be sure to tune in to #LoWDown on a Tuesday night and join in with the interactive, wrestling talk LIVE and get all your questions answered. Show starts at 6pm EST/11pm GMT. ALTERNATIVELY why not tune into Thursday night #SHOWDOWN and get some un-rated, un-controlled, un-rivalled controversial wrestling discussion? Show starts 6pm EST/11pm GMT.

As of late WWE has fallen back into the routine of providing the audience with what can only be described as hilarious attempts to provide humour within an already fun product. There is nothing wrong with this and it's something that has been going on for years. Look back and you will see segments with Moppy, Mr.Socko, Cheese from the infamous team of Head and Cheese. The list goes on but people seem to forget that wrestling is meant to have a fun element to it. This is something that more than likely will be pushed a little harder in the current product due to the age ratings. I will be the first to say that I am not fond of it but I understand why it is there so I do my best not to moan or bitch about it. 

In the last year WWE have provided us with a 6 foot bunny rabbit, a miniature version of Manataur and a leprechaun in a Gator suit (which I argue looks more like a crocodile). Now while these attempts at entertainment "humour" have been less than interesting there is a market for them. While many of us may have grown up watching wrestling we forget that there are children who now watch the product. Yes, before you say it I know we had the attitude era and everything was chairshot this and "bah gawd King" that but WWE have created an audience that is now dying for more violence and more innovation by doing that. So now they have the opportunity to ensure that the younger generation can grow up and appreciate when something hardcore happens rather than saying "well when i was a kid he would have been bleeding everywhere". The best part is that by doing this they are also ensuring that children pander their parents into letting them watch the show. This brings me to the problem. 

Having children friendly segments is fine and they are needed to break up the serious segments. They can add humour and sometimes light heartedness into a show that can have too many serious promos and heavy hitting matches. However, with RAW now being a three hour show is it wise to put the child friendly segments in the final hour? Look back at last week and you will find at least 2 child friendly moments in the last hour of the show. For me, I feel there is no way that if I was still 5 or 6 that I would have been allowed to stay up to watch TV at 10pm. According to the "british sleep council" (yes its a real thing) over a third of British people go to bed between the hours of 10-11pm and that out of those aged 6-15, 65% go to bed before 10pm. 
With this in mind is it wise that WWE place their child friendly segments in the final hour and risk losing viewer ship from the older generation? I would think that in order to keep in line with deals with sponsorship they have to include at least one child friendly segment per each hour of the show. So why not put a small segment at the beginning of the third hour just after the break? These segments last between 5-7 minutes on average. That would mean that the last hour could be generally edgier and not have to worry about appealing the younger generation and that they can spend some time completely focused on the older generation. I mean it is a family based show after all. 

Im all for the bunnies and gators and bulls but there needs to be a good balance. Last nights show (6/10/14) was a good example of this. They had serious moments, they had funny moments and hell they even had creepy moments. WWE are trying to cater to everyones needs and they can't always manage that but we, as fans, can try and recognize what they are trying to do for us. So lets not moan about the "kids stuff" or whinge about the stuff that makes Vince giggle (you all know what I'm talking about and if you don't please speak to Farting Natalya). Lets try and appreciate the show as a rounded product. If needs be why not look back at the ridiculous stuff in the attitude era and remid yoursefl of just how stupid some of WWEs ideas can really be. *cough* NAKED MIDEON *cough*

So what do you think? Is WWE too child friendly or do you want more fluffy animals? Let us know on twitter at @LevellerLOW

Guest Blogger - The Channel Is The Thing

It came up on an episode of #LoWdown... (Every Tuesday...check it out!)Booking a RAW card...and I had put forth that the way to do it would be to have the Low Card in the first hour; Mid Card in the second hour and Main Event in the last hour. It was debated that it could not be done that way because of viewers and ratings.It was only today that I realized my hubris... In Canada WWE RAW (and SmackDown) airs on Rogers' SportsNet 360, which is a sports channel. That is all they show...Sports. Where as in America, RAW is on the USA Network and SmackDown is on SyFy, which are cable network channels, and the American audience, not the Canadian viewers (or international viewers), measures the ratings.   I am no different then any other fans; I find myself frequently thinking that I could book a better show then the creative team at WWE. I even went so far as to look at WWE's Corporate site to see what the job description is; (and it is pretty detailed) to see if I could qualify for a job in the creative section...and after reading the description I can honestly say...No Chance...at least not yet. The creative team has a hard job, they not only have to appeal to us diehard fans; but they also need to hook the casual fan in for 3 hours; that is longer than most Hollywood Blockbusters (except for Peter Jackson Trilogies...which I love by the way). While my original thought of having the show progress from low card through mid card and up to main event holds some merit, it does not hold water. For WWE to sustain 3 hours of RAW (and 2 hours of SmackDown) there does need to be ebb and flow. Yet as of late, the ebb is not flowing so well. The RAW after Wrestlemania was amazing; but it is steadily sliding downwards despite the occasional blip of wrestling goodness. It gives the impression that creative - whom get their marching orders from the authorities - are running willy-nilly. As we know the powers that be *cough* Vince *cough* like to make those seriously annoying last minute changes like I change my socks; this would test the mettle of anyone. We do not normally hear from the majority of the creative souls that work for WWE, but I suspect that they too are at times frustrated with the normal run of things. One could speculate that there is a power struggle behind the scenes where the left hand is battling the right hand for supremacy; with the talent (including creative) and the fans caught in the maelstrom. However, regardless of what is going down behind the scenes; the cable networks care little for that, what they look at is ratings, to sell advertising, which is what keeps the networks and programs on the air, advertisers. So while creative writes for the fans of the product; they also need to write with the networks in mind as well. Cheers,Krysta

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.