The WWE Is Ruining... Charlotte Flair

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, we go with the queen bee of the women's division, Charlotte Flair.

Charlotte Flair has, without a doubt, been the most important wrestler of the WWE's women's movement. I'm pretty sure she's been the first everything outside of the Fabulous Moolah, wait, not so fast, non-memorial Women's Battle Royal, and the only reason she didn't win that was because she was busy ending a historical undefeated streak and turning Asuka into someone who cannot overcome someone cosplaying her or the undeniable talents of Carmella.

But I've got to admit, this one is going to be short, because the WWE isn't really ruining Charlotte Flair. I can't say that pushing someone too much is ruining them, because she's kept the top spot, has entertaining matches, and people care about Charlotte. If she gets pushed to the moon, good for her.

The only thing I can really offer is a slight adjustment to her character. When Charlotte walks into a room, she's a damn presence. She is tall, blonde, and I mean this as a compliment, built like a brick shithouse. That makes her a tad tough to relate to, as most of us are not physical marvels. So just let her be a heel. Let her be a shitty person. Let her worry about material things. In short, let her be a Flair.

If she's a Flair, it's kind of an ideal feud for Becky Lynch, and those two could go off and on for years and still keep it fresh. Obviously, those two are your alphas, but you can still work in others to keep things interesting. Still, just make Charlotte a true Flair, but everything else seems to be going pretty well. Nice job, WWE.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Bobby Lashley
Dash Wilder
Nia Jax
Peyton Royce
Scott Dawson
Tyler Breeze

The WWE Is Ruining... The Revival

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I continue the series with Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Before we get started, I think we need to recognize F...T...R. In the words of Flip Gordon, Forever The Revival.

I will admit that I got very nervous about last week's Raw in writing this column. The Revival got a tag title match against McZiggler, and they had me believing that they might actually win the thing. It was a great match and definitely the highlight of Raw. Hell, it may have been the highlight of the last six months of Raw, but unfortunately, they fell short. Now, I say unfortunately, as that's how I feel in the grand scheme of things, but fortunately for me in writing this article as otherwise, I really wouldn't have had much to say.

Since being called up, the WWE has done close to nothing with them. I really think last week was by far their biggest moment. They couldn't even beat the B Team, they've had their asses kicked by a bunch of old dudes on the 25th Anniversary of Raw, but WWE can't take total blame as The Revival has had terrible injury luck since getting called up, and it's tough to give a big push to a team that can't wrestle.

But that last word is key: Wrestle. These boys can flat out put on amazing matches, but they just haven't had the chance to do that. Honestly, when I looked up their win-loss record, it's actually pretty decent, but they manage to make every win as unimportant as possible. They also do them no favors by putting them against teams that are pretty bland wrestlers. B-Team, Gallows/Anderson, Bray/Matt Hardy are all fine, but can you name any memorable matches that those teams have put on? Hell, if you take out matches at The Hardy Compound, the only memorable matches any of those guys have had are the ones that are laughably bad from Bray Wyatt. 

So, my simplistic and novel solution is put The Revival against actual tag teams. The Raw roster should work perfect for them as The Revival could put on great matches with AOP, and I would very much like to see them take on a reunited American Alpha. Plus, a fun one in my head is Revival vs. Lashley and Lio Rush. And although it may not be on the level of the previous options, Breezango could definitely put on a fun match with them when Fandango gets back. And considering the depth of talent in the tag division of NXT, there are plenty of options for future opponents as well.

If you're looking for a bold move for The Revival, I have a plan. Give them another shot at the tag titles and have them win it. Then, with Dean Ambrose needing some gold, he tags up with Seth Rollins to take on The Revival. Obviously, The Revival wins, and Ambrose blames Rollins for the loss as he's just concerned about his singles title instead of helping Dean get gold, and yes, The Revival is the reason for The Shield to breakup.

I'm not saying you have to do that, but giving the 15 minutes to wrestle matches, even if they can't immediately be for the title, just seeing these guys wrestle as a well-oiled machine will get fans behind them, and they'll be the bad guy tag team that we boo vociferously, but we do it for the fun of booing, as we all secretly love everything they do in the ring. 

FTR - FOREVER THE REVIVAL


Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Bobby Lashley
Nia Jax
Peyton Royce
Tyler Breeze

How to Solve UFC's Weight Cutting Problem

Guys missing weight seems to get more common with each year in the UFC. You would think that people would get better at making weight, but instead, they have gotten so good at cutting weight that they assume that they can make any weight, when really, they can only make certain weights in ideal circumstances.

The sad thing is that these guys barely get punished, and a lot of times, they are rewarded. Sure they lose 20% of their purse, but considering that not having to cut all of that weight makes them stronger in the fight and could help them win, that win bonus more than makes up for any money lost. Hell, Darren Till missed weight badly, barely got by Stephen Thompson, and was awarded with a title shot at a weight he did not even make. That's insane.

So, here is my simple solution. If a guy misses weight, he can't compete at that weight for a year. Personally, I would like it to be two years, but I will settle for one year. If they miss it twice, they are no longer allowed to compete at that weight. And by missing weight, I would also include the many athletes that are hospitalized during their weight cut. If a fighter is putting him or herself through something that jeopardizes his health to the point of hospitalization, they need to be saved from themselves. This would solve the issue of guys getting rewarded by not doing their job, which is making weight and fighting, not just fighting.

And that is my very simple, yet also brilliant, solution to the weight cutting issue in the UFC.

The WWE Is Ruining... Peyton Royce

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I would like to talk to someone near and dear to my heart, one half of the IIconics, Peyton Royce.

With Billie Kay, Peyton Royce is one half of possibly the most entertaining thing in the WWE, The IIconics. Also, no offense to Billie, but Peyton is the star of the group, even though I don't feel like this is a Shawn and Marty situation. Ultimately, I have really liked some of the things that the WWE has done with her as they have gotten microphone time nearly every week, and they are doing a phenomenal job at being entertaining for the "smart" fans while still getting booed by the "marks," but let's face it, we watch pro wrestling so we're all marks to some degree.

The one thing that I would like to see is some wins. The IIconics won their first match on the main roster, and then went four months without a win before Royce got her first singles win, beating Naomi. Even this was just to set up Naomi teaming with Asuka and getting revenge on Royce. Also, there is interference and cheating in every single one of her singles matches, and she STILL loses the majority of the time. If she's going to lose a match, maybe don't put interference in the match. I am not saying that Royce immediately needs to become champion, but I think she can easily be turned into a credible threat down the line.

First off, I think a one-on-one feud with Naomi would be good for Royce. These are two good wrestlers, so the biggest thing would be to let them actually wrestle. Give Royce a match where she's not just doing hilariously bad impressions with tons of interference, and give her a mean streak without Billie Kay interfering. Win or lose, it will make both women look better. 

The women's division is so small that it doesn't take much for someone to earn a title shot. Whether you give Royce the edge in a feud over Naomi or start off a little lower like having her take out Lana to at least get her some wins. Then, it's not that big of a leap to have her take out either Carmella or Charlotte Flair to get a shot at the women's championship, but have her do it legitimately so she is actually a real contender against Becky Lynch. Then, you have her use Billie Kay to help her in a title match against Stone Cold Becky Lynch, and despite my love for Royce, you 100% have her lose to Lynch, but it at least breaks up the three month feuds where nothing progresses that WWE has fallen in love with recently, and it can be a good way to just let Becky Lynch be the antihero that everyone wants to love.

Really, the WWE isn't doing an awful job with Royce as they are at least taking advantage of her charisma and giving her consistent mic time on Smackdown, but she needs the wins. Without those, it's going to be pretty easy to stop caring and have both members of the IIconics getting lost in the shuffle. Peyton Royce is someone who is easily hated by the common fan, and that is not an easy thing to find. All she needs is a few more wins, and you have a great foil for your badass champion. 

So make Peyton Royce your choice, for next Becky Lynch challenger.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Bobby Lashley
Nia Jax
Tyler Breeze

The WWE Is Ruining... Tyler Breeze

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I continue the series with the Prince of Pretty, Tyler Breeze.

If you remember Tyler Breeze in NXT, you will recall how truly awesome he was when he was first beginning his gimmick. He not only took hundreds of selfies before every match, but he also had a live feed from his phone as his entrance video. His first feud in NXT was with CJ Parker, not the Baywatch star but the man now known as Juice Robinson in NJPW, because Parker kept photobombing his selfies. Breeze was so over-the-top ridiculous that the crowd couldn't help but fall in love, and he backed it up by consistently having matches that stood out on NXT, not an easy thing to do.

So it made sense when he got called up to the main roster, even though he was never able to attain gold at NXT. But although he came out hot by immediately attacking Dolph Ziggler, they didn't actually follow up with anything, and he was soon only there as an enhancement talent, losing to basically anyone and everyone that stepping in the ring with him. When a guy loses that much, it's pretty easy for even his biggest supporters to lose interest.

Somehow, with from the depths of creative hell, Breeze emerged, with the help of Fandango, to create one of the most interesting and beloved tag teams of the past few years in Breezango. They managed to get incredibly over by acting as The Fashion Police who originally just gave people tickets for being unfashionable, but somehow turned into detectives who solved mysteries. It was incredibly stupid, but it was also incredible.

Even though they were beloved, they were never able to turn that into championships, and the gimmick has been on hiatus after Fandango suffered an injury. That has left Tyler Breeze in limbo as his run as a singles wrestler has been...completely forgettable. He's 0-4 on Raw, including two losses to Mojo Rawley. He does have two wins on Main Event, but those are over Curt Hawkins and Mike Kanellis, so a world title push seems a bit far off, and it seems like WWE is just biding time until they can reunite him with Fandango.

But can't the WWE do any better than that?

Tyler Breeze is one of the few people in the company who can not only fully embrace his character but can be consistently entertaining while doing it. Just let the man be entertaining. I do think he can have the most win-loss success with a tag partner like Fandango, but wins and losses aren't everything. Ultimately, with the stacked roster that the WWE has, I don't know if Breeze should ever hold a singles title. He could be a transitional secondary champion, but with his character, a belt doesn't do a whole lot for him. In wrestling, one guy wins, which means one guy loses. It's probably best if Breeze loses more than he wins, but there are plenty of guys that Breeze can beat in order to make him a credible threat against more prestigious competition.

I think the biggest thing that needs to happen to maximize Breeze is to let him use his creativity. He was always great at giving backstage interviews, and the Fashion Police stuff with Fandango was fantastic. It's not like he needs a lot of time, so I'm pretty sure they could spare 1-2 minutes each week and just let something entertain the crowd. Also, wouldn't a fifteen minute match between Breeze and Chad Gable be absolutely awesome? Those are two guys that can easily move from heel to babyface, so you can go either way on it and just let them go out and put on a great match. And the beauty of Tyler Breeze is that he can lose yet still be elevated just by putting on a fun match and show personality.
WWE seems to only want to push "cool" wrestlers, but sometimes I just want to watch fun wrestlers. With Breeze, the push doesn't need to end in title reigns, all he needs is time to let people enjoy him as a character and wrestler. For anybody that says WWE doesn't have endless amounts of time, yes, they do. They currently recap recaps on Raw, and they let Roman Reigns talk for 15 minutes. Just let Roman Reigns kick ass instead of talking, and use that time to get two guys over instead. 

This isn't difficult, guys. In fact, some would say it's a Breeze.

Other Wrestlers WWE Has Ruined
Bobby Lashley
Nia Jax

4 Takeaways from the Iowa / Wisconsin Game

Obviously, last night's game was not the outcome we were hoping for, but Iowa lost to a tough team. The season is far from over, and the Hawkeyes gave fans plenty to be excited for during the rest of the season. Here are my four big takeaways from the game.

The Defensive Line Is Good, Not Big
Wisconsin showed a major flaw in the defense in this game, and that is that the Iowa defensive line, although fantastic, is also undersized. There is probably no better team in the country to expose that weakness, and Wisconsin did by overpowering Iowa up front into a very effective run game. Even when Iowa was able to get Wisconsin to third downs, many were short enough distance that the defensive line couldn't totally pin their ears back and go hunting for a quarterback. Penn State is probably the only other team remaining on the schedule that could expose this weakness, and even they tend to run with more speed/misdirection rather than power.

Also, there is nothing more exciting than seeing AJ Epenesa on the field during a third down passing situation. I usually stand up despite being at my house watching the game by myself.

In other news, I really need friends.

Nate Stanley Was Incredible
This may have been the best game I have seen Nate Stanley play. Although his final stat line of 14-23 for 256 yards, two touchdowns and an interception isn't going to jump off the page, I saw so much to love from Stanley in this game. His movement when he felt a rush was much better as he actually looked downt he field after escaping trouble and was able to make some big plays because of it. When he was able to set his feet, he was able to deliver some beautiful throws down the field, and he showed good decision making throughout the game. His footwork still needs to improve on some throws, but I saw some major progress, and if he can start playing near this level on a consistent basis, Iowa is not scary, they are SCARY.

Playcalling Was Not The Issue
Every football fan also doubles as the world's greatest offensive coordinator. It's truly amazing how great Iowa would be if they would just hire a fan to call the plays. They would have never run (insert play that did not work). I think the biggest examples were the quarterback sneak on fourth and one, and the jet sweep on third and five in Wisconsin territory. For the former, I have no issue with hit. That quarterback sneak has been money for Iowa, and it's statistically one of the smartest plays to run in that situation. If it worked 100% of the time, every team would run it all the time. It didn't work that time, but that doesn't make it a bad call.

I will say that I did not like the jet sweep, but the call itself was fine. My big issue was the formation they ran it out of. Without a running back in the backfield, the linebacker was free to follow Sargent going across the formation. If there is a running back in the backfield, he can't completely abandon the middle of the field, and that would have given Sargent the lead he needed to hit the edge and make it upfield.

Also, let's give props to the second touchdown to Noah Fant. Fant going in motion and just running to the flat is impossible to stop in man coverage, so if you see the guy in coverage running across, it is a guaranteed six points. I love that play.

Iowa Has Legit Talent
Iowa did not lose this game, because Wisconsin was too talented for them. They lost because they made some big mistakes on punt returns, and failed to capitalize on opportunities at the end of drives. But Iowa looked like the better team. Mistakes happen, and Iowa's proved costly. Still, this team is good, and if Wisconsin stumbles, Iowa has the talent to be nipping at their heels for B1G West supremacy.

Even after a loss, I'm excited for the rest of the season. That's a pretty good spot to be for Hawkeye fans.

How To Defend A Sword Attack

You ever find yourself approached by someone with a sword? It's something that I run into nearly every day. Sometimes, I do not have my katana nearby, so what should I do? Well, you can always use nature as your weapon. A nearby tree trunk should suffice, especially if you have rope nearby.

That moment when you accidentally took a trunk of a tree with you #dumbassmartialarts #bullshit #fake #lol #tree #shit #wtf pic.twitter.com/LXj3sJK1Pq

— Dumbass Martial Arts (@DumbassMA) December 8, 2017

Just make sure you are barely out of reach of the sword, and make him promise not to move if he misses his first sword swing. As long as he stands perfectly still, which he definitely will, you can knock him over the head with your tree trunk at an incredibly slow speed. Even if he still holds on to his sword, just gently place your tree trunk no top of your assailant, and he will be unable to move to cause any harm.

If you're anything like me, you are always carrying around tree trunks in your everyday life. I never thought to use it as a weapon, but it's absolutely amazing what can be turned into a weapon these days. No need to fear sword attacks as long as you have nature and knowledge on your side.

The WWE Is Ruining... Nia Jax

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, we focus on how the WWE is ruining...Nia Jax. After the Bobby Lashley surprise last week, this one should be a breeze.

When Nia Jax walks into a room, the room stops to acknowledge her presence. Maybe, just maybe, the WWE could use someone with that sort of physical presence in their women's division. In fact, the WWE did recognize this and had her win the women's title from Alexa Bliss. Since Bliss is the ultimate heel, they made Jax a babyface. That is not ideal for the character whose size means the odds are always stacked in her favor, but at least they were utilizing the fact that they had a rare talent.

But alas it was not meant to be. There was good news and bad news for Nia. The good news is that WWE realized that someone with her physical presence should probably be a heel. The bad news was that they didn't want to do any work to make her a heel, so she just did a 180 in her personality, and instead of fighting against bullying, she was now the one bullying. Oh, and to make matters worse, she was bullying Ronda Rousey, who is basically the intimidating presence in the ring that Jax never got the chance to fulfill.

It doesn't help that she never totally seemed comfortable in a character. She showed flashes as a destructive heel, especially in NXT, but she never quite put everything together as a destroyer of worlds on a consistent basis. Still, from where she started to the progress she made, it's a matter of when, not if, she will get everything figured out.

The first thing WWE should have done was let her have an impact on her comeback instead of just slotting her right back into Raw. What would help her the most would be a surprise switch to Smackdown. There, she no longer needs to compete with Ronda Rousey as the unbeatable physical force and can instead take advantage of matchups with with Charlotte, Asuka, and most importantly, Becky Lynch. If the WWE goes full bore into Becky Lynch as female Stone Cold Steve Austin, then Nia Jax would come in as the perfect adversary to be brought in and put her in her place.

Even if Nia Jax doesn't have a title, she can always be an important part of the women's division due to her physical stature. But although those physical features can be fun for short periods of time as a happy-go-lucky, sometimes goofy babyface, her destiny is as a heel. Make her the big bad wolf, so let her blow some houses down, and Jax some ladies up.

Other Wrestlers WWE Has Ruined
Bobby Lashley