Uncensored Writing

Kirk Ferentz: Good But Never Great

2020-12-18T00:04:00.001-06:00

It's been another very good year for Iowa. Not a great year, as those are few and far between, but a really good year. They lost two close games to start the season before winning six straight and becoming so intimidating that Michigan has faked a Covid outbreak to avoid playing them (that last part is not true in the slightest, but if Ohio State fans can claim it, Iowa fans should be able to be at least as stupid). I'm not going to get into whether this season should have happened, but it did, and it was a nice distraction. There are sports that suffer without fans, but football is not one of them.

But it was still just a good year. It's both comforting and frustrating having Kirk Ferentz as your coach. You always know you're going to get competence, and everything falls into place, something special might happen, but Kirk is set in his ways, and that is why he may have been a very good coach, but he never became a great coach.

The last few years may be the greatest example of this. The biggest issue at Iowa is that you aren't going to have the greatest skill position players so you trudge along with a safe offense that chews up clock and keeps a dominant defense as fresh as possible. It's usually that Iowa doesn't have the weapons, but that hasn't been the case lately.

In 2018, they had two first round tight ends in TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant along with two talented young receivers, and three viable running backs that they could sub in and out for whoever best fit their situation.

In 2019, those talented young receivers grew up as Ihmir-Smith Marsette, Brandon Smith, Tyrone Tracy, and Nico Ragaini were all viable weapons on the outside, and late in the season Sam LaPorta emerged as a dangerous tight end target. This was also the year that Tyler Goodson came in as a true freshman and proved he might be Tyler GoodDAD, because he made opposing defenders look like children (Tyler Greatson is too easy).

Now in 2020, ALL of those guys were still there, and they added Charlie Jones, who never got to play wide receiver but was absolutely dynamite as a punt returner and gave Hawkeye fans plenty to dream on. They literally had too many weapons.

Did Iowa update their offense to take advantage of this incredible glut of talent? Folks, they did not, and that is why they went 6-2 this past year instead of 8-0 with a date against Ohio State where the Buckeyes wouldn't be the overwhelming favorite (OSU would definitely still be favored).

I know their accomplishments are quite different, but when it comes down to it, Nick Saban and Kirk Ferentz are pretty damn similar as coaches. They love defense, with a defensive line pressuring enough for their secondary to make big plays while the linebackers roam around to clean up any messes. They want to run the ball as much as possible, because it's a point of pride for their lines to beat the hell out of the opposing lines.

But the difference between the two happened two years apart. In 2011, Iowa had a disappointing season, finishing just 7-6 and ending the season with a bad loss to Oklahoma. Their offensive coordinator left, and they chose to go with Greg Davis, the most uninspired pick possible, but one that Ferentz could control to keep the offense in his image without any flash getting in the way.

Two years later, Alabama had a disappointing 11-2 season (turns out that Alabama and Iowa have slightly different definitions of disappointing), ending the season with a bad loss to Oklahoma. Nick Saban got rid of Doug Nussmeier and brought in Lane Kiffin, and letting Kiffin run the offense that he wanted to run. Saban still had some say, but it was clear that this was Kiffin's offense. One year later they were in the College Football Playoff, the year after they won the National Title. He's ran through some offensive coordinators since then, but has kept the attacking wide open style to outgun his opponents. The dominant defense might give up some more points since they are on the field more, but he sacrificed in order to better his team as a whole.

Greg Davis left after 2016, giving Kirk another opportunity to pick a forward-thinking offensive coordinator. He instead gave his son, Brian Ferentz, the job, and a defense that is, without a doubt, worthy of being in the College Football Playoff, gets to play in another middling bowl game.

Iowa isn't special. There's nothing about its history or infrastructure that guarantees it will be a good program. What Kirk Ferentz has done has been so impressive, but with the defense that Phil Parker has guided these past few years, and the numerous offensive weapons that they have developed, these teams could have been special.

Kirk Ferentz is a very good football coach, but refusing to leave his comfort zone on offense is what will ultimately prevent him from ever being great.

Luka Garza vs. Spencer Lee - Who Will Have The Better Year?

2020-12-03T10:54:00.000-06:00

The Iowa Hawkeyes are in an insane place right now. They have the #3 ranked basketball team and will presumably have the #1 ranked wrestling team when that season gets underway. As crazy as that is, they also have favorites to be crowned the best basketball player and best wrestler in the nation. This stuff doesn't happen for Iowa. I mean, even in wrestling, Iowa hasn't had a Hodge Trophy favorite since Brent Metcalf, and he won his back in 2008. For basketball, just thinking off the top of my head, I don't think Iowa has had a first round pick since Ricky Davis in 1998. The last time it was a top-10 pick, back in 1980. So, yeah, this is a bit of unchartered territory for the Hawkeyes. I'm not saying Luka is that level of draft prospect, but it gives you an idea that elite talent is fairly rare for the Hawkeye program.

So the question becomes, when you have the best at their respective sports, who is going to end up having the better year?

First off, we have Spencer Lee, who at first glance seems to be untouchable. I mean, is anyone a real threat for him this year? He has dominated his entire college career, and he only seems to have gotten better this offseason. Patrick Glory and Vito Arujau are good, maybe great, but greatness doesn't even begin to get on Lee's level. The only potential road block would be for Daton Fix to drop weight for this season, and even then, I'm not sure if it matters. Without Fix around, there is a legitimate shot that Spencer Lee could bonus every single opponent this season. Although slightly far-fetched, there's a chance that nobody goes the distance with Spencer Lee as he might just tech fall and pin his way through the season. I know, I know, that is very unlikely, but it's crazy to objectively look at it, and go, "It's not impossible."

On top of all of that, Iowa is the clear favorites to win the National Championship this year. Penn State has reloaded, but still, Iowa has the potential for All-Americans in every single weight class, including four guys with VERY realistic shots at a National Championship (Lee, Eierman, Marinelli, Kemerer). This team is SPECIAL. It's going to be an amazing year, and it will all be led by Lee.

And then we have Luka Garza, who, let me be clear, is not a slouch. He was incredibly close to being named the Naismith Award Winner last year, being edged out by Obi Toppin, and when most guys put up that incredible of a season, they get out of town and into the NBA as fast as possible. I mean, it's not like he can really improve on what he did last year.

Except he might.

There have been enough videos online over the summer to get me WAY too excited about what he will do this season. The man already possessed a plethora of moves inside, but now he has dabbled with a sky hook while relentlessly working to create a more consistent three-pointer. It was an all-time year last year, and now it might get better? Good lord.

But even if Garza does his absolute best, it isn't going to compare to Spencer Lee individually. Lee's average is better than Garza's best; the wrestler is just that good. But what could put Garza over the top is team success.

I am in the great, great, great minority that loves college wrestling more than college basketball, but I understand the importance of a great Iowa basketball team. I mean, if Iowa made the Final Four, how incredible would that be? It would definitely be incredible enough to make it a serious discussion about who had the best year this season.

And if Iowa wins the National Championship? That thought would have seemed crazier than Spencer Lee going on a tech fall and pin streak through an entire season, but now, there is a clear path. Iowa would have to play incredible basketball and tighten up their defense, but again, they are the third ranked team in the nation right now. This dream could legitimately become a reality.

And if Garza wins the Naismith AND leads the Iowa Hawkeyes to a National Championship, it would be impossible to say any Iowa athlete had a better year than that.

Let's End Kicking In Football

2020-11-27T14:08:00.001-06:00

Although I have seen many people say that there is no need for kickoffs in football, I'm ready to take it a step further. Let's end all kicking in football. As an Iowa fan, this pains me to say, as my team's motto is "Punting is Winning," but kicking in any way just takes away from what everyone loves about football.

The kickoff rules have changed so much that they are doing everything in their power to make touchbacks the only correct decision. This still leads to a ton of unnecessary hits as guys collide running full speed in opposite directions as the ball harmlessly sails out of the back of the end zone. Instead of all that pointlessness, the team who would be receiving the ball should start with it at their own 50-yard-line. The 50 may seem excessive, but let's dive deeper.

It's not like being at the 50 is an automatic score, because without field goals, you still need 50 yards to score. Now this should lead to MORE scoring, but you aren't getting a score after driving 15 yards. And who really wants to see teams kick field goals when they are in the red zone? Instead, coaches will have no choice but try their best to score on every single drive.

If that team happens to get stopped near the goal line; it's no cake walk for the offense that is now backed up against their own end zone. There is no flipping field position with punting. There is no kicking yourself to freedom. You're stuck. If it's foruth and ten at your own 3-yard-line. Well, you better hope you can get a ten-yard-play or you're going to be giving your opposition a great opportunity to find the end zone.

Finally, there is the extra point which can easily be ditched. For one point, it's from a half yard out. Two points is from two yards out, Three points for ten yards out, and you can even extend it to four points for 20 yards out and five points for 40 yards out. Might as well have fun with it.

At that point, even an 11-point-defecit isn't totally safe. So there is no need for an onside kick to try to steal possession.

Let's eliminate kicking and finally take the foot out of football.

WWE Is Ruining... Mia Yim / Reckoning

2020-11-18T09:10:00.002-06:00

Oh man, I've done over 100 of these things, I think, I'm not going to count, but it is draining. I think this is the last one. Sorry to AJ Styles bodyguard and the incredible run of Chelsea Green that ended in about 30 seconds (unfortunate for Green, who like just about everyone in WWE, is incredibly talented). I'm going to try to post weekly, but I think I'll alter into something less depressing. Maybe politics? But probably the NFL Draft.

Sorry, Mia Yim / Reckoning, but I am totally going to go through the motions on this one. I'm actually happy that Mia Yim was brought up to the main roster without having to go through a long NXT run. She never reached the top of NXT, but I think she is a person who can fit better on the main roster.

Mia Yim is a presence whose greatest attribute is her ring work, and of course, despite being healthy, her last match was three months ago. Retribution is apparently unconcerned with the women's division as she has yet to do anything in the ring.

The best way to make Retribution important is to get titles on them. The most obvious candidate would be the tag titles, but after that, it isn't too crazy to have Mia Yim challenge, cheat, and win Asuka's belt in a surprise. Right now, the group just doesn't matter, and giving her a women's title run would definitely make them matter. Outside of that, you could have Yim hurt a sympathetic babyface, but WWE isn't exactly great at building those up so I'm not sure at how effective that would be.

But, just like as a start, if nothing else, I don't know, this may sound crazy, but maybe, just maybe...let her have a wrestling match?

It's so crazy it just might work.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dominik Dijakovic / T-BAR

Dominik Mysterio

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shane Thorne

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Dominik Dijakovic / T-BAR

2020-11-11T18:27:00.001-06:00

The WWE invested a lot of time in Retribution. They "interrupted" shows week after week, to the point that it would seem like they would be due for a big push once they started entering matches. That hasn't happened. Dominik Dijakovic, now T-BAR, who appeared to be the leader of the group before Mustafa Ali joined up, has lost all three of the tag matches that he has been in. So, uh, I guess they're not going to be important?

Although the execution has been bordering on intentional sabotage, the original idea could have been cool. Bring up a bunch of young wrestlers that are pissed off at the status quo and have them beat the crap out of the old guard. That's an exciting idea.

They didn't do that, and now it's going to be pretty hard to take them as a real threat. It's more of just waiting for this thing to disintegrate since, unsurprisingly, the WWE did not think this one through.

But Dijakovic is great. All you have to do is put him in the ring with Keith Lee, and pure magic will transpire. Outside of that, the big thing is just not giving him a totally uninspired introduction, and just let a really good wrestler with great size do good wrestling stuff.

Hopefully that provides him some well-deserved retribution.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dominik Dijakovic / T-BAR

Dominik Mysterio

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shane Thorne

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

Zelina Vega

WWE Is Ruining... Dominik Mysterio

2020-11-04T14:21:00.004-06:00

Dominik Mysterio has shown some incredible talent for a 23-year-old. With that being said, there is no way that he deserves to be on the main roster at this point in his career. He's had ZERO matches outside of the WWE, and only two of his matches did not involve a former WWE World Champion, both against Murphy, obviously.

The raw talent is there, and he has height that his father probably prayed every night for without it ever coming to fruition. The best thing for him is to spend A LOT of time in NXT. At least three years and probably closer to five before really considering him for a main roster spot. That will give him time to build up his body, because it does make it difficult to take him seriously. He should definitely wear sleeves. I mean his arms are probably bigger than mine, but the fact that I somewhat question it is not a great look for him.

There's nothing wrong with Mysterio as I think he's incredibly polished considering his lack of real matches, but I just can't picture a scenario where he is anything other than his father's son unless he drops down a level and truly builds himself up on his own merit. He clearly has the talent to do it.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shane Thorne

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

Zelina Vega

WWE Is Ruining... Slapjack / Shane Thorne

2020-10-15T12:21:00.000-05:00

Shane Thorne is an incredibly talented wrestler who kind of lost his way once his tag partner, Nick Miller (not from New Girl), now Mikey Nicholls, left the company to move back to Australia. He went from one half of a promising tag team to being treated as singles enhancement talent as creative didn't have anything for him. It didn't mean he was any less talented, but he was just kind of passing time.

So it's great that he found his way onto Raw as his talent can be appreciated. Still, his Retribution name is Slapjack, and I immediately want to call him Slapdick every time I think about his name. Once I get to slapdick, I think of Slapnuts, so then I'm thinking Jeff Jarrett in WCW, which then makes me think of Vince Russo becoming World Champion, which is definitely the most egregious world championship in professional wrestling history.

Wait, what were we talking about?

Oh, yes, Shane "Slapdick" Thorne. All we can really hope for right now is that Retribution has some direction now that Mustafa Ali has joined them. I think he would be an ideal fit in the tag division, especially since two of his Retribution cohorts are very large human beings where he could carry most of the match before Mace comes in and cleans house as an overwhelming monster.

Oh, and get rid of that stupid ass mask.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shane Thorne

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

Zelina Vega

WWE Is Ruining... Dio Maddin / Mace

2020-10-08T18:49:00.001-05:00

Retribution is a great way to demonstrate that WWE doesn't care so neither should you. It's so stupid and aggravating, and I know I shouldn't care, but I know pro wrestling, especially with the stupid amount of talent the WWE has, should be great. Still, the WWE does everything in their power to make it as boring and pointless as possible.

I know people haven't seen a lot of Dio Maddin wrestling, but he is good enough in the ring from what I saw on the NXT House Show circuit. Where WWE is just stupid, Maddin was stupid as fun as he would dramatically sit in the corner and fans would chant, "Holy Sit." I guess you just had to be there.

He's got enough mic skills as they trusted him to be a Raw announcer, and he's pretty damn big. So the guy has a lot of qualities going for him.

Now he is Mace, as part of Retribution, and I hope they get the masks off these guys sooner rather than later. He actually has a reason for wanting to be in Retribution. He was brought up too soon, made a commentator, and then viciously attacked by Brock Lesnar without anyone coming to his aid, or even mentioning him once he had been injured. There was no letter writing campaign for Dio Maddin like when Earthquake crushed Hulk Hogan's ribs. This is something to want retribution for.

So, yep, that is my simple solution. Ditch the stupid mask and find specific reasons that he feels aggrieved, and you might just be able to tell an interesting, and more importantly, coherent, story.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

Zelina Vega

WWE Is Ruining... Daniel Bryan

2020-10-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

I am what many would call a Daniel Bryan hater. It's not that I even dislike Daniel Bryan; I think he's very good, but I'm not a fan to the extent that many are a fan of Bryan's, which therefore gets me labeled as a hater. I'll admit that before his big push, I didn't really see star potential in him. He was a good wrestler, but his most memorable personality trait was his friendship with Derrick Bateman.

Anyway, he greatly exceeded what I thought was possible by becoming the biggest star in pro wrestling for a while. And good for him. Even if I wasn't the biggest fan, it was still awesome to see.

Then, unfortunately, it looked like his career was over, but after a three-year hiatus, he got a clean bill of health and was able to come back. Since then, he has looked very close to the same wrestler he was before his injury, and he's always a guy who will be able to put on a fun match. He even won the WWE Championship again as well as winning the tag titles with Rowan.

Most recently, he was looking to gain the Intercontinental Title, first coming up short against Sami Zayn before later coming up short against AJ Styles after Zayn was stripped of the title for staying home during the early months of the pandemic.

Since that loss to Styles, he has been off television, but has kept busy by having his second child. So the question really becomes how to bring him back.

Really, Smackdown has things lined up perfectly for his return. After Roman Reigns disposes of The Fiend, hopefully in a Goldbergian like squash match, Reigns will clearly be the biggest, baddest thing in all of professional wrestling. Who better to take on the The Big Dog than the ultimate underdog? Daniel Bryan as the plucky babyface taking on the ultra heelish Roman Reigns is an ideal stylistic matchup. That's not just a main event, that's a WrestleMania main event. Right now, it seems as if time is standing still, but the Royal Rumble isn't that far away, and a surprise return from Daniel Bryan to come back and win the thing to take on Roman Reigns sounds like a perfect way to end WrestleMania 37.

That's a story that even a Daniel Bryan hater could get excited about.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

Zelina Vega

WWE Is Ruining... Mandy Rose

2020-09-25T07:49:00.000-05:00

Blonde fitness competitors are basically Vince McMahon's ideal WWE female superstar. When he is truly looking for a prototype, he is looking for Mandy Rose. She's attractive, athletic, and has enough personality where you can develop the on-mic skills for her. She's clearly been an important part of WWE television lately, but I'm actually a little surprised she hasn't accomplished more.

To be fair, a lot of talent with her experience may still be in NXT figuring out their way in the business, but after just two years developing her skills after losing Tough Enough, she was brought along to the main roster with her fellow Tough Enough contestant, Sonya Deville.

Still, despite being on the main roster for three years, she has yet to find her way to a title reign. Despite that, I think the WWE has done a really great job of advancing her. Starting her in a tag team to hide some of her flaws paid off for her, and she has developed more confidence in delivering promos while her in-ring work continues to improve.

Currently, she finds herself in a romance with Otis, which I thought would be a terrible idea, but even if I don't love every direction they have brought that, I have to admit that I was wrong and it has overall delivered an amusing product. My only real issue is that since she beat Sonya Deville, there really hasn't been any push for where she is going next as she has not had a match in over a month. She just got sent to Raw, but I'm not totally sure where this should lead. I can't see her feuding with Asuka, and putting her on Raw Underground seems less than ideal. So I think it's going to be a wait-and-see approach with Rose, and although I disagree with a lot the WWE does, I think they have done a good job showing patience while bringing her along.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Rose can do when she's in full bloom.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Angel Garza

2020-09-17T09:58:00.000-05:00

Is there anybody out there that doesn't just love the horniest wrestler since Val Venis? I mean, Angel Garza is constantly trying to get it. No female is safe with Angel Garza around, and I am all for it.

They have tried to shoehorn Angel Garza into a threesome with Andrade and Zelina Vega, but it's pretty clear that Garza is a more of a one-on-one situation sort of guy; it's just that the other one changes any second that a new female walks within 1000 foot radius of him.

As for his in ring work, it's very good. He is a phenomenal heel as you really do want to punch him in the face. Part of this is likely jealousy, but hey, it works for him. He's gotten a good amount of exposure on Raw, but they haven't seemed to fully go in on him quite yet to give him a true push up to the next level of WWE Superstars.

It appears the whole group, even Zelina Vega, is going the singles route, but although Vega has already seemed to pry her way into a title match without wrestling, it's still unclear who is really going to get that initial push forward between Andrade and Angel Garza. I'm not sure who I want it for more as it's basically choosing between children. They are both phenomenal talents that deserve to be in a World Title picture down the line.

Since this is my focus on Garza, let's get him pushed forward by injuring Dominik Mysterio. Mysterio needs some time to refine, and six months away would not be a bad thing. This can propel Garza into a feud with hero of the people, Kevin Owens. I think those two can gain some steam and have Owens go over to take on The Hurt Business as a quality US Title Challenger.

After that, Garza has become a guy, and maybe it's a feud with Keith Lee, but he can be the dastardly heel that overcomes size disadvantages by just being an overall scum bag. And also, if he's going to flirt with anything that moves, give him a new valet every week. I don't care if he wins or loses, I just want this man to go full pervert-scumbag and embrace his natural heelness.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas

Angel Garza
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Seth Rollins

2020-09-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

The WWE LOVES Seth Rollins. Roman Reigns may be their superstar, but Seth Rollins is their guy. Even if he is not in the main event, he will always be important. He is their reliable guy who can take up 15-20 minutes every week through promos and matches and keep producing. Is it always great? It is not, but nothing in WWE is always great (maybe the IIconics, RIP).

After WrestleMania, they did something very interesting with Rollins when his real-life fiance, Becky Lynch, left wrestling to have a baby. He basically decided to murder Rey Mysterio because he is a Dad. Then they just went off to the side for a while where he feuded with Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo, and Kevin Owens popped in for a while, and then he took Rey's eye, but his eye was put back in. Then he beat Dominik Mysterio a couple times but lost to Rey and Dominik while tagging with Buddy Murphy, and they never really brought up the Dad stuff again, so what does any of this actually mean?

I know that was a meandering paragraph, but that seems to be what's going on. And now there's really nowhere else for this to go, so the whole personality change from the expectant Dad seems to have been tossed off to the wayside, and now we're left with...

Anyway, it seems like it's time for their reliable guy to take some time off. Considering when Becky Lynch announced, she's got to be at least six months pregnant, so maybe let him hang out in Iowa, help with the last few months of pregnancy and the first months of raising a child. Maybe bring him back for the Rumble or even wait a month and just give enough time to build to a WrestleMania storyline.

I know this series is all about how WWE is ruining talent, but Rollins fits perfectly into the new system. He's a WWE Superstar, and it's no wonder that he stands up for the organization that has given him every opportunity available, and although you can nitpick here and there, they have utilized his strengths pretty damn well. Right now, he's in limbo, but he's built up enough credibility that he's always just a match away from the main event picture.

And that's enough to make him the greatest athlete in the history of Davenport West High School, barely beating out Kenny Shedd, who had 16 career receptions in the NFL.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson

Seth Rollins
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Kalisto

2020-09-02T08:46:00.002-05:00

I have discussed Lucha House Party before, and it seems as though the WWE signed three great talents but had no clue what to actually do with them. They put them together, which is okay, temporarily introduced Lucha House Rules where they got to take on tag teams 3-on-2, which was less okay, and they occasionally bring it back as it seems like the three of them are currently challenging Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. In all fairness, them being at a numbers disadvantage should be the only way that tag team could lose.

But today is not about the trio, only Kalisto. Kalisto seems to be the easiest guy to find a successful path forward. Admittedly, the WWE had this idea earlier in his career but abandoned it in favor of LHP. Just make him your new Rey Mysterio. Small high flyer who can do ridiculously cool things while always being the underdog will never go out of style.

And that's the real beauty of a guy like Kalisto. You can treat him like a jobber for days, weeks, months, years even, because when he steps into any ring, he's automatically the underdog. But all it takes it that one massive upset, and you can buy into the momentum of the fans getting behind him and turning him into a star. Masked guys are great at selling merchandise to little kids and nobody is better designed to do that than Kalisto.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel when a Rey of sunshine can show you the way.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kalisto

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Matt Riddle

2020-09-01T09:22:00.005-05:00

This is my fault.

I said it was impossible, but I should have known to never underestimate the WWE.

If anyone can fail a can't-miss superstar, it is them, so I only have myself to blame for the latest development in Matt Riddle's storyline.

When the #SpeakingOut movement took over the pro wrestling world, likely ending the careers of many professional wrestlers, Matt Riddle was also accused of sexual assault. This is a complicated subject, because I do think that you need to take every accusation seriously, but it seems more likely than not that Matt Riddle was not guilty of sexual assault. I have talked to a lot of people to make sure that me really liking Matt Riddle as a pro wrestler is not skewing my view of the situation, because I really don't want to be that guy, and it seems like he's likely innocent, although there is no way to fully prove that.

What Matt Riddle was guilty of was having an extramarital affair with this woman. That's not great, but I'm not one to judge other people's relationships. So the WWE did what anybody would do when you are trying to get a babyface over as the ultimate good guy, have the bad guy bring up that he cheated on his wife. I mean, who wouldn't want to cheer for our polygamous protagonist?

I don't know what the hell they were thinking, but I don't see how it advances ANYTHING. It's just stupid and in poor taste. I would say that maybe this makes me think Riddle is more innocent, because there is no way they could be this tone deaf if there was any chance that the sexual assault allegations were true, but considering their handling of Velveteen Dream's accusations, that is giving the WWE way too much credit.

I mean, just imagine if instead of Roddy Piper crushing a coconut on Jimmy Snuka's head, he instead brought up that Snuka, the babyface hero, allegedly murdered a woman in a hotel room. Oh man, Piper would have been hated, and Snuka probably could have had a World Title run with the crowd fully on board with the guy who murders women.

To top off the stupidity, Riddle, who should be full of anger at Baron Corbin for bringing up his most embarrassing moment, beats Riddle with a flip off the top rope. This is a man who is known for absolutely brutal submissions where he twists his opponent's bodies and elbows them in the face, and to settle this grudge, he hits a flip to get the three-count. Not exactly retribution in my eyes.

Hopefully, the WWE is smart enough to drop it immediately and never mention it again. They inexplicably drop all kinds of thoughts and ideas, so it wouldn't exactly be a shock.

But come on, WWE. Riddle has so much natural charisma and incredible in-ring talent that this should be about the easiest slam dunk in history. The only thing you need to do is get out of the way and let him be a transcendent superstar and world champion.

Although the name may say otherwise, this isn't a complicated Riddle, Bro.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal

John Morrison
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Bianca Belair

2020-08-18T15:39:00.001-05:00

Bianca Belair is phenomenal. If anybody is out there nitpicking her, they aren't watching pro wrestling right, because she does so amazing things that I really don't care if there is some room for improvement on the edges. She is not just great; she is SPECIAL. Belair could be a transcendent star in the women's division. The WWE recognized this and brought her in at WrestleMania to make a huge save for the Street Profits on the biggest stage possible. Even without a crowd, it seemed to be a harbinger of things to come.

So what came in the four months since? Almost nothing. Since that time, she has won singles victory on Raw over a current WWE superstar, and that is beating Zelina Vega a few weeks ago. I would just like to point out that Zelina Vega has two singles victories in her entire WWE run when she beat Lana two weeks in a row on Smackdown over two years ago. This is what they have done with Bianca Belair in over four months of being on the main roster.

But as I said, Belair is incredible. It would take them outwardly trying to sabotage her in order for her to not become a star, but so far they have shown no inclination of how to incorporate her into the main roster product.

As for what to do with her future, I do think she fits in better on Smackdown than Raw. Even though the styles are very different, the overwhelming badass role already has two candidates on Raw with Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler and Asuka. Meanwhile, Smackdown doesn't exactly have the cream of the crop on their brand when it comes to women wrestlers, and they definitely don't have anybody that can come remotely close to what Belair brings to the table. Right now, things are a little convoluted in the women's division with Sasha Banks and Bayley holding all of the championships, but the title picture will clear up, and with a few strong months, Belair can be a legitimate contender. Plus, it would be incredible if she was running rougshod on the women's division for when Charlotte comes back into things as I think those two could put together something special with a little time.

Anyway, Bianca Belair is phenomenal, and she's as can't miss of a superstar as I can possibly imagine. There is no limit to her potential, and I just hope the WWE realizes that and gives her a push commensurate of someone with her abilities.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Cedric Alexander

2020-08-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

I'll admit, even I have trouble finding the right role for Cedric Alexander which is stupid, because he's great. But at the same time, I have trouble seeing what he brings to the table that isn't done equally well or better by Ricochet. That's not a knock on Alexander; it's just that Ricochet is ridiculously talented, and the WWE still can't find anything for him.

So they put them together in a tag team, which again, could be awesome, but they mostly lose to more important teams, and even when they win, you already understand that it's not going to build any momentum as they will inevitably lose the following week.

Really, making that tag team important is about the best thing they could do right now. I really think they could be ideal opponents for the Street Profits as it would give Montez Ford a chance to go toe-to-toe with super athletic wrestlers while letting Angelo Dawkins look like a hoss as he came in to take a hot tag.

But really, my biggest plan for Cedric is as simple as it is for many wrestlers lost in the shuffle: Let super cool wrestler have cool wrestling matches with other cool wrestlers. You can build something off of that.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella

Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Dolph Ziggler

2020-08-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Dolph Ziggler seemed like a surefire star that could be a leader in the company for a decade back in 2013 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and won the World Title from Alberto Del Rio. Unfortunately, Ziggler suffered a severe concussion a short while later, and it meant that his title reign could never really get off the ground. That seems to be his career highlight as he has been on a constant rollercoaster that has never seen him gain that momentum in the last seven years.

It's pretty amazing, because everybody loved Dolph Ziggler, and now it seems as if nobody cares about him. I know my personal interest in Ziggler has dwindled, because he has just been a part of so many pointless feuds and gimmicks that lead to absolutely nothing that I see no reason to get invested in him doing anything important in the WWE. It's not like Ziggler has gotten worse, but the surrounding talent in WWE has blossomed, and it's just tougher to stand out without a significant push.

So he's still in WWE, but man, it is just going absolutely nowhere. Nobody in the world believed that Dolph Ziggler would beat Drew McIntyre for the title. It was a completely worthless feud that ended in a good match but didn't advance either guy's career. It just happened as time passed, much like Ziggler's last seven years.

Dolph Ziggler just isn't a top WWE guy. They have a format and expectations that just don't fit his skill-set. They love massive human beings, so guys like Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, and Braun Strowman will always have an upper hand. On top of that, they love people who give promos like John Cena, which quite simply, has the subtlety of a brick to the face. It is in your face, and you know exactly what he means. It doesn't really work for Dolph as he isn't very convincing when he's screaming as he's a more subdued character who tries to use wit instead of photoshop humor.

I've said it before, but I think Dolph would greatly benefit from backstage promos, and not having a crowd is actually a huge benefit for his character because he can take his time and make people listen to him. This isn't a knock on him, as Jake Roberts, seen as one of the best promo guys in wrestling history would be awful if he was trying to get his point across in the middle of a ring as 15,000 people screamed, "WHAT!" every time he took a pause.

He probably can't fit into the world title picture anytime soon. Ideally, he'd find himself with a secondary title and turn it into the wrestling title where he could have 15 minute matches with guys who can wrestle. Dolph isn't the name that John Cena is so he doesn't have to keep it for a year straight, but imagine that title getting switched onto guys like Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Mustafa Ali. Make it truly unpredictable where a two-month title reign is incredibly impressive instead of half of those two-months being filled with different non-title losses. Just let great wrestlers wrestle and see who emerges to advance into the primary title picture.

I know it's crazy, but it just might work.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Dolph Ziggler

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Asuka

2020-07-27T02:21:00.000-05:00

Remember NXT Asuka? Truly an awesome force. She made sense. She was better than everyone, but if you made her mad, she stepped it up and just whooped ass on whoever was dumb enough to offend her sensibilities. It was phenomenal, and although she came up during one of the most shallow times for women's wrestling in WWE, she may be the greatest NXT Women's Champion.

Then she joined the main roster, and things went downhill. They became so obsessed with the undefeated streak, which probably should have been ended by Ember Moon before Asuka was brought up to the main roster. But it wasn't, so she not only remained undefeated, but that streak had to include the Royal Rumble, so she won that as opposed to "losing" a match.

So then she goes to Wrestlemania and loses to Charlotte, meaning that this massive undefeated streak never even led to a main roster title. Things got worse from there as she was unable to overcome the dominant reign of Carmella as she constantly got bamboozled by James Ellsworth.

It took them about two years, but they finally figured out that Asuka is awesome. There have been some bumps in the road, but she is now never far from the main event picture, which is where she belongs as long as she wants to continue wrestling. As I write this, she just kind of lost her title to Sasha Banks at Extreme Rules, but not really since nearly every finish in WWE has some sort of cockamamie ending that makes no sense. Still, it's Sasha Banks and Asuka, and not even WWE could find a way to totally screw that up, but they did still find a way to screw it up as much as possible.

I had the pleasure of seeing Asuka at dumpy little house shows when she was doing the NXT loops, and she's a star. The WWE tried to deny that since English is not a strength, although even in that regard, she has made tremendous strides. Still, let Asuka be Asuka. She can convey everything about her character without a word, and I just hope they keep her away from James Ellsworth in the future.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews

Asuka
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Drew Gulak

2020-07-21T14:20:00.000-05:00

Drew Gulak does not seem like a WWE guy. He's not an overwhelming physical specimen, he's not incredibly athletic, and he's not a huge personality. Although he can do just about anything in the ring, nothing really stands out when you give him a first look. He's the type of guy that can easily get lost in the shuffle. But Gulak has defied the odds and actually found a nice niche in the WWE Universe.

He did it originally on 205 Live with possibly the only good use of Powerpoint in history. But he was able to pivot and become a pure wrestler, in the mold of Daniel Bryan and align himself with Bryan and most recently, Matt Riddle.

He has been in more of a sidekick role, but a sidekick role that has seen him get wins over AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura in the process which doesn't sound like a bad place to be. But those wins were meant to be as meaningless as possible as he could never come through in matches that were important.

How I would describe Drew Gulak right now is that he's in the mix. Right now, he doesn't seem to be a relevant title challenger to any belt, but it wouldn't be too shocking if six months down the line, he has a legitimate shot at the IC Title or has a strong partner where he could challenge for the tag titles. Not everybody is a World Champion who leads the company for a decade, but Drew Gulak is a guy who can put on a good match with anybody, and he has enough intangibles in other areas to be remain a valuable part of the WWE roster.

It took them a while to figure it out, but the WWE and Drew Gulak are in a good spot these days.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder

Drew Gulak
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... Alexa Bliss

2020-07-15T00:46:00.002-05:00

Alexa Bliss is fantastic. Obviously, with the name of this series, I crap on WWE a lot, but Alexa Bliss is an undeniable success. They managed to take a fitness competitor, bring her to the performance center, and transform her into a fairy. She found her way out of that gimmick and found a voice that has made her one of the most compelling characters in the organization over these last few years.

But everybody knows how good Alexa Bliss is on the microphone. Maybe even more incredible is the progress she has made in the ring. She may not be in the discussion for best female wrestler in the world, but she has gotten light years better from when she started. Despite her diminutive size, her offense looks much more realistic, and it's made everything better. I also think that being in a tag team for a while isn't the worst thing for her.

Ultimately, no real complaints with Bliss. Right now she is a face, but she'll transition back to her natural spot of heel and continue being one of the most charismatic wrestlers in the world. This is a feather in the cap for the WWE Development system so bravo to everyone involved.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Alexa Bliss

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke

Dash Wilder
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... MVP

2020-07-13T06:38:00.009-05:00

MVP recently came back, and originally, I thought he was just a random Royal Rumble occurrence to get a quick pop and be on his way. But months later, MVP is still around, still showing up every week on Raw, still having his most meaningful feud be with a lady.

I have to say that I've been fairly happy with MVP's usage up to this point. He's a jobber as a wrestler, but he's a manipulative manager who can do the speaking for some less charismatic clients. It also appears that he's working on putting a stable together, and as anyone who has been reading these pieces knows, I love me some stables as they are not used nearly enough in WWE which causes WWE to just put random guys together with no thought put into it. As I write this, I am watching Humberto Carrillo and Aleister Black team up which proves my point better than words ever could.

So just let MVP do his work. Job out in matches, get his comeuppance from good guys but continue to manipulate very talented wrestlers to get them to more important levels than they would achieve on their own.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

WWE Is Ruining... The Forgotten Sons

2020-07-08T00:31:00.011-05:00

The Forgotten Sons were surprisingly pushed to the main roster and immediately found themselves in the tag title picture. Then Jaxson Ryker decided to share his political beliefs. The problem with Ryker sharing his political beliefs isn't totally that they're dumb as dog shit; it's that he's not talented enough to share his political opinions. You've got to have a little more clout and actual in-ring talent to share something out of the ordinary. Since that point, they have been off television, so here's the first step. Just release Jaxson Ryker. He sucks way more than a lot of the talent released, so just dump his ass and turn the tag team back into a two-person tag team.

After that, let Wesley Blake reclaim the greatest catchphrase that NXT house shows have ever seen, "Garbage." Just let this man exaggeratedly call everything garbage, and then print the damn money.

Let Steve Cutler play the straight man. Change their name to The Garbage Sons, and they can refer to their former teammate as White Trash.

Boom, you got yourselves a viable tag team now.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

Every Body Can Be Better

2020-07-07T00:19:00.033-05:00

I'm convinced that nobody is satisfied with their body. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, I believe everyone wants to be just a little bit better. In fact, I would say there's a better chance of someone who doesn't workout being happy with their outward appearance than someone who spends a good amount of time in the gym. I wish I was above this feeling of inadequacy, but I know I'm never going to love my bod, and it's likely about to get a whole lot worse.

I'm 35 now, so my best athletic days are well behind me. Occasionally I'll sprint with the dog, and I realize that I am slower than shit. Not ideal, but it is what it is. Still, I've kept my weight under control and the body is fairly tight.

But for every moment that I start feeling pretty confident in how I look without a shirt, there is another moment where I can only look at how I'd like my lower abs to be a little tighter, my pecs a little bigger and even more symmetrical, even though nobody in this world will ever care that my right pec is slightly larger than my left. I would say that person does not exist, but I am that person. And I feel really good about where I'm at, especially at my advancing age. The body's never been perfect, so I think this is about as good as it's ever been. But there is always that knowledge that it could be better. At least I can take solace in the fact that I was blessed with a great set of yams.

I'm fairly well-adjusted. I can be happy with my body while still noticing areas of improvement, and I think that will stop me from ever being fully satisfied. At the same time, I know that I'm not willing to put the work in, partially because I've got bigger fish to fry, and even if I did make those improvements, there would always be something else that could improve.

And if you don't believe me that everyone is looking for improvement, let's just talk to Trey Adams, an offensive tackle that signed with the Buffalo Bills.

Trey "Inches" Adams keeps it real. Maybe a little too real.

WWE Is Ruining... Lars Sullivan

2020-07-01T06:29:00.000-05:00

You may be wondering how I can write about a man who has not been around for over a year? And that is an excellent question, but I think I know WWE well enough to write about how Lars Sullivan is going to be used poorly.

When Sullivan was healthy he was built as a monster who could beat three WWE superstars at once. This wasn't a great use for him as I think he'd be far more effective as an enforcer for a heel where he comes in and dominates but does no talking, basically what AEW did with Jake Hager early on. That's a fairly simple solution.

But this misses something very important. Is Dylan Miley the most fascinating person in the WWE? Like, this is a man who is racist, homophobic, prejudiced against those with mental disorders, AND HE PERFORMED IN A GAY PORNO? I'm not trying to say that being in a gay porno is a shocking thing for someone to do, but to be post a bunch of hate-filled things on bodybuilding.com of all places, yeah, that part is going to stand out.

What if that was the basis for his WWE character? Like, I know what I am about to propose is not something that WWE could handle with any grace or sensitivity. But what if Sullivan played a self-hating gay man (Note: I am not saying Dylan Miley is a gay man, don't know, or really care one way or another) who couldn't come to grips with is own sexuality? It would make him mean and violent, and his uncontrolled temper would cost him ultimate success. Then, when he is able to finally be able to be honest with himself, he is able to focus his rage and become a champion. Unfortunately, something like this would take subtlety and nuance, so if WWE tried it, it would probably just be him sneaking peaks of dudes in the shower, but if done well, it could actually be an uplifting message.

Actually, let's just focus on the posting on Bodybuilding.com part and have him argue about how many days are in a week.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Aiden English
AJ Styles

Akam

Akira Tozawa
Aleister Black

Ali
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Angelo Dawkins
Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin

Bayley
Becky Lynch
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt

Brock Lesnar
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Cesaro
Chad Gable

Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Curtis Axel

Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Drew McIntyre

EC3

Elias

Ember Moon
Epico

Eric Young
Erick Rowan

Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane

Kane
Karl Anderson

Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Konnor

Lacey Evans

Lana

Lars Sullivan
Lince Dorado

Lio Rush

Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Luke Harper

No Way Jose
Otis Dozovic

Ricochet
Riddick Moss

Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks

Scott Dawson
Shane McMahon

Shayna Baszler
Sheamus

Shelton Benjamin

Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville

How To Make Money Online: Slogan Slingers and Get A Slogan

2020-06-30T07:46:00.000-05:00

News, news, I have breaking news. Technology is hot these days, so it's time to for me to jump on that bandwagon and make some money the new-fashioned way, on the internet. Geocities is no longer bringing in that paper, but there is a small upstart named Google that might be a player in this game. I figured if a company like Google can be worth thousands of dollars, then it's time for me to at least start making hundreds. That is why I am trying to win me a Slogan contest.

I found a couple different places where companies will go to them and offer up prize money to come up with a slogan for their business or event. The main two are Slogan Slingers and Get A Slogan. Slogan Slingers is nice, because you get three opportunities, where Get A Slogan, you have to go for it all in one shot unless you want to purchase more opportunities which definitely seems like a racket.

But I'm a clever dude, so I figured I could probably dominate any competition in the world, so I started entering some contests. Although I have yet to be named a winner in any of these contests, it's only a matter of time with the gold I am spinning below.

ICAST: International Convention Of Allied Sportfishing Trades
I Can Always Stress Tomorrow
You Cast, I Win
Life's a Fish...Catch It

Faselis Lite - some PR agency
Press On
Share Your Story - somebody already submitted this entry before me.
What's Your Story?
Press Made Easy

Organic=Orgasmic
A Better Way To A Healthier You - boring
See You In Health
Welcome to Health

KA-CHING!

Note: I wrote a draft of this three years ago, and I have yet to win anything. Apparently, I'm too good at this.