Doctor Who: Smile

The tenth series of Doctor Who continues apace as this weeks second episode rolled around. This weeks second episode saw something of a tradition in "Nu-Who" as Bill like recent new companions before her enjoyed her first TARDIS trip into the future.

As always the choice of location tells us something about where The Doctor is at psychologically, his choice of location is that of a colony world where the last vestige of humankind are looking to set up home after abandoning Earth. The key aspect of interest here looks to be the aspect of hope after some kind of disaster. A rather fun and low key episode sees Peter Capaldi being very Doctorish and being something of a tour guide to Pearl Mackies Bill. Its something of note that this is the most traditional we have ever seen Peter Capaldi's Doctor.

The episode is rather fun being mostly the regulars and the very cute Emojibots, again the show continues the tradition of taking the normal aspects of everyday life and putting a spin on them. After last weeks visually dark episode this week is very bright with the colony and Emojibots being as white as a Doctor Who set from the 1980's. Things get more interesting as the episode continues as the plot develops but its a tad uninvolving as this is a story more about horror than plot and it makes the mistake of showing its cards in the pre title sequence.

Away from the main part of the story there looks to be some tidbits on offer regarding this seasons arc. Reference is made to the vault seen last episode and The Doctor making an oath not to go roaming off planet. Of particular interest is Matt Lucas brief appearance this week as Nardole where its rather unclear if he is The Doctors butler or jailer.

To sum up a very nice fun little episode, however now we're two episodes into the season I would like to see things move up a gear.

5 Reasons why Jinder Mahal being the number one contender to the WWE Championship is a good thing

1. The Land of Opportunity

Keyfabe wise Smackdown Live presents itself as the land of opportunity and this is what it needs to be for Jinder Mahal right now. Coming off Wrestlemania Mahal is the hottest he's ever been on the main roster, he was the runner up in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and has been slowly building up heat on Raw for months.

This is the ideal time to see if he can sink or swim in the main event scene, right now people care about Jinder Mahal. They are talking about him and they've been booing him for months - he gets a reaction so lets see what he can do on the main event scene instead of the mid card scene.


2. Smackdown Live Needs to Build Heels

While the superstar shakeup was fairly even in who went where there's no denying that in the aftermath Smackdown is light on top level heels. The Miz and Bray Wyatt have moved to Raw, AJ Styles has turned face, Dolph Ziggler has sunk to far from the main even scene to be a legitimate top heel and Baron Corbin is still being built up to be a top level heel.

In short Smackdown needs to build some heels immediately, the only other genuine heel is Kevin Owens and he's busy feuding with Chris Jericho right now. Plus storyline wise he could be going back to Raw within the next few weeks. Lets not forget the last time WWE didn't raise someone up and take a risk it resulted in HHH winning last years Royal Rumble and main eventing Wrestlemania, something nobody wants to see again.


3. Rusev is Injured

Even with the best will in the world it is blatantly obvious that this story line and title challenge was originally pitched for Rusev. But as he's injured Jinder Mahal is getting the story line, critics would say there are plenty of people the spot could have gone to and that's correct but its not what we've got. Instead of listing others who could take that spot lets focus on what we have.

We have a heel who can work and hopefully get Randy Orton over more as a face which is just what Orton needs. Right now he's in a muddy feud with Bray Wyatt and when he gets out he needs to get back to being a face against a traditional heel. We have a character in Jinder Mahal, who will no doubt rub his win in the face of others resulting in potential runs against the likes of Sami Zayn - we get so much more with this booking decision than it takes away.


4. Tradition

Over the years in WWE there has been the tradition of new wrestlers come in and being given wild over the top gimmicks to get them over. Examples of wrestlers who got their gimmick over and flourished are Mr Perfect, The Undertaker and Goldust. Wrestlers who haven't gotten their gimmicks over include Max Moon, Adam Rose and Vladimir Kozlov.

Jinder Mahal has flourished in every gimmick he's been given, his initial arrogant heel run got good reactions from Ryback and The Great Khali, the 3 Man Band stable were good comedy fluff and his run in NXT saw him enjoy a series of good matches.

The fact of the matter is Jinder Mahal has put the time in, paid his dues and deserves a title shot. Weather he deserves the elevated spot on the card we can only judge in the future.


5. Wrestlemania is Over

It can't be argued that the peak time of interest in WWE is in the run up to Wrestlemania in the first quarter of the year. Viewing figures are at their height and all the big names WWE has to offer are on show, however Wrestlemania is now over and its time to move on, John Cena and Nikki Bella are gone, Goldberg is gone, Chris Jericho is off touring with his band and Brock Lesnar while being the Raw champ is strictly part time.

Right now the WWE has two options, either move up the second tier talent to the main event scene, talent that has already been over TV for the last four months or to elevate mid card talent to see if they can run with the ball. If Dolph Ziggler or Luke Harper had won the six pack challenge and become the number one contender nobody would be talking about it. With Jinder Mahal winning people are talking about it and its creating a buzz that doesn't often happen at this time of year.

10 WWE Superstars Who Should Be Drafted

As said by Vince Mcmahon on this weeks Raw, "its time to shake things up around here." Of course he was announcing the 2017 WWE draft, where superstars from Raw can be traded to Smackdown and vice versa. This is a good thing as it freshens up the roster and gives fans the chance to see superstars who haven't been on the same show for a while to cross paths.

Fortunately for WWE management and readers of this here blog I've been looking at the reasons for and against who should be drafted and have put together the top ten picks for next weeks WWE Draft.


10. Enzo and Big Cass

As a tag team Enzo and Cass have known been on the main roster for a full year where they have challenged for the Raw tag titles, teamed with John Cena and had programs with singles stars such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Rusev. However with the arrival of The Hardy Boyz and The Revival the tag team division on Raw is starting to get crowded.

By moving Enzo and Cass over to Smackdown it gives them the chance to show their strengths which is their promo skills and flair. This gives Smackdown a more vibrant tag division and the one thing that the tag division doesn't have flair.


9. Heath Slater

Since the brand split in 2016 Heath Slater has done the one thing nobody expected him to do - he got over. His new character of a redneck who needs the money for his 17 kids and above ground pool has been comedy genius as has his teaming up with the man beast Rhyno.

However since they lost the tag titles they have been under utilised, the teased break up hasn't happened and they've been stuck in limbo ever since. It makes sense to split the team up if they aren't being used and Heath Slater is the ideal choice for Raw as with the extra hour there is more time for him and his backstage antics which helped get him over back at the start of the brand switch.


8. Sami Zayne

Sami Zayne has had an impressive year during which he has built up an underdog reputation which has seen him involved in angles with Raws hierarchy and Braun Strowman. It makes perfect sense to move Sami over now as Mick Foley and Stephanie Mcmahon have been written off TV while Strowman looks like he's being set up for bigger things.

Also there is the elephant in the room, it moves him to a different show from Kevin Owens. Fans have lost count of how many times they've faced each other over the last year and this move forces creative to do something different with him.


7. Kalisto

Kalisto doesn't have a role on Smackdown, he's the lone cruiser weight not on 205 live or Raw. If anything his role over the last six months is to get beaten up, first by Baron Corbin and then Dolph Ziggler. His recent angle with Apollo Crews against Dolph Ziggler hasn't worked and all three are suffering as a result.

By moving Kalisto to Raw it gives him a chance to reignite his WWE career. Immediately it creates two chances for him one to reform the Lucha Dragons with Sin Cara and two the possibility to move over to 205 live and work with superstars more his size who can work with his style.


6. Rusev

Rusev hasn't been himself recently, he's been in a run of very strange programs including Enzo and Cass which has seen him team up with Jinder Mahal which went nowhere for either man. Admittedly Rusev is injured at the moment but from a booking point of view it gives fans the chance to feel the impact of the draft a few months down the line with perhaps a surprise run in.

Creatively Rusev has been at his strongest when used as a monster heel, however at the moment Raw has Braun Strowman, Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe and Big Show. In short Raw is currently overloaded with monsters which leaves little room for Rusev. A move over to Smackdown would see him as the only monster and give him more room to flourish.


5. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatts program with Randy Orton has been borderline perfect and shows what can happen when WWE does a slow burn story, its worth remembering that this story started in August 2016 and is currently in its eighth month. However all good things come to an end and it makes sense to separate the pair right now, with Orton as the Smackdown champion it makes sense to move Wyatt.

Story line wise it also makes sense as WWE creative have shown that they prefer to focus on Wyatts promo skills. Moving him to Raw with that extra hour gives him more space without cutting short the shows match time. Also with Brock Lesnar having Paul Heyman maybe Wyatt could bring Brawn Strowman under his wing and continue the story line set up in the 2016 Royal Rumble.


4. Cesaro

Again this makes sense due to Raws crowded tag team division. Sheamus and Cesaro have got over as a tag team and their story line has come to a natural end. They've fought, been forced to team, become champions and earned each others respect. The time has come for both parties to move on.

Cesaro has been held as a superstar who deserves to be further up the card by a number of legends and a change of show would help. Cesaro has done wonders in various factions over the the years but its time for him to strike out for himself.


3. Dolph Ziggler

When the roster split in 2016 Dolph Ziggler got off to a good start, he became the number one contender for the WWE title. Despite not winning the title he then entered into a well received program with the Miz, despite trading wins over all Ziggler would lose in the long term and since then he's kept on losing.

A heel turn has seen Ziggler turn from lovable loser to a dispirited villain which has been a struggle to watch. Comparing his position after the brand split with now makes it look like he's been stood in quick sand for the last four months. Ziggler needs something to give his career life, if things don't change for him soon he could be finding his way down to NXT.


2. Seth Rolins

Seth Rollins is without doubt a main eventer, since the Shield split up he has proven himself to be a successful heel champion and since his comeback from injury a very strong face. However his long term story line with HHH has now come to an end and it makes sense to move him away from Raw which is seen as the dominion of the Mcmahon-Helmsleys.

A move to Smackdown gives the show another contender for Randy Ortons belt as well as a potential Shield reunion with Dean Ambrose. Also it gives us a chance to see how he inter reacts with another member of the McMahon's in Shane.


1. AJ Styles

AJ Styles has been the MVP of the WWE over the last twelve months, he has faced Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and John Cena turning in many match of the year contenders. However as we've already said with others involved in programs with on air authority, his story line with Shane Mcmahon looks to be over.

On top of that Styles has competed with Orton, Corbin, Harper and most of Smackdowns roster in the last few months. While a program with Shinsuke Nakamura looks enticing surely it makes sense to move Styles to Raw, where an even more enticing showdown with Brock Lesnar beckons...

There you have it, the top ten picks from me for the 2017 WWE draft.

Adam Lallana

There are three certainties in life death, taxes and that whenever there is an international break a Liverpool player will come back to Anfield injured. During the recent break the player in question was Adam Lallana, who injured his thigh playing for England against Lithuania during which he set up one of the goals for Jamie Vardy. Far from the usual frustration when this happens after the most recent international break I found myself thinking "Its only Lallana."

Bear with me readers, I know what you're thinking. How can Liverpool possibly do without Lallana for a month? Settle yourselves down and I will inform you why Liverpool fans shouldn't be to worried about the face of Nivea being absent for a month.

I'm the first to admit Adam Lallana is having his best season for us and will defend him against those who say he isn't. He's already got more goals in the league than the past few years and equalled his best number of assists. However bar the assist for England he hasn't created or scored anything for Liverpool since he set up a goal against Stoke back in December. That's three months ago! Up until the 2017 arrived the lad was on fire but since then he's looked a pale shadow of his early season self.

As we all know form comes and goes, Liliana's form at the moment doesn't warrant a starting eleven place. If he wasn't injured it was time to bench him and bring someone new into the first team anyway. On top of that we have a Merseyside Derby this weekend, its a game that demands thunder and guts not Nivea and moisturiser. Liverpool can't afford someone off form in the midfield especially against a decent looking Everton with a dangerous Romelu Lukaku up front.

The main problem Liverpool have is who is going to come in for him. What Jurgen Klopp mustn't do is bring in Lucas. It never works, the guy has been playing out of his league since he joined Liverpool, yes he had potential however he's now thirty years old and the potential is gone. Klopp needs to stop resorting to Lucas, he needs to do something new. Klopp chose not to bring anyone in this past January so he has to work with what he's got. Weather this is push James Milner forward and bring Alberto Moreno back into the team or play a kid in the front three Liverpool need something.

Short term Liverpool have a derby to worry about, mid term they have an April fixture list including West Brom, Crystal Palace and Stoke. Teams against whom Liverpool's recent record isn't the best. But long term Liverpool have a top four spot to contend for. Liverpool may just learn the top four positions are build on a foundation of eleven players, for this season to be a success someone has to grab Lallanas spot in the first team and make it their own.