15 YRS AGO LIVECASTS: Bruce Pritchard to TNA, WWE & TNA PPV philosophies, Rumble structure, Linda McMahon Senate debates, more

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (01:06):
Now, PW Torch and Spreaker bring you the Wade Keller
Pro Wrestling Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
On Today's Way Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Friday, October tenth,
twenty twenty five, were jumping back fifteen years to two
PW Torch live casts where James Caldwell guest hosted for me.
First up, he was joined by Greg Parks who joined
me by the Way yesterday on our new Flagship episode,
so check that out special Thursday version of the Way
Keller Pressing podcast Flagship Yesterday. And then in the second

(01:37):
episode it's just James taking live calls. So first up,
in part one from October seventh, they talked about Bruce
Pritcher joining TNA, hok Coogan's trip to the hospital and
who could replace him at Bound for Glory, whether TNA
changes course at Bound for Glory without Hogan being available,
TNA's pay per view hype philosophy, changes WWE could make
to their pay per view hype, Austin Are's apparently leaving

(01:59):
our wrestlers pushed because they have the look and more.
And then in the previously VP exclusive after show, they
discuss how the Royal Rumble is structured and laid out
ways to improve the rumbles, strengths and weaknesses of the
Battle Royal. On Monday's Raw lineamcmahon's debates for a Senate
that week and whether she's improved in that category, lost
ground or stayed the same and more. And then the

(02:20):
second episode looks at every single aspect of that week's
TNA Impact and breaking news. Analysis of ratings for Impact,
and then comparisons of w's audience buying into storylines compared
to TNA's audience choosing their favorites, a strong prediction for
the three way TNA title match, social issues in wrestling,
and more. So that's what's coming up here on our

(02:42):
back to back episodes of the PW Torch live cast
from fifteen years ago. Here we go.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
You're listening to the PW Towards live casts. P tow
Towards Assistant editor James Caldwell posting today on Thursday, October
the seventh, twenty ten, and I'm joined by Sports Columbus
Greg Parks. Greg, how does it do on a Thursday?

Speaker 4 (03:07):
I'm doing well, Jams, Thank you very much.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Live Impact tonight pretty busy night of wrestling with three
hours of live TNA programming. I'm pretty fascinated, I think
most of all, to see a live reaction show, because
it could be really good if you kind of give
those backstage interviews after the matches and try to reinforce

(03:30):
the matches for it could be really bad with some
throwing together stuff, with some pre produced videos that really
don't flow with whatever happened to Impact. So those those
are two ways that it could be really intriguing to
that live reaction show, but obviously the more important show
being the live impact. Greg, what are you coming your
expectations for tonight's programming the final height for the Ballot

(03:53):
of Worry pay per view? What do you expect to
see from T and A tonight?

Speaker 4 (03:59):
Well, we'll get the We know that mc foley versus
Ric Flair is going to be on the car and
I'm sure they'll turn into a bigger angle than a
well match, and for I understandable reasons, I suppose. So
what happens is there As far as a fallout from
that match, it's going to be interesting to see. We
can back on the debut of Mickey James, that's been

(04:20):
talked about for a while now.

Speaker 5 (04:22):
That's something that is I.

Speaker 4 (04:24):
Would say likely to happen tonight. Not sure where she
fits in. I don't know if they would throw her
into their top knockouts and angle which has something to
do with the beautiful people, Am I right? I don't
even know.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
It's just still coned.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
Yeah, because I don't know, you know, Miss Tetmaker was
trying to kind of keep the peace last week in
her role of secretary Flash whatever she does for the
knockouts now, so yeah, it's going to Those are two
things and we've gone I believe. I don't know if
it's official or it's just been discussed that two three

(05:02):
D it's possible to be on a show as well.
I don't know if there's because another contract recently came up,
and I believe all signs of points of them resigning, so,
you know, making their return tonight on the show will
be something that I would look for.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Yeah, I would imagine that they might be in that
Better Royal or they could be involved in somehow some
way involved in the the Kevin Nashting angle. I mean,
I would I would imagine that there are more leaning
toward being involved in the e YouTuber's fortunate angle. But
with with Hulk get out of the picture, I mean,

(05:44):
Eric Bischoff tweeted moments ago, just fok, he's still an
intensive care and coming from the surgery. So it was
this a big swarve, a pretty good indication that Hoogi
will not be making his return on Tonight's live show,
anyone being a six man tag about for glory, so
it leaves a slot open, or it takes a lay

(06:05):
a slot. They might have h they might have the
Pope eliminated from that six man tag and just make
another tag match because we all just loved that first
one in the last pay per view. So, I mean,
there's a lot of different ways that can incorporate some
of these newer characters. Like said Mickey James, Team three
hasn't been on the show in a while. He's got
the Shore debuting, and I don't see them. I don't

(06:28):
know where they fit in. Perhaps speeding with with ink ink,
that might be a possibility. That might be our team
Threne fits in and speeding with inking. So then that's
kind of the the I guess. One of the good
things about tonight show is that there's a lot of
opportunities for guys to fill in sloughts. The drawback is
that it might come across very convoluted and rushed and

(06:50):
no time to breathe for a lot of different stuff
they want to do on this show at greg Ville
that didn't have five matches announced for the pay per view,
so we'll get some more matches announce on tonight's show
for the pay per view. I imagine, who do you
see it. Let's say that the whole Cogan is stretched
from the pay per view and they don't have and

(07:10):
they need to fill in that sixth sloat and the
six man tag match. Who's your pick as a guy
to fill in on Team Joe and Team Jared.

Speaker 4 (07:19):
I'm not really sure that the storyline. When you think
about the storyline, it's hard to see who would fit
in from a storyline standpoint. And you also have to
consider how they're going to write Hogan out of it.
Do they come clean and say, listen, Hogan is from
all the wear and tear in the ring, He's got
back issues, He's not going to be healthy enough to wrestle.
So you know, either let's make it a tag manager.

(07:41):
Let's plug someone into his role. Do they write out
an injury angle or someone attacked him to prevent him
from meeting in the match, because hey, if you don't
want to face Paul Cogan in the ring, man, he'll
tear you apart. So and that was dripping with sarcasm,
so you know, it all depends on how the TNA
decided to go about writing him out of the match.

(08:04):
You know, putting him in the match in the first
place was just it was taking a huge risk knowing
what kind of condition he was in. And I mean
TNA had to know that even you know, he couldn't
go in the ring no matter what, but they had
to know also that, you know, it might have been
to a point where he couldn't even make it there,
which is the situation that looks like it's going to

(08:24):
be right now. So you know, that's one of the
things that I'm interested in seeing is seeing how they
do replace Hall Covid in the match. And another thing
is I feel like this live show has been hyped
just as good, if not better than the pay per
view And it's kind of funny to me because TNA
had so much trouble hyping pay per views that in

(08:46):
the last few weeks of impact, they've had to hype
the live impact as well as their biggest pay per
views here arguably, So you know that that is a
lot of hype that is falling on TNA's shoulders when
they're not really good at it in the first place.
And I feel like I know more that's going on
in Tonight's Impact than I do at Pomptra Glory, And

(09:08):
I don't know if that's Tom supposed to feel or not.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
Yeah, I agree with you. I mean just kind of
trying to remember the card for Battle for Glory's, you know,
to get a three way match, get RVD in Abyss.
I mean RBDY had you know, one of the worst
promos ever a couple of weeks ago, and then try
to damage control since then, but that that program's lost
some steam. I get a six man tag with a
question marking and over it after you know, after that,

(09:33):
I I, you know, I got to look up the
rest of the card, just just to know what's going on,
you know. I don't know if it's just a thing
where you know, T and A prioritizes their TV show
over their pay per view and so as a result,
their live Impact special tonight is getting the most height.
I mean at this point, they're just trying to stay
on the air on Spike TV. I mean that that
male demographic rating is terrible this year, especially since returning

(09:57):
on Thursday nights in May, so they've got to find
a way to keep themselves on TV. Uh, and I
think that's probably why this live Impact special has gotten
so much hype. It's because they need a pop rating tonight,
and they got a pretty good rating last week. Reaction
is still in the tank. The second least watched episode,

(10:18):
Reaction was last week, despite a pretty strong ratings increase
for Impact, So they got a find a way to
keep that that Impact rating up against some tough competition
on Thursday night. And I imagine they're a point where
they've almost given up on their pay per view business.
I mean, it's just evident by the way they write
their TV shows. It's all storylines driven for the TV storylines,

(10:38):
very little emphasis on the actual you know, scene of
payoff of the match and the conclusion of a feud
on a pay per view. It's sort of this TV
storyline feeds this pay per view match, which feeds into
this TV storyline, and and that's not going to gain
by spend any money on your products. So but now.

Speaker 4 (10:55):
James doesn't wwe do that a lot too. I mean,
just looking to see the Nexus angle where you paid
to see John Cena lose to then go into Nexus,
but you had to tune in the next day on
TV to actually see them be a part of next
and officially join the group. So you lead to that too.

Speaker 3 (11:14):
So I don't know if i'd say that.

Speaker 4 (11:17):
I think they just they're I don't know whether they
completely give it up on the pay per view business
and focused. They do focus more on TV than than
pay per review. That's that's pretty obvious. But is that
their purpose? Are they trying to do that or are
they just not hyping pay per views well enough?

Speaker 3 (11:37):
From from talking with people in TEENA, the philosophy is
that people are gonna watch the pay per view, so
we're gonna emphasize the TV.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
But they isn't There isn't their job to make people
want to watch the pay per view. You would think so,
but let's but to say that seems like you're just
But to say that feels like you're just completely giving
up on a huge revenue stream. Ye, and with with
no real reason. Sure, people aren't buying it, but is
it because people aren't buying it no matter how hard
you're hyping it, or people aren't buying it because you're

(12:08):
not hyping it well enough and making it feel important enough.

Speaker 3 (12:12):
I think that they take the first approach, and that's
the mentality and that's why I'm so concerned. I'm like, no,
it's the second one, which is that you don't hype
it effectively. There's no reason to order a pay per
view because it's not gonna matter on the next show,
and you're not paying off any matches and you're not
concluding any feuds on a pay per view. It just
feeds in the TV show and they go into this

(12:32):
mentality of well, you know nobody orders a pay per
view anyways, Well, yeah, because your hype sucks. It's just,
you know, the one time that you actually hide a
pay per view match, well Samoa jobbers kerd Angle, people
bought it, and then the very next show you went
to the complete opposite direction of what you just did
to make money. It just it's bottled in my mind.
But that's from talking to people in TNA. I say,

(12:54):
do they really have it? I mean, am I crazy
that they don't care about the pay per view revenue?
And I say, and if people in TNA me no,
The mentality is that nobody, nobody, but very few people
watch the pay per view, so we're gonna emphasize.

Speaker 4 (13:09):
The TV show.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
And I said, it's just such a self defeated self
defeated mentality.

Speaker 4 (13:14):
I don't you know thinking about this. I mean, if
TNA is convinced that either aid is a lot of
crossover touing WWE and TNA as far as viewers, or
b most of their pay per view revenue does come
from whatever crossover there is legal or not. Ww' say
reviews and numbers are in the tank. UFC is eating
away at pay per view numbers for WWE. So you know,

(13:37):
I don't know if TNA thanks we WWE, the standard
bearer in the industry and the leader in pay per
view for how long is crafting the bed for pay
per view buys right now? I mean, what's what are
we gonna get? We're gonna get even the lower than
they have bottom of the barrel.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
Because if and.

Speaker 4 (13:54):
If they truly believe that their fans are the crossover fans,
they're hardcore fans. Are the ones that buy the pay
per views? Are the ones who watched WWE and TNA,
They might say to themselves, listen, we're not We can't
compete for a pay per VW dollar over WWE, let
alone UFC. So you know, let's be realistic here and
understand that even if we do hype our pay per views.

(14:16):
That pay per view money for people is either going
to WWE or you know, people who used to buy
our pay per view are now watching UFC now into
the mixed martial arts. So you know, I don't know
if that their mentality, and I can I suppose I
can see where that's coming from. But as long as
you have them, why not hype them. It doesn't really
take that much, even if you go into it with

(14:36):
the defeats st attitude saying, you know, we're not gonna
draw this month because WWE just had a pay per
view last month and UFC had a pay v next month.
We're sandwiching in between, and no one's gonna spend thirty
five forty thirty dollars however much it is for a
TNA pay per view, So you know why even bother hyping,
I can understand that point of view. I don't support it,

(14:57):
but if that's their mentality, that's what I I can
understand that better than just simply no one buys this.

Speaker 3 (15:03):
So let's not hypen.

Speaker 1 (15:05):
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(15:28):
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Speaker 3 (15:36):
And the thing is that they can provide an alternative
to WV and even UFC because GNA has a benefit
of having a lot of stars and recognizable names. If
they were a true alternative, wee they could sell pay
per views because I mean your building toward you, the
building toward matches where the conclusion is on the pay

(15:57):
per view, the the angle is blown off on the
pay per view. You've got to see. You gotta ord
the pay per view to see the end of the feud.
Uht the end of the angle. It's between two compelling
characters who have an issue and you know, pretty good
wrestlers in the ring, and you want to see how
that's gonna play out. And if they went that route
and if they went that Joe Angle route. I think
they could, They could build up their pay per view

(16:18):
business and they wouldn't have to be worried about you know,
we're screwed because we're in between a W pay per
view and A and the UFC pay per view. But
because they take this w CW W W attitude era
copycat xerox copy formula, it feels so stale. I mean,
back in that era, that audience was so rapid for
the product, for the w product that they fought anything.

(16:42):
You know, they've there was a lot more disposal income
at the time of a comedy was hot. People were
spending money. Uh the product was hot, they had and
they had to see everything. They had to buy the
pay per view. Now everybody's kind of like, you know what,
I could see them just the same amount of program
on a free TV show as a paper because they're
not really giving me that much different than the TV show.

(17:04):
And I think that's where TNA is. They have the
opportunity to have an alternative product that people would have
been money to see, but they don't take the initiative
to change the formula and.

Speaker 4 (17:14):
Not and change zero formula corect Yeah, like you said
that's that it's gonna take a change and in the formula,
and it's gonna take a philosophy change. And no one
in TNA seems entrenched right now there to make that change,
whether they don't know how to do it, whether they're
not willing to change, whatever the reason.

Speaker 3 (17:36):
It would take a philosophy.

Speaker 4 (17:38):
Change to do what you're saying, and to hype matches
like Angle and Joe and I just don't see it
happening with the current regime because if it, if it
would happen, I think it would have happened long ago.
I don't see. I don't see what's different now than
it was months ago after they tanked on Monday Nights.

(17:58):
And to me, that would have been the time to
sit back and reflect and say, wow, what are we
doing wrong? What do we need to change? And if
they didn't change, then I don't see them changing now
or any time in the near future, which is unfortune.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
But you're exactly right, Yeah, exactly right. We want to
give up the phone number too, and join us on
the live cast today leading up to the live t
and A Impact and before that Superstars on WGN. Uh So,
of course we'll be taking calls on TNA a big
night for them as well as ww topics in the news.
You want to join us live on the live cast.

(18:30):
The number to call is six four six seven two
one nine eight two eight. Greg, let's go ahead and
take our first call today. This is from the nine
to three to one area code nine three to one.
Welcome to show. I believe this is this Ian out
of Tennessee. It is yes, score one for me. What
do you have for a n hower? Right? Well, I

(18:51):
was just gonna ask.

Speaker 4 (18:53):
I'd read that Bruce Preacher.

Speaker 6 (18:55):
Was coming into TNA. Yeah, what do you think that
can have any impact on the change that Dixie Carter
was talking about, Greg, what.

Speaker 3 (19:05):
Do you think?

Speaker 4 (19:08):
I don't think so. If that were true, I think
he would have been signed a long time ago. There
would have been buzz about it a long time ago. This
seemed almost like, I don't want to say a last
minute thing, but it kind of came out of nowhere.
There weren't rumblings about this or anything like that to
my knowledge. So that's that's I don't think it's the
big change she was talking about. I think, you know,

(19:31):
I don't know what to think about this. Because he
you know, he was part of McMahon's inner circle for
so long, and I don't know what his role is
in TNA. If he's gonna if we're gonna see any
kind of fingerprints on it at all, I doubt it,
at least not immediately. H James, what's your take on
versus Pritchard in TNA and what does he What can

(19:51):
you bring to the table for them? What can you
need the TNA?

Speaker 3 (19:55):
I mean, obviously it brings a lot of experience. I mean,
he has a ton of experience, which is something I
think TNA needs. But I mean to me, I kind
of think of what Paul Hayman said, you know, when
all that talk about him and what do he come
to TNA? Would he not come to TNA? And the
one quote that always stood out to me from that
interview that he did and several interviews that he did,

(20:16):
was that he did not want to be another cog
in the wheel. He didn't want to be another guy
just contributing to whatever vision TNA has in whatever direction
they're going. He wanted to to steer it a different direction.
I don't know that Pritchard's coming in with any you know,
sort of absolute power, like a Paul Hayman power to
install a different direction. I mean looking at the quotes

(20:38):
that he had in that money that made him regularly
interview in August. You know, he talked about a lot
of different things that he would do to change that
product if you were to come in. I kind of
considered a TNA audition, and then they hired him after
he talked so much crap about the profect stuff. I
feel like anything that he can bring something to the
table that will help them with whatever. And I don't

(21:01):
know the specifics and something I'm gonna try to find
out more about what exactly his role is going to be.
I don't know if it's sort of a creative liaison,
if he's working with Russo and Ed Conway, Matt Conway,
I guess ed Frau and Conway and mixed together with
with Conway and Russo. If he's gonna be working with them,

(21:23):
or if it's gonna be working in between them and
the agents to convey that to the talent. I don't
quite know what his role is gonna be. So it's
hard to say at this point what he's gonna be contributing,
uh specifically, but what he brings to the table is
obviously experienced, and that helps. I mean, that helps TNA,
But I don't see him having a lot of power.

(21:46):
Maybe down the road, but right now, I think it's
just kind of another mind to help them with whatever
vision they have for that product. He and is another
fault from that or another question? Well, I agree.

Speaker 6 (22:00):
I don't think anybody would make any difference coming in
unless they were able to get some actual change and motion.

Speaker 7 (22:08):
And I don't think.

Speaker 6 (22:09):
Anybody's really interested in that.

Speaker 3 (22:13):
But now that's it cool could call in. We appreciate that,
very newsworthy topic to go ahead and bring up at
the top of the show.

Speaker 8 (22:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
Let mean, like I said, Greg, I don't I don't
know what his specific title role, what what his resume
is going to say being a part of t ANDA,
I think maybe it's just sort of a let's see
where he fits in and utilize him wherever he fits in.
You know, it did seem to kind of come out
of left field. Obviously, he did kind of float his

(22:42):
name out there in August, so it's not that big
of a surprise that that he was joining the company.
But I just I don't know what his role is
going to be. You know, it's just I don't know
what anybody's real role is in TNA other than if
you're on the creative team.

Speaker 4 (22:58):
So yeah, and another important thing to think about when
we're talking about first Pritchard is he's the guy who
was entrenched in WWE four years so long, you know,
over a dec more than a decade, much more so.
He's a guy who was in that wrestling bubble for
so long, and ever since he was let go by WW,
he's been out of it, and so it's interesting to

(23:22):
think about what his perspective will be returning to that
wrestling bubble and really getting his hands dirty again after
how long has he been out? A year, year and
a half.

Speaker 3 (23:34):
It's it's been about a year and a half almost,
I think almost two years. I remember I saw him
on the floor at Wrestlingia twenty five, which was last April.
He was kind of fresh off his firing and kind
of seeing him walk around on the Florida Lyant Stadium,
I was like, Okay, that's kind of interesting because he
was just fired. So it has been about a year

(23:56):
and a half.

Speaker 4 (23:56):
Two years, Yeah, yeah, so you know, to see what
kind of perspective he brings to the table. If he
has the opportunity to bring that to the table after
so long away, is going to be uh, you know,
we're we're probably not going to see the results of
that on TV obviously, but it'll be interesting to hear about.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
Yeah, and that's gonna be something I'm gonna try to
look out for this weekend, is to talk to people
and see how see where he fits in first of all,
and see how he fits in with you know, a
couple of shows under his belt with the Live Impact
and Bout for Gloria, and then you know, another set
of TV tapings on Monday and Tuesday, so we'll get
some more information on that. Good call, Ian, We appreciate that.
Let's go to the three one four area code three

(24:39):
one four. Welcome to the show. Please stay to name
where you're from.

Speaker 9 (24:43):
Thanks for taking my call.

Speaker 10 (24:44):
This is Dan from Saint Louis.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
Hey, Dan, what do you have for a see?

Speaker 10 (24:49):
I got one question, I guess kind of a couple
of questions about one particular topic. It's about the move
from Austinaries over from r O H two evolved that
McNeil mentioned yesterday. Right, I'm not sure how much you
guys follow r o H or Evolved. I don't really
follow Evolved that much or actually I've never watched particularly

(25:10):
a DVD from them, But I was just gonna ask,
with this whole move over here, do you think it?

Speaker 11 (25:15):
Uh?

Speaker 10 (25:17):
Do you think how big of a blow do you
think this is to r o H? Because I mean,
if you look at their roster now, they really don't
have any r o H former r H World champions
except for you know, the current one with Roder Strong.

Speaker 12 (25:28):
And do you think that.

Speaker 10 (25:30):
There's any chance that there could be a continuation of
the Aries Jacob's feud that went throughout two thousand and
eight back in R O H. Because I remember that
being a really good feud and one of the one
of the feuds you don't really see these days, with
you know, feuds going you know, a month or two,
and that one went almost for like a year or so.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yeah, really good question. I'm the way I understand is
that right now R O H is in a is
in a cost cutting time, and Aries, you know, have
a lot of I mean he's been there forever. Gosh,
generation me goes back to four, oh maybe even O three.
I'd have to look at that. But you know, he's
one of those guys who commands a pretty high dollar

(26:11):
for independent wrestler. I mean, he's he's an in demand wrestler.
He's been in tn A. Uh, he's been in Ring
of Honor for a very long time. He's a two
time RX champion, won the Top Stars and it's just
you know, the money didn't line up anymore as best
I understand it.

Speaker 4 (26:27):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (26:28):
I I don't know that he's done done with Ring
of Honor, but I believe that he's I don't I
don't see I don't believe that he's booked for any
upcoming dates, and I have to check. I'd have to
check Ring of Minors event schedule, but I don't believe
he's booked for anything coming up. And so kind of
moving on to evolve and worked with Gains Tapolski and
perhaps I have to have a few with Jimmy Jacobs.

(26:50):
That that was, you know, Dan, like you said, that
was a pretty good feud in O eight, one of
the top feuds of the year. I believe it was
at least an RP be towards voting at least for
the Ring of Honors. Greg have you been following this
a little bit more closely, and what do you think
about areas going to evolve and making his debut next
month and what it says about Ringwater's talent depth and

(27:11):
the roster depth right now.

Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yeah, I think it says a lot and I think
it is a big move. Ro OH a few years
ago had that coolness factor that it was independent and
it was different and it was you know, unique, the
way they did things, the way they presented their product.
I just don't get this feeling that that aura is
there right now. And you know, with the guys leaving

(27:35):
Tyler Blancoin WWE, we've got Austin areas now moving over
to Evolve. And I kind of did the column a
few weeks ago about you know, whether the company's the
big three now as we know the WWT and A
and r OH are better off for worse off than
they were five years ago. And one of the things
I said, ROH resors off is in talent because they
just don't have the name independent talent that they had.

(27:58):
Those guys are now wrestling in ww in TNA, w
W is kind of softened their stands on what they're
looking for in a wrestler, which allows a guy like
Daniel Bryant to get over to the extent that he
has and uh, the guy who I don't think he
has reached the ceiling in WWE. So I think we're
gonna see more and more of that happening, and that
is not really good news for for R o H

(28:18):
unless they can continue to scour some of the smaller
independence and to continue to developing talent themselves that the
fans want to see, right and I think what.

Speaker 3 (28:28):
We're seeing right now is is a lot more emphasis
on sort of the the guys you've never heard of
wrestlers who maybe have some talent and the independent scene
and they're coming in to get a look. And Ring
Mars even signed some of these guys. I mean, Cole
is the one name that comes to mind. I couldn't

(28:49):
I couldn't even put a first same monum off the
top of my head. But they're bringing in a lot
of these you know Andy Ridge, they're doing a competition
series with him to try to get him over and
trying to put focus on these younger stars or these
younger independent rustlers who they hope will become stars Ring
of Honor and and they're in that transition face, trying
to find that next wave, uh, the next wave of

(29:12):
new talent that they can elevate and and who aren't
that expensive. I mean it's a it's a money thing
as well. Uh. You know DVD the DVD market which
was Ringing Waters bread and butter for a long time.
That DVD markets dried up. I mean, it's just it's
just not there anymore. Uh, I mean unless you're just
offering a you know, a Kbashi versus Joe quality DVD uh,

(29:33):
and and that doesn't that hasn't happened for Ringham Honor
in a while that that gets any buzz, you know.
So they're they're trying to build these younger stars who
uh aren't aren't expensive. They can try to build build
uh some undercard programs around these guys and hopefully hope
that one or two of those guys called the Tyro
Black and then Terror Black a couple of years ago,

(29:54):
uh wasn't wasn't unknown. I mean I saw him in
p tw BG. I said, well, this guy's got something,
and it's just nobody knew about it. Nobody had heard
of them. All of a sudden ring of Honor puts
a lot of emphasis on him, and now now you know,
two years later he's he has a w W developmental deals.
So they're trying to find that next Tyler Black right now,
and I just I don't see this next wave of

(30:17):
talent being as strong, and like you said, Gregor, it's
pretty concerning. If they can't find that next wave of talent.
You know, it's just a matter of time before some
of these guys say, you know what I You know,
I can't commit three three weekends out out of a
month to the ring monter dates if I'm not getting paid, uh,
you know, as much as I as much as I

(30:37):
believe I should have get paid. And I think we're
gonna see more of that. But I just hope they
can find some new stars. I think Ring offers something
different on the wrestling in the in the rusty landscape
that makes them stand down and they can. They're really
good when they're on, so we'll see. I think they
have a place in the market, So I hope they
can find some new stars, uh, to keep supporting that product.

(31:01):
Good call, Dan, We appreciate.

Speaker 13 (31:04):
That need an extra dose of positivity in your wrestling podcasts.
Will come join me Alan frel Over in the Progress
Paradise at Pterboo Torch VIP as we mask on the
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(31:26):
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Speaker 3 (32:11):
You are listening to the p to B Towards Live gast.
This is p B Towards Assistant Editor James Caldwell mosting
today alongside Swarts calumnist Greg Parks. Greg, let's go and
take some more phone calls. Let's go to the six
two three area code six two three. Welcome to the show.
Please say Traming where you're from? Hi?

Speaker 5 (32:34):
This is a Christian Phoenix.

Speaker 3 (32:35):
Hey, Chris, what do you have for us?

Speaker 9 (32:37):
Then?

Speaker 3 (32:38):
Hi?

Speaker 5 (32:38):
I'm running a paper on professional wrestling and I want
to ask you a question about male image in the
w in like stay World Wrestling Entertainment.

Speaker 8 (32:48):
I just welcome.

Speaker 5 (32:49):
He thought about gimmicks like the masterpeats Chris Masters, who's
a he was really large and as opposed to the
guys like who were you know, started resourceful. Do you
think that that's a contributing factor to to stealing and
a message tent to the entire wrestling moved or is

(33:12):
that just a lazy out for people to find they
gave him for a guy.

Speaker 3 (33:17):
No, I think there's definitely validity. And Greg, I'll throw
to you on this in a second. I think you
know key examples of Chris Masters. You bring him up, Uh,
you have Triple H making fun of him. When when
when Master's lot some weight, lots of muscle, mass and
he showed up on TV not looking like Chris Masters,
and you have Triple H you don't make fun of
him on TV. You have Vince McMahon running down Ray

(33:40):
Ort when he came back from an injury and he
had he looked like a normal human being, but he
did not look much larger than life w W wrestler,
and you had McMahon running him down on TV saying
that he needed to be back in the weight room,
which you know, rating at what you will. So there
are definite messages and look who's been pushed historically, the
guys who've been put for the guys who usually or

(34:01):
what's the biggest b Like, what's your take on this topic?

Speaker 4 (34:06):
First of all, I did a paper in college one
time on wrestling, and so I'm familiar with the with
that it was. It was on I did it for
my advanced comp class and it was for I to
make a presentation on it, and it was about the
stereotypes and wrestling, about the you know, how Samoans are
treated and how different ethnic groups are treated in pro wrestling,

(34:27):
and I do a PowerPoint presentation in my class and
so like that. It's kind of interesting. I don't think
anyone cared.

Speaker 14 (34:31):
About it, but I thought it was kind of fun
to do.

Speaker 4 (34:34):
It was something that it was something that I found
kind of interesting. So I'm familiar with having to write
papers on wrestling, so I just want to throw that
out there. The other thing is to answer the question.
I definitely think there's some correlation. You know, as you
mentioned historically, the guys who get pushes with the guys
who have to good bodies. To throw that even further,

(34:58):
the audience can tell even if they're not, you know,
on the internet quote unquote or whatever WWE uses for
you know, a fan who is kind of wise to
the business, they can tell who's a good wrestler who's not.
And if they see guys who aren't good wrestlers and
they go, well, this guy's not a good wrestler, why
is he on TV all the time? Why does he
have a title? And when the only redeeming quality about

(35:21):
him is he's muscular. That sends the message that you know,
you know, you don't have to work hard, you don't
have to be as talented as everybody else does. If
you got the muscles, we'll push you and we'll give
you a shot and it's not even so much as that.
It's if you have the right look and the right
body type, we will give you as many chances to

(35:41):
get over as possible, whereas someone with not that body
type will be given a look and say, Okay, well
they didn't make it on their own, so we're gonna
cut him.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
So it's not as overt as.

Speaker 4 (35:53):
Pushing someone with muscles. It can be as you know,
subtle as keeping a guy on a roster or struggle
him between the roster and accw keeping him around because
he has the look you like and you're hoping that
one day he'll cook for him. And that's how I
see it.

Speaker 3 (36:11):
It's kind of like Rob Terry and tna Uh. That's
a perfect example you just said, Greg, Which is that
the discerning or even the counters little fan considered to say,
because this guy's not good in the ring. I mean
he can't execute a basic move. At least at one
time he could not. I mean he was on TV
being pushed and you look at Okay, well, what is

(36:33):
the app to offer, Well, he's a genetic freak. He
looks big. That must be why they're pushing him, you know.
I mean, if that was if Brian Kendrick showed up
and he couldn't execute a basic hold or basic move
and he blew spots, everybody laughed at him because he
looked ridiculous in the ring, Well, Kendrick would would have
been cut, you know, after that match. Rob Terry is

(36:55):
still on TV. He's still giving chance after a chance
after a chance because he's a big muscular man. And
everyone tells me that he is not on steroids. Uh
so I'm not saying that it's it's not even an
issue is he on steroids or is he not on steroids?
It's the look. It's the look that that that he
has and the message that it sends on who's getting

(37:16):
the opportunity to be on TV and to have a
lot of opportunities to flip and fall in his face
and still be on TV. So, I mean, Rob Terry
really exemplifies your point, Greg. So that's a really good
point on your on your end, Chris, any other fallow
up on that topic. Oh, I gotta put Chris back

(37:37):
on the air. Good call on my part, Chris, go ahead,
did Jimmy follow up?

Speaker 5 (37:42):
No, I just like I have to come about that
like that, and mister perfect and the name like I
think Mark Jinjack makes this name the way that they
would market a certain person like who has who has
that look, and that that's they're going for it. I
think the dueliful making this the giving a guy a

(38:03):
gimmick and then also telling how.

Speaker 3 (38:05):
People this is what we're looking for.

Speaker 5 (38:08):
Rights.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
Yeah, good, good call Chris, appreciate that. And and also
it sends a message to aspiring wrestlers, you know, guys
on uh the independence to see who's getting pushed on
TV right now, and they say, Okay, well I'm gonna
achieve that look, and I have to be at that
level of physique. And that's so I'm gonna get it
looked at by by w I mean look at look
at Lance Kid. I mean there were quotes from him

(38:33):
in interviews where he said that, you know, nobody was
really giving him an opportunity in developmental until he put
on a lot of weight. Uh. Mister Anderson had had
interviews where he's talked about he was on independence and
he took steroids so that he could get a look
from a major promotion, you know, and that's you know,
it has a residual effect on the entire business. It's
not just guys in WB, but guys who want to

(38:56):
be in w B and guys who want to be
in TNA, And they say, well, how am I gonna
get on TV? How am I getta get How am
I going to stand down? How am I going to
get an opportunity? Well, maybe I need to take this
substance or or or or or look a certain way.
And you know, it's just it has a negative effect
on the wrestling business all the way down to the grassroots.
So it's a good topic research, Chris. We look forward

(39:20):
to hearing more about that that report. Greg. Let's go
ahead and take another phone call. Let's go to the
five five to nine area code five five nine, Welcome
to the show. Please chase you in where you're from?
And it's step from California. Hey see what's going on today?
Anohing I was gonna talk.

Speaker 15 (39:38):
About Prichard and TNA with somebody else brought that out,
But then I heard great talk about his power point
of stereotypes and wrestling and that maybe rushing, No, it
really is. It's and I was wondering why in America typically,
why Japanese wrestlers are that come here are always the
small wrestlers and none of the big wrestlers, the stronger

(40:01):
wrestlers over good chance here.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
That's a really good question, Greg, Do I think that first?

Speaker 4 (40:08):
Well, I think, you know, over the years there have
been the the bigger guy that Kendo Suzuki uh is
one of the guys who has been over from Japan.
As far as the smaller guys, I think we saw
a lot of those guys during the Modern Night Wars era,
uh in w CW and they got their cruiserweight division
started up, and even in w W when they got

(40:29):
their Life Heavyweight division. I think that that was a
place where the companies could go to find wrestlers to
sit in that division. And uh, you know. As for
the bigger guys, you know, I think it a lot
of it could be just guys, especially overseas, there are

(40:49):
more smaller guys to choose from than bigger guys to
bring over. Uh, you know, the bigger guys they want
to stay over there. A lot of the a lot
of the bigger guys in Japan who has been big
and ben over are American imports, Stan Hansen, Steve Williams, historically,
Vader So, A lot of the big guys in Japan
are American and then you get the smaller Japanese wrestlers

(41:12):
who end up coming over here in the cruiserweight or
like heavyweight divisions as it stand in the path. And
another thing to remember is the bigger guys won't get
the same opportunity over here as a big American guys
because you know, they if they can't cut promos, if
they can't you know, assimilate themselves to American South, they're

(41:34):
not going to get that big push up into the
main events that they may be looking for. Whereas if
you were a smaller guy, all you needed to do
was come over here and wrestle in ten minute matches
and you didn't have to have a personality, you didn't
have to have a mic work because for the cruiser
weight and line heavyweight divisions, all WCW and WW wanted
you to do was wrestle, where if you were a
bigger guy and they were serious about pushing you, you

(41:56):
needed the mic work, you needed the personality, you needed
to get over with the fans. Did all this stuff,
and Japanese wrestler coming over here, you know that has
I think WW and WW and CNA now would look
at that as a hindrance having to try and get
you to jump through these hurdles to either learn English,

(42:16):
to speak on the mic, or you know, learn the
cadence that WW wants you to do and develop that
kind of personality so they could push you, as a
big guy to the main invests. So I think that's
one of the issues, is kind of a barrier to entry,
so to speak, for the bigger Japanese wrestlers.

Speaker 3 (42:32):
Yeah, I agree completely. And Greg, was was that one
of your powerpoints slides was Japanese wrestlers in the US?

Speaker 16 (42:38):
You know?

Speaker 4 (42:38):
This was I think this was my third year spring
thirty year of undergrad so that was geez, two thousand
and six, so that was four years ago. I'm not earlier.

Speaker 3 (42:49):
All.

Speaker 4 (42:49):
For some reason, all I can remember about that is
my PowerPoint slide with the picture of Umaga on it
for the Simalan wrestlers. I'm sure I must have done
something a touchdown Japanese wrestler and Mexican and guys like that,
but I'm not sure who I use for examples. They're
what my conclusions were. That was not a class I
wanted to remember as I wanted to get out of
and get my you know, be and move on. So

(43:12):
that had to stay my memory very long.

Speaker 3 (43:15):
Yeah, no, you need all the points. I mean, yeah,
I think you hit all the angles on that. Uh
Stavidjeviny full up on that or another question, Well, yeah.

Speaker 15 (43:24):
Kind of, I guess an ECW point, he kind of
proved that a bigger Japanese wrestler could get over. Yeah,
Massado Snaka And I don't really think the.

Speaker 4 (43:33):
Language barrier could be a problem.

Speaker 15 (43:35):
If they use the same tactics as they they've been using.
He has been champion and he always is headed manager.

Speaker 3 (43:43):
Yeah. I mean there's a lot of different factors that
they don't have. The mail manager I mean, I mean
Yoka's you know, I mean obviously he was not Japanese,
but he played a Japanese Super Bowl wrestler, and he
had Fuji to get him over and do his talking
for him. They built him up as a as a
you know, menacing uh uh, you know, a menenstein heel.
I mean, there's just so many classic examples that you

(44:05):
have that that villainous manager in the territory and the
promotion who brings in that foreign terror and talks him up,
and that's how they get them over. And I mean
in WF oftentimes or in war class, you build up
that foreign terror and you feed him the top babyface,
and that was kind of formula. It's just, you know,
the lack of male managers and today's wrestling that hurts that,

(44:29):
the lack of of just people who can speak for
somebody else that they just rustling does not do that anymore.
It's so much, so much emphasis on individual promos and
you have to be able to talk for yourself. And
Paul Hammond a great example. Paul Handen brought in so
many talents who uh couldn't get you know, who would
never have gotten over on a national promotion if they

(44:52):
in w w F or WW if they came directly
to that promotion. You know, w F and w W
would not have known what to do with those guys. Uh,
But Paul him and knew that. Of course, you know,
eccentuation strength and hide the weaknesses like that.

Speaker 4 (45:06):
And you gotta remember that the fans in e CW
are not the same fans that are in WWE today.
The fans in ECW were smart enough about the guys
who were coming in. They were tape traders. When when
they had a Japanese guy come in, it doesn't matter
if he didn't speak English. If they had seen him
on tape Wressell and wrestle style they liked, they would
cheer him. Nowadays, if you get a Japanese wrestler in

(45:26):
front of a crowd, even if he was a big
star in Japan, the crowd's not gonna know because they're
still the ten and twelve year old kids. So they
told the crowd in ECW went a long way and
getting over these foreign wrestlers whose fans had seen on tape,
whereas today that's just not gonna happen.

Speaker 3 (45:41):
Same with the Ring of Matter today, I mean Ring
of Matters. They really thrived on bringing those Japanese wrestlers,
you know, Morishima, I mean Kabashi for his match with
Samoa Joe. Those were big deals because that audience, like
you said, and they knew who they were. And uh,
w w's I mean w's audiences does not have any
sort of knowledge of any wrestling outside of w B.

(46:04):
I mean, if you brought an aj Styles to WV
right now, I don't know that the audience would even
know who he is. Uh, it's just it's such an
the audience is so isolated from the rest of the
wrestling world that I mean, w WE has to introduce talents,
you know, for Alberta Dorio, that was a great example

(46:24):
of introducing a guy who uh, you know, the audience
would have had no idea who he was and had
no connection to that character if they just threw him
out through on TV. But because they introduced his character
and they had the thing yet uh and he has
he has a great ringing oouncer for him. It all
helps the entire act. So it's all a matter of
how you present it to the audience a lot of times,

(46:45):
but you know, it's just it's just a different error
as well.

Speaker 1 (46:49):
So we're about to go to a commercial break. Why
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(47:10):
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Speaker 3 (47:24):
Steve, any any other question, I'll follow up on that.

Speaker 15 (47:27):
Uh No, I guess I'll say my joke that I
was gonna say Originally, I was going to give an
over under on three impact episodes of seeing Brother Love
in TNA.

Speaker 3 (47:37):
Oh No, maybe brother Love is they who knows gregor
We're gonna see a Brother Love from for mister Pritchard.
I don't think so I would take the over on that.

Speaker 4 (47:52):
I'm just guessing.

Speaker 3 (47:53):
I you know, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (47:55):
Inside knowledge obviously, but who knows that he could be
a guy who could you know, whether it's a brother
Love character or something like that. It could play uh
uh the Jim Mitchell role for Abyss or someone like that.
So it certainly wouldn't surprise me. But it's just I
don't think that's why he was brought in, at least
uh for the for the short term.

Speaker 3 (48:15):
Right Always, on the surface, it does not appear that
he will be on TV, but they inevitably everyone backstage
ends up on TV. Even Vince Russo showed.

Speaker 4 (48:24):
Up on Out of Nowhere. The other thing I've been
noticing a lot is like, holy cow, the agents are
getting a lot of TV times, yep. And I think
they're on there at least once or twice a week,
and you know when w W E does it, and
they rarely do it anymore. They you know, a few
years ago, they would have them break up fights more often,
you know, once every month or something like that, but

(48:44):
it made it feel important and special. And TNA does
it and they're on t any every week, so it's
almost like, you know, uh, here's another fight that the
agent has the break up. So you know, here we
go again talking about TNA doing something overkill, that they
did it rarely, it could be special and it could
be something, and they do it every week instead. So
I guess I shouldn't be shocked because that's been the

(49:06):
battle cry of TEENA critics and fans for for a while.

Speaker 3 (49:11):
Yeah, it's so politically motivated. It's just one of those
things where hey, let's rite in the agent so the
agent's feel special and they get to be on TV
and they get to really the glory days when they
were on TV doing stuff and you know, we'll can
know great that we are as writers. We're gonna script
the agents on TV. That's gonna get the real special.
It's just it's just politics. So like you said, Greg

(49:34):
on the presentation of it, it's just it has no
value anymore because well we saw them on TV last week,
so this must not be important because there's a brawl
every single week on TV. It's a good points there.
Let's go to our next phone call. Let's go to
the seven seven to two area code, seventh seven two.
Welcome to the show. Please say shame where you're from?

Speaker 17 (49:56):
The Civani for Florida A gevalue.

Speaker 3 (49:59):
What part of Florida you in?

Speaker 17 (50:01):
For Saint Lucy, it's two hours south of Orlando.

Speaker 3 (50:04):
Are you going to taping?

Speaker 17 (50:07):
Not h No, I'm not gonna go tonight, but I am.
I'm throwing it around it possibly don't down for glory,
you know, but uh or really a priority, whereas I'm
strongly considering going the Survivor series in Miami, you know.
So yeah, wait, there you go. There's my bias, I guess,
but you know what I wanted.

Speaker 3 (50:23):
This is right, This is okay. First of all, oh man,
you know what.

Speaker 17 (50:28):
Okay, So I got the PW tour chap on my iPhone.
Anytime you analyze a column at the bottom, there's the
Caldwell of analysis.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
Yeah, because he wrote it.

Speaker 17 (50:38):
But it's very insightful and uh yeah, you're a lot
smarter than uh you're a smart guy.

Speaker 3 (50:43):
There you go. So I just want to stroke here
you go there for a tecon. Well, I appreciate that,
but uh go ahead, yeah, go ahead. What what do
you have? Do you have a question or a comment
other than about me? Yeah?

Speaker 17 (50:56):
There you go. But uh, you know, I really feel like,
uh W is kind of digging themselves a hole. You know,
not on purpose, but you know what I mean, when
when you watch pro wrestling, you have to, you know,
take it with a grain of salt. It's obviously not real.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
It's twenty ten.

Speaker 17 (51:12):
Everyone but the ten year old kids is aware of
that at this point, you know, especially with the proliferation
of mixed martial arts in the past five years. I mean,
people can obviously tell what is real and what is fake,
you know, but you know, we as pro wrestling fans,
we make the decision to spend the disbelief. I mean,
we know that if a real human being was thrown
into the ropes. They're not going to bounce off the ropes.

(51:33):
DJ Tank have thrown into the ropes, you'd come right
back and kick some guys teeth down their throat, you know.
So they got to suspend the disbelief and just get
drawn into the fantasy. I mean, you can all agree
on that, you know. But the thing is is WWE
just makes it a point to drive it home on
a regular basis that what we're watching on the entertainment.

Speaker 3 (51:52):
You know, I don't think pro wrestling fans want.

Speaker 17 (51:54):
To be entertainment fans. I mean, everybody loves to be entertained,
but I don't think they want to be classified as entertainment.

Speaker 4 (52:00):
They want to be classified as.

Speaker 17 (52:01):
Pro wrestling fans. But WWE is just you know, I
just you go, I'm trying to say. I mean, they're
they're trying to push it as entertainment.

Speaker 9 (52:08):
We get it, you know what I mean.

Speaker 17 (52:09):
We we do want to be entertained, you know, but
it's just a they just keep driving it down our
throats and to me, it just kind of like heals
the fantasy for me, And just wanting to get.

Speaker 3 (52:18):
Your thoughts on that, Yeah, I know what you're saying,
and it's part of I think WW is trying to
distance itself from quote unquote wrestling, and they want to
be entertainment. They want to be covered by Variety and
Entertainment Weekly. And you know, that's probably why they kind
of started the raw guest hosting was they wanted you know,

(52:39):
they wanted people to say, oh, this must be like
like Saturday Night Live, where they get the top entertainment
stars that realizing they're getting like C and D level stars.
But Greg, what's your take on why do you think
go to B continues to push more towards the E
in away from the w in WW Well, I mean
and just have one. Could there be long term nifications

(53:02):
where they lose too much of their audience because you know,
like like Eric Bischoff has said, they're neither fish nor foul.

Speaker 4 (53:10):
I think the reason they go there around is threefold.
I think you mentioned one of them, and that is
the media. I think the media tends to dismiss prog
wrestling as a joke, and a lot of the ways
in WWE, except for restle Deaths, wants to be taken
seriously by the mainstream media and wants to be covered. Uh,
and it's a lot easier to do for mainstream coverage

(53:31):
to happen if they think of you as something other
than pro wrasslent.

Speaker 3 (53:37):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (53:37):
The second prong is sponsors and you know, doing deals
with Matau and stuff like that. They want to have
that kind of legitimacy in that marketplace where companies are
not afraid to associate with them, and by calling yourself
sports entertainment companies have a lot better track record associating

(53:58):
with sports and entertainment companies than they do pro wrestling company.
So that's another reason.

Speaker 3 (54:03):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (54:04):
The third reason, you know, is it's just well, I
mean a lot of it is WWE. They have this
this stealing the superiority complex almost the thing needs to
be taken seriously by by everybody else. And uh, it's
it's it is frustrating as a fan. I don't know

(54:25):
that it's going to turn a lot of people off,
but it is something to think about. And I had
the the third reason and that was the biggest reason
that I've faced on it right now. So if you
want to start reacting to my point about jumping, remember it.

Speaker 3 (54:42):
Yeah, I know what you're saying, and that's not what
the first thing came to mind was that an inferiority
complex that w W has about not being taken seriously
by anyone. They want, they want people to recognize. You know,
we've seen the videos that have come up on w
TV with the Make a Wish and they're great videos,
the very touching, but it's part of a pr movement

(55:04):
and in the lobbying campaign to be taken seriously. Look
at us, like what we're doing. We're doing tribute to
the troops, we do Make a Wish, we have John Cena,
We're on TV, we're on on the Late Night Show,
We're on you know, we're on CNN, Big shows on
CNN for sixty seconds in a bus today.

Speaker 8 (55:21):
You know.

Speaker 3 (55:22):
It's one of those things where they want to be
taken seriously. And so I think that trickles down to
the product that they produce. The part they produce is
so heavy on the entertainment aspect and recognizing entertainment value,
and I just you know, it's a distraction from what
should be emphasis, which is at you have feuds, you

(55:43):
have characters, you have storylines. They should come together in
conflict and you should be enticed to spend money to
see a conflict resolve and a compelling match between two
athletes who see to do pretty decent in the ring.
And that's a basic formula. But when when you start
evaluating the entertainment value of that product on your own show,

(56:03):
it comes across like you're insulting the intelligence of the audience,
because the audience is just said, they're trying to enjoy
a wrestling show. They you know, like Giovanni said, the
majority of the audience knows that there's some sort of
put on and it's you know, it's not stings value
that you know that that John Tena is a slave
to the next You know, there's an understanding of that's
the storyline, but the audience wants to get wrapped up

(56:25):
in the story. And so I think when you have
Michael Cole evaluating the product within the product, I think
it just takes so much away from the audience. Is
the ability to connect with that show, and it's an
infoy Arctic complex. It's wanting to be taken seriously, it's
wanting to be considered entertainment, and it just takes away
from the overall show.

Speaker 4 (56:45):
And James, like I did remember my third prong, and
I think it's the one that has worked at least
for WW so far, because I think they call themselves
parts entertainment to kind of make it okay for new
fans to watch their profits. And I think WW has
the mentality of pro wrestling has a negative stigma among viewers.

(57:05):
But if you bill yourself as sports entertainment fans, people
would be more likely to say, oh, okay, I'll give
this a shot. I don't I think the ratings are
bearing up. That's not necessarily true, but I think that
their mentality is to grab to everdent yourself with pro wrestling.
You are limiting yourself in the marketplace as far as viewers.

(57:29):
When you're calling yourself sports entertainment, you have a better
chance that grasping some of those viewers who are just
switching channels and not really knowing what to watch. But
in the end, whether you're no matter what you call yourself,
people know what pro wrestling is even and feel who
aren't fans, And if you show them a clip of WWE,
non fans will say that's pro wrestling, and they won't

(57:51):
say that's sports entertainment. And I think WW kind of
off the mark there, but I think that is one
of their thoughts on calling and sports entertainment.

Speaker 3 (57:59):
Yeah, you're right, and it all comes down to what
you're promoting. I mean, you could call it, uh, you
can call it Michael Cole presents The Variety, the two
hour Variety Show on Monday nights on the USA Network,
the longest running show in the history of the world.
It doesn't you know, it doesn't mean, it doesn't matter
what you call it or your marketing slogan. It depends
on what you're presenting. Like you said, right, I mean
people who tune in, they I mean they right. You know,

(58:22):
you see what you see, and you know what it is.
You know, it's it's wrestling, it's you know, the average
person tuning in knows what exactly what you're what they're watching.
It's all about how you present that product within that scheme. So,
and that's something thing w B has really faltered on
this year, especially not having that voice to get over
that product and sell the audience on that product. I mean,

(58:45):
Jim Ross's voice has been mixing uh this year, and
it's been very evident when Michael Michael's foot personality call
is your voice quote unquote of the WD.

Speaker 18 (58:54):
So, are you a fan of AW looking to sit back,
relax and listen to some like minded podcasters who share
your passion.

Speaker 19 (59:09):
Do you want to be topped off the ledge after
a segment that has you wondering what the heck are
they thinking?

Speaker 18 (59:14):
Do you want to join a discussion on what AW
is doing right and what they could do to improve?
Then join me Joel and me Greg for the All
of THEE Conversation Club every Friday on the pw torch
Live Cast feed. Search pw torch in your podcast app
and subscribe to pw Torchdaily Cast or stream our shows
directly from pw torch dot com. Find full details on

(59:35):
the pw Torchdailycast lineup at pw torchdailycast dot com.

Speaker 3 (59:49):
Good talking to bring up? Gave Audi? Help you answer
that We're going to squeeze in two more phone calls
last five minutes of the show. Want to remind everyone
pwtorch dot com tonight for live, ongoing and coverage of
t Anda Impact as well as you live Reaction show.
I'll be covering four hours of wrestling, starting with Superstars
at eight Eastern, So I'm gonna get some dinner after

(01:00:10):
this live cast and be ready for four hours of
wrestling tonight as we'll have wall to wall coverage of
TNA Impact, TENAE Reaction and Superstars on pbatorch dot com.
And as Giovanni brought up, we have a p tow
b Torch app available in the iTunes tour and that
is available for download for free. We believe it is

(01:00:31):
the top wrestling app in the market, and we should
have an update whenever Apple gets round to it, an
update to our to our free app. So we got
those plugs out of the way, Let's go to our
final two phone calls today and let's start off with
the seven seven oh area code seven seven oh. Welcome
to the show and please stay tame and where you're from.

Speaker 15 (01:00:53):
Hey, hey, James greg Leary from Atlanta.

Speaker 3 (01:00:56):
Larry, what's going on today? I can hear from you
out hey.

Speaker 20 (01:01:00):
Well, good to call in.

Speaker 15 (01:01:01):
And heard about Bruce Pritchard.

Speaker 20 (01:01:05):
Apparently being with t n A. Now, I you know,
I saw that interview, so I saw that he kind
of put out their signals and I was surprised they
got filed through with I guess lately better late than never,
But I guess what what would you guys say, are
the the strengths and weaknesses about what I'm Pritchard could
bring to the table, because I heard this sort of
a debate on whether you can make a difference in

(01:01:27):
that in that quick thing environment. But but I guess
can you go into any specifics?

Speaker 3 (01:01:32):
Sure, you know obviously the strengths are the the experience,
and like you said, will that make a difference? Does
anybody if you brought anybody in, would they make a difference?
And and and then I don't know it. And Greg,
you've kind of touched on the weaknesses, which is it
was part of that W bubble for a long time.
And and does he bring something new? Does they have

(01:01:54):
a fresh perspective being out of that bubble if you
watch a lot of you know, mainstream television and get
some ideas how to promote, how to promote rustling, how
to promote storylines, how to promote characters that he would
not have got inside the W bubble. So I think
the weakness that he brings is that he was part
of that bubble. The strength is he has a lot
of experience. So it's kind of a double edged sword.

(01:02:15):
But as you even mentioned, Larry, can anyone make a
difference in that T and A environment and we shall see,
but I'm not confident in that unless there's a very
unique change to the vision of that product, and I
don't see any signs of that happening.

Speaker 4 (01:02:30):
So James, real quick. Another negative I think on versus
Richard is he was someone who, rightfully so or not,
was known in a lot of circles as one of
the instrument's top fuck kissers as well. He was a
yes man of the highest order in WW and that's
the last thing TNA needs is someone to, you know,

(01:02:51):
either suck up to Vic Russo or Dixie Carnor and
tell them what they're doing is working. And from the
interview it seems like that that's not where what Spin
is gonna take. And like I said, being out of
the residend double Mount, maybe if he realizes what he
was doing and is, is gonna come back with it
with a fresh set of eyes and do things a
little differently now. But that is what he was known as,

(01:03:13):
and that is really the last thing TNA needs in
his company right now.

Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
Yep, good points there, Greg Larry. You're gonna hear from you.
We're gonna try to squeak another phone call. Be sure
to call back again tomorrow and let's go to the
eight six five eree code eight sixty five. Welcome to
the show. Please stay tram where you're from?

Speaker 4 (01:03:30):
Hey, who's going on? Guys to Stephen from Tennessee.

Speaker 3 (01:03:32):
Hey, you steeving? What do you have for a say?

Speaker 21 (01:03:35):
I have a couple of questions, but I would just
squeezed one quick one into tail run of tom Obviously.
Now with Tyler Black, you're gonna.

Speaker 4 (01:03:41):
Go to seb and order and come along. He'll be
down there before they called him up with you guys
from in their honor like obviously.

Speaker 21 (01:03:46):
Marian Nyelds and Evan Bourne CM punk. Do you ever
think that with the ratings declining, that maybe events will
not great to a cruising divisions but make the US
title kind of like to crucilate s title has guys
like caval Danielson and all that guys that are phytically
that did from the Ring of Marnor style and have
them maybe like a United States titles here and then
the afore and get an edd and don't the meeting
in the being maybe put some more much in the

(01:04:08):
deed to more.

Speaker 7 (01:04:09):
Nineteen Yeah, that's a good question, Greg, what do you
think Unfortunately, after watching caval who's clearly to travel Guerrero
this past week, you know, to see a guy of
his stature get any.

Speaker 4 (01:04:22):
Kind of push anytime soon is not something actually happening.
That could be just a case of WWE putting someone
through the ringer and making them lose, you know, like
they do the most people who come into the company
before they push them. But I think there's a way
for ww to utilize these guys on the main roster
without having to separate them by weight division or by
you know, focusing them in a certain division. So I

(01:04:45):
don't really see WWE doing that. It would kind of
be nice if they did that to give these guys
something to do, but for right now, I don't see it.

Speaker 3 (01:04:54):
Even any any other follow up on network Another quick.

Speaker 4 (01:04:56):
Question one I've been wondering with the with the worder rumble,
and obviously it's pretty determined to determine who the winner
is gonna be, but I always kind of wanted to
determine like who's gonna eliminate who and like and what
kind of friends eliminated. Gay kind of wanted that.

Speaker 3 (01:05:10):
Yeah, A real good question. Greg, you and I would
take that in the after show. So a little plug
there for the Torch v I P members. If you
want more information on Torch v IP membership, go to
p tw B torch dot com slash go VI i
P to find out how to sign up and access
the after show every week. Every every weekday, you're on
p t B torch dot com. I thank you everyone
today on the live cast B to B torch dot

(01:05:32):
com for live coverage of TNA Impact later tonight.

Speaker 9 (01:05:49):
Thank you for using blog talk radio.

Speaker 4 (01:05:51):
Goodbye.

Speaker 3 (01:05:52):
Well, Greg, we're now in the VP after show a
portion of today's show, and we can kind of pick
up on that that Royal Rumble topic. The guests that
where we in October, so we got a couple more
months into the rumble. I mean that that was kind
of Pat Patterson's specialty was setting up a lot of
different scenarios in the rumble to you know, advance some stories,
set up some feuds, guys who eliminate other guys, and

(01:06:15):
then that kind of carries on a few to WrestleMania.
Greg talking took a little bit about you know, kind
of your perspective on how that rubble match comes together.
With thirty guys and how to eliminate people, and and
who eliminated too at what time and what your perspective.

Speaker 4 (01:06:30):
Is on that. Yes, the run Rumbo is really a
genius concept because not only can it continue to advance you,
it's also so easy to start to use in a
rumble environment. Uh So, that is that is one of
the great advances in pro wrestling technology. Christ to pull
in the in the last thirty years or fifty years
or so, you know, I'll go back to Jason Powell

(01:06:52):
of progressent Dot Andato who does his Buzz column every
week and then for US and Pression News ire who
last year really really shed some light on how the
Rumble comes together. As far as you know, I believe
it was Michael Hayes and Branger Works, who are the
two top writers for Ron SmackDown, would get together and
design on the wrestlers who are going to be the

(01:07:12):
East Brand and the Rumble and kind of book it
out that way. And then you have the more intricately
booked spots, you know, the stuff where you know, I
don't know if he's how involved he's in it before,
but Pat Patterson and they'd go the day of the rumble,
they would gather everybody in the ring and go over
kind of what they were supposed to do. And I believe,
I believe it is booked down to the you know
who eliminates too. I believe that is. That's how closely

(01:07:39):
booked it is. But obviously, sometimes and it's quite evident
when this happens, there are sometimes when it doesn't end
up working that way. Because the thirty guys all kind
of into a ring, mistakes will happen, and some guys
are supposed to be eliminated, and sometimes they don't get eliminated,
so they kind of have to find that the closest

(01:08:00):
guy to them and have them throw them out.

Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
They can get out of there before the next the
next booking phase takes over.

Speaker 4 (01:08:05):
And that's another thing. A lot of times that there
are booking pases that go through more so back in
the mid nineties than on now, because there's so much
an emphasis on keeping the action so fast paced and
fresh that this it's not so much the same before.
But they're used to be like a kind of a
roller coaster where there were lulls in the action only

(01:08:26):
to bring it to a crescendo soon after and the
crescendo would be the booking period where you know you
were specifically told to do this and this was gonna happen,
and you know, Brett Hart runs in and he you know,
he gets tacked by everybody because he's because he's hurt
from his legs from earlier in the match, and I
want everybody to make sure to take out his leg.

Speaker 14 (01:08:42):
That's what that would be a booking phase.

Speaker 4 (01:08:44):
But there are also times where you know, three or
four guys come in and everybody's kind of left to
their own devices in their rain. You know, you guys
just they're professionals that they know what to do. They know,
you know, beat on this guy in the corner and
then move over to this guy. And obviously they don't
book it out that closely, and the guys have some
freedom to do what they want when these booking periods
are not are not in full swing in the ranks.

(01:09:07):
So there are times when when it's booked down very specifically,
I think, and there are times when the guys have
a little freedom to kind of do whatever they want
well down.

Speaker 3 (01:09:17):
Yeah, Usually that's when you get the triple ah or
the cane rampage where you've got some excess individuals, but
we just need to be eliminated. You know, they don't
really have a long term storyline for them to build
up or you know, it's just sort of once have
cane or triple ah, throw somebody over the top or
up because it looks cool, you know, and so those
things happen. Like you said, I mean, the meat of

(01:09:37):
the sort the meat of the rumble is usually pretty
well laid out and rehearsed ahead of time, and guys
kind of know exactly what they're supposed to be doing,
if they're a big deal, and where they're supposed to
be and when they're going to come in. The one
thing that I would like to see sort of reinforce
or refocused on and the actual presentation of the Rumble

(01:09:59):
is how those numbers are drawn. I mean, right, you know,
the last couple of years, they've really gone away from
having the storylines such as you know, Christian wat if
he doesn't win this match, he gets number one, Arema
SiO or if so and So win the match, he
gets number thirty or even on the day of the Rumble,
they show people actually drawing how the number to give
the illusion that there is a sense of order to

(01:10:20):
how it's happening, and this year's rumble it was just
sort of a they didn't do any of that. It
was just okay, well, how are these guys coming out?
And how did Edge somehow lined up with the convenient
number thirty or the year before I guess it was
the year before the year before that. How did John
Cena end up with the convenient number thirty? I mean,
obviously for the dramatic purposes, it's pretty cool, but in

(01:10:42):
terms of the logic of how the matches laid out
and planned and how it's presented, it doesn't make a
lot of sense that somebody who gets to return he
gets number thirty. And I wish they would go back
to reinforcing the story of the match, which is that
it's a random draw and they show people actually random
you know, quote unquote randomly drawing out of the giants

(01:11:05):
whatever it's called the wheel or BELLI twins stingy that
they hold.

Speaker 6 (01:11:11):
What is that?

Speaker 3 (01:11:11):
What is the name of that carriage from?

Speaker 4 (01:11:16):
Yeah, it's I can't remember the exact name for it.

Speaker 3 (01:11:19):
I don't know looking up drum dingo drum That's what
we'll call it. But yeah, I wish they would go
back to that and you know, just gonna get on
the story. It doesn't take but ten seconds, you know,
with the backstage segment. Every you know, ten ten different
ten second backstage segments with guys walking in draw the number,
the phase reaction light. You know, either they either light

(01:11:41):
up or they become crust falling into the number they've drawn.
It just gets over the store of the match. So
that that's kind of made me think about that.

Speaker 4 (01:11:49):
I believed cumbler some sort of tumbler.

Speaker 3 (01:11:51):
I don't know. There you go.

Speaker 4 (01:11:53):
That's the word.

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
Anytime you're watching w w E Raw or SmackDown or
a w dive of min in particular, send us an
email if you've got thoughts on the show, or a
topic you want us to address, or a question for us.
Wade Keller Podcast at pwtorch dot com. Wadekeller Podcast at
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(01:12:19):
Wade Keller Podcast at pw torch dot com. We invite
that interaction. Let us know what you think of what
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to talk about and ask us specific questions. Wadekeller Podcast
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Speaker 4 (01:12:35):
But there are two things that slif for speaking of
back in the day rumbo moments. There are two things
that I've noticed missing in the last few years that
I think would need to be brought back for believability purposes.
And they're really simple, and they're probably really stupid for
me you're having to point them out. One of them
is multiple man eliminations. Really do you see guys ganging

(01:12:59):
up on a throw them out anymore? Usually it's just
one guy throwing out another guy, And I think it
would be more believable if you had Sometimes the guys
would hang on the ropes and it will take more
than one guy to throw them out, And that kind
of seguays into my other point is you never really
see those moments like the Sean Michael's t spots that
he used to do back in the early nineties where

(01:13:20):
he would hang on the ropes forever and they'd be
guys trying to hear him out and he's hanging on
the ropes and you know, the fans are trying to
push him back in, trying to wheel him back into
their ring, kind of like you know, the the bop
back on on spots, even when he was in there
for so long, you never see that if somebody grabs
you and he immediately throws you over the top rope
and there's no real I don't really feel a lot
of drama in that, as opposed to, you know, if

(01:13:41):
there's a lull in the battle, having somebody on the ropes,
and that's the time that the wrestlers used to rest too.
I mean, the kind of pretend to they're trying to
throw someone over the rope, but really kind of catch
their breath and wait for the next booking period to
kick in. So I think that was kind of both
of those things to kind of bring back a little
more believability in un Believer.

Speaker 3 (01:13:58):
Yeah, I agree, those are those classic rumble spots and
and uh, I agree with you on that. I'd like
to see that, And there were a few hints of
that during Raw, the Battle Royal and Raw, but it's
I mean, to me, most of that battle royle that
we saw on TV was guys in the corner and

(01:14:18):
then uh, you know, Wade Bard and John Cena tried
to throw them out and it just that better roil.
I didn't. I didn't think it worked very well until
the very end. Got over that story. The story was
so predictable. Everybody knew that it was gonna come down
to Burdon Sina, and you would like the journey to
be a little bit more interesting kind of getting to
that point. They had a really hot crowd and had
helped out a lot with that crowd just really buying

(01:14:40):
into that story and suspending disbelief that Okay, we know
it's gonna come down to Burdon, Sina and we know
what's gonna happen, but we want to enjoy the ride.
Uh So you had the benefit of that type of crowd.
You know, we'll see. I hope to do a dress
at the points that that both of you and I
made about the rumble, because I just I don't think
it's been as good as it could in recent years,

(01:15:01):
and that I hope they kind of go back to
addressing that.

Speaker 4 (01:15:04):
Oh dude, I to kind of go back on that
battle royal. I think the ride was okay. I thought, yeah,
it was predictable to get there, but to see how
they got there, and I think they got there in
a sort of an interesting way. You had John Sena
who was trying to you know who was keeping I
don't remember who it was exactly at fay and then
that left we had very open and somebody would come
over and attack him. So you kind of had that

(01:15:25):
drama going on, and it'sa gonna leave him to help
Barrett and is that gonna cost Sena or what? And
you also had the issue of him throwing out I
believe it was David o'tonga early on, and you know,
how was that going to affect his relationship with Nexus
in the match? I mean, were they gonna turn on
him and throw him out? So I think that to
quote for me anyways, I think the drama was okay

(01:15:46):
getting there. Yeah, we all knew that it was gonna
come to the way baron John Cena, and you know,
part of me didn't know exactly what Cina was gonna do.
I thought Sina turning on Nexus and throwing a bart
out getting that opportunity, while it would cost him the titles,
the title shot at the pay per view because he
would be first to be fired obviously, but that also
gets him out of Nexus, and I wasn't really sure

(01:16:07):
how hard WWE wanted to push John Cena and Nexus
and you know, giving him one week in there and
then giving him this out by throwing Barrett over the top.
I wouldn't have been surprised if WW went that direction.
I'm glad they didn't, because the easy thing would have
been will It'd be okay since Johnson has fired, the
title shot goes to their runner up, Wade Barrett, So

(01:16:29):
that would have made Johnson a pretty stupid in hindsight,
if if they'd have done it that way, which I
think would have been the right way to go. But yeah,
So in the end, I thought that was one of
the better Battery Royals ww's done for some time, because
the main story was so compelling in the ring was
the Scena teaming up with Barrett, and even that image
of Seena protecting Wade Barrett in the corner was something
that was just even to me, really shocking seeing that

(01:16:52):
and seeing that while WWE really is going through with
this johnsona Inexus deal, and this may be the closest
WE get to Johnson as a feeling sometime unless they
decide to turn and completely heal which I know that
the word has been going around, but I don't really
see it happening a path. So in the end, yeah,
I thought it was I think I like to had

(01:17:13):
better than me.

Speaker 3 (01:17:14):
You know, you make good points. Yeah, I grew with
your points on that. I think there's too many walls
where it didn't seem like anything was happening. But like
you said, I think a lot of the points you
may kind of covered for that and helped build up
some of those many stories, you know, like seeing eliminated
a tongue and seeing it protaking Barren and then the
kind of the final two on two there was seeing

(01:17:35):
it and Barrett kind of working together a little bit
and that sort of shocking image. Yeah. I mean the
points that were good were really good, and I think
that kind of helps. Yeah, obviously I agree with you
with the thumbs up. I'm not as high as you,
but I definitely see your points on that. Agreed on
that definitely one of the topic Greg. Before we wrap
up today, Linda McMahon two debates in the back Pocket

(01:17:57):
and this week one on Monday one. This morning, h
Richard Blumenthal bringing up some some w topics. The Independent
Contractor Investigation Uh, ww's toys being manufactured overseas via Mattel
lobbying efforts.

Speaker 22 (01:18:14):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:18:15):
Independent, Like I said, infinite contractors, no health insurance for
the wrestlers. What's your take on what we've heard from
Bloominhal and mcmaan this week. Uh? Do you think McMahon
has a shot to win this? Do you think that
she hurt herself this week? Did shear about the same
position as she was before this week? How do you evaluate?

(01:18:35):
How do you how do you evaluate this week in
the US Senate race.

Speaker 4 (01:18:39):
I didn't really see the debates that Lunda participated in.
I kind of glanced to the story. I think so
much she has a chance to win it. I don't
think her chances are any better after this week. Uh.
You know, Blumenthal is smartly working up to the independent
contractor angle, and I think that is a really good
angle to to. I don't know how many people out

(01:19:03):
there aren't familiar with with how WWE treats it. It's
independent contractors and all about the independent contractor of laws.
So I don't know if that's falling on deaf ears
to the voters out there.

Speaker 14 (01:19:18):
But if anything else comes out of this.

Speaker 4 (01:19:20):
You know, WW and TNA wrestlers and for rustlers in general,
ten years down the road, maybe having Richard bluemant aal
to thank for the position they're in.

Speaker 3 (01:19:29):
Yeah, you're very right. I mean, these this is why
it's so funny to me that the man says, well,
I mean, nobody ever had any concerns about the independent
contractor status before this campaign. That's because nobody cared and
because there was no big spotlight on that issue until
she ran for office. You know, it's just sort of
the the consequentially, the effect, sort of the cause and

(01:19:53):
the effective for running for Senate and the only thing
that she has run on is ther w background as
CEO of the company. Of course, these issues are going
to come to light, and of course they're going to
be debated because it you know, it's kind of goes
the character of the of the candidates. So that's always
funny to me, which as well, you know, nobody really
bothered to look or investigate until now. There's the reason why.

(01:20:15):
That's a very I don't what's that that's.

Speaker 4 (01:20:18):
Not a really good defense.

Speaker 3 (01:20:21):
Yeah, yeah, her defenses are so classic to me, it's
uh uh. And in every interview it seems like Uh,
it's just a classic McMahon's family response, which is that
we're not going to actually defend why we do a thing,
why we do a certain thing like classify wrestlers as

(01:20:41):
dependent contractors. We're either going to attack the person who
has the audacity to bring it up, or we're going
to attack the the wording or the verbiage the person
uses and turn that into a criticism of the person.
And that isn't fascinating to me.

Speaker 4 (01:20:58):
That is all politics, my friend. That is all politics.

Speaker 3 (01:21:02):
It's true, but it's a want it is.

Speaker 4 (01:21:05):
And I'm not defending Linda here because certainly this is
an issue that the independent contract grif you especially, I
would like to see U something come down to her
on the side of wrestlers, and I would like to
see them be class of bid as employees. But her
campaign is not doing anything new, and it's not doing
any it's in revolutionary by trying to deflect the issue here.
I mean, this is there in a political race, and

(01:21:26):
this is how politicians run. And you know, whether it's
just getting more attention a lot because it's related to wrestling.

Speaker 3 (01:21:34):
Obviously, Yeah, I agree with y'all that I hope it
does eventually come down the side of wrestlers and give
them those benefits to where you don't have to be
a big show with fifteen years of experience or tenure
in the rust and industry in about ten years in
we to be able to ford a traveling bus to
make it from talent to town on the rigorous WW schedule.

(01:21:57):
I mean, it's just it's ridiculous that, you know, you
have to put in so much time just to make
a little bit less of a hassle to do the schedule.
You know, big show of Rainy Yorton has a touring bunds.
To believe John Cena does as well, or at least
some of the top guys share a bark. But I
mean that's what the words come to. To survive on

(01:22:20):
this schedule, you've got to spend all this money on
a touring bus into rents one or buy one or
co own a touring bus. I mean, if you look
at a gully Kobe Kingston, who as of July, as
of June thirtieth was the leading the leading w W
wrestler in terms of mattress wrestle, do you think he

(01:22:41):
can afford a bus to make that schedule? Or do
that travel schedule. Of course not. He's not in that
top one percent. So just it's just things like that
where I see big show, I mean, Bill power to them.
He's got a busting's on CNN with them showing up
in his touring bus. But I mean, my goodness, it's
the top one percent who can afford that. The other

(01:23:04):
guys are the ones who are uh you know, vulnerable
to break down on that schedule. So it's just unfortunate
me when I see those things as nice as they
are for the top one percent. Uh, got any any
other federal talks before I wrap up tonight?

Speaker 4 (01:23:19):
I'm good to go.

Speaker 3 (01:23:19):
James, all right, TNA Impact well, uh uh hopefully we'll
get your gospell. We'll get it. We'll get a couple
of roundtables up at tonight's Impact and get that back
up and going on the main listing. Uh. Then we'll
try to get get those roundtables going, especially with TEENA
Impact Lives tonight, and uh we'll see what they have
for us tonight. We'll get the big changes and the

(01:23:41):
likely debut of Mickey James, as well as mc foy
versus Rick Flair one on one. Any last man standing Match,
So all that good stuff on Impact tonight and we
will have eyes and ears on that programming as well
as on Down for Glory on Sunday, and we'll get
your thoughts on that as well, uh in the pay
per view roundtable on Sunday. So good talk as always, Greg,

(01:24:04):
glad to have you on the show for Torch Call
ms Greg Parks. This is Torch Assistant Editor James Caldwell.
Sign it off.

Speaker 19 (01:24:17):
Longing for some nostalgia or maybe you want to learn
some wrestling history, don't miss the nineties Past Cast every
Friday on the PW Torch Daily Cast Feed. Alex and
Patrick will transport you thirty years into the past by
taking you through the Torch issue from that very week.
Follow news from the WWF and WCW and all the

(01:24:37):
happenings from across the wrestling industry in real time as
The Torch reported it thirty years ago. That's the Nineties
Past Cast every Friday on the PW Torch Daily Cast Feed. O.

Speaker 3 (01:25:15):
You're listening to the PW TORS Live Cast. This is
gonna be TORS Assistant Editor James Caldwell posting today on Friday,
October seventh, twenty ten, I'll be flying solo, and based
on how many phone calls we.

Speaker 4 (01:25:28):
Already have in the queue.

Speaker 3 (01:25:30):
In the line, we should have plenty of time to
get as many callers on the show as possible with
five people already on hold. But if you want to
go ahead and jump in line and talk to us
the next fifty five minutes or so, the number to
call it is six four, six, seventy one, nine eight eight,
So we have plenty of calls to get to. I
want to briefly get to the TNA Impact ratings, which

(01:25:54):
just came a long, which is why it was a
little bit late getting the show started. I wanted to
get a report up on the ratings picture. The show
did a one point three to three rating off of
a first hour one point three two and a second
hour one point three to three rating. The peak rating
was a one point four to four the top of
the second hour, which was not for the Nick Foley

(01:26:17):
flare match, for the postmatch and the promise of events
being fired by Eric vishoff that segment at one point
four to four, and after that the show dropped off
one point three to two and Q six one point
two seven and Q seven, which was the lowest of
the of the show that was for the shore and

(01:26:37):
also the start of the Battle Royal and then Q
eight did a one point three rating. To lead into reaction,
we have a reaction number. What we have is they
did almost nine hundred thousand viewers, so that was up
from the previous show doing six hundred eighty three thousand viewers.
So about middle of the road from where we react

(01:27:00):
has been the rate their top viewership shows one point
one million viewers, nine hundred and fifteen nine hundred and
thirty nine thousand viewers. The last night's show was about
right in the middle in terms of viewership for reaction
but overall impact. Like I said, one point three rating,
they're highest since January twenty eighth, when there's at one

(01:27:22):
point three to eight rating. So it give me a
good time for MKUY. But like I said in my
analysis on because toorchs dot com, they've got to be
able to prove they can sustain this. It was a
live special, it was hyped pretty well. It was their
leated in show for the quote unquote biggest paper review
of the year, So they've got to find a way
to sustain that. You know, does a storyline like they

(01:27:46):
help sustand it does a new champion like either Kerningle
Miss Rainers Center Jeff Hardy sustain it. They've got to
find a way to sustain and that's been their problem
throughout the five year run on Spike TV. It's just
an inability to sustain viewership after a short for ratings
pop and uh, you know what, we'll talk about last
night's show. I thought last night's show was uh. I mean,

(01:28:08):
I don't know, worst show I've seen this year comes
to mind. Just an abomination of a wrestling show. I
just I just ran out of adjectives covering that show
last night. So again, get to my point of Canny's
sustain interest. Was last night's show interesting enough to keep
viewers tuned in? We'll see, we'll see going forward. But

(01:28:28):
the quality of last night's show, I thought it was terrible.
I thought it was poorly laid out. I thought it
didn't do its job hyping Bound for Glory. I thought
that it made people not want to watch Bound for Glory,
made people not want to spend three hours more this
week with TNA at the last night's show, logic Hole's
quality of wrestling was not there, Dixie Carter's power, just

(01:28:53):
that whole storyline of why didn't you just fire abyss?
If she owns the company? That that's a mess right there.
So a lot of issues I saw last night. Show
will take your phone calls on that as well as
we topics in the news with SmackDown tonight there's a
second episode on sci Fi and let's go in and
get to our phone calls. Let's put off with the

(01:29:14):
ninety three one erie code. I believe this is he
out of Tennessee Ian. How are you doing today?

Speaker 4 (01:29:19):
All right?

Speaker 3 (01:29:19):
Good hair? Are you doing good? What do you have
for a sec? Well?

Speaker 6 (01:29:24):
I one quick pun.

Speaker 3 (01:29:26):
In on Impact last night.

Speaker 6 (01:29:27):
I actually took time to watch it.

Speaker 14 (01:29:28):
There wasn't anything else on, but I just thought it was.

Speaker 6 (01:29:32):
Very amateur hour in how they were doing things live.

Speaker 4 (01:29:37):
It didn't really seem like they had any idea what
was going on.

Speaker 6 (01:29:42):
With the timing and and everything else. But my other,
my other question was I heard about WWE trying to
get Justin Weber to sing the national anthem for WrestleMania, right,
and well that that really doesn't make my and pop
off that man as much as probably would other people.

(01:30:02):
I don't care, But do you think it's an.

Speaker 4 (01:30:06):
Approach to start trying.

Speaker 6 (01:30:09):
To alienate some of the long, long term fans of
my might have become jaded and quit watching the product
and kind of gearing it completely towards children.

Speaker 3 (01:30:22):
You know, I don't know that them nego shoot with
Beaber is a message or slapping the face to the
hardcore audience. I think it's hot. I don't think that's
part of their mentality. I think their mentality is that
we are appealing to kids and families. Well, who fits that,
who fits the marketing what Justin Bieber certainly does, and
that's what they're aiming for. That's how they're going to

(01:30:44):
try to create some buzz for WrestleMania, maybe make some
new viewers, make doverything seem wrong, it make it seem
like it's part of pulp culture, make it seem like
it has entertainment value, that it reaches a broad spectrum
of kids and families, and it's been friendly and we
have Beaver here to prove it. I think that's a
mentality more than we don't want hardcore fans to show

(01:31:05):
up at WrestleMania or to stop watching our show if
they haven't already. I just think they're trying to embrace
this PG marketing as much as possible, and this is
just another step in the direction. It's uh, it would
be like, you know, it would be like in the
acted erauld be like getting uh uh you know, run
DMC or you know, a group like that, someone that

(01:31:27):
appealed to that demographic to appear on to appear on WrestleMania.
And you know, the early nineteen nineties it was Salt
and Pepa for WrestleMania eleven. So it's just kind of
Beaber fixed where WWE is, uh, you know, and you
go back to WrestleMania in the late two thousands, come
and play the early two thousands, late nineties, they had

(01:31:48):
like eight or nine rock bands that appeared and did
the live Wrestlemingia theme song or the live wrestling theme
songs that WrestleMania that just kind of fit that arrow
who they were trying to appeal to. And this is
kind of where they are right now with beaver And
and it doesn't surprise me. And I just think it's
part of where they are, So I don't I just

(01:32:08):
you know, I don't see it as a as a
kind of a let's turn away more of a hardcore
audience that's in that eighteen and thirty four demographic. I
don't see it as that as much as we want
to appeal to the kids in the families.

Speaker 6 (01:32:18):
Yeah, you know, I grew up watching wrestling, but it
was a completely different thing than it is now.

Speaker 3 (01:32:25):
But wrestling in general, really it's it's.

Speaker 6 (01:32:29):
Hard to get it towards children because the core of
it itself is violent. And yeah, I don't I don't
know how they want to spend that, but they they
really should do some work with their storylines before they
start trying to you know, mixed up and there's some
kiddy acts in there. Yeah, but they I don't have

(01:32:50):
anybody to buy their pay per views.

Speaker 3 (01:32:53):
Yeah, and that's the that's the thing I mean, I mean,
families are gonna be very selective on which pay per
views they buy. And if you're not marketing your product
toward an audience that will actually spend money on wrestling
because you know, they anticipate a little bit more violence
or blood. Their god had as much as Polly and
Flair last night, but you know, just to have that
that action value of seeing some a little bit of

(01:33:16):
blood and uh. They want to see somebody, you know
in a uh you know, if they're gonna if there's
gonna be a hell in the cell max. They want
to actually make it. They want to buy into the
fact that, yes, it's gonna get over bit of violence.
Yes it's gonna look a little bit uh more than
what you would see on TV. And and to be
just is not offering that. And that's that's sort of

(01:33:37):
the problem they find themselves in, which is when you
market toward kids and families, you might you might build
an audience on TV, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're
gonna spend money on the pay per view. They'll problem
comes to your house show, uh, as long as there's
something to attract them to the house show. But they're
not gonna order the pay per view. And that's partly
why UH I think probably the number one and number

(01:33:58):
two reason why pay per viewing buys are down. Number
one being the pay per view prize, number two being
just their marketing to a non pay per view buying audience.
And we see that with the transition from UH kind
of TV fourteen and TVPG and the correlation to the
pay per views going down and the buyers going down,
the revenue going down, so it's a tough spot. They

(01:34:21):
find themselves in a lot of other reasons, but I
think those are your two main reasons there. He is
a good call.

Speaker 4 (01:34:27):
Appreciate that.

Speaker 3 (01:34:28):
Let's go to the three four seven area code. Three
four seven. You're on the show with Torch Assistant editor
James Caldwell. Oh hold on, my name is Christian Brookman.
What do you have first? Chris?

Speaker 23 (01:34:40):
Uh Well, I have asked you a question. Uh, with
Micky James and TNA, do you see something we do
anything to terrack that? I mean even though they client
huh see, I know that w Les doesn't recognized the
titles of the team, but tru make me get kids
to give his champion to make her just putting you

(01:35:02):
a j Lee on the main roster in order to
play the Mickey James character.

Speaker 3 (01:35:07):
Role for the Steak. Yeah, A j Lee is who
came to mind when you when you brought her up
when you brought Mickey James. Uh, I mean yeah, aj
Lee is kind of their answer for Mickey James based
on her characters being presented on NXT. So I would
imagine that she'll now no trying to build a following
around her, similar to Mickey James. If they believe that
AJ can cut it on the main roster hones she

(01:35:29):
advanced his past next season three. I think TNA is
so far off w w's radar that I don't think
they have any sense of urgency to respond to Mickey
James being.

Speaker 17 (01:35:40):
On t and A.

Speaker 3 (01:35:40):
Now I mean Mickey James. You know, obviously she brings
a group of fans to the show. She brings interest
in the product because she had a pretty loyal following
in w EE. But it's TNA and they bring in
so many talents and then the instantly are sucked into
that black hole of you're just another person on the product.

(01:36:01):
And I thought the interview that she had on Reaction
last night was that might have been one of the
worst interviews that we that we saw the entire three
hour show. One of the worst segments. She got the
name of the championed wrong, she said, with Masks and Rain.
The graphic on the screen had her name this spelled.
She seemed to be sort of drifting off into space

(01:36:21):
during that promo, and granted she wasn't given much to
work with, but she seemed to kind of lose track
of what she was trying to talk about. She didn't
really you know, she she got to talk about, well,
I want to win all the prestigeous titles of women's wrestling,
and I have goals work to work with the top wrestlers.
And it's just kind of stuff that you would say
in an interview if you're kind of promoting TNA outside

(01:36:44):
of TNA, not stuff that you would say on actual
the actual TV wrestling product. I just thought that interview
was so off DNA's production of it as well as
what she said. So I mean, I imagine that she'll
stand out for a couple of weeks and maybe even
a maybe have some followers, bringing some new followers to
the product, and then you know, she'll become just another

(01:37:06):
person on the roster. But I don't see WNW be
panicking or being concerned with Mickey James now being part
of DNA and TNA is off their radar and the
aj Lee they I mean, it goes to their philosophy.
They believe they can plug anyone into any slot at
any time and not not skip a beat. If Mickey
James in a following. They believe they can recreate that

(01:37:26):
with AJ Lee, and I think what we're gonna see
going forward with w B and certainly that kind of spunky,
uh baby face character. I mean, they they they believe
AJ is their next person for that spot. Good call, Chris.
We're gonna move on to some more phone calls. We
have nine people on hold. If we're going to be
number ten in line, you can jump on the phone line.

(01:37:47):
Give us a call at six four, six, seven nine,
eight two eight. Let's go to the five five to
nine area code five five nine. Welcome to the show.
Please say Shane mohere you're from Hey, this is a
ski from California. Hey, Steve, what's going on to say?

Speaker 4 (01:38:02):
Oh?

Speaker 23 (01:38:02):
Nothing.

Speaker 3 (01:38:03):
I was reading an.

Speaker 24 (01:38:03):
Article today I affwarded it to the live cast email
where it was saying that they could very well be
Bob and Janice Carter, seeing how Abyss named his weapons
after them, and the theory behind it was that Stein
got into the ear of Bob and Janice and.

Speaker 15 (01:38:25):
And they're gonna be who they are.

Speaker 3 (01:38:28):
Yeah. I think right now that probably the top three
possibilities is, you know, Bishop and Hogan with the idea
that Dick J. Carter didn't actually sign a business termination
last on an impact, but she signed over the company
the Bishop. You know, if you think about it in
terms of well, Bishop sure had a termination agreement, had
real handy right there on the spot. So boy, he

(01:38:50):
must really drafted it up. So it could be bishoping
Hogan with Bishop, you know, having Dixie signed all the
way to the company without her knowing. It could be
Bob Carter and Janice Carter somehow getting themselves on you know,
being on TV with whatever role and then taking over
the company and appointing somebody else with that not the possibility. Yeah,

(01:39:13):
so I think those are your top two possibilities right now.
I mean, do we really need to have some more
a diction Do we need to have some more Carter
family uh family members on the TV show? No, we don't.
But it fits where teen is going, which is to
keep everybody happy, keep everyone interested in the product. Now
the parents, can you know they're kind of stretching out

(01:39:34):
this hypothetical theory. It would keep everyone happy, keep them
on TV, invest in the product, continue to fund the product,
keep everybody's jobs. That's the launch behind why they would
do that. Do they need to be on TV? No,
they don't. And So my top two theories are Bishop
and Hogan or like you said, the Carter family and

(01:39:54):
that's a that's a strong theory right now with the
name of a business weapon there So, uh, any other
question to follow up?

Speaker 25 (01:40:02):
Yeah, just last night in general, so this is funny.
I think there was what four matches in two of
which went past three minutes.

Speaker 3 (01:40:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 25 (01:40:11):
Yeah, it was just for a two hour show that
you hyped up and it's live for them not to
showcase much wrestling. It just doesn't make it doesn't make
any sense, and that just shows how crappy Tea and
it has been lately.

Speaker 1 (01:40:30):
You don't have to wait for the way Keller Pro
Wrestling post show to find out what I thought of
Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Each week, you can check
out my reports that are updated live throughout Raw and
SmackDown at pwtorch dot com. My written report will tell
you what's happening in detail in case you missed the show,
and it'll also analyze key segments and give my random
thoughts quips on what I'm watching as it airs. So

(01:40:52):
check it out every Monday night and Tuesday night at
pewtorch dot com. That also applies to WWE pay perviews,
cover those live at pw torch dot com with a
detailed written report with star ratings, and of course you
can find other TV reports from other contributors to pw
torch such as nxt ROH, Impact Wrestling and more. Check
it out pw torch dot com your first stop for

(01:41:14):
TV and pay per views written reports.

Speaker 3 (01:41:26):
Yeah, I mean, just look at the lineup of that
show last night. I mean you have you have the
Knockouts tag match first, which you know, it's kind of
what you see every week on Impact. Then you have
the the mcfoley and Rick Flair blood bath, which I
just thought was a turnaway TV moment. I just that
match was I thought abysmal in terms of a presentation.

(01:41:47):
You know, that made a good story, but I don't
want to see Rick Blair mcfoley bleed over my TV
in twenty ten and at their ages. I'm sorry, I
just don't want to see that. And then you have
a comedy tag match that did not need to be
on the show. You could have had a fifteen minute
tag team or Exhivision or Fortune Versus Eating two showcase match.

(01:42:09):
You could put Samoa, Joe aj styles, Jay Lethal, Doug Williams,
Lergencity machine Guns, beer money, any number of wrestlers on
your roster in that slot, scratch the Shore from the
entire show, scratches from the entire company. That gimmick is
just personified how behind the times and Lane's t and

(01:42:29):
A can me at times it was a knockoff. It
was a It was a knockoff rip off of a
reality TV show that is drawing it was. It was
so just the xerox from the ger rox of the
xerox of what made that gimmick work, what makes that
gimmick work and what helps MTVS draw over six million
viewers every week with that Jersey Shore show. If you

(01:42:52):
cut that out, you cut up the comedy tag match,
you put a Showcase wrestling match in that slot, that
would help, you know, kind of Showcase tena's product. But
the fount they did then they had the better Royal.
The Battle Royal went about twenty six minutes, just a
boring Battle Royal for the most part, and then with

(01:43:14):
the convenience of the three guys in the Batford Glory
of pay per view main events starting off the match
supposedly forty five second intervals, then they became twenty second intervals,
and then ten minutes after the last person entered the match,
Harved comes out as the next participant. It's just the
lack of logic and the lack of thinking, and it's

(01:43:36):
just it's just so my numbing I just I don't know.
I can't and wrap my head around how they could
sit there and think that makes sense. So those are
just a couple examples of just the abomination of a
show that was Impact last night. Were there positives, Yeah,
there were a few positives here and there, not enough
to cover for some just terrible TV writing that exposed

(01:43:58):
yet again that Teena's rative team needs to be shaken up.
Their ideas need to be checked. Someone with a logic
hat needs to be in that group to kind of
ask questions. Someone's gonna ask some questions where they're coming
up with these these storylines and these TV show scripts
because it's just not working. And that was kind of
what Lab Sight's impact was was a culmination of a

(01:44:21):
lot of bad TV coming together free a heavily heights,
heavily promoted live Impact special. Uh, Steve's good call. We
appreciate that we're gonna go on to our next caller.
Let's go to the seven seven eight area code seven
and seven eight. Welcome to the show Sham where you're Crum.

Speaker 4 (01:44:37):
Hey Jason from Vancouver.

Speaker 3 (01:44:40):
Hey Jason, what are you at? First of the.

Speaker 26 (01:44:43):
H Well, first, I want to start off by saying,
I like P and A.

Speaker 14 (01:44:46):
I like you know, I mean not all of it,
but I mean I like the wrestling. I'm a wrestling guy.

Speaker 3 (01:44:50):
I haven't watching for over twenty years, and you.

Speaker 26 (01:44:52):
Know, i'd actually just agree with you guys in the
last few weeks.

Speaker 14 (01:44:55):
You know, I thought Impact actually have a lot of
good moments. You know, I always hear this Friday, everyone's
always talked can crap about CNA, and I'm like, okay,
you know they're doing the live show right before uh,
you know.

Speaker 4 (01:45:05):
Bounce for Glory.

Speaker 27 (01:45:05):
I'm thinking, Okay, they're gonna, they're gonna, they're gonna knock
a home run in here.

Speaker 14 (01:45:09):
And you know, I worked at midnight shift at PVR
the show. I came home, had a beer, I turned
the TV on, and what do I see as the
Abyss and Dixie Carter's overacting to start the show.

Speaker 3 (01:45:19):
And I was so pissed off when I saw.

Speaker 4 (01:45:21):
That, and then the show itself.

Speaker 14 (01:45:23):
I mean it was like watching when they were doing
the Live Mondays earlier in the.

Speaker 27 (01:45:28):
Year, where it's just I mean, Bishop was in every
segment for some reason, and you know, for I don't
think they even ran down the card one time during
Impact for Don for Glory and like what's OJ and
that other idiot Eric Young doing.

Speaker 3 (01:45:42):
They're not even on TV.

Speaker 14 (01:45:43):
The last month, and the guys that should have been
on TV yesterday were everybody that was on Don for Glory.
I don't mind if there's not as much rustling, because
he looked like WWF when they were in their prime
with holding It with with with Rock. These guys made
inventing rustle Mania. They would the last raw before Rustlemania.
They would have a lot of talk, a lot of
heights for the matches. He wouldn't see a lot of

(01:46:04):
wrestling if I don't.

Speaker 4 (01:46:05):
Have a problem with that.

Speaker 3 (01:46:06):
But these guys what they did.

Speaker 4 (01:46:07):
Yesterday, they didn't really give you a reason to buy
the pay per view, Like I'm probably.

Speaker 14 (01:46:11):
Gonna buy it because this is the only teenage pay
per view I might buy because I think it'll be
some good wrestling. But I mean, the machine guns and
the generation. We are having your tag match, but no,
we had OJ and this other idiot against ink ink
Like it makes no sense.

Speaker 3 (01:46:26):
I agree with you, and you know, I agree that
you don't need to have You know, you don't need
to give away eight matches on the on the lead
end show before a pay per view, especially your biggest
pay per view. Well, if you're gonna have wrestling matches,
at least put your best talent out there to showcase wrestling.
If you're selling a pay per view that's gonna be
three hours of wrestling content, then then showcase wrestling. You know,

(01:46:49):
if you're gonna put wrestling on your show, the Showcase said,
don't put a comedy tag match and Flare and fully
bleeding all over the place in a battle royal, which
I mean was illogical and boring. Have you know the
best the best heights of the pay per view was
on Reaction after the live show. I just bogged with

(01:47:11):
my mind. How you know they probably got to an
issue between Angel and Anderson, and like the last five
minutes of Reaction, it took him three It took him
two hours and fifty five minutes to establish an issue
between angl Anderson where you would want to see that
pay per view to see the new teenage champion it
you know what they should have cut, but well they

(01:47:31):
should have done.

Speaker 14 (01:47:31):
They could have the last They could have Hardy in
there too, Like now Hardy looks like an idiot, Like
why is he even in the match? He should have
been one of the last three guys too, at least
that would make more sense.

Speaker 3 (01:47:42):
It wasn't really odd to me how Hardy was in
the background throughout the show, and even on reaction they
I don't even think we heard from him except for
maybe five seconds, So that was really that was really
puzzling to me, how Hardy was in the background. But
I think they understood that the real issue to sell
the pay per view on is Anglo Anderson, and and
you know, it kind of makes even more of a

(01:48:03):
reason why they did not need to have a three
way match. I just think that three way matches, four
way match, the six way matches, it's overdone. Find the
issue between two guys, flesh it out, have people order
a paper. You can see that issue resolved. And Angle
Anderson had the issue. They established it in reaction, they
played it up in reaction, and then they set up

(01:48:24):
the pay per view match and the very end of
reaction they all and then have been on the Impact show.
And why did it not? I don't understand.

Speaker 14 (01:48:32):
And then even with the with Sure debuting, I mean,
it's a stupid gimmick, don't get me wrong, but let's
give it a chance.

Speaker 3 (01:48:39):
Let's see what they do with it. But it's like,
you don't need him.

Speaker 4 (01:48:42):
On the show before Ruffleminia.

Speaker 14 (01:48:43):
You need him to show after Ruffleminia.

Speaker 12 (01:48:45):
You should have put somebody.

Speaker 3 (01:48:46):
Else in that fot oh. I totally agree with that.
I mean, yeah, do you? I mean, what did that add?
First of all, I didn't think it added into the show.
Second of all, what did it add to the pay
per view hype? Absolutely nothing. They took up five minutes
to two to be time they couldn't have given to
anything else on the roster, say it for Rob Terry match.
You know, I don't get it. I just I mean,

(01:49:11):
I just sat there and I just watched the show,
and I thought, I don't understand what they're doing from
any from any standpoint, just trying to sit there and
be in their shoes anything. Okay, why is this happening?
What were they thinking when they put this together and
when that short that short segment came on, I had
no rationalization. It did not make teenings seem cool or

(01:49:32):
hit for happening and seeing it maybe been seem lame
and like a knockout.

Speaker 14 (01:49:36):
You know, you know what the best part was too.
This was funny when we actually happened in players and
there with Fortune and you're talking about you know, he's
got a tongue out of talking about licking, you know,
Dixi's ass.

Speaker 3 (01:49:46):
You know, what the hell was battle about? Uh? Edit
cut edit that, you know, uh, And I don't know
what that's supposed to do. I mean, does that get
more heat unflair or does that make him a baby face?
Does that make I don't even know what it's supposed

(01:50:08):
to accomplish. So it just Yeah, that was one of
those moments where you're just someone's gonna come in there
and hit the hit the edit button, and you know,
I mean, they made it seem like it was a
live show, live reaction show. It seemed like certain parts
of that show were not live, especially when they replayed
a Mickey James interview after it cut out the first time.

(01:50:32):
But I mean, you got to edit that. I mean, gosh,
that's just that's just that just not did not need
to be on the show. And I don't know what
it was supposed to accomplish to begin with. So no,
But then the other final thoughts on Teenage, Yeah, well,
one thing I.

Speaker 14 (01:50:49):
Want to finish with is I think Donagi will be
a good show. I think we'll have some good ruffling. Yeah,
that's why I little order it for that, But I
am disappointed with the show. I really think that, you know,
Impact has been good the last few weeks.

Speaker 3 (01:51:03):
As far as hyping, but.

Speaker 1 (01:51:05):
You know, in that mean events, I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:51:06):
They really Yeah.

Speaker 14 (01:51:07):
I like how you talked earlier how their timing was
totally way off, but Matt, didn't they make Abyss look
like he would be the champion right now?

Speaker 3 (01:51:14):
I know. And that's what also got me is that, Okay,
if you thinking about this logically, okay, Abyss is gonna
be fired, and you know that's why the storyline is
set up. He's gonna be fired after the pay review.
Why would he be in a battle royal with one
hundred thousand dollars on the line, you know, sort of
make believe fantasy. One hundred thousand dollars on the line.

(01:51:35):
Why would he be in a position to be rewarded
for with one hundred thousand dollars after he you know,
quote unquote terrorized the president of the company. She wanted
him fired, like on the spot, she was talked out
of not firing him. Why would he even be in
the match? Like who allowed that? Who allowed that in
the storyline context? And so that that just made no
sense to me. And like you said, it made a

(01:51:58):
byss in like a monster, which they're trying to get over,
but at the expense of the entire roster, because there
were no eliminations before that, before he came to the match,
and then he's just cleaning house and everybody, everybody looked
weak at his expense. So why are they trying to
elevate someone who's gonna be fired you know, quote unquote
fire supposedly after balf glory. It's just in defied logic

(01:52:20):
and in the timing of it, with the intervals, and
in the way the talent, the other twenty whatever people
were in that match, they were all made to look
so weak because the business ran through everybody after expense,
and so I just I didn't get that beat Royal.
It had logic holes, it had storyline holes. It just

(01:52:41):
it epitomized a bad show I thought last night. So
definitely great call. Yeah, we appreciate that. Good topics to
bring up. We don't want to just ramp on TNA here.
If you like the show, we got some positive reaction
the last last night's show. Go in and give us
a call it to talk about why you liked last
night's show. I've talked as much as I wanted to

(01:53:02):
talk about the things that I did not like the
last night's show. So give us a reason positive. If
you did have a reason positive about last night's show,
again that I'm gonna call sixty four six seven nine
eight two eight. Let's go to our next caller. If
this is a four to eight oh area code four
eight oh, welcome to the show. Please teach me in
where you're from?

Speaker 2 (01:53:22):
Hey, James at ZEPHYRN from Phoenix.

Speaker 3 (01:53:24):
How are you got here from me? Iffron? What do
you have for today?

Speaker 2 (01:53:28):
I was just learning your opinion on I watched I
watched Impact last night. You know I'm not a fan
anytime of a man handcuffing a woman and you know,
going from there and threatening the life I I've heard.

Speaker 4 (01:53:41):
But with stuff like that and.

Speaker 2 (01:53:44):
And WW being pg thirteen and home uphopic remarks here
and there and stuff, do you ever think that'll change,
especially with them as a public company.

Speaker 3 (01:53:55):
I hope. So, I don't know if it's you know,
I don't know if this will come up during Linda's campaign,
But there's a lot of material out there with with
this being you know, sort of the bullying issue being
a hot topic and just in social uh, just a
social awareness issue. There's a lot of material out there

(01:54:16):
that that Limenfal's campaign could use to show this is
the type of company that that WW is running, the
type of storylines they're promoting in a company whose product
is aimed toward impressionable youth. So that could be an
issue that comes up and could change policy. Maybe someone
will actually just say, you know what, it's just not
good TV. It's not good policy, it's just not smart.

(01:54:39):
It doesn't matter if Linda is running for running for senator,
it doesn't matter if anybody brings it up. It's just
not good policy. So hopefully somebody will ask those questions,
to bring those those ideas up and say, you know what,
maybe we shouldn't be doing this. Uh. As far as
material rising of J. C. Carter, I didn't really look
at it as a as a man and a woman
violence issue. Obviously that is very relevant in for wrestling

(01:55:03):
because it's been an issue for a long time. I
was glad that Mick Fowley spoke out against it during
an interview earlier this week. I just looked at it
as a bad TV segment. It's just, you know, Dixie
Carter overacting Abyss and that character, I, you know, just
kind of a turn away character. The whole storyline is
a mess. Dixie Carter has absolute power as a president

(01:55:25):
of the company. Just fire Abyss. That should be the storyline,
you know, there's it's it's just cut and dry. She's
got power, just fire him if that's if that's where
they're taking that storyline. So I didn't look at it
as a man and a woman violence, but I definitely
think there was the wrong tone to take to start.
I started you to start your show? I mean, is
that really the way you want to start your show?

(01:55:46):
The live Impact special lead in your biggest tape review
of the year. So I disagree with that segment to
start the show, and I agree with you that for
him that w has got to do away with that.
It's just it's just bad policy and bad TV. It's
not necessary, it's it's not even good heat. You know,
you're not even getting good heat on John Cena. It's

(01:56:09):
just sort of that that's kind of kind of heat.
So I agree with you on those points.

Speaker 28 (01:56:20):
I'm Kelly Wells, host of p w T Talks NXT,
the longest running NXT podcast anywhere. Join me along with
Nate Lindberg, Bruce Lee, Hazelwood and special guests live every
Tuesday night, just minutes after NXT, where we cover the good,
the bad, and the ugly on the way to becoming
a star in WWE. Check us out live on YouTube
or stream later wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 3 (01:56:49):
There any other call up for question effort, just that
you should absolutely be commended for all the political hats
you've been having aware of this year. You uh, I
can only imagine the stuff you have.

Speaker 2 (01:57:02):
To go through, and you've been a awesome job dissecting
it all.

Speaker 4 (01:57:06):
So thank you very much, James.

Speaker 3 (01:57:09):
I appreciate the comments. That's uh uh. One of the
things about about sifting through a lot of political talk
is running through a lot of uneducated news stories on
the w W issues and and all that. So one
of the things that makes it very challenging about my
job is sifting through that, uh to kind of see
the what the what people who are outside of wrestling

(01:57:32):
and how they how they look at the wrestling in
the world. What kind of set of glasses are they
using to view wrestling, especially with Limit Man's campaign. So
that's been a challenge throughout this year in covering that
and filtering through stories is looking at that aspect of it.
So it's made a challenge and fascinating fasting at the
same time. So U, we're appreciating the call, Effrin. Let's

(01:57:53):
go on to our next phone calls. It's from the
nine to one oh area code nine to one oh.
Welcome to the show. Please teach me in where you're from.

Speaker 12 (01:58:00):
Hey is Handlicer?

Speaker 4 (01:58:01):
Hey, how y'all doing good?

Speaker 3 (01:58:03):
Handler? What do you have for a cent? Oh?

Speaker 22 (01:58:06):
Man?

Speaker 4 (01:58:06):
You know, I wanna feel like this right here? This
is what I don't understand right here.

Speaker 12 (01:58:11):
Okay, you know, Dick would never beatful people have on
skirts or whatever, you know, they could turn away from
their throne shots, but they can show Harry Young narrigaba
Altto Jordan's grabbing his penis sent from the jestice o'meial's face.

Speaker 3 (01:58:25):
Like that last night, you know, and that's even worse.

Speaker 12 (01:58:28):
What'sh I'll take on that that's a big hypocritical company.

Speaker 4 (01:58:32):
You know they're gonna be looking like that.

Speaker 3 (01:58:34):
I just think that. I mean, the thing about that
whole character is that Kena has no sophistication. Was how
they present the character, from the way Leena Jordan's character
is presented to the way he's shot in the ring
to the commentary, it just comes across solo brow and

(01:58:56):
so unsophisticated that I don't think anybody really I don't
want to see nobody cares, but I don't think anybody
takes it seriously. I think they understand a T and A.
It is like a small child who they get to
say a potty word, uh and get away with it.
You know, the parent looks the other way on them,

(01:59:17):
on them using a potty word, uh. You know, the
you know the kind of the kids sit around the
dinner table when it drops a four letted word and
the parents just kind of giggle and laugh.

Speaker 17 (01:59:26):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:59:26):
It's like that I'm not that big of a deal,
and so then they take it to the next level,
which is, oh, well I got away with that. Then
I give do it all the time, and I'll just
keep doing it. And then it's just sort of overkill
and nobody cares. And they're trying to be controversial for
the sake of being controversial. Uh, for whatever reason, for
whatever reason that that, Vince Russo writes, the TV show

(01:59:46):
trying to be controversial for the sake of it. Think
it's a point where you just don't care, you know,
It's just it's just a five year old kid at
the dinner table, uh, using potty words and trying to
get trying to get a rise out of everybody. It's
just it's solo brow solo rent. TNA is so far
off the radar in terms of being irrelevant as a
pop cultural entertainment show. It's just it's just the way

(02:00:09):
that it is. They have their their short term ratings
pop on Tonight's show, I'm sorry. On Thursday Night show,
they got up to a one point three rating highest ratings.
Is January? Good for them? Can they sustain that? I
don't think so, but we'll see. I hope to be wrong,
But these are the pepet segments, you know that the Shore,
Orlando Jordan, and then the lack of sophisticated not the

(02:00:30):
character itself, but the lack of sophistication with how the
character is presented. Combine that with the Shore with Abyss
terrorizing Dixie Carter, with Rick Flair and mcfoy bleeding all
over the place, a combined age over one hundred years
old in the ring and they're bleeding, and Rick Flair

(02:00:50):
is blading on national cable television, visibly taking a big
old swipe across the forehead with a blade on national team. Sorry,
I just low brow, low rent, don't want to watch
and and we'll see how they how how and if
they can translate to Thursday night's strong ratings performance, uh

(02:01:11):
going forward? But uh handible to answer your question. I
just think it's just sort of an attempt to be controversial, Uh,
and the way TENA does it so often, and how
low brow and low sophistication, you know, started to use
wave Teller's his phrase low iq. Uh, just the way
it was presented. I just don't think people are really
gonna be swayed one or the other to react. I

(02:01:33):
don't think people are gonna react. It's just sort of, well,
that's just TNA, that's just the kiuse that. It's just
the kid at the the dinner table custing and then
cutting again and again and again. Not a big deal.
So I just think that's kind of where they are
as a company, and it's just unfortunate because they have
such a good talent roster and they did not showcase
them last night. Uh, they did not showcase the X
division quality tag team wrestling to showcase comedy tag wrestling. Uh,

(02:01:59):
but not not quality Exivision, not quality tag team, not
quality heavyweight division wrestling. So that's just unfortunate. Hannibal. I
appreciate the call. Good topic to bring up. Let's go
to our next phone call from the four seven eight
area code. Four seven eight Welcome to show, please station
NAY where you're from? Christ and Georgia. Hey, Chris, what
do you ever said?

Speaker 29 (02:02:19):
Yeah, James, I was wondering on the whole, like shamous
facing Daniel Brian case. Yeah, I was wondering, like you know,
in his character doesn't seem like TV one of those
guys that technically would take that line down. So do
you think we could see something between those two coming
Monday night.

Speaker 3 (02:02:40):
I don't hear his follow up, Chris. I mean, Daniel
Bryant came in off of a pretty much a star
confirming US title retention over John Morrison, the Miz the
hell in the Cell Pay review. There was no real
talk or reinforcement of it on the next set and wrong,
it was just he went out there and got squashed
by by Shamus in thirty seconds. I mean, anybody could

(02:03:02):
have been that slot. But if there's a good follow up,
and yeah, I really liked the idea of Daniel Brian
for Seamus UH program. I thought they really dropped the
ball on Monday's show, UH without reinforcing that Hey day,
Brian just won in a very important match in his career.
But if their follow up, if you know, Danie Brian
comes out there on Raw this Monday, he says, you

(02:03:23):
know what, I'm not gonna you know, I'm not going
to take that line down. I'm gonna I'm gonna bring
the quake to Seamous and they have a you know,
a competitive fifteen minute match to hike Seamus versus Randy Orton,
you know, kind of get Daniel Bryan in that that
would be titled conversation by virtue of Shamus being in
there already, then yeah, there's potential for some good follow up. Uh.

(02:03:43):
And I hope that's what they do. I just I
hope they don't go the routes of uh that's always
see from Daniel Bryan with Shamus. There's no follow up
and danil Brien never gets his his chance at retribution,
Seamus never gets his come up, and and that's all
there is, I mean, not be just terrible. Uh. And
I hope that's not the way they go. So that's

(02:04:03):
one of the major plot lines this Monday and Raw
will be the follow up of the follow up with
Daniel Bryan. And I hope that's not just a one
time deal where they threw him out there and it's
just to be squashed by Seamus, and that's just that's
just bad. That's just bad looking, uh, with it with
a champion who you just reinforced as a big deal
on your pay per views. So I don't know, I

(02:04:26):
wanted to see a Seamus Dingo Brian match. I think
that'd be a pretty competitive match. Uh. I think that
would be a good few they could build up for
a for a couple of weeks on tv SO. Uh.
To answer your question, Chris, I hope there is follow up.
If there's not, that's a major thumbs down for wv SO.
Now a good call. Appreciate that you're listening to the

(02:04:46):
P T B TOWRS live cast. That's is P to
B Towards Assistant Editor James Caldwell, osting today on Friday
after the live impact. If you go to join us
on the on the live cast. If you're listening to
us live, the number to call is six four, six,
seven one nine eight eight. Let's go to our next
phone calls is from the eight one to four aaring

(02:05:07):
code A one folder. Welcome to show. He's pitching any
where you're fro.

Speaker 4 (02:05:11):
Hey, James's Richard Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (02:05:13):
Hey, rich what do you first say?

Speaker 6 (02:05:15):
Uh?

Speaker 22 (02:05:16):
I thought about a couple of things you were lated
road books. If that's okay, the Michael Polt storyline. I
think there's actually something trait here. I was thinking, do
you think there could be a situation like where Jerry
Lawler came back in two thousand and one.

Speaker 3 (02:05:28):
Where maybe Pole Cotton way over is that and then.

Speaker 22 (02:05:30):
He's food off wrong by the wrong GM, and I'm
going into a miners packdown spoiler with this with them
being on backdown. Now, do you think he could just
be kicked off wrong by the GM and then brings
Jim Ross that is Michael Colt's being taken out or
does that make two months sets? Or do you see
a major problem with at And maybe Michael Cole getson
over instead in terms of over ruling the GM, taking

(02:05:52):
up his own rules, not with the GM wants, and
maybe that brings the GM on on screen and kicks
Michael Cole off wrong.

Speaker 4 (02:06:00):
Like all that.

Speaker 3 (02:06:00):
Yeah, I mean, you know it might make too much
sense for it happened like, but I like all those ideas.
I like the idea of getting Jim Ross back in
the raw broadcast booth. They've got to have a voice.
They need somebody to sell that product who's not presented
as a split split personality crazy man. Michael Cole has

(02:06:21):
a role in WW. They have developed that character, they
developed the heal persona. Make him a manager. I don't
care who he manages. Just make him a manager. Get
him off the raw broadcast team, and I'd almost be
okay with just putting him on SmackDown as a lead announcer.
I still disagree with the idea of your lead announcer
on any of your major TV shows having a split

(02:06:42):
personality and not being trustworthy as someone who's trying to
sell you in the product. So I would prefer him
to be the manager. But I'm all on favorite de
rig of of having Ross come back as your your
lead raw announcer, play the straight play by play guy,
bring back some some sense in order and right and
wrong to the raw announcing position, to the product itself.

(02:07:04):
So and I roll like your idea of Cole maybe
starting to go against the GM, or or perhaps just
omitting details from the GM's quote unquote emails, maybe going
into business for himself in the storyline, and then he
gets kicked off that way. I'm at there of that
that's a really good storyline idea. So anything to get

(02:07:26):
Coal either back to normal, which even then he's got
a lot of damage that you'd have to overcome as
a character back to normal or off row, those are
two thumbs up for me. I just their product is
suffering without a straight play by playguy to sell the
product to the audience. It's just not working with Cole,
So good Paul Rich. I like your idea, so thumbs

(02:07:48):
up there. Let's go to the seven eight six area
code seven eight six. Welcome to the show. Please station
name and now you're where you're from. Johnny from Datas, Texas, Hey, Johnny,
what do you ever said?

Speaker 9 (02:08:02):
Not much? First off, if anybody calls the says DNA
was a great show last night and should click and
call this psychiatry or somebody.

Speaker 3 (02:08:08):
Because that was a horrible show.

Speaker 9 (02:08:10):
But I want to just get off topic and say, uh,
I don't think.

Speaker 4 (02:08:14):
Uh DNA's problem.

Speaker 9 (02:08:16):
I think they don't have a crowd reaction that I
mean besides that this is awesome thing just for wrestling.

Speaker 3 (02:08:21):
I mean I was at the Hens show, and I
mean doing incredible.

Speaker 8 (02:08:26):
The way the fans reactors is jump you losing all
these shocks. See how much people were actually affected like
an any time. I mean it was I don't think
DNA had that fan reaction like the WW Does you
think that that's their biggest problem and nobody gets involved
with the storylines.

Speaker 3 (02:08:42):
I think you're exactly right, and and that's the biggest
problem this year has been they change course on storylines
and heals and faces so often that the audience just
kind of sits there and says, you know what, am
I really going to invest in the storyline because A
is probably gonna change very very very soon, and B
I don't know if that's leading anywhere to a payoff.

(02:09:03):
You know what, I kind of like Kevin Ash. I
remember what he did in WWF. I can remember what
he did in w CW. I remember what he did
in WWE, maybe a little bit when he had a
few with Chris Jericho. You know, I kind of like
Kevin Ash. I'll cheer for him. You know, there is
no emotional attachment to the storylines because of the way
TENA books, the pacing, the lack of payoff that matters.

(02:09:27):
Look at John Cena, He's been playing a baby phase
for five years now six years, you know, as a
top level baby face for five or six years, not months,
not weeks, not dave years. Randy Orton played a top
heel for about him five or six years, not weeks,
not months, not days, but years. And when he when

(02:09:49):
when the audience was ready to could really get behind him,
they let they let W new, They let's let them know,
and w went along with it. No, I mean, John
Cena is the top star run plan for a number
of reasons, but the main reason is the consistency of
the character and the way he's written. And you know,
we consider and disagree with a lot of things that

(02:10:09):
he's said in promos and been scripted to say in promos,
the potty jokes, the homophobic jokes, the the over the top.
So this was the biggest thing ever happened in the
history of the world type promos. But his character and
the constitution of what makes up his character has been
consistent for five or six years, and that's why the audience,

(02:10:30):
you know, really gravitates toward him. They can they understand
the character, they understand the storyline, at least the basics
of it, basics of good versus evil, right versus wrong.
Then they get into it and appealing to a kid's audience,
they're gonna they're going to gravitate more toward those storylines.
With TNA, they're trying to recreate the past and the

(02:10:50):
xerox and the xerox of what happened in the nineties
with WCW, in the ECW and the nineteen nineties and
two thousand. So it's just it's hard to invest. It's
been a product where you don't know who's who, and
you don't know what people are talking about, and you
just don't know what the fundamental good and evil basics
of the characters are. We just don't know, and so

(02:11:11):
the audience picks and shooses. They're not buying into the
stories because it's really hard. It's really hard to buy
into the sizzle when there isn't much stake there at
Little Barbecue reconce them a little bit hungry on a
Friday afternoon, but you know, it's like the audience has
been trying to grab the sizzle, but you can't grab sizzle.
You can grab steak. And that's what John Tina's character is.

(02:11:33):
You can you understand what his character is and TENA,
you oftentimes just don't know what the characters are, or
who they are, or what they're fighting over, or what
they're talking about. With Bishoff and Hogan uh and staying
in National Hope, just don't know what they're talking about.
So but yeah, that Johnny, that was a great analogy

(02:11:53):
of how you can get people to invest in the product.
Looking at John Tina Randew or examples as example A
and B. So good call there.

Speaker 1 (02:12:04):
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Speaker 3 (02:12:43):
Let's go to our next call. This is from the
eight six five Eerie code e six five. Welcome to
the show. Please teach him where you're from.

Speaker 4 (02:12:51):
Hey, it's Dane. Hey, dear man.

Speaker 3 (02:12:54):
Hey you speak of a little. I can't cat your name.
Hiks Oh, Hi Steve. What's going on?

Speaker 4 (02:13:00):
Yeh, nothing much, man, I've got a real quick question
I was thinking about.

Speaker 3 (02:13:04):
I've got to listen to the end. Uh, you know,
obviously last night was a t M past there.

Speaker 4 (02:13:08):
Really hyphen well against Kennedy versus or Anderson versus A Angle.
As far as the main event, Max goes and just
kind of said, oh, get party in the match too,
to do you think to kind of.

Speaker 3 (02:13:21):
Throw it out?

Speaker 4 (02:13:21):
And obviously now with Angle stated if my lears, I'll
leave it kind of and he just signed a new deal,
you think you might throw a monkey ridge in and
have Anderson beat Hardy for the title like Ken Hardy
instead of beating Angle thered or Angel didn't lose, he
doesn't have to retire.

Speaker 3 (02:13:38):
Very good question. And I like that. Uh, I like
that scenario, I really. I mean obviously for Angle he
voted it. He floted it out there that he signed
that one year contract extension. Uh so I would imagine
that he's not going to be penned at now. For Lord,
I could very well see it exactly what you said,
which is that Anderson pins Hardy and a Angle says,

(02:14:00):
you know what, I never was beaten. Nobody beat me.
You know, I was on the outside, or you get
I mean, I can imagine there could be a run
in where somebody takes him out and he's on the
outside as Anderson pins Hardy to win the title or
vice versa. I think it's more likely Anderson wins. But yeah,
I definitely can see that finish. But I don't think.
I don't think Angle is going to be retiring and

(02:14:21):
leaving t and A. I think he's gonna be coming back,
you know. I don't know what he's gonna do after this.
I don't know if they do the straight you know,
let's say Anderson versus Angle match at the next pay review.
I don't know if they shift into perhaps Anderson versus
rv D or Hardy versus RVD at the next pay review.
But I think that's probably your finish. I think that's

(02:14:42):
that's about ninety percent sure. I'm percent sure that's gonna
be your finished at Val for Glory is Anderson pinning Hardy.
So yeah, I think that's a real good point to
make there. I think I think Angle takes some time off,
comes back whatever they do with him, maybe you have
the rematch with or maybe have the match with Anderson,
or perhaps already and or perhaps they have and have

(02:15:07):
armity in that mixtumm out arready in Angel seems do
that matchup that they have kind of had in their
back pocket for a while at least, you know, six
months being a while, and I imagine they'll be building
towards that after Bound for Glory. So good points there.
Let's go to our next fall. We've got to so
many people on hold today, so very thankful for everyone
calling in and participating in live cast today again, we'll

(02:15:31):
have coverage of the bounce of Glori's pay per views
this Sunday on pab toords dot com. Towards VIP members,
you can access the post pay per view audio roundtable
breaking down TNA's quote unquil biggest pay review of the
year this Sunday night, and the VIP section after the
pay per view. So I want to go ahead and
remind you if you're not a towards VIP member p

(02:15:52):
to b torch dot com slash go VIP. Let's go
to our next phone call. This is from the seven
oh three area code seven three. Welcome to the show.
Please diation in your crub.

Speaker 17 (02:16:05):
Hi.

Speaker 11 (02:16:07):
Hello, Hello, Okay, this is Larry's girlfriend from Atlanta.

Speaker 3 (02:16:15):
Yes. Thanks.

Speaker 11 (02:16:16):
I had a sort of a two kind of related
questions that I'll ask at the same time. One the
first time I ever watched the TNA match was last
I think it was last night with the Battle Royal
Brawl and uh and the first thing that I noticed,
which was kind of I knew it, you know, going
in that TNA has a lot of older wrestlers, but
like really it was a bunch of old guys, and

(02:16:38):
I was wondering what you thought about, you know, TNA
moving forward sort of seems like there's a juxtaposition between
ww having a lot of new wrestlers that are coming
up all at the same time, and you know, as
they're beginning to retire some of their older talents that
are the real blockbusters, you know, with the exception of
a few, and then it seems like TNA has all

(02:16:58):
these really old guys that are that are kind of
drawing crowds. But it's kind of, you know, you're a
little bit like watching some old dogs at the pasture.

Speaker 4 (02:17:05):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 11 (02:17:06):
So, what do you think about audiences and how they're
they're seeing these two different groups of wrestlers and and
where do you think you know, that's gonna go?

Speaker 3 (02:17:17):
Real good question. Uh, yeah, I think that with TNA,
they have a lot of you know, they have a
lot of younger wrestlers who compare pretty well with w
w's younger roster as well. Machine Guns aj and Jel.
They're not spring chickens anymore, but you know machine Guns
Ajan and Joel, Beer, Money, guys in the excision like

(02:17:41):
Jay Lethal, Amazing Red, heavyweights like uh, you know, Matt Morgan, Ornandez.
Guys who really haven't been a major mainstays on national
and TV wrestling over the last fifteen twenty years. They
have those guys on the roster, and that's why I
was supposed to prise and didn't showcase them so that
it did not look like an old folks home last
night with Bowley and Flair. Then you had Bishop and

(02:18:03):
Hogan and Hogan in the Hospital the Battle Royal like
like you said, where it was kind of a showcase
a lot of older stars. You know, I understand why
TNN does it. They're trying to appeal to a male
eighteen and thirty four demographic that recognizes a lot of
those older stars. But I think it is so uncool
when the older stars are doing uncol things, and I

(02:18:25):
think that it turns people away from the product that
want to seeing the older stars involved in something cool
or compelling or interesting when they're not when they're involving
in geroxes of the copies and the storylines that happened
in nineteen nineties. And and TNA at times has been
able to strike a good balance. I think when they
had the Best of Five with Beer, Money and machine Guns,

(02:18:48):
that was when they had the best balance of younger
stars featured and showcased and shown off versus having the
older stars involved in and maybe some of the more
storyline driven TV segments. So uh, last night showed the
shift in the wrong direction with the lack of showcase
the younger stars that allowed TA to have that competitive

(02:19:08):
advantage with over t overWe WWE has some unestablished younger stars.
You know that it's gonna take a year, two years,
three years and make them big deal. Uh, And TV's
got some stars you're pretty over right now, the younger stars,
and they did not showcase them last night, which is
really disappointing.

Speaker 23 (02:19:25):
So good call.

Speaker 3 (02:19:27):
I appreciate that. Let's go to our next call, the
next in the last sixty seconds of the show, Let's
go to the four oh two Erie Coach four O
two real quick question or comment.

Speaker 26 (02:19:38):
Kay, Damsons Free out from Lincoln. A few days ago,
Wade and I want to say Jason were talking about
the sheet between or John Cena and some backstation up
with the Spirit Squad.

Speaker 3 (02:19:49):
I never heard about that.

Speaker 26 (02:19:50):
I was wonder if there's more information out there about that.

Speaker 3 (02:19:54):
I had to go back and look that up. I
don't remember fresh off the top of my head, but
I know it's a it's sort of uh, you know,
basic mail. His philosophy is, you know, step on whoever
you need to step on. He gets the top and
that's probably what uh, but they were put them for that.
But uh, we're all getting the second Thanks everyone for
listening to us on the live cast today June. Back
again on Monday. Thanks again for your support. We all

(02:20:31):
try to stick around here for the Blogcock Radio after show.
I think it was, you know, it was a time
when Sina and Orton were uh, you know, kind of
knew well their path was ahead of them, that they
were on the way to the main event, that they
kind of kept their nose clean and and stayed out
of trouble. And you know, Spirit Squad was in the
middle of a pretty you know, a pretty focused you know,

(02:20:54):
TV main event level program with with the McMahon's and
d X, and I think it was sort of may
Man even said in interview a couple a couple of
months ago talking about John Cena, that he encouraged him to,
you know, step on whoever need to step on him
to get to the top. And that might have been
that might have been spirit Squad in two thousand and seven,
as Tina was already already a TVM eventor already had

(02:21:15):
winey pay per views. But you know, it kind of
eliminating threats. Maybe that was what was in play. But
I don't know that specifics done anything that happened between them.
I'm sure that something did happen, but uh, I don't
know anything. I don't know anything specifically off the top
of my head to give you an answer on that
real but any other question or comments.

Speaker 26 (02:21:34):
On that, I guess it's a comedy. I kind of
sich me back when I was when I was listening
to that, because like you said, I mean, as I
remember growing Spiritus Squad was around. I mean, John Teene
was already pretty much a big deal to be you know,
like I I mean, I can't I can't think of
John Tina holding someone down like you know, triple a

(02:21:54):
dollar anything like Tess notation hasn't had reasons for doing
it a lot of times.

Speaker 3 (02:21:58):
But still, like I, I couldn't imagine Spirit Squad.

Speaker 26 (02:22:01):
Game big enough to be on John Tanneth trader radar
to have to go out with a way to step
on them, especially since the Spirit Squad in and of
the Cells kind of had a lot of problems with
get making that act.

Speaker 3 (02:22:16):
Yeah, I agree with you, and maybe you know somebody
in his ears saying, hey, John, you know they're didn't
TV telling the man in d X, maybe you gotta
do something about that. And you know, maybe he wasn't
mature enough or uh had it been in you know,
had that veteran status long enough to know and win
to pick your battles and and you will listen to
Yet I'm speculating to an extent on that, but obviously

(02:22:39):
Spirits Squad turned out of the guys who you know,
we're not dressed at all.

Speaker 11 (02:22:42):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (02:22:42):
The gimmick was a very short term. The act was
a gimmick. It was a gimmick act. UH didn't have
long term UH prospects didn't have any longevity to it.
After they were run off by d X, so I
don't know, you know, it's kind of a different time
for Sina. He wasn't quite established as the guy yet
even though he was the any venture on RAW. Who's
still kind of triple Ah and Sean Michael show U

(02:23:04):
and then you know, who knows could have been an
insecurity issue. You never know, but I'll try to get
some more details on that and it may be passed
a lot in along on our future live cast. We'll
try a bonus phone call. You're in the live cast,
let's try the seven seven three area code. Seven seven three.
Welcome to the show. Please take your hand on where
you're from? Seven seven three. Are you on the are
with us? All right? Maybe not well? We try to

(02:23:25):
boneus phone call for for the blog talk radio listeners
on the p tw B Torch Live cat. I want
to thank everyone for your support of live cast today
and this week. Be sure to check back on Monday
with you live cast at eight pm Eastern leading into
ww RAW and of course with all of the talk
and results from the Down from Glory pay per view
on Sunday. This is Torch Assistant editor James Conlaw signing off.

Speaker 1 (02:24:07):
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