By Wade Keller, Torch editor

PWTorch.com reader B. Ace asks: Was the Matt Hardy part of Raw scripted?

WK: Yes, every bit of it. If WWE really wanted to have it come across as a "shoot," they would have skipped the backstage attack (which was inserted into the script to create a "teaser" going into the commercial break at a key point during Raw). Then, when Hardy jumped the railing, they would have cut away or had the camera pan away quickly. Then the announcers would have talked vaguely about a fan jumping the railing and seem to not be sure what to do next. Then they could have had a camera "find" Kane and Gene Snitsky brawling in the crowd. Just at that moment, Hardy could have gotten on the mic and spoken for about four seconds before the mic was cut off. That would have at least "felt" real and there might even be some debate about whether it was real or not still at this point. The way they did it, with him being backstage (and yes, sure, perhaps a friend of his in WWE could have snuck him in, but it felt less "real" because of it) and then so quickly able to get back into the arena and past security, and then to get so much mic time, and to have WWE air all of it (when it if weren't planned, there's no way Vince McMahon would have allowed Hardy to get that much TV time), it just wasn't realistic at all. If WWE's goal, though, wasn't to make people it was really real, but instead just to create an interesting simulation of what a "shoot" incident might look like, it's fine with me. It was entertaining as heck as long as you look at it within the same context as wrestlers in a match pretending to hit each other and suspend your disbelief.

***

PWTorch.com reader Derek Schoolcraft asks: With Matt Hardy basically back with WWE, will his indy dates be kept intact?

WK: Yes. That was a concern with Matt all along, and once the door began to open for a potential WWE return a few weeks ago, he stopped taking additional indy bookings. I have yet to hear of him cancelling any indy bookings. Not only would that be wrong to back out, but it wouldn't fit his storyline image of being a free agent.

***

PWTorch.com reader John of Greensboro, N.C. asks: In general, do fans react positively or negatively to worked shoot angles? Even if everything leading up to Matt Hardy's return on Raw last night was a shoot, will the fans appreciate the worked nature of the return and his "independent" status? What about the fans in Ring of Honor...?  How will they react to a wrestler they might see as "selling out"?

WK: "The fans" is too broad of a categorization. On Matt Hardy's website, there were people who felt completely insulted and spit on by Matt for using his forum to work them, when just months earlier in the same context he was leaning on them for support and kind words. There were also fans on his website who told him to go for it, they'll support him no matter what. There were also fans who didn't know whether what happened on Raw was real or not. I am on record in this week's Torch Newsletter predicting that ROH fans will boo him. He is going there asking for their cheers for disingenuous reasons. He's playing the role of a renegade, but the second he accepted the contract from WWE, his "renegade" image became a work, not a shoot. And there's nothing wrong with him taking the money and the security and the fame of a WWE contract and push. But I do question whether ROH fans are going to "play along" and cheer for someone doing anti-WWE chants when they are otherwise savvy enough to know that he wouldn't have been on Raw or allowed to call into Byte This if he hadn't already signed a contract to return to WWE. Some fans really enjoy not being sure what's real and what's not. The problem is when the entire gimmick is based on one thing (being an anti-WWE renegade) when the fact is he's not - he's now the opposite of it. I think some fans will be upset that he's cashing in to work a program with two people whom he has had a lot of genuinely harsh words for over the course of the last several months, too. It's like the friend complaining to you on the phone about his or her ex, and you are a sympathetic shoulder and agree that their ex treated them poorly and they deserve better, and then two days later your friend calls back to say they're back together. You feel duped and embarrassed that you bad-mouthed their ex when now they're together again.

***

Kris W. asks: With the recently "released" wrestlers and all of their statements on WWE.com and the recent appearance of Matt Hardy on Raw, has anybody wondered if all of the releases are just a work?

WK: The releases are not a work. I've talked to a number of them and am confident they're out of their jobs. Their statements on WWE.com are part of WWE's attempt to "control the news." WWE doesn't like that a lot of wrestling fans visit sites such as this because they can't control what's said. By having released wrestlers do interviews with their website, it helps blunt the image that WWE is a heartless organization laying off good, talented, hard-working people. These released wrestlers doing interviews are put in a position of not wanting to say anything bad about WWE because they hope to be rehired some day. Other wrestlers who were released have turned down the request to be interviewed to basically "thank WWE for firing me."

***

J. Hintemeier asks: I watched Byte This and it sure seemed real to me in parts. Was it entirely scripted? If so, was the entire Hardy-Lita break-up fake all along? If not, why would they prostitute their personal life for a wrestling angle like that?

WK: I watched Byte This, too, and while it was totally meant to be hype for the feud, although I'm sure they both strayed into territory that hit pretty close to home. The way to make it "feel more real" and thus be more convincing is to reenact some of their earlier phone conversations months ago after first breaking up, and my hunch is we got a glimpse into a lot of Lita's comebacks to Matt during their phone conversations, such as Matt being obsessed with the Internet and "his MFers." I'm not sure, and we may not know for a long time, whether Lita felt pressured into bringing her personal life out into an angle, or if she is eagerly doing it.

Torch VIP members can read this week's in-depth cover story just published today that breaks down the timeline of what happened when according to the most reliable sources out there. To read the article, click here.

***

More Ask the Torch Articles: To read all recent "Ask the Torch" articles, just scan down a few inches to the "Latest 12 Ask the Torch Articles" listing, or just click on the "Ask the Torch" link on the left menu bar.

Have you got a question for Ask the Torch? If you've got a question for "Ask the Torch" or more information to add to answers provided above, click here.

Interact Daily with Torch Staffers: I, along with other Torch staffers and contributors answer reader questions all the time at the VIP Forum message boards. If you aren't a Torch VIP member, here are details on signing up.

Torch VIP Info: For subscription info about the Torch VIP ESub Membership option, which saves money by skipping the actual home delivery of the paper copy of the Torch Newsletter (although you still have a chance to read the weekly Torch Newsletter online), click here: Torch VIP ESub Subscription Info. (Sub prices range between $1.05 and $1.37 per week - same price U.S. or overseas.)

Background on Torch editor Wade Keller: Torch editor Wade Keller founded Pro Wrestling Torch in September 1987. He has been interviewed as a wrestling expert by dozens of TV and radio stations across the country; he has also been quoted in dozens of major newspapers and magazines across the world. Media entities that have featured Keller in stories covering wrestling include National Public Radio, Fox News Channel, ESPN Magazine, the New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, the All-News Channel, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. He also hosted his own weekly two hour wrestling talk show on KFAN sport radio in the '90s. Over the past 17 years Keller has also interviewed, one-on-one, wrestling's top names for in-depth "Torch Talks" and feature articles including powerbrokers such as Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, Jerry Jarrett, Bill Watts, Jim Cornette, Jim Crockett, Jim Herd, Paul Heyman, Ed Ferrara, Terry Taylor, Kevin Sullivan, Jim Ross, and Vince Russo; top wrestling stars such as The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Rick Steamboat, Jerry Lawler, Bill Goldberg, British Bulldog, Road Warrior Hawk, Jesse Ventura, and Hulk Hogan; and legends such as Lou Thesz, Gordon Solie, Bruno Sammartino, Roy Shires, Terry Funk, and Verne Gagne.

We suggest these recent related articles...

ASK THE SPECIALISTS ROUNDTABLE: Who will be WWE's Next Top Star?

SATURDAY’S ASK PWTORCH STAFF for 4/11: How should WWE cater to Texas at WM32? Does WWE using Sting and Hogan add to chances more TNA wrestlers are hired? Do NXT gimmick wrestlers have a chance? Is El Generico really Sami Zayn?

THURSDAY’S ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 4/9: Are El Generico & Sami Zayn the same person? Next MITB cash-in for IC or U.S. belt? What match do you show non-fans so they get it? Why don’t heel teams cheat?