By Wade Keller, Torch editor

H.G. asks: Now that Smackdown is on Fridays, has WWE thought about making Smackdown live? I wouldn't think it would be so bad. In between Raw and Smackdown they could have house shows going on. One other Question. Why didn't UPN just delay to a later time? I mean here in Chicago they show That '70s Show and King of The Hill after Smackdown and they're reruns anyway, so why not just push Smackdown back an hour. That way it would have been able to debut properly and all of it would have been shown and everyone would be much happier.

WK; As for moving Smackdown later, UPN only has two hours in prime time for its programming. The shows you see after Smackdown are part of your local station's syndicated schedule. Those shows are highly profitable to the local UPN affiliates, who would not want to give up that slot to a network show that they have to split ad revenue with. Also, the shows that air after Smackdown air every night, so your local affiliate wouldn't want those shows on four nights, but Smackdown on one of them. As for going live, it would be logically difficult because the TV crew would be stuck on the road every weekend for two days. From a money and logistics standpoint, it only makes sense to have Raw and Smackdown on back-to-back nights, so for Smackdown to ever be live, it would have to air Sunday or Tuesday nights. Even then, WWE may choose to pretape if possible to avoid the expense off live satellite. They seem content with just Raw being live.

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G. Mann of Edmonton: I think TNA should bring Ultimate Warrior back in a non-wrestling capacity. They are in desperate need of star power to bring in the casual fan. With Warrior being promoted on TV for the DVD, his name is back on the minds of most fans. Also, Warrior would be highly motivated to get back at Vince, so TNA and Warrior have a common enemy. Any possibility of it happening?

WK: Normally, I would say it was unlikely. But given the circumstances, I wouldn't be shocked. TNA lost out on Mick Foley, Matt Hardy, and Chris Jericho, and can't use the Dudleys unless they use a new name and change their appearance. They could use a dose of star power, and perhaps someone like Ultimate Warrior or Jesse Ventura would be worth the expense to kick off the first month of shows. Warrior, though, is a challenge to work with and would be limited in what he could do. It's not as if Warrior's legacy matches anything TNA represents at this point, nor would he be able to sincerely or in a meaningful way endorse anything about the TNA product. Is he really going to fully appreciate Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, or Christopher Daniels? So there are pros and cons to each, but Warrior might be motivated just to rip on McMahon, and that could make for compelling television.

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Chris Hicks asks: In an interview highlight article posted at your website, Jerry Lawler was quoted as saying "they rarely covered him in the company's magazine, before recognizing that if it weren't for his artistic ability, he wouldn't be in the wrestling business today, noting how his artwork was what got his break in this business." The above reference is from a current article on your site. I'm just wondering what the hell this means exactly. I hear this phrase all the time in promo's (Triple H: "I'm the diamond of this business") and from marks and writers who want to sound smart. What is the origin of this phrase and is there any "insider" meaning that I am missing? I just think it sounds really dumb and obvious that someone is trying to sound like an insider.

WK: I don't think people in wrestling should refer to it as "the business" or "the industry," since it sounds more like something that'd be said at a video game expo or furniture builders association meeting, not in the context of a sport. When pro wrestlers talk about what they do in the context of a wrestling show, they should refer to what they do as a sport. Even though they're not really competing to win matches in the ring, they are part of a show that is representing that illusion. Why break that illusion and refer to it as "the business." That said, some athletes in pro sports do refer to their league or sport as an industry or a business, especially when talking about contracts talks and that type of thing. I don't think Hunter or Lawler even realize how it comes across to the average viewer, but eventually it doesn't matter as the average viewer just accepts it as some sort of accepted terminology. I think everyone in wrestling would be better off referring to it as a sport, but I don't feel strongly about it.

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Jim Delano of Cape Cod, Mass.: My question is somewhat similar to one I saw recently, but still worth asking. The Sean Waltman situation got me thinking, also. I was not thinking DX though, I thought Four Horsemen. With HBK and Flair buddy-buddy all of a sudden, Triple H's return on Oct. 3, and Waltman "missing", could that be planned? What do you think?

WK: I don't think the idea of reforming the Four Horsemen ever enters Vince McMahon's mind since that wasn't a concept he came up with. I also don't believe Hunter is interested in reforming an old stable from back when he was trying to establish himself as a top act. Flair and Hunter are slated to wrestle after Hunter returns. I wish Waltman's disappearance was WWE-related, but it's not his style to tell TNA he would be at the PPV early in the day and then skip the show without notice because WWE offered him a deal. WWE wouldn't want to be party to Waltman skipping a PPV he had committed to be at, either. Waltman is still missing as far as I know.

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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.

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