Welcome to a new website-exclusive PWTorch feature! I am PWTorch founder and editor, Wade Keller. I've been covering pro wrestling since 1987 when I started the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter while still in high school. Over 25 years later, PWTorch reaches more wrestling fans every week than any other independent brand. When we launched PWTorch.com in 1999, one of the features I enjoyed doing the most was "Ask PWTorch," a feature we had previously run in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter in the previous dozen years. I haven't done it recently on the website, but did revive it in recent years in an audio format for PWTorch VIP members on my Keller Hotline a couple times a week. We reintroduced it to the website audience last month. We have posted it every mid-day since the beginning of May.

If you have a question you'd like me to respond to, send your question to askpwtorch@gmail.com. I, along with the Torch staff, will address you questions.


PWTorch reader Phil D. asks: What is Brutus Beefcake's relationship with WWE? Do you think he belongs in the Hall of Fame?

PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell answers: Brutus Beefcake's relationship with WWE usually parallels Hulk Hogan's, since with the exception of TNA anywhere Hogan went in his career Beefcake followed. Hogan's relationship with Vince McMahon is not a good one these days so I'd be surprised to see the Barber in the WWE Hall of Fame anytime soon. Does be deserve to be in? Well, they like WWF mid-carders from the '80s who are alive and walk and talk without assistance.


PWTorch reader Doug H. asks: I read the answer to your question last week about the reasons WWF had a face champion and the NWA had a heel champion. In the late-'80s, when Flair was dominating the NWA, I seem to remember two very clear moments when Flair could have dropped the title to a hot face - Nikita Koloff at Starrcade '86 and Lex Luger at the Great American Bash in '88. Both were recent turns and were very over with the fans at the time. Was it the old-school territory philosophy of a heel champion/face challenger that kept them from winning or was it something specific about Nikita and Luger?

PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell answers: At the time Nikita Koloff faced Ric Flair at Starrcade he didn't have the skills in or out of the ring to draw better money than Flair in the championship role. The story JCP was telling at the time was the American Dream with the help of his good friends fighting Ric Flair and his accomplices to get the NWA World Title that "Dusty deserved all along." As for Lex Luger, that Great American Bash was where his chase heated up. The decision to not put the title on Luger because The Maryland Stare Athletic Commission stopped the match due to Luger's small bloody cut just as Flair was about to submit led to big money rematches around the country. It was the sale of JCP to Turner Broadcasting and the TBS decision to back Flair over Rhodes that led to Luger not getting the title at the end of the program.


PWTorch reader George B. asks: I was reflecting back on how much I respected Shawn Michaels's title run in '96 when he wrestled five tremendous matches against five opponents all of which had completely different styles, sizes, strength. Now I ask the PWTorch staff which World Title run do you all value highly and why?

PWTorch columnist Sean Radican answers: My favorite title reign of all time is Samoa Joe's nearly two year run with the ROH Championship. Joe gave meaning to that title by defending it against a variety of opponents like Homicide, Bryan Danielson, and C.M. Punk. Joe came across like a legitimate tough guy in the ring and his series of matches, especially the two one-hour draws against Punk, made the company relevant. The way Joe carried himself and the aura he had in the ring are something I will always remember.


PWTorch columnist Greg Parks answers: There are a couple that come to mind: Bruno Sammartino's over seven-year reign is one I immediately think of, considering what he meant for the WWWF at the time. Bret Hart's early WWF title runs, which signaled a move away from the bigger, muscle-bound wrestlers (thanks in part to Vince's Steroid trial). And more recently, C.M. Punk's year-plus reign, which is almost unheard of these days when Vince changes his mind about major directions daily and the swings in TV ratings are taken so seriously.


PWTorch reader John W. asks: I am a fan of factions and stables in wrestling. What grouping of wrestlers would you like to see together to form a faction or stable in WWE?

PWTorch columnist Greg Parks answers: Right now, I think the best way to utilize a faction in WWE is to create one featuring talent that really doesn't have anything to do, but is worth investing in. I'm talking about guys like Alex Riley, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd (when healthy), and Evan Bourne. Maybe not necessarily putting all of them in one group, but those are the types of guys I'd like to see WWE form a faction with, if only to give them more prominence and a purpose on TV.

As much of a joke as 3MB is, it has given three guys who really didn't have anything to do (and didn't seem to have much in common) a gimmick and more TV time to showcase their wares. In some circles, they've even become somewhat of cult favorites. At some point, maybe WWE will see something in one of them to push further up the card, but you're only going to get that chance if you get an opportunity. Creating a faction or a stable with some of the wrestlers I listed will at least give them that opportunity.

PWTorch columnist Sean Radican answers: I really like what WWE is doing right now with the Shield, but I think there's room for another faction or two in the company right now. I think it would be fun to see the Paul Heyman guys actually team together instead of working separately with Heyman. Curtis Axel could get a lot of rub working closely with Punk or Brock Lesnar at some point. I know WWE likes to keep the wrestlers associated with Paul Heyman separate, but it would be fun to see them band together against a group of faces.

Another idea would be to have the Shield turn face and team against the Paul Heyman guys, but this is a pipe dream right now, as WWE has shown that there was a link between Heyman and the Shield in the past, but they haven't gone back to it since then.

One wrestler who might benefit from having a stable is John Cena. He's the top babyface in the company that gets a mixed reaction from the fans. The one thing about Cena that has always bothered me is that he doesn't seem to have any friends. I think to add another layer to his character, it would be interesting to see him paired with Kofi Kingston and Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro's heel act feels stale at this point and I think the different things that Kingston, Cena, and Cesaro bring to the table would make for an interesting combination to take on a stable of heels.

(I'll now be adding a segment exclusively for VIP members to this article as a bonus for VIP members. I will select questions sent by VIP members to my VIP Ask the Editor email box that I usually answer on my VIP Keller Hotline during the week and writing a text answer. Today's question follows. To go VIP and get all PWTorch VIP content on our app and our website and our Audio RSS feed, www.PWTorch.com/govip)


PWTorch VIP member Jonathan from Pennsylvania asks: What do you make of the Shield's first six-man loss coming on Smackdown? An integral part of the Daniel Bryan push or a wasted opportunity to use the Shield's streak to make money/boost ratings?

PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers: (This is part of the VIP-exclusive portion of Ask PWTorch. am now adding a segment exclusively for VIP members to this article as a bonus for VIP members. I will select questions sent by VIP members to my VIP Ask the Editor email box that I usually answer on my VIP Keller Hotline during the week and writing a text answer. To go VIP and get all PWTorch VIP content on our app and our website and our Audio RSS feed, click here: www.PWTorch.com/govip.)

SPECIAL NOTE We have launched a new FREE PWTorch Email Alert service where you can receive BREAKING NEWS ALERTS on occasion plus daily TOP FIVE STORIES reports. To sign up (you can easily unsubscribe anytime), click here.)

READ PREVIOUS "ASK PWTORCH" FEATURES BY CLICKING HERE.

(Send your question for PWTorch editor Wade Keller and the PWTorch staff exclusively to pwtorch@gmail.com for consideration! You can hear expanded conversation on the above topics from Wade Keller by becoming a VIP member and gaining access to the daily Wade Keller Hotline, posted every day for VIP members for over 1,000 days straight. Sign up at www.PWTorch.com/govip)

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