By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

- Welcome to a brand new feature on the Torch that I'm starting with the goal to update on a daily basis. It's part Ticker, part Cube, part commentary on the happenings in pro wrestling for the day. When you stop by the Torch every day for the latest news, be sure to check out the Daily Word for relevant analysis and live features on what's happening in wrestling.

Updated Wednesday, October 22 - evening update

- Earlier today, Paul Heyman posted his latest column in the U.K. Sun, this time focusing on WWE and TNA needing to overhaul, scrap, and re-think their approach to presenting pro wrestling in 2008. Heyman touches on many of the complaints expressed inside the wrestling community about TNA squandering their opportunity trying to be WWE Lite. I'll touch on some of Heyman's big picture concepts.

Heyman: "I'm not picking on TNA. To be blunt, they have a wealth of talent at their disposal, strong financial backing into the tens of millions, and a cooperative network. If I sound envious, it's because I'm looking at the advantages they are simply blowing by narrow-casting and aspiring to be nothing better than WWE Lite."

Caldwell: TNA would argue they aren't trying to be WWE Lite, but when the decision-makers and writers in the company only know how to book a combination of WWE, WCW, and ECW angles from 10-15 years ago, then we end up with a company that is essentially processed WWE.

You know Heyman would love to be in an alternative universe having financial and TV network backing that TNA has. As Mick Foley said in a recent interview, the first TNA-related meeting he had was with Spike TV after never being TV executives when he was part of WWE. It's amazing Spike has continued to back TNA despite the stagnant ratings and sometimes-raunchy programming presented by TNA on Thursday nights in basic cable prime time, but Heyman makes an indirect point that TNA is taking this opportunity for granted.

Maybe a fire would be lit under members of TNA management if Spike dropped hints of not being satisfied with the ratings and content. Would that prompt change? Or, would there simply be a I'll-get-you-back reaction similar to when Spike disapproved of man-on-woman violence leading to TNA mocking that policy ever since?

Heyman: "Samoa Joe is a workhorse who takes great pride in his performances, only he's booked and produced so terribly, the best thing for Samoa Joe fans to do is to plead with him to jump to WWE just for the chance to break away from the career-contaminating booking he's suffering through now."

Caldwell: There have been plenty of times the past 10 months (ever since the Scott Hall promo and TNA subsequently booking Joe like a fool based off that promo) where Joe fans have wanted to throw their hands in the air out of frustration. Joe has been in TV main events and recently carried the TNA World Title, but we now know it was merely a drawn-out transitional champion reign. Would Joe fare better in WWE, though?

Prior to joining TNA a few years ago, Joe was adamant against hooking up with WWE because he didn't want to take a paycut and be "re-taught" in OVW developmental. He has to be looking at a guy like Evan Bourne right now, though, and saying that could be him main eventing ECW on national TV with potential to become a star on Raw, like C.M. Punk. Unless TNA undoes the damage done to Joe's character the past 10 months, Joe really has hit the glass ceiling in TNA. The grass might not be greener on the other side in WWE, but it's at least worth a look at this point.

Heyman: "The moneymaking juggernaut (WWE) is such a strong corporation, yet the directive of and to the creative is weak and antiquated. It's time for Vince's vision of sports entertainment to be updated. Check out the new generation of kids watching the shows. What music do they listen to? What styles resonate with them? With whom can they identify?"

Caldwell: There's the money-spending wrestling fan and there's the not-spending-a-dime-on-anything wrestling fan. Ultimately, WWE has to decide who their master is. If ratings are down because they aren't targeting 17-year-old-males, but revenue is up because older adults feel more connected to the product and will order a PPV, then what's more important? Or, can you have the best of both worlds?

I always remember back to a house show in Louisiana I attended a couple of years ago. Kendrick and London were wrestling as a tag team and the gentleman behind me - about 40-45 years old - just kept laughing at what he was seeing because it didn't look realistic to him. He pointed out to his wife that Kendrick and London looked like his son pretending to wrestle. Whereas his son would probably connect with K&L, the father (with the money to spend) isn't buying what WWE is selling.

To the larger point, how does WWE connect with both the money-to-spend older adults and the younger fanbase that is going to spend only a small amount on merchandise and watch the free programming on TV? WWE has to reconcile that on a show-by-show basis. Bourne for the kids; Finlay for the older adults. The Brian Kendrick for the kids; Hunter for the older adults. Punk for the kids; Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and JBL for the older adults.

Wrapped up in that is how WWE presents a central theme to their programming. WWE is still living off very Attitude-era-centric themes that maybe have worn out their welcome. To Heyman's point about finding out what the general audience is reading about, blogging about, and connecting to in life, WWE needs to be more tuned into the trends for kids and older adults.

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- We have a full story on the main listing about Brock Lesnar's interview with ESPN that aired last night. Video is also below if you missed the main story under WWE News. One of the things about Lesnar is that he always seems to be searching for something. In the 30-45 seconds they spent on his childhood in South Dakota, you could tell he wanted out of that "humble farming" life and wanted a piece of a bigger pie.

When he was done with amateur wrestling, he wanted something more and he found what he thought was success winning prizes and accumulating toys in WWE. That didn't work, or "fulfill my needs," as he put it. The NFL didn't work either. Then, he thought returning to competitive fighting - in UFC - would fulfill him. So far, that's worked out for him, but what happens if he loses handily to Randy Couture on Nov. 15? Fortunately, he's ditched the toys, connected with Rena Mero, and is living more humbly to fall back on something if UFC doesn't work out in the long-term.

Bottom line is that Lesnar is the classic example of a very-driven and very-motivated athlete who only thinks there is one calling in life. Hopefully he won't end up like one of those WWE wrestlers he saw in the locker room taking the same punishment for 20 years. Only, it wouldn't be from years in the ring, but from the mental strain of needing to find an outlet for his passions in life.



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- The NWA launched a newly re-designed website that is a vast improvement over the previous design. In honor of that, check below for a promo from NWA champion Adam Pearce promoting an upcoming title defense against Blue Demon, Jr. in Mexico on Saturday.

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