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2003 Torch Newsletter Series: The World Comes to An End! The latest WWE expansion disaster
May 8, 2008 - 3:37:27 PM


Torch Newsletter #748 (cover-dated March 8, 2003) has just been added to the Torch VIP Archives. VIP members can access the complete Torch Back issue by clicking here, or just click on the VIP Torch Archives button in the upper right cover of this webpage, then go to "Torch Newsletter Back Issues 2003" for a list of all 2003 back issues since the beginning of the year.

This issue features a cover story on the WWE World nightlclub in New York City coming to an end... Keller's "This Week" feature column on WWE brand split surviving without key names... Pat McNeill's feature column focuses on how Steve Austin or The Rock may delay inevitable need for change... Jason Powell's "On Topic" features the February Hitlist... Torch Talk with Justin Credible talking about being completely miserable in the wrestling business... Keller's TNA PPV report with staff roundtable reviews... Plus Torch Newswire and summaries of Raw and Smackdown...

TorchCover748_333.jpg


The VIP section adds two new complete Torch Newsletter back issues every week to the Torch VIP Archives section - one from ten years ago this week and another from five years ago this week. The back issues catch you up on insider stories and controversial commentaries at a very different time in the wrestling industry. Learn how we got to where we are today one week at a time as a VIP member! Sign up today and catch up on all of the back issues from 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 now available, with new ones being added every week.

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MORE "VIP Exclusive Features" ARTICLES
7/3 Radican Audio Showcase w/Burgan (pt. 2): Radican and Burgan discuss the excellent Cabana shoot interview, DGUSA PPV and DVD differences, ROH must-see matches just released, more (54 min.)
7/3 Bruce Mitchell Audio Show, part one: Breaking down the 15 talent trades, new-look ECW (62 min.)
7/3 Radican Audio Showcase (pt. 1): Radican discusses PWG's Secret of Guerrilla Island with guest Mike Roe (Strong-Omega, Jackson-Richards) (28 min.)
7/3 Wade Keller Hotline - The Impact Rant: Why last night's show was maddeningly terrible in terms of character and storyline development and logic (16 min.)
7/3 VIP East Coast Audio - Impact: Jarrett's Power Play, Lauren & Abyss's tender moment, Improved show (65 min.)
7/2 TORCH DAILY BLITZ: Burgan and John Dudeck look at "JAPW: Caged Fury" DVD - Teddy Hart/Jack Evans vs. Homicide/B-Boy (28 min.)
7/2 Wade Keller Hotline - The News: Torrie Upset, Vickie Treatment, Piper DUI, Wrestlers in Pain, Mexico Wrestler Deaths, Blair Charges Dropped (20 min.)
6/30 Wade Keller Hotline - The News: Raw, Impact, ECW ratings news and analysis, Dixie Carter interview, New-Look Bizarre ECW (24 min.)
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7/1 VIP East Coast Audio - ECW: Shelton the Raging Bigot, Kozlov softens, Mr. Washington worst or best ever? (40 min.)
6/30 Wade Keller Hotline - The News: Analysis of 15 Talent Trades and reply to Hardy's Seven Torch Tweets (20 min.)
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JUNE 1989 BACK ISSUE SET (20 Years Ago): Three back issues with news, results, columns, more - just posted as PDFs
MICK FOLEY INTERVIEW - Vintage Audio Torch Talk from May 31, 1991, part two of two (90 min.)
JUNE 2004 BACK ISSUE SERIES: Samoa Joe Torch Talk, feature columns by Mitchell, Keller, Powell, McNeill, ROH Drama, PPV Reports, Tons of Insider Exclusive News
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6/29 TORCH DAILY BLITZ: Burgan and Matt Johnson discuss Kayfabe Commentaries "Guest Booker with Bushwhacker Luke" DVD (35 min.)
6/28 Wade Keller Hotline - The News: Bash Poll Analysis, Lashley's Future, Lilian Gives Notice, Brisco Update, MMATorch (15 min.)
WWE Bash PPV VIP Audio Roundtable (65 min.): Keller, Mitchell, and McNeill breakdown entire card and big angles and controversial finishes

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UPCOMING EVENTS LISTING

Articles Grouped by Category
Torch Today
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Polls OPEN for best/worst in pro wrestling from the month of June (Part 2 of 2)
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Polls OPEN for best/worst in pro wrestling from the month of June (Part 1 of 2)
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Nominate best and worst in pro wrestling from the month of June
WWE News
WWE News: Chris Jericho discusses art form of staying heel, taking a dive for Mickey Rourke, wrestling Ricky Steamboat this weekend
WWE News: Jim Ross comments on brutal travel schedule and Roddy Piper DUI arrest
WWE News: Preview for tonight's Superstars on WGN - Punk vs. Edge, Morrison vs. Haas
TNA News
TNA News: Sting talks Shockmaster with Jeff Jarrett, Jim Cornette (w/VIDEOS)
TNA News: Preview for tonight's Impact - TNA World Title match, Mafia vs. Team 3D, Young vs. Rhino (w/VIDEO)
TNA News: Homicide says he has more freedom to wrestle on independent shows compared to TNA, describes character differences
ROH News
ROH News: Lance Storm's first match out of retirement announced, details on second match against Chris Hero
ROH News: Notes on Toronto Gauntlet match, Nigel McGuinness below-average performances into storyline, ROH selling PWG DVDs
TOP FIVE STORIES - Weekend edition: Three WWE PPV title changes, WWE announcer leaving, Lashley blasts Sapp, Jerry Lawler's son arrested, "State of TNA" address
Other News
Other News: Torch Talk All-Star Lanny Poffo Video interview, great poem on taking out Hulk Hogan
Other News: Brian Blair denies hitting his children in Father's Day Fight; local news runs 911 call leading to arrest (w/VIDEO)
Other News: New clip of Rob Van Dam doing a stunt for his upcoming movie (w/VIDEO)
PPV Reports
THE BASH PPV COVERAGE: Listing of the Torch's WWE PPV coverage - Title changes, Jericho writes on Rey match, Miz on Cena match
RADICAN'S WWE THE BASH PPV BLOG 6/28: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Orton vs. Hunter PPV
CALDWELL'S WWE THE BASH PPV REPORT 6/28: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Orton vs. Triple H, Punk vs. Hardy
TV Reports
PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 7/3: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Punk & Jeff Hardy vs. Jericho & Edge
WWE News: Preview for tonight's Smackdown - Mysterio vs. Kane and Edge & Jericho vs. Punk & Jeff Hardy
PARKS' TNA IMPACT REPORT 7/2: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Team 3D vs. Booker & Steiner
Arena Reports
6/27 ROH in Chicago: Austin Aries vs. Nigel McGuinness, KENTA vs. Black, Petey Williams looks odd, Crowd eats up Flair's generic promo
6/28 PWG in California: Joey Ryan vs. Necro Butcher, Davey Richards vs. Young Buck, Michael Jackson entrance themes
6/21 WWE in Iowa: Cena vs. Orton, Big Show vs. MVP, Miz vs. Goldust, Santino vs. Kendrick
MMA / UFC Coverage
UFC News: Kimbo Slice, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans plus rest of cast of TUF 10 to be revealed...
UFC - ENNIS COLUMN: The Lay of the Lane - A look at MMA's top heavyweights from Brock to Mir to Carwin to Fedor to...
MMA: Plan a week of UFC and other MMA viewing with the Torch's viewer's guide including Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER: How bookers, like Jeff Jarrett last night, show that they're the toughest SOBs in the world
KELLER'S TNA IMPACT TAKE 7/2: Thoughts, observations, nitpicks, and quotebook
KELLER'S ECW ON SCI-FI REPORT 6/30: Results, star ratings, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, and quotebook
MITCHELL'S TAKE
MITCHELL SHORT: WWE Proving Once Again That Life is Easy...
MOJO MITCHELL'S 6/29 Raw Stream Of Randy Orton Faces ECW and Loses and That's The Main Event
Mitchell Short: Your Thank-You Note to WWE
MCNEILL'S TAKE
The Names Have Been Changed To Protect The Buyrates: McNEILL Previews WWE Bash 2009!
Redemption: McNEILL previews TNA Slammiversary 7!
MCNEILL BLOG: A Modest Proposal For Monday Night Trump
CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL: Analysis of WWE's roster shuffle from the 15-person trade - who benefited, which brand needs help
CALDWELL: Instant Reaction to key storylines on Raw and post-PPV developments
CALDWELL: WWE Smackdown/The Bash PPV analysis - Don't Mess with C.M. Punk's dynamic character
RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN: Torch readers sounds off on Mark Henry's shining moment on Raw (w/Radican Reax)
RADICAN: Mark Henry's shining moment on Raw leaves a bad smell in the room
RADICAN: A follow up on the Death Before Dishonor audio with Feinstein with notes on Special K angle, Punk-Raven feud, where's Misawa now?
The Specialists
CHARACTER MATTERS: Why The Game Doesn't Play with Me - The Flaws of Triple H's On-Air Persona
ABSURDITY OF IT ALL - 7/2 TNA Impact: Kurt Angle saw "The Hangover," Stacker2, A.J. Styles Eats a Lot of Cookies, Stacker2, Jeff Jarrett Has the Power of Flight
HITS & MISSES - TNA IMPACT 7/2: Kevin Nash's sit-down, Kurt Angle Plays the Game, Matt Morgan a Hit?, Samoa Joe muted, Bad acting, Raven MIA
Guest Editorials
EDITORIAL: Historical perspective on Austin Aries's ROH Title victory - his journey from main event to mid-card back to main event
EDITORIAL: TNA needs to K.I.S.S. the King of the Mountain match to make it more appealing to TNA viewers
EDITORIAL: How WWE could have better handled the Vickie-Edge segment on Raw and caught up with the year 2009
Torch Feedback
ECW TV Reax #2: "Yoshi is already on the road to being the next Funaki at this point"
ECW TV Reax #1: "I think Abraham Washington has some charisma, but dear Lord, that was the most pointless segment in pro wrestling history"
WWE Raw Reax #4: "I'm not sure how WWE could have made it any clearer that MVP isn't in Triple H's league"
Ask the Editor
Ask the Editor: Wouldn't incorporating MMA-style holds into pro wrestling matches just be trying to be something it's not?
ASK THE EDITOR: Have the Michaels-Batista promos crossed a line with use of insider terms, references to "jobs"?
ASK THE EDITOR: Why do wrestlers in WWE refer to wrestling as "the business" and not "the sport"?
DVDs - VGames - Books
RADICAN'S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES: 2/7 "Proving Ground: Night 2" (Danielson-Generico, Steen-Richards)
RADICAN'S TORCH DVD REVIEW SERIES: YouShoot with Sabu: Sabu opens up about working in WWE, incident with Kurt Angle, negotions with TNA, more...
RADICAN'S PWTorch DVD review: The Best of RVD TV Vol. 1: RVD trains MMA with a UFC fighter, talks the power of the mind with The Ultimate Warrior, discusses love on a beach with Samoa Joe
Torch Flashbacks
KELLER'S TNA IMPACT REPORT (5 Yrs. Ago): Eric Young headlines, Jerry Lynn, R-Truth, Dusty Rhodes, Sabu, A.J. Styles, Jarrett, D-Ray 3000!
OWEN HART 10 YRS. AGO: Bruce Mitchell Feature Column - The Fluke Death of Owen Hart - May 23, 1999
OWEN HART 10 YRS. AGO: Torch Newsletter #550 cover story on Owen Hart's death (PART TWO) - May 23, 1999
VIP Exclusive Features
7/3 Radican Audio Showcase w/Burgan (pt. 2): Radican and Burgan discuss the excellent Cabana shoot interview, DGUSA PPV and DVD differences, ROH must-see matches just released, more (54 min.)
7/3 Bruce Mitchell Audio Show, part one: Breaking down the 15 talent trades, new-look ECW (62 min.)
7/3 Radican Audio Showcase (pt. 1): Radican discusses PWG's Secret of Guerrilla Island with guest Mike Roe (Strong-Omega, Jackson-Richards) (28 min.)
Torch Trivia
TORCH TRIVIA 2/28: Which wrestler backed out of a WWA PPV in February 2002?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/27: Who said this quote about Hulk Hogan's athleticism 11 years ago?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/25: What said this quote about WWE's mid-1990s drug testing policy?
Torch Instant Polls
7/3 SMACKDOWN MICROSCOPE POLL: What related topic from tonight's Smackdown do you want to see analyzed Under the Microscope?
TNA IMPACT POLL: Who was the MVP of the 7/2 episode if you saw the show?
TORCH MORNING POLL: If TNA decides to compete head-to-head with WWE, what should they do?
PWTorch Free Podcast
6/23 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Former WCW rapmaster PN News joins Brian Hoops to preview upcoming Midwest shows (10 min.)
FREE AUDIO: Keller & Mitchell Discuss Randy Savage's Place in WWE History, Elizabeth's Strengths and Weaknesses
FREE FOR ALL TODAY - 5/31 Keller Hotline: Tons of info on Kennedy situation, immediate future, plus what top star's days in TNA are numbered, what's working against Kennedy getting big push in TNA, much more
Annual Obituaries
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 1999 - Muchnick, Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Renegade...
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2000 - Solie, Albright, Duncum, Tsuruta, Blue Demon, Al Costello
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2001: Johnny Valentine, Terry Gordy, Chris Adams, Bertha Faye, Helen Hart