PWTorch.com - ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 10/24: Why not have a tourney for the WWE Title at a WrestleMania again? Who seems like the best author-in-waiting to write a book? When Cena's replacement is found to be top babyface, will Cena turn heel?

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ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 10/24: Why not have a tourney for the WWE Title at a WrestleMania again? Who seems like the best author-in-waiting to write a book? When Cena's replacement is found to be top babyface, will Cena turn heel?

Oct 24, 2014 - 11:45:11 PM

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The PWTorch All-Star Panel features an array of contributors answering your questions who have worked in various facets of the pro wrestling industry, plus PWTorch contributors join in. You get an unmatched mix of perspectives including first-hand insights from people who have worked in the ring and behind the curtain.

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PWTorch reader Forrest M. asks: I have always been a huge fan of Dustin Runnells (Rhodes/Goldust) ever since I first saw him in WCW. His late-'90s version of Goldust I could've done without, but I still enjoyed his work. He seems to be in really great shape now, so my question is: Could Goldust have one more good singles run? Not a main event run but possibly a high middle of the card run?

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan, Torch subscriber, and currently PWTorch Livecast guest host. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars, and was flown out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) I'm very happy for Dustin. There were a few years in his life where he was heading toward becoming a wrestling tragedy. The shape he is in is remarkable. He should be commended for that. I think his primary role is to help his brother get some momentum in his career. While he certainly could be a valuable as someone to teach a younger talent while feuding with them, I don't think he will get major push. WWE is all about younger talent right now.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: Yes totally. I know Dustin personally and I've seen him personally and spoken to him. He can have a big singles run if the powers that be desired it. Dustin Runnels is awesome.

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: Absolutely. He is one of the best, most experienced workers in the company. It's all about positioning him for such an opportunity.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: No. I personally do not think that John will turn to heel.

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Josh S. from Bloomington, Minn. asks: Howdy guys. Been revisiting my way through some of the offerings from WWE wrestlers/personalities over the last few weeks, (Stev Austin, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Chris Jericho, Eric Bischoff) that I thought were worth re-reading. Question I have is aside from the Jim Ross book that is coming out is: Who seems the most likely and interesting candidate for something worth reading? I'd go with the Undertaker myself, assuming he (and his likely ghostwriter) wrote it out of character.

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan, Torch subscriber, and currently PWTorch Livecast guest host. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars, and was flown out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) Considering the story in Jericho's book about Kofi Kingston standing up to Vince McMahon, I'd go with him. C.M. Punk would be a possibility. Daniel Bryan's long journey should make for good reading.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: With all due respect, I treat every book differently. I treat it as an individual work. I believe Jim Ross's will be better than any book ever put out by the WWE.

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PWTorch reader Jeff from Michigan asks: When WWE finds the next top guy(s) to replace John Cena, will it be a given that Cena will turn heel?

EX-WWE CREATIVE TEAM MEMBER John Piermarini (ex-WWE Creative Team member 2009-2010, frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: A given? No. But I bet he turns before he's done.

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: Never gonna happen. Cena takes his "role model" role very seriously and never wants to be seen as someone who let down those who believed in him.

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PWTorch reader Cody B. from Iowa asks: Do you think "Dolph Ziggler" is always going to be "damaged" because of his ridiculous ring name?

MAINSTREAM WRESTLING MEDIA REPORTER Brian Fritz (host of Between the Ropes podcast and reporter for Sporting News, former AOL Fanhouse and Yahoo Sports reporter) answers: Cody, I don't think Dolph is damaged from having that name at all. Remember, the guy did win the World Heavyweight Championship on their biggest Raw of the year just over a year ago. At first, many of use thought the name was a bit ridiculous but now it seems just fine. Just like Cesaro and Big E - it grows on you.

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan, Torch subscriber, and currently PWTorch Livecast guest host. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars, and was flown out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) I think Dolph's concussion over a year ago made management reluctant to put faith in him, but the name doesn't do him any favors.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: Maybe. I hate the name. I think he's is probably one of the best workers WWE has right now. Worse than his name is the way that the WWE uses him. I hope they do something with him. I enjoy watching him.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: I think Dolph’s look and style is played out, he can work past the name. That’s the least of his problems.

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PWTorch reader Michael D. asks: Long time reader...first time writer. It's been over 25 years. so why not have a tournament for the Unified WWE Title at a Wrestlemania? They can put together a bracket of 16 to compete for the championship while including one or two returning Superstars who can make a run for the belt (such as Shawn Michaels and Goldberg) within the bracket. It would make the show completely unpredictable, throw in an Undertaker match, a Divas match, and maybe a tag team battle and that would be a great card. Thoughts?

MAINSTREAM WRESTLING MEDIA REPORTER Brian Fritz (host of Between the Ropes podcast and reporter for Sporting News, former AOL Fanhouse and Yahoo Sports reporter) answers: WWE is not big on tournaments and even ditched the King of the Ring tournament some years ago. WWE would prefer having the matches set up so they can promote them to help sell the show. While it would otherwise be unpredictable, they isn't as easy to sell to the overall audience. You want to promote big names and big matches.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: It sounds great on paper, but WWE hates tournaments. They would rather sell individual matches. It's one of the reasons that they don't have the King of the Ring tournament anymore. It traditionally sold fewer PPV buys than the other ones that featured main event matches. That being said, I'm a fan of the idea.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: King of the Ring never did that well buy rate wise, I wouldn’t use that format at Mania.

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(Send questions for a future Ask PWTorch to: askpwtorch@gmail.com. If you have a particular person on the All-Star Panel you'd in particular like to direct your question to, include that in the subject line, but multiple panelists may also answer.)

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In case you are new to this feature, let me introduce you to our All-Star Panel…

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Thanks to Pat McNeill and Anthony Jeselnik for the name of this feature. Just as "CSI" spawned "CSI: Miami," "Ask PWTorch" spawned "Ask PWTorch: All-Star Panel." Only without David Caruso. In any case, we are excited to present to you a new cast for the Ask PWTorch spinoff, which is available exclusively on the PWTorch App (or, for VIP members, on the VIP website too). You are reading this, so you are either a VIP member or have already downloaded the free PWTorch App on your phone or tablet. If you aren't a VIP member, why not? With VIP membership, you gain full access to both Ask PWTorch features on all devices you use to visit PWTorch - our App and our Website.

The "Ask PWTorch All-Star Panel" edition is scheduled to be published first thing in the morning (although not necessarily every single day, like the afternoon website-based Ask PWTorch is; we'll see about that as we move forward). It will feature an entirely different panel of experts and analysts than the afternoon Ask PWTorch does. We have assembled a wide range of contributors, which may expand or change over time, with the goal being to give PWTorch readers new perspectives from people who have particular areas of expertise. Along with our All-Stars from outside of PWTorch, several of our PWTorch contributors (but not the main staff who contribute to the website-based original Ask PWTorch!… you will be quizzed on all of this, so take notes) will also be regularly contributing, especially to current-events-related questions.

Let me introduce you to our panel…

Justin Credible: Current pro wrestler and former ECW Champion and longtime WWE wrestler in the 1990s and 2000s, Justin Credible (P.J. Polaco) currently is the IWE Champion. He travels as indy champion from Maine to Mexico with the title. He posts new Wrestling 101 YouTube videos at www.TheJustinCredible.com or on YouTube at his YouTube Channel.

John Piermarini: Ex-WWE Creative Team member who will provide a behind-the-scenes perspective from his years working for WWE including alongside Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and John Cena. He has been a frequent PWTorch Livecast guest and was the subject of a comprehensive five-hour Torch Talk interview several years ago about his experience with WWE for most of 2009-2010.

Greg Oliver: SLAM! Wrestling reporter and wrestling book author (and hockey book author), Greg will provide a Canadian perspective on many wrestling topics. If you are a fan from Canada or have Canadian-related wrestling questions, Greg can help you. He is a wrestling historian who published a wrestling newsletter during the boom period of insider wrestling newsletters starting in the late 1980s. We were pen pals in the early 1990s and first met at a 1989 wrestling convention in Chicago run by Jon Gallagher of the Wrestling Forum (the first insider wrestling newsletter I ever received in the mail in early 1987).

George Schire: Author of "Minnesota's Golden Age of Wrestling," former Pro Wrestling Focus radio cohost with me in the early 1990s on KFAN, former contributor of history pieces to the PWTorch Newsletter, and multi-time guest on PWTorch Livecast "Interview Friday," he will be providing a historical perspective to Ask PWTorch.

Johnny Fairplay: Reality Star and Wrestling Manager, perhaps best known as Pat McNeill's Regis Philbin. He was an old neighbor of PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell who watched PPVs at his house long before he became a contestant on Survivor twice. He has been on many reality TV shows, the PWTorch Livecast numerous times, and follows wrestling very closely. You can read more about him on Wikipedia.

Brian Fritz: Host of the long-running "Between the Ropes" podcast, and now working for Yahoo! Sports radio, he also has been a guest on the PWTorch Livecast (and I've been a guest on his podcast), he brings years of reporting on wrestling including on-site interviews with wrestlers at major press events over the years. He follows today's wrestling and will provide his perspective and take on your questions.

Mick Karch: An early PWTorch Newsletter columnist over 20 years ago, Mick has been an announcer for virtually every national wrestling promotion other than the WWF, WCW, and TNA in the last 25 years. He currently works as an announcer on Minnesota indy wrestling shows. He got his start in wrestling running the Nick Bockwinkel Fan Club in the 1970s and is known for his sense of humor, strong opinions, and tremendous insight into wrestling's past dating back many decades, but he also watches today's wrestling regularly and can provide valuable perspective as a result of that span of time following and participating in the industry.

Brad Stutts: He has worked behind the scenes in wrestling in many roles, including taking jackets to the back, setting up and tearing down rings, running websites for indy promoters, running lights and music at live events, and performing as a manager, announcer, wrestler, and promoter. He currently is the lead announcer for CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in North Carolina.

Jim Valley: Long time wrestling fan and Torch subscriber. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars and was flown our to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.

Current PWTorch Contributors: A mix of current PWTorch contributors will provide their opinion on today's wrestling scene and modern wrestling history questions, including Shawn Valentino, Michael Moore, Ben Tucker, Jon Mezzera, Brian Leahy, Jimmy Eaton, and Mike Roe.

You can send your questions for the All-Star Panel to the same address as always: askpwtorch@gmail.com. We will make sure they are directed to the appropriate panelist for potential inclusion in a published Ask PWTorch feature here on the PWTorch App or VIP Website. You may see your question asked in both versions of Ask PWTorch (the Afternoon original website-exclusive version and app-exclusive All-Stars version) so check both versions. Different groups of panelists may tackle your question on different days, so keep checking back. Because they all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences as both fans and working in some capacity in the business or covering it for the Torch, you're going to get some strong specific points of view from them.