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 F.T. asks: Last I read, Samoa Joe is heading to WWE. Does he have enough name recognition to continue to be called Samoa Joe, or do you think they'll start from scratch with him in NXT a la Kevin Steen, Prince Devitt, Kenta, etc.?

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: If they changed KENTA and Prince Devitt, they'll change Samoa Joe and everyone else going forward.

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: I'm not sure he will be called Samoa Joe but whatever he is called he will make a huge impact in an XT and then quickly into the main roster. Joe is a tremendous talent and I'm happy for him.

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.) It has nothing to do with name recognition. It's all about marketing. WWE wants to own names for licensing deals like tshirts, video games, foam fingers, anything, really. I expect Joe's new wrestling name will include something that acknowledges his past in some way.

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PWTorch reader Rachel M. asks: Why does the WWE hold pay-per-views in the same five cities (Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York City Area, and Boston) every year while cities such as Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Kansas City almost never get one? Is it because some markets draw more than others and that the WWE wants sellouts? Thanks!

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, it is because of drawing power. Also, it is because other cities in the surrounding area are better for Monday night Raw and then Smackdown on Mondays and Tuesdays. If a city is too isolated, it doesn’t work for a three day stretch Sunday through Tuesday where they need major arenas within driving distance for the production trucks.

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.) Because those are the biggest, most influential cities in the country. You may notice when Raw is in a smaller market, like Spokane, Washington, the announcers never mention the city by name. If it happens, it's in passing. WWE wants to be seen as a huge, global brand. Heaven forbid the city of Birmingham, Alabama sully the WWE by being associated with it. As far as Seattle goes, we have been on the naughty list since WrestleMania 19 at Safeco Field (cheap plug: Wayback Playback) had a buyrate that was below expectations. We here in Seattle were blamed because we apparently aren't seen as a major market.

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PWTorch reader Jeff from Michigan asks: Five or six years from now, who will be the top guy to replace John Cena? Will it be Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, or someone else?

AUTHOR & REPORTER & HISTORIAN Greg Oliver (co-author of "The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame," reporter for SLAM! Wrestling in Canada, editor of Canadian Wrestling Report Newsletter in late-'80s) answers: Wow, a lot can happen in five to six years. I would hope that it's someone not even on our radar. At this point, I'd be looking at someone who has some crossover appeal to mean something in the mainstream. To me, both Sami Zayn and Finn Balor have a tremendous upside with their international appeal. And, given the WWE's ability to make oodles of dough on the strenuous tours abroad, it would make sense that someone like either of them are given a chance to shine. Or maybe there's a football player who'll step up, or someone else from the amateur wrestling ranks.

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: We'll be lucky if there are any top guys 5-6 years from now.

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PWTorch reader Forrest M. asks: Jeff Jarrett's involvement with New Japan opened up my thought to watching Wrestle Kingdom 9, and I was very excited to order the PPV (it was my first New Japan PPV). Adding Jim Ross was just icing on the cake. So I would like to thank Jeff Jarrett and his Global Force Wrestling for finally getting me to order a New Japan PPV. However, I think New Japan will be the big winner in this as Jarrett is marketing a superior wrestling product (or so it seems) to the U.S. audience. It got me wondering, with New Japan getting their own Network and now this big PPV, could New Japan eventually become the number 2 wrestling promotion in the U.S.?

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.) That is a complicated question. Keep in mind, GFW and NJPW are two different companies. They are working together, but they are not under the same umbrella and may have different goals and strategies. There are many factors for and against NJPW earning a foothold in Japan. Can NJPW gain traction with the hardcore fan base and grow from there? Can NJPW break the culture barrier without compromising its audience in Japan? How much is Japan willing to spend? What can it do to connect with the more casual wrestling or even sports fans? There are many factors that need to be addressed.

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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

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.

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.

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