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FRIDAY’S ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 3/20: Why does WWE seem to ignore Brian Pillman’s legacy? Was Stardust a creation to get back at Dusty? Why isn’t Michael Hayes in the HOF? Is Undertaker going into the HOF next year?

Mar 20, 2015 - 10:27:17 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 Jeff from Michigan asks: Is it pretty much a given that Undertaker will not have a match next year at Mania and instead be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?

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 Undertaker's retirement match will headline "The Biggest WrestleMania of All Time" in his home state of Texas next year.

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PWTorch reader Adam in Dayton, Ohio asks: I'm watching some of the Legends of Wrestling roundtables. Whenever Michael Hayes and Gene Okerlund are on the same panel, Okerlund teases Hayes about not being in the Hall. Is there an obvious political reason I'm missing here for why one of Vince's main lieutenants and a member of a legendary faction would not be in? (It seems like the entire Freebird stable should be in.) Thanks, VIP is such a blast.

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 think that they're waiting for the Dallas, Texas WrestleMania. That'll be the perfect opportunity since that's where they had the most success.

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'd say if he doesn't go in next year in Texas then there is some issue.

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PWTorch reader Rachel M. asks: I heard rumors that Vince McMahon is said to be very happy with the Stardust character as of late. In my opinion, the reason that the Stardust character was created was because of McMahon's hatred towards Dusty Rhodes as well as wanting to put the name Rhodes behind once and for all. Do you think the Cody Rhodes character has been discontinued for good considering that McMahon thought the Cody Rhodes gimmick got bland and stale? Thanks!

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 have no idea if Vince likes or hates The Rhodes family. My guess is any animosity is long gone. It's my understanding that Vince stays pretty focused on the main event players. I doubt he gives too much thought to Cody Rhodes. As far as the gimmick, Golddust is a WWE creation. Stardust is a WWE twist on a WWE creation. I don't think there is anything else to the situation.

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 don't agree with any of that. I think Cody Rhodes is a great wrestler and I think that the office gauges him on his performance, not on his father or gimmick.

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PWTorch reader Sharpe W. asks: Love the website. My question is simple. WWE acknowledges Eddie Guerrero and his untimely passing every now and then, but not much lately. However, for obvious reasons, they don't mention Chris Benoit. My question is why do they never EVER talk about Brian Pillman? Was he not in WWE long enough before his passing for them to consider him one of their guys? They didn't even mention him on the 1000th Raw episode and I've always wondered why.

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.) He didn't spend a lot of time in WWE. He only had a few matches. Then you add in his lifestyle choices and circumstances surrounding his death, and it's not something WWE wants to publicize.

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: To be fair, you can make the same argument about dozens and dozens of men and women that meant a lot of the company through the years who get ignored. Pillman had a DVD release on his career, which is more than most of them will ever get. With Eddie Guerrero, at least there was the occasional natural tie to his career, especially when Vickie was still shrilly appearing on TV; for Pillman, there aren't any links left.

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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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Catch up on past Ask PWTorch articles...

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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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