PWTorch.com - SATURDAY’S ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 4/4: Who were best WWE celebrities of the past and what are ideas for next year in Dallas? Why is JBL sometimes cheering Bryan and other times ripping him? What could help three hour Raw format?

Ask PWTorch
SATURDAY’S ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 4/4: Who were best WWE celebrities of the past and what are ideas for next year in Dallas? Why is JBL sometimes cheering Bryan and other times ripping him? What could help three hour Raw format?

Apr 4, 2015 - 7:24:20 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 VIP member Cody B. asks: Let's say, no matter what, (and the idea that three hours is far too long for a wrestling product, this idea is thrown OUT...) Raw will continue to and always be a three hour show. What concepts, ideas, angles, video packages, fan interactions, etc. anything in wrestling history or an innovation that YOU think will capture casual and hardcore fans alike.

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: Personally I'd love to see one hour of the show take on a "UFC Countdown" type approach similar to how the "blizzard Raw" from WWE HQ played out, with studio interviews and segments designed to draw up interest from the key participants in upcoming featured matches. I think the whole process needs to be dialed back some - fewer angles, revamp the whole concept of a three hour live show in front of the fans and instead have some taped segments - long taped segments for the home viewer while dark matches (or even Superstars/etc. tapings) occur for the live crowd. In other words, less of an out-of-control live three hour immersive experience and more of a packaged feel where a host or hosts introduces segments and throws it to the live crowd in whatever town they're in. Instead of the whole thing happening in the arena, the arena is just a part of the show.

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PWTorch reader Tony of Kentucky asks: JBL continued to make fun of Daniel Bryan even after winning the IC Title, referring to him as a farm animal. Then he jovially stated that DB started "Yeslemania". So, is JBL a face or a heel? Would clear face and heel, or at least just face announcers, make the product easier to comprehend and be invested in?

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: In this day and age, unless you were a clear-cut heel, you should not offend any of the talent. It is counter-productive and sends the wrong message

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.) JBL is JBL. He can pretty much do what he wants. I'm sure Vince McMahon fed him at least one of those lines. If I were to guess, JBL was playing heel on his own and was probably corrected by Vince in the back. Having heel and babyfaces is rasslin'. WWE is Sports Entertainment.

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PWTorch VIP member Cody B. asks: What are things in "pop culture" that the WWE could utilize on Raw to gain more fans?

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 the key is getting the main figures in each of the pop genres and not supporting characters. In NASCAR, people like Dale Jr. not the other 48 guys. In “Walking Dead,” they like Daryl. In the NFL, they like Peyton Manning, not some random offensive lineman. It's not a difficult concept.

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PWTorch VIP member Cody B. asks: Who has been the best utilized celebrity at WrestleMania? Also, what outside-of-WWE celebrity would draw the most, for the upcoming WrestleMania 32?

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: Floyd Mayweather, no contest... And I hate the guy. I said Ronda Rousey should be at WM32 prior to WM31 on the “Interview Friday” PWTorch Livecast with Wade a few weeks ago.

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: Bringing a celebrity in for WrestleMania should result in major mainstream media attention, so the ones that immediately spring to mind all did - Lawrence Taylor, Mr. T, Donald Trump, Floyd "Money" Mayweather, and especially Mike Tyson. Note that they were all involved in angles or matches, which means a ton more than the ego stroke of bringing in people to sing or guest host at Mania. For next year, it's a natural that the Dallas Cowboys will be involved, but that doesn't bring in extra attention like the surprise of Ronda Rousey did this year.

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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.