By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Thoughts from the Assistant Editor's Desk...

-- It was interesting to see how WWE presented The Shield's first pinfall/submission loss in a six-man tag match on Friday's Smackdown. Watching the end of the show, WWE stressed the outcome as a triumphant moment for Daniel Bryan's character to finally prove that he is not the weakest link. Does it mean Bryan suddenly vaults to the WWE Title picture after Payback on Sunday? Or, does it simply mean WWE wanted to put Shield's U.S. Title and Tag Titles in jeopardy before the PPV?

The focus seemed to be more on Bryan's accomplishment versus making Shield look vulnerable going into the PPV, but we're going to find out soon enough how far WWE is willing to take Bryan on this current hot streak.

Right now, a full majority (53 percent) of Torch readers voting in our poll are behind the decision to end Shield's Streak, but only if it means huge things for Bryan. 18 percent are unsure what to think of the decision until WWE presents the follow-up, while 12 percent do not trust WWE to handle this properly going forward.

-- I'm concerned about TNA's Bound for Glory Series. The Series got off to a confusing start last Thursday on Impact, TNA presented a weak "Selection Show" element this week on Impact, and this year's field feels ho-hum. Sure, A.J. Styles has a journey that needs to be completed by winning the BFG Series, but what other intriguing stories are there?

Samoa Joe is unfortunately "just there," Jeff Hardy is "been-there, done-that," Mr. Anderson won an odd Aces & Eights battle royal focusing on D.O.C., Jay Bradley was not on TV during the qualifying period, Joseph Park is there to lose matches, Magnus was given zero spotlight before winning his qualifying match this week, and Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, Hernandez, Daniels, and Kazarian have filled the tag division the past few months.

TNA has an opportunity to address early concerns with the BFG Series next week on Impact when they officially kick things off, but I don't think there's much they can do about this year's 12-man class.

-- There's almost more intrigue surrounding the wrestlers who did not "qualify" for the BFG Series. Kurt Angle, James Storm, and Matt Morgan headline the class of non-qualifiers, leaving them without a clear path the next few months. Storm and Gunner will continue gelling as Tag Champs, Angle will presumably keep fighting Aces & Eights with or without Rampage Jackson, and then there's Matt Morgan.

TNA has started and stopped Matt Morgan so many times that it seems like TNA just doesn't know what to do with him. Morgan was one step away from a TNA Title shot a few months ago after a long build-up with Hulk Hogan, he "passed out" in a #1 contender match against Sting, disappeared from TV for several weeks, unceremoniously returned to TV this week in a random four-way BFG Series qualifying match, got pre-match promo time, was the only wrestler of the four to get a ring introduction, and then lost. Perhaps TNA just wanted to "throw a curveball" to the audience by not making it so predictable who would win, but where's the pay-off for Morgan's character?

Morgan is currently in his prime drawing years, and with WWE always on the market for athletic big-men to fill their roster, it makes you wonder how much longer Morgan will keep waiting for TNA to figure out what they want to do with him.

-- I got the feeling from reading The Undertaker's rare interview with Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle this week that Taker thinks he could have two, maybe three, or even five more WrestleMania matches.

Of course, one wrong bump or one major injury could end that discussion, but Taker has settled into a routine preparing himself physically to be "The Undertaker" once-per-year. This year, he might be able to squeeze in an additional high-profile match because he's settled into a nice groove.

So, the big question is that if Taker were to wrestle 2-5 more Mania matches, when should he face John Cena? PWTorch columnist Greg Parks and I discussed this on Thursday's Livecast show - does WWE book Cena vs. Taker at WrestleMania as soon as possible to ensure this match happens, then be able to book Mania re-matches? Or, does WWE hold off on Cena-Taker for as long as possible until it's clear that Taker is absolutely done? There's a big risk/reward factor here, which will be interesting to see play out starting with WM30 next year in New Orleans.

-- Remember the old "Special Interest" wrestling section at Blockbuster? Well, Walmart is apparently trying to pick up the scraps by putting WWE Studios's "12 Rounds 2" and The Rock's "Snitch" DVDs side-by-side in their check-out area. I snapped this photo while Father's Day card shopping on Friday afternoon...

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