Updated daily from the corner cubicle, Torch columnist James Caldwell's weekday blog focuses on hot topic current events and other items of interest from around wrestling.
Updated Monday, March 31, 2008
Raw is Flair. There was a time when the Raw after WrestleMania was one of the most important shows of the year. It was a chance to re-set everything and introduce new characters to the mix, with WrestleMania serving as the end of one mini-era and the beginning of a new mini-era.
After WrestleMania 14, the Steve Austin era was ushered in, and DX was also reborn with the surprise return of Sean Waltman. After WrestleMania 19, Goldberg debuted in WWE to begin a program against The Rock.
In recent years, the Raw after WrestleMania has been a pretty bad show. Wrestlers, announcers, writers, and management have been hung over - figuratively, and in some cases, literally - from the WrestleMania festivities that everyone goes through the motions trying to get through Monday. Imagine playing the Super Bowl and then starting training camp the very next day.
With Ric Flair losing last night's retirement match against Shawn Michaels, tonight's Raw is the perfect opportunity to have a follow-up show all about Ric Flair. There's no need to immediately start pushing for Backlash, as that can wait until next week when everyone has a week to recover and put quality thought into the next PPV.
WWE can make things simple by making it the Ric Flair show tonight for one final farewell. It certainly appears to be the case for tonight's show, as Jim Ross said in his blog this afternoon that you might want to record this show for a memory that will last a lifetime.
Fireball at the Citrus Bowl. Have you seen the home video of the fireworks explosion in the Citrus Bowl at the end of WrestleMania? It's amazing more people weren't hurt or seriously injured when the pyro took on a life of its own.
WWE's quick apology earlier today was a good call, but there will assuredly be claims filed against the company and other involved parties, especially based on what the injured people were saying about poor response time and lackluster help from stadium and fire personnel.
LATEST PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER #1039 (17 PAGES)
This issue begins with a cover story by Wade Keller who attended Brock Lesnar's first UFC victory on Saturday night in the semi-main event in front of a record-setting crowd in his hometown. Keller's BBL looks at Lesnar's place in MMA and in what ways he seems more comfortable than ever... Bruce Mitchell's Memo examines the dilemma of Chris Benoit and the Hall of Fame... Sean Radican reviews the two latest TNA DVD releases... In-depth coverage of the TNA Hard Justice PPV including Keller's match report with star ratings and the newsletter-exclusive Roundtable Reviews... Jason Powell's "Page 2 Buzz" with scoops and insider analysis... WWE Newswire, TNA Newswire, and ROH Newswire with insider news, big story analysis, and notebook tidbits... Plus Keller's reports on Raw, Smackdown, and Impact, the Top 5 Stories of the Week, and more....
