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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 Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The following news item was intercepted by Corner Cube intelligence prior to being published by the AP. Remember, today is April Fool's Day.

Former WrestleMania headliner and current producer of a reality show on a country music channel, Hulk Hogan, was charged with three counts of attempting to steal the show at WrestleMania on Sunday night. Corner Cube news services have confirmed through multiple sources in the Orlando police department that Hogan was released on $100 bail after it was determined Hogan acted alone and was unsuccessful in his plot.

TMZ was on the scene and captured a disgruntled Hogan leaving the police station while covering his face with a copy of the National Enquirer.

"I missed that phone call about the grill! George Foreman should be begging on a street corner not grilling burgers on holidays!" Hogan reportedly shouted at onlookers. "I wasn't about to let Vince get away with running WrestleMania in my backyard and having that no-talent son induct Eddie Graham into the Hall."

Hogan calmed down and told a reporter that he outdrew The Rock, Steve Austin, and Ric Flair combined during his career and couldn't stand to see them at his Hall of Fame.

"How could WWE have a WrestleMania without a marquee match like Hogan versus anything - like a waffle iron?" Hogan asked anyone who was listening. "You got all these guys talking about stealing the show. Flair said he wrestled twice on Sunday. Try babysitting that nut case, Mr. T, at the first WrestleMania and see how you like that. So I took it upon myself to steal the show for all the Hulkamaniacs."

TMZ footage shows Hogan then slipping by reporters and escaping into his awaiting limo where Brooke Hogan's ten closest friends awaited to offer their support.

Orlando police successfully recovered the show after Hogan's attempted theft. Hogan has a history of suspicious activity at WrestleMania. Police records in California indicate Hogan was charged with excessive milking of an audience in a crowded theater at the WrestleMania 21 Hall of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles. Hogan denies the accusations.

Calls placed to WWE's public relations department on Monday night to comment on the situation in Orlando were unsuccessful.

The voice mail greeting stated: "We are currently away from the phone watching Ric Flair's farewell ceremony. If you request immediate assistance, please dial the operator or contact Brian Gewirtz, who is pouting in a corner."

***

About half-a-day removed from Raw, the ending of this show still feels surreal. There he was - Ric Flair having a transcendent moment on WWE Television with WWE paying the ultimate respect to the best performer in wrestling history. No run-ins. No heel interruptions. Nothing but class, respect, and honor shown to Ric Flair. You couldn't have written a better ending this chapter in Ric Flair's career.

The end of Raw represented the official end of an era. The last two or three weeks, I've seen it written in several different places that this is the end of an era in the wrestling business. I didn't really buy into it, as it just seemed to make for a good headline or topic. Monday night, though, it struck me like Maria's slap upside Santino's head that we were witnessing the official close of The Era in pro wrestling.

It's funny that Randy Orton referenced the Hulkamania and Attitude eras in the opening segment to proclaim the beginning of his own era. Well, we can know summarize this story about eras by saying the end of the territory era, Hulkamania, and the Attitude/Monday Night Wars were simply part of the timeline that is The Era of Ric Flair.

Where does the wrestling business go from here? Sure, in two weeks, we'll be talking about storylines, Backlash, and good, bad, and ugly TV. But, what can surpass the final 20 minutes of television that concluded this episode of Raw? It was simply an amazing scene that cannot be topped.

If George Clooney is the last movie star, then Ric Flair is the last great pro wrestler. WWE has Cena, Hunter, Michaels, Undertaker, Edge, Big Show, and Orton. But, put all of them together and they still don't match up to what Ric Flair meant to the pro wrestling business over his career and during The Era.

As for the rest of the show, this was easily one of the best post-Mania editions of Raw in some time. Everyone was assuredly sore, tired, and ready to kick their feet up on the sofa after a very long and rewarding weekend in Orlando. But, I haven't seen more energy in the building and effort in the ring on Raw in several months. Everyone wanted to steal the show on Flair's Farewell Night, which made for great TV leading to Flair's final moment.

There's a time and a place to discuss the matches and storylines that came out of this show to keep WWE chugging along into the next era. WWE effectively made that transition without pushing post-Mania developments too hard, while keeping an eye on giving Flair a proper send-off.

At the end of the day, this night belonged to Ric Flair. WWE handled the moment with class, and everyone involved should be proud to be part of one of the most special nights in wrestling history.

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.

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

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