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-- It's a new year, which means a fresh start on keeping track of every major pro wrestling event, show, and top news story in a handy Excel spreadsheet. Sure does come in handy when looking at the WWE Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton feud from January '08 that seems like it happened years ago.

-- Some housekeeping notes on the year-end voting and Torch Trivia. From now until Sunday, be sure to add your nominations for each of the major year-end award categories. You can find the list of categories on the Spotlight article and also on the article sitting on top of the Main Listing with the year-end voting announcement.

On Monday, we'll be posting all of the year-end award polls for you, the discerning Torch reader, to vote on. If you want a wrestler, feud, event, etc. to make sure it makes the year-end polls to be voted on, get in those nominations by Sunday either by posting in the Comment section or emailing pwtorch@gmail.com.

We had a successful re-debut of Torch Trivia in the month of December and we'll pick it back up on Monday for the January installment. Dusty Robinson ran away and hid from the competition by correctly selecting the right answer 20 straight days to close the month.

In the interest of making Torch Trivia more competitive by perhaps including a scoring system of some value not anyway associated with the bogus BCS college football system, send in your thoughts or suggestions on Torch Trivia for implementation next month.

-- Checking the "MVP of Raw" poll that we posted on Monday night after the show, it's amazing the kind of impact Shawn Michaels had with five minutes of storytelling without a single wrestling move.

Michaels picked up 37 percent of the MVP voting for the Dec. 29 Raw, topping Randy Orton's 14 percent, and a three-way tie between JBL, Chris Jericho, and Super Haas Charlie Snuka. (Seriously?)

Michaels's program with JBL could be frustrating for viewers who want WWE to hurry up and get to the destination of this JBL "employee" program, with Michaels returning to the super-exciting Mr. WrestleMania persona.

Perhaps it's a matter of WWE fans already waiting through a serious-HBK program with Chris Jericho throughout 2008 and not wanting to experience another similar program where Michaels is wrestling tentatively and sporting the puppy-dog-eyed look of disdain.

But, the program worked to the tune of an MVP vote for Michaels and a major increase in TV ratings for the second hour of Raw on Monday night. We don't have the quarter-hour ratings yet, but I imagine that epic storytelling from Michaels helped boost the over-run extending the second hour.

The positive from the program, even though it's tough to see it right now, is that Michaels is extending the length of time his body will hold up in the ring. By not having to wrestle epic 10-20-minute TV matches every week, he can save his body for the big PPV matches when he needs to flip the switch.

Michaels will able to be around much longer if he can conserve his body, which I believe most wrestling fans would prefer, even if waiting through a sometimes-frustrating program is necessary. Just be thankful he's not the Boy Toy.



-- In a few weeks, we'll know whether "The Wrestler" will have a seat at the table for the prestigious Academy Awards ceremony that recognizes the best in movies for the year. Mickey Rourke is a virtual lock to be nominated for Best Actor, as is Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" track for Best Original Song in a movie.

If WWE's Vince McMahon had a vote, he certainly wouldn't pick "The Wrestler," as we reported yesterday that McMahon believes the movie is below WWE. The thematic material related to wrestling is set in the long-forgotten territory era and under-the-radar independent wrestling scene of today, which gives the movie its gritty feel perfect for Mickey Rourke's character.

WWE wants to distance itself from pro wrestling, as evidenced by corporate-friendly statements from CEO Linda McMahon about the company not being in the wrestling business, but the entertainment genre, competing against the NFL, NBA, and entertainers putting on rock concerts.

McMahon most-likely feels the movie being any way associated with WWE would bring the company down to a level they long-since tried to escape from. WWE's attitude of superiority has been displayed in recent JBL promos and the Shawn Michaels "employee" storyline where HBK is willing to sell his soul to JBL to prevent becoming Randy "the Ram" Robinson.

The real story continues to be wrestlers being gobbled up and spit out if they aren't protective of themselves and the investment they're making with their bodies. Other than the two irreplaceables - John Cena and Triple H - McMahon can always find someone else to slide onto the card.

"The Wrestler" hits too close to home with McMahon, who obviously doesn't want his company associated with low-rent indy wrestling, but also because he's the corporate face of a wrestling business that couldn't generate mainstream interest unless someone died or was blown up in a limo.

Now, the positive accolades are going to a movie that focuses on something outside the WWE machine and not kids dancing in the ring with Finlay or WWE touring Iraq. McMahon simply won't stand for that.

Torch reader stonecoldmark commented on the article we posted yesterday about WWE's official anti-"The Wrestler" position after McMahon picked up his movie screening in December. Here's what scmark had to say:

Ask Jake Roberts or Roddy Piper if any of what is in "The Wrester" pertains to them. The Wrestler is about what happens when the WWE dumps these guys. Guys like Duggan are lucky Vince still keeps them employed. Even HUGE stars like Hogan and Flair can be included. Flair never knew when to call it quits because it's all he's known. Hogan would still give it a try if Vince gave him a chance.

The Wrestler should be a calling card for anyone that wants to get into the biz, not everyone can get a job in the big-time and if you do save that money. This film speaks to not just wrestlers, but can apply to any job where the excitement, fame, and money can fade seemingly overnight. Just ask Mickey Rourke. The movie is his life.

Vince is right it's not the WWE, but does that mean his guys are treated any better? Not on your life with that schedule. I think wrestling five or six days a week is just as bad as taking a stapler to your head for one night on a Saturday in Secaucus.

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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