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-- Randy Orton was interviewed by two major U.K. newspapers this weekend to promote the Judgment Day PPV. C.M. Punk was also interviewed by Sky Sports to promote the PPV. WWE obviously wants to increase PPV business internationally, especially in the U.K. fresh off a tour in April.

Putting that aside, Orton is positioning himself as the face of the company right now. Orton will freely speak his mind, but he's calculating in how he addresses certain topics without stirring up trouble back home.

His first point of emphasis was to throw a bone to the veterans by ripping Manu in his interview with the U.K. Sun. He talked about paying dues, not walking around like your "you-know-what" doesn't stink, and carrying yourself with a certain amount of respect for the veterans in the locker room.

Orton wants the responsibility of being the top star in WWE. He's grown up, according to him, and he wants to prove to the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels that he can handle the responsibility of carrying the company forward.

He even walked through the minefield of discussing the WrestleMania 25 bomb against Hunter. He basically said "I get where people think it sucked, but here's what happened...and nothing is Hunter's fault." Smart man.

He even walked through the minefield of discussing SuperShane running wild, brother. He basically said "I get that hardcore fans think it's completely asinine for Shane to be on my level and there's no way it should be like this and the writers + Vince McMahon seem to be completely out of their minds ... but dude's a tough s.o.b. and it makes for good TV."

Orton is picking his spots effectively to show the dedicated, hardcore wrestling fans that will always watch the product and will always spend money on the product that he feels their pain, but he has to say the right thing. Orton simply acknowledging common criticism tells the money-spenders that "hey, man, this guy's in touch." But, he's not jeopardizing himself politically in the process.

In the Daily Star, Orton talked about the schedule. WWE wrestlers are being flown all over the world throughout the week promoting the heck out of the WWE brand, but Orton is focused on the two complete days at home with his family. Politically correct at its finest.

Orton grew up in the wrestling business with his dad on the road almost every day during the week, so 48 hours of uninterrupted time with the family per week must seem like a vacation.

However, wrestlers are still going down with injuries or working hurt and on the verge of injury (Rey Mysterio). Other wrestlers were at the point of being desperate for time off, which has hurt the Raw brand.

Torch editor Wade Keller has written extensively over the past 15 years about wrestlers needing more time off the road to recoup from the mental stress of airports and hotels, recover from getting banged up in the ring on a nightly basis, and just relax with their families.

As Orton said, the schedule is much better than in the '80s when Legacy's fathers were on the road eight days out of the week and worked 367 days per year. WWE at least seems to be taking a more serious look at the schedule to improve the quality of life for its wrestlers, but more can be done.

-- TNA is presenting the Joe vs. Styles vs. Daniels epic match from Unbreakable 2005 on the next installment of their TNA Epics show in the U.K. Brings back great memories from the time period when the X Division actually meant something.

You could guarantee two things at the time. (1) There would be a great X Division semi-main event PPV match every month. (2) Torch staff would complain on the post-PPV Audio Rountables about another paint-by-numbers Jeff Jarrett NWA Title match hogging the PPV main event slot.

That's why it was so great when Joe vs. Styles vs. Daniels was actually the main event of the Unbreakable PPV. They took the X Division to its peak, then TNA soon thereafter put them in different programs outside of the X Division.

Doing a story on the Epics preview made me think. Are Joe, Daniels, and Styles better off in 2009 than they were in 2005?

Daniels just returned to TV as well, Daniels, so it's too early to tell whether this current TV push will last or whether it's a fleeting program before he's booked in a meaningless X Division program.

Daniels has a few more miles on him and he's not working as crisp as he was back in the day, but he could still be a main event wrestler worth a look for a TNA Title program. Fans have wanted him back on TV for several months and there's still a "Honeymoon period" that TNA can capitalize on.

After this Suicide Reveal program is finished, TNA will have a small window to transfer him into a consistent main event slot. Otherwise, he'll go the way of Referee-turned-wrestler Shane Sewell. TNA didn't do anything with him after the nostalgia wore away, leaving him completely off TV. I doubt Daniels will have a similar fate.

Joe has been booked like a jerk, a gullible prick, a crybaby, a small child who needs to be carpooled to the building, and a nonsensical lunatic for the past year. And that's just in the past two weeks of Impact TV.

You could make an argument that Joe is better off in 2009 than in 2005 because he's on TV, TNA is a growing promotion, he's receiving more exposure, etc., etc. I believe Joe is far worse off than he was in 2005 when he was the hottest thing going in TNA. He peaked in 2008 when he won the TNA Title at the Lockdown PPV, then TNA started booking him like an idiot with Kevin Nash as his "mentor."

Perhaps when Taz arrives on the scene and helps push Joe in the right direction in a "mentor" storyline, Joe will return to form. Joe used to be "athletic," now he appears to be fat and out-of-shape. Joe was a menacing monster, now he's a jerk. Joe was cheered by the fans because he was a genuine ass-kicker, now he's ambiguous and the fans don't even want to touch his character.

Joe is like the Super Mario Brothers video game series. Joe v.2 sucks. Joe v.3 with Tazz will hopefully be a little closer to v.1 when he was a top star and was looked at by TNA to be the future of the promotion.

Styles is a tough one. On one hand, he's holding a TNA Title belt. (Of course, it's a completely made-up farce of a title.) On the other hand, he's being scripted to cut some of the worst promos in the history of wrestling. Seriously, I wanted to vomit after listening to the drivel he was scripted to say on Impact this past Thursday. Thankfully, heel Don West ripped the promo as the "voice of the anti-fans."

Again, Styles is the benefit of TV exposure, being part of a growing company, having more TV segments, etc., etc. I get all that, but he's booked like a gullible young kid who isn't showing any leadership quality that would make him a top star. Styles in 2005 just delivered in the ring. No non-sense. No stupid booking. He just brought the house down and was a star as a result of it.

Now, we're lucky to even see Styles wrestle a quality match. He's either matched up against the slow-it-down wrestlers from the Main Event Mafia or not booked to wrestle at all on TV. His strengths are wrestling, not promos, and TNA seems to think the opposite.

Overall, it's a balance between Styles, Joe, and Daniels having more TV exposure and national attention vs. being booked like idiots (with the exception of Daniels who just came back to TV) with all of this exposure. Is the take-away for these newer viewers the athleticism and potential awesomeness of Joe and Styles or is the take-away a bunch of punk kids who haven't figured out life and are annoying me? That's the problem. And I don't believe the group is better off in 2009 as a result.

-- Finally, Torch reader Brian H. passed along this funny note. Click on this WWE website link for pictures of Smackdown wrestler John Morrison. Only problem is his name is listed as "Jim Morrison (2008 - 2009 Photos)." Hurry, before Joe E. Styles gets wind of it.

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