PWTorch.com - ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 10/02: Is NXT a sign of what Triple H might do differently if he ran WWE? Is Kyle O’Reilly a likely WWE signee eventually? Why didn’t WWE acknowledge Sean O’Haire’s death? Ted Turner in WWE Hall of Fame?

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ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 10/02: Is NXT a sign of what Triple H might do differently if he ran WWE? Is Kyle O’Reilly a likely WWE signee eventually? Why didn’t WWE acknowledge Sean O’Haire’s death? Ted Turner in WWE Hall of Fame?

Oct 2, 2014 - 11:58:33 PM

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The PWTorch All-Star Panel features an array of contributors answering your questions who have worked in various facets of the pro wrestling industry, plus PWTorch contributors join in. You get an unmatched mix of perspectives including first-hand insights from people who have worked in the ring and behind the curtain.

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PWTorch reader Forrest M. asks: Kyle O'Reilly is one of my current favorite wrestlers. His MMA/Pro Wrestling hybrid style is really fun for me. To me it seems obvious that he studies MMA fights as he sells for his matches as if he were in the Octagon. He might be on the small side for the WWE. However, his skill and different style would be a huge plus for the WWE, in my opinion. Do you think he will eventually end up in the WWE?

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: He's definitely big enough for NXT. I'd hire him in a second. Same with Adam Cole and Adam Page.

AUTHOR & REPORTER & HISTORIAN Greg Oliver (co-author of "The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame," reporter for SLAM! Wrestling in Canada, editor of Canadian Wrestling Report Newsletter in late-'80s) answers: Kyle is getting there. He's still a little on the bland side, but that personality is starting to come through. He reminds me a lot of Cesaro when he was still Claudio Castagnoli and finding himself.

EX-WWE CREATIVE TEAM MEMBER John Piermarini (ex-WWE Creative Team member 2009-2010, frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: Probably. I don't understand the theory that some of these guys don't have the size or height to be in the WWE. Has anyone seen the current roster as well as the new crop of signees? They're not giants. Samy Zayn, Hideo Itami, Adrian Neville, Kevin Steen, Prince Devitt, Daniel Bryan, C.M. Punk, Dolph Ziggler... While maybe not seen as mega stars in Vince's eyes, they all have, or will be given an opportunity to have a prominent role in the company. O'Reilly is probably no different.

[Kyle O'Reilly photo credit Wade Keller]

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PWTorch reader Amy asks: Why did WWE choose to acknowledge the death of Paul Bearer's son but not the death of Sean O'Haire? That seems kind of disrespectful to fans of O'Haire, like me, who think the WWE is deliberately ignoring him because he took his own life or had issues. Paul Bearer's son was never a member of the roster and was on TV maybe twice.

AUTHOR & REPORTER & HISTORIAN Greg Oliver (co-author of "The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame," reporter for SLAM! Wrestling in Canada, editor of Canadian Wrestling Report Newsletter in late-'80s) answers: I have given up trying to establish who WWE will or won't acknowledge when they pass. Today, they have a note up on their website about the death of Ricki Starr, whose name probably hasn't been mentioned on WWE TV in 50 years. Then again, this is a website that published that Corporal Kirchner had died, and when they were proven wrong, never ran a correction story. I suspect that the fact that Sean O'Haire did take his own life, and had a troubled run in and out of rehab facilities at WWE's expense, had something to do with their decision not to showcase him one last time.

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PWTorch reader Tommy from South Philly asks: I have a suspicion that Triple H runs NXT and not Vince. Triple H is always praising NXT and always down there and you rarely hear Vince talk about it. Two questions, can any of you verify or deny my suspicion and also if it is true does this give us hope for the future since NXT is a million times better than Raw and ten million times better then Smackdown?

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: Yes, NXT is Triple H's baby. Listen to this week's X-Pac & Jonny Fairplay podcast on prowrestling.net where Sean talks more about Triple H’s vision for NXT.

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: NXT and the Performance Center are definitely Triple H's projects.

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan, Torch subscriber, and currently PWTorch Livecast guest host. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars, and was flown out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) It's not a suspicion, it's fact. Triple H does run NXT. Whether that means an eventual philosophical change in booking for WWE is yet to be determined. NXT hasn't drawn a large, paying crowd to a building yet. The NXT tapings are free. It's possible that Triple H and/or WWE management believe that the NXT format only works on a smaller scale and would be rejected by the larger WWE Universe. NXT will have to make more money and draw more eyeballs before its format is seen on Raw or Smackdown.

MAINSTREAM WRESTLING MEDIA REPORTER Brian Fritz (host of Between the Ropes podcast, former AOL Fanhouse and Yahoo Sports reporter) answers: NXT is a part of WWE which Vince McMahon is the CEO of. So, it's his. But Triple H talks about it because he basically runs the day-to-day for NXT because it's his baby. He had the vision and got the funds to build the Performance Studio and is very hands on with developmental because that's his division.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: I know that Triple H does run an NXT. It is his baby and his brain child. From what I hear, Vince is in charge 100 percent on the WWE side. Hunter, of course, has some input, but Vince often reminds Hunter that he is in charge.

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PWTorch reader Blaine S. asks: Could Ted Turner ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: Sure. I think WWE has proven repeatedly that anything can happen if they perceive it to be, pardon the cliche, best for business. If they perceive that it would grab some headlines or mainstream attention somehow or even tie into something, such as a Network documentary (maybe I’m reaching there, but you get my drift) I think they'd do it, sure.

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan, Torch subscriber, and currently PWTorch Livecast guest host. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars, and was flown out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) Considering Ted Turner never appeared on Nitro, his own wrestling program, I'd say no.

MAINSTREAM WRESTLING MEDIA REPORTER Brian Fritz (host of Between the Ropes podcast, former AOL Fanhouse and Yahoo Sports reporter) answers: He could, Blaine, but I doubt it. I don't think Vince McMahon will look at his contributions and think they are Hall of Fame worthy.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: Could, but never will, happen.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: I like my chances better.

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(Send questions for a future Ask PWTorch to: askpwtorch@gmail.com. If you have a particular person on the All-Star Panel you'd in particular like to direct your question to, include that in the subject line, but multiple panelists may also answer.)

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In case you are new to this feature, let me introduce you to our All-Star Panel…

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Thanks to Pat McNeill and Anthony Jeselnik for the name of this feature. Just as "CSI" spawned "CSI: Miami," "Ask PWTorch" spawned "Ask PWTorch: All-Star Panel." Only without David Caruso. In any case, we are excited to present to you a new cast for the Ask PWTorch spinoff, which is available exclusively on the PWTorch App (or, for VIP members, on the VIP website too). You are reading this, so you are either a VIP member or have already downloaded the free PWTorch App on your phone or tablet. If you aren't a VIP member, why not? With VIP membership, you gain full access to both Ask PWTorch features on all devices you use to visit PWTorch - our App and our Website.

The "Ask PWTorch All-Star Panel" edition is scheduled to be published first thing in the morning (although not necessarily every single day, like the afternoon website-based Ask PWTorch is; we'll see about that as we move forward). It will feature an entirely different panel of experts and analysts than the afternoon Ask PWTorch does. We have assembled a wide range of contributors, which may expand or change over time, with the goal being to give PWTorch readers new perspectives from people who have particular areas of expertise. Along with our All-Stars from outside of PWTorch, several of our PWTorch contributors (but not the main staff who contribute to the website-based original Ask PWTorch!… you will be quizzed on all of this, so take notes) will also be regularly contributing, especially to current-events-related questions.

Let me introduce you to our panel…

Justin Credible: Current pro wrestler and former ECW Champion and longtime WWE wrestler in the 1990s and 2000s, Justin Credible (P.J. Polaco) currently is the IWE Champion. He travels as indy champion from Maine to Mexico with the title. He posts new Wrestling 101 YouTube videos at www.TheJustinCredible.com or on YouTube at his YouTube Channel.

John Piermarini: Ex-WWE Creative Team member who will provide a behind-the-scenes perspective from his years working for WWE including alongside Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and John Cena. He has been a frequent PWTorch Livecast guest and was the subject of a comprehensive five-hour Torch Talk interview several years ago about his experience with WWE for most of 2009-2010.

Greg Oliver: SLAM! Wrestling reporter and wrestling book author (and hockey book author), Greg will provide a Canadian perspective on many wrestling topics. If you are a fan from Canada or have Canadian-related wrestling questions, Greg can help you. He is a wrestling historian who published a wrestling newsletter during the boom period of insider wrestling newsletters starting in the late 1980s. We were pen pals in the early 1990s and first met at a 1989 wrestling convention in Chicago run by Jon Gallagher of the Wrestling Forum (the first insider wrestling newsletter I ever received in the mail in early 1987).

George Schire: Author of "Minnesota's Golden Age of Wrestling," former Pro Wrestling Focus radio cohost with me in the early 1990s on KFAN, former contributor of history pieces to the PWTorch Newsletter, and multi-time guest on PWTorch Livecast "Interview Friday," he will be providing a historical perspective to Ask PWTorch.

Johnny Fairplay: Reality Star and Wrestling Manager, perhaps best known as Pat McNeill's Regis Philbin. He was an old neighbor of PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell who watched PPVs at his house long before he became a contestant on Survivor twice. He has been on many reality TV shows, the PWTorch Livecast numerous times, and follows wrestling very closely. You can read more about him on Wikipedia.

Brian Fritz: Host of the long-running "Between the Ropes" podcast, and now working for Yahoo! Sports radio, he also has been a guest on the PWTorch Livecast (and I've been a guest on his podcast), he brings years of reporting on wrestling including on-site interviews with wrestlers at major press events over the years. He follows today's wrestling and will provide his perspective and take on your questions.

Mick Karch: An early PWTorch Newsletter columnist over 20 years ago, Mick has been an announcer for virtually every national wrestling promotion other than the WWF, WCW, and TNA in the last 25 years. He currently works as an announcer on Minnesota indy wrestling shows. He got his start in wrestling running the Nick Bockwinkel Fan Club in the 1970s and is known for his sense of humor, strong opinions, and tremendous insight into wrestling's past dating back many decades, but he also watches today's wrestling regularly and can provide valuable perspective as a result of that span of time following and participating in the industry.

Brad Stutts: He has worked behind the scenes in wrestling in many roles, including taking jackets to the back, setting up and tearing down rings, running websites for indy promoters, running lights and music at live events, and performing as a manager, announcer, wrestler, and promoter. He currently is the lead announcer for CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in North Carolina.

Jim Valley: Long time wrestling fan and Torch subscriber. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars and was flown our to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.

Current PWTorch Contributors: A mix of current PWTorch contributors will provide their opinion on today's wrestling scene and modern wrestling history questions, including Shawn Valentino, Michael Moore, Ben Tucker, Jon Mezzera, Brian Leahy, Jimmy Eaton, and Mike Roe.

You can send your questions for the All-Star Panel to the same address as always: askpwtorch@gmail.com. We will make sure they are directed to the appropriate panelist for potential inclusion in a published Ask PWTorch feature here on the PWTorch App or VIP Website. You may see your question asked in both versions of Ask PWTorch (the Afternoon original website-exclusive version and app-exclusive All-Stars version) so check both versions. Different groups of panelists may tackle your question on different days, so keep checking back. Because they all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences as both fans and working in some capacity in the business or covering it for the Torch, you're going to get some strong specific points of view from them.