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 Robert from Scotland asks: Since Kenta has signed with WWE, he's been given a name change and can't use five of his main moves including the GTS which was originally his finisher until C.M. Punk started using it. Was there much point in KENTA signing if he was gonna be completely repackaged after he had made a name for himself the way he had over the past few years?

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: Of course it still makes sense. He is still an amazing performer and is very young and very talented. I'm sure WWE will do everything possible to get him over. Same thing happened to me. When I came to the WWE I was not able to use the superkick nor the tombstone piledriver. It was a setback, but I still did the best I could. I'm sure he will, too.

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: If he’s good enough, he’ll make it. I’m not worried.

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PWTorch reader R. Jack asks: How do you fix the current WWE problem where heels are cheered and faces are booed? Dolph Ziggler was a heel cheered to the point of an early face turn. The Shield, when they were heels, would be cheered by fans for the most part. Current examples are heels such as Cesaro and Bray Wyatt being cheered by the crowd because they are cool characters with cool moves. How did WWE end up in this situation, and more importantly, how can they fix it?

EX-WWE CREATIVE TEAM MEMBER John Piermarini (ex-WWE Creative Team member 2009-2010, frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: It wasn't the WWE as much as it is our current culture. TV's top shows over the last decade have been portraying the "heel" as the hero, teaching the audience to sympathize with them and understand why these characters do what they do. WWE can utilize this and embrace it for story telling, but I just don't think they have anyone there who has caught on to this concept.

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: They haven’t created any cool babyfaces. So it’s kind of an easy fix… CREATE COOL BABYFACES!

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: Heels in the past have been usually the stronger of the talent in the ring. The heels getting cheered I think are being cheered because they are superior workers and athletes that you do cool stuff. Heels should rely on being cruel, mean, and bad people in order to really get booed. WWE has to do better involving their characters and making heels not just say mean things to the babyfaces but actually really do some damage and cheat to win. If the heel can out-wrestle the babyface, then what the hell’s the point? Who wants to cheer somebody who is inferior to the heel? WWE has a lot of work to do in this department. But it can't be done.

VETERAN WRESTLING ANNOUNCER Mick Karch (announcer for three decades including the AWA on ESPN, the NWA, and LPWA, former PWTorch Newsletter columnist in 1980s, President of the Nick Bockwinkel Fan Club in the 1970s) answers: As an "old school" guy, it frosts me that there are no clearly defined heels and faces anymore. I don't see this as anything that will change, at least not on the "big stage." The audience has changed, society has changed, and it apparently is "cool" to cheer the "anti-heroes" (although I can certainly understand why a guy like Dolph Ziggler would be cheered during his heel days; I think people recognized that he was busting his ass and bumping all over the place and they wanted to see him get his due).

I really believe this trend started 30+ years ago. Now it's commonplace. When Hulk Hogan first arrived in the AWA, he was set to be booked as a heel (complete with Johnny Valiant as his manager) but the crowd would have nothing of it. But having said that, the real change came with the Road Warriors. They did everything they could to remain heels (up to and including Hawk saying during a promo that he didn't care about Christmas, because it was "just another day to beat people up.") Whenever "Iron Man" played at the arenas for the Roadies entrance, the roof blew off the place.

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PWTorch reader Dan G. asks: Seeing as kayfabe is dead and WWE wants to be taken seriously as an entertainment and not just wrestling show, why do they still not put credits at the end of the TV shows?

EX-WWE CREATIVE TEAM MEMBER John Piermarini (ex-WWE Creative Team member 2009-2010, frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: Why are they needed now? I've never been offered a job in the television industry because my name scrolled down the screen at the end of a show. My credit is given with a paycheck and the ability to add a show on my resume.

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: Because Stephanie doesn't want to see the name Virgil Runnels at the end of her broadcasts.

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: Dan, that's a great point. I had never considered that before. Maybe there is a union issue at play here? Just speculating. But most actors and actresses are in a powerful union, as are most of the behind-the-scenes people in Hollywood. It probably would open a whole can of worms we don't know about as fans.

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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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Catch up on past Ask PWTorch articles...

-ASK PWTORCH - FREE WEBSITE.
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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.

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