On a weekly basis, PWTorch staffers James Caldwell and Greg Parks have a casual, yet insightful, Lounge-style chat reviewing the week in TV wrestling and looking ahead to what's next for key storylines, matches, and future events. An occasional "Seinfeld" or "The Office" reference is also mixed in for good measure.

James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks for our weekly TV wrestling chat. Greg, coming off a TLC PPV that turned things upside down on Smackdown, how do you think WWE handled Monday's Raw balancing the immediate news from Smackdown and serving the needs of a Raw brand also in a transition with Punk solidified as top champion and Cena shifted to a feud with Kane?

Greg Parks: Raw certainly felt like a changing of the guard this week, with the focus on guys like C.M. Punk, Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan, both in the opening segment and the main event, while perennial main-eventer John Cena was stuck in a feud with new and improved Kane. I don't see this as a long-term direction, but for the short-term, it was an interesting tact to take. You mentioned Smackdown - I'm really interested to see tonight's show as far as the dynamic between Bryan, Henry, and Big Show, after what transpired between them at TLC.

Caldwell: We'll jump back to Raw in a second. Staying on Smackdown, what did you think of Big Show's promo fighting himself and trying to "stay positive" for Bryan's title victory? I think there's only so long before he explodes. And, with Mark Henry's injury status uncertain, do you think it leads to a Bryan-Show World Title feud - a David vs. Goliath situation - to shift Henry out of the title picture?

Parks: It sure seemed like they're building Show to just go nuts on Bryan a la Rey Mysterio a few years ago (when Show made his comeback at No Way Out I believe). How long they hold that off though and whether or not Bryan addresses that tonight is something to watch for. I just hope Michael Cole isn't completely unbearable tonight. I'm sure that's asking a bit too much though.

Caldwell: Yeah, unfortunately, you're probably right. I think the timing of Bryan's title victory is all off - similar to Jack Swagger going from Superstars to a MITB win at WM to World champion in two weeks - but what can WWE do now to create credibility for Bryan as champion? Or, do you think they won't even try and this is strictly a short-term means to something else they have in mind?

Parks: Personally, I'd like to see them have Bryan hold the belt 'til 'Mania (having him fend off all comers in between) where he faces Mark Henry, which presumably was the original plan. Except Henry will be challenger and Bryan will be champion. Bryan will still be the underdog because Henry can say that Bryan never beat him for the title. However, one would think Bryan would have to defeat Show between now and then, which, if he can do that, wouldn't make beating Henry such a daunting task. They could save Show's rematch for the Chamber, that way Bryan doesn't have to pin him for force him to submit. But then who does Bryan defend against at the Rumble?

Caldwell: Under that scenario, perhaps they book a three-way if Henry is healthy. That way, Henry and Show can "take each other out," leaving Bryan to score a quick win that Cole can continue to call a fluke and play up the theme WWE is apparently going with that Bryan is an undeserving (in Cole's eyes), underdog champion. Then, perhaps Show gets the one-on-one at Chamber. Then, if Bryan wins that, Henry gets the final one-on-one at WM28. Otherwise, I don't see Orton or Sheamus slotted in for a quick title match, rather, being featured in the Rumble match. Of course, if either Orton or Sheamus wins, that throws off the WM28 booking scenario, assuming the winner would challenge for the Smackdown World Title. It all seems to be up in the air, Greg!

Parks: Do you see Bryan holding the title until 'Mania?

Caldwell: I don't. But, it's hard to say that definitively right now until we see more of the TLC fall-out these next 2-3 weeks, then see how they set up the Rumble PPV. My gut says this is short-term, even though I like the booking scenario of a three-way at the Rumble, keeping the title at the Chamber, and going to Mania as champion. Do you have a prediction or are you in wait-and-see mode?

Parks: I'm ALWAYS in wait-and-see mode, James. I would like to see him keep it until 'Mania, but I could easily see him losing it in the Chamber, with WWE's thinking being that it doesn't hurt him as much because he didn't lose it in a one-on-one situation.

Caldwell: Good point there. Anything else on the Smackdown side you're looking forward to seeing how it plays out following TLC on tonight's show?

Parks: I'm interested to see whether or not Cody and Booker keep up their feud. Randy Orton and Wade Barrett's I'm assuming will keep going, so we'll probably see the next phase of that tonight. Sheamus really doesn't have much to do, as evidenced by his win over Swagger on Sunday. And maybe some more work by WWE establishing some tag team action tonight.

Caldwell: Every time we think Sheamus and/or Orton are going to get back in the Smackdown title picture, something else comes up. It seems like WWE is waiting for Christian to come back so Sheamus has something tangible to work with and the Orton-Barrett feud definitely has more legs to it after Raw. What did you make of the booking of the Orton-Barrett re-match on Raw with Orton going through a table?

Parks: Not surprising, considering Barrett took the loss the night before. Booking 101.

Caldwell: You could almost see it coming at TLC when Orton won relatively clean, and they wanted to get Barrett his heat back the next night since they're trying to rebuild him. All right, let's move on to the big items from Raw concerning the Raw brand. At the beginning, we talked about an apparent transition with Punk and Ryder now the two top singles champions on Raw. What did you make of the show-opening segment with Punk, Ryder, and Bryan creating that visual of a transition, even if this could be a short-term deal for perhaps Ryder and Bryan?

Parks: It was at least different, I'll give them that. I see this as a short-term deal as something Punk can point to saying, "see, look at all this new blood in WWE - I told you I'd making Raw and WWE interesting again!" If they want Ziggler in the main events, then I wonder where Ryder goes from here as far as who he'll feud with over the U.S. Title.

Caldwell: Perhaps they shift from one Vickie client to the next with Ryder feuding against Swagger, but I don't see that as being a great "leap forward" for Ryder trying to keep his momentum as champion. I think it gets to a big problem for the Raw brand - a lack of heels...and a lack of credible heels. Miz and Del Rio have been chopped down to little pieces through the promo writing the past six months and Ziggler gets his heat from Vickie, although not as much recently. Then, you have a main event right after the PPV where the faces easily conquered the heel trio. Granted, it was a "feel good moment" to keep the opening theme going and there was no need to promote a PPV, but WWE has to take great strides rebuilding these heels - and not just with a few beat downs here and there, but a long-term rebuilding process. We've talked it before that Punk doesn't have a Raw brand heel opponent for WM right now unless it's someone outside of the current roster because of all the damage done.

Parks: I absolutely agree. In order for faces to get over strong, they need credible heels to work with. Other than Mark Henry (and increasingly lately, Wade Barrett), WWE doesn't have many credible heels. They all have to whine, they all have to cheat to win, and it's getting to the point where it's hurting the babyfaces in addition to the heels.

Caldwell: Like in that backstage segment at TLC with Punk, Del Rio, Miz, and Ricardo, the only emotion I felt was sympathy toward Ricardo. The booking is a mess in that regard and, like you said, it's not helping Punk one bit. As for a heel that WWE is trying to rebuild with some credibility, Kane tried to (a) rip off Cena's face, (b) rip out his teeth, or (c) stuff a mandible claw down Cena's throat. Then, he took Cena's shirt. So, what did you make of Week 2 of Kane's attack on Cena, and what do you think the eventual TV/storyline explanation will be for why Kane targeted Cena?

Parks: I'm not really sure what the explanation could be, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I would anticipate hearing from him sooner rather than later, but for now, I'm pretty pleased with how things have gone there. The new look has really rejuvenated the Kane character.

Caldwell: Do you think Kane will actually talk to provide the explanation (or perhaps he just mimes an explanation), or do they keep him silent and have someone speak for him?

Parks: Either way, some explanation has to be given, especially since it's not obvious why he would want to go after Cena. The longer he stays silent (or the longer no explanation is given), the sooner fans will give up on the feud, as they can't get invested if they don't know what's going on.

Caldwell: Especially with WWE's track record of stringing these things out for months at a time before it expands like a balloon and pops because no explanation will suffice. I've heard this one a lot this week that people thought Cena should not have popped up on the announce table and been able to "sell fear" in a state of recovery after Kane tried to disfigure his body. Were you okay with that or was it too much SuperCena?

Parks: Too much SuperCena. If he didn't have the reputation of doing that, I wouldn't have noticed. But he does, and I did.

Caldwell: I also thought the clothesline over the top rope was too much, too soon, but then Kane landed on his feet to show he's "not a push-over," then tried to disfigure Cena, but then Cena was able to recover quickly. So, perhaps a wash, at best, this week. On the Raw Mystery Video front, which is now being incorporated into the broadcasts in that "requires suspension of disbelief" kind of a way, are we any closer to confirmation it's Chris Jericho, or do you think there's some room for it to be The Undertaker or someone else? It almost seems too early for Taker, while it would be good timing for Jericho to set up a run to Mania.

Parks: There is a still image floating around of a frame from the video where the journal was tossed to the ground by the girl, and it looks like the name "Chris" is crossed out on it. That could signal Jericho's return, or by crossing his name off, it could mean that it's NOT Jericho. And after one week of thinking a woman is involved, in this video, the girl said the boy had to basically go at it alone. I feel like the obvious answer is still Taker, but the more I see of it, the more I think it might be Jericho.

Caldwell: Yeah, the girl's involvement is throwing this all off, especially when her role seemed to change from last week to this week. Well, the final clue comes on Monday, so perhaps it will be more apparent what's going on here. Greg, elsewhere on Raw, it seemed to be the Smackdown mid-card show. There was also an odd Alicia Fox-Beth Phoenix match/segment. What did you make of the middle of the show outside of the Cena-Kane segment?

Parks: It was okay; I wasn't thrilled with the Fox vs. Phoenix match. Beth won convincingly over Kelly the night before, and yet Fox, who somehow didn't earn a title shot, crushed Beth in under a minute? I know they want to get to Fox vs. Beth for the title, but I didn't like how they handled it here. And as much as I like A.Fox, she hasn't really shined with the opportunities WWE has given her as of late.

Caldwell: Can you explain A. Fox's character? Because I don't know what she's going for.

Parks: Uhh...not really. We don't really know much about her, but then again, we don't know much about most of the Divas on the roster.

Caldwell: Except that Beth and Natalya are Pin-Up Strong! Greg, anything else from the Raw brand heading into the end of the year?

Parks: I think we've hit on the high points from this past week.

Caldwell: Greg, I'm tempted to talk NXT...but it sounds like nothing newsworthy there until the WWE Network launches and WWE shifts the show back to TV, so let's move on. I have not seen TNA Impact yet from last night, but what was your impression of the show, especially Sting back in the ring and TNA using up the equity built in Sting as a non-wrestler authority figure to where they could have made some money with Sting getting back into the ring for the first time again?

Parks: Sting had the look that screamed "part-time wrestler" with the gear he used in his in-ring return. I think they should've saved his in-ring return for PPV, but then again, TNA clearly doesn't think that highly of PPVs. I think they want to use him more than an occasional authority figure like WWE uses Teddy Long, and with Sting's name value (whatever that may be worth these days), I can't blame TNA for wanting to use Sting more than they have lately.

Caldwell: I think even if they didn't want to wait for a PPV to bring back Sting in the ring, they should have at the very, very least taken one week to promote that Sting is wrestling again the following week on Impact. Not advertising it ahead of time feels like old TNA. Another big segment on the show was Kurt Angle trying to tear up James Storm's town to set up their PPV re-match. What did you think of that?

Parks: It certainly bordered on cheesy and one of those TNA skits that is just too goofy for a feud of this level, but I thought it was funny. If that's what TNA should be going for with what began as an intense Angle vs. Storm feud is another question altogether.

Caldwell: Agreed there. Speaking of "funny" when something is supposed to be serious (I think), ODB & EY teamed up in the latest Wild Card tag tournament matches. What did you make of their pairing and how it fit on this show?

Parks: I've found EY to be entertaining; ODB, not so much. But ODB was a little more, shall we say, subdued than usual here, so it didn't bother me as much.

Caldwell: Yeah, you usually don't find ODB and subdued in the same sentence. As for the X Division, there was another Nese vs. Ion match to set up next week's series finale. It doesn't seem like the X Division is getting serious focus right now. What do you make of the division's standing?

Parks: I don't know why Aries has been off TV now for the last two weeks, but at least they aired interviews with Ion and Nese this week before their match. At least TNA is doing something to try to get them over, in addition to this best-of series.

Caldwell: Yes, Aries needs to be on commentary...or special referee...or guest timekeeper...or doing something. Perhaps they have to save his contracted dates or something along those lines, but Aries's presence is certainly missing from the show. Greg, the big fall-out from the Jarretts being "fired" last week was Madison Rayne being named Karen's replacement as VP of the Knockouts. They also set up Gail vs. Mickie for next week's show. What do you make of the KOs post-Karen?

Parks: It sounds like it'll be the same basic idea: a heel in charge pushing around the babyfaces. I think before long, Karen will come back and chastise Madison for how she has handled the KOs in Karen's absence, continuing the run of Madison trying to gain Karen's approval and failing. I was hoping they'd get rid of the KO law after Karen left. Can't Sting intervene, for sanity's sake?

Caldwell: Wait, isn't Sting the "insane Icon?" I don't think this is going to fly.

Parks: Well, he's insane when it suits TNA's storylines and angles.

Caldwell: Ah, that's true. He hasn't smeared his face with paint in a few months. Speaking of smearing your face with paint, how about Jeff Hardy's TNA Title quest? Have they done enough with this two weeks into a four-week build-up to Genesis?

Parks: Yeah, I think it's been okay. He was part of the focus of the second hour this week, so a few more weeks of build-up and I think Hardy vs. Roode could be a worthy PPV main event. I did, however, think the main event of this show was just okay.

Caldwell: What do you attribute it - poor mix, Sting looking the part of a limited wrestler, something else?

Parks: All of those, I think. I think the use of weapons detracted from the match rather than adding to it, but if they want to do a straight up Roode vs. Hardy match at the PPV, you wouldn't want to see them involved in the ring in a generic tag match - I think that'd be giving too much away.

Caldwell: Good point. It will be interesting to see what they do the next two weeks to save that one-on-one match, but still try to create intrigue for the first title match of 2012. Greg, anything else jump out at you from this week's Impact?

Parks: I think that's about all.

Caldwell: Very good. While we were chatting, this week's Gonzo & The Greg VIP Audio went live, so give the readers a preview of what they can listen to right now.

Parks: This week, we discussed the top five most improved wrestlers of 2011, as well as the top five who went into the biggest career tailspins of the year. We also had some interesting discussions about TLC and the new blood who were the focus of Raw.

Caldwell: I'm looking forward to that as I can't think of a #1 right off the top of my head for either category, so I'll be interested to hear what you and the crew come up with. All right, Greg, that will do it for us this week. Merry Christmas to you and your family and we'll talk New Year's next week!

Parks: And the same to you and everyone reading as well, James!

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