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CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL & PARKS WEEKLY CHAT 1/27: Final Rumble hype & predictions, Cena heel turn?, Ryder write-off, D-Bryan champ to WM28?, State of Smackdown, Impact Reax

Jan 27, 2012 - 3:46:55 PM
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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.
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James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks for our weekly TV wrestling chat. Greg, it's Royal Rumble Week, which means more questions than answers on how things will play out in the WWE Title match, World Title match, Rumble match, whether Kane-Cena will be a match or an angle, and how funky Brodus Clay will get during the Rumble. Greg, what is the biggest question you want to see answered during the Rumble on Sunday?

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Greg Parks: Probably who the surprise Rumble entrants are, but that's just me and not necessarily an indictment of WWE's storylines. I'd say I'm most interested in what Jericho's "end of the world" will truly entail on Sunday, and how Johnny Ace calls the WWE Title match.

Caldwell: I know you said during the Livecast yesterday that you're changing your pick from Orton to Jericho as the Rumble winner. That seems to be a popular pick, so do you think it's too obvious now that Jericho will win and WWE will throw a curveball? Or, should they stick with something that should work - Jericho wins, he reveals whatever "the end of the world is," and they advance to Jericho-Punk hype leading to WM28?

Parks: Well, Orton was the obvious one at first, then Jericho was...they can't all be obvious! I'd like to see them stick with whomever they originally had winning it, and not changing it based on how many people think they know what will happen. If it's good storytelling, the people who predicted it shouldn't be upset that it wasn't a surprise or anything.

Caldwell: I agree on that. I think people get hung up on wanting to be surprised and shocked that they're disappointed when something that makes sense, but they saw coming, occurs. We do have some new information on this "every Superstar is eligible" marketing since C.M. Punk claimed in an interview that he will not be in the Rumble match, which seems to rule out the idea of even the top champions being in the Rumble. What do you think WWE is getting at with the "every Superstar is eligible" verbiage?

Parks: Not really sure. I think it could mean C.M. Punk retains and Dolph Ziggler enters the Rumble, but that's been done before. It may just be WWE trying to market this in a "first time ever" capacity like they did with last year's 40-man Rumble. We know how WWE likes to market their PPVs as big deals and "first time ever" gets thrown around an awful lot in wrestling, whether it's true or not, so it could be just a marketing ploy.

Caldwell: Speaking of the Punk-Ziggler match with Laurinaitis as the ref, how do you see the match playing out and, looking ahead to Raw, how do you think the Rumble title match will lead into Laurinaitis's "performance evaluation" by Triple H?

Parks: I think Ace will play it safe based on him wanting to keep his job - I don't understand why he'd screw Punk, knowing it would cost him a job that clearly means a lot to him. That's part of the reason I see Punk retaining.

Caldwell: On the Triple H front, do you think this is the right way to reintroduce Hunter as WWE begins the Road to WrestleMania, or should they have saved him for something similar to last year when he confronted Undertaker...if they go through with a Hunter-Taker re-match?

Parks: It is a bit strange that Hunter will decide the fate of the Raw GM when it was established that he himself couldn't handle that role. I don't really see how this works into doing a Taker vs. Hunter re-match, but perhaps they just want to get Hunter back on TV with something, then they'll begin to build to the rematch.

Caldwell: What about Taker returning in the Rumble match? I wouldn't be in favor of it, despite the surprise factor, especially because him being eliminated would take away some mystique and I think it's too early before Mania. Could another possibility be Taker returns on Monday's Raw to "interrupt the performance evaluation" to confront Hunter?

Parks: Yeah, I don't like Taker in the Rumble match either. Again, I don't see how they make sense of Taker interrupting Hunter's eval of Ace and bring it around to a WrestleMania re-match. They're better of reintroducing Hunter, getting the GM stuff out of the way, then doing the Taker stuff another time.

Caldwell: And they have some time to space out Hunter's return, wrapping up the GM angle, and then bringing back Taker, so I'm with you on that. Back to the Rumble match, we talked about five possible surprise entrants on yesterday's Livecast, but who are two rock-solid, stone cold lead pipe locks that you would bet money on to be surprise entrants on Sunday?

Parks: Goldust and Christian. We haven't heard from Christian lately, a good indicator that he'll be a surprise, and Goldust make sense given his burgeoning feud with his brother Cody.

Caldwell: I think those are good picks. I would say Alberto Del Rio, but I don't know if he qualifies as a surprise. He hasn't been on TV in a few weeks, but he hasn't been mentioned at all, so perhaps that's enough time for it to count? I think one we talked about yesterday is John Morrison because this match will need some athleticism with injuries and suspensions taking its toll on the line-up. Greg, any other expectations or thoughts on the actual Rumble match on Sunday?

Parks: I expect to win our Rumble Jackpot this year, but then again, I say that every year.

Caldwell: Make it a win, Greg! (There's our obligatory NXT reference for the week.) Looking at Raw, Greg, how would you rate WWE's Rumble hype on a 0-10 scale and what do you think they did well and what did they poorly promoting the PPV?

Parks: I would say I guess a 5; they didn't do much to hype the Rumble match itself, instead focusing on Punk, Ace, and to a lesser extent, Ziggler. I think pointing out how many wins Ziggler has over Punk lately kind of makes up for the fact that he hasn't really won them cleanly, but hey, at least they're trying. And I like that they didn't just end on Ace saying that he was going to screw Punk the week prior, instead hinting that he'd be fired if he did indeed screw Punk, putting Ace between a rock and a hard place.

Caldwell: I know some people are warming up to Laurinaitis as a potential guilty pleasure (I'm not one of them), but do you sense WWE put too much focus on Laurinaitis's dilemma and not enough emphasis on the Punk-Ziggler feud or the actual wrestlers, Punk and Ziggler? Or, was that the best way to market this match for PPV and for the weeks of TV to come?

Parks: Yeah, that's the negative about this, that the focus is on Ace (I refuse to type out Laurinaitis when I can just put "Ace" and everyone will know who I'm talking about!) and not on Punk and/or Ziggler. The two of those guys should be able to market a match themselves and let the drama come via the match, but that's just not the way WWE thinks these days.

Caldwell: Something I found interesting during Raw that you touched on was in Punk's promo when he mentioned Ziggler's (non-clean) wins over him. It felt like WWE was over-compensating for Punk's previous promos cutting down his opponents - in this case, Ziggler - almost weakening Punk in the process. Then, Punk gets the GTS on Laurinaitis, but Ziggler gets the last word via sneak-attack. That last part is standard pre-PPV booking, but what was your evaluation of the total picture from Raw with Punk's promo, the GTS, Ziggler standing tall, etc.?

Parks: I think Punk had looked relatively good for a number of weeks, and I'm not going to argue with WWE putting the heat on the heel and making us think he, as the challenger, can defeat the champion on Sunday, so I had no problem with what you were describing. I don't think Punk lost a lot from the way he was booked on Raw.

Caldwell: Fair enough. Elsewhere, Zack Ryder took the Chokeslam of Doom through the stage from Kane. What did you make of Cena's involvement setting up Cena-Kane at the Rumble, Eve playing the "It's your fault, John" card, and Cena's Angry Face to close the PPV hype?

Parks: That angry face was just so over-the-top and ridiculous that it completely took whatever I had invested left in that angle, completely out of the moment. The dynamic between Cena and Ryder has been kind of strange lately, and I'm intrigued to see how Ryder returns. I'm not so intrigued to see Cena vs. Kane, but if it leads to a more serious Cena at the appropriate times, I'll take that over jolly happy fun Cena any day.

Caldwell: I thought Cena was going to snarl like Ultimate Warrior at the end of that. Yeesh. I don't think Eve's line was by mistake, so do you think it leads to Cena blowing up because he feels the pressure of everyone blaming him or will he "rise above" difficult circumstances to be stronger coming out of this?

Parks: It could happen that way; I'm wondering if maybe Eve will have cooled down and be in Cena's corner come Sunday, to either help him or turn on him for Ryder. I really don't think Cena ends up turning heel out of all of this so I'm not sure what him succumbing to the pressure you talked about would lead to.

Caldwell: I don't see a heel turn, either, so I'm interested to see how that one-liner comes into play along with Ryder's return. We talked a great deal about how and when Ryder should return during the beginning of yesterday's Livecast, so readers can listen to our extended thoughts there. Greg, anything else jump out at you from Raw worth breaking down?

Parks: Not at this time, no. Although Chris Jericho spoke for the first time... but, then again, that was another thing we talked at length about on the Livecast yesterday.

Caldwell: And, as we talked about during the Rumble discussion, I think we're in wait-and-see mode on how his proclamation plays out at the Rumble. I did find it curious there were two chairs at the Highlight Reel set. I chalked it up to two chairs just being part of the standard set, but anything to read into there?

Parks: Nah, just part of the set that they put out there all the time, I'd guess.

Caldwell: It's mind games! We shall see on Sunday. But, I thought the t-shirt cannon bit was terrific since the audience was starting to catch on to his heel act, then he brought out the cannon for an easy pop to "get them back on his side."

Parks: And boy were they ever on his side. Biggest pop of the night perhaps!

Caldwell: Indeed. All right, Greg, let's look at your Friday night beat, Smackdown. How do you see Bryan-Show-Henry playing out in the steel cage title match at the PPV?

Parks: I'm thinking Bryan wins somehow, and the Cage stips allow him to do it without actually beating either Show or Henry. WWE has built him up as a guy who retains the title despite rarely pinning or submitting his opponent, and the Cage would allow for them to continue to tell that story.

Caldwell: It definitely seems very straightforward based on the TV build-up. Do you think A.J. returns and gets involved or does WWE keep the focus on the three wrestlers in the match?

Parks: I think they keep the focus on the wrestlers; like Ryder, I think AJ would be returning too soon were she to show up at the PPV. They could save that for the Smackdown after the PPV, but I could definitely see her on the PPV (wearing a neckbrace) before I could see Ryder.

Caldwell: Assuming Bryan "survives and advances" at the Rumble, we assume he'll defend the title in the "Elite Eight" round in the Elimination Chamber. Do you think the recent ratings success indicates WWE will keep the title on Bryan through February and he'll make it to the "Final Four" on April 1 as World champ?

Parks: I don't; I predicted that Mark Henry would be champion at WrestleMania and I'll stick by it, whether he wins at EC or at TV. I still think Bryan will have a role in the title match, but I also think a returning Randy Orton fits in there somewhere as well. Perhaps some light will be shed on the situation tonight on Smackdown. Orton vs. Bryan is a fresher match-up than Orton vs. Henry, so it wouldn't shock me to see that match at WM.

Caldwell: I think WWE could create some great television with Bryan and Orton leading to Mania if that's the title match, which I'm not convinced will happen at this point. And, actually, I think Bryan could do most of the talking with Orton playing more of a refined, silent assassin after his trip down the flight of stairs while patiently waiting for April 1. I'll take it a step further that I don't think Orton should talk until after Mania (with the assumption that he wins the World Title at Mania). It might be too similar to Jericho's return, but it would allow Orton to use his facials and body language to "speak for him," while Bryan keeps chattering away trying to get Orton to open up. As for the Orton-Barrett feud currently on Smackdown, how do you see that playing out in the weeks ahead, or does it depend on what happens in the Rumble match?

Parks: I think something could depend on the Rumble match, and I certainly don't think that feud is over. Really, it depends on how quickly WWE wants to get Orton into the main event picture; they could pull a Triple H-Sheamus and have Orton destroy Barrett upon his return, tying up that loose end while setting him up for his involvement in the main event with Show, Henry, and Bryan.

Caldwell: That's kind of what I was thinking, too, and I would say WWE needs to protect Barrett right now, but Sheamus took that beating from Hunter, recovered, and now he's one of the top stars on Smackdown. I think Barrett is more damaged goods, though, because of the floor suddenly dropping out from under him when he was booted from Nexus followed by the failed Corre run. So, they still have to be careful with Barrett. We still have Jericho and Orton as the favorites to win the Rumble, but would you be shocked if Barrett won the Rumble?

Parks: Yeah, a little, if only because of WWE's habit of pushing younger guys, then pulling back on them. Plus, I don't know where he'd fit in the main event picture right now. I certainly wouldn't be against him winning, but I'd certainly be surprised.

Caldwell: I would be surprised, too. I compare it to last year when a heel, Del Rio, uncharacteristically won the Rumble, and it made sense because WWE needed an opponent for Edge and WWE viewed Del Rio as their next big star. For this year's Mania, I think D-Bryan has a world of opponents if he remains champ, or there's Mark Henry, like you suggested. And, you can do plenty with Henry or Bryan as champ. Someone who was a popular pick last month when we asked for some Way Too Early Predictions was Cody Rhodes, who is highly unlikely to win now. Could he fit in the title picture or do you see him remaining just below the World Title level for a while?

Parks: Just below for a while; he was a pick of mine to make it to the final four during yesterday's Livecast, and I think he could have a good showing. I think he'll end up feuding with his brother, but don't know if it'll be blown off at the Chamber or at 'Mania; as much as Goldy wants it, I just don't feel like it's a WM match.

Caldwell: Is there anything they could do to make it feel like a Mania match?

Parks: Sure, if they do an outstanding job in the build-up. We're at the "foundation" stage of the feud, so we don't have a lot to go on, but I do think it would take some fantastic storytelling to not make it feel like Cody is being "wasted" in a match with Goldust.

Caldwell: I have a thought...is Aksana still "married" to Goldust in the storylines dating back to NXT? Could they link Aksana's weekly flirting with Teddy Long to Goldust-Rhodes to advance the feud to Mania? I'm not seeing what the link could be, but any ideas?

Parks: Yeah, that's a stretch. Though it does make me wonder what the payoff to the Long-Aksana thing is.

Caldwell: Maybe she'll just disappear one week like Michael Tarver, the Raw GM, etc. Elsewhere on Smackdown, Greg, the Tag Title scene was given some focus with Epico & Primo vs. the Usos. Was there anything there to give you some optimism with the tag division?

Parks: Not really. It's nice that they're giving a deserving team like Primo and Epico a run, but you're only as strong as your opposition, and right now, there's little else to be optimistic about within the tag division unless WWE can scrap together a few more teams.

Caldwell: I would have said it was time for Titus O'Neil & Percy Watson to get a look on the main roster, but WWE turned Titus heel, so that's out the window. (Two NXT references this week!) Anything else jump out at you from Smackdown, Greg?

Parks: I think we can safely move on to Impact.

Caldwell: I have not seen the show yet, but what was your main takeaway from this week's episode?

Parks: Bully Ray and Bobby Roode really don't like James Storm and Jeff Hardy. They had a long brawl to open the show, then another brawl when Sting came out a half-hour later, then all four were involved in a Tag Team Tables match in the main event. They did have Bully Ray and Roode get into a mini argument backstage and I was afraid that was to plant the seed for their eventual break-up so Ray could get in the title picture, but who knows.

Caldwell: I was going to ask you about the Roode-Ray tension - I chalked it up to a way for Ray to be inserted into the title match at Against All Odds to make it a four-way. TNA would then have built-in tension between the heels to make it seem like Roode's title is in jeopardy, so "order the PPV to potentially see Hardy or Storm win the title." At this point, what do you see being the title match at the PPV?

Parks: I think they could do either Storm or Hardy against Roode, which gives credence to your multi-man match idea, especially since it would truly make Roode defend his title "Against All Odds." But I don't see a singles feud between Ray and Roode in the near future - both have been so unlikeable, it'd be hard for the fans to choose whom to root for.

Caldwell: And, TNA would run into the problem WWE had on last Friday's Smackdown with Mark Henry - arguably WWE's top heel - in a sympathetic/babyface position facing D-Bryan. You don't want the audience to feel any positive connection to Roode or Ray, and, like you said, you don't want the audience to have no one to cheer for, creating indifference. I would definitely keep Roode and Ray away from each other in a singles match. Greg, the Knockouts division was heavily featured on last night's show the week after a KO cage match. What did you make of the #1 contender match and "mixed" tag match involving EY last night?

Parks: I like EY, but his match went on and on and ON. It was just too much. As for the #1 Contender, Tara winning was somewhat of a surprise. And as much as people rag on the Divas for their lack of in-ring skill, it amazes me how the Knockouts constantly mess up the timing of moves and pin break-ups and stuff like that. With their experience, that should not be happening as often as it does.

Caldwell: Good points. There's also the X and Tag divisions, which continued to be focused on this week in the form of Alex Shelley and Morgan/Crimson-Joe/Magnus. No Austin Aries this week, which was a "miss," but your thoughts on Aries-Shelley set up for the PPV and the heels getting another advantage on Morgan & Crimson in the tag feud?

Parks: Shelley needed a win to build his credibility back for a shot at the X Division title, and he got one over Zema Ion. I also don't have a problem with the heels getting one over on Crimson and Morgan. Again, got to get heat on the heels to make the fans think the face champions are in jeopardy.

Caldwell: Now that TNA is committed to this tag division feud, do you think the teams are meshing better or does it still feel like a feud thrown-together for a PPV match?

Parks: They're meshing a little better, but the division suffers from the same crisis as WWE, that being there only seem to be two teams. It not only hurts the worth of the tag titles, but also those who are involved, since it almost feels like they're champs or challengers by default.

Caldwell: It seems like it was just yesterday there were plenty of tag teams in both companies; now it feels like there's just a handful thrown together. The Briscoes would be dynamic in either company, but their "off the court" personalities don't really fit a mainstream company. Greg, anything else from Impact worth breaking down?

Parks: Nope, and I'll save you the trouble and plug Gonzo & The Greg right now: Tomorrow's show will feature our Top Five Favorite Royal Rumble moments.

Caldwell: I'm looking forward to that discussion! Plus, a special guest or two?

Parks: Absolutely!

Caldwell: Even more reason to listen. All right, Greg, that will do it for us. We will talk again in audio form Sunday night after the Royal Rumble live on BlogTalkRadio, so we will talk to everyone then. Have a great weekend!

Parks: You too, James. Looking forward to the post-Rumble Livecast.


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