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, we're chatting Friday afternoon before Smackdown, so we'll talk about some of the SD items from Extreme Rules when we get to that portion of the discussion. We'll also get to Impact at the end of the Chat. But, first, we start with Brock-Cena to...Cena-Laurinaitis...? Greg, what did you think of Monday's Raw, overall, following up on Extreme Rules?

Greg Parks: It was not a great Raw, which, coming off a particularly hot Extreme Rules, made it seem even worse than it was. The big question coming out of Extreme Rules was, "how will Brock Lesnar recover from his loss" and "where does John Cena go from here?" We got answers to both of those questions, but whether they satisfied viewers, I'm not really sure. I was happy Lesnar was made to look lethal again, but wasn't enthused about him mixing it up with Triple H. John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis isn't going to set the buyrate on fire, but it makes sense for the Laurinaitis character given how Triple H treated him earlier in the night and how Lesnar berated him a week earlier. It should lead to the ousting of Laurinaitis as GM, but who knows.

Caldwell: It definitely felt like the beginning of the end for Laurinaitis, especially with the clear, unmistakable attack on a babyface (Cena) that should lead to the "Board" and/or Hunter removing him from power. Now, I don't know if they attach a stipulation to the Cena-Laurinaitis match, e.g. Laurinaitis is removed from power if he loses or if they remove him from power beforehand and come up with a different Cena match at Over the Limit. This has all moved too quickly for my taste, and I think WWE needs to take a step back to re-evaluate after Extreme Rules and Raw. I mean, we should be talking about a show-long Lesnar Story on Raw after his loss to Cena. Lesnar could have been busting up the entire locker room, interrupting Beat the Clock matches, etc., and then Hunter comes in at the end of Raw to do what they did in the first segment. I was not in favor of how the story unfolded. Greg, when do you think Lesnar gets re-involved in the flesh and how do they think they'll re-introduce him into storylines?

Parks: Speaking of moving too quickly, that fits into what I said last week about Cena's losses weighing on him: two losses in less than a month doesn't have the same effect as several losses over a few months, which would've worked better. But, I understand it's difficult to stretch out those stories because of all the TV, PPVs, blah blah blah that WWE has that doesn't allow them to take time in crafting longer story arcs anymore. As for Lesnar, depending on whether or not WWE and he have agreed to more dates than on the initial contract, I could see him showing up this coming week on Raw. I think they only do that though if they rush into Triple H vs. Lesnar for the May PPV. If they wait 'til Summerslam or Money in the Bank or something, then I think you you'll see Hunter suspend Lesnar to give him a reason to be off TV for a little while.

Caldwell: I think that would be another rush mistake if they go right to Hunter-Lesnar at the PPV in two weeks. If they go there, it would remind me of when they rushed through the Hunter-Punk and Hunter-Nash feuds last year instead of allowing the audience to anticipate. WWE's PPV schedule is really throwing off their storytelling, like you identified... You're right - in WWE's world, I could see Lesnar back on TV this Monday. I really think they need to keep him off TV, though, and going the suspension route sounds good. It feels like WWE wants to squeeze as much out of the Lesnar lemon over this next year - Cena re-match, Hunter, Punk, Orton, and Sheamus - but each quick squeeze means less juice. So, it will be interesting to see how they handle it. I feel like we need to see how Lesnar, Hunter, Cena, and Laurinaitis sorts itself out this Monday before we can dive deeper into it. You hit the big points on what's going on here, but anything else from those book-end segments on Raw?

Parks: I just agree that Lesnar-Hunter this month would be too quick, but we thought the same thing about Lesnar-Cena too, doing that match at Extreme Rules rather than drawing it out longer. Elsewhere on Raw, just to throw you a curve...the Bellas were fired!...via WWE.com. What did you make of how that was announced and their final quickie match on Monday night?

Caldwell: I'm more of a fastball, opposite-field hitter, but I can take a curveball, too! I thought it was an issue of the show being too packed and running long, so they went with a 20-second Divas Title match and put the "firing" on their website. They ended up with eight matches after that 20-minute opening segment, so I think it was mainly logistics. But, they also may have not wanted to draw that much attention to the Bellas on the way out of WWE. So, those are my top two reasons. Now, it's Layla as Divas champion and no sign of Kharma yet (but Eve name-dropped her at the PPV, so you know she's coming back). What do you make of the current Divas situation post-Beth, post-Bella as champs?

Parks: I think a lot of folks just thought, "...that's it?" when it was announced the Bellas were fired, especially because of the lack of explanation offered. Folks had dreams of them getting destroyed by Kharma on Sunday night or Monday before finishing up, so I think this was disappointing to most people. I guess it all depends on Kharma though: If she wasn't ready to come back, there's nothing WWE could really do to match the fans' anticipation of Kharma; but if she is/was ready to come back and they held her off from destroying the Bellas for some reason...well, that one is less forgivable.

Caldwell: Yeah, if it was a matter of Kharma isn't ready, then I understand holding off. But, if she was ready, then it was a missed opportunity. Then again, they likely want her as a heel (assuming she goes right after face champ Layla), so destroying the Bellas would have been viewed as a face move by Kharma. That may have been part of their thinking (assuming they put that much thought into it). Greg, the other big story on Raw was the Beat the Clock leading to a Punk-Bryan match set for Raw's top title. It seems like a quick transition for Bryan, but it keeps him in the main event spotlight, which is good. What did you think of how they set up Punk-Bryan at the PPV?

Parks: Eh, even if you bring Kharma back as a heel, you gotta have her destroy the Bellas - they were the ones who made fun of her on her way out, so that would be a fitting end to the Bellas's careers. Beat the Clock is a fine deal if you do it once or twice a year - I like covering it on Smackdown because I don't have to rely on the stopwatch app on my phone! So in that regard, I don't have a huge issue with it. I'm intrigued by Bryan vs. Punk, which, as you said on the Livecast yesterday, could end up as a three-way with Jericho at Over the Limit. But in my opinion, I'm guessing it stays one-on-one.

Caldwell: Yeah, I'm not 100 percent certain the top two matches stay where they are. WWE really hasn't really changed PPV matches after announcing them recently (we thought Orton may be added to a Smackdown title match at some point over the past few PPVs), but I would not be surprised to see a change to Cena-Laurinaitis and/or Punk-Bryan. I'll be intrigued to see what WWE does to promote Punk-Bryan over these next two Raws. It will probably feel like the Straight-Edge vs. Role Model stuff they were doing a few months ago before their big TV match. On the Jericho front, assuming he is not inserted into the title match, where do you think he goes from here? I felt like he came back to WWE just to feud with Punk - and he still could, perhaps remaining as a tormentor to Punk in storylines while not in a title match - but what happens with Jericho?

Parks: I'm not sure; you're right, it feels like Jericho came back to feud with Punk and then ride into the sunset again. But if that were the case, I don't think he would've been fighting for a spot in the title match on Raw. They could always do something where Punk vanquishes Jericho from WWE in the next few weeks before Over the Limit. They'd have to juggle that with hyping his match with Bryan, though, maybe WWE thinks that Bryan vs. Punk will sell itself to the hardcore fans and they don't need to make a big push with that match. Otherwise, if Jericho is still sticking around, I really don't see an obvious feud right now. Something could crop up this week to give him a match for Over the Limit - if he's still around, does he get left off the PPV? I would be surprised.

Caldwell: Right now, I could see him left off the PPV. Or, he may wrestle someone else just to be able to have a high-profile match with another wrestler during this current run. (I'm nervous about it being Big Show, though!) But, I think they go back to Punk-Jericho after Over the Limit and build to a blow-off match at No Way Out in June, with Punk-Bryan being a way to break things up on a quick turnaround after Extreme Rules. No Way Out could then have some sort of stipulation match to write off Jericho (unless they squeeze out another match in July before he takes off for "Fozzy" touring). Greg, the rest of Raw pretty much revolved around the Beat the Clock Challenge, except for the Tag Title switch. I don't think I was as down on the Clock as most people were, as I thought three out of five matches were compelling-enough to be fine for TV. (We will pretend like Khali vs. Kane did not happen here.) What was your overall take on the Challenge, as well as the Tag Title switch to Kofi & Truth?

Parks: I disagree - I thought most of the matches (save for one or two) just didn't feel like very uninspired and certainly nothing special. The tag switch has been a long time coming, and I'm surprised they've stuck with Primo and Epico as long as they have. I think Kofi and Truth are big enough names to where WWE won't forget about the tag titles like they seemed to do with Primo and Epico, and even though they lost, they've got a storyline now with being the first to join AW's client list.

Caldwell: I will say I did not like how the Clock was organized and presented. How were the matches decided on? Who decided on the matches? Why was Lawler in the Challenge? That was a fail moment in the presentation. I think putting the titles on Kofi & Truth definitely gives them something to do and gives WWE reason to invest in the titles again, like you said, and probably will lead to more star power on Smackdown with the champs crossing over to where there are actually are some tag teams. I am curious to see if the new AW-endorsed Primo & Epico duo regains the titles, though. Speaking of AW, what do you think of his re-introduction thus far and do you see this turning into a big deal where AW amasses a Jimmy Hart 1980s-WWF amount of "clients" or sticks with just a handful?

Parks: I think they'll give him a few, but like you said yesterday, is he strictly a behind-the-scenes guy? Does he manage them at ringside like Vickie Guerrero? Primo and Epico already have Rosa Mendes for that. I guess his actual role remains to be seen.

Caldwell: And, it seems he's advanced past that point where WWE forgets about something they start - e.g. Michael Tarver roaming around backstage - so they seem pretty committed to whatever on-camera role this turns into. I wonder if he'll call up Rosa during matches and send in instructions a la Sherri phoning in tips to Harlem Heat in 1990s WCW. Oh, the memories. Anything else from Raw worth breaking down, Greg?

Parks: Nope...let's quickly hit Smackdown, since we addressed last week's show in our chat last week. James, I gotta hand it to you...you had it pegged that A.J. wouldn't get involved in the Extreme Rules match between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. Now that Bryan has moved on to a feud with Punk, where does this leave A.J. and her storyline with Bryan?

Caldwell: If we would have discussed this Bryan-Sheamus match about a year or two ago, I would have joined with you in predicting A.J.'s involvement in the match. But, it seems like WWE has really moved away from run-ins or outside interference in big matches on PPV (other than, of course, A.J. kissing Bryan before he lost in 18 seconds at Mania, but we knew she was going to accompany Bryan to the ring for that match). I think it's a good move to keep the match between the wrestlers in the match. On your question, the interesting thing to me is that Bryan-Punk just feels like a TV match to insert on PPV on a quick turnaround to Over the Limit, so I see Bryan continuing the program with A.J. on his Friday night home, while the Punk build-up kind of runs parallel. Sheamus is due for a date with #1 contender Del Rio, so I think Bryan's Smackdown focus shifts to A.J. while his Raw focus remains in the ring with Punk. Bryan is a big deal now, Greg!

Parks: Yeah, they could stick to the Bryan and A.J. story on Smackdown, and Bryan and Punk on Raw. But then again, I'd love to see Punk help freshen up Smackdown too leading up to this match. As for Sheamus, it seems obvious that he's headed for a showdown with Alberto Del Rio, which doesn't feel like something that's going to help revitalize the Smackdown brand. James, is Sheamus vs. ADR the best Smackdown can offer right now, or do you have an idea for a better match-up over the World Title?

Caldwell: Ah, good point on a potential way to boost Smackdown star power is to bring over Punk for an advertised appearance. Smackdown needs a ratings boost after taking a downturn following these live specials. As for Punk-Del Rio, I don't like the match-up. I think Del Rio's character needs a lot of rehab - almost starting over with some clean, emphatic wins over babyfaces before he builds back up to Sheamus. So, I would be more in favor of Sheamus feuding with someone else post-Bryan, but the options are limited. Kane? No. Cody Rhodes? Not yet. Orton and Show run into the problem of being faces when Sheamus needs to be entrenched as a top face on Smackdown after some crowds were split or pro-Bryan recently. So, I don't see a *great* option for Sheamus next. Unless they revisit Sheamus vs. Mark Henry, which would be good, but Henry seems to have quietly disappeared again.

Parks: I think you hit it right-on James: It should be Sheamus vs. Henry because Sheamus could use a really strong heel to help him get over as a face. The shock win over Bryan was supposed to do that, but with Bryan having (likely in WWE's mind) an unexpected babyface reaction, Sheamus didn't come across as strong as a face as he was supposed to. Henry still has credibility left, he's got some left-over business with Sheamus, and he's as strong a heel as Smackdown (or, let's face it, WWE) has to offer for a World Title feud.

Caldwell: Sheamus got some mojo back at Extreme Rules, like you pointed out on during the post-game Livecast on Sunday, and I think we're in agreement that Henry would be the best bet to keep that going. That Henry-Sheamus series from last year is still tied at 1-1, so they need the rubber match! (Or, with this being WWE, it will turn into a Best-of-Five with a minimum of three matches to be expected for any Smackdown feud.) As for the other players from Extreme Rules, do you think Show-Rhodes and Orton-Kane are over? If so, where do you see them going next?

Parks: I would hope so; both should've really ended at 'Mania or the night after in the case of Show vs. Rhodes. With those feuds and Bryan vs. Sheamus finishing up for now, the reshuffling of the deck on Smackdown should make for some interesting TV over the next few weeks, at least to see how everything shakes out.

Caldwell: Do you see a natural next opponent for IC champ Rhodes? It seems like he's feuding with Show the entire year, so I can't picture him feuding with someone else over the title right now. Anyone jump to mind?

Parks: It's so tough to pick someone, because WWE could just have anyone jump from Raw over to Smackdown to challenge for the title now, since the boundaries aren't as well-drawn between the shows as they used to be. Looking through the roster, Smackdown seems to be heavy on mid-level heels, not so much faces. You could have a Mason Ryan or Zeke Jackson, or even Zack Ryder. With some of the babyfaces who could challenge on the shelf (DiBiase, Evan Bourne, Sin Cara), it's slim pickings.

Caldwell: I was thinking the same thing about Smackdown being heavy on mid-card heels and not having too many credible mid-card faces. I think Rhodes needs to work someone who isn't a big-man after working with Show so that he can regain some physical credibility. Then, perhaps, a big-man comes along to "knock Rhodes down to size," if you will. But, who is that person? Ryder may be a good option, like you mentioned. Otherwise, it really is slim pickings unless Sin Cara is ready to come back to TV in the near future (he is advertised for Mexico at the end of the month, so perhaps he's an option post-Over the Limit). Greg, any other Smackdown thoughts before the PPV fall-out on tonight's show?

Parks: Nah, let's go to Impact: The big news to me was the Gut Check concept coming out in full-force after Alex Silva's match last week. How do you think TNA handled the fall-out from his match this week, and is this something wrestling fans can really look forward to each month?

Caldwell: Eh. I felt indifferent about the whole thing. I watched the segment again on TNA's YouTube page last night and I just didn't feel any emotion about it. The dark "mood lighting," the attempt to be a judge-based contest show, Silva's promo, the over-dramatics, Bruce Prichard trying not to laugh - I think the concept has potential, but I just wasn't feeling the execution. I didn't dislike it; I just walked away feeling like it was TNA's latest "concept" grasping at straws. I may need to see a few more of these once TNA works out the idea. What did you think of it?

Parks: I think it should be a one-week thing, as in, he wrestled on the same show his fate is decided. That would somewhat take away from the interactive concept of it that TNA was pushing, but the in-ring segment was more how I pictured things going last week. I think using Flair as a judge is a good way to utilize him - we talked a few weeks ago on the Livecast how Flair should best be used - but Hogan assigning him to judge talent when he's so clearly biased and is a heel, that was a little odd. I didn't care for the discussion of quarter-hours or Silva's size (even though it was the heel in Flair bringing it up) in the backstage segment and I think the judges should've been announced the week before. How do we even know Bruce and Flair watched Silva's match the previous week? But those I think are pretty minor quibbles, all things considered. James, were you surprised Silva was given a contract, being the first competitor in this show? Do you think it makes Impact look minor league and desperate for talent, or was it the right move to get the fans invested in the concept?

Caldwell: I had to laugh at Prichard saying at the end, "We need talent...I mean we like your talent." Way to make it sound like TNA's great roster is insufficient! You hit on three big problems I had with the overall presentation - I don't even want to get myself started on the insider talk & evaluating a show within a show that needs to go away. Flair's character is #2 and Silva winning a contract was the other. I agree that this is probably the best way to use Flair in 2012. But, like you said, define the character! He was giving Silva a hard time as a biased heel, but then sort of "broke character" by the end and welcomed him to the family. I didn't care for how Flair was presented as a character here. I could see why TNA wanted to give Silva a contract as the first Gut Check'er so that it would be a big deal, but I think they sacrificed potential for an even bigger deal down the line when the first wrestler - someone who TNA is really, really high on - gets a contract. It was a huge deal when the first person won $1.0 million on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire back in the day, but if someone won on the first episode, no one would have watched after that. So, I think if TNA is really high on Silva, they should have saved him for down the line to make this feel like a big deal. Having the first person win a contract wasn't necessarily a mistake, but I don't think it will have as much of an impact as it could have. (I think I just wrote a blog.) Greg, care to respond to my blog?!

Parks: I'll just say that I agree with the points you made! I imagined TNA rejecting people for months before someone finally came along to blow them out of the water, but at the same time, would fans give up on the concept if they saw that no one was winning? We'll never know. Elsewhere on Impact, TNA did the "pick the opponent of your PPV opponent" again this week, with Roode being forced to take on Mr. Anderson and Hardy challenging RVD. James, was that the correct next step in the build to RVD vs. Roode, and what did you think of the matches themselves?

Caldwell: I'll go back to the Millionaire analogy (it has so many applications to wrestling!) that if TNA made it seem like each month's contestant was oh so close, but just lacking something (contestants winning $100,000 or $250,000, but not quite getting to $1.0 million), then it would keep building anticipation for when that one very special wrestler gets the contract (hits the million). Now, if TNA started throwing out scrubs/Ryback squash opponents that had no potential for a contract (contestants only getting to $100 or $500), then I think people would have lost interest quickly. Man, I miss that show when it was relevant. Kind of like "Greed" on Friday nights. Okay, back to TNA. I thought the Pick Your Poison deal was okay as an attempt to create some sort of issue for RVD and Roode ahead of their title match. But, I think they threw away a Hardy-RVD match for no reason, and I thought RVD's promo was pretty bad. I did like the Roode-Anderson match, mainly as a way to try to re-establish Anderson as a main-eventer. What did you think of how it played out?

Parks: I'm more of a Jeopardy man myself. It seems to be a unanimous thought that RVD's promo was horrible and I think they went back to this well a little too soon, since it feels like they just went this direction (either in building up Storm vs. Roode or Roode vs. Sting). The problem is there really isn't an issue between Roode and RVD, so they have to artificially make one up. WWE is in the same boat with Punk and Bryan (although they have more of a history to draw from), so it should be interesting to see how WWE reacts in a similar situation.

Caldwell: Roode-RVD does feel similar to Bryan-Punk in that there isn't much of a back-story right now, although Bryan-Punk definitely has history to draw from, as you pointed out. I just don't see the big draw for this month's TNA PPV. Styles-Angle is #2, but TNA has damaged Styles in terms of knocking him down a few pegs from regular main-eventer to mid-carder involved in a never-ending blackmail angle that I don't see that match drawing incremental interest over the interest that's already there from every-month, hardcore PPV buyers. And, I don't get a sense that Roode's title is in jeopardy, which would get some buys to see if RVD can de-throne Roode. It just feels like TNA is presenting a house show on PPV. Do you feel the same way or see more hope for this month's offering?

Parks: After putting all their effort into Lockdown, this definitely feels like a skippable show thus far. TNA still has a week to redeem things, though. Anything else from Impact you'd like to touch on before we wrap up?

Caldwell: I think one other bigger item and a few smaller items stood out to me - Bully Ray and Austin Aries took their feud up a notch (bigger item), the Knockouts division seems to be floundering a bit with Tessmacher the Babyface Knockout of the Month going after Gail Kim, and Devon's long-awaited, much-anticipated, TV Title defense against...Rob Terry...stemming from the last PPV. I'm not in favor of Devon defending the TV Title every week if this is indicative of the opponents he will be facing on a regular basis. What did you think of those three items?

Parks: I'm still in favor of the TV title defense...you can't have him defending against guys the level of AJ Styles each week, especially considering where the TV title is now and how it's a step down for most guys. Brooke going over Gail again makes sense but even then I'm not sure how many people buy Brooke as a legit threat. Aries vs. Ray was fine and I liked Aries shooting back on Ray for Ray taking shots at his height. But they couldn't leave well enough along and have Borash get one over on Easy E last week...they had to bring him back and take him down a notch. It's another example of the babyfaces never able to get that last laugh.

Caldwell: Yes, TNA Babyface Booking at its most obvious. All right, Greg, I think we've covered just about everything. NXT may get back on the table next week if they bring in an influx of new FCW talent, as advertised by William Regal. But, until then, NXT remains...tabled! Greg, let the readers know what's on-tap for Gonzo & The Greg in the VIP Audio Section this weekend.

Parks: We'll be listing our top five strangest characters in wrestling. But in a twist, we're counting in-ring personalities as well as out-of-ring personalities (or non-kayfabe). So that should make it a tad more interesting.

Caldwell: And, subject to another great debate. I like it. All right, Greg, that concludes a crazy, busy week for us talking wrestling in the Chat Lounge and on the Livecast. We will be back next Thursday for the Livecast to see what the latest is from the world of wrestling. Thanks as always for the Chat!

Parks: And, thank you!

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