By Tony Donofrio, PWTorch specialist

WWE

- I think it's fair to say that in a year's time, The Miz has gone from WWE's penthouse to doghouse. On Raw, Miz made a cardinal mistake by not being in position to catch R-Truth as he launched himself over the top rope to the outside. If Miz were a rookie wrestler, this wouldn't be as big a deal. Don't get me wrong, it'd still be a huge mistake, but it wouldn't carry the same weight for someone that main-evented WrestleMania the previous year. Pile this onto Miz somehow being blamed for the poor Survivor Series buyrate and Miz may find himself getting the "John Morrison treatment" leading up to Mania. Let me state, first, that Miz being blamed for a poor Survivor Series buyrate is comical. Truth and Miz weren't even close to being built-up as credible threats for that show. WWE has no one to blame but themselves for a bad buyrate there. At this point, if Miz is really in WWE's doghouse, he will have to eat crow for a while. If he's smart, he'll handle it like Triple H did post-Curtain Call in 1996 and not how Morrison did in 2011.

- WWE's fictional Board of Directors decided to "retain" John Laurinaitis as interim Raw GM yesterday. I never thought I'd say something like this about four months ago, but I'm glad to see him keep this role. Laurinaitis has really embraced this role, improved so much, and made it his own. Are most people tired of the heel GM angles? Yes. But, there's something oddly humorous about how it is portrayed now by Laurinaitis. The progression of this character mirrors much of what Vickie Guerrero did in the early stages of her career as an on-screen character. I remember how many pined for her to be off TV because of how bad her delivery was. Kudos to both of them, as they've developed well. One thing is for sure - John Laurinaitis is no Mike Adamle!

- A few quick thoughts: I hope WWE stays the course with Daniel Bryan. That guy is so entertaining right now! Was everyone else as excited as I was to finally see Punk and Jericho go face-to-face? No words being spoken was perfect considering how much fans want to see a verbal battle lead up to a great Mania match. Way to keep people wanting more!

TNA

- This past week, Sting was once again asked to re-visit his decision not to jump to WWE this time last year. Boy, do his answers seem to have a little regret this time around. Last year, he was very adamant that he had made the right decision. This year, not so much. (His response to being regretful about the decision was "yes and no.")

The window for Sting-Undertaker is just about shut at this point with both guys being at the end of their rope. As months tick by, that window closes much faster than it would have even five years ago. At this point, if Sting ever does decide to work a one-year deal with WWE just for a Mania run, I don't know if Undertaker will be around for it.

Independent Wrestling

- Chris Hero has reportedly finally signed with WWE. I know, this screams of WWE news and not independent news but, as I stated last week, nothing right now in the independents is "wowing" me. Hero's signing could re-align one of the best tag teams in all of pro wrestling, The Kings of Wrestling (made famous in ROH), after Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro in FCW) signed with WWE halfway through 2011.

If WWE doesn't want to create a newer, stronger tag division, then Hero and Claudio will be allowed to blossom as singles stars. Between these two, Ricky Steamboat Jr., Seth Rollins (Tyler Black), and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), WWE has their future stars ready to break out. It's all a matter of the WWE machine getting behind them.

Social Media

- This past weekend, The Rock went outside the box to praise TNA World Hvt. champion Bobby Roode on Twitter. First, this was a very classy and unexpected move by The Rock to both acknowledge and praise talent from a promotion he has never (and never will) work for. Secondly, TNA should have blown this up on their website, their Twitter page, and everywhere else possible since then!

I am interested to see if this will be squeezed into Thursday's taped Impact Wrestling episode, because it should be. No TNA wrestler is going to get a bigger endorsement from outside of TNA's own "box." The fact that Roode is one of the top heels in TNA right now should not matter. Rock is a mega-star in both wrestling and outside entertainment, and if TNA drops the ball on making this more public to their fans, then I believe it is another example of the problem TNA has building up its product.

Non-Wrestling Thought of the Week

- For the second year in a row, I've been disappointed with the outcome on Super Bowl Sunday. However, I now get to focus on hockey and continue to treat the NBA like it doesn't exist. (I still wish the season would've been scrapped, as I didn't miss it at all and loved watching ESPN HAVE TO push hockey.) One thing was apparent, though, from the previous NFL weekend: All-Star games should go the way of the dodo bird. I believe the most exciting All-Star game is the NHL's, but it's unrealistic, as no defense is played. However, I do like the pick-up game concept.

I believe the NBA and NFL versions are just as bad with no defense being played and the players not really caring at all. MLB continues to try to make it matter by putting the World Series home field advantage in the hands of over 90 percent of players that won't be in the Fall Classic. I still don't care who wins that game. At least the NFL is considering getting rid of the Pro Bowl after this year's dreadful game. I hope all four major leagues do the same.

***

Tony Donofrio is a Specialist for PWTorch covering a variety of topics and promotions. You can reach Tony at TonyDonofrio@me.com or follow him on Twitter @TonyDonofrio

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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