By Tony Donofrio, PWTorch specialist

WWE

-File this in the "latest" column, as this item came out just hours before I started to write this: Randy Orton supposedly having a "concussion" and now being out of the Elimination Chamber is huge news and changes the whole complexion of the PPV and perhaps even WrestleMania. It's been thought lately that Orton was one of the favorites to win the Smackdown Chamber match on Sunday and go on to face Sheamus at Mania. Now, it appears (I say appears because Vince McMahon could still find a way) that won't happen.

I would now think that Daniel Bryan is the sole favorite to walk out with the World Title on Sunday. Big Show is the only viable contender, but he's rumored to be facing Shaquille O'Neal at Mania. The major side note to this (and I usually don't deal with spoilers here, but since WWE's website acknowledged it, I don't deem it a spoiler) is that Orton has been replaced in the match by Santino Marella. To say that the Elimination Chamber PPV has lost a lot of luster would be an understatement. However, it's still the last major stop on the road to WrestleMania, so it still should be very newsworthy.

-As a journalist, I like to look and listen beyond PWTorch and Prowrestling.net. Why? Because, I got into this as a wrestling fan and always will be. Since this past Raw, I was actually a bit shocked at the negativity from a lot of other places reviewing the show. Is the Cena-Kane-Ryder storyline the greatest angle ever written? No, but it's been going for two months now and is pretty compelling in my eyes (and it is holding John Cena over until The Rock is completely available). I thought Triple H-Shawn Michaels was riveting and I hung on their every word. Daniel Bryan cemented himself more over a heel. Was there more to be desired in the ring? Maybe.

However, let me remind naysayers where WWE was just a few short years ago. The low point for me was during the ongoing guest host/GM run and when Carlito chased Hornswoggle around until Hornswoggle magically ran through a painted hallway on a wall. Compare that production to the past 3, 6, 12, or even 18 months. Things can always be a lot worse. Over the past 12-18 months, WWE TV hasn't been "Attitude Era great," but it has been solid and I haven't had a lot to complain about.

TNA

-TNA and Vince Russo parting ways is major news and if it weren't for Randy Orton being out of the Chamber PPV this Sunday, this was easily the biggest news of the week thus far (and it could be argued that it still is). I wish no ill-will towards Russo but I am happy to see him go and want to see what Dave Lagana can do as his replacement. Lagana did some good things as the Smackdown lead writer years ago and I liked much of what he did in ROH. Couple this with Lagana working with Bruce Prichard and I think TNA has something cooking.

The wild cards, obviously, are Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. Bischoff is overseeing Creative with Prichard, but no one still really knows how much power Hogan. Seeing Prichard and Lagana essentially in charge of Creative gives me hope for TNA that I'm not sure I have ever had or at least have had in a very long time. I feel like so many have said this before - with whichever year was starting or upcoming filled in the blank - but I'll say it again. 2012 is a huge year for TNA and it could be a corner-turning type of year.

-Mickie James became a bit of a hot button item this past week. Late last week, she called out Hulk Hogan for his comments on Twitter. James was quoted as saying "Did my ears just deceive me... Or did the Immortal Hulk Hogan just call Baby Bischoff the future of this business? WTH?! FML!" First, I completely agree with Mickie on this and can't believe Hogan would actually say something so asinine. However, Mickie's honesty has probably now landed her in the TNA doghouse. If that didn't do it, what she did during Sunday's "Against All Odds" PPV may have helped cement it. Throughout the night, during the live PPV, all Mickie did was tweet her thoughts on the Grammy's. Maybe this is all a part of a master plan for Mickie. If it's to be released from TNA, it's probably not a terrible one.

I've heard it said before that most former WWE stars who leave for TNA are excited to be with the company for about one year before the luster wears off and they see what they left behind. That doesn't mean that Mickie wants to go back to being the "Piggy James" in WWE storylines, but there is a significant drop-off between the #1 and #2 promotion. Stay tuned on this one.

Independent Wrestling

-DGUSA is offering a $1.99 Internet PPV, "Open The Ultimate Gate," on March 30 (WrestleMania weekend). If you've ever considered giving promotions like ROH, PWG, DGUSA, EVOLVE, Chikara, etc. a chance, this will be your cheapest opportunity ever to see some really great wrestling on iPPV. I like the idea, considering DGUSA is doing another iPPV the following night at the standard $14.99 price tag. Doing things like this from time to time, even if once per year, isn't a bad idea. I'll be interested to see if this will drive sales thereafter and provides an opportunity for the masses to give independent companies a harder look in the future. (DGUSA iPPVs can be viewed on WWNLive.com.)

-ROH announced this week the main event for its big 10th Anniversary iPPV and I couldn't be more disappointed. Considering this is a 10th anniversary show, you would think the company's biggest prize would be on the line. That doesn't appear to be so. Instead, ROH World champion Davey Richards will be teaming up with Kyle O'Reilly to face Eddie Edwards and Adam Cole. Don't get me wrong, I'm willing to bet this will be an exciting match; definitely worth the money that ROH charges for iPPVs. However, I'm discouraged by the news that Richards won't be defending the title on something as big as a 10th Anniversary show. I know ROH doesn't feel the title needs to be defended at every PPV and I wrote about something similar to this last year (right after Sinclair Broadcasting took over). But, ROH only has one tenth anniversary and it seems like no title will be defended on this monumental show. (ROH PPVs can be viewed on GFL.tv.)

Social Media Moment of the Week

-Over the past few weeks, The Rock and John Cena have heated up their Twitter war again. However, it's almost been non-newsworthy other than it's not very newsworthy! Confused? Neither guy has done or said much to further their match at WM28. Jim Ross, over the weekend, said the the "uncomfortable" tweets back and forth are a good thing in his view. As much as I respect and usually agree with JR, I don't here. The relevance of this "war of words" is so childish that if these two weren't headlining the biggest show of the year, you would think they were two middle school kids with nothing better to do.

When the match was announced the day after WM27, the expectation was there would probably be a 9-month lull before this thing heated back up again. However, ten-and-a-half months later, the lull still remains. I'm not saying Twitter was going to keep this feud hot or get it refueled again. But, the attempt was a failed one at best.

Non-wrestling Thought of the Week

-I don't like to mix politics into my wrestling columns, but this story came across my desk today and I couldn't help myself. A few days ago in North Carolina, a 4-year old's school lunch was taken away by the "lunch police," otherwise known as a representative from the Department of Health & Human Services because the lunch, which consisted of a turkey sandwich, a banana, apple juice, and potato chips, didn't "meet U.S. Dept. of Agriculture guidelines"...whatever that means! So, let's pretend that I'd like to play along here. What exactly did the "lunch police" replace this "terrible" lunch with? Chicken Nuggets! For those that don't know, chicken nuggets (while I don't necessarily hate them) are the unwanted part of the chicken and made into nuggets for consumption. Processed chicken is not exactly in my model of "healthy things to eat." I can't understand how a government agency could step in and make choices for what people can and cannot eat. Sadly, to me, it seems like more and more freedoms are being taken away each day.

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

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