By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2009

6:00 p.m.

-- Gofightlive.com is currently airing an On-Demand replay of Ring of Honor's "Glory by Honor IV event from September 2005 that featured a host of current TNA wrestlers in some great match-ups. We posted Pat McNeill's review of the event from four years ago on the main listing. McNeill gave it a "high recommendation" based on the strength of TNA's then-X Division top stars (A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe) being featured prominently in high-quality wrestling action.

-- IGN.com had a quote from one of the creators of "Chuck" on Steve Austin's role in an upcoming episode of the NBC series. "If you're Chuck and you flash on a bad guy that you're going to be trapped on a plane with that you have to then defeat and that person is as terrifying as Stone Cold Steve Austin, viewers are then really on that journey with Chuck," said show creator Josh Schwartz. The episode is scheduled to air January 25.

-- CBS Sports has a brief discussion of MLB player Johnny Damon guest-hosting Raw next week. The point of emphasis from many of the readers is that Damon isn't known for being a great public-speaker, especially in front of a live audience.

-- Wrestling author Irv Muchnick published a blog on "Teflon" Linda McMahon, posing the question of whether any of the criticism against her stemming from her days as WWE CEO will actually stick or if her $50 million campaign budget and attempts to deflect criticism will buy a pass to the Senate office. Muchnick's Blog.

***

1:00 p.m.

-- Greg Parks and I just wrapped our lunch-time chat talking Raw, TLC, and Smackdown that we'll be posting this evening. There was plenty to talk about from last night's "bizarre" Raw, including the Bret Hart name-drop that I assure you was no accident. Unrelated to anything TNA is doing on January 4, WWE wants to start 2010 with a hot Raw and Hart would be on a short list of top stars from the past who could make a splash guest-hosting the show. Whether it happens remains to be seen. We'll continue to follow the developing story.

In our weekly chat, I will also defend my star ratings for the TLC PPV, which were lower than Wade Keller's ratings other than for the main event TLC match, which I rated higher. Tune in for the chat and my defense argument later this afternoon.

-- TNA aired the TV ad for the Jan. 4 Impact during last night's Raw only in select markets, which is why there isn't as much buzz on the commercial as I would have expected today. The slick ad aired here in Houston, but it didn't air across the country. TNA hasn't mentioned it or posted it on their website today, but management is tracking down where it aired to gauge the commercial's reach during Raw.

-- ESPN beat USA Network for the weekly ratings battle last week. ESPN averaged 3.3 million viewers in prime time thanks to Monday Night Football coverage compared to 2.8 million viewers on USA Network thanks to two hours of Raw. Report: TVbytheNumbers.com.

-- Vince McMahon received his own Slammy award from the CableFax media news outlet. CableFax ranked him #40 in their Top 100 rankings of executives and officers in the cable TV industry. WWE announcement.

-- TNA wrestler Daniels will be appearing on the Lewis & Floorwax radio show tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. EST to hype the Final Resolution PPV. The show airs on KRFX-FM 103.5 out of Denver (so 7:00 a.m. local time). The interview will be streamed on radio show's website.

-- WWE posted a story on wrestlers and divas interacting with the U.S. troops overseas when WWE taped the "Tribute to the Troops" show that airs on Saturday night on NBC.

-- TNA wrestler Abyss posted his latest absurd Monster Blog. It's so off-the-wall that it's entertaining to read. For instance, he talks about the impending Monday Night War II on January 4 in-character: I remember when the Monday Night wars were being waged at the time when I was going thru some of my tougher times in life. I was undergoing some intense psycho therapy at the time. The only night that I ever looked forward to was Monday nights and the war between WCW and WWE. Monday was my weekly escape away from all of that as I enjoyed the competition and war between the two.

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10:00 a.m.

-- Checking the inbox this morning, it's quite obvious last night's Raw generated a very passionate response from Torch readers. We had a "post-WrestleMania Raw" level of Reax response and we'll have plenty of wall-to-wall coverage of Raw today, especially the three-hour show format.

-- Looking at the early voting on the MVP and three-hour format Polls, the MVP voting is all over the place, which means it comes down to personal taste. Dennis Miller is currently leading with 16 percent while Chris Jericho is second with 11 percent. Then, there's the likes of Orton, Michaels, Cena, Carlito, and Yoshi hovering around the 8-10 percent level.

After last night's Raw generated a very passionate negative response in the Reax's, the poll on the three-hour Raw format has a very predictable negative response with readers calling for the end of three-hour Raws or a significant reduction in occurrences. The options for "get rid of them" and "once or twice a year at most" is totaling 78 percent right now.

-- The TNA Impact ad that ran during WWE Raw last night looked nothing like a TNA ad, which is a great thing. I had no idea what the ad was promoting ten seconds into the spot. When a text item about a "three-hour event" flashed on the screen, it looked like WWE was promoting another three-hour Raw. The sudden flash of Hulk Hogan, TNA, and the Impact Zone was then a good "punch" after the intriguing set-up. So, if TNA and Spike have a completely new marketing scheme to present TNA, then TNA is on the right track with the new beginning on January 4.

-- Ring of Honor has made several announcements related to their Final Battle 2009 online PPV airing this Saturday, past big events available On-Demand, and their ROH TV shows available On-Demand. We'll be covering all the details and specifics on the announcements later today on the main listing. ROH is really trying to make a splash with their first online PPV offering, which should be a contender for Event of the Month in our Torch monthly polls based on the line-up they have on paper.

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