The PWTorch All-Star Panel features an array of contributors answering your questions who have worked in various facets of the pro wrestling industry, plus PWTorch contributors join in. You get an unmatched mix of perspectives including first-hand insights from people who have worked in the ring and behind the curtain.

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PWTorch reader R. Jack asks: Lately, for Undertaker, it's been: fight at WrestleMania, take around 10 months off, return post-Elimination Chamber, repeat. At the moment, I highly doubt Taker will return for WM31. If he did return, it wouldn't be much of a quality match in my opinion. But what if he were to take 1 year and 10 months off, and return post-2016 Elimination Chamber, to face John Cena? This would certainly make his WM match seem fresh. He'd have plenty of time to rest and recover by then. It would be a dream match, to conclude his career, in his home state of Texas. Do you think this is a possibility?

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan and Torch subscriber. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars and was flown our to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) You don't recover from severe or multiple concussions. Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon had one known concussion, has been retired for years, and now sometimes gets lost inside his own home. Undertaker has taken decades of damage living a wrestler's life. It may be scripted and supposed to be in a controlled environment, but wrestling takes a huge physical toll. The Undertaker is from a time when the wrestler who was retiring or leaving the territory lost on his way out. In Taker's mind, he did the right thing.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and a frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: Anything is a possibility, money talks. I think based on Taker’s performance, we’ve seen his last match and I’m cool with that. Taker going into the HOF WM32 weekend will be good enough for me.

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PWTorch reader and VIP MEMBER Chris From La Quinta, Calif. asks: A lot of wrestling's big moments of the past ten years have come not after a babyface vanquishes a hated heel, but after a backstage story about a wrestler not being favored to be a top guy by management becomes public, and the wrestler gets the top belt anyway. Daniel Bryant winning the title at Wrestlemania, CM Punk defeating John Cena, RVD winning the World title at One Night Stand, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero closing Wrestlemania as World Champions, and Y2J winning the Undisputed title. Is it getting too tough to create a heel anymore that people truly despise based on his actions in the ring, and not just that management prefers him to the babyface?

AUTHOR & REPORTER & HISTORIAN Greg Oliver (co-author of "The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame," reporter for SLAM! Wrestling in Canada, editor of Canadian Wrestling Report Newsletter in late-'80s) answers: There are two aspects to your point. One, we have far greater access to the backstage stories than any other time in history. WWWF back in the '60s or '70s would have one hour a week in which to push its talent and draw people to the house shows. There was no time for extra stories to add depth, so formulaic booking was key - monster heel comes to the territory, goes through the babyfaces until he meets Bruno Sammartino in three straight matches, and then departs. Now, with hours and hours of programming, backstage stories are essential to fill time. This really started with WCW and its ever-expanding timeslots.

As for a heel, yes, one could really exist - for a while. The Shield were genuinely hated, I think, but then the fans started liking them more and now they are babyfaces. It's an old formula as well, where an established heel, like Dick the Bruiser, would be in a territory so long that the fans begin to appreciate them and cheer for them. The whole process happens a lot faster now.

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PWTorch reader Aaron P. asks: What is the most shocking thing you've ever seen in the context of a pro wrestling show? The Undertaker's WrestleMania loss has to be near the top of the list. I read where the crowd reaction was comparable to Ivan Koloff beating Bruno Sammartino. I think Undertaker's loss was way more shocking than Foley getting thrown off the cage. I guess none of them compare with Owen Hart's death, though.

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: Taker losing is it for me. I was in the Dome and it was an absolute stunned silence. Foley going off the Cell probably would have been it before Sunday.

PROFESSIONAL BROADCASTER Jim Valley (Long time wrestling fan and Torch subscriber. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars and was flown our to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) A real death trumps any wrestling angle. Ray Gunkel and Mike DiBiase also come to mind. For me, I was terrified when Buff Bagwell was briefly paralyzed in a televised WCW match with Rick Steiner. I didn't see Owen's death or Sid's broken leg.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and a frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: I didn’t actually see Owen Hart die. I remember being in shock when Foley was thrown from the Hell in the Cell. But I think the most shocking was the Hulk Hogan heel turn.

EX-ECW CHAMPION AND LONGTIME WWE WRESTLER Justin Credible (also current IWE Champion, visit www.TheJustinCredible.com and on YouTube here including his ongoing Wrestling 101 Series) answers: For me it was Foley. I watched both on PPV and I couldn't believe the bump Foley took. It was shocking and breathtaking. Takers lose is what it is. I was shocked but not totally moved the way I was by that bump.

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PWTorch reader Will S. asks: Is it finally time to turn John Cena heel?

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and a frequent PWTorch Livecast guest) answers: NO! Walk into a K-Mart, one-third of the entire store has Cena’s face on it. Kids love him. They don’t love Bryan or anyone else remotely close. Why throw away money?

(This was answered by other All-Star Panelists and PWTorch Staff Members in recent articles, so check the archives of the Ask PWTorch section to see what they had to say.)

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(Send questions for a future Ask PWTorch to: askpwtorch@gmail.com. If you have a particular person on the All-Star Panel you'd in particular like to direct your question to, include that in the subject line, but multiple panelists may also answer.)

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Catch up on past Ask PWTorch articles...

-ASK PWTORCH - FREE WEBSITE.
-CLICKING HERE - ASK PWTORCH - VIP VERSION

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In case you are new to this feature, let me introduce you to our All-Star Panel…

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Thanks to Pat McNeill and Anthony Jeselnik for the name of this feature. Just as "CSI" spawned "CSI: Miami," "Ask PWTorch" spawned "Ask PWTorch: All-Star Panel." Only without David Caruso. In any case, we are excited to present to you a new cast for the Ask PWTorch spinoff, which is available exclusively on the PWTorch App (or, for VIP members, on the VIP website too). You are reading this, so you are either a VIP member or have already downloaded the free PWTorch App on your phone or tablet. If you aren't a VIP member, why not? With VIP membership, you gain full access to both Ask PWTorch features on all devices you use to visit PWTorch - our App and our Website.

The "Ask PWTorch All-Star Panel" edition is scheduled to be published first thing in the morning (although not necessarily every single day, like the afternoon website-based Ask PWTorch is; we'll see about that as we move forward). It will feature an entirely different panel of experts and analysts than the afternoon Ask PWTorch does. We have assembled a wide range of contributors, which may expand or change over time, with the goal being to give PWTorch readers new perspectives from people who have particular areas of expertise. Along with our All-Stars from outside of PWTorch, several of our PWTorch contributors (but not the main staff who contribute to the website-based original Ask PWTorch!… you will be quizzed on all of this, so take notes) will also be regularly contributing, especially to current-events-related questions.

Let me introduce you to our panel…

Justin Credible: Current pro wrestler and former ECW Champion and longtime WWE wrestler in the 1990s and 2000s, Justin Credible (P.J. Polaco) currently is the IWE Champion. He travels as indy champion from Maine to Mexico with the title. He posts new Wrestling 101 YouTube videos at www.TheJustinCredible.com or on YouTube at his YouTube Channel.

John Piermarini: Ex-WWE Creative Team member who will provide a behind-the-scenes perspective from his years working for WWE including alongside Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and John Cena. He has been a frequent PWTorch Livecast guest and was the subject of a comprehensive five-hour Torch Talk interview several years ago about his experience with WWE for most of 2009-2010.

Greg Oliver: SLAM! Wrestling reporter and wrestling book author (and hockey book author), Greg will provide a Canadian perspective on many wrestling topics. If you are a fan from Canada or have Canadian-related wrestling questions, Greg can help you. He is a wrestling historian who published a wrestling newsletter during the boom period of insider wrestling newsletters starting in the late 1980s. We were pen pals in the early 1990s and first met at a 1989 wrestling convention in Chicago run by Jon Gallagher of the Wrestling Forum (the first insider wrestling newsletter I ever received in the mail in early 1987).

George Schire: Author of "Minnesota's Golden Age of Wrestling," former Pro Wrestling Focus radio cohost with me in the early 1990s on KFAN, former contributor of history pieces to the PWTorch Newsletter, and multi-time guest on PWTorch Livecast "Interview Friday," he will be providing a historical perspective to Ask PWTorch.

Johnny Fairplay: Reality Star and Wrestling Manager, perhaps best known as Pat McNeill's Regis Philbin. He was an old neighbor of PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell who watched PPVs at his house long before he became a contestant on Survivor twice. He has been on many reality TV shows, the PWTorch Livecast numerous times, and follows wrestling very closely. You can read more about him on Wikipedia.

Brian Fritz: Host of the long-running "Between the Ropes" podcast, and now working for Yahoo! Sports radio, he also has been a guest on the PWTorch Livecast (and I've been a guest on his podcast), he brings years of reporting on wrestling including on-site interviews with wrestlers at major press events over the years. He follows today's wrestling and will provide his perspective and take on your questions.

Mick Karch: An early PWTorch Newsletter columnist over 20 years ago, Mick has been an announcer for virtually every national wrestling promotion other than the WWF, WCW, and TNA in the last 25 years. He currently works as an announcer on Minnesota indy wrestling shows. He got his start in wrestling running the Nick Bockwinkel Fan Club in the 1970s and is known for his sense of humor, strong opinions, and tremendous insight into wrestling's past dating back many decades, but he also watches today's wrestling regularly and can provide valuable perspective as a result of that span of time following and participating in the industry.

Brad Stutts: He has worked behind the scenes in wrestling in many roles, including taking jackets to the back, setting up and tearing down rings, running websites for indy promoters, running lights and music at live events, and performing as a manager, announcer, wrestler, and promoter. He currently is the lead announcer for CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in North Carolina.

Jim Valley: Long time wrestling fan and Torch subscriber. He won a National Edward R. Murrow Award and several regional awards during his 20 year broadcast career. He has done TV announcing for several independent wrestling promotions, hosted his own wrestling radio show, interviewed many top stars and was flown our to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.

Current PWTorch Contributors: A mix of current PWTorch contributors will provide their opinion on today's wrestling scene and modern wrestling history questions, including Shawn Valentino, Michael Moore, Ben Tucker, Jon Mezzera, Brian Leahy, Jimmy Eaton, and Mike Roe.

You can send your questions for the All-Star Panel to the same address as always: askpwtorch@gmail.com. We will make sure they are directed to the appropriate panelist for potential inclusion in a published Ask PWTorch feature here on the PWTorch App or VIP Website. You may see your question asked in both versions of Ask PWTorch (the Afternoon original website-exclusive version and app-exclusive All-Stars version) so check both versions. Different groups of panelists may tackle your question on different days, so keep checking back. Because they all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences as both fans and working in some capacity in the business or covering it for the Torch, you're going to get some strong specific points of view from them.

We suggest these recent related articles...

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THURSDAY’S ASK PWTORCH ALL-STARS 4/9: Are El Generico & Sami Zayn the same person? Next MITB cash-in for IC or U.S. belt? What match do you show non-fans so they get it? Why don’t heel teams cheat?

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