Pro Wrestling Torch was established in 1987 by Wade Keller. One of the primary traits PWTorch has been credited with over the years is assembling the best and most diverse staff of columnists with broad knowledge, but also areas of specialty where they have a particularly strong grasp of history. Every day PWTorch.com presents that team of writers answering your questions, some of which are fact-based and others of which are opinion-based. Either way, we've got you covered with Bruce Mitchell, Pat McNeill, Sean Radican, Greg Parks, James Caldwell, and Wade Keller. Collectively they have over 80 years working for the Torch, writing about wrestling and studying industry history and trends.

If you have a question you'd like us to respond to, send your question to askpwtorch@gmail.com. I, along with the Torch staff, will address your questions in this feature and also the “Ask PWTorch: All-Star Panel” edition which is also published most days here at PWTorch.

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PWTorch reader Aaron P. asks: What do you think are some of the most disappointing wrestling feuds or matches? I thought the Matt Hardy vs. Edge feud was disappointing, especially the Summerslam match. Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg was also disappointing. Some people might say Hulk Hogan vs. Andre at WrestleMania. That match possibly had the best hype ever. I'm not sure that it really needed much more than Hogan body slamming and pinning Andre though. That's probably all most people remember about it anyway.

PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell answers: Clearly the Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar match disappointed a lot of people, particularly the finish.

PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers: The Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior WCW feud was a pretty big letdown, too. There are times feuds don’t hold up historically but the crowd was into at the time, and there are feuds that are looked back on fondly that at the time were considered disappointing. And so much is based on having realistic expectations going in. Almost nobody expected Hogan vs. Andre to be a good match, but the spectacle was what it needed to be. People expected Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar to be a cool match until it became clear that both were on their way out of the company, at which point people just kind of gave up on them.

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PWTorch reader & VIP MEMBER Chris D. from La Quinta, Calif. asks: Why didn't The Fabulous Ones get a run in NWA or much of one in AWA? Where do they rank of all time teams?

PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell answers: The Fabs got a good run in the AWA, but they weren't as successful as they were in Memphis because they were matched against the Road Warriors. The fans preferred the bad-assery of the Roadies. They didn't get a run in Jim Crockett Promotions because JCP already had The Rock 'n' Roll Express and later The Fantastics and the feeling, born out of experience, was that the first of these type tag teams always got over better. The Fabs were the first of their prototype and did huge business in Memphis.

PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers: I was excited, after reading about the Fabulous Ones in the newsstand magazines, to see them arrive in the AWA. It ended up being awkward, though, when the fans ended up siding with the Road Warriors despite the Fabs being cast as the babyfaces. The whole thing was awkward. Speaking of disappointing feuds, that ended up being a disappointment for me.

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PWTorch reader Al from Boston, Mass. asks: Hey guys, been loving the last few Ask PWTorch articles. My first question is very simple... no conspiracy theories, no crying about outcomes, no bull. In hindsight now with The Streak a thing of the past, in your opinion do you think WWE did themselves a giant disservice by not building the match better? I feel like it's somewhat an empty win. The build seemed more like a random pairing than a feud. With Taker, I know it is what it is. I just think Taker's booking each year should be Focus Point 1B to the main event picture and can't see how that didn't happen.

Also, where do you see Cesaro going with his recent Andre-Royal victory? I had always hoped Cesaro ended the Streak and that would've catapulted him into the stratosphere as a mega-heel, but obviously now that's not the case. The Andre Trophy had a giant front plate which looks like it will be engraved with many more future victors. Do you think wining earns anything beyond a quick spotlight? (*cough* Sandow & MITB *cough*)

PWTorch columnist Greg Parks answers: I'm of two schools of thought on this one. On one hand, yeah, I think it would've been cool to have seen the build-up more accurately reflect the gravitas of this match. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine a better build-up would've enhanced the finish, which was as shocking as you can get. Plus, I think the fact that few were expecting Lesnar to win made the moment even better in its own way.

Cesaro is likely ticketed for bigger things than Sandow, given Cesaro has now been paired with Paul Heyman. Given WWE's dearth of heels, the company would be wise to keep him as a heel at this point despite his potential as a babyface. I look forward to him breaking out this year.

PWTorch columnist Pat McNeill answers: (1) Yes, I do. I would feel the same way no matter even if Undertaker defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania. (2) It is too soon to tell how WWE use the Andre the Giant battle royal in future WrestleManias. I am not sure what happens to Cesaro now, or even if Cesaro is a heel now that he is feuding with Jack Swagger.

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PWTorch reader Phil asks: There seem to be multiple trains of thought regarding Taker-Lesnar. It seemed like the Torch staff was in shock to almost a negative degree. Yet, the fans left cheering; the main event had plenty of drama that fans had fans becoming engaged and invested. Don't you think there's any credence to the notion that the fans thoroughly enjoyed being taken on amazing ride? That was a true moment that won't be forgotten any time soon. The Streak ended as it should have - with everyone's jaw dropped to the floor. In addition to that, Lesnar doesn't have to carry the weight of The Streak every week with him. It could also build to a mammoth Lesnar-Bryan championship match. Thanks for your time. Take care.

PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell answers: Brock Lesnar and Undertaker wasn't an amazing ride. It was a poorly promoted bad match with a finish that deeply disappointed the fans.

PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers: The finish was so shocking it did, to a degree, blunt the memory of how poorly the match was promoted and how bad the actual match was. It’s to be determined whether WWE can parlay whatever transferred to Lesnar for ending the Streak to someone else. Cesaro and Roman Reigns could benefit, for instance, if they’re booked to beat Lesnar and shut up Lesnar and Heyman’s brag gin in the process. I think fans were more shocked than disappointed, although they were also disappointed, for sure. Some were devastated, in fact. I think that’s wearing off, to a degree, the more people find out that it wasn’t done against Taker’s will and that it was pretty clear - with sober retrospection - that Mark Calaway shouldn’t have been putting his 49 year old body (50 next year) through that kind of physical toll. It’s an interesting point that having a part timer beat Taker and end the streak might be better than a full timer who would carry that around every week. I think they could make either way work and they could blow it, too, either way.

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PWTorch reader Jordan J. asks: Hey guys. I have a couple questions. One, does the WWE suffer from no longer having the brand extension? And I mean the real brand extension where Smackdown wrestlers rarely showed up on Raw and vice versa. When Raw and SD were separate, it forced WWE to feature current stars more often and also caused them to create new stars.

Two, even if the brand extension is never brought back, do you think the WHC should be? It was a great way to use talents such as Del Rio, Christian, Sheamus, etc. It gave new main event talent an opportunity to main event before they actually main evented. The WHC also added some unpredictability to PPVs like the Rumble and EC.

PWTorch columnist Greg Parks answers: If used correctly and consistently, I'm a firm believer that the brand split can work and be beneficial to talent up-and-down the roster. WWE has just shown so little restraint in being able to make it work that I don't have faith that they can pull it off. I also think it's way too early to talk about bringing back the World Heavyweight Title, or separating the main title back into two. The solution, as I talked about with James Caldwell in the 4/11 PWTorch Livecast, is to go the extra mile to revitalize the U.S. Title and IC Titles as secondary titles that big names could fight over in lieu of that second major title.

PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers: Even when there was a brand split, I wasn’t a proponent 100 percent of having two World Titles. I like the idea more of the World Champion being able to float between the two brands, with the U.S. Title and IC Title each attached to one brand only. That adds a layer of prestige to the World Title, and the champ can float between two rosters of wrestlers going after him to keep things fresher. The reason WWE wouldn’t do that is they want whoever their pick to be World Champ is to be the central focus on their A-show, Raw, and that would mean feuding with another Raw wrestler. So if he floated to Smackdown, he’d have to be feuding with two wrestlers at once - one on each brand.

Now that they’ve merged the two, I think they’d seem indecisive if they split them again and it would hurt the credibility of future big stips. WWE is going to do whatever Vince McMahon & Co. believe is best for the next quarterly financial statements, so I wouldn’t rule anything out.

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PWTorch columnist Greg Parks answers:
PWTorch columnist Pat McNeill answers:
PWTorch columnist Sean Radican answers:
PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell answers:
PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell answers:
PWTorch editor Wade Keller answers:

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