PWTorch.com - ASK PWTORCH ALL-STAR PANEL 7/31: Whom should Angle wrestle if he returns to WWE? Should A.J. Lee do GTS in Chicago? What do you think of Lana? Is Lesnar losing at WM31 too soon?

Ask PWTorch
ASK PWTORCH ALL-STAR PANEL 7/31: Whom should Angle wrestle if he returns to WWE? Should A.J. Lee do GTS in Chicago? What do you think of Lana? Is Lesnar losing at WM31 too soon?

Jul 31, 2014 - 5:09:22 PM

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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 Mark asks: I ask you folks a boat load of questions. I like to think I ask good questions. This won't be one of those times. This is a straight nerdy question. I'm a huge A.J. Lee fan. I think she's an awesome breath of fresh air in a division that's not pushed well. That being said, how flipping awesome would it be for her to use the GTS next time they go to Chicago? Do you think she would? How would it be viewed? I, for one, would lose my mind in a sea of awesomeness. Thanks for doing such a great job. It really is a pleasure to read every posting.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: I think she would and should. Big pop!

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 out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) That would be funny... unless you are WWE management. Obviously, there are hard feelings between Punk and WWE. A.J. is in a weird situation. Fans chanting “C.M. Punk,” while not her fault, cannot be a good thing for her career. A.J. needs to do what's best for her job while remaining loyal to her husband. If I were A.J. in the current situation, I would not approach management about doing the GTS.

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PWTorch reader Mark from Huntington asks: I have to ask. What is your opinion on Lana? I think she's got a good delivery. She delivers her lines with a great sarcastic tone. I think she and Zeb can have some good back and forths. What are your thoughts? Also, are you happy to see the Real Americans as faces?

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: Lana is refreshing, if nothing else. It's been so long since a female manager mattered in WWE. Pardon the pun, but the real question is, “Does she have the legs to go all the way?” Rusev is a bit of a one-trick pony, so could she matter with someone else? Regardless, she will only get better working against a master of the microphone like Zeb Coulter.

VETERAN WRESTLING ANNOUNCER Mick Karch (announcer for three decades including the AWA on ESPN, the NWA, and LPWA, former PWTorch Newsletter columnist in 1980s, President of the Nick Bockwinkel Fan Club in the 1970s) answers: I think Lana has gotten better as time has gone on. Her delivery doesn't seem as forced as when she first appeared on the scene. I wonder if maybe working with Dutch has helped her along? I love it whenever they turn Dutch loose and let him kind of wing it with his promos. The man is brilliant and clearly loves what he's doing. His interaction with Lana and Rusev is priceless ("if Lana is even your real name.") How C.J. Perry manages a straight face is beyond me. To answer the question about the Real Americans being babyfaces, the timing was right and they had most of the crowd cheering their comments about illegal immigrants anyway.

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 out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) I think Lana is good. Time will tell if she will grow as a performer. I liked Vickie Guerrero as a performer, but over time I thought she became stale and did not add anything new to her act. The Real Americans are getting over right now, but that seems to be a surprise to WWE management. While Jack Swagger may get a win in the Flag Match at SummerSlam, he will lose at the September PPV, and be a stepping stone on Rusev's march toward a loss to John Cena or Roman Reigns. Poor Jack Swagger.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: I think she's amazing! I haven't noticed that she talks. Is she good? She manages someone? The Real Americans are in the ring at the same time as her?

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PWTorch reader R. Jack asks: Is a loss by the “unstoppable” Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 too soon? Since he beat The Streak, he hasn't wrestled a match. I only see him wrestling three matches before WM31; two for sure, at Summerslam and the Royal Rumble. Would it make more sense for you if he kept his domination going through until WrestleMania 32?

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: Perhaps. I like keeping Brock strong, but he didn't need to beat The Streak to look unstoppable. If a full time wrestler beat Undertaker it would have meant more, especially since Brock hasn't wrestled since.

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 out to Stamford to audition for WWE. He took second to Todd Grisham.) I think his contract is up in 2015. It will be up to Brock and WWE management to see if they want to go forward. Considering how WWE is cutting costs right now, it will be interesting to see if management thinks he's worth the substantial investment. Brock may lose at WrestleMania 31 because it's his last match for a while or maybe ever.

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PWTorch reader Jeff from Michigan asks: If Kurt Angle could have one last match in WWE, who should his opponent be? Rusev, Jack Swagger, Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler, C.M. Punk, John Cena, etc.?

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: I would love to see Kurt vs. Brock. Big money there. Also, if you look at it, it might be a possibility. You never know.

REALITY TV STAR & EX-TNA MANAGER Jonny Fairplay (@jonnyfairplay was also former personal assistant to Roddy Piper and cohost with Sean Waltman of weekly podcast at www.ProWrestling.net) answers: I liked Jason Powell's suggestions on Dot Net Weekly audio earlier this month: Swagger, Rusev, Cena, Cesaro, and Bo Dallas

INDY PROMOTER & ANNOUNCER Brad Stutts (Follow @cwfmidatlantic and @stuttsy and listen to his podcast at www.WrestlingWithOptimism) answers: Rusev would be amazing. One more against Lesnar would be fascinating as well.

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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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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.