James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks discussing the week in wrestling TV. Greg, TNA has Jeff Hardy vs. Desmond Wolfe and A.J. Styles vs. Mr. Anderson tonight after giving away Sting vs. Jeff Hardy last week. Meanwhile, WWE had a very newsworthy Raw and the next-to-last NXT episode on Tuesday. What stands out to you from TNA's latest vs. WWE's latest?

Greg Parks: I'd have to say Batista retiring. You knew it was coming, but how they were going to get it done was always up for debate. Quitting due to Bret Hart's edict that he'd have to face Randy Orton seemed odd, as one would figure his anger over losing to John Cena again would've caused him more anger and would've been more likely to lead to him retiring. But his performance on Monday was one for the ages.

Caldwell: Nice complete bypass of Impact tonight! I agree, though, Batista had a standout performance that was the way to go out if he's gone for good or gone for a little while. It was definitely a bit odd how they used the Randy Orton match as the impetus for Batista to finally "quit," but he was terrific handling that situation with his little one-liners questioning Hart. He might only be around for half the year, but he has to be in the running for top heel of 2010. What do you make of Bret Hart as GM? Is he long-term or do you agree with Jim Ross that Hart will have a cup of coffee in the role?

Parks: Yeah, sorry, Impact giving away money matches is nothing new, so I didn't feel the need to dwell on it. I think Bret will be in the position as long as he wants it.

Caldwell: I think WWE's long-term answer remains Vickie Guerrero and they're using Bret Hart as a bridge to somewhere. I could be wrong on that, but she seems to be waiting in the wings to return. What do you make of the Fatal Four-Way main event that was set up on Raw, especially involving Randy Orton with injury and kind of that "familiar faces" look to the main event?

Parks: It does have that feeling, but sticking Sheamus in there helps. With Triple H out and Batista gone, those are two guys who I feel would've really given the main event that "again?" feeling. Sticking Edge in there (who has been on Smackdown for quite some time) as well as Sheamus freshens things up, even a little bit. And every little bit helps.

Caldwell: It's weird, I already feel that Edge is a little stale on Raw. Perhaps it's because we haven't seen him have that blow-away match since returning from injury and the program with Randy Orton started out with promise, then fizzled at the PPV. I don't feel like there's a lot of momentum behind Edge's character right now. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho is sort of hanging in the wind right now after losing the tag title match with The Miz on the PPV, then losing the three-way main event on Raw. Where do you think Jericho fits in going forward?

Parks: I think he could certainly get involved in the title match at Fatal Four-Way, if they don't start up a feud for him between now and then. Who knows, his issue with Miz against the Hart Dynasty may not be done yet. I do agree that Edge already feels a bit stale, though. Hard to explain why, but it has to be disconcerting to WWE.

Caldwell: Edge is one of those interesting characters where he's over and will stay over probably for the rest of his career, but sometimes you can't catch fire with him unless it's the perfect opponent. Recent programs with John Cena and Jeff Hardy were really strong. He even had a great exchange with Randy Orton on Raw when they started their feud, but that seemed to be the peak of their interaction. It's just one of those things. Let's hit a few more Raw subjects. R-Truth is the new U.S. champ, WWE debuted a new tag team from FCW, and there was Jon Lovitz doing the Raw Comedy Crap.

Parks: Truth as champion doesn't surprise me, as WWE has been trying to get over some African-American stars; now both Kofi and Truth have the secondary belts. It'll be interesting to see the Usos in action, and it's gotta be a good sign for the tag division that WWE is calling them up. Lovitz actually did a good job, but he didn't have any good material to work with. Big surprise there, huh?

Caldwell: Shocking! Yeah, it wasn't good. I sure hope it was the last time we see Singh and Khali trying to do a Young Frankenstein bit. Or any bit, for that matter. Greg, let's talk NXT. I was really down on the show because WWE doesn't seem to know what they're trying to present on a week to week basis. What was your take on NXT leading to the finale next week?

Parks: My take is: I'm glad it's almost over, and hopefully, WWE has learned a thing or two for season two. The Daniel Bryan vs. Michael Cole stuff is interesting, and Cole cut a heck of a heel promo. I feel like we're starting to get to know the personalities of the wrestlers, but with just one more week left, that's on WWE that they didn't put them over earlier. I like the pros on the stage, but on the other hand, it doesn't seem like they're training them much anymore (or ever).

Caldwell: NXT Season One was definitely a lost opportunity. It could be a productive lost opportunity if WWE comes back with a Season Two that takes the show outside of the ring more often and focuses on those Pro/Rookie relationships more than just Christian showing Slater how to work the weight machines. My problem with Cole cutting a heel promo on NXT is that he's supposed by the neutral play-by-play voice on Raw selling the audience on the product. It's so bizarre the two worlds WWE has created for Cole to be a part of. I want to see those scoresheets on the clipboards the Pros have been holding. I bet there's a lot of doodling and pictures and bubble letters because WWE really isn't even trying to convince the audience the Pros are deciding these rankings.

Parks: I actually think the rankings have been pretty close to being in line with what I would consider my own, so whoever is making the decisions seems to be doing an OK job. Aside from Bryan being eliminated (obviously for storyline purposes), I don't have a problem with any of the order of eliminations.

Caldwell: My problem is the criteria for the rankings hasn't been re-visited to explain what went into the rankings. David Otunga is a horrible wrestler and the Pros have routinely drawn attention to that, yet he's been #2 forever because of his entertainment value. Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan was #1 before being eliminated despite being presented as having no entertainment value and a 0-10 record. I'm just not sure how the order of the Rookies can be properly evaluated other than a subjective "eyeball test" with WWE being so carefree with the Rankings. I think it's just been a really lazy attempt at a "hybrid reality show" and I'm glad to see this show end next week.

Parks: I understand WWE trying to incorporate mic work and wrestling style into the rankings, since I think even casual fans know that's something that goes into making a star or someone who gets main-event status, at least. But yes, WWE could certainly do a better job of (a) explaining it and (b) presenting it to the audience.

Caldwell: And I think if WWE is going to draw attention to "mic work" and "in-ring skills" on the show itself while in the context of an arena show where everything is supposed to be real, then I think they have to completely change the format and simply take the show out of an arena setting. Trying to mix the "this is all real" setting with an evaluation of what's happening within the "real environment" is just so messy. Ugh. I could go on forever on NXT. Anyways, what do you think happens in two weeks after this season ends next week? What do you think will fill the timeslot?

Parks: Season two? I mean, other than that, I really have no idea.

Caldwell: Yeah, NXT has been such a week-to-week ordeal that WWE could either suddenly announce a completely new cast for the following week or advertise an "NXT highlights & recap" episode or just start presenting random matches like on Superstars. We'll await WWE to figure that one out! On the Smackdown front, you'll have the PPV fall-out covered tomorrow with the stage set for the next PPV. Obviously the big story coming from the PPV was C.M. Punk getting his head shaved. We went back and forth on that leading to the PPV. What did you make of that call?

Parks: Tough to swallow. I know why WWE did it, but it still doesn't make it any easier to digest. I'm hoping Punk gets even crazier now; that's the only thing that'll save this deal from being a flop, at least, in my opinion.

Caldwell: Yeah, I don't get the sense they're going to be playing it up for comedy just yet (and I hope they don't ever go that route turning Punk into a mid-card comedy heel), but they have to be careful with how they handle it. I'm hoping too for the crazy Punk to come out as the next stage of his character. We'll see. Also from Smackdown, what did you make of the five-minute World Title match with Swagger and Show on the PPV? That was clearly one of the top disappointments on the PPV in my book.

Parks: I wasn't expecting a lot from the match to begin with (thanks to the involvement of Big Show), but clearly, this was just chapter one of their feud. I definitely see it continuing until something can be done to strengthen the babyface main event picture on Smackdown.

Caldwell: I imagine that's why they put the IC Title belt on Kofi (besides the reason you stated earlier in the chat) to help strengthen the babyface side of the column on Smackdown. Both brands lack depth right now, but they really need to boost the babyface side on Smackdown. Anything else from Smackdown jump out at you before the fall-out tomorrow night?

Parks: Not really; just should be interesting to see where the mid-card pieces fall as we continue to move further and further from the draft and the wrestlers getting acclimated to their new brands.

Caldwell: Indeed. All right, Greg, I believe we have set you up for the Livecast this afternoon. Good chat as always!

Parks: Sure thing, James.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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