James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks on a Saturday night reviewing a very interesting week of WWE TV, the Slammiversary PPV tomorrow night, and some big news over the weekend with Bryan Danielson's release - is it a work? - and TNA's president promising something that will change TNA forever. Of course, all of this started on Monday with the NXT Invasion angle that has generated plenty of buzz. Almost a week removed from the angle, what's your reaction to how it played out and where it's going?

Greg Parks: As of right now, my reaction is the same as it was after watching Monday night, that of curiousity as to where it's going. Not much was answered on NXT or Smackdown as far as follow-up to the angle, so we haven't learned much in the past few days about motives, who's behind it, etc. Lots of speculation about both, though, which can be fun for us wrestling nerds.

Caldwell: Two questions coming out of the angle - do you think there should be a "mastermind" behind the angle and who should be if that's the case? The other question, what do you make of Danielson being "released" after apparently crossing the line in the Invasion angle? Assuming it's legit, do you think it's a fair release or do you think WWE was trying to punish someone for going beyond "PG" TV?

Parks: I don't care who the mastermind is, as long as it makes sense. Luckily, they have a wide pool of candidates to choose from (in fact, I discussed possibilities in my blog on the VIP Forum this past week!). As for Bryan Danielson...my first instinct is to say it wasn't fair, but would I be saying the same thing if it was, say, Heath Slater being released? Or would I consider it no big loss? Either way, here's hoping when things die down, Danielson is brought back (if he harbors no ill will toward WWE for the firing and wants to return).

Caldwell: I imagine Danielson will be brought back unless he goes somewhere and rips WWE - beyond playing up a potential angle to be re-introduced - and burns the bridge back to the company. Danielson was given plenty of TV focus and was given a big spot with John Cena on Raw. I could see him being part of the angle down the road depending on how it plays out. ... I like Wade Barrett being the mastermind. I was in the Chris Jericho camp earlier in the week, but I'm going with just Barrett heading this up, cutting promos, and leading the other Rookies. Do you anticipate WWE going all the way with this as a lengthy program of Rookies vs. established WWE stars? Is this a big summer angle or just something for a week or two of storylines?

Parks: The way it played out on Raw, and the way WWE devoted almost 15 minutes to full video packages on the angle on NXT and Smackdown tells me that it's going to be a long-term angle. But with WWE, you never can tell because plans change so often. No way should this just be a storyline for a week or two...it has been played up thus far as so much more than that. How do you see it playing out? Long or short term?

Caldwell: I'm an optimist in most aspects of my life, but I'm pessimistic about this angle because it doesn't fit WWE's machine-like, corporate-approved, kid-friendly, sanitized TV programming. I'm also afraid it will turn into just another angle and the Rookies will be placed in random mid-card matches on Raw with nothing at stake that will water down the storyline. I hope WWE has a masterplan and a goal in mind to make this a memorable angle that will build upon itself over time, but it just doesn't fit WWE's brand of TV programming. It has potential to be really big and help business if properly handled, but I just don't see WWE in a position to deliver that type of major angle. We'll see. What else from the angle stood out worth looking into?

Parks: I think the group going after John Cena and C.M. Punk may have been more than a coincidence. It would make sense for the frustrated losing NXT Season One guys to want to take out their anger on the NXT pros, which Punk was, however, Cena was not. It could be them just trying to "make a statement" in going after the biggest dog in the yard in Cena. And I can't help but still feel that there's a reason Michael Cole wasn't attacked by the rookies on Monday.

Caldwell: They seemed to downplay that aspect of Cole "escaping" the beating the next night on NXT. Perhaps that's part of the angle with Cole being told to downplay it. Very interesting developments to see how it plays out on Monday. All right, the other big topic leading to tomorrow night's Slammiversary is Dixie Carter's promise of a major change that will "change TNA forever." What do you make of this?

Parks: According to reports by our esteemed editor Wade Keller, we can throw out the usual guesses (Heyman, Ross, name change). That doesn't leave much left to consider. I can't think of anything, off the top of my head, that would be allegedly as big as this is supposed to be.

Caldwell: After ruling out everything obvious, to me, it comes down to a different philosophy in how to present pro wrestling. Whatever it is will apparently play out over time, but I can't see anything fitting this hype unless it's a completely different presentation of wrestling. Yet, I don't see that giving Dixie Carter a sleepless night with excitement. So, I keep arriving at this being a move to a more MMA or sports-oriented product, but they don't have the personnel in the creative department to pull that off.

Parks: I could see that. The thing that throws me is it being seen over the long-term; to me, there's not many options that fit into that category. I could see Dixie being sleepless with excitement over this (something tells me, with all the "big announcements" TNA has, she gets excited easily), but I hope TNA knows what they're doing if you hit the nail on the head with your guess: This could make or break TNA even more so than going to Monday nights.

Caldwell: It's obviously TV-related if she cleared it with the president of Spike TV. So, I'm hopeful it's a change in presenting the product. It's another interesting wait-and-see. While on the TNA subject, let's talk about tomorrow night's Slammiversary PPV. I thought the RVD-Sting hype was terrible on Impact, but I thought the undercard hype was really strong. It's one of the better undercards on a PPV in a while for TNA, I believe. How do you evaluate the hype and line-up?

Parks: The hype feels like the same as it always is: Mediocre. It's the same old song and dance every month where I can barely name the lineup, save for the main event and maybe one or two other matches. Some of it has to do with the excessive multiple man matches and random stipulations, but overall, TNA just doesn't do a great job getting fans excited about PPVs.

Caldwell: And that's why I hope the "huge, earth-shattering change" leads to more focus on promoting match-ups that people buy into and are interested in paying money to see on PPV. Their product is geared to the TV product and not PPVs, which is unfortunate with the potential money-drawing talent they have on the roster. ... All right, let's talk about some WWE subjects to conclude our chat. You covered Smackdown on Friday with two big singles matches promoting the Fatal Four-Way PPV. What did you think of the show last night?

Parks: I thought it was just OK; didn't really impress me on the whole. Only four matches and two were Fatal Four-Way previews, so the mid-card didn't have much to do. Drew McIntyre took another step back. Kane, as much as I've dogged him in the last year or two, has really stepped up the past two weeks and has become much more of an interesting character. I'm just waiting with bated breath to find out if Hawkins and Archer did enough to get a full-time contract on Smackdown!

Caldwell: The story of the week...did Hawkins and Archer get a contract?! Maybe they're the NXT masterminds. Anyways, Kane has definitely tried to step up with this whole Undertaker angle and shown a different side to his character that isn't just living off the late '90s. I'm tired of the Drew McIntyre bit. I think it's dragged on to where now it's Drew vs. Teddy Long next week. Eek. What do you make of the lack of matches announced for the PPV in eight days? I'm waiting for some big announcement of a tournament or something, but it's rather odd to be this late in the game with only two matches announced.

Parks: I know in the past, and perhaps even now, WWE has the idea that it's only the top matches that sell PPVs, and not the undercard, so it doesn't matter when you announce those matches. But yeah, this is certainly out of the ordinary for WWE. But with the NXT angle, maybe they were waiting for that to unfold before announcing a few matches that may involve some of those guys.

Caldwell: I agree with the sentiment to focus on the big matches that sell the PPV. And the lack of PPV undercard matches seems to be a hint we might see the established WWE stars "unite" at least temporarily against the NXT Rookies. And, like you said, that might affect the PPV line-up. Staying on the topic of NXT, what's your impression of Season Two after one week? I didn't see enough tweaks to get me excited about the second season and I thought the two tag matches were completely forgettable. What was your impression and which guys do you think stood out?

Parks: Nobody really stood out, per se. Too early to make that proclamation. We didn't get to see Joe Hennig and Kaval in matches, and those are the two I'm most interested in seeing. Each guy got mic time, and for the most part did well, but not really enough to stand out yet. I thought we'd get more of a different look in season two, but once again, it started with rookies and pros tag matches, just like in season one. It's not a bad way to start things, to give them the rub of working with the pros, but it just stinks of them re-running the same ideas that didn't work in Season one.

Caldwell: I liked the added post-match comments and analysis from the Pros after the tag matches to add a sports feel to the show, but the matches dragged and seemed like a dress rehearsal for an actual simulated competition in the ring. I think Alex Riley really stood out with his NXT intro video. He's probably the favorite to win. I think Kaval has to overcome the baggage WWE has already saddled him with, which is unfortunate. Joe Hennig has to be a favorite to win despite the gimmick name. I'm just not excited about the second season of this show, especially if they start incorporating more lame competitions. What did you make of the show-closing brawl between Rookies and Pros following the NXT Invasion angle the previous night?

Parks: They had to work it in somehow, and I didn't mind how they did it. Clearly, this is a real big angle for WWE and it would make sense for the pros to cut the rookies off at the pass before they get any ideas from their season one bretheren. I'm wondering if that'll change the pro vs. rookie dynamic for the rest of season two now, where all the relationships will be contentious because of that attack, or if it will be forgotten by next week and some of the pros will be back to getting along with their Rookies.

Caldwell: I would be in favor of it continuing throughout the entire season, if WWE really plays up the NXT Invasion on each week's Raw leading to the following night's NXT. I think if everyone goes back to "normal" heel and face relationships on NXT, then it could water down the Invasion angle. That angle needs to be protected Monday through Sunday and I thought WWE did a good job this week with plenty of interest in what happened and what's next. Greg, anything else we need to touch on before we wrap up tonight?

Parks: Lots of stuff going on this week, but I think we covered the big moments.

Caldwell: A lot of what's going on is "wait and see" right now. The NXT Invasion angle just started, TNA is promising "big changes" soon, and Danielson was just released. So, it's interesting to see how this plays out after an interesting change in the TV landscape this week. And in the middle of this is a TNA PPV on Sunday night!

Parks: Yep, next week is going to be a key week in both WWE and TNA for follow-up on a few news items that have come out this week. We'll be watching it closely!

Caldwell: Indeed. Thanks again for the chat, Greg!

Parks: My pleasure James!

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