James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks on a Friday night right after Smackdown reviewing the week in TV wrestling. Greg, there was a pretty eventful Smackdown tonight. What's your top story coming out of the show?

Greg Parks: Actually, I disagree on it being eventful. Big Show fought Jack Swagger, two guys who have been feuding over a belt, in a match that ended in a DQ. Nothing gained there really. And Kane and Punk both had a brawl with nothing revealed there as to why Kane thinks Punk did in the Undertaker, and not much of a defense from Punk, either. Teddy Long did touch on the MITB PPV: A Smackdown match with eight guys vying for the contract. And also, Matt Hardy was reinstated, but that doesn't exactly blow up my radar.

Caldwell: Also, no Rey Mysterio on the Smackdown after winning the World Title. What's your initial impression of the Rey vs. Swagger and MITB matches set up for the next PPV? Intriguing, need to see more, nothing too exciting?

Parks: I'd like to see the build-up to Swagger vs. Mysterio before deciding; I think it could be good. Both play their roles well and it should make for a fun match. Better than Show vs. Swagger, anyway. Long gave the impression that he'd be giving away the MITB matches, saying he needed to watch the wrestlers and they needed to impress him, but when it comes down to it, I'm sure there'll be qualifying matches. That isn't too exciting.

Caldwell: I bet you they'll find a way to get Hornswoggle in there. MITB is traditionally a match for mid-carders trying to advance to the main event, so it wouldn't make sense to put someone like C.M. Punk in the match since he's already an established main eventer. With how thin that roster is, I bet they add Hornswoggle just to add a "spectacle attraction" to the match. Other likely candidates have to be Christian, Dolph, MVP, Cody Rhodes, Hawkins, Chavo, Hardy, and perhaps JTG. Does anyone jump out as someone who should be in the mix or is that a pretty fair list?

Parks: Yeah, that's a list that makes sense to me. Depending on what they do with the secondary belt, they could sneak a Kingston in there, or McIntyre (if he gets his Visa back in time!).

Caldwell: Yes, ol' McIntyre. WWE seems to be back to square one with the appearance of him being written off the show again. Did anything else jump out from tonight's Smackdown worth breaking down?

Parks: How about Cody Rhodes and his weird new character? What's the deal with the Smackdown writers' putting so much emphasis on the looks of the men and women on the roster?

Caldwell: Oh, gosh. Ravishing...er...Dashing Cody Rhodes. Cody doesn't need the vain gimmick. It doesn't fit him. It's the same way I feel about Ted DiBiase not needing the money gimmick. I think WWE wants their "stars" to look and act like movie stars and this emphasis - to the point of obsession - on external appearance is really peculiar. Cody is getting over on NXT and they just need to translate that to Smackdown. Do you think this works for him or is it completely unnecessary?

Parks: I thought he did a good job on the promo, but the fans didn't seem interested and didn't seem to buy him in the role either. I know I didn't, even though he's paired with an NXT rookie that came help make his gimmick work. We also had the debut vignette of Dos Caras. Interestingly, he's been doing the same promo at every house show and dark match, yet that character didn't seem to be touched on at all in the vignette. What did you make of the character he was portraying tonight?

Caldwell: It seems to fit with WWE trying to distance themselves from the stereotypes of non-Americans that they ironically reinforced to the audience over time, similar to the introduction of the Uso Brothers. It's like WWE panics when they have a non-white wrestler to put on TV. What do we do?! Do we go for the lowest common denominator and attempt stereotypes or do we try to go the opposite direction? It's like, just let the person be the person with the volume turned up rather than trying to reinforce the idea that pro wrestling is not a sophisticated form of entertainment. What did you think?

Parks: I was surprised, because like I said, they'd been working in the direction of him insulting Americans for not understanding his promos. That generally got him a lot of heat on the house show circuit, but I guess they decided to expand the character a bit. Calling us all liars isn't a great start though. Is he supposed to be the Latin Chris Jericho, the last honest man?

Caldwell: It sure seems like it. And how long until he's paired up with Vickie Guerrero as the true replacement for Eric Escobar to feud with a babyface Dolph Ziggler? I'm saying this tongue-in-cheek, but I could see it happening eventually.

Parks: Yeah, they need to stop recycling that gimmick with Vickie. It's getting tiring. She's a great character, but she needs to find something new to sink her teeth into.

Caldwell: Well, that's a loaded end of the sentence there with her character's advances on Dolph! Anyways...let's talk about the big topic of the week, as far as guesses and theories and speculation, with the mystery Raw GM. What's your bold prediction on the GM and who do you think it actually will be? And what do you make of the overall developments on Monday's Raw leading to Raw in three days?

Parks: It's tough to guess, since it's unlikely WWE even knows where they're going with it. The Bret Hart thing seemed like a last-second decision. Michael Cole, Daniel Bryan, Stephanie McMahon, The Rock, Triple H...all of these seem to be names that have been thrown out there for the position. I would like for it to be Cole, partly because I like his heel character, and partly because I would hope, in the longest of long shots, that JR would take his spot when he became Raw GM. Speaking of announcers-turned-GMs...could it be Mike Adamle!?!

Caldwell: From a storyline perspective, I would really question Vince McMahon's sanity if he handed over complete control of Raw to Mike Adamle. That would be really tough to explain in a convincing manner. It seems like it would have to be someone close to McMahon based on giving control of the show to the person and McMahon's casual phone conversation he sold after the announcement. I have to think it's a family member or someone with history in an authority position on WWE TV. A shocker would be Shane McMahon. He's been real quiet the last three months. There are some real interesting potential guesses. Since the Raw previews keep asking the question of "what's next" for the NXT 7, what do you think is next for the angle on Monday's Raw? I don't anticipate the Big Reveal for a few weeks, but we'll obviously get some follow-up from the GM with the "appropriate consequences," plus Cena and McMahon.

Parks: I have a feeling that "appropriate consequences" would be a swerve, and the GM is aligned with the NXT guys- he would give them title shots for what they did or something. And Vince won't be around to question the GM, since he's incapacitated. Other than that, I have no idea where they plan on going with the NXT angle. That's really the great part of it, but WWE needs to keep things interesting, but also, making sense.

Caldwell: Making sense of this has been tough at times and that will be the key going forward. They can't have Wade Barrett stand there every week having to give a five-minute speech explaining what's going on, but it's an intriguing development to advance the storyline beyond the three-week mark. Another mini-mystery from Raw that has gone unnoticed was Edge telling Randy Orton the "fun has just begun." Is there more to it than just Edge playing head games to advance their program with another mystery/surprise involved there?

Parks: Edge vs. Randy Orton has been the disappointment of Raw the past few months. It really hasn't been in a position to get the attention it deserves because of the other goings-on, but you'd think a feud between two stars of this caliber would be a lot hotter and be a lot more of the focus of the show. I hope it's just more than mind games, because this feud desperately needs SOMETHING to amp up the interest.

Caldwell: I agree. It's unfortunate this feud went from one of the most-talked-about in wrestling two months ago leading to the Over the Limit PPV, but it appears the peak of the feud was their Cutting Edge exchange with Orton saying nothing and Edge doing all the talking. Nothing since then. I hope they find a way to ramp it up, too, as Orton is too valuable to be drifting in the background in a filler program. What do you make of Chris Jericho's program after two great matches with Evan Bourne this week and "saving his career" on Monday?

Parks: Hopefully this marks his turnaround and ends this constant losing nonsense. But I really don't see where he fits in the main event picture on Raw. Perhaps he's best utilized for now being a good hand in the ring for the younger wrestlers, helping to elevate them.

Caldwell: That's where I see him fitting in right now, too. He could always be inserted into the NXT angle, but I think the best bet would be to build to Jericho vs. Bourne III (fourth overall, but we're not counting that crappy two-minute match on Raw two weeks ago) at the next PPV and have something on the line to the winner. Perhaps a World Title shot or some other incentive. I think Jericho vs. Bourne with advanced hype and Jericho's mic work could help sell buys for the July PPV. Another "development" on Raw was the pairing of DiBiase with Maryse. What do you think of that development?

Parks: Reeked of desperation to me. Neither has anything to do, so pair 'em up. But it has possibilities. Maryse may have the charisma to make up for DiBiase's lack of.

Caldwell: WWE apparently thinks DiBiase can't get over on his own. Looking at history, he was introduced on WWE TV by his father, he was paired with Cody Rhodes, he was aligned with Randy Orton, he split off and was paired with Virgil, and now he's paired with Maryse. I think it's unfortunate WWE saddled him with the money gimmick that will never be as good as his dad's original. Maryse can add to DiBiase, but I don't think it helps him grow into a main-eventer. Maryse will inevitably out-shine him and the audience will want to see the enhancement act more than the act. I hope I'm wrong on that and WWE finds some magic for DiBiase. Do we need to discuss the pairing of Great Khali and Eve, or shall we move on to NXT?

Parks: Oh God, please, let's talk NXT. Husky Harris attacks Matt Striker: Someone actually following the lead of their pro? Are he and Rhodes on good terms now already after a shaky start?

Caldwell: Ah, yes, Cody Rhodes expressed much disdain for young Husky on the first week. Good call on that. Apparently Husky is embracing his Pro's instructions. I don't know about you, but Percy Watson immediately jumps into my mind the second I think about NXT Season Two.

Parks: No surprise he jumps into your mind; he's constantly jumping around on camera all the time too. When I think season two NXT, I think cute little Kaval and his LayCool pros.

Caldwell: That's probably #3 item for me behind Alex Riley being an absolute star. I don't know why he isn't already on the roster. He seems like a ringer on American Idol. On Kaval and Lay-Cool, do you think they're hurting Kaval's credibility right off the bat and creating a poor first impression or is this going to help him stand out with viewers to where he'll get over beyond his work in the ring?

Parks: I think he'll be okay. And yeah, that promo Riley cut at the end of NXT. Holy Cow. That's better than like half the roster already. And he did wrestle on some house shows a while back, so I don't know why he didn't ever get called up. But hey, he's making the most of his opportunity, that's for sure.

Caldwell: Agreed. Anyone or anything else jump out from NXT this week? And is it worth noting how absolutely blah this week's Superstars was? It was a completely forgettable show.

Parks: I've already forgotten the matches. Let's go to TNA. At least that makes for some interesting discussion. Abyss as a heel led by some unnamed forces: buy or sell?

Caldwell: If it's another ECW faction, I'm selling hard. There's already enough knock-off nostalgia on TNA. If it's Mick Foley returning and creating an interesting new angle for Abyss to potentially get him over, then I could lean toward a tentative buy.

Parks: Good enough for me. And if it is an ECW faction...the irony of Abyss turning his back on Hulk Hogan, arguably the greatest wrestling star of all time, and instead listening to a faction of has-been ECW wrestlers that were never on the same plane as Hogan is just...well, TNA.

Caldwell: What's also "TNA" is a Fake Sting character, Abyss being rewarded with a TNA Title shot after taking out Jeff Hardy the previous week, Homicide suddenly defending Hernandez after their recent split, and on it goes. Looking at the current ratings picture, TNA is right there at the same level of not being able to break a 1.0 rating. What do they need to do with the product mix to make this thing work and re-build an audience? Is re-involving Hogan in the main storyline the answer? Is something else? Does it even matter what they do with the product because it comes down to awareness?

Parks: That's the $64,000 question (or more, actually). Bischoff, Hogan, Russo, Carter...they all don't know what the secret formula is, and they've been at it for years. I'll be damned if I know what it is. Those fickle wrestling fans, tsk tsk.

Caldwell: Yes, it must be the wrestling fans's fault! I just think TNA is looking to plug holes at this point. I think they're doing a good job trying to enhance their stars and make new stars, but the storylines are typically off-center, discombobulated, inconsistent, or the audience simply can't connect to the stories. It's amazing what kind of talent roster TNA has assembled, yet they haven't cracked a 1.0 rating since the Thursday before they moved to Monday nights back on March 4. Besides the Abyss storyline, what else jumped out on Thursday?

Parks: Giving away Love vs. Sky with no hype, as Wade mentioned in his report, was a bit surprising. Sting vs. Jarrett had another non-match, which wasn't surprising. Other than that, I don't feel it was a very newsworthy show.

Caldwell: It's the same with TNA giving away Samoa Joe vs. Hernandez on last week's show with no hype. It's just unfortunate the way TNA presents matches as after-thoughts when the match-ups could really help build an audience if given proper build-up. What do you make of the line-up for Victory Road thus far with a four-way TNA Title match, a steel cage match, Lethal vs. Flair, and three undercard title matches?

Parks: They have ample time to build them up on TV, with most of the shows in the can (again, I stay away from the spoilers), so knowing in advance the entire lineup for the next PPV you need to build to can only help....right?

Caldwell: They have an opportunity to really sell this PPV with two TV tapings this coming week now that the top matches have been announced and they have a chance to digest the reception to the matches thus far. Also looming is the yet-to-be-disclosed Big Surprise that Dixie Carter advertised two weekends ago. Any more ideas on what that could be? Do we have more clues to go by?

Parks: Extreme Version Two. That's all I've got.

Caldwell: Which would be highly unfortunate, but not surprising. Greg, anything else we need to cover before wrapping it up for the week? Oh, let's get a bold prediction for the World Cup tomorrow. USA wins by how many goals?

Parks: 18. Ok, maybe not. How about 1?

Caldwell: A 2-1 victory sounds good to me. It should be a tense game. All right, Greg, have a great weekend and we'll talk again on the Livecast next week!

Parks: USA! USA! USA!

Caldwell: Hacksaw Duggan could really score a nice payday right about now. He's probably in the running with Bryan Danielson for most desired independent wrestler.

Parks: Yeah, but it's probably tough to find Indy wrestlers from Ghana and Slovakia for him to squash.

Caldwell: True. Some promoter could always create a guy to play the role. The audience will buy anything, right? In any event, Greg, let's make it a winner!

Parks: I like your thinking.

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