On a weekly basis, PWTorch staffers James Caldwell and Greg Parks have a casual, yet insightful, Lounge-style chat reviewing the week in TV wrestling and looking ahead to what's next for key storylines, matches, and future events. An occasional "Seinfeld" or "The Office" reference is also mixed in for good measure.

James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks for our weekly TV wrestling chat. Greg, on the agenda today we have Monday's Raw, last Friday's Smackdown, a peek into tonight's Impact, and an NXT wedding-gone-wrong combined with a random Titus O'Neil heel turn. Let's just get the NXT chatter out of the way first before we move on to Raw. Your thoughts on NXT #100 last night? I thought it felt like they're moving closer to the end of this season, although, we've had that feeling before too many times to count during this never-ending season.

Greg Parks: I've been working all day and was busy all night, so I haven't gotten to see NXT yet. And even if I weren't busy, watching it would not be a high priority. It's good that it's feeling like the season will eventually close - I figure they've got to have a crop of FCW talent to call up just to make it feel a tad fresher. Heck, stick Skip Sheffield onto next season's roster - he's working his way back from injury.

Caldwell: Skip did wrestle in the dark match before the NXT taping, so he's just one step away from returning to the show. It's definitely time to this non-sense and move on to a different cast. All right, Greg, let's tackle Raw. A lot of things happened on that show - almost too many things packed into one show - but what was your standout, take-away, headline item?

Parks: The return of Mick Foley and the show-closing angle. Punk was at his best on the mic there, and I half-expected Foley to attack Punk from behind and get placed into the Rumble match for turning heel. I'm glad they didn't, though. Ace is still rough on the mic, like his mind is a few words ahead of what comes out of his mouth, but even he played his part well at the end. What this leads to though, I'm not quite sure, because I don't think there's much money in an Ace vs. Punk match.

Caldwell: Despite all of the TV time WWE has wasted...er...utilized on Laurinaitis, they really hasn't tapped into Punk vs. a "surrogate for Laurinaitis" match to turn this feud into a money-maker or ratings draw. Dolph Ziggler is more associated with Vickie than Laurinaitis, Miz butted heads with Laurinaitis at times, and the Fall 2011 storylines fell apart with Hunter and Nash in the mix with Punk and Laurinaitis. So, I sure hope this isn't leading to a Punk vs. Laurinaitis match, and I think it's why some people were frustrated with Brodus Clay's return two weeks ago because he was viewed as a potential surrogate for Laurinaitis to face Punk. ... As for Punk's mic work, I really liked it at times and I strongly disliked it at other times. His deliver and passion is what makes him a great talker, but when his promos drift off into "evaluate my opponent's character and cut down into pieces," then it's like nails on the chalkboard and it doesn't help promote a match. Related to Punk's title defense at the Rumble, Greg, how do you think WWE is handling the build-up to Punk-Ziggler with one week of TV left?

Parks: I agree as far as WWE not lining up a surrogate for Laurinaitis, but I think it has as much to do with WWE not wanting to portray Laurinaitis as a 100 percent heel in his first several months, which as you mentioned, caused him to butt heads with a few heels at times. He's aligned with David Otunga now, but no one takes him seriously enough as a threat to Trent Barreta let alone C.M. Punk. Punk vs. Ziggler has unfortunately suffered because they're concentrating on reinventing the McMahon vs. Austin stuff, which they just can't do, and it's a really sad statement about the writing team and Vince McMahon's creativity if they're even thinking of mirroring that feud with the current one.

Caldwell: Three things. (1) Trent Barreta reference in the Chat! (2) I was just waiting for WWE to make that Austin-McMahon to Punk-Laurinaitis comparison and, whaddya know, WWE's website splashed it all over their homepage last night, which drew considerable head-shaking. (3) You touched on something that got my wheels spinning. Like you said, they've tried to make Laurinaitis seem ambiguous and not 100 percent heelish in his actions, so was the end of Raw supposed to be this big revelation that he's 100 percent heel and been trying to mess with Punk and all babyfaces this whole time? Like, is McMahon going to come out on Raw and fire Laurinaitis in the opening segment on Monday after this "revelation?" Perhaps it's because Laurinaitis is just, well, Laurinaitis or because every viewer already knew he was a heel, but I just took it as your average, run-of-the-mill show-closing angle. And, having clueless announcers doesn't help to tell the audience whether something is of major significance or just another night at the office.

Parks: I don't know that they had prepared a "big reveal" for him to finally come across fully as a heel, but it doesn't get any more heelish than admitting he's going to screw the #1 (or #2, depending on how you rank them) babyface out of his title. Otherwise, I think the heel moments had been building for a while and maybe we were already supposed to see him as a heel, with no big turn coming. But, I don't think there's an ambiguity anymore.

Caldwell: Another thing about Laurinaitis is the "texting" seems to have picked up. It seems like they're showing him more often on the phone, like in the fall/summer. Do you think the combination of Laurinaitis blowing his stack, punching Foley, essentially admitting he's acting like a heel, and the increased texting will lead to some sort of change or development in the authority figure position? I guess also worth considering is he's still the special ref for Punk-Ziggler at the Rumble, so could it come together at the PPV for Punk to escape the stacked deck and give Ziggler an "out" for not winning the title when the focus is everywhere else but on the match outcome?

Parks: I'll be honest: I don't think the texting is leading to anything at all. I think it's a red herring at best, lazy storytelling at worst - it gives them a final image to end the scene on. Plus, I haven't seen if his texting on camera correlates to his Twitter account, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a more subtle way for WWE to plug Twitter stuff if you assume he's Tweeting, not texting. Or, it could just be a symbol of power, how annoying it is that suits often are constantly glued to their phone. So yeah, it could, and probably should end up meaning something, but I'm guessing it will go unaddressed.

Caldwell: Unfortunately with WWE, that's usually what happens in these situations. See, this is why I like the Chat, Greg, because it's like a game of minesweeper where you drop in a comment that opens up several new possibilities for ways to interpret segments or predict future developments. I guess we should stay on the Laurinaitis topic since he seemed to touch every aspect of Raw. You mentioned Mick Foley - do you think he finds his way into the Rumble and do you think this is the right role for him making infrequent appearances as a "middle man" for current storylines, similar to Roddy Piper hosting Piper's Pit to be part of John Cena's "embrace the hate" storyline origins?

Parks: I think there are enough Foley fans still out there to where WWE would be doing a disservice by mentioning the possibility of him being in the Rumble, only to not grant him that. I do see him continuing to make infrequent returns, unless they do have that one, big (final?) match lined up for him, at WM or even Summerslam. Then, like we presume will happen with the Rock, he'll be brought back more frequently to hype that match. Unless he becomes new RAW GM (which isn't looking likely at this point), I don't see a full-time TV role for him.

Caldwell: I don't see the full-time role either. Another guy who seems to be drifting toward the point of his career being a part-time guy is Chris Jericho, but Jericho said this week he intends on being full-time for the foreseeable future. We've now had three looks at the new Jericho character. Greg, your thoughts on his performance and, beyond that, where does he fit in with WWE's current storylines? I ask that because he really didn't seem to fit in the six-man tag match, which is probably why they just had him take a hot tag, parade around the ring, and leave.

Parks: Well, if Jericho said he's wrestling for the foreseeable future, you can almost guarantee he'll be gone in a few months, that's what his word has meant lately. He didn't fit in the tag match, but it was just a way for him to do his shtick without repeating the first two weeks, so, I didn't have a problem with it. I think we all have an idea of where this is going, but it looks like WWE is going to have him string it out for a few more weeks.

Caldwell: What's funny is that in our Chat last week, either you or me proposed the idea of Jericho winning the Rumble, then on Raw, Jericho is so overwhelmed that he celebrates during the first segment, they cut to break, and come back with him still celebrating. They pretty much did the same thing this week when Jericho did a victory lap before the six-man tag, they cut to break, and they came back with him still doing the victory lap. I thought the bit with taking a picture of the family ringside before the break was amazing, but I want to see what the overall storyline direction is. If it were anyone else, it would be very concerning being in WWE's hands, but Jericho has a lot of control over his character, so there's a lot of potential here. Also trying to see where something is going, Greg, your thoughts on Brodus Clay Week 2? How long do they "introduce & reinforce & establish the gimmick" before they provide an explanation or just advance the character?

Parks: I'm not quite sure. The dancing and all that jazz is so much a part of the gimmick, he doesn't even really need to wrestle. I can't imagine who his first feud is with, if this character even makes it this far, and I know we've talked on the Livecast about whether or not Clay will turn into that monster we all predicted he'd be upon his return. James, after seeing him on Smackdown and Raw last week, do you see this as a long-term thing or too early to tell so far?

Caldwell: I'm going to give a cop-out answer that WWE Creative (a/k/a McMahon) can be so flighty with these sorts of things that it's hard to tell. Like you said, I have no idea who his first real feud is with and it's not like they're going to stick him with a main-eventer right away, so he'll probably be involved in some sort of lower-to-mid-card program that won't mean much. I think they'll continue establishing the character for several weeks (while also pumping out some Funkasauras merchandise) before either starting a feud with a wrestler or having Laurinaitis get involved since Laurinaitis was in charge of Funk's re-emergence. I guess we'll see. ... Greg, elsewhere in the big picture on Raw, WWE really, really pulled back on the Cena-Kane segments this week, but Cena snapped and Kane seemed to enjoy watching it happen. What did you think of the follow-up to "See No Evil 2" and where do they go from here?

Parks: The possible merch is the only reason I don't see this turning into a monster heel gimmick so soon. I really just think they're teasing the Cena heel turn and aren't really going to deliver. To me, it's just something to occupy his time before 'Mania, since I don't know if a heel Cena vs. face Rock is the right way to go for 'Mania, even though a face Cena vs. face Rock hasn't lit the world up to this point anyway.

Caldwell: I feel like they're trying to bring the Survivor Series story forward. The idea at Survivor Series was to show Rock "still has it" - even though no one doubted he "lost it" - and that put Rock ahead of Cena, so now Cena is trying to get back to having an edge as Super Cena to make it seem like he has a chance to compete with Rock at Mania. I feel like the end result will be a six-month game of see-saw where Rock was shot up and Cena was pushed to the bottom at Survivor Series, and now they're trying to get Cena back up to Rock's level and even it out while Rock is just chilling and eating some ice cream while sitting on top. All the while, WWE is trying to give Cena Fans a reason to cheer Cena as he tries to see-saw back to Rock's level. (Assuredly, Kane fits in here somewhere in the analogy.) But, I don't see a heel turn either. I think they'll give non-Cena fans reasons to continue not to like Cena ahead of Mania, but try to energize his fanbase for the 52-week, year-round aspect. ... Greg, they also booked Cena-Kane for the Rumble. How in the world do they have a "normal match," or is this destined to be an angle, not a match?

Parks: I think it's possible that it's an angle; it's also possible that a stipulation gets added this week on Raw to make it more than just a simple one-on-one match. I think, given the TV time spent, you had to pay this feud off with a match, even though as you mentioned before, it seems hard to fit a match in to where they're going right now. I still think the best idea was for Kane to drag Ryder down to hell, and next week have him show up as EVIL Ryder, complete with red hair and red contacts, with red, yellow, and orange as his new colors, replacing purple and yellow, and have him feud with Cena. But the ship has sailed on that idea, I think.

Caldwell: Wow, that's an elaborate idea! I like it. Yeah, it could have been a two or three-week storyline leading to the Rumble with Cena "freeing Ryder" from Kane's spell via victory. As for what WWE is actually doing, I think they have to add some sort of stipulation to the match. It's not like WWE is prioritizing protecting wrestling matches these days, but I think WWE needs to protect this match-up on PPV and not just go with a blatant non-finish if they keep it as a simple one-on-one. Looking at Ryder, what did you think of him dropping the U.S. Title to Swagger and is the end of the road for him as mid-card champ?

Parks: Listen, I don't have a problem with Ryder dropping the title (though he hasn't held it long, even by WWE standards), but dropping it to Jack Swagger? If they had built him up in ANY WAY over the last few weeks, I wouldn't have a problem. But when a guy is portrayed as second-fiddle to Dolph Ziggler, then loses to John Cena the previous week, and hasn't had a big win since....?, it's hard to follow the logic behind it, other than "Vince wanted Swagger to have the title."

Caldwell: Yeah, it's like WWE's version of "advanced build-up" was Swagger going 13 minutes with Punk and losing because of a blown call last week after going weeks and weeks without winning a match. Oddball booking. I feel like we have to discuss the Ryder/Eve relationship. They seemed to have the DTR (Define The Relationship) talk and now Eve is standing up to authority on behalf of Ryder. Would you like to venture a guess on what the purpose of this storyline is and where it's going?

Parks: They're doing a similar story on Smackdown with Daniel Bryan and AJ, so it's probably a directive from above to get the perceived nerdy or geeky wrestlers in relationships so we have a reason to cheer for them, or some backward logic like that.

Caldwell: Ah yes, if an attractive female is attracted to a perceived goofy/nerdy wrestler, then it's instant credibility points. I'll also take your comment as a directive to talk some Smackdown! Greg, I had the storyline idea in my head after Friday's show that A.J. will be revealed to be a willing accomplice in Bryan's plot to keep the World Title. Something along the lines of Bryan promised A.J. the world if she helped him keep the title and she went along with it because she wants to stand next to The Champ. I really think the combination of D-Bryan and a heel A.J. turning her nose up at the "nerdy wrestling fans" she was formerly buddy-buddy with could be a draw for Smackdown. Do you think that's where they're going or how do you see this Bryan program playing out?

Parks: I think they could; but I think AJ will most likely end up being the sympathetic pawn in Bryan's desperate attempts to keep the World Title. So he'll be a heel, she'll be a babyface sort of caught in the cross-hairs, willing to do anything for the man she loves, and for a man who seems ambivalent at best about her. I liked the execution of the angle on Smackdown, though it seemed a little coincidental that Show would happen to run right into her - I would've liked it a bit more had A.J. taken a subtle step to her right or left to get in Show's way as he ran. Just a slight step, to the point where Show wouldn't even notice it, but it would give the announcers a talking point if they want to bring it up to question whether or not she put herself in harm's way on purpose.

Caldwell: Kind of like taking a charge in basketball, but you're really out of position and hoping the referee and opponent don't see it. I think you're right on where they'll go with Bryan as the heel - "I think I have strong feelings for you, A.J." - and A.J. trying to win over his affection. Overall, do you think this story has some legs where WWE can sustain Bryan's title run for a few months to get to Mania or will this be over at or around the Rumble or Chamber PPVs?

Parks: I think a story like that definitely has more legs than most WWE storylines. But would WWE be able to pull it off? That's another question entirely.

Caldwell: Very true. Where do you think Mark Henry fits into this? I'm a little concerned about WWE booking a Bryan-Henry title match on tomorrow's show since Henry would, by default, be the fan favorite because of Bryan's direction, wouldn't he? I think WWE has to tread carefully with Henry after doing such great work with his character last year.

Parks: You'd be correct. I guess it depends on how WWE handles Bryan's heel turn; maybe he's a heel to the casual audience who doesn't like how he's winning matches, but maybe WWE expects the hardcore fans, the ones that followed Bryan's career through the Indies and put up a stink when he was fired, to still consider him a babyface just because they would never boo him. He's be the bizarro John Cena on Smackdown.

Caldwell: I think WWE can draw in the hardcore fans to keep watching the TV show since, like you said, they could "go against WWE's booking" a la Cena, and it certainly seems like the casual audience that makes up the majority of the live crowd is embracing him as a heel because of his transparent dishonesty. The rating did shoot up last Friday, so it will be interesting to see if that holds up as Bryan's heel turn develops. Greg, there's also the Drew McIntyre saga on Smackdown. Strike three...or foul tip...what's next for Drew?

Parks: I'm not real sure. As I said before, the losing streak gimmick rarely, if ever, works, but I suppose there's a chance he could turn things around and find a mean streak that will get him back to his winning ways. That, or he develops a Brodus Clay-like gimmick and goes on a hot streak.

Caldwell: Oh no. WWE doesn't need that idea, Greg. Especially because his beloved entrance music, video, and set-up will have to change! Or, are you saying just the hot streak, but not the character change?

Parks: No, I meant a character change too. But you're right, I don't know if I could live without the possibility of hearing that theme!

Caldwell: Indeed. Elsewhere, Greg, Sheamus took care of Jinder Mahal and Wade Barrett is still in the mix there with Sheamus. Your take on the latest developments while everyone kind of sits around waiting for Orton to come back?

Parks: Yeah, that's how I'd characterize what's going on now. With Sheamus beating Mahal cleanly last week, I'm wondering if they drop that story now and move on to something else.

Caldwell: I'm not certain when Christian will come back, but that seems like an inevitable feud for Sheamus to pick up again. But, if he were to win the Rumble, that would obviously change. I think Sheamus will be in the Final Four, but do you think Sheamus has a shot to win or do you think WWE will lean more toward the Jericho/Orton options?

Parks: I think Sheamus is in the top five or even top three to win, but Jericho and Orton seem the most likely suspects. Of course, if we keep trumpeting those two, WWE will just change it because they'll figure that's what people are expecting.

Caldwell: And that's usually where people have run into problems trying to predict the winner the last few years. It used to be very cut & dry, but now it's more like surprise!, then WWE figures it out, and maybe puts the stip on the line at the Chamber PPV. Greg, anything else jump out at you from the latest Smackdown?

Parks: Let's move on to Impact. Like most weeks, last week was a hit-and-miss show. Unlike the past though, the misses are a little more tolerable. What did you like/dislike from last week's show James?

Caldwell: Boy, I don't remember much of last week's show other than the latest non-finish to a TV main event and TNA giving away the PPV main events on TV again. You look at this week's show, Greg, and they're going with Babyface #1 vs. Babyface #2 in the form of Hardy vs. Storm in a #1 contender match. That feels like another match that could be saved for a future TV episode or a PPV with some hype to get people interested, but that doesn't seem to be TNA's MO as of late. What do you make of that?

Parks: We can throw out all the talk of "saving a match for PPV" because it can't get any clearer that TV is the priority, PPV be damned. Hardy vs. Storm has possibilities, but when you go into it knowing there is so little chance of it ending cleanly, given TNA's history, it's really hard to get excited about it.

Caldwell: I think casual viewers are starting to pick up on that, as evidenced by the weekly second hour decline, since the rule now seems to be non-clean finish to main events and the exception is an actual clean finish. Either that or people just lose interest in TNA's product after the first 75 minutes of the show. I think rotating another division - Knockouts, X, Tag - into the main event slot would help save some of those Hvt. division main events to avoid burning through all possible match-ups. The Knockouts were in the main event a few weeks ago and they'll be spotlighted this week in a steel cage match with Mickie vs. Madison. What are your thoughts on the State of the Knockouts?

Parks: Mickie vs. Kim to me is the best this division can do, both in terms of in-ring action and strength of characters. Madison is a bit of a step down, but her character has solidified over the past year. And hey, at least they get more exposure than WWE's Divas, even if the matches may be underwhelming at times.

Caldwell: Yeah, where's WWE Divas champ Beth Phoenix these days? Agreed on the Knockouts receiving good exposure. I thought Velvet Sky had an interesting comment in an interview making it sound like she wants to re-form the Beautiful People with Angelina Love. Do you think that would be the right move for both or has the ship sailed and they are better off pursuing singles?

Parks: Love's character is so damaged by that crap with Winter that it would be hard to see them explain her back as a Beautiful Person, but, really, that was the best success she and Sky ever had, so why not? The key though is needing a plucky babyface to play off of them.

Caldwell: Let's see...plucky babyfaces in TNA. Tessmacher or Tara? Perhaps Mickie if she's not in a feud with Gail. ODB clearly does not go with that description. TNA seems to be short on solid KO division babyfaces, I'd say. Greg, anything else jumped out at you from TNA the past week?

Parks: I think I'm all set with TNA.

Caldwell: Very good. We'll see what happens on tonight's show, then discuss it next Friday when we return to our normal schedule. Greg, how about a plug for Gonzo & The Greg this weekend?

Parks: Following up on our "favorite returning superstar moments" top five from last week, this week, we'll be listing our fave five debuts.

Caldwell: Is this career debut or "debuting in a new promotion" type debut a la Jericho as Y2J?

Parks: Either one counts.

Caldwell: Ah, I see. I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to tomorrow's Livecast! We'll cap off the week, take some calls and emails, and have a few laughs, assuredly. Readers can email us at pwtorchlivecast@gmail.com to get their questions on the air. We'll talk then!

Parks: I look forward to it!

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