By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

-Although I'm not able to see TNA's PPV live tonight, I'm curious to see how the Robert Roode vs. Jeff Hardy match comes across tonight. It's a big night for both Hardy and Roode. Roode's first PPV title defense ended flat with the awkward draw in the Iron Man match. This is a chance for Roode to try to establish the beginning of a track record that he is a singular reason to strongly consider ordering TNA PPVs. His title reign has the potential be a historically memorable one if he can string together a series of really good matches against a variety of babyface challengers.

Roode told PWTorch's James Caldwell on Friday's PWTorch Livecast that he'd like to feud with James Storm and Samoa Joe. By singling out Joe, it's an indication that he has confidence he could have some good matches and a strong chemistry with him. It'd be good for Joe to be in a top level feud against someone he feels is a peer of his with whom there's mutual support. It'd be a good test to see, when inspired and put in a position of importance, what Joe can deliver today. The comparisons to where former ROH peers C.M. Punk and Daniel Bryan are has to eat away at him a little right now, and could inspire some show-stealing matches.

As for Hardy tonight, I'm curious if his effort comes across as an attempt to redeem himself after the debacle last year against Sting in his last PPV main event, or if he presents himself as Rob Van Dam often comes across as feeling that phoning in a few signature moves should make TNA fans happy. It'd be a big gesture for Hardy to also insist on doing the job to Roode, no matter what the bookers want. It'd be the right thing to give back to TNA after what he did last year to the organization and the fans. It'd also help elevate Roode, and it's not like losing to Roode would do any actual damage to Hardy's stature.

-On another note, I attended my first Strikeforce MMA event last night at the Hard Rock's "The Joint" in Las Vegas. From what I've heard it came across well on TV from a production standpoint, but it also was clear on TV as it was in person that the crowd was just dead for most of the show. I was struck by how no effort was made by the Strikeforce announcers to make the crowd feel like part of the show. I didn't see the prelims, but I arrived well before the start of the live Showtime broadcast, and there was nothing said directly to the crowd to bring them into the show and make them feel like their energy was important to how the show came across on TV. Pro wrestling promoters have mastered this, and whether it's been WWE or WCW or TNA over the years (or for that matter the AWA going back to the early-'90s TV tapings in Rochester, Minn. I often attended), the promotions have a routine that gets the crowd jazzed up with a countdown and encouragement to get loud as the show goes on the air.

Last night you could hear a pin drop during the two "no-name" undercard fights. Even the three top billed fights with better known names (Robbie Lawler, King Mo, Keith Jardine, Luke Rockhold) didn't generate anything close to electricity or excitement. There were some obnoxious fans who were clearly with the fighters and got comps, but for the most part it felt like a flat live experience for the other fans. Strikeforce, as the distant no. 2 MMA group in terms of star power and credible depth of quality fighters, needs to try harder. They can't act like they're too good to try hard. As the no. 2 group, even though they're owned by Zuffa and basically phoning it in out of contractual obligation to Strikeforce, should be the place where Zuffa experiments with different types of ways to present the shows and fighters for the live crowd experience. I got the sense the fans were just chair holders, basically, so the broadcast had a look of a sporting event. This is an area where WWE and TNA are far ahead, and rather than seeming "more dignified" Strikeforce came across as lazy and disinterested in the experience the fans in attendance experienced.

-Check out Bruce Mitchell & Travis Bryant live on the PWTorch Livecast (blogtalkradio.com/pro-wrestling-torch) an hour before Raw on Monday night to react to TNA's PPV happenings and preview Raw including the latest on Chris Jericho.

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Wade Keller launched Pro Wrestling Torch as a print newsletter in 1987. The newsletter is still published every week. It's distributed to thousands of wrestling fans internationally via postal mail and digital PDF's online at the VIP website. He has interviewed some of pro wrestling's biggest power brokers over the years in their longest insider interviews ever done, including Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Goldberg, Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette, Mick Foley, Vince Russo, Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Jerry Lawler, and many many others. He writes every week for the PWTorch Newsletter and also blogs on PWTorch.com. He is also the supervising editor of MMATorch, records the Keller Hotline every day for VIP members reviewing and analyzing the news of the day, and hosts the PWTorch Livecast twice a week. Contact Keller: kellerwade@gmail.com.

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