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TORCH NEWS TICKER 5/16: TNA weekend events schedule, Ross on TV today, Funk on the Hall of Fame, Christian column, Khali latest

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:20:21 PST

Raw Preview: WWE, meet your slipping ratings. Slipping ratings, meet John Cena. On the Raw before Judgment Day, Cena returns from a two-week absence to set up his match against JBL at the PPV. ... One of the other mega-singles match at the PPV is Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels. They'll set that up on tonight's show. No matches officially confirmed for tonight.

5/15 Impact Review by Wilkenfeld: Tag teams and women continue to dominate post-Sacrifice show

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:13:35 PST

Overall: This show had a weird mix of some high highs and some low lows. The highs were most of the matches, and the lowest low was Abyss. The other two questionable segments, Angle and Young, for some reason didn't inspire as much ire in me as their stupidity would seem to warrant, so I probably enjoyed this show more than most will. I guess that's good news for me, as I give it a B+.

CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 5/13: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Spike TV show

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:59:13 PST

After Joe wiped his brow, he told Booker he doesn't give a damn about his consequences. Joe smirked, then Booker punched him in the face. A brawl was on until Rhino and Christian made the save for Joe. Team 3D held Booker back on the outside while Joe screamed down at Booker. Booker then took a mic and said that's just what he's talking about. He told Joe, Christian, and Rhino to meet him back in the ring tonight when he finds his back-up.

ECW Storylines and Feuds - Reviewing the brand's feuds, plus the distinctions between the GMs

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:56:20 PST

An intriguing budding rivalry between ECW's top talent. We not only have the WWE Tag Team Champions involved, but also the ECW Champion and the owner of the Money in the Bank briefcase. And unlike the last main event feud (Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero), this one can result in the heels gaining believable advantages. Miz and Morrison have been the champions for months, and Morrison has been ECW Champion before. Kane and Punk, although unlikely tag team partners, form a nice team against two heels with some credibility behind them. A match is scheduled to take place at Judgment Day for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but hopefully this rivalry continues beyond Sunday's PPV. Perhaps a future match can raise the stakes so that much more is on the line. Remember, with each person carrying some type of title—in Punk's case, a title opportunity—there is plenty to fight over.

Radican ROH Audio Show: ROH PPV Future, Virginia Debut, Claduio Comments (24 min.)

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:45:13 PST

This week on the all ROH portion of the Radican Audio Update, Sean opens things up with a discussion of ROH's future on PPV and the latest news on whether or not the company will renew after the current deals expires with the upcoming "Take No Prisoners," which debuts on May 30. Radican then goes through the results of the May 9 Manassas, Va. debut, which includes some news and notes from a PWTorch reader that attended the event live. Claudio Castagnoli's interview with Newsday.com is then discussed and analyzed by Radican, as Castagnoli heads into the biggest match of his life. Radican concludes the show with some brief news and notes on upcoming shows and closes with a discussion of some recent releases that he's been watching. Check it out!...

Raw Storylines and Feuds - How does Regal's involvement affect the top feuds?

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:06:11 PST

The build for this feud has been pretty decent in the last few weeks, and WWE is delving into an interesting strategy by incorporating three acts in one. This week, they hyped not only Orton-Triple H and Cena-JBL, but also the Regal storyline in the same closing segment of the show. Orton had a strong argument and a good point in his interview with Grisham in which he stated that Triple H won once, while he successfully defended his title for months. Is his confidence justified? Well, that's up to viewers to decide. The real question will be how he acts after this Sunday's PPV. If Orton loses decisively to Triple H in a singles title matchup, it will be hard for him to continue this confident act as the guy who really deserves the title without looking foolish and out of touch.

Smackdown Storylines and Feuds - Following Taker-Edge, MVP-Hardy, McCool-Natalya, and more

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:55:47 PST

WWE freshened things up with varying matchups between seemingly random people. They could have easily pitted Matt Hardy against MVP, for instance, or even CM Punk against John Morrison (since they are facing each other at Judgment Day for the WWE Tag Team Titles). But instead of falling into formula, WWE experimented a bit with some mismatches. Even the first match was surprising: Punk versus Hardy, babyface vs. babyface. So, although the booking of this particular episode made tracking the ongoing rivalries a little cumbersome this week, the show worked as a whole. And they left one week open for themselves to refocus everything right before Judgment Day.

CORNER CUBE THURSDAY 5/15 - Time to get reacquainted with the dynamic A.J. Styles character in TNA

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:19:28 PST

A.J. Styles is a character TNA hasn't been consistent with over the last year. At least not until this point, but things could be changing starting with the next two weeks of Impact. The problem has been that Styles is such a great athlete in the ring that TNA has decided he needs to be something different in "character segments" outside of the ring.

KELLER'S TNA SACRIFICE PPV REPORT 5/11: Joe vs. Steiner vs. Kaz, Terror Dome, Tag Team Tournament, Women's Battle Royal

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:49:09 PST

Jeremy Borash interviewed Kurt Angle as he got out of his limo. Borash said he was with Angle in South Korea when he got injured. Borash asked for an update. Angle said his doctor told him he isn't cleared to wrestle. He said he's not 25 years old anymore, so he needs to listen to his doctor. He said if he tweaks his neck again, his career could be over. He said his peak is still ahead of him. He ran down his injuries to his neck and back and said he can't afford to take the risk. He seemed genuinely dejected...

KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 5/9: One-Night Tournament to Set up Judgment Day Title Match

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:36:26 PST

hey went cold to the ring without any show opening montage. Teddy Long rolled Vickie onto the stage as Edge walked alongside them. She asked for everyone's attention. She read a prepared statement. She said the last seven days have the most difficult for her since becoming general manager. She said she didn't want to strip Undertaker of the title, but she felt she must. She said in two weeks at Judgment Day, there will be a match for the World Championship, and out of fairness Undertaker will be among those included in the match. She said if plans to regain the belt, he must do so without use of his illegal chokehold. She said Taker's opponent will be determined tonight...

Ratings News: ECW ratings down again for show headlined by Kane vs. Morrison

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:59:28 PST

The ECW rating dropped again this week, from a 1.16 rating to a 1.10 rating last night. Total viewership was 1.03 million, which is less than the 1.2 million TNA Impact drew last week. Last night's ECW show headlined with Kane vs. John Morrison, plus featured Colin Delaney's first week as a contracted wrestler...

DEJ Audio Experience: Jeff Hardy return, Morgan-Gladiators, Cade-Murdoch Break-up, more (69 min.)

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:34:31 PST

This week "The DEJ Experience" is back again in classic form as Dusty and Jeremy bring their insight on all the important stories. They discuss Matt Morgan's role on American Gladiators and how it is good for him and no one else. They discuss Kurt Angle's latest battle with the neck injury and just what needs to be done already. There is even a debate on the virtues of Jeff Hardy and how he should or should not have come clean on Raw. We would be dishonest if we did not talk about the break up of Cade and Murdoch and the strange situation around it. Hell there is so much we forgot what we talked about!...

ECW Reax #1: "I think people can save a lot of heartache and frustation if they simply watch ECW on mute."

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:10:49 PST

I think people can save a lot of heartache and frustation if they simply watch ECW on mute. I tried to ignore him but he says the most ridiculous lines that take away from the match. So mute it is. The Colin Delaney angle is sort of unique. As it stands right now, Colin seeemingly cannot beat anybody but can take a tremedous beating. So it might be the only wins he gets are fluke wins. But the Colin angle is really the only thing going on in ECW right now. Like how Miz and Morrison were brought up so that they are the most credible tag team champions in both WWE and TNA...

CORNER CUBE WEDNESDAY 5/14 - Future of WWE's international expansion requires more international talent

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:10:17 PST

While poring over WWE's latest financial numbers for a story in this week's Torch Newsletter, two things occurred to me. One - WWE has tremendous growth potential overseas. Two - WWE has a ton of cash on hand.

Torch Trivia: How much do you know about stripped titles?

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:00:00 PST

Ian Hunter here, being wheeled out in a wheelchair, tugging at the heart strings of those who idolized Eddie Guerrero and milking every single penny she can out of it. I don’t know how the rest of you out there feel, but I for one am tired of listening to this poor actress come out week after week and play the role of Lita in a wheelchair while one of the best voices of the past five years is left to play road-nurse behind her fat can. You dig me playa? Adding to her role of Worst G.M. in WWE History, Vicky came out and stripped the Undertaker of his title earlier this month. And for what? We all know he’s just going to get it back anyway. So because of this poor storyline, this week’s trivia is on title stripping. But before you break out your dollar bills, we got last week’s questions to answer.

CALDWELL'S ECW TV REPORT 5/13: Morrison vs. Kane and Miz vs. Punk highlight ECW's sales pitch for Judgment Day

Wed, 14 May 2008 01:43:51 PST

Post-match: Punk tried to save Kane from a double-team beating, but Miz gave Punk the Reality Check. Morrison punted Kane in the head, and Adamle asked if this is a prelude to Judgment Day. Heel champs stood tall in the ring over the fallen challengers to close the show.

KELLER'S ECW ON SCI-FI REPORT 5/13: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of program

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:30:56 PST

They went backstage to Estrada telling Delaney, "Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Any idea at all? The odds of you beating me were astronomical." He said if he thought he was a target before, he'll see to it he's an even bigger one now. He presented him with the contract on a clipboard to sign. Delaney signed it with a big smile on his face. He said to prove his point, as his first match as an official roster member, he can face Mike Knox. Delaney took a deep breath, but looked to have a sense of growing confidence. Yes, a WWE program in prime time is being built in part around Knox vs. Delaney...

WWE Raw Reax #1: "Hardy should've been allowed to address why he was suspended and admit his actions were a mistake."

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:33:32 PST

I also like to watch Kennedy wrestle. Worst bit of the night was the Jericho-HBK bit. Yay? Boo? This awful buildup does not get me interested in seeing their match. I actually didn't mind the Cryme Tyme vs. Cade & Murdoch saga. One of my favorite moves is when Orton irish whips Cena to the ropes and Cena goes for a shouldar tackle, but Orton smoothly ducks it. Maybe perhaps Orton wasn't supposed to go outside the cage? Whatever happened, that main event worked. Much better Raw this time around. There are some long-running feuds that I don't mind seeing again and again (Morrison vs. Punk, Undertaker vs. Edge, Orton vs. Cena, Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy). Better use of William "Knicks Ex-Head Coach Isiah Thomas" Regal. I'm somewhat suprised that they didn't do the draft...

Ratings News: Cena returns to Raw, Hardy returns to Raw, ratings come in at...

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:33:54 PST

WWE Raw last night drew a 3.3 rating, up from last week's 3.2, in the general range of post-WrestleMania numbers for Raw. It drew more male viewers than usual (70 percent) and a slightly older average viewer (35). Ratings were down among the key 18-49 demo from last week even though the rating was slightly higher. It went up against TNT's NBA Playoffs, finishing at no. 3 for the night in cable during the 10 p.m. hour and no. 4 for the 9 p.m. hour. It drew a first hour rating of 3.20 and a second hour rating of 3.37. You still have to go back 12 years to find a lower rating for Raw in May...

KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 5/12: Orton vs. Cena, Jericho apologizes to Michaels, Hardy returns

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:26:02 PST

After the break, Orton had Cena in a (drum roll...) headlock. They showed that during the break, Orton kicked Cena in the head as he entered the ring, then DDT'd him off the ropes. At 8:00 Cena came back with a legdrop off the ropes to the back of Orton's neck. JBL and Regal stepped out onto the stage. JBL was wearing a referee shirt and said Regal has determined the ref was not doing his job well, so he would replace him. Cena took a deep breath with hands on hips and waited for JBL to arrive in the ring. Cena punched JBL as soon as he entered the ring and knocked him to the floor. Cena went on a flurry of offense against Orton and set up an FU. JBL kicked Cena in the face. Orton landed on top. JBL slapped the mat super-quickly three times and awarded Orton the win...