HEYDORN’S TAKE: The G1 tournament is here, enjoy the grind
So, who else is ready for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual heavyweight tournament? To hell with raising your hand – all those in favor, take a stiff back bump where you stand. I kid, but […]
Staff Takes
MCMAHON’S TAKE: AEW inexcusably botched Matt Hardy’s injury
By now, you’ve probably all watched the pay-per-view or you have at least seen the video. Matt Hardy, perched on top of a scissor left with Sammy Guevara, falling through a table and smacking his […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Roman Reigns isn’t a heel … yet
We all want it to be true. We’re desperate. Being the bearer of bad news is never fun, but in the name of honesty, here it goes. Roman Reigns isn’t a heel. Yet. The last […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Don’t hold me to this – WWE Payback 2020
File me under the category of “I have no earthly idea why WWE is running a PPV a mere seven days after the second biggest show of their calendar year.” Is it to get Roman […]
COUNIHAN – SPECIAL FEATURE: The story of Fujita “Jr.” Hayato and Katsuhiko Nakajima
“Walk blindly to the light and reach out for his hand” Based primarily in the Tohoku region of northern Japan, the Michinoku Pro promotion always attempted to put their best foot forward when they came […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Don’t hold me to this – WWE Summerslam 2020
Ladies and gentleman, welcome to WWE Thunderdome! That’s right. Not only is Sunday the second biggest show of the year for WWE, but it’s taking place in the company’s state of the art, virtual fan […]
RADICAN’S THE PULL LIST EXTRA: A review of the predictable yet self-aware horror film “Murder in the Woods” starring Danny Trejo
Murder in the Woods is a pleasant surprise. Outside of Danny Trejo, there’s not a lot of star power, but this film from director Luis Iga Garza and screenwriter Yelyna De Leon serves as both […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Get to the point with Retribution
Is everyone shaking in their boots? Retribution has arrived! Flickering lights, broken microphones, a tipped over car, ring ropes sawed in half, graffiti, and a cinderblock thrown through a glass door? Oh, the humanity!Look, there […]
MCMAHON’S TAKE: Raw Underground can work, but WWE needs to change its approach tonight
Raw Underground debuted last week and it was almost universally panned by critics and fans. PWTorch editor Wade Keller wrote a column last week on why it might be hasty to hate the new concept […]
KELLER’S TAKE: Raw Underground and why it might be hasty to hate it quite yet (Bumped ICYMI)
Shane McMahon returned to WWE Raw last night at the helm of a backroom fight club at the Performance Center dubbed “Raw Underground.” As soon as you saw it, you likely had a visceral reaction. […]
KELLER’S TAKE: The key challenges Nick Khan faces as he moves into one of the most powerful positions in pro wrestling industry
WWE’s announcement that they have hired Nick Khan, a 45 year old former attorney and agent to some of the sports world’s top broadcasters, puts a name and face to one of the most important […]
MCMAHON’S TAKE: Is MJF really ready for AEW All Out’s PPV main event?
Since its inception last year, AEW has been a company that relies on records and statistics. It’s an analytical approach to wrestling that has made Tony Khan’s promotion stand out against WWE, whose booking often […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: It’s okay to let stars be stars
I interrupt your day with the obvious. Pro wrestling needs stars. In the recent past, we’ve seen WWE and other top wrestling promotions work to alter that fact. They’ve said for the world to come […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Big Show and Randy Orton show off the simplicity of successful wrestling
Professional wrestling doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful. The recent barrage of swamp matches, bone yard matches, climbing the corporate ladder matches, eye for an eye bouts, bar fights, back lot brawls, and […]
MITCHELL’S TAKE: Mid-Card Matters in WWE’s Fight With Systemic Racism
At first the big news in professional wrestling this week was how AEW’s Tony Khan was tired of being outflanked by NXT’s Triple H’s masterful, detail-rich manipulation of his young, fresh talent roster in order […]
RADICAN’S TAKE: “Money Plane” starring Adam Copeland (Edge) and Kelsey Grammar is awesomely bad
Money Plane is a direct to on demand and digital purchase release from writer and director Andrew Lawrence. The movie stars Adam Copeland aka WWE wrestler Edge and Kelsey Grammar with Denise Richards getting top […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Don’t hold me to this – WWE Extreme Rules 2020
WWE Extreme Rules airs this Sunday on the WWE Network. The television build for the event on Raw and Smackdown has clicked and featured impactful work from many of WWE’s mainstay acts, but the show […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Awful stipulation a horror for WWE heading into Extreme Rules
I won’t be breaking any news in the next 800 words. The eye-for-an-eye stipulation added to the Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins match at Extreme Rules is a horror of epic proportions. Not “horror” as […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: WWE must show patience with cinematic matches
In the pandemic, empty-arena era of professional wrestling, the only constant for the WWE has been the notion of adjustment. With guidelines, quarantines, positive COVID-19 tests, and change around every corner, the ability to adjust […]
KELLER’S TAKE: An increasingly cavalier attitude in society to this pandemic increases need for wrestlers and promoters to be more cautionary than ever if shows are going to continue
I wrote an editorial earlier this week in the new Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (#1674, cover-dated June 23) that in recent weeks I’ve grown more uncomfortable watching the increasingly cavalier attitude toward the risk of […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: The #SpeakOut movement matters to my daughter
For close to a week now, we’ve been learning about a countless number of disgusting acts of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault of women in the pro wrestling business. These types of accounts and predatory […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: WWE takes a foolish risk with Drew McIntyre on this week’s Raw
We know the narrative that WWE likes to spin for its fans and business partners. Vince McMahon is a maverick. He’s a leader and a visionary who risked it all to achieve greatness in the […]
MITCHELL: How to Fix WWE once and for all, pt. 1 – Restructuring the marketing, format, and presentation of TV shows and PPV events
So, how do you fix, really fix WWE? How can you ensure the company grows now, in 2020, in measurable, financially healthy ways? How does the company navigate the most uncertain times that not only […]
RADICAN’S TAKE: A look at the NJPW Cup brackets, who will rise and fall during the tournament
NJPW announced yesterday they are resuming running events in empty arenas starting on June 15. PWTorch sources indicated last week that NJPW would be announcing that the company would be announcing they would resume running […]