{"id":7621,"date":"2016-01-07T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T10:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=7621"},"modified":"2016-01-07T04:01:02","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T10:01:02","slug":"thursdaytorchtoday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/01\/07\/thursdaytorchtoday\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday 1\/7 Torch Today &#8211; Taz on the Livecast, Reigns downplays tonight&#8217;s SD move to USA, Reigns &#038; Bellas on GMA, Heyman teases Brock Lesnar&#8217;s Raw role, NXT &#038; Impact tapings tonight, Punk&#8217;s potential UFC foe speaks out, Rock&#8217;s huge week continues, Linda McMahon&#8217;s new company, Detroit Lions pick faves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-748448729\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>TORCH TODAY &#8211; Thursday, January 7, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211;\u00a0PWTORCH LIVECAST ALERT: Wade Keller&#8217;s first Interview Thursday guest of 2016 will be <strong>Taz<\/strong>! Call in\/listen live at 5:00 p.m. EST at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blogtalkradio.com\/pro-wrestling-torch\" target=\"_blank\">PWTorchLivecast.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The first weekly Smackdown episode on USA Network airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST. Included is <strong>Dean Ambrose<\/strong> vs. <strong>Kevin Owens<\/strong> for the IC Title, <strong>Charlotte<\/strong> vs. <strong>Becky Lynch<\/strong> for the Divas Title, and the Smackdown announce debut of <strong>Mauro Ranallo<\/strong>. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/01\/05\/smackdownnonspoilers\/\" target=\"_blank\">Non-Spoiler Match Line-up<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; WWE World Hvt. champion <strong>Roman Reigns<\/strong> talked to the Associated Press, as <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Entertainment\/wireStory\/wwe-finds-tag-team-team-partner-usa-smackdown-36136373\" target=\"_blank\">published by ABC News<\/a>, about the move to USA Network. Reigns downplayed the move from a wrestler perspective, saying &#8220;not too much has changed for us.&#8221;\u00a0Reigns and the <strong>Bella Twins<\/strong> are scheduled to appear on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;Good Morning America&#8221; in the 8:00 a.m. hour on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; WWE returns to Full Sail University on Thursday for the first NXT TV taping of 2016. The advertised talent roster includes NXT champion <strong>Finn Balor<\/strong>, NXT Women&#8217;s champion <strong>Bayley<\/strong>, NXT tag champions <strong>Dash &amp; Dawson<\/strong>, <strong>Samoa Joe<\/strong>, and <strong>Apollo Crews<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; TNA returns to Bethlehem, Pa. for Night 3 of 5 of their TV\/PPV taping series on Thursday night. Included is a big TNA Title match of <strong>Ethan Carter III<\/strong> vs. <strong>Matt Hardy<\/strong> in a re-match from the TNA Title Finals. Plus, more of <strong>Kurt Angle&#8217;s<\/strong> farewell tour.<\/p>\n<p>(<em>PWTorch Reader Alert: We&#8217;re looking for results\/reports sent to <strong>pwtorch@gmail.com<\/strong> if you attend a show.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Paul Heyman<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/wwe\/story\/wwe-brock-lesnar-paul-heyman-monday-night-raw-royal-rumble-010716\" target=\"_blank\">talked to Fox Sports<\/a> about <strong>Brock Lesnar<\/strong> returning to WWE TV this Monday on Raw. Heyman hinted at Lesnar getting involved in the Royal Rumble. \u00a0&#8220;I have no problem showing up any given Monday and demonstrating to the WWE Universe how a proper promo is performed but when Brock Lesnar comes along with me, you know something substantive is going to be said and perhaps something impactful is going to happen,&#8221; Heyman said.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-330814971\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#8211; To recap the latest from <strong>&#8220;The Rock&#8221; Dwayne Johnson&#8217;s<\/strong> huge week &#8230; Rock <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/life\/people\/2016\/01\/06\/peoples-choice-awards-winners\/78391812\/#cx_ab_test_id=21&amp;cx_ab_test_variant=cx_collab_ctx&amp;cx_art_pos=1&amp;cx_navSource=arttop&amp;cx_tag=collabctx&amp;cx_rec_type=collabctx&amp;cx_ctrl_comp_grp=false&amp;cxrecs_s\" target=\"_blank\">won a People&#8217;s Choice Award<\/a> for Best Premium Cable Actor (HBO&#8217;s &#8220;Ballers&#8221;), Rock is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/life\/tv\/2016\/01\/06\/taraji-p-henson-joins-golden-globe-presenters\/78375520\/\" target=\"_blank\">scheduled to present an award<\/a> at the Golden Globes awards show on Sunday, and Rock announced a premiere date of May 2016 for his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ew.com\/article\/2016\/01\/06\/dwayne-johnson-rock-and-a-hard-place-hbo-documentary\" target=\"_blank\">new\u00a0HBO\u00a0series<\/a>, &#8220;Rock and a Hard Place.&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ew.com\/article\/2016\/01\/06\/dwayne-johnson-rock-and-a-hard-place-hbo-documentary\" target=\"_blank\">CNN picked up on Rock&#8217;s big run<\/a>, previewing dates from WrestleMania 32 in April all the way to movie releases in 2018.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BANRK55oh-Q\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:500px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BANRK55oh-Q\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/p>\n<div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BANRK55oh-Q\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Dwayne Johnson (@therock)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>Mickey Gall<\/strong>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/01\/06\/wednesdaytorchtoday\/\" target=\"_blank\">the MMA fighter<\/a> who wants to fight <strong>C.M. Punk<\/strong> in Punk&#8217;s debut UFC fight, talked more about why he thinks they&#8217;re a good match-up in a new interview. \u201cThat\u2019s the only guy in the UFC for me right now, you know? They needed to find a light record. He couldn\u2019t fight some 9-1 guy. So I go in there, I got a win. He\u2019s 0-0. I\u2019m 1-0. That\u2019s a light record,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mmafighting.com\/2016\/1\/6\/10719384\/mickey-gall-anticipates-bout-with-cm-punk-ufc-debut-dana-white\" target=\"_blank\">Gall\u00a0told MMAFighting<\/a>, as reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/early-lead\/wp\/2016\/01\/06\/ex-wwe-star-cm-punk-might-finally-have-a-suitable-ufc-debut-opponent\/\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Post<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThe commission will approve that. I can fight that dude and make the most of that opportunity.\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/mmatorch.com\/2016\/01\/06\/1-0-fighter-mickey-gall-trying-to-get-cm-punk-fight-after-appearance-on-dana-whites-looking-for-a-fight-series\/\" target=\"_blank\">More Perspective on this story at MMATorch.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Former WWE CEO <strong>Linda McMahon<\/strong> has launched a new company called &#8220;Women&#8217;s Leadership Live,&#8221; which will focus on leadership conferences geared toward women. The first event is scheduled for May in Irving, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have long had a passion for exposing young women to leadership opportunities,\u201d McMahon said to Connecticut reporters. \u201cThe \u2018Women Can Have It All\u2019 series at Sacred Heart University has been a great way for college students to hear how prominent executives forged their careers, overcame the challenges they faced and found balance in their personal and professional lives. No one has all the answers, but I find all people &#8211; especially women &#8211; learn from the experiences of others.\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ctpost.com\/business\/article\/Linda-McMahon-forms-women-s-leadership-startup-6740886.php\" target=\"_blank\">Full Story at CTPost.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ESPN reported on several members of the Detroit Lions NFL team picking their favorite pro wrestlers growing up. Most were split between <strong>&#8220;Stone Cold&#8221; Steve Austin<\/strong> and <strong>The Rock<\/strong>. <strong>X-Pac<\/strong> even got a vote. <strong>Calvin Johnson<\/strong>, the star WR who stunned fans and fantasy football owners by talking about retirement on Wednesday, picked <strong>Sting<\/strong>. (<a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/blog\/detroit-lions\/post\/_\/id\/21539\/calvin-johnson-liked-stings-face-paint-other-lions-favorite-wrestlers\" target=\"_blank\">Full Article at ESPN.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2637747795\"><div id=\"pwtor-1165805626\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>TORCH TODAY &#8211; Thursday, January 7, 2016 &#8211;\u00a0PWTORCH LIVECAST ALERT: Wade Keller&#8217;s first Interview Thursday guest of 2016 will be Taz! Call in\/listen live at 5:00 p.m. EST at PWTorchLivecast.com. &#8211; The first weekly Smackdown <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/01\/07\/thursdaytorchtoday\/\" title=\"Thursday 1\/7 Torch Today &#8211; Taz on the Livecast, Reigns downplays tonight&#8217;s SD move to USA, Reigns &#038; Bellas on GMA, Heyman teases Brock Lesnar&#8217;s Raw role, NXT &#038; Impact tapings tonight, Punk&#8217;s potential UFC foe speaks out, Rock&#8217;s huge week continues, Linda McMahon&#8217;s new company, Detroit Lions pick faves\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[601],"class_list":["post-7621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quicknews","tag-torch-today"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/LesnarBrockTB2_3x2_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7621"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7623,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7621\/revisions\/7623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}