Pro Wrestling Torch Tribute
PWTorch hit issue 1000 this week. Unlike the older magazines that treated wrestling as “real”, the Torch has been breaking insider news and conducting revealing interviews since 1987. Founder Wade Keller is a healthy type 5 on the Enneagram Personality Matrix, and thus is very detailed. He’s been rating matches, cards, PPVs, and house shows for decades.
My first experience with the Torch was 1989, when a family friend gave me a year-end annual. It was like heaven to me.
The Torch’s main competitor is Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer. In addition to being pro wrestling’s unofficial historian, Meltzer is also an author. Unlike Wade Keller, Meltzer doesn’t archive his website with old newsletters, nor does he give away free content like Wade does. Meltzer is highly respected, and to me is very similar to baseball’s Bill James in more ways than one. Either newsletter is great, but I have to give the nod to the Torch for being the #1 wrestling site in the world.
The Torch posted my reactions to last Monday Night Raw’s episode, here’s what was published:
(9.0): Best Match: Flair vs. Orton. Worst Match: Kennedy vs. Kendrick. Starting off with the “main event” instead of a McMahon monologue got and kept my attention, so I actually sat through two hours, and was not disappointed. (Did you notice Triple H’s body is beginning to sag a bit?) Vince’s role as an authority figure works best in small segments. One can nitpick at this show or its star, but it was a great Flair tribute show, and probably had the most male drama on TV in a while. The only truly bad segment was Hornswoggle – not only did it once again kill the sense of reality, but it’s degrading for Vince to treat a small person like that. Mr. Kennedy had a great rip on Shawn. I loved Shawn’s cowboy look, and especially when Flair rambled away that he’s going out in a “blaze of glory!” Reminded me of an awesome Western movie. Anyway, looks like the Jericho Curse applies for Second Comings, too. The reason the Carolina fans turned against Jericho was because the Flair-Orton match was not announced as “non-title” at the beginning. So here’s Jericho, who the fans know is feuding with Randy, saying he wanted the title from Randy. It totally killed his heat, and had the fans booing, because it killed the main event’s drama. Although Y2J did get a good Flair rub at the end by helping him, I can’t help but think Jericho is better as a heel. Not a whole lot of athleticism Monday night, but a whole lot of drama; great show to have every once in a while. No Diva contests, Triple H-love fest, or Vinnie-Mac attacking the feds or media. The angles were straightforward and simple. Probably would have been at 10.0 this week if Hornswagle wasn’t on, and if the main event was a title match, which would have added to the “no-win” situation for Flair.
The Torch also published my thoughts on Chris Jericho’s return:
I see a rush to judgment by Torch readers and some editors. The fans in Fort Lauderdale gave him a hero’s welcome. The fans in North Carolina just wanted to focus on Ric Flair’s special night; and it was tense for the N.C. fans because Flair’s career was on the line (and the fans thought it was a title match until match-time). At the end, they cheered Jericho for helping Ric. Therefore, to make a judgment based on the arena reaction for two appearances isn’t valid. Jericho’s mic work is still funny and entertaining. For those who want to focus on his white teeth or smile, I think perhaps you’re unaccustomed to having an enthusiastic babyface in this day and age. For now, since he’s still selling his book, and is fan-orientated, and a cult Internet icon, it makes sense to start off like this for his return. Programming him against Orton so soon, however, is debatable. I feel all of this will be leading to Jericho’s eventual turn. Save_us will be probably be retconned into meaning something else when he turns. Did I want Jericho to save us from bad storylines? Yeah. Did I want Jericho to rip into the state of the industry? Yeah. But Vince wouldn’t want to go there, and I don’t blame him since he’s the boss. I’m just trying to preach patience and see how the Orton-Jericho angle plays out. I’m taking the “wait-and-see” attitude, and liked his mic work so far.
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Meltzer’s Observer is more accurate and breaks more news. Meltzer is the unquestioned expert- and highly respected journalist- in the industry.
Great comments, Damian. I agree, 100%.