Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Chelsea Green, Dick Slater, Trish Stratus & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug, your resident party host, and Guiding Light, and I answer the questions that other wrestling sites are afraid to tackle. Are you ready? Let’s roll.

AEW Dynamite, 502,000 viewers. WWE NXT, 726,000 viewers. Thoughts?

What is there to say? As NXT prepares for the move to the CW, it continues to put out strong shows and improve, thus the ratings are improving. AEW continues to present lackluster stories and matches that mean nothing and the ratings are declining. NXT is hitting its stride while AEW needs to make changes and do better. It’s just that simple.

Shortly after their debut on RAW, the faction of the Wyatt Sicks (Bo Dallas, Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, and Erick Rowan) posed for a picture in plain clothes with a fan at a Whataburger. Does this destroy the gimmick? Thoughts?

I think it just means that, after the show, they were hungry and went out together for food. Twenty-five years ago, this might have been a huge break of kayfabe, but these days, in modern wrestling, it’s not a big deal and means little.

Would you like to see Trish Stratus return to the WWE and go after the Women’s Championship? Or how about Trish & Lita going after the Women’s Tag Team Championship?

A year ago, I would have said no, but after her last run with WWE, I’d be interested in seeing anything Trish has to offer. She still has it and can go with the best of them. Teaming with Lita might be a problem since, in their last on-air encounter, Trish allegedly turned on Lita and went heel, but that’s the only problem I can see.

Would you like to see the WWE PLEs move back to Sundays?

Be it on Saturday or Sunday, it doesn’t matter to me.

As far as TV ratings are concerned, things aren’t looking so good for AEW. If you were in Tony Khan’s shoes, how would you turn this around?

I’ve said it a million times. Build stronger characters and make the matches mean something. Create stories and give everything a reason for being. If the fans have a reason to invest in the characters and the matches, they will come. Otherwise, the ratings will continue to fall.

The Franchise Shane Douglas versus The Dean of Professional Wrestling, Johnny Weaver. Who wins?

Two of the absolute best of their respective times, this would be a great match. While I was only able to see Weaver wrestle in his latter years, the man could go like few others. As for The Franchise, look at the early years of ECW for examples of what Shane was capable of. It’s a tough call, but I think in the end, Weaver would apply the sleeper and get the hard-fought victory.

Would a character like The Missing Link work in today’s world of professional wrestling?

That’s a good question and I’m not sure. In today’s world of social media and lack of kayfabe, a character like The Missing Link, from parts unknown and no public identity, would be hard to get over and keep the mystery alive. But I’d like to think that yes, it could be done. It would require so much work and dedication by the wrestler that it would be a hard sell, but it could work.

Was Dick Slater world championship material?

Dirty Dick Slater was a fantastic wrestler who was as tough as they come and equally as adept at being a babyface or a heel, depending on the territory or opponent. In the pre-Flair days of the NWA, when champions like Harley, Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, etc., were champions, I think Slater would have fit in perfectly and made an excellent champion for a group like the NWA or even the AWA. He wasn’t flashy by any means, but he could wrestle, talk, and put butts in the seats. Slater was, in my opinion anyhow, top-guy material.

Claw Match: Baron Von Raschke versus Fritz Von Erich. Who wins?

Two old-school Germans with attitude and the deadly claw as their finishers, this would be an interesting match. Fritz was the bad-ass bully who was hated everywhere, but Texas, where he reinvented himself into a good family man and created a legacy. The Baron was a former Olympian who was hated everywhere until the latter years of his career when he mellowed out and was viewed as an elder statesman. Fritz was stronger and more of the tough-guy character. All the Baron had was a strong amateur background and the claw. Fritz would win.

Chelsea Green is headed to the Money in the Bank match. Thoughts?

And I’m thinking (hoping) that this is her time. Despite losing more matches than she wins and being a heel, Chelsea is amazing and so over with the fans. She’s an incredible worker and her work, as a character, is beyond description. She is on fire right now and of all the women in the WWE, she would be the perfect person to win that MITB contract. She is that damn good. All she needs is the opportunity and I’m hoping that this is it.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. And with that, let’s wrap it up. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for sneak attacks by the Wyatt Sicks and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!