Tossing Salt Presents:  Wrestling Fact Or Fiction
March 30, 2013

So it’s time to sit down once more and talk about the greatest sport in the world, professional wrestling. And rather than do two columns, one with my ramblings and rantings and the other with two weeks of “Fact or Fiction” goodness, I’ve decided to just combine it all into one big package and let the chips fall where they may. There will be another wrestling piece, with match predictions for the TNA pay-per-view Slammiversary, coming up later today as well. You’ve been warned.

A few quick items that I want to discuss very briefly before I get to the “FoF” stuff.

I want to begin by sending my condolences out to to the friends, family and fans of Hector Garza, who passed away due to cancer, earlier this week. Garza was an amazing grappler who had all of the tools. He had a great look, some great moves in the ring and that very special “it” factor. And damn, he was a sexy man. Just after Juvi, he was my favorite “guilty pleasure” in the old WCW days and he definitely will be missed. The world is a much sadder place now.

Also, I want to send out some get-well wishes to “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, one half of the legendary Midnight Express and truly one of the nicest and most decent people in the wrestling industry. Bobby has been having some heart problems and is currently hospitalized. Here’s to a speedy recovery and the best of health in the months and years to come. And why isn’t Bobby and the rest of the Midnight Express (Stan Lane, Dennis Condrey) in the WWE Hall of Fame yet? Hmmmm? They are definitely worthy. Get well soon, Bobby!

Why hasn’t the WWE reached out to Chris Masters yet and snatched this incredible talent back up? He’s riding high on the publicity from his recent heroics and is more visible and better than ever. The WWE roster is majorly lacking in solid main-event level talents and Masters could be brought in to help fill that void. He’s still extremely young, but he’s that damn good. Sign him up, WWE… soon.

Right now would be a good time to use a transitional champion to get the WWE title away from Cena and eventually back to Punk… or anyone else (besides Ryback) who’s not named Cena. And who better to handle this (and who better deserving of the honor) than William Regal. I’ve been watching a lot of recent Regal matches from NXT (against Ambrose) and the man is still better and more over than 98% of the wrestlers in the WWE, TNA or anywhere else. He should have at least one run with either the WWE or World title on his resume. Now, while everything in the WWE is in a kind of a state of flux, due to Dolph being out due to a concussion and Cena being Cena, with Punk out for at least a few more weeks, give Regal a title run. What would it hurt and I want to see it… NOW!

Let’s move to the Fact or Fiction stuff. The questions were “borrowed” from the past two weeks over at 411mania. The answers, as always, are mine. Let’s do this.

1. Three Stages of Hell with John Cena & Ryback will be an entertaining PPV attraction.

FICTION: I have no desire to see John Cena against anyone and especially not Ryback. Ryback has size and presence, but his in-ring skills leave something to be desired. If it was Miz or Cody or almost anyone else, I’ll probably be interested in this match. Cena is capable of good matches. I’m just burnt out on him. But add Ryback to the mix and my interest just drops to nothing. I could care less about this match.

2. Kane & Daniel Bryan should not turn against each other.

FACT: The Kane / Bryan partnership has grown on me over the past year and I’d like to see it be continued as a kind of Sting / Lex Luger thing where, no matter where their characters are in the mix, they still have a bonding of sorts. Kane and Bryan as the WWE’s version of Superman and Batman? Not always on the same page, but still having a bond? Yes! Yes! Yes!

3. The Shield will have a bad tag team match at some point.

FACT: This is a loaded question because at some point, everyone has a bad match or performance. It’s inevitable. But that being said, I think that the talents of these three men, so long as the WWE creative doesn’t screw things up, will be on or near the top of the card for sometime to come.

4. Sting will never receive another TNA World Title shot after Slammiversary.

FACT: Sting should not be in the title picture now and should not be in the title picture at any point in the future. He’s a “special attraction” for TNA and should be content with letting the younger, full-time talents take care of the title matches and storylines.

5. The new X Division format has made you care more about the title matches & performers involved.

FICTION: This new format sounded interesting in theory, but in actual reality, it sucks! TNA just needs to focus on good matches and good stories – not stupid stipulations that detract from the product. And by the way, when is TNA going to offer to help out Zema Ion with his medical issues? He is their employee and a former X-Division champion after all..

6. The Monster Abyss will appear at Slammiversary.

FICTION: I’m sure his “brother” will be there, but I’m hoping that TNA saves the return of Abyss for something that people might actually watch, like Impact! Use the character where he can make the most, pardon the pun, impact and not at a pay per view that probably won’t do 10,000 buys if they’re lucky.

7. There will be a Match of the Year Candidate at Slammiversary.

FICTION: I doubt it. I don’t even see any matches listed on the event that I’m wanting to see, much less might qualify as a “Match of the Year” possibility.

8. Bray Wyatt will be a main event performer for WWE within the next year.

FACT: I’m loving these promos and I went and watched some of Wyatt’s matches from NXT. The young man has definitely got “it” and the former Husky Harris is ready for prime time. I’m not saying that he will be contending for the WWE or World Championship’s in the next year or so, but the U.S. or IC titles are definitely in his future. I’m sure that his daddy (Mike Rotundo), uncle (Barry Windham) and grandpa (Blackjack Mulligan) are extremely proud.

9. You’re looking forward to the continuation of the John Cena vs. Ryback feud.

FICTION: End this soon… PLEASE!

10. Curtis Axel will get over with Paul Heyman by his side.

FACT: Despite the dumb name, Joe Henning is one of the most talented men on the WWE roster. He has all the tools and having Paul Heyman by his side is just the final piece of the puzzle. Axel is now stablemates with Brock Lesnar and CM Punk. He’s with the big dogs on the porch now and already has victories over HHH and John Cena. The future is looking very bright for this young man.

11. The angle with Triple H at the end of last week’s Raw will lead to something interesting.

FICTION: It’ll lead to HHH coming back and saying that he’s “The Game” and squashing someone. Nobody cares. Go ahead and retire already, HHH. You’re more valuable in the back. Stay there.

12. Antonio Cesaro is boring.

FICTION: He’s not boring in the ring, but his character, as given to him by WWE, is kind of lame. If they’d let him be himself, he could and would get much more over with the WWE Universe. He’s a talented guy, but they have to let him show it.

13. You like Summer Rae as Fandango’s dance partner.

FACT: It’s much better to have one regular person, especially if she’s a wrestler in her own right, as Fandango’s partner rather than bring in new poeple every week. Better potential for future stories and plus, she can take bumps if needed.

14. James Storm’s mystery partner at Slammiversary will not be his former partner in America’s Most Wanted, “Wildcat” Chris Harris.

FACT: Harris and Storm haven’t teamed together in almost seven years, plus the last I heard of Harris, he had become a chunky-monkey. Whoever Storm’s partner ends up being, it’ll be someone with a more recent history with Storm.

15. Matt Hardy should win the ROH Championship.

FICTION: While I’m not disputing Hardy’s talent in the ring, his antics outside the ring have smeared the name and given him a big black mark in the industry. Until he’s proven conclusively that his problems of the past are in the past and he’s clean and ready to fly right, he should not be holding any kind of major championship where his reputation can damage the company.

16. Glenn “Kane” Jacobs should run for political office.

FACT: President Kane? I like the sound of that. And if he doens’t like what his opponent is saying in a debate, he can beat them up or set them on fire. Works for me. ‘Nuff said!

And there you go. I’ve got more to talk about, but the sun is rising and I need to go to bed. Always remember, don’t trust anyone… I’m out of here for now. Catch you later.

Ubuntu!