I’m awake and feeling pretty good. It’s a beautiful day here in sunny Laurinburg, NC and there is a cat sitting outside my living room window, watching me as I type this sentence. I’ve already put food out for the damn thing so it needs to go away. It’s giving me the creeps.

Are you ready for some wrestling stuff? Let’s make this short and sweet, like my ex-boyfriend Danny. He was both… in more ways than one. Oops, did I say that? My bad! What’s taking place here is Wrestling Fact or Fiction. A statement is made and I either agree or I don’t. It’s just that simple. The first six statements came from my close, long time personal friends at 411mania.com. The other four came from the inner workings of my mind. And enough of the chit chat. Let’s do this…

Tossing Salt presents: Wrestling Fact or Fiction
Sunday, February 19, 2017

Bayley winning the Raw Women’s Championship on RAW was the wrong call.

FACT: Nothing against Bayley. I like her and think she’s a talented performer, but after only two matches against Charlotte, one of which she was pinned cleanly, there just isn’t any kind of momentum or reason for her to be the champ. We all know that when the pay-per-view comes, Charlotte will regain the belt and Bayley’s role, for now, is just being a transitional champion. I’m expecting we’ll see a triple- threat of Charlotte versus Bayley versus Sasha at Wrestlemania and that is fine and good. And I guess giving the huggy one a brief run with the belt makes sense in that context, but I still don’t see it as the right move or call.

The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was a disappointment.

FICTION: Nothing but good, solid matches and not one, but two title changes with Naomi winning the Women’s Championship and Bray Wyatt finally grabbing that brass ring and winning the Elimination Chamber match, pinning not only John Cena, but AJ Styles as well. Top of the line from start to finish and I enjoyed it all. A damn good show.

Kevin Owens’ turn on Chris Jericho was one of the best angles on Raw in a long time.

FACT: We knew it was coming, but we didn’t know exactly when or how. Jericho is simply put, one of the best and he was so over the top on Monday night during the “Festival of Friendship!”. No one else could pull it off like he did. And it was so perfect, with the hug from Owens to his “best friend”, followed by the gift of the “List of KO” and the attack. Owens is a hard man not to cheer for, but after Monday night and the turn on Jericho, it was old school heel at it’s very best and you’re not going to find anyone who doesn’t want to boo him now. A great angle done extremely well by two of the very best in the business today. Now Jericho can be the face, which is awesome and KO can be the heel he plays so damn well. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

Naomi winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber was the right call.

FACT: I almost said fiction because having a champion who’s finishing move is a butt to the face just doesn’t work well for me, but aside from that, Naomi is a good and talented wrestler. She’s got charisma and energy and after the way that Alexa insulted and demoralized her leading up to the match, if she hadn’t won the title, she would have been pretty much buried and through. It was a pleasant surprise and change that no one saw coming. Will she last long as the Smackdown Women’s Champion? Who knows? But it looks good on the resume and was good for what it was.

WWE booking Bobby Roode versus Kassius Ohno for an NXT title match at the February 22nd TV tapings is happening too soon.

FICTION: It may be soon, but the NXT fans know who Kassius Ohno, aka Chris Hero, is and NXT is currently lacking in major names and top contenders for the champion, Bobby Roode, to face. Honestly, I’d like to see WWE move some of the WWE main roster talents who are not being used much or very well, such as Jack Swagger, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, etc, to the NXT roster to help work with the younger talents as well as give the NXT cards some “star power” and “names”. Maybe that will happen or maybe not. Who knows? But Ohno is an extremely talented wrestler and I’m sure that his matches against the “Glorious One” will be off the charts. Too soon? Maybe, but it’s going to be good so let’s do it anyhow.

You will likely never watch WWE’s “The Marine 5: Battleground”.

FACT: Since the cast includes Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Heath Slater, as well as The Miz, I will probably watch it if it ever comes up on Netflix or the WWE Network. But since so few of the WWE’s movies ever show up on either of those outlets, the chances are slim to none. It’s probably pretty good, but I won’t go out of my way to track it down. Sad, but true.

Ivan Koloff will be inducted into the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame.

FICTION: Ivan should have been inducted many, many years ago. He’s a former WWWF World Champion and the man who pinned Bruno in Madison Square Garden, ending a reign that lasted over 7 years. But he was also part of the infamous concussion lawsuit still currently pending against the WWE and that’s going to stall and hold things up. I think he will be inducted and maybe even as early as next year, but he just passed away yesterday and it’s just too raw and too soon. We’ll see a nice video package on Monday night, both for him and George “The Animal” Steele, who passed away on Friday, and then that will be the end of it until they start picking names for next year. Should he be there? Yes! Will he be there eventually? Yes! Will it be this year? No. And that’s a shame, but that’s just how things are.

Goldberg should win the WWE Universal Championship from Kevin Owens at Fastlane.

FICTION: Goldberg is facing Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Brock versus Goldberg is a main event match in itself and doesn’t need any kind of title or stipulation to sell it to the masses. Who Brock is and who Goldberg is has all the selling points that WWE needs. Owens has been a good pick for the WWE to lead the RAW brand and that shouldn’t change. His match against Jericho doesn’t need to be a title match, but it adds to the match if what Kevin holds most dear to his heart, that Universal title, is up for grabs. Kevin has busted his ass, time and time again for the WWE since coming up to the main roster from NXT and deserves to keep his spot at the top of the roster. Goldberg is a part-timer who doesn’t need or deserve the championship honors. Look for Y2J interference or maybe even some Brock in the house, but whatever it takes, it’s should be Owens retaining that big red belt.

Bray Wyatt becoming the WWE Champion at Elimination Chamber was the right call.

FACT: Can you name anyone on the roster who deserves it more? Maybe Miz, but that’s just about it. I picked AJ Styles to regain the title in my predictions for the Elimination Chamber, but what a pleasant surprise it was to see the “Eater of Worlds” come out on top. And he pinned not only Cena, but AJ as well on his path to victory. Well deserved and long overdue and I’m sure that Grandpa Blackjack Mulligan is looking down from wrestling heaven with a big smile on his face. A great call by Vince, HHH and the WWE.

Daniel Bryan will come out of retirement and face the Miz at Wrestlemania.

FACT: This has to happen and where else can the tension and issues between Miz and Smackdown GM Daniel Bryan go? Daniel Bryan never really got a chance to wrestle that “last match” and say goodbye properly to his fans. Miz has been on Bryan’s case and mocking him for the past six months. Miz is well regarded as one of the best and safest workers in the WWE today and if Bryan can pass all the medical tests, I don’t see why WWE wouldn’t be willing to take the chance. It’s the ultimate “feel good” moment for the fans, being a part of Bryan’s last match. Bryan is so over, even if he can’t wrestle, it has to be done. If WWE was willing to book Bret Hart into a match against Vince a few years ago, given Bret’s medical history, they have no excuse not to do this. I want to see it. I know the fans want to see it. And Miz and Bryan, no doubt want to do it. Make it happen Vince. PLEASE!

And there you go. A little one man “Wrestling Fact or Fiction”. And I guess that’s it for me for today. I’ll be back tomorrow for Day 1 of “Thirty Days of Dougie!” on my blog, located at tossingsalt.wordpress.com. It’ll also be available for your reading pleasure on my Facebook page (facebook.co/tossingsalt) and at my Twitter (@doug28352). Thank you for reading. Have a great day and I’ll catch you on the flip side.

Ubuntu!