Tossing Salt Presents: Pro Wrestling Q&A…
May 2, 2017

While scrolling through Facebook, I came across several wrestling-related questions that I thought were worth giving a little thought and some answers to, thus this whole “Pro Wrestling Q&A” column just needed to be done. If you have any questions you’d like to ask to be answered in a future column, please let me know. It could be wrestling related, about music, television, comics, sex, drugs, Rock & Roll or anything else. This particular column is all about the world’s greatest sport obviously, but for those of us here at Tossing Salt Media, Inc., nothing is off limits or too risque. Just saying. And now, let’s move on and talk a little bit about the “King of Sports”. I’m Doug and the views and opinions expressed here belong to me and only me, but I’m right. You know I am. Now, let’s do this…

These questions came from the Facebook group, “Jim Crockett Promotions… A Great Era In Pro Wrestling”.

Troy Spurlock asks, “Who was your favorite NWA United States Heavyweight Champion?”

Since this came from the JCP / Crockett group, the choices would be the men who had title reigns between the initial champion, Harley Race, who won the title in 1975 and Barry Windham, who was recognized as the NWA United States Champion when the title began to be known as the WCW United States Championship. There are so many great names to choose from here, like Johnny Valentine, Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones, Blackjack Mulligan, Ric Flair, Greg Valentine, Roddy Piper, Nikita Koloff and so many others. How can anyone pick just one person? But the guy who’s reign really stands out the most for me is, I think Jimmy Snuka. He went from the simple, yet lovable face to the deranged “Superfly”, under the auspices and management of the great Gene Anderson. It was basically a trial run of the character that Snuka used when he moved on a couple of years later in the WWF, and it was something new, fresh and totally awesome. This reign made Snuka, in my opinion, and cemented Anderson as a top manager as well. Snuka’s battles with Ric Flair sold out shows all over the Mid-Atlantic region and were truly wonders to behold. So there you go. My pick is the man who held the United States Championship from September 1979 to April of 1980, winning the title in a tournament in Greensboro, NC, defeating Rick Steamboat in the finals and losing to Ric Flair several months later, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka…

Dave Jarrell asks, “Who’s spot would you give to Greg Valentine in the Horsemen if he never left JCP?”

I wouldn’t give him a spot. The Horsemen was at it’s best when the members truly fit and belonged, such as the original four, Windham, Pillman, Benoit, Mongo and Malenko. If they were forced on to the team, like Roma, Sid, Jarrett, etc, it never worked. Valentine is a great wrestler, a true legend and icon, a surprisingly funny and entertaining man to talk to, and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met in this business we all love. But Greg was not a Horsemen and would not have made a good Horsemen in my opinion. It just wouldn’t have worked.

Robert Hill asks, “What’s the one match that you wish happened but never happened to the best of your knowledge: single or tag team match?”

This is still from the Crockett era so I’ll limit my answers to that time period. How about Ray “The Crippler” Stevens versus Ric Flair? How about Blackjack Mulligan versus Stan Hansen in a “Texas Street Fight”? And the ultimate, “The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko versus Ric Flair? And the non-JCP matches would be obviously Sting versus The Undertaker and in a tag match, The Midnight Express (Lane & Eaton) versus The Hardy Boys.

The following questions came from the Facebook group, “Kult of Kayfabe”…

Jamie Greer asked this. ” By now, most wrestling fans have heard the news that Billy Corgan has agreed to purchase the NWA. But what’s left of the NWA for Billy to purchase? And what does he need to do to make it competitive again?”

What’s left is pretty much just the legacy and the copyrights. The name may be tarnished, but there are still a few people out there who remember what the National Wrestling Alliance used to be and mean and stand for. Corgan can use the name and license it out as he sees fit and try to rebuild an alliance of promotions, thus building the name and the brand and try to make it significant again. As for what he needs to do to make it competitive again, he’ll need to build partnerships with reputable and solid companies, get some TV time, promote and build the product and put on shows that draw fans, make money, and attract sponsors. Corgan is a smart man and if anyone outside the business can come in and work the miracle of making the NWA important again, I think he may be the right one to do it. Good luck to Mr. Corgan in his efforts.

Josh Howardson asks, “Who is in your opinion is the best wrestler outside of wwe right now? for me it’s Kenny Omega.”

Well, I can think of several folks who could have easily fit this bill a few years ago from here on the NC Indy scene. I’m talking about “Phoenix” Mike Youngblood, Ethan Storm or the tag team of Chris Steele and Scott Powers, the Main Attraction. But the years and life have taken their toll and none of these men wrestle on a regular basis anymore, which is our loss to be sure. But so far as the current crop of great wrestlers, I don’t know who I’d pick. Drew Holloway, aka Drew McIntyre would probably by my pick, but he’s just re-signed with the WWE for their NXT brand so I can’t use him either. Hmmmmm… How about Joey Ryan. I love his dick-plex move.

Rohit Radhakrishnan asks, “Have people already given up on Bray as ‘Taker’s successor?”

I don’t think Bray was actually intended to be Taker’s successor. Bray is Bray and Taker is Taker and while there are a few twerks that their gimmicks share, the differences are there too. But so far as the other part of the question goes, I think Bray might be in danger of losing a lot of his mystique and character due to the bad booking by WWE Creative. It’s like push, stop, push, stop, push, make strong, no – make weak, another stalled push, etc. So much potential and Bray can be an awesome top character, but the push needs to be consistent and strong and no more of this stop and go crap. That doesn’t help anyone.

Mauri Ramirez Wilman asks, “Who would you put on your Mt. Rushmore of managers?”

That’s actually a hard question because I’ve always been a big fan of the managers and their role in professional wrestling. And there are so many good ones who did such an amazing job outside that ring, seconding their wrestlers, that only picking four is just unfair and wrong. But I’ll give it a shot. My picks for the Mt. Rushmore of Wrestling Managers would be, “Bobby Heenan”, “Jim Cornette”, “Captain Lou Albano” and “James J. Dillon”. This leaves out so many like Paul Heyman, Freddie Blassie, Sir Oliver Humperdink, Gene Anderson, The Grand Wizard, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gary Hart, Sherri Martel, Jimmy Hart, “Number One” Paul Jones, etc. But I think that truly Heenan, Dillon, Cornette and Captain Lou were truly the best of the best. So there you go.

And that’s all for now. It’s nearly 3:00am and time for bed. I’m out of here. Have a great night and I’ll catch you on the flip side.

Ubuntu!