Tossing Salt Presents:
Wrestling Q&A
May 12, 2017
Joey Robertson asks, “So, who is the greatest tag team of all time, and why is it the Dudley Boyz?”

If we’re talking about all time, the Dudley Boyz are good, but they’re not even in the top five in my opinion. The greatest tag team of all time, period, would be the Anderson Brothers, Ole & Gene, aka the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. They wrote the book on tag team wrestling, about cutting the ring off, working one body part, sacrifice for the sake of the team and to retain titles, win titles, win matches, etc. Plus both men were legit shooters and if an opponent didn’t want to cooperate, they really weren’t even given a choice. Ole & Gene Anderson, the greatest tag team of all time, period. And if we’re talking about the past twenty years and not forever, it’s still not even close. The honor goes to the Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane, with Jim Cornette. There are a lot of great tag teams out there in the history of professional wrestling, but The Andersons are at the top, the Midnight Express isn’t far behind and all other teams fall in place underneath. ‘Nuff said!

Shawn Gross says, “If Barry didn’t turn Horseman in 1988, who would the fourth horseman be? Ihope not Sting since he wasn’t good at heel promos. Maybe Larry Zbyszko or Al Perez?.”

Zbyszko would have been good for a temporary Horseman, but I can’t see him in a long term role with any team. Larry was more of a solo wrestler and he always seemed like the odd man out when it came to being a part of groups. See the Dangerous Alliance for an example. Perez was okay too, but was he Horseman material? I don’t think so. Really, thinking about the time period, Barry Windham was definitely the best choice in the company. He was a natural fit for the Horsemen team and seeing as how the Horseman faction consisting of Ric, Arn, Tully and Barry is considered among the very best by most fans, it was definitely the right call. If he wasn’t available, I guess they could have gone with Terry Taylor or maybe Jimmy Garvin for a short fix, but neither would have been good as Barry was. Mike Rotundo might have been a possibility too.

James Ryder asks, “How do you think Jinder Mahal is doing following his recent push? Will he main event Backlash then be done, or could he be in the title picture ongoing (possibly as Champion)?”

So far, Jinder has been doing okay. I still don’t buy him as a top-card star or main eventer, but he’s growing on me and getting better. I think he has a very good chance of being a a top guy and maybe even WWE Champion for at least a short while. He’ll get the Swagger spot and if he catches on, he’ll stay in the top spot and if the fans don’t accept him, he’ll move down the roster and back to the mid-card. I think it all boils down to that one match coming up at Backlash. If Randy works with him and cooperates, they can really make Jinder into a major star and give him momentum. Then it will be up to Jinder to catch that fire and keep it going. He has the potential and I wish the best for him. I think he might be one of the few who can break that glass ceiling and make that leap to main events. Hope so anyhow.

Dan Harold Niles asks, “What is the most emotional moment in wrestling that you will never forget?”

There are so many moments to think of, but the one that still makes the allergies act up the most was the Arn Anderson retirement speech. Arn was always one of my favorites and one of the best talkers and that speech. It was storyline to a point, but it was so real and so emotional. Ric Flair was crying like a baby and I have to admit that I wasn’t far behind him. The emotion in Arn’s voice. It was his shot to say good-bye and he did it with a passion I’ve not heard since. Double-A was one of the best of all time and a true icon and legend. ‘Nuff said!

Wes Sager says, “Scenario: Aleister Black gets called up to the main roster. No matter which show he goes to, he has to start at midcard level but can’t go after the U.S. or Intercontinental champion for at least 3 months. Who do you put him into a program with?”

I keep hearing that Aleister Black and Neville would be a good match up, but I don’t really see it. It would be a good match, but Black is about twenty pounds too heavy to really qualify as a Cruiserweight and match up well against Neville. I think I’d go with Aleister Black versus Sami Zayn to start off with and get him established with the WWE fans who may or may not know who Black is, despite his NXT resume. Zayn would be a good guy for a series of matches and probably my choice.

And there you go. My thoughts and opinions. Send me your questions about wrestling, music, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, etc so I can do a Q&A column and answer those questions here. I’m going to bed now. Have a great night and I’ll catch you on the flip side.

Ubuntu!