Tossing Salt Presents:
Wrestling Q&A
June 22, 2017

It’s Thursday evening and I’ve totally wasted the entire day and damn if it didn’t feel good. I never left the house at all, just going back and forth from my bed in that nice, cool dark room and here to my computer to watch movies. Oh yeah, I did do an “Opposing Views” piece earlier today and washed two loads of clothes. I guess that the day wasn’t totally wasted then. It’s time now to come back to reality, if you can call it that, and do some of this wrestling stuff. I looked at the KOK and at the Jim Crockett Facebook groups and there were lots of questions posted. And now, I’m going to answer them because it’s a Dougie thing and what I do. So enough chit chat. Let’s do this…

Anita asks, “Now that Maryse and Miz are breaking up, what do you think will be next for Maryse?”

Whatever she wants. I don’t think that we’ve seen the last of Miz and Maryse as a couple on WWE television. When Miz needs a secret weapon, she’ll be back. But until then, I expect we’ll see a lot of behind the scenes promotional work, some stirring the pot on “Talking Smack”, and maybe even a return to the ring. Maryse was actually quite good in the ring when she wrestled regularly and the Raw Women’s Division needs something or someone added to kick it up a notch and into a higher gear. Maryse may be just what they need.

LeVar says, “Is it just me, or does it seem like this whole 2nd Money in the Bank match is just a bit so subtle back peddle over the backlash from last Sunday. If Vince would just stick to his guns and not worry so much about the investors they would have had a heel with serious heat you couldn’t buy.”

I don’t think it’s a result of the backlash at all, but more likely exactly what they had planned to begin with. Wrestling fans are generally easy to predict when it comes to booking and so far, this has been great for ratings and in getting people to talk. The whole original finish, with Ellsworth climbing the ladder and getting the briefcase for Carmella generated massive heel heat and pulled Carmella and Ellsworth from the bottom of the Women’s Division to the top of the food chain. And can you imagine the heat now if Carmella manages to win again next Tuesday? Or if she does, as I suggest, and brings in her “lawyers” and challenges the WWE decision, resulting in a possible one on one MITB Ladder Match against another woman for the briefcases, perhaps at Summerslam. This angle put Carmella on the map and is getting people talking and no matter how it plays out, it’s been good for the WWE and the women of Smackdown Live. I don’t think it’s a response to the backlash, but instead going exactly as planned. WWE does that sometimes.

Steve wants to know, “Will Ambrose ever win the World title again?”

Most likely, but it won’t be anytime soon. Since his previous run as the WWE Champion, Ambrose has lost a lot of momentum and has fallen down the card and roster a lot. He’s only one or two matches and a good storyline away from getting back into the main event picture and title contention, but he needs to up his game a bit and get that mojo back first.

Steve asks, “Who will have the better career: Seth or Roman?”

Both are having great careers and I think, will continue to have great careers. Neither is “better”, but both are doing damn well.

Jake asks, “Should WWE add the ECW on SyFy episodes on the network?”

I think that they have already and if not, they will eventually. The WWECW years made a big impact on the product and produced some great matches, especially with the initial push of CM Punk. Personally, I’m looking more forward to seeing Sunday Night Heat and WCW Main Event, but it’s all good and I think that all of it will eventually be available on the Network.

Jim asks, “Is Cornette versus Russo the 2017 feud of the year or what?”

Close to twenty years in the making and still going stronger than ever. The twists and turns, especially with Vince taking out a legit restraining order on Cornette bro, is hilarious. This is all better than anything that any writers can come up with and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. Let me know where I can see Corny and Russo meet up and I’ll buy a ticket and be there. Everything they do is putting butts in the seats and getting better and better. And the best thing is, it’s real life. Love it!

Steven wants to know, “Did any mid-card angle last longer then the Jimmy Valiant and Paul Jones Army feud?”

That was Jimmy’s schtick in the old Crockett territory, to take on and feud against the managers, be it Sir Oliver Humperdink, Gary Hart or the worst of all, “Number One” Paul Jones. Their battles and feuds, with Valiant taking on various members of Paul Jones’ “Army”, headlined show after show all across the Mid-Atlantic territory for well over six years and never got stale or old. It was a great move by Crockett to load up and stack cards and keep the fans happy, seeing their beloved “Boogie Woogie Man” counter the evil plans of Jones and his diabolical schemes. It was never the main events, but it kept the fans coming in and made money. The more serious wrestlers, such as Flair, Dusty, Wahoo, Tully, etc, could headline the cards and do the title matches, and Valiant and Jones could be the special attractions. It was a great place for all that were involved and kept their characters from becoming stale or being lost in the shuffle. I’d love to see WWE do a modern day version of this angle, with one of the current stars taking on a manager and a rotating cast of characters. It worked back in Crockett and it’d work now too.

Nivram asks, “Which version was the best Midnight Express?”

The choices are Eaton and Condrey, Eaton and Lane, Condrey and Randy Rose and that disaster in the WWE of Bob Holly and Bart Gunn. We’ll just go ahead and forget about that last one. So that leaves Dennis Condrey / Bobby Eaton, who had Jim Cornette as their manager, Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane, also accompanied by Cornette and finally Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose, who were managed by Paul E. Dangerously. Much as I love the Eaton / Condrey version, the best in my opinion was and and always will be Eaton and Stan Lane. They just had “It” and seemed like a stronger team than any other version. Plus US Tag Titles and NWA World Tag Team Titles don’t lie. All non-WWE versions of the Midnight Express rocked and could go, but Eaton and Lane set the standard and were the best team overall.

Smooth Bobby asks, “Lex Luger’s run in the NWA was something a lot of people couldn’t get in tune with. But being honest, what do you think Luger was more effective at. Being a heel or a baby face?”

Luger as a face never really did anything for me. He was naturally arrogant and had that aura about him that said, “I’m better than you”. A natural heel, especially once he got some experience under his belt and improved in that ring.

Gary wants to know, “Do you think that Masked Superstar / Bill Eadie will ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?”

So long as he’s part of lawsuits against the WWE, it won’t happen, but if anyone really does deserve that honor and the title of a “Hall of Famer”, Bill Eadie is the one. Just his career as the Masked Superstar in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas is enough to vote him in on the first ballot (if there were ballots to vote on) and then add the role of Ax in Demolition, part of the until recently longest running WWE Tag Team Champions of all time, just cements that fact. Just think of it. Eadie wrestled as three different, very distinct and unique characters during his career, as Geto Mongol, the Masked Superstar and Demolition Ax. And he had success with all three characters, who had absolutely nothing in common except for being portrayed by the same person. That’s pretty amazing. I hope that one day, he gets his just dues and gets that Hall of Fame induction he so much deserves. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but he does deserve the honor far more than most.

And there you go. I think I’m through for now. Questions and comments are welcome. And if you have any questions that are wrestling related that I can answer, send them to me and let me give them a shot. I can be reached here, on my Facebook, at Twitter at @doug28352 or at my e-mail at Doug28352@yahoo.com. Holler at me. As for now, I’m down and gone. Have a great one and I’ll catch you later.

Ubuntu!