Tossing Salt Presents:
Wrestling Fact or Fiction
July 9, 2017
DougMaynard.com

It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine. So it’s not the end of the world, but just very early on a Sunday morning. Close enough. I wish I had some fried chicken. Someone needs to go to KFC for me and pick up a box of Extra Crispy and drop it off here at the house. I’d be your friend forever and a day. It’s finger lickin’ good! Oh wait, the commercials with all of the fake Colonel Sanders creep me out. Never mind. How about some Bojangles instead. It’s Bo-time. I’ll bet Bo Dallas bo-lieves in Bojangles. If not, he should.

Enough about chicken. I’ll go munch on some leftover spaghetti in a little while. Right now, it’s time to get funky like a monkey and do that Wrestling Fact or Fiction thing I do each Sunday. The questions come from the fine folks at 411mania.com/wrestling and I’ll bet they eat KFC there all the time. The answers are from my warped and twisted chicken craving mind. Let’s just do this so I can go do some late night munching.

1. Samoa Joe should defeat Brock Lesnar to win the Universal title at Great Balls of Fire.

FICTION: I actually predicted Joe to win in my prediction column for Great Balls of Fire and I think he might end up walking out with the title, but is it the best thing? Nope. The best thing, in my opinion, would be to have the match go to either a no-contest or else have Joe take Brock to the limit and have Brock and his title saved by the shenanigans of Paul Heyman, thus leading to a rematch at SummerSlam, with some stipulations involved like a steel cage or something of that nature. I think the feud potential here for Brock and Joe has major legs and can / should be dragged out for several months at least. I hope and expect to see Joe eventually beat Brock and get the title, but it really shouldn’t be the first time out. Keep building and make it as big as possible first.

2. Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins is the least interesting match on the Great Balls of Fire PPV.

FICTION: This match has little excitement to it, to be sure, but the least interesting match? It’s Bray and Seth and it’s entirely possible that these two men will steal the show, regardless of the booking or build for their match. They’re both extremely capable and anything is possible. For me, the Women’s match is probably the least interesting. I like Alexa and Sasha is okay, but there’s a been there / done that feel to the match and Sasha just seems to have lost her momentum since Charlotte left Raw and moved to Smackdown. Also, the Miz / Ambrose match isn’t really all that exciting. I like the new addition of the Miztourage to the mix and I’m sure that it will be a passable match, but can anyone be more boring than Dean Ambrose right now, plus we’ve already seen it so many times. So while Seth and Bray might not have the best build for their match on the show, they aren’t alone for that.

3. You are excited for the return of the Punjabi Prison match at the Battleground PPV.

FICTION: I’m interested in seeing Jinder defend his WWE title and wrestle Orton, but the Punjabi Prison match is 0 – 2 in terms of being interesting, exciting or good. Maybe Randy and Jinder can pull it off, but the odds are against them. I think it’s more a case of just getting in there, making the best of it and getting it over with.

4. Braun Strowman will defeat Roman Reigns at the Great Balls of Fire PPV.

FACT: This is what I’ve predicted in my predictions column and I hope that it happens that way. Roman doesn’t need to win and any losses won’t hurt him. Braun can lose and it won’t hurt him much, but it will hurt him and his character needs to be kept strong. It’d be best for everyone if Braun won. I just hope that “Creative” and Vince agree.

5. You were very disappointed to hear that Tommaso Ciampa will likely be out with injury until March of 2018.

FACT: Ciampa leveled his partner, Gargano and set the stages for a feud for the ages, as the two DIY members were set to tear each other apart. And injury struck, which always sucks and now everything is just in limbo. I’ve noticed that Gargano and Ciampa are keeping the taunts and insults going on Twitter to keep the angle alive and that’s good, but I hope that in the meantime, between now and when Ciampa is able to return, the magic and momentum isn’t lost. This break-up and the feud that follows could be the break-out moment for both men that takes them to the next level, but having to wait until March of next year could be disasterous and ruin it all. I hope not.

6. What’s your level of excitement for the Great Balls of Fire PPV?

Right now, on a scale of 1 to 10, I’ll go with a solid 7.5. The matches look good on paper, the build for most of the matches has been really good, and the card is totally stacked. Some of the matches have a been there / done that feel to them, but I expect that everyone will bust their asses and the show will probably be strong and on target for most of the night. I’m expecting a lot from the talent here, but I’m sure that they’ll live up to my every expectation and it will be a show for the ages.

And there you go. Another week of “Fact or Fiction” in the books. So what do you think? Comments and thoughts are welcome. And now, I’m out of here. I’m hungry and am going to go find something to munch. Have a great night and I’ll catch you on the flip side. I’m Doug and this is my world.

Ubuntu!