Tossing Salt – Worldwide News
July 28, 2017
Doug Maynard
DougMaynard.com

Greetings, salutations and all of that great stuff. Welcome to professional wresting’s most eclectic column since 2002, the one and only “Tossing Salt – Worldwide News”. I’m Doug and I’m your host for the evening. Enter freely and of your own will. I haven’t been around all that much for a while now, spending more time trying to build up my own blog over at DougMaynard.com rather than commenting on the great sport we all love, but at the request of our resident boss-man of all things PWBTS, I’m here today to throw together a little something something for your reading pleasure. How about some Q&A and lots of it? Does that sound fun? I think so, so let’s get to it. These questions come from Facebook and a little group called the KoK (Kult of Kayfabe). And a few come from the group “Jim Crockett Promotions – A Great Era In Pro Wrestling”. Both groups are awesome and you should really check them out if you get the chance. And with that said, let’s talk some rasslin’…

Wrestling Q&A…

Simon says, “The Observer is reporting that WWE are looking to do another roster shake-up after Summerslam, with superstars possibly being sent down to NXT… So, my question is who would you select to drop into NXT? And why?”

Off the top of my head, the top men and women that I’d send down to NXT would be probably The Ascension, Dolph Ziggler and maybe Big Show. The reasons are as follows. With Dolph, he’s a great talent, but has grown stale on the main stage and isn’t really being used much anyhow. So let him go to NXT to work with and help guide the new guys, add some “star power” to the NXT events and possibly re-brand himself for another run on the roster. With the Ascension, it’s the same thing. They were buried pretty much from the start when they came to the main roster and they need to be re-branded or rebooted or something. How about a trip back down to NXT to get repackaged and allow them a second chance when the time is right. And Big Show because his act is stale and tired and he could be more useful as a trainer / agent with the NXT wrestlers, plus like Ziggler, he would add star power and name recognition to the NXT live events.

Ben says, “Name a wrestler that everybody HATES but you LOVE.”

Bo Dallas, Heath Slater and Curtis Axel… the former Social Outcasts and current Miztourage, plus one who has kids. Always loved their work and characters even when they’re working the c-shows and being buried.

Ben says, “Name a wrestler that everyone loves but you hate.”

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. I just don’t get them or like their characters. They do nothing for me at all.

Dallas says, “Am I the only one that don’t want the Broken Hardys in WWE? I feel like they will end up like the Wyatts or something… I just dont see it being taken serious in WWE.”

I don’t think that the “Broken Universe” characters and concept would work in WWE either and would quickly end up being buried, especially since we’ve already had Matt and Jeff back and being Matt and Jeff Hardy, not the Broken Matt and Brother Nero characters. While I don’t mind a few teases here and there, I think that Matt and Jeff are better to just go on being themselves and not be trying to rehash the past and what they did in TNA. But with that being said, I still have to say this too. “F*CK THE OWL!”…

Nick asks, “With what WWE has done with Nakamura, Finn Balor and Gallows and Anderson, do you think its a good move for Kenny Omega to go there when he can?”

I’m kind of on mixed opinion on this. If Omega does end up in WWE eventually, he’ll make more money and get more mainstream recognition than he ever has at any point in his career. But that being said, he’ll go from being the big fish in a relatively small pond to being a big fish in an ocean full of big fishes and he’ll be one of many fighting for the top spots rather than automatically being given that spotlight from the beginning. He could end up like AJ Styles or he could be buried like Gallows and Anderson. It could go either way. I think he’s talented enough and charismatic enough that he’d have a good run in WWE and be moderately successful, but would he be the big dog? Nope, I doubt it. Omega just needs to decide what he wants to do and then weigh all the options, both pro and con. I think he’d do well.

Nick asks, “When Carmella cashes in, will she be successful or not? I think she will be successful. Why or why not?”

She is the first Ms. Money In The Bank. And Naomi is not all that as the Smackdown Women’s Champion. I think Carmella will be successful when she cashes in that contract and will be a great Smackdown Women’s Champion as well.

Is it smart for Baron Corbin cash in at Summer Slam for a Raw belt?

Baron Corbin is a Smackdown Live superstar so I don’t even know if cashing in on a Raw title is possible. But if Corbin wants to jump into the mix with Roman, Braun, Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar, so be it. Go for it. I don’t think his odds would be all that great, but what the hell? It’d be fun to see. Corbin is much better watching the action with Jinder Mahal and either Cena or Kensuke and get involved at the end of (or during) that one. His odds would be much better.

What should be the stable name? (Jinder, Khali, Sighn Brothers)

It should be “प्रभुत्व”, pronounced “prabhutv” and is the Indian word for “Domination”.

So on a scale between 0-meh how excited were you for The Great Khali’s return?

I had a feeling we would be getting a surprise, but I was for some reason, thinking Shawn Daivari rather than Khali. But whatever. So long as Khali doesn’t try to wrestle any single matches, it should be okay. I’m actually glad to see him back to add a little credibility to Jinder’s reign.

Should I be embarrassed that I just now realized PJ Black is Justin Gabriel?

Yes, you are an idiot and should have immediately recognized that Black and Gabriel are one and the same. And you know what happens to stupid idiots who can’t recognize that these two names were used by the same man? Do you know what happens? You just made the list! (I am so glad that Chris Jericho is back!)

On the lookout for some decent podcast to listen to at work, usually mix it up between Jericho’s, E&C’s pod of awesomeness, stone cold and Sam Roberts, any others recommended?

Eric Bischoff’s over at MLW and Jim Cornette’s are both excellent to listen to. Tony Schiavone’s is pretty good and even though they’re not technically podcasts, listen to the audio shows on PWInsiderelite.com (subscribe) and listen to Dave, Mike, Eps, Les Thatcher and the rest of the PWInsider crew. Great stuff all around.

I seriously hope that Braun wins at Summerslam. Who you guys want to win? Strowman, Joe, Roman, or Lesnar?

I don’t think that Braun is quite ready to be the Universal Champion at this point and I sure as hell don’t want to see Roman get it, so I’ll go with Samoa Joe. The man is a walking and talking wrestling machine and definitely deserves the opportunity to be the top dog on RAW for a while.

In just WWE, where do you rank New Day in all-time greatest stables?

I won’t discount their success and marketability, but for me personally, I probably wouldn’t even have them in the Top 10.

2 part Question: #1 Why is WWE still holding on to Paige and Her Contract. #2 By Now, is Paige even Marketable?

I think that the only reason that WWE has not fired Paige yet is because of the movie they’re filming about her career and her family. They have so much money and time already invested, plus The Rock is one of the executive producers, and they don’t want to lose on this project. And is she still marketable? If Paige was to start acting right, dump Del Rio and clean up her act, America loves a great comeback story and Paige would be a living, breathing example of hitting rock bottom (or extremely close) and then making that journey back to the top. I don’t think it will happen though because there are stories (not confirmed) that a warrant has been issued for her arrest due to the incident with Del Rio a few days ago in an airport and if she is arrested for Domestic Violence, it’ll be her third strike with the WWE and they’ll have no choice but to fire her. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.

And now, let’s go old school with some questions about the Mid-Atlantic region and the territory that was Jim Crockett Promotions…

Who in your opinion was the most underrated talent in Jim Crockett Promotions?

So far as talents in Crockett that were fantastic and could go, but never got their just due, I’ll go with Gary Royal, who had success in the Central States as a manager and was also a former NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion. And how about Dewey Robertson, who went on to later fame as the Missing Link in Texas and then the WWF. So many names to choose from. Wait, I know. Let’s go with Don Kernodle. The man was awesome as part of a tag team with Sgt. Slaughter, but aside from that, was rarely given the kudos he deserved so often.

Nivram asks, “Did Dusty Rhodes copy his mic style after Thunderbolt Patterson?”

Yes. Dusty copied his promo style after both Thunderbolt Patterson and Superstar Billy Graham. He’s admitted to this in several interviews and I believe also in his book.

Doug asks, “Who was the poorest fit in JCP? I would say Larry Zbyszko in his 1987 run, didn’t fit at all.”

Zbyszko could have been used better than he was. I admit that, but think about this. We (fans) still talk about Zbyszko and Baby Doll and whatever was in that manilla envelope thirty years later, so was it really a bad spot for Larry? The first character that comes to mind for me was Superstar Billy Graham. Not long after his WWWF run, he came to the Carolina’s and had shaven his head and was doing a martial arts gimmick, plus was placed with Paul Jones as his manager. I still scratch my head at that and wonder what were they thinking?

Joe asks, “Who do you think was the greatest manager in JCP? Mine was a tie between JJ Dillon and Jim Cornette.”

I love Dillon and Cornette and would even go so far as to say that Corny is one of my favorite managers of all time, but I’m going to go with Gene Anderson for managers who were solely Crockett. The man barely talked, but he was an “Anderson” and having Gene in your corner was instant credibility. I remember him managing Iron Sheik, Jimmy Snuka, Ray Stevens, etc and he was great in his role. Maybe he was never the “big star manager” that the others were, but he was damn good at what he did.

John asks, “In JCP, what matches never happened that you wish did happen?”

I would have liked to see Flair and Kabuki have a go at it. The Andersons versus The Briscos or versus Steamboat / Youngblood would have been fun to watch. And how about Blackjack Mulligan versus Ole Anderson in a wrestling ring (and not at the WCW Power Plant). That could have been great to see.

Lamar asks, “Road Warrior Hawk vs Road Animal in a Chicago street fight – who ya’ll taking? I’m taking Hawk!”

Well, they snack on danger and dine on death, but the dead man here would have been Animal as Hawk would have totally whipped the “big man’s” ass.

Lamar asks, “Best memory of JCP?”

Where do I start? Valentine breaking Wahoo’s leg? Valentine breaking Flair’s nose? The whole “Hat versus The Robe” feud with Flair and Blackjack Mulligan? The antics of the “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant? Enforcer Luciano chewing on a light bulb during an interview. The Anderson Brothers trying to “sacrifice” Ray “The Crippler” Stevens to keep their tag team titles? The Battle Royals in 1981 where the eventual winner (Sgt. Slaughter) won a 1981 Cadillac? The Brisco Brothers turning on Jimmy Valiant and breaking his boom-box? Tully Blanchard’s search for his “Perfect 10”? Abdullah the Butcher coming out of nowhere and attacking Wahoo McDaniel? So many great memories to choose from here. I think though, I’ll go with the build towards Starcade 83 with Dick Slater and Bob Orton Jr. going after Flair and trying to collect the bounty placed on Flair’s head by then NWA World Champion Harley Race. That was a fantastic build for a truly historic event.

Josh says, “A while back, Jimmy Valiant told me that Crockett had all the talent to compete with an organization up north. He said the problem was Crockett didn’t know how to use or promote his talent on that level and that he tried to expand too fast. I agree with Jimmy. What are you thoughts and opinion on this?”

I think I agree. Crockett was fine being a big fish in a small pond and if he had kept Crockett Promotions in the south-east, I think things may have worked out a big better in the long run. But moving the company HQ to Texas and trying to go all over the United States was too much, too fast and the company wasn’t ready or prepared for that kind of expansion. Also, having Dusty as the booker probably didn’t help matters either because Dusty had big ideas, but couldn’t really get past the idea of maybe having others in the spotlight instead of just Dusty and his friends. If Dusty had been just a booker and not an active wrestler, things could have worked out better as well, but the “Dream” had to be at the top of the card and his act grew stale after a while. From what I understand, Jim Crockett didn’t want to run JCP and was selected by the family to run things after the death of their father and the original pick to run things, Frances Crockett’s husband, left the business. So maybe if David or Frances or some other member of the family had been the boss and making the decisions, things could have worked out differently too. But this is all speculation. Valiant was there though and part of the company at the end so I would guess he knows better than most of the rest of us. He’s probably right.

Larry asks, “If you were given the chance to induct an all JCP Class to the WWE Hall of Fame, who would be your picks?”

Well, if you take away the most obvious picks, who are already members of the WWE Hall of Fame, like Ric Flair, Dusty, Rick Steamboat, Blackjack Mulligan and Jimmy Valiant, I think you would still be able to have a really strong group of inductees. My choices would be Jim Crockett Jr., Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones, The Anderson Brothers, Baby Doll, Magnum TA, Baron Von Raschke, Nikita Koloff, Bob Caudle and referee Tommy Young.

Wow! That was a lot of questions and a lot of answers, but it was fun, wasn’t it? I need to pick up my game and get back to writing real columns about real news and items of interest and it’ll happen, sooner rather than later. I promise. As for now, I’m out of here. Thank you for reading and thank you Bob, for putting up with my slackiness and procrastination. Check out my site, DougMaynard.com, when you get the chance and let me know what you think. Thoughts, comments and ideas on how to make things better / topics to write about, are appreciated. I’m on Twitter at @doug28352 and on Facebook at Facebook.com/saltpalace. Look me up and add me. And now, as the great Baron Von Raschke would say, “Dat’ is all de’ people need to know!”. Have a great one and I’ll catch you later.

Ubuntu!