Tossing Salt Presents:
Wrestling Q&A
Cinder Blocks, Legacy Inductees, Asuka & More
November 25, 2018
DougMaynard.com

It’s a Sunday morning and it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Wait, I don’t drink coffee. I can smell the litter box in the bathroom though. It needs to be cleaned. Goldie was a busy girl last night. Hang on for a moment and I’ll be right back.

And now, it’s been scooped and cleaned and I even sprinkled a little baking soda in there to keep the odors down. My little fur-baby is rotten. And now, what was I saying? It’s Sunday morning, I don’t drink coffee and it’s time to get busy. It’s Q&A time, the wrestling style. The questions today come from Matt & Jennifer. And I’m the man with the answers. Let’s do this.

Thoughts on the Cinder Block incident in Mexico?

I’m sure that most wrestling fans have seen the video or at least heard of this incident where wrestler Angel o Demonio nailed opponent Cuervo in the back of the head with a cinder block tossed at him from behind from in the ring to the floor. They were battling and after several chair shots by Cuervo to Demonio, Cuervo went outside the ring to look for more weapons to use in their match. Demonio picked up a cinder block that had been brought into the ring earlier and threw it towards Cuervo, nailing him in the back of the head and busted him open and knocking him out. The doctors at ringside immediately stopped the match and Cuervo was rushed to the hospital and forced to have emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. Cuervo is reportedly recovering nicely and Demonio has been indefinitely suspended by the Mexican Wrestling Commission.

And my thoughts? Well, I watched the video and saw Demonio bring the block into the ring before taking the chair shots so I’m sure that whatever was supposed to happen was probably a planned spot. Demonio has said that he meant to throw the block and hit Cuervo in the back and shoulders, but his aim was off and he missed (badly). He did not mean to nail him in the head and it all sounds like an accident and stunt gone wrong. What the hell were they thinking though? It was a bad idea to start with and objects like a freakin’ cinder block has no business being brought into a wrestling ring. As soon as it was brought into the ring, the referee should have removed it and pushed it back to the outside. He didn’t so that tells me it was planned to be used. It sat there untouched for several minutes while they continued to battle and then Demonio picked it up and threw it at Cuervo. And he misjudged his strength and his target, threw the block and ended up nearly killing Cuervo. It’s just bad luck, bad judgement and an accident that never should have had the chance to happen. I think both men are at fault here, but more for being stupid than anything else. Stick with chairs, ladders, tables and the occasional artifical limb. Leave the bricks, bats and cinder blocks where they belong, outside the ring. I’m just glad it didn’t turn out worse than it did for Cuervo. A mistake like that could have been fatal. Oh vey!

Favorite match from Starcade 83?

Obviously the main event in the cage with Flair and Harley Race for the NWA World Title was “the match” and what the entire event was based around, but it was an interesting show from start to finish. Several of the matches seemed to be just tossed out there and kind of random, but they were entertaining non the less. Johnny Weaver & Scott McGhee versus Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin? Bugsy McGraw & Rufus R. Jones versus The Assassins? Really? Really? It was a good mix of characters thoough with some of Crockett’s finest combined with a few names from Florida and Georgia and even Puerto Rico (Carlos Colon versus Abdullah the Butcher). But the best quality match that stands out on this show, aside from the main event and the tag team match of Steamboat & Jay Youngblood versus Jack & Jerry Brisco for the NWA World Tag Team Championships, has to be the “Dog Collar Match” between Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine. Forget the WWF version of Piper and what Valentine eventually became carrying Honky Tonk Man and Brutus Beefcake to tag tream success later. This was brutality at it’s best and two men determined to steal the show at all costs. Just a damn good match that I think every true wrestling fan should see at least once.

If she remains unable to be cleared to wrestle, what do you think about the rumors that Alexa Bliss will be named General Manager of RAW?

We’ve already got the “woman can’t wrestle so we make her GM” deal going on with Paige over on Smackdown so why do the exact same thing on RAW? Stick with Angle or Corbin as the GM for RAW and if Alexa needs a job and can’t wrestle, do something that hasn’t been done in a while and make her the manager of her own faction of women wrestlers, and maybe even a male wrestler or two. With the end of Titus Worldwide, the only current “manager” on RAW is Drake Maverick and he’s busy with the AOP. I know managers are kind of passe’ with the WWE these days, but a woman manager who manages women wrestlers is a new twist and Alexa would be great for this role. She could be the modern day “Woman” for WWE.

If Vince McMahon asked you to pick the “Legacy Inductees” for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018, who would you choose?

There are so many forgotten stars from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s that made major impacts and paved the way for wrestling and wrestlers to be what it is today, it isn’t even funny. I think I’d go for a mixture of stars from the east coast and my class would include Penny Banner, Ann Casey, Johnny Weaver, The Anderson Brothers (got to get Ole in there somehow), Tim Woods (Mr. Wrestling), Mr. Wrestling II and Sweet Daddy Siki (look him up).

Assuming he’s still the Universal Champion at the time, who do you think should face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania?

I think that the best shoice would be Drew McIntyre. He’s ready to be “the man” and has the size and skill to have a fantastic match against “The Beast”. Plus it would be a “heel versus heel” match, which would be a good change of pace and if Brock is actually leaving the WWE to go back to UFC full time, there could even be a screw-job having Paul Heyman turn on Brock and become an advocate for McIntyre instead. Who wouldn’t enjoy seeing Drew as the new “Heyman guy”? He doesn’t need Paul, but it would be a good way to keep Heyman around once Brock decides to move on.

With all the rampart rumors of racism running within the McMahon family, do you think Asuka will EVER get a chance to be Women’s Champion on either Raw or Smackdown in the foreseeable future?

Asuka as either the RAW or Smackdown Women’s Champion? I think it will happen eventually. And as for the rumors of racism with the McMahon family, don’t believe everything you hear. Whatever their personal feelings are, and I don’t believe they see anything but green when looking at their talents and employees, they will always do what’s best for business regardless of the race of the wrestlers. Look at The Rock? Lashley? The New Day? Mark Henry? Khali? Jinder? Rey Mysterio? Roman? Booker T? None of these people are “white”, but they’re all enjoyed pretty good runs in their careers in WWE. It’s not the color of the skin, but what the person can do and brings to the table that matters with the McMahons so far as the WWE goes. When Vince thinks the rime is ready for Asuka to be the Women’s Champ, she will be and not before. It’s just that simple.

I know it’s early, but which was the better heel turn and who needed it more: Ambrose or Bryan?

I think Ambrose had the better heel turn because even though we were all expecting it, it was still shocking when it finally happened. Bryan though, I think, needed it more. His character had become stale and was in danger of being lost in the mid-card shuffle so he was in desperate need of something different and a change of pace. And with one quick low blow to AJ, he got exactly that.

Why isn’t Haku part of the WWE Hall of Fame yet?

I don’t know why he isn’t there yet, but I think it’s just a matter of time before he’s given his honors and just due. Meng / Haku had good runs with both WWE and WCW and is, from what I understand, still very well liked and popular by WWE management. It’s not “why”, but just when. It’ll happen.

And there you go. Some great questions today and my thanks to Matt & Jennifer for sending them to me. And if you have any questions you’d like to see answered, or any questions or thoughts for that matter, drop me a line at Doug28352@yahoo.com. Talk to me, my Peeps. And with that, I’m out of here for now. Back later after I go take a shower and eat some breakfast. I think there’s some turkey left from Thanksgiving. Until the next time, stay safe and support your local Indy wrestling companies. See ya!

Ubuntu!