Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Magnum TA, Master P, MJF and More
October 12, 2019
DougMaynard.com

Right now, I am waiting on my Mom. We have to run an errand across town, something of dire importance. She is all in “panic mode” about how we have to hurry and get this done. And we’re ready to go in “just a minute”. She went to her room for “just a minute” and I sat down here at the computer. Let’s see just how long her “just a minute” really is. These questions came from my friend, Jesse and also from “Cheese”. And the answers, that’s all me, drawing from my fifty-plus years of life experience and forty-five plus years as a fan of the world’s greatest sport, seventeen of which have been spent writing about it. In other words, you have questions and I have answers. And these have been in my inbox for a few days. They wait no more. Let’s do this…

If he hadn’t been in that car wreck that ended his career, do you think Magnum TA would have made a good NWA Champion? And how would this have affected the NWA and the careers of Flair, Steamboat, Nikita, etc?

If Magnum hadn’t been injured in that car wreck, I have no doubt that he would have had at least one good run as the NWA Champion and most likely more. Flair would have had his shots as well, but not nearly as many title reigns and trips to the top of the mountain. Steamboat might have had that run with Flair and the title runs with the big gold belt, but it would have been less likely. Nikita would have remained a heel, probably stuck in tag team and the shadow of Ivan Koloff for most of his career and probably wouldn’t have had the great singles run with Dusty as his partner. And Hogan in the WWF? If Magnum had been available, Vince McMahon would have had a different option to move into the next era, the post Backlund era, and probably would have made an offer to have Magnum come to the WWE as the top baby-face for a while. I think that the loss of Magnum left a big hole in the world of pro wrestling and others (Flair, Nikita, Hogan) all stepped in to fill the void and history was made, but of he had not been injured and put out of wrestling, I think the 80’s and 90’s would have been completely different for both Crockett, the NWA and WWF.

Thoughts on Gene Anderson?

Gene was under-rated big time as he didn’t talk much, preferring to let Ole do most of the speaking for their run as the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, but he was a good talent in that ring and from all reports I’ve read, a no nonsense nice guy. He was a legit shooter in the ring and didn’t mind putting someone in their place, but if you had his respect or were facing him in the ring, he was a ring General and true professional. I think he really peaked though when he became a manager after injuries forced him to retire. He was the perfect heel manager and for a man not known for speaking much, worked well as the mouthpiece for Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka, among others. A true icon and legend in the sport of wrestling and a man who belongs, along with partner / “brother” Ole, in the WWE Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.

Is MJF a “sorry ass Alberto Del Rio wannabe”?

MJF, also known as Maxwell Jacob Feriedman, is much more entertaining and charismatic, in my opinion, than Del Rio ever was. He’s his own man and own character while Del Rio, he was something else. What’s the word? A waste of space and a prick. I don’t see any kind of similarities between either of them except for maybe the scarf thing, but hell, if that’s the thing, Jericho also wore a scarf. So did Lanny Poffo. So maybe MJF is a Jericho wannabe or a Genius wannabe? He’s a classic heel and the only person that MJF is trying to be is MJF. Any other comparisons are just mistakes and errors.

Master P has purchased House of Glory, a New York based Indy wrestling promotion. Should Vince McMahon be worried?

This is good news for House of Glory because they’re a good promotion that has never been able to get to the next level for some reason and having Master P and his money behind them can only help them get more recognition and be stronger. But Vince doesn’t have anything to worry about. The local Indy feds might have a few headaches, but Master P is not Billy Corgan and rap is still crap and WWE, AEW, Impact, MLW and ROH have nothing to worry about as of yet.

Thoughts on Cain Velasquez and his signing with the WWE and upcoming feud with Brock Lesnar?

This is big news and big money for the WWE and a good signing. I’m not particularly a big fan of Velasquez, but he’s a legit tough SOB and it’s someone with a record of not only standing up to, but beating Brock Lesnar in UFC and that’s a big deal. Ronda Rousey worked out well for the WWE and hopefully, Cain will do the same. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’m hoping so.

Was the “Ruthless Agression” era the best era in WWE wrestling?

Was it the best? It was definitely one of the most memorable and exciting times for wrestling fans and there were some great and unforgettable moments. But in my opinion, we’re getting ready to go through a hot peak time for pro wrestling and with WWE on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, AEW on Wednesday, NWA on Tuesday, Impact on Tuesday, ROH in syndication and of course, the Network, things are better than ever. The Ruthless Agression era was great, but the best is still yet to come. Believe that!

Does AEW need more black stars?

The race of the talent shouldn’t matter so long as they can talk, go in that ring, entertain and put butts in the seats. Maybe AEW doesn’t have as many men of color as top talents as WWE, but they’re new and the best, regardless of what race they are, will rise to the top eventually. Leave the politics and racial profiling out of it. Just give me the best available and I’ll be happy.

Thoughts on the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view event?

The build to the show sucked, but the show itself, with the exception of the ending for the Wyatt / Seth match, was solid and actually damn good. The match with Seth and Bray was good until the screwed up ending. I get where WWE was going with that, but they messed it up and dropped the ball badly. But it was a good and entertaining show and I enjoyed it. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’ll give it a solid 7.5.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. I have another set of questions waiting in the wings and I’ll tackle them in a little while. Any comments, thoughts or questions, please drop me a line and let’s talk. Until the next time, stay safe and don’t forget to suport your local Indy wrestling. The new and reformed BD Productions versus The Atlantic Coast Destruction Crew (AC/DC). I want to see it. Take care, my Peeps.

Ubuntu!