Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Tessa Blanchard, Akira Tozawa, Buddy Murphy & More
January 15, 2020
DougMaynard.com

Welcome to the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Loyal reader and all-around Good Egg The Cheese sent me these questions. And now, since I have a few free minutes while I’m waiting for my Banana Nut Muffins to finish baking, it’s time to come up with a few answers. Happy Wednesday. Let’s do this…

Thoughts on Tessa Blanchard winning the Impact World Championship from Sami Callahan?

I like Tessa and I’m happy for her for making history by capturing the Impact World Championship. She’s a very talented and amazing performer and arguably one of the best women to ever step foot in a squared circle, but look at her. She’s no Chyna and even in a world where we regularly suspend belief, a woman of Tessa’s size should not be able to beat a man of Callahan’s size and ability. If it was done as a fluke win, then okay, but a clean pin in a standard match, it shouldn’t happen. If the reign is short and ends in the next few weeks, so be it and little harm is done. Luckily, the historical factor of the victory will overshadow the reality of the situation for a while, but the longer it goes, the worse it becomes. Tessa should drop the belt soon, the sooner the better.

What are your thoughts on the Tessa Blanchard Twitter controversy, and how should Impact Wrestling handle it?

Why is it only coming out now as “news” if it’s been common knowledge for several years? I see this the same way I see the whole “Me Too” movement. If Tessa did what she’s being accused of, then it should have been addressed and handled then. Right now, it’s just she said – she said, nothing more. Impact Wrestling should handle it by doing nothing. If it did happen, it was before she started working for Impact Wrestling and so long as Tessa hasn’t had any problems while at Impact or while representing Impact, then it doesn’t matter. We all have pasts and not all of them are sparkly clean. Who Tessa was then and who she is now may not be the same person anymore. Deal with the present and leave the past where it belongs, in the past.

Do you think in a way, Akira Tozawa is getting a push? He has been regularly been on Raw for the past few months. Regardless of the win-loss record, he has been steady there more than any other cruiserweight.

I doubt that it’s intentional, but Tozawa has always been a star on the verge of breaking out and becoming a top talent. He got the minor push when he was placed with Titus Worldwide and always has good matches and strong performances. The wins and losses don’t matter so much as the in-ring performance and Tozawa is one of the best on the WWE roster.

Who is the next Top Drawing superstar in the wrestling business?

I think that Ricochet is well on his way and over in AEW, MJF is a guy with all the tools and a future big star in every way that matters.

Who would you consider the most “over” superstar in WWE today?

After last night on RAW and his bit with Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, there can only be one answer and that would be R-Truth.

Who would be on your Mt. Rushmore of ECW?

Paul Heyman would be there for sure. Shane Douglas would get the next spot since it was him throwing down the NWA World Championship belt that put ECW on the map. Tommy Dreamer would be next since he was and still is the heart and soul of everything that is ECW. And the final spot, I have to go with Raven. My apologies to Big Stevie Cool, the Blue Meanie & Super Nova, but as good as the bWo were, they have to step aside for this question.

Buddy Murphy has seemingly joined Seth Rollins and the AOP in a faction on RAW. Thoughts?

I’m happy to see it because it elevates Murphy to a top spot alongside one of the biggest names in WWE, Seth Rollins. This is the modern equivalent of sticking Batista and Randy Orton with Batista and HHH in Evolution, but the names are the AOP and Murphy and instead of Flair and HHH, the top guy is Seth. Murphy has all the talent and ability to be a top guy but just needs an opportunity. And now, he’s getting just that. Good for him.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Any comments, thoughts or questions, feel free to comment here at the site or drop me a line. Until the next time, take care of yourself and stay safe. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!