Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Horsemen vs NWO, David Sammartino, Wrestling Families & More
April 20, 2020
DougMaynard.com

It’s time, it’s time, it’s Q&A time. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A, exclusively here at DougMaynard.com. The questions are from my Facebook page. The answers come from me. Let’s do this…

Eric:
What are some of the heel turns that you remember? JCP had several that made an impact.

Since you mentioned JCP, aka Jim Crockett Promotions, I’ll list the three that come to mind for me when I think of fan favorites turning heels. Pez Whatley turned on and attacked Jimmy Valiant when Valiant referred to him as the “best black athlete in the world”. Pez hears this and snaps, laying out Valiant and eventually joining Paul Jones “Army” as Shaska Whatley. The next was Paul Jones turning on Rick Steamboat (or as Jones has claimed repeatedly since then, Steamboat turned on Jones). There was a Battle Royal in Raleigh, NC and the final two men left in the ring were Jones & Steamboat, who were tag team partners at the time and had only recently lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship belts. It came down to two men and Steamboat wanted to split the winning purse. Jones agreed and then laid him out. Number One Paul Jones was born that night. And the third that comes to mind is Wahoo McDaniel. This wasn’t a blatant heel turn, but more subtle. He has some sour grapes about being overlooked for shots at NWA Champion Ric Flair and was getting bitter and complaining. The only one who listened to him and sympathized was Tully Blanchard and it was a slow burn heel turn as Wahoo began to team with Tully and breaking more rules each week. mad at his friends that had forsaken and forgotten him.

Harold:
Terry and Dory Funk vs Bret and Owen vs the Briscoes vs Harlem Heat. Who wins?

This would be a fun match and an extremely interesting variety of styles. I like The Briscoes, but my gut says that in the end, it would be Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk who would walk out with their arms raised.

The Road Warriors & Goldberg vs Demolition & Ultimate Warrior. Who Wins?

Interesting match because I like the Road Warriors, but don’t like Goldberg. I liked Demolition, but have no use for the Ultimate Warrior. How about Goldberg and Warrior knock each other out at the beginning and we’re left to only the real wrestlers in the ring wrestling. And as for who wins? It’d be close, but I think I’d have to go with Demolition. Never vote against Bill Eadie, aka Ax. Never!

Mario:
How old were you when you started liking/loving wrestling?

I went to my first live event that I can remember when I was four or five years old. I’ve been a fan of the world’s greatest form of athletic entertainment ever since.

Anthony:
Who had the better run? Four Horsemen in the 1980s or the NWO in the 1990s?

A tough call, but I have to go with the Horsemen. The nWo was the biggest thing in wrestling during their time, but they only had a shelf life that lasted a few years. The Horsemen were still relevant and going strong almost fifteen years later. That has to stand for something.

Stanley:
Name two wrestlers that would have made great tag team champions, but were never a regular team or champs together?

Bobby Eaton & Brian Pillman would have made a great tag team. William (Lord Steven) Regal & Zbyszko would have been good as well. And how about Regal & The Great Muta. I can see gold everywhere with that pairing.

Shriver:
Why was David Sammartino not over, even with his legendary father’s backing?

Because he was David and not Bruno. He didn’t have Bruno’s skill, charisma, personality or relationship with the fans. All he had was the Sammartino name and that was not, in this case, nearly enough.

Jose:
The AWA promotion was not all bad! Name your favorite AWA Champion and a match that champion had?

The AWA did have some great champions with Verne Gagne, Nick Bockwinkel, Curt Hennig, Stan Hansen, and of course, Larry Zbyszko. My favorite was probably Zbyszko. As for a great match he had as champion, he defended against Harley Race a few times. That’s as good as it gets for anyone.

Larry:
Who is the greatest wrestling family? I say the Von Erichs.

The Von Erichs are good, but the same can be said for the Windham family, the Blanchards’, the Hennig family, the Funks, The McMahons, and so many others. But the greatest, just by the numbers alone with such notable family members as Roman Reigns, The Rock, Rikishi, The Samoans, Tamina, The Usos, Naomi, Peter Maivia, Umaga, Yokozuna, Rosey, etc, it’s not even close. The Anoa’i Family definitely gets the nod here.

Kenneth:
Giant Gonzales versus Great Khali in a submission match. Who wins?

This match would have me ready to submit and cry uncle in a matter of seconds. Even thinking of such a match is painful. Uuugh! But if it did happen, Khali would win. And the fans would commit mass ritualistic suicide for having had to witness such an event.

And there you go. My thanks for all the questions and thank you for reading. Any comments, thoughts or questions, just come on and drop me a line. Until the next time, take care and stay safe. Don’t forget to support your local Indy wrestling and wrestlers. I’ll see you on the flip side.

Ubuntu!