Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Jon Moxley, Mark Starr, Tony Russo & More
August 28, 2020
DougMaynard.com

Before I get started, I want to send my condolences out to the family of Bullet Bob Armstrong, a wrestling legend who left the mortal coil and departed for wrestling heaven yesterday. In the south-eastern United States for well over six decades, no one ruled inside that squared circle like Armstong, with some incredible runs in Alabama & Georgia and a well-deserved induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. He now joins son Brad in the ultimate eternal wrestling ring. Prayers to sons Brian, Scott, Steve, and wife Gail. Rest in Peace Bob Armstrong. Your legacy will live on forever. Now let’s do the column.

Jon Moxley was ranked as #1 in the annual PWI 500. Does he deserve that ranking?

In my opinion, I would say no. But then I started trying to think of who does earn that spot and to be honest, the past year has been such a chaotic mess that no one comes to mind as having a consistently great year. Bad booking and companies being forced to suspend operations has really damaged the wrestling industry and the careers of so many talented performers. I guess that Moxley is a safe choice for Pro Wrestling Illustrated and they just took the easy pick this time rather than try to find good alternatives.

There is a rumor that Bray Wyatt, aka The Fiend, will soon be joined by his brother Bo Dallas, who will be repackaged at The Friend. Thoughts?

This came from KayfabeNews so it’s just a joke and parody, but to be honest, I would love to see Bo make a return to the ring as a member of Bray’s “family”. He’s a hell of a great performer both in and out of that ring and it makes sense that he would be there to support his brother, regardless of how deranged that Bray, aka The Fiend, might be. I’m not sure about being “The Friend”, but I guess it’s better than just trying to Bo-Lieve all the time.

Why was Tommy Rich chosen as a four-day champion?

Depending upon you listen to, it was to give a boost to the Georgia territory, where audiences were down and they needed something to help liven things up, or it was because Promoter Jim Barnett, who had great influence and power in the NWA, had Rich perform sexual favors for him and was thus rewarded with a short run as the NWA World Champion in return. Believe which one you choose to.

We all know that Paul Roma was not Horseman material! If we had the power to kick Paul Roma out of the Horseman, which wrestler would you hire to take his place?

Part of the question, which I deleted, said that it could be any wrestler from the past or present, but I don’t like the idea of throwing a modern-day performer who wasn’t even wrestling when the Roma membership happened into the equation. I want to be at least semi-realistic and will limit my picks to wrestlers who were prominent in that time-frame and era. Based on who was on the WCW roster when this happened, my options would have been Larry Zbyszko, Brad Armstrong, Lord Steven Regal, or Bobby Eaton. The characters and egos of Regal or Zbyszko wouldn’t have gelled well as full-time Horsemen, but Armstrong would have been an excellent choice and Eaton? It’s Beautiful Bobby. I think I would have gone with Armstrong, but both would have been better than Roma.

What match got you hooked on wrestling?

I can’t remember honestly because I’ve been watching wrestling since I was small, for over forty years now. I think it was as much the larger-than-life characters and promos that caught my attention as much as it was the wrestling. I remember Brute Benard, Ken Patera, Flair & Valentine, Wahoo, The Andersons, Rufus R. Jones and so many more and the voices of Bob Caudle and David Crockett and I was hooked immediately. And as they say, the rest was history.

Thoughts on Mark Starr?

Mark Starr, real name Mark Ashford-Smith, was a wrestler for the CWA and WCW, mostly used in a jobber role, who was the real-life brother of Chris Champion. He had a good run in Alabama and signed with WCW in 1993, where he mostly worked dark matches, but had a tag-team run of limited success with Chris Kaynon as the “Men At Work”. A good worker inside that ring with a good look, Starr was one of those guys who always seemed on the brink of success, but never could get through that glass ceiling to a stronger position on the card. He retired in 1998 after suffering a back injury and passed away in 2013 from a heart attack. He was fifty years old.

Crockett jobber Tony Russo passed away on August 9, 2020. What are your thoughts and memories of Russo?

I remember Tony Russo as one of the regular faces for the NWA and Mid-Atlantic Wrestling when I was growing up in the late ’70s and early ’80s where he would show up each week, take on the top stars, give a good accounting for himself, and then take the fall and get pinned. I don’t think I ever saw him win a match, but the announcers would always put him over as short in stature, but big in heart. And he was built more like someone you’d expect to see unloading a truck, barrel-chested and with a short frame than a professional wrestler, but he was always entertaining and always put up a fight. Rest In Peace Tony Russo. You were never the star, but the other wrestlers would have never been a star without you.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Any comments, thoughts, or questions you’d like to see me attempt to answer, just drop me a line in the comment box below, at my e-mail of Doug28352@yahoo.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/saltpalace, or on Twitter at @Doug28352. Have a great one and stay safe out there in this world of crazies. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!