Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Jim Crockett, Billy Gunn, Ahmed Johnson & More
March 5, 2021
DougMaynard.com

It’s that time again. Are you ready for some wrestling Q&A? It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this…

Thoughts on the passing of legendary promoter Jim Crockett Jr?

It’s a sad day for wrestling fans here in the Carolinas as one of the main figures in having some of the best territory wrestling ever was called home to the big show in the sky. Crockett was from all accounts a good guy who helped move a small territory into an international powerhouse of a wrestling promotion and was behind the pushes of stars such as Ric Flair, Rick Steamboat, The Rock & Roll Express, and so many others, helping them to become household names. This is a big loss and my prayers and condolences go out to the Crockett family and friends. Rest in Peace Mr. Crockett. You will be missed.

Thoughts on the Shaq/Cody match that opened this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite?

Considering that the participants were two relatively inexperienced women and a retired basketball player, the match was far better than it had any right to be. Shaq looked like a beast and considering how larger he was than everyone else, that’s the right call. And Shaq took a bump by falling through a table, which no one was expecting. All things considered, it wasn’t that bad at all.

Who do you think this “Hall of Fame” worthy talent coming to AEW will be?

This is the big question, right? Let’s go through the most obvious names. It won’t be John Cena, CM Punk, Batista, or Brock Lesnar. The most likely names, from what I’ve been hearing, are RVD, Christian, Kurt Angle, and surprisingly AJ Lee. I don’t see it being Angle since this new talent is supposed to be “Hall of Fame worthy” and Angle is already a Hall of Famer. I think I’ll put my money on Captain Charisma, Christian. WWE doesn’t seem to have any plans for him despite finally being medically cleared and he’s absolutely Hall of Fame worthy. So be ready to rejoice, my Peeps. I think we’ll finally see “one more match” and it will be the man known as Christian.

Thoughts on Eric Embry?

Eric Embry was a top performer in the World Class and USWA territories. I had to think back a bit and go look him up on Wikipedia to refresh my memories as I haven’t thought about him in years. He was a good talent, easy to get behind, and popular with the fans. I think that Embry is best known for having lived at the Sportatorium while working as the booker for WCCW since he had no other place to live. His career ended when he was involved in a car accident in 1992 and he was forced to retire. The man had skills, was a good wrestler and booker, and was the man responsible for World Class Championship Wrestling becoming the USWA. Definitely one of the all-time greats.

Can you explain to me how this partnership between AEW and Impact Wrestling actually benefits AEW?

I think it just gives AEW more talents to use and work with and another brand to use to help promote their name and talents. I think that the benefits for Impact are far greater than anything that AEW gets from the partnership, but it’s not all one-sided. It’s a win-win for both companies.

Who is the WORST World Champion in wrestling history?

Vince Russo, Vince McMahon, David Arquette, and every non-wrestler who has been allowed temporarily to be recognized as a wrestling champion, including all these 24/7 Champions in WWE, are up for consideration. But despite those posers, I think the worst champion I’ve ever seen, who was actually a wrestler, would be The Great Khali. He’s big, but he sucked beyond any comparison. And he was WWE Champion? Oy vey!

Why do you think Billy Gunn never got the push to the main event? He had the look, he was good in the ring. Where did it go wrong?

Billy was and is a good, solid performer, but he’s not a “top guy” in my opinion. He has all the tools, as you said, but there just seems to be something missing when he did get the major push. That “it factor” just wasn’t there. A top mid-card wrestler, yes. A top tag team wrestler, yes. But a top singles guy? I just don’t see it.

Ahmed Johnson says that Vince McMahon told him he’ll never be in the Hall of Fame due to his leaving the WWF. Thoughts?

Ahmed will never be in the WWE Hall of Fame, or any wrestling Hall of Fame for that matter because he sucked in the ring. He had a run in the WWF, but what else has he done in his career? How many five-star matches do you remember from his long and illustrious career? There were none and the feud with Goldust was only good because Goldust carried him. Johnson sucked in the ring. He couldn’t talk and sucked on promos and in interviews. He was big and that was it. Johnson is just looking for something to make a headline and pretend he’s relevant. I don’t know what Vince may or may not have said to him, but Johnson wouldn’t be going into the Hall of Fame anyhow. He is just that damn bad.

With AEW having a deathmatch on their PPV do you think WWE will bite the bullet and start promoting more risky style matches? If they do who would likely do it with?

I can see WWE doing the occasional “No Holds Barred” match or maybe even a “Street Fight”, but exploding rings and barbed wire? That’s not going to happen in a WWE ring. They’ll push the envelope to a point, but not quite that much. As for who, Kevin Owens seems to be their go-to guy for crazy matches. Seth Rollins does well in crazy matches and maybe Bray Wyatt at some point. Shane McMahon loves doing stupid stuff so he’d have to be a name to consider as well. I don’t we’ll see too many insane matches, but if we do, those are the men most likely to be participating.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Any comments, thoughts, or questions you’d like to see answered, drop me a line and I’ll be glad to hear what you have to say. Until the next time, take care of yourself and stay safe. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!