Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Jade Cargill, The Pinnacle, AEW Hall of Fame & More
October 13, 2021
DougMaynard.com

Welcome to the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Are you ready to do this? And away we go.

How would you book Rufus R. Jones in today’s wrestling?

Rufus couldn’t talk very well. He had no physique to speak of and was pretty damn bad in the ring. For the top promotions in the business today, he wouldn’t get past the front door nor be allowed anywhere near the ring. But he had charisma and was entertaining so, assuming that he made it into the studio, he’d be booked as a comedy wrestler and joke. Is that right or fair? Not at all and part of the appeal of wrestling, at least back in the day, was that the wrestlers were different and unique and not all cookie-cutter images. Unfortunately these days, that’s not quite the case and Jones would be shut out before he even had a chance to get started.

I know AEW is new but if they had a Hall of Fame, who would you induct first?

If AEW was to have a Hall of Fame, I think the first class would be one to honor the men and women who paved the road and made professional wrestling into what we all love today. My first class would be Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, The Four Horsemen (including Ole Anderson, Baby Doll & Woman), Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express, Kurt Angle, Terry Funk, Ernie Ladd & Baron Von Raschke. No one can deny that any of these men belong in any legit Wrestling Hall of Fame and this would be a great foundation to build upon for many years to come.

Who will be the first one to defeat CM Punk in AEW?

I don’t think it should happen for a while, but when it does finally happen, I would have MJF be the man to give Punk his first AEW loss.

How do you feel about Jade Cargill?

A great body and look, but still way too green and limited for the role she’s expected to play in AEW, at least in my opinion. She’s got amazing potential and is getting better, but she’s not quite ready for prime time yet, at least not in my opinion.

Is The Pinnacle still a thing?

MJF and Wardlow are doing their thing and FTR and Tully are still together, but is the Pinnacle, as a until, still together? I have absolutely no idea. Hell, the same question can be asked about The Inner Circle as well. I see Jericho and Jake together, and of course Ortiz & Santana are still a team, but Sammy seems to be off with his VLOG crew all the time doing the face thing as the TNT Champion and they’re never all together as a unit either. I guess with both factions, we’ll just have to watch and see what happens next to find out.

Should Jeff Hardy bring Willow to WWE before he leaves?

I seem to remember him trying this in TNA and it was a bit of a bust and given WWE’s current issues with booking and trying to create stories, I doubt it would get over any better now in WWE. In my opinion, Hardy should save Willow for some future time when it might matter. Right now, it’d just be a wasted effort.

Who has the most punchable face in all of pro wrestling?

This one is hard because there are so many wrestlers out there that look as if they’d really benefit from a hard punch to the jaw, but the first names that come to mind for me are The Miz, Sammy Guevera (that’s what made him a great heel to start with), and MJF. All of them have faces that you just want to slap with a shovel or two.

Bryan Danielson versus Minoru Suzuki. Thoughts?

It’ll be a kick-ass match of very violent moves and epic proportion and it’s free on YouTube as part of the Rampage kick-off package this upcoming Friday night, live and opposite WWE Friday Night Smackdown. I think Tony Khan is giving the WWE a big “F-U” and the fans a big “thank you”. And I’m looking forward to watching this rematch, fifteen years after the fact, and seeing how it goes.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Any comments, thoughts, or questions you’d like to see addressed, drop me a line, and let’s chat. Until the next time, take care of yourself and be safe. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!