Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Triple H, Ahmed Johnson & More
November 11, 2021
DougMaynard.com

Happy Heavenly Birthday to my older brother Jeff Maynard, who would be turning 58 today. And also Happy Heavenly Birthday to a dear friend who passed away four days ago, Matt Furmage. Rest In Peace to two incredible guys. You are missed.

And now, it’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s get busy and talk some ‘rasslin. Let’s do this.

Who do you think the next group of talents released from WWE will be?

Off the top of my head, I would say that Ricochet, Timothy Thatcher, The Viking Raiders, Jaxson Ryker, Elias, Riddick Moss, Joaquin Wilde, and everyone on the NXT UK brand not named WALTER should probably mind their P’s and Q’s and not rock the boat in any way, shape, or form. They’re all on borrowed time.

Which AEW Faction would you want to be a part of if you had to choose one? The Elite, The Inner Circle, or The Dark Order?

It definitely wouldn’t be the Elite. I like the Inner Circle and they’d be cool to hang with for sure, but with my personality and character, I think my best fit would be as part of the Dark Order. You think John Silver is risque. It’d be like, “Hold my beer” and I’d show him what innuendo is all about.

Paul Wight wants an AEW match against Shaq. Will it happen?

Shaq did do a wrestling spot a few months ago and even took a bump through a table so one would have to think he’d be open to the idea. I don’t know who, aside from Wight, would actually want to see this match happen at this point in both men’s careers. It’s going to blow major chunks and suck if it does happen. But if Wight can get into Tony Khan’s ear and convince him, I’m sure that Khan would go along with it and make it happen.

With all the releases, who are the surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble?

For the men, I’d say Hurricane Helms, Curtis Axel, and the biggest surprise, Braun Strowman. So far as the women go, I’d keep my eyes open for Madusa, Beth Phoenix, and maybe in a surprise return, Nia Jax.

So where does HHH go now since he’s married to the boss’s daughter? Does he go buy ROH MLW or NWA to create his own brand?

While it would be interesting to see HHH leave WWE and invest in a company of his own, I don’t think that will happen. I think HHH would be better suited to just take a sit-and-wait approach. I know it has to bother him that his creation, the NXT brand, has been so decimated and changed by Vince McMahon, but HHH knows Vince and the WWE better than anyone and it won’t take long before he’s back subtly working his way back into a strong position of power in the company. To leave WWE, he’d probably end up hurting his marriage, family, etc. and I can’t see Hunter doing that. Just wait and be there when Vince and his stooges need you and it’ll all work out for The Game in the end.

A recent interview with the Godfather revealed that Ahmed Johnson wanted to be the “black Stone Cold”. How would that have worked? Thoughts?

That would have been entertaining to see for a little while, but considering that Johnson was a clumsy wrestler, had little charisma, and couldn’t talk worth a damn, I don’t think a Stone Cold-like gimmick or character would work. He doesn’t have the talent or skills to pull it off. There was only one Stone Cold and though some have mimicked Austin over the years and done well with the gimmick, such as Shark Boy, for example, Johnson is no Stone Cold and he’s no Shark Boy. It would be a disaster.

Greg Valentine & Sgt. Slaughter – what would you call this tag team?

Destruction Inc. was the first name to come to mind if these two, in their primes, had gotten together. Valentine was just smashing and destroying in a slow, methodical style while Slaughter, pre-WWF, was ground, pound, and then the Cobra Clutch. It would have been an effective tag team to see.

Angelo “King Kong” Mosca, in his prime, versus Brock Lesnar. Who wins?

In a wrestling match, Mosca would give Brock a good fight, but Brock would win in the end. As for in a legit shoot fight, Brock would probably win that one as well, but he would definitely know that he’d been in a fight and would probably be hurting for many days afterward.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, or any questions you may have, feel free and drop me a line. Until the next time, take care of yourself and stay safe. I’ll see you at the matches, and ‘Dat is all the people need to know!”. Take care.

Ubuntu!