Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Scott Norton, Christian, What If? & More
April 30, 2022
DougMaynard.com

Welcome to a very special edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. And why do I make this sound like an ABC After School Special (Remember those?) Several reasons. The first is because this is dedicated to my infamous Bro-Son, the baddest man on the planet, K-Mak. Why? Because he’s awesome. What more reason do I need?

And the other reason? A loyal reader and lover of all things Danhausen, JB, sent me a bunch of questions. And while that’s not odd in that he sends me questions every week, this time the questions are different. They’re not standard “what do you think of?”, style questions, but more of a “What if?” nature. Hell, I’m down and going to give it a shot. So thank you, JB, for these.

And now, enough of the chit-chat. Let’s talk wrestling. Let’s do this.

In your opinion who played the character of the cocky arrogant rich man better? Nature Boy Ric Flair or the Millon Dollar Man Ted DiBiase?

Easily, it would be the Nature Boy because he wasn’t playing a character. He lived the life, 24/7, and what you saw on television was the same man that Flair tried to be out of the ring as well. Outside of the ring, DiBiase was a good family man who only turned into the Million Dollar Man when the cameras were rolling. Flair, if he was awake, he was being the Nature Boy. Diamonds are forever and so is Ric Flair?

Scott Norton? Misused by WCW or not?

Did Scott Norton ever hold any championships while part of WCW? Any at all? The answer is no and that statistic gives you all the information you need in regards to this question. Scott Norton was a legit bad-ass, a name recognized all over the world, and one of the strongest men in wrestling, but the only real push he ever got in WCW was as part of the nWo B-team and then in a tag team, Vicious & Delicious, with Buff Bagwell. So did WCW drop the ball with Norton? I would say most definitely.

If you were to create your own all-women’s promotion, what matches would you immediately book (no contract/signing restrictions, everyone is available in this hypothetical world)?

Everyone is available? Well, my on-camera authority figure would be former AWA/WWF Women’s Champion Madusa. My announce team would be Renee Young, Ivory, and Tony Schiavone. Interviews by Missy Hyatt. And my first series of matches would be an Eight Woman Tournament to determine my first World Champion, featuring Asuka, Mickie James, Charlotte Flair, Awesome Kong, Victoria, Jazz, Jacqueline, and Gail Kim. And as a grudge match, just for the hell of it, Sable & Tammy Sytch versus Ronda Rousey & Chyna.

When Christian embraces the dark side and turns on Jurassic Express, who do you think his partner will be when he challenges them for the AEW Tag Titles?

When Christian eventually does turn heel and challenges his former proteges for the belts, I’d like to see him recruit a younger talent as his partner. My pick would be either Griff Garrison or Brock Anderson.

And now for the “What If?” questions?

Vince Sr. doesn’t forbid Vince Jr. from becoming a pro wrestler which is something Jr really wanted to do. He always wanted to be a heel just like his favorite wrestler Dr. Jerry Graham. Does he still buy the company when he did?

I don’t think so. If Vince hadn’t had the restrictions put on him and the challenges put on him by his father, I think he would have pursued the talent side of the business more and someone else would have most likely been the one to buy Vince Sr. out when he was ready to retire. I’m sure that as the thrill of being a full-time wrestler wore off, we’d see Vince move into the business side of the business and maybe somewhere down the road, start his own promotion, but so far as taking over the WWWF as he did and transforming it into the WWF and then WWE, I think many things would have changed and history would have taken a much different path.

Ric Flair wasn’t in the plane crash that broke his back and he doesn’t have to change up his style eventually adopting the Nature Boy gimmick. He was very much different before the crash. He was pretty big and bulky and wrestled as such.

If we hadn’t had the plane crash and Flair hadn’t been forced to lose weight, change his style and character, etc, we never would have had the emergence of the Nature Boy. Ric would have been just another Dusty Rhodes wannabe clone and while I’m sure he would have had some success, it would not have been anywhere near what he did experience. He would have been just another big guy who wrestles, nothing more.

Vince Jr. fires HBK & HHH after the curtain call. Shawn for some reason was untouchable at the time but what if he wasn’t?

Shawn would have ended up in NWA/WCW and basically wasted many years in frustration as WCW wouldn’t know how to use him properly and I can’t see him getting along well with the then-bookers of WCW at the time, Ole, Sullivan, and Bischoff. Hogan was in WCW too and that would have been a major issue for both men to co-exist. HHH would probably do much better, but would he become the megastar we all know and love? I doubt it. Losing HHH and HBK would have been a big blow for WWE, and WCW wouldn’t be able to make anything more than short-term gains before screwing it up.

What if Paul Heyman had had more money to pay ECW and keep it afloat?

ECW may have lasted a short while longer, but Heyman was not good with the business side of running a major promotion and it would be just a matter of time before the company would lose its TV, have major issues, and go under.

What if Warrior hadn’t been so money hungry and had worked with Vince?

Then the fans would have had to put up with many more months of a talentless, bigoted blowhard and the ratings would have started to fall and Warrior’s personality would have driven away many fans, wishing that they had Hogan back because compared to Warrior, even Hulk was way better. If it wasn’t money, then someone else, be it ego, attitude, personality clash, or lack of talent, would have caused WWE and Warrior to go their separate ways eventually.

What if Magnum TA never had the car accident?

If Magnum hasn’t gotten into the accident that ended his career, he would have gone on to become the NWA World Champion, switching the title back and forth with Flair at least twice, before getting a big-money offer from either the WWF, going to New York to be their next big thing, but getting buried by the politics and lack of promo skills. Then he would have come back to the NWA/WCW, worked a part-time role in getting people over, before retiring to run a chicken ranch in South Dakota. Okay, maybe not a chicken ranch, but I can’t really see Magnum as a good long-term NWA Champion. A few short runs, maybe, but nothing more. And then to the WWE and then oblivion.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions you may have are welcome and appreciated. Until the next time, take care, be good, and always remember, it’s your duty to shake your booty. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!