Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Ric Flair, MJF, Sasha & Naomi & Much More
May 17, 2022
DougMaynard.com

It’s a packed edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. And that’s it. That’s the intro. There’s no time for chit-chat or a kick-off show. Let’s get busy and do this.

It’s official. Ric Flair will be returning to the ring on July 31, 2022, for one last match. Thoughts?

The match, as reported by Meltzer, is currently penciled in to be Flair teaming with FTR to take on The Rock & Roll Express and Rick Steamboat although Steamboat is still a question mark at this point. Do I think Flair should be trying to wrestle again? No, I don’t. But if it’s going to happen, this is the way to do it in a six-man tag match. Flair and Steamboat can have their moments and get their shots in, but FTR, Ricky, and Robert can handle the majority of the action and protect the two elder talents. Giant Baba used to do the same thing in Japan long after his health failed and he was unable to perform properly. Lou Thesz also did the same thing when he returned to the ring for a Japanese tour at age 73. Of course, in Thesz’s case, he threw his artificial hip out the first night of the tour and had to return home. Flair has a pacemaker installed and should not be trying to wrestle again, but if he’s so determined, this is the way to do it.

Aces & Eights (Garrett Bischoff & Wes Brisco) are back in TNA/Impact Wrestling. Thoughts?

Both Bischoff and especially Brisco are far better in the ring than they ever get credit for and I’m guessing this is their attempt at one more run. If so, I hope it works out, and more power to them. The Aces & Eights faction was last seen in 2013 so this is perhaps the ultimate swerve for Impact Wrestling, to bring this faction back. It makes me wonder who else is out here and waiting in the wings to make an appearance and have one more run as part of Impact Wrestling. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

What is the deal with MJF’s “contract situation” and AEW? He’s locked in until 2024, so why all the hype?

In my opinion, it’s all storyline. MJF has a year and a half left on his AEW contract and if he was really so upset with Tony Khan and AEW, would all of these so-called negotiations with AEW be so public and in front of everyone? It’s the character, MJF, being the heel and generating heat, nothing more. Think about it. The top heel in the company publically trashes the company he’s working for. How disrespectful? How insulting? How MJF, right? It’s all a work.

Does The Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman belong in the WWE Hall of Fame?

While not the most exciting or popular guy to ever work in a WWE ring, Blackman would be a good safe induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. A good mid-card career, a popular name from the Attitude Era, never did much but never caused any problems either. He’s not a headliner, but is he worthy of a spot? Sure, why not.

What was your favorite submission maneuver growing up and who did it?

My personal favorites were The Claw, as performed by Baron Von Raschke, the Sleeper, as used by Johnny Weaver, and the Cobra, locked in by The Masked Superstar. Three great talents with three great finishing moves.

Fatal 4-Way Trios Match: The Wyatt Family (Harper, Rowan & Bray) versus Evolution (Triple H, Batista, Orton) versus The nWo (Hogan, Nash, Hall) versus The Shield (Roman, Ambrose, Rollins). Who wins?

Regardless of who would win, it wouldn’t be upset because all of these factions are pretty much on equal standing with the fans and the promotions they represented. It’s a tough call here. I don’t think The Wyatts would win since only Bray was considered a top star by WWE and the other two members were considered mid-card talents at best, despite the strength of their team as a whole. The nWo wouldn’t win because I just don’t like Hogan. So we’re down to Evolution or The Shield to win. I’ll go with Evolution since the leader of that faction was HHH and he wasn’t known as the Cerebral Assassin for nothing. He’d have a plan, and probably Flair outside the ring, to make the final difference. Evolution wins.

Tammy Sytch’s bond was revoked and she’s in jail until her court date for the DWI Homicide. Thoughts?

Good. She never should have been bonded out to start with, and in the jail is where she belongs. It’s the best thing for the public at large, and in my opinion, Tammy as well. My gut feelings were and still are, that if she was free and not under supervision, something bad would have happened before her trial date. I honestly don’t think she has the guts to face justice and she would have skipped bail or worse before dealing with the repercussions of her actions. Keep her locked up. It’s the best thing for everyone, Sytch included.

Which wrestling websites do you consider legit? Which ones do you consider a waste.

If I hear it from PWInsider, I believe it’s true. Mike Johnson is reliable and double-checks everything before posting it, plus he’ll admit when he’s wrong. Meltzer runs right most of the time but dealing with his ego and blatant spin for AEW gets old kind of quickly. Fightful.com is reliable, but the main guy there, Sean Ross Sapp, is a total dickhead. For a good cut & Paste site, I like 411mania.com. And WhatCulture.com, is pretty much on track and a good source for information and entertainment. Simon, that man’s a hoot!

Sasha Banks & Naomi walked out of RAW last night. What’s going on?

From what I’ve read, they were upset about WWE creativity and the lack of push for their tag team titles. They were booked in a 6-Woman main event match but felt the strong push for the singles belt and not their belts was disrespectful. Sasha walked out and Naomi followed. Part of me is screaming “work”, but when dealing with Sasha, who I remember walking out before and being gone for six months, it’s hard to tell. I think this is another wait-and-see. The Usos were recently talking about how they expect Naomi to eventually join them as part of the Bloodline so maybe this is a worked-shoot way to reinvent her character and give her the edge she would be needing to fit into a strong heel faction. I wish I knew for sure what is going on, but this is something I plan on keeping my eyes on.

Eric Bischoff said on a recent podcast that he almost wishes he could reboot WCW and that he would easily do better than AEW. He says that Tony Khan isn’t good, but lucky. Thoughts?

Eric’s right. Khan has money and was lucky to have a strong base to start AEW with in The Young Bucks, Omega, Cody & Jericho, but things are not getting better. Even during his time in charge of TNA, every show Bischoff has been involved in has regularly broken million-plus viewers every week. It’s not all Eric to be sure, but his numbers stayed consistent and strong, at least in comparison to what Khan does every week with AEW. AEW does good numbers for today’s TV, but they’re not getting better or growing. It’s just that simple. If Tony was as good as everyone thinks, AEW would be growing and not stagnant. Eric may be a bit pompous at times, but he knows TV and the wrestling business from a promotional aspect, and he’s 100% right about this.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, or any questions you may have are welcome and appreciated. Until the next time, take care and be good. Keep an eye out for any foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!