Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Flair’s Last Match, Nikita Koloff, William Regal & More
July 19, 2022
DougMaynard.com

Does anyone really care about the size of The Miz’s balls? No matter how big or small they may be, it doesn’t matter. Mae Young’s were bigger. I miss Mae. RIP Legend! And now, let’s talk pro wrestling. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. It’s a packed edition today so let’s quit with the chat and get busy. Let’s do this.

I want to dedicate this to my wrestling brother, Harold Schwan, who passed away a few days ago. I met Harold almost twenty-plus years ago in the Yahoo group, DXSI, and we’ve had so many discussions over the years about anything and everything wrestling. A great guy in every sense of the word. Rest in Peace, my friend. You will be missed.

Roddy Piper & Gino Hernandez versus Jesse Ventura & Adrian Street. Who wins?

I think my friend Joey, who sent me this question, is trying to screw with me. I do not think that either team indicated ever actually existed, but I do know that Piper and Ventura were in the WWE at the same time. I’m not sure, but I think Piper, when he was very young and in California may have wrestled Street once or twice as well. But these teams in this match? Never happened, but it would be a fun match to see if they did. As for who wins, Piper and Gino. They were sneakier.

Did Nikita Koloff turning face in 1986, after Magnum TA’s accident, and joining Dusty Rhodes destroy his career?

Honestly, in my opinion, it did hurt the career of the Russian Nightmare more than it helped. Of course, Nikita got the big push immediately after turning face and becoming one of Dusty’s guys, but how long did that last? As a face, Nikita seemed to have lost that killer instinct that made him so impressive in his early years. He was just another face living in Dusty’s shadow. Wrestlers that he would have and should have run through with little effort started taking him to the limit and as a face, he went from being a Nightmare to being just a bad dream. Nikita was a good talent with a great look and that special quality that made him stand above everyone else on the roster, but to me anyhow, after he went face, he became just another wrestler and a lot of the potential was wasted or lost.

Who is your favorite wrestler from Canada?

From Canada, I’ve gotta go with The Canadian Lumberjack, Jos LeDuc.

Name a wrestling faction that could have been one of the all-time greats, but bad booking and mismanagement kept it from being as successful as it could have been?

I’d stay recent with this one. The Hurt Business. MVP had three top guys in Bobby Lashley, Cedric Alexander, and Shelton Benjamin. They were running wild over everyone and looked great doing it. And then WWE, for whatever reason, dropped Alexander & Shelton from the mix, made them into jobbers, and had Lashley & MVP do some back and forth craziness before splitting them up as well. The Hurt Business was looking great and then they were nothing. It makes no sense.

I’m really enjoying the new series on A&E. However, is Goldberg really a “legend”?

Goldberg. He’s held multiple “World Championships”, was a top star for WCW during one of their most successful times, is recognized all over the world, and even now, is considered a draw. Yes, I would say he qualifies as a legend.

Would you like to see William Regal come out of retirement for one last match against Chris Jericho?

While part of me would love to see the Gentleman Villian put on the tights again and give the world a wrestling clinic, I’ve seen pictures of the x-rays where Mr. Regal had neck-fusion surgery a couple of years ago and those pictures are not a pretty sight. I wouldn’t want to see Regal risk serious injury by trying to compete in the ring again. So I’m satisfied with the verbal sparring that Regal and Jericho are doing each week on AEW instead. It would be cool for Regal to have one last match, but it’s not worth the risk.

Brandi Rhodes recently revealed that she’s training for a return to the ring. Would you like to see her wrestle in WWE and be aligned with Cody?

Brandi may have been annoying while in AEW, but she’s not a bad performer and I would have no objections to seeing her perform in a WWE ring or even at the side of her husband, Cody. I think that so long as Cody is a face, Brandi would be better off kept apart from her husband since she tends to rub people the wrong way, but so far as wrestling again, I would not object.

The Good Brothers (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) contracts with Impact Wrestling have expired and they’re free agents. Should AEW or WWE try to sign them up?

I’d love to see Gallows & Anderson back in WWE with AJ Styles, but I really doubt that’s going to happen. I know they’ve got some bookings in New Japan coming up and I think they’re working a few more dates for Impact, albeit without a contract. If they don’t stay with Impact, I think the best place for them would probably be AEW/ROH. A three-way feud with the Good Brothers, The Briscoes, and FTR would be epic.

According to Meltzer, Ric Flair is currently dealing with a foot injury, with less than two weeks to go until his “last match”. Thoughts?

Before we address the injury, the participants for Flair’s final match have been revealed and the match will be Flair and Andrade versus JayLethal and Jeff Jarrett with Karen Jarrett in their corner. So it’s Flair & his son-in-law, an AEW guy, versus another AEW/ROH guy and a WWE Executive. It’s not what I was expecting, but it should be a good match. I still don’t think Flair should be trying to wrestle, especially if this report by Meltzer is true, but I feel a little better knowing that Lethal, Jarrett, and Andrade can carry the match and protect Flair from doing too many stupid or unsafe things. Let’s hope that this can all go without a hitch and that Flair can finally be satisfied with his retirement from inside the ring. One can only hope.

Bryan Danielson & Macho Man Randy Savage versus Bob Backlund & Seth Rollins. Who wins?

Two more odd pairings in a tag match that could never happen, but wouldn’t it be cool if it could? A tough call here, but I think I’ll go with Macho and Danielson. The Macho Dragon Express with the win. Oh yeaaahh!

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. And with that, I’m down and out of here. Be good and take care and watch out for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!