Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
The Future of WWE, Vince McMahon, Disco Inferno & More
July 24, 2022
DougMaynard.com

Vince, Vince, Vince. Guess what the biggest topic of discussion in the world of professional wrestling still is? ROH had a fantastic PPV event last night, Death Before Dishonor, and nobody died. There were some new champions crowned though and it was a totally rocking show. But more about that later, if I get any questions about ROH and their talents, (hint-hint). Right now, it’s WWE and Vince. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Mark Madden recently tweeted: “Only one man can replace Vince McMahon as head of WWE creative: @TheRealDisco #BugleBeak”, talking of course about Disco Inferno. I know you’re a fan of Disco. Thoughts?

Madden was just being a sarcastic ass when he made that tweet, but when I think about it, Disco, along with Keeping It 100 partner Konnan, would actually be pretty good guys to bring aboard the WWE Creative Team. Not in charge of course, but both men know the business inside and out, have good creative minds, and under the supervision of a Paul Heyman or a Triple H, could really contribute and add a lot to the WWE product. Madden wasn’t being serious, but in truth, it isn’t a bad idea and maybe Triple H & Steph should look at these guys and give them some consideration. Just saying.

Many wrestling fans have joked over the years saying that WWE booking & creative won’t get better until Vince is outta the picture. With that said, will we see better booking & creativity going forward?

I don’t think we’ll see any major changes at first, but I do expect more realistic stories, less scripted promos, and maybe more long-term storytelling in the future, much like the NXT product before Triple H was removed from power last year. It’s going to be interesting to see where things go from here, but as Triple H and Steph get used to being in charge, I think things will slowly improve and get better.

MJF cost Cody his AEW championship shot. Both MJF and Cody leave pissed at AEW and go to WWE to headline WrestleMania for the WWE World Title. The storyline would be brilliant. Thoughts?

It would be interesting, but you didn’t take into account that MJF is under contract to AEW until January 2024 and unless they released him early, he won’t be legally able to wrestle in WWE until then. Thus, you have 1 1/2 years to go and wrestling fans don’t have the patience or memory to wait that long for a payoff to an angle. And also, this story would require WWE to acknowledge AEW and the history of MJF and Cody in the rival promotion, something WWE is not likely to do to any large degree. And if MJF did come to WWE in January 2024, they’d only have three months to build and push the story to get him to Mania versus Cody, a rapid push that would probably piss off quite a few people in the WWE locker room to be pushed aside for a new face for the coveted Wrestlemania main event spot. There are more problems here than solutions as you’ve booked it. Try again.

Do you think the retirement of Vince opens up the possibility of more open collaboration with other promotions in the near future?

If it benefits WWE, I can definitely see Triple H and Stephanie being more open to cross-promoting with other promotions on special events and big shows. Vince was somewhat in a bubble as to his ideas about what is best for WWE. Steph and Hunter watch the other products and are more up on current trends and what the fans today might like to see, so nothing in terms of doing what’s best for business would surprise me.

In honor of the great Hambino, and because Theory was very much a Vince project….will Jeff Jarrett gain possession of the MITB briefcase before SSlam? Somehow turn the briefcase into a guitar and smash Roman over the head with it to cash in? I like it.

No, just no. Jeff Jarrett as the Unified Champion in 2022? Let’s don’t even pretend to think about that. Just no!

Do you see a change in having women non-title feuds and respect for tag teams now that Vince isn’t controlling the whole script?

Absolutely. Vince had his ways and ideas and unfortunately, the women’s division and the tag team divisions both got shafted as a result more often than not. Steph has always been a big advocate for the women, as has HHH, and both seem to have a better opinion of tag team wrestling than Vince did as well. I think we’ll see both divisions improve and be better promoted as a result.

With Steph being a Co-CEO and HHH being Executive Vice President, Talent Relations do you see Vince’s “retirement” more for a show with all the allegations flying around when in reality with those 2 in positions of power he’ll still be the puppet master?

I don’t see Vince quietly sitting back and taking up bird watching in his retirement. Vince is still the WWE’s biggest stockholder and will have a lot of influence over WWE and the WWE product. And I’m sure he’ll be watching everything closely and offer suggestions regularly. But officially, he’s not part of management or creative and I’m sure he’ll allow Steph and HHH to do their stuff and make the changes necessary as needed. He’ll still be an influence to be sure, but the actual power now lies with the kids and once they get used to having that control, I’m sure they’ll rebel a bit and expand their wings and do what they feel is best.

What change are you most looking forward to now that Vince has retired? The women’s division? NXT? Long-term storytelling?

I think both the women and the tag team divisions will get better stories and support from management and improve greatly, I’m also thinking that the scripted promos will probably change and WWE will go back to a more bullet-point style for promos instead of word-for-word dialogue. We may see more personality from the wrestlers shining through instead of the generic cut-out talents we get now. The changes will be slow and subtle, but I think we’ll get more of an old-school vibe in the way things are booked and the stories will be told to make more sense and be more realistic and logical than what we’ve been seeing. At least I hope so anyhow.

Name the #1 person that Triple H needs to sign post-Vince era.

The Road Dogg Brian James, to resume his spot as head of the WWE Creative Team and, along with Paul Heyman, Triple H, and maybe Cody, revamp the WWE stories and booking styles. Road Dogg was awesome in that role before, but dealing with the Vince style of tearing everything up on show-day and starting from scratch caused him to burn out quickly. Working with Heyman and HHH instead would have to be much easier and he’d make a great addition to the team once more.

And there you go with another edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A in the books. My thanks for reading. Any thoughts, comments, or questions you’d like to see me tackle, just drop me a line via the comment box or at my e-mail of Doug28352@yahoo.com. Come see me on Twitter at @Doug28352. And with that, I’m just like Johnny Ace at the WWE Christmas Office Party. I’m history. Take care and be good. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!