Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Matt Cardona, Jim Cornette, Trios Championship & More
August 6, 2022
DougMaynard.com

The inmates have taken over, literally. Yes, the WWE is now being totally run by Degeneration X. Think about it. It’s going to be good. Let’s do the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Are you ready? Let’s do this.

AEW is instituting a Trios Championship. Thoughts?

AEW has too many titles as it is in my opinion, but the idea of a Trios Championship has been teased for quite a while and it’s finally here. With all of the factions and multi-person groups running around the AEW promotion, it’s not a bad idea. If it wasn’t for all the other titles floating around, with AEW, ROH, and AAA all represented in the AEW locker room, I’d probably even like the idea. Right now, I think the belts will end up lost in the shuffle and be forgotten about more often than not once the initial newness wears off. Watch and see.

Once Matt Cardona recovers from his triceps tear, do you think he goes to reclaim his NWA World Championship or back to WWE as a returning hero?

I believe that I heard Cardona say that he’s got bookings up until the end of the year already scheduled, so I’m guessing his first priority will be taking care of those and going back after his NWA Championship to get back the title he never actually lost. But within the next year or so, a return to the WWE and a run as the top guy, ala Drew McIntyre, would not surprise me in the least. And to be honest, Zack Ryder, WWE Champion, sounds awfully damn good to me. Woo woo woo – you know it!

After Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel, who would you consider the greatest AWA World Champion?

The easy answer here. After Verne and Nick, the best man to represent the AWA in my opinion was the last champion, the one and only true Living Legend, Larry Zbyszko.

Tony Khan recently said that a lot of Jim Cornette’s criticisms are “pretty fair”. Thoughts?

Maybe it means that Khan is beginning to smarten up and can take constructive criticism. Few people know pro wrestling better than Jim Cornette, and while you might not always like what he says, he absolutely knows what he’s talking about. Hell, Khan tried to hire Cornette to help with the AEW start-up and Cornette turned him down. I think Khan is starting to realize that although he’s admittingly done far better than expected in booking and running AEW over the past few years, staying fresh and keeping things exciting sometimes requires listening to the advice of others, and in admitting Cornette’s critiques are at least fair, he’s taking the right steps to take some of that advice and improving his product, at least in my opinion.

Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner versus Killer Kowalski. Who wins?

Based on the few videos I’ve seen of Kowalski wrestling; I’d have to think that Steiner would absolutely destroy him.

Dick Murdoch versus Trevor Murdoch. Who wins?

Dick Murdoch was a truly tough guy and great character who wrestled all over the world and made a strong impact all through the 70s and 80s. Captain Redneck was one of a kind and belongs in the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later. But despite all of his accomplishments, Dick never won the NWA World Championship. Trevor on the other hand is the current NWA Champion and is a two-time holder of the legendary ten pounds of gold. I think that makes all the difference. Trevor & Dick would have one hell of a match and would take each other to the limit and beyond, but when the smoke settles, it would be Trevor as the man getting his arm raised in victory.

Bayley’s back. Thoughts?

I’m glad to see her back. She has been missed. And now, with Dakota Kai and Io Shirai as her partners-in-crime, I think this will be a good boost for the WWE Women’s Division. I am excited to see what happens next.

Why can’t we have Cena vs Rock part 3?

Both men are too busy in Hollywood to spend the time right now training and preparing for another match. If Rock does return to the ring, his most likely opponent will be Roman Reigns. If Cena returns, he could pick and choose his next opponent and make it great. But for now, the best we can probably hope for is for BlackAdam and Peacemaker to have an encounter on the movie screen. As far as Rock & Cena in the wrestling ring, I think that ship has sailed.

Is Jericho about to retire? It seems we are getting a legacy run with all of his characters from years past.

Jericho is just trying to stay interesting and relevant. I would not be surprised to see Chris retire from active in-ring competition sometime in the near future, perhaps when his AEW contract expires, but I seriously doubt he’ll ever totally retire from pro wrestling. Jericho has a lot of things on his plate, and I expect that wrestling, be it announcing, managing, training, or interviewing, will always be there as part of the Jericho package.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. And yes, I realize it’s been a week since my last posting. My apologies. Now I’m trying to catch up and there will probably be another Q&A coming later today so watch for it. Any comments, thoughts, or questions, just drop me a line. And with that, I’m gone. Take care, be good, and watch out for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!