Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Matt Cardona, Ric Flair, Christian & More
August 7, 2022
DougMaynard.com

Still playing catch-up here. I knew better than to take those days off, but life has been crazy and it happens. The questions have piled up. Let’s see if we can make a dent in the stack. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A and Baby Doll will always be “The Perfect 10”. Let’s do this.

It is literally undisputable at this point if you watch the show with any kind of objectivity. FTR is by far the hottest team in wrestling but isn’t competing for the AEW tag belts. Who’s booking the division?

Obviously, it’s Tony Khan doing the booking for AEW and the tag team division. I too find it odd that FTR, despite being the ROH, AAA, and IWGP Tag Team Champions, is not in the mix of challengers for the AEW belts. My guess is maybe that Khan is saving them for a special occasion or event. That’s the only reason that makes sense unless Tony is just over his head as the solo booker and needs some experienced help with the stories and making the matches. Nah, that couldn’t be it. He’s just waiting for the right time. Yeah, that’s it.

Ric Flair’s Last Match. Did you see the match? Thoughts?

I did see the match and I’m glad it’s over. Flair looked bad and only the antics of Jeff Jarrett saved that match from total disaster. It was just that bad. Flair was out of it just minutes into the match and has even admitted that he passed out and doesn’t remember most of the match. But they did it, they pulled it off, and I pray we never see anything like this again. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire match and not for the right reasons. I honestly expected Flair to pass out or have a heart attack. It was bad. Just bad!

Matt Cardona is returning to action at NWA 74 against a hand-picked opponent. Who do you think he will be fighting? Who would you like to see him fight?

Well, given that Cardona is a classic heel and has no respect (kayfabe) for the fans or promotion, I expect it to be a consummate heel moment and opponent. It should be either Bryan Meyers, Mike Knox, or VSK. Then Matt can recreate the “finger poke of Doom” spot, to have a great moment and angle, only to have Billy Corgan come out and make Matt wrestle a real opponent, maybe Nick Aldis.

Ric Flair and Andrade are booked for Puerto Rico this coming up weekend for a big Anniversary show, Thoughts?

That retirement and last match certainly didn’t last long, did it? In all fairness, this appearance was allegedly booked long ago and Ric will be there as Andrade’s manager. I expect he’ll get some shots in and take a bump or two though. Flair can’t not do it and will have to get physical at some point. It’s what he does. Wooooo.

If you could bring any Trios Team, past or present in their primes, to AEW to compete for the new Trios Tag Team Championship, who would your team be?

Ox Baker, Jos LeDuc & Ernie Ladd, with Captain Lou Albano as their manager. Just the sight of these four men walking to the ring would have their opponents and 3/4 of the modern-day locker room crapping on themselves. I’m getting chills just picturing it in my head. I miss old-school wrestling and wrestlers.

What if Zelina Vega became Ronda Rousey’s manager?

It’s kind of a strange combination, but it could work. Zelina is a good wrestler, but her size makes her look too small in comparison to the other women when she wrestles. She was an excellent manager though for Angel Garza & Andrade, and breaking them up was a bad move in my opinion by WWE. I’d love to see Zelina take up the managerial job for Garza again and Theory after this push slows down. And if she was to have Ronda Rousey as a client too, so be it. It could be good.

With AEW hinting that Christian Cage will find another big guy to protect him, who do you think will be his protector? Could it be Lance Archer? Brian Cage? A face?

If Christian does go that route and hires a bodyguard, my suggestion would be W. Morrissey, aka Big Cass. He looked great in Impact Wrestling earlier this year and his last big appearance was on AEW against Wardlow back in May, so he’s on the AEW radar. He’s got a lot of potentials, has apparently cleaned up his act, and damn, the man is 7-feet tall. And you can’t teach that. If Christian needs a sidekick/bodyguard, Morrissey would be perfect in that role. At least I think so.

Team Taz is no more. What do you think is next for the assorted members of the Black & Orange faction?

Hook will defend the FTW Championship, eating chips and getting better with every appearance. Hobbs and Starks will feud for a while, both getting exposure and getting better, with Starks becoming a great babyface, while Hobbes becomes this generation’s Mark Henry, a monster of a man and great heel. And the man himself, he’ll keep doing commentary and showing Excalibur what a good commentator is supposed to sound like.

With Vince gone, is the Theory push gone as well? And why is that great?

I don’t think it’s great because I like Theory and he’s done an excellent job so far as a heel that you kind of like but want to punch in the face anyhow. I suspect that once he loses the Money In The Bank contract, he’ll slide down the card and settle into more of an upper-mid-card role. I’d love to see him teamed up with Angel Garza and put under the guidance of Zelina Vega, as I mentioned earlier. I think he’ll still be a strong presence on the roster and keep getting some good pushes, but just not as the top guy. Not yet anyhow.

And there you go. Another one in the books. My thanks for reading. Any comments, thoughts, or questions you’d like to see me tackle, just let me know. Until the next time, take care and be good, my friends. I’ll see you at the Tiki Bar.

Ubuntu!