Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Ole Anderson, CM Punk, Jade Cargill & More
September 23, 2022
DougMaynard.com

If Larry the dog had a favorite Q&A guy, this would be where to find him. I’d give Larry lots of treats. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. It’s Friday. Let’s do this.

Thoughts on General Skandor Akbar?

One of the best wrestling managers of his era, I was a big fan of General Akbar and his team of assorted grapplers, Devastation Inc. Working primarily in World Class Championship Wrestling and the USWA, Akbar was essentially the Paul Jones or Jimmy Hart of those territories. If you had a wrestler with an odd gimmick, put him with Akbar and he’d get them over, and rarely did Akbar fail or let anyone down. A good solid pro wrestling manager with the rich Arab character gimmick, Akbar was one of the good ones. No doubt about it and especially the USWA wouldn’t have had the success it did without Akbar and his minions there to provide their services as great heels and foil for the territory’s baby-face wrestlers.

Today was Ole Anderson’s 80th birthday. Thoughts on The Rock?

A solid in-ring performer who, along with partner Gene, wrote the book on what tag team wrestling should be in the 70s and 80s. Also one of the best promo guys in wrestling history. When Ole talked and looked into that camera, you believed every single word. He was the foundation behind the greatest wrestling faction of all time as well, the Four Horsemen. And then the other side of Ole, the booker. He booked the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia territories at the same time and made money. How many bookers/promoters can say that? Ole was no-nonsense and had a gruff personality in that he was blunt, said what he thought, and didn’t worry about hurting feelings or mincing words. It was his way or the highway and while not always the most pleasant of personalities, he was a man who knew his role and got things accomplished. A true wrestling legend in every sense of the word and one of the all-time greats. And there you go. ‘Nuff said!

Ric Flair is already talking about having another match. Thoughts?

Is anyone surprised? Ric had that great sendoff, barely made it through, and now that Rick Steamboat has decided to wrestle one last match, Flair’s ego won’t let him sit back and just enjoy the show. If it’s not about Flair, he’s not satisfied and wants more. I’m hoping that he’s just running his mouth as usual, but with Flair, you never know. He barely made it through that last match, passed out in the ring, and had to be carried by Lethal and Jarrett. Another match? No, just no.

Maria Kanellis was recently quoted as saying that the WWE needs to bring back the Divas Championship. Agree or disagree?

I’ll go with a statement on Twitter by Trish Stratus so far as this question goes. Trish said, “No!”. Trish is right and I agree 100%. Leave the Divas Championship wherever it is. Just no.

If the rumors are true and CM Punk is through with AEW, then what’s next for the “Best In The World”?

First, he needs to heal his injuries and get healthy. And then it’s one of three things. Stay retired, make movies, maybe write a book, and take Larry for lots of walks, etc. The second would be to talk to Tony Khan and then make a surprise comeback, playing off all of this stuff, wrestle Kenny Omega, and make a lot of money. Or three would be to put aside the personal differences with HHH, be two professionals and work out a deal and return to the WWE for a few years, make tons of money, and finally headline Wrestlemania, as he should have many years ago. The future is wide open, but what path Punk will take remains to be seen.

Is Stone Cold Steve Austin a Top 5 Wrestler of All Time?

For me personally, not really, but for many people, absolutely. As a character, Austin is one of the best of all time, no doubt. As an actual in-ring performer, he’s good, but not really in the top ten. Luckily, the character was so good, the actual wrestling didn’t have to be.

Now that Vince McMahon is not hands-on with the product anymore, do you think he watches the product now just to see what Paul Levesque is doing with it?

While I’m sure that Vince gets reports and updates on anything and everything happening with WWE, both on TV and behind the scenes, I just can’t really picture Vince sitting in front of his television, a bowl of popcorn in his hands, watching Smackdown Live on Friday nights. I’m not saying he doesn’t but I have a hard time picturing that in my head.

Do you think if Matt Cardona returned to WWE, he’d be Matt or Zack Ryder?

If he was part of WWE, he’d be Zack Ryder, but with more of the characteristics and gimmick that he’s been using for the past few years than the old “Woo woo woo” antics.

Jade Cargill recently said that she aspires to be a female version of The Rock. Thoughts?

While it’s nice to have goals and aspirations, Jade Cargill is not The Rock. The Rock had charisma, personality, great storylines, and great wrestlers to work with like Austin, Undertaker, Foley, etc. If the Rock was on TV, you watched. And then there is Cargill. She’s got a great physique, but so far as the rest of it goes, not so much. The Rock was just a natural entertainer and had the power of the WWE machine behind him every step of the way as well. Jade sucks the energy from the room with her bad promos and limited wrestling and instead of the WWE Machine, her backing is the Tony Khan Booking Choo-Choo Train. Jade as the female Rock? I don’t think so.

I saw somewhere that after the fight with the Elite & CM Punk/Ace Steele, Kenny Omega allegedly approached Punk to try and smooth things over. Have you heard this and do you think it’s true? Do you think that Punk & Omega would be able to be professional and have a match to play off their issues after Punk comes back from his injury if he comes back?

I haven’t heard this and to be honest, I don’t think it happened. That would require Omega to take a very professional and adult approach to fix things and let’s be honest here. Professional and adult are not words commonly associated with Kenny Omega. I do think that if this is true, it’s just Omega realizing that he and the Bucks, as EVPs for AEW, screwed up and is trying to save his ass. Just my opinion, but based on Omega’s past, more likely than not. As for putting their differences aside and making this an angle and possible future match, I think Omega is the most likely of the three Elite EVPs that would be willing to be a professional and work to make this into a money match with Punk. Whether Punk would be willing is a big question, but I have a feeling that if Tony Khan was to throw enough money out there, he’d be at least willing to talk and listen. This story isn’t over yet and it will be interesting to see how it all works out in the end.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions you may have are welcome and appreciated. Seriously, I need questions. Thanks in advance. And with that being said, it’s time to wrap things up for the day. I need to go get a shower and go to Wal-Mart. Pray for me. Until the next time, stay good and be awesome. Watch out for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!