Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
CM Punk, Tony Khan, Sammy vs Andrade & More
October 7, 2022
DougMaynard.com

The Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. It starts right now. Let’s do this.

Do you think that having only one 30-man Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble PPV is a thing of the past and why?

One 30-MAN Rumble event will probably continue, but two Rumble events, one featuring the MEN and the other featuring the WOMEN are the way things are now and how they will continue to be for the foreseeable future, as they should be.

Would Punk return to WWE now that Hunter is running things? I know they have animosity with each other but couldn’t the style of booking Hunter want favor Punk?

While I could see it happening for a one-shot deal if both men decided to be professional and started thinking about dollar signs instead of a personal beef, I doubt we’ll get that kind of maturity from either party. CM Punk’s stint in AEW and the way it seemingly has come to an end has made him kind of toxic and once the AEW issues have been cleared up, I doubt WWE and Hunter would have any interest in dealing with him. There are far too many other options on the table with other wrestlers if WWE needs someone and I doubt they’d consider Punk to be worth the headaches that he would seemingly bring.

What of the many titles AEW has would you keep if they were to cut back?

Keep the AEW World Championship, The TNT Championship, the tag team titles, and the AEW Women’s Championship. That’s it and get rid of the rest.

Should Dark Alexa Bliss return?

As part of a new Wyatt Family, I could go for that. I enjoyed the dark and demonistic Alexa and she and Bray do have unresolved issues that probably should be taken care of, so I would say yes.

What do you consider to be the biggest still-owed receipt in wrestling?
For me, it has to be Bret to Goldberg.

Goldberg has apologized many times to Bret and Bret won’t let it go so I don’t agree with that one, but to be honest, I’m drawing a blank when trying to think of any others. I’m sure that as soon as I hit the post and publish this column, a million different examples will start popping up in my head. Most of the situations that are coming to mind for me involve wrestlers who are old-timers and have passed away and thus, the matter has been settled by the most extreme of mediation, death. I’ll get back to this one in a future column when I have a better answer.

What do you think about Tony Khan?

Tony is a smart man and loves professional wrestling, but he also seems to me to be someone who tends to micromanage and needs to learn to delegate duties rather than do everything himself. He likes to talk and often talks before he thinks things out, which has caused him many problems thus far, and will continue to do so until he learns to slow down and consider options before just reacting. Khan comes across as a big kid, in over his head, but determined to show off the new toys and who lives in a world of fantasy and make-believe more often than not. I have respect for the man for doing what he loves, but he’s in over his head and needs to slow down, take a step back, and would be better served to just be the financial backer rather than trying to be a hyperactive Vince-wannabe. The way he’s going, he’s going to give himself a heart attack or stroke before he turns 45.

Should WWE bring back Nia Jax?

I could see bringing back Nia for a one-shot and maybe a spot in the Women’s Royal Rumble match, but aside from that, leave her be. WWE has plenty of talented women who can work without hurting each other and being careless. They don’t need Nia back.

Sammy Guevara and Andrade el Idolo. Work or shoot?

These days, who knows for sure, but based on everything I’ve been seeing and hearing, I’m inclined to think that this is very real and that Andrade and Sammy are not happy with each other at the moment. It’s a shame that real-life issues and disagreements are getting out into the public like this, but Tony Khan needs to take control of his locker room and convince his talent to be professional instead of doing interviews and tweets and spilling all the dirty laundry in public. This makes AEW look so mismanaged and bad, especially in light of the Punk/Elite stuff and the Sammy/Kingston stuff from last month. Hopefully, Sammy & Andrade can get together, be adults, work out their issues, and since this is out in the public now, have a great series of matches showing off their skills and making the company some good money in the process. I seriously doubt that will happen, but both men need to be taken to task for being unprofessional and acting like children, by Khan or someone in that locker room. It’s just plain sad and dumb.

And there you go. I’m through. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions you may have about anything be it wrestling-related or just life, are welcome and appreciated. Until the next time, take care and be good, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!