Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Don Muraco, Brutus Beefcake, The Briscoes & More
December 19, 2022
DougMaynard.com

I’m running behind on the Wrestling Q&As and have five editions of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A outlined and waiting. I’ve been a slack-ass. It’s time to get to work and start catching up. Let’s go.

Do you see a scenario where both Cody Rhodes and The Rock face Roman Reigns for both the WWE and Universal Championships on WrestleMania nights 1 and 2? I think that could be a great idea to split the titles and have Cody be the one that beats Roman on Night 2.

I can definitely see it happening and I hope that it does go down that way. Let Cody win the Rumble and get his title shot at Mania that way. And meanwhile, after Roman successfully defends his title at the Rumble, who shows up, but The Rock issues a personal challenge to his cousin for the title of Head of The Table. And since there are two matches, WWE makes each one a title match for the two different top titles, thus splitting them up once more. It’s a win/win for everyone involved.

What would you call the Match of the Year for 2022? For me, it’s a tie between Rhodes vs. Rollins @ HIAC & Sheamus vs. Gunther @ Clash at the Castle.

Both of those matches were awesome and went above and beyond everything else going on in the world of pro wrestling, but there are three more matches that can qualify as well. All three were FTR versus The Briscoe Brothers. The first was amazing, the second was good, and the third, from just a couple of weeks ago at ROH Final Battle in the double dog-collar match, was one of the best tag team matches ever. That final match between FTR and The Briscoes would be my MOTY choice.

Would Don Muraco have made a good NWA or WWF Champion?

As a wrestler and promo guy, yes, but as a responsible talent, I don’t think he would have been up to the job as a traveling NWA or WWF Champion. Why? Personal demons. ‘Nuff said!

If Triple H called you up and wanted you to find 5 wrestlers to come to NXT, who would you suggest?

After attending the recent ACW/C.A.G.E event here in Laurinburg, the Fight for McPhatter, I have several people in mind that are well deserving of a WWE/NXT tryout. Off the top of my head, I’d go with Sammy Love, Angel Angels, The Renegade Outlaw, New Age Villain Nathan Cross, and two tag teams, The New Breed & The Quick City Assailants (Aaron Matthews & James Turner). Yes, I know that’s eight wrestlers and not five, but if we bring a couple of extra guys who are exceptional in that ring and talented wrestlers, I’m sure they’d get a try-out as well. And of this crew, I think NXT would be very interested in every single one of them.

Big John Studd, Buddy Rose, Ray Stevens & Capt Lou Albano versus Finn Balor, Damion Priest, Dominick Mysterio & Rhea Ripley. Who wins?

What a great match this would be. The best of the 70s versus one of the best groups of today. And The Judgement Day would win after Rhea manages to lay out and pin Albano. And there you go.

Some told me that there were actually 2 different Brutus Beefcakes. He said that the original died and was replaced by his brother. Pretty sure it’s not true, but was just curious if you had ever heard this.

Are you serious? Really? Really? Believe me, one Brutus Beefcake was far more than enough. Not true!

Thoughts on Rob Conway?

A talented wrestler who had it all with the look, the ability to talk, and the ability to have good matches, and he was a very solid performer. Conway was not going to ever be a World Champion, but he was a strong mid-card performer who had a good career in OVW and the WWF but never seemed able to break that glass ceiling. Conway was a staple of Sunday Night Heat and had one of the best theme songs, “Just Look At Me”. I’ve heard a few things about Conway’s personality and attitude backstage, but he was a talented guy and was one of my favorite mid-card WWF guys back during the attitude area.

Jim Cornette says that the argument that the Briscoes are not allowed on AEW because of Warner Bros. is bullshit! Thoughts?

They’re not allowed on AEW TV allegedly because one of the Briscoes did some mean tweets many years ago and someone from Warner Brothers management doesn’t like it. That story has always been kind of suspect because if the same standards are applied to every actor and actress on TV, every wrestler in AEW and every sport figure regularly featured on either network, all that would showing is a blank screen with a picture of a cat licking itself. Everyone has a past and has done dumb things and using that excuse as to why one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling, the current ROH Tag Team Champions, can’t be used on TV is insane. From what I understand, there was heat between The Young Bucks and Briscoes back in the early ROH days and I think that past history and the influence of the EVPs, The Hardly Boys, has far more to do with Tony not using the Briscoes regularly than any old tweets or the feelings of anyone in management at Warner Brothers.

And there you go. One down and in the books. My thanks for reading. Any thoughts, comments, or questions you might have are welcome and appreciated. And with that being said, I’m out of here. Take care and be well my friends. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!