Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Danhausen, Luke Harper, Tully Blanchard & More
January 15, 2023
DougMaynard.com

I checked my e-mail and guess what I found. Several more questions for the Q&A. Over forty of them. So we’ve got four more editions of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A lined up over the next few days. You’re welcome. And now, let’s do this.

Danhausen says he’s not interested in signing with WWE. Thoughts?

That’s probably a good thing because I truly can’t see WWE being very interested in Danhausen either. He’s an interesting fellow and entertaining to be sure, but he barely fits in at AEW. At WWE, where he would have to wrestle on occasion and follow the guidance of others rather than just wandering around, doing his own thing, he wouldn’t fit in at all. I like Danhausen, but he’s a one-trick pony at best. WWE wouldn’t waste their time.

Konnan has said that if AEW signs Mercedes Mone’, they won’t know what to do with her. Thoughts?

He’s 100% correct. Look at their track record so far in AEW. Miro? Big entrance and then nothing. Same with Ruby Soho, Jake Roberts, Awesome Kong, Andrade, Malakai Black, Jonathan Gresham, Saraya, Dalton Castle & The Boys, Shawn Spears, Christian, etc. Tony Khan has a bloated roster and doesn’t have the knowledge or experience for long-range booking plans and stories. If Mercedes did show up, it’d be the big debut and then lost in the crowd and off TV for long periods of time after the first three weeks, just like everyone else. I don’t always agree with Konnan, but on this, he’s right.

Tully Blanchard is done with AEW/ROH. Thoughts?

I don’t know the details of Tully leaving, but after breaking him apart from FTR, AEW was just ignoring and wasting his talents anyhow. Tully has spoken about how he tried to help some of the younger talents, but they didn’t care and didn’t even know who he was. A man with that experience and knowledge and the “wrestlers” & management of AEW just ignored him. Tully doesn’t really need the job, so far as I know, but I’d love to see him maybe do something with Impact Wrestling or even the NWA, as a heel manager, and show AEW just what they threw away and lost. Tully adds credibility to anyone in the business he’s associated with and I hope he continues to be a part of it. If not, it’s not only AEW’s loss but ours as well.

Jake Hager versus GUNTHER. Who wins?

Hager has pretty much been useless since going to AEW and working as Jericho’s sidekick, but the guy is legit tough and can have good matches if motivated to do so. A match with Jake and GUNTHER would be one brutal mass of man-meat slapping the hell out of each other and would be awesome to see. Jake is comparable in size to GUNTHER and the characters would make for an interesting dynamic. And the winner? GUNTHER of course.

Col. DeBeers versus Thunderbolt Patterson. Who wins?

Just imagine the promos here. DeBeers used being a racist as his gimmick and were about as politically incorrect as a person can be against a guy who, in real life, loved to play the race card and cried racism at every opportunity whether it was true or not. I think some feelings might be legit hurt here and this one would be too hot for most companies and shows. DeBeers was a much better wrestler and performer in the ring and in a shoot, he would win a fight between these two. But in a work, wrestling match, Patterson would get the victory. Why? Because if he didn’t, he would cry and scream racism. Why else?

If WWE is sold, could Triple H and Steph buy the NWA?

They probably could, but I’m pretty sure that when and if the WWE is sold, there will probably be either a deal in place to keep HHH and Steph with WWE for a certain period of time in a management role. There will also probably be some kind of no-compete clause in the deal to make sure that HHH & Steph don’t start up a rival company, and purchasing the NWA would most certainly be a violation of that clause.

Jim Cornette actually said nice things about Omega vs Ospreay at WK17.
What’s crazier, he actually referred to them as Kenny and “Ospry” a few times. Is the world ending?

I think it was more likely just day drinking. Just kidding. What I heard was Cornette putting over a good match. Yes, he’s not a fan of Omega and Ospreay, but he is a fan of good wrestling and appreciates a strong match that tells a story and makes sense, and for a change, the match at Wrestle Kingdom 17 did exactly that. It was a good match and hit the right spots for most of the match. Too bad Omega and Ospreay can’t do that more often and be serious wrestlers, but they did it in Japan and Cornette gave credit where credit was due.

Any chance we see Luke Harper inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year?

There is always a chance and I would love to see it happen. There might be a few legal issues given how closely aligned Harper’s family is with AEW, but I think Tony Khan would be cool with the family being there for Harper to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He’s certainly deserving and if not this year, I hope it happens soon.

With the news that Smackdown is losing Fox a BUTT LOAD of money, do you think they get renewed, and if not, where do they land?

Unless NBC/Universal makes a better offer or buys control of the company, I think that Fox will happily renew the deal if possible. Smackdown consistently wins their timeslot and attracts the audience that Fox wants to reach much better than anything else Fix has ever had in that spot. The money for the next TV deal might not be quite as much, but it will still be worth it to Fox and WWE to figure something out. And if not part of Fox, WWE Smackdown would most likely end up on the USA Network or maybe even NBC itself.

The Disco Inferno is a better wrestler than Jon Moxley. True or false?

I’ve never been bored watching one of Disco’s matches back in the WCW days. When Moxley comes on, I automatically have to go on a bathroom break. Disco was entertaining and didn’t have to pour out a gallon of blood each week to draw an audience. Moxley is about as entertaining as watching Shane McMahon sweat. So this statement about Disco being better than Mox? I’ll go with true.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. And with that, I think it’s time to call it a day. Three more editions of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A coming up soon, probably tonight and tomorrow. Take care, my friends, and be good. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches. Be well.

Ubuntu!