Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Bray Wyatt, The OC, Mr. Kennedy & More
January 23, 2023
DougMaynard.com

Good morning. It’s Monday. Welcome to the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Is it remotely possible that anyone other than Zayn, Rhodes, or the Rock wins the men’s Rumble match next weekend?

It’s very possible, especially now that it seems that The Rock will not be available to wrestle at Mania this year. That could all be a swerve of course, but it might change things up a bit. Sami could win and so could Cody, as you said, but what about Seth Rollins? Seth is a top guy who could be inserted into the title scene at any time. What about Lashley? Or Brock Lesnar? The same holds true for both of these men. Hell, even GUNTHER has to be considered a possible favorite. Triple H is the master of the swerve and the most obvious choice is not always the best one.

What would you say would be the worst finisher to take, whether it be the most painful or most terrifying? For me, it would either be Daniel Garcia’s Dragontamer or Undertaker’s Last Ride.

For me, anything that requires taking a big pimp from high up would be the worst. The Undertaker’s Last Ride certainly qualifies, as would a powerbomb from Kevin Nash or Sid Vicious. Those babies would hurt… a lot!

What do you think of my fantasy booking? Cody Rhodes wins the Rumble. The Elimination Chamber is for the WWE title and is won by Seth Rollins. Wrestlemania night 1 is Cody vs. Seth; night 2 is The Rock vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title.

That sounds as good as anything else I’ve heard lately and seeing Seth versus Cody never gets old. From what I’ve read, the plans for Wrestlemania no longer include The Rock wrestling, but that could be a swerve to throw everyone off the track. Your matches sound good, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens at the actual event.

If Bray Wyatt faces Uncle Howdy at WM, should he not go on a losing streak until then? I mean it wouldn’t hurt Bray to lose at RR but would certainly help LA Knight!

It would help LA Knight for sure, but it would also hurt Bray right now. He’s getting a lot of criticism for the lack of wrestling he’s done so far and losing his first PLE since coming back would not be good. If it was a result of Uncle Howdy getting involved, it wouldn’t hurt him quite as badly, but it would still hurt. LA Knight should get the win at the Rumble, but I really don’t see that happening.

What surprise would you book for the Tribal Chief’s Acknowledgement? As much as people are hoping for The Rock, I personally would rather see Naomi show up and join the Bloodline.

The whole Acknowledgement segment has been nixed and now instead, we get the Trial of Sami Zayn. I’m not sure if I like this better or not, but hopefully, all of the family of Roman that was due to appear will still do so, but maybe as a Jury for this “trial” instead. I do think we’ll see Naomi show up at some point, either on RAW tonight or at the Rumble, to become a member of The Bloodline. They need a female member to counter Mia Yim in the OC and Rhea in Judgement Day. Personally, I think Tamina would work in that role just as well, but since Naomi is married to Jimmy Uso, she’s the most logical choice.

Do you think that the rest of the OC (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Mia Yim) will suffer in their booking while AJ Styles is out with a broken ankle?

They won’t get quite the TV time that they normally would get, but I think they’ll still be used regularly, as well as at house shows, to stay active and in wrestling shape. And then, when AJ is ready to return, I look for a big push for all four and a major storyline.

Would you like to see a Mr. Kennedy…Kennedy return at the rumble? Think he is one of a few that would still get a big pop.

He would get a big pop for his entrance. That’s for sure. But to be honest, I don’t think that Mr. Kennedy… Kennedy is in anyone’s Top Ten List of favorites to return in 2023.

Before the American Nightmare makes his way to the Rumble, do you think we will see Stardust and/ or Dashing Cody Rhodes appear in the Rumble? Kinda like how we got the 3 faces of Foley?

No, I don’t think we’ll be seeing that… ever.

Is Matt Cardona the worst heel ever? He literally shows us his true side every week on his wrestling figure podcast.

Matt is an excellent heel and can get under the skin of a crowd as well as anyone in the business pretty quickly. He’s a bit more chill on the podcast, but that’s talking about things that he loves with some of his best friends. Even Hitler loved animals and painting. I think that wrestling fans are able to separate the two personas and characters, the podcaster and the wrestler. At least most are.

Who is your favorite wrestler in Impact Wrestling?

Easy answer for me. Heath Miller. After all, who doesn’t love a man who has kids?

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions you’d like for me to answer, just drop me a line and we’ll do exactly that. Leave your message in the comments, on my Twitter feed (@Doug28352), or at my e-mail of Doug28352@yahoo.com. I want to hear from you.

And with that, I’m out of here. Two doctor appointments and work this afternoon before coming home to watch RAW XXX. It should be good. So take care, my friends, and stay safe. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!