Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Junkyard Dog, Vince Russo, Eddie Guerrero & More
February 14, 2023
DougMaynard.com

Happy (Greg) Valentine’s Day, my friends. I hope that every one of you gets plenty of bear hugs, snap suplexes, and snuggles on this most romantic of holidays. And now, let’s do the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s go.

Would it have pissed off the fans if the brass had Eddie Guerrero competing on occasion for the Cruiserweight Championship in the WWE?

On occasion, I don’t think that anyone would have minded very much. It’s Eddie going after gold and so long as it was a good match and we had some typical Eddie shenanigans as part of the deal, the fans would cheer and enjoy. Not all wrestlers could pull that off, but Eddie was one who most definitely could.

JYD should’ve been WWF Champion. He had the same kind of charisma that Hulk Hogan had back then. Why didn’t they book it, 80’s WWF?

If you watch old videos, there was a big difference between the Mid-South JYD that everyone loved and cheered for and the JYD that ended up in the WWF. The JYD who left Mid-South short-handed and with little notice to travel to New York was just a shadow of what he had been only months earlier. He was bloated, overweight, and had the charisma of a block of cheese. Bill Watts knew how to book JYD and make him a star. WWF (Vince) wasn’t sure what to do with him and JYD wasn’t very helpful either, just a pale imitation of what he had been before. JYD as the WWF Champion? It would never have worked.

Could an old-school guy, like Harley Race, beat a UFC guy in a straight-up match(in the Octagon)? I say absolutely, every day!

I think it would depend on which UFC fighter you’re talking about and which old-school wrestler. Harley Race? I think the majority of UFC fighters would be very hesitant to step into a cage with Harley. Same with Haku, Lou Thesz, Billy Robinson, and Angelo Mosca. All of those guys were shooters, hookers if you will. A few of the UFC guys might be open to the challenge, but the majority would get their butts kicked if you will.

I’m a big fan of submission finishes. What was your favorite submission finisher from the ’70s & ’80s?

My personal favorites that always seemed to work were Johnny Weaver’s sleeper hold, the Claw by Baron Von Raschke, or the Arm Bar Submission as applied by Ole or Gene Anderson. Also, Paul Jones’s version of the Indian Deathlock was always very effective.

Who Wins: Johnny Gargano Vs Sammy Guevara?

Jonny Wrestling is good, but I’ll go with Sammy on this one. VLOG Crew for life!

Which challengers for the Women’s tag titles do you think could give them a better boost at Mania? The Hall of Fame team of Trish & Lita, the UFC team of Ronda & Shayna, or the former NXT champs of Kayden & Katana?

Of these three options, the best match for the tag team champions, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky, would be against Ronda & Shayna. Lita and Trish would be fun for the sake of nostalgia, but no one expects to see Trish and Lita working as full-time WWE employees, so what does that do for their chances of winning the titles? And the NXT girls, can anyone identify these two by names or pictures alone? If you’re not a diehard NXT fan, you won’t know who these two women are. It’d be a good match, but no one would care. Ronda is the big name and they need to find a place for her on the Wrestlemania card. Shayna is always impressive and this could help get her to the next level. Rousey & Baszler versus DAMAGE CNTRL is the match to see.

Jim Cornette recently commented that he thinks Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan only have jobs because of their looks. Thoughts?

As much as I tend to agree with Mr. Cornette, I don’t necessarily agree with this statement. Yes, both Liv and Alexa are very attractive women, but they are also pretty good in that ring, especially Alexa. Alexa is also a good talker and has been excellent with every role she’s been given thus far in her WWE career. Looks may get someone in the door, but to get moved to and keep a significant spot on the main roster of a company like WWE, it takes far more than tits or a nice ass. The days of Sable and Torrie Wilson are long gone and now, a person needs talent, both in the ring and on the mic, to make it and stay there. Corny knows this as well as anyone and I suspect he’s just trying to stir the pot a bit. Nothing more.

Vince Russo recently stated that he originally left the WWE because Vince McMahon told him to hire a nanny to watch over his kids and to prioritize work over family. Thoughts?

Vince McMahon putting business and the WWE over everything else? No, say it isn’t so. So getting the chance to be in charge of WCW, far more money, and the chance to control and book WCW unfiltered had nothing to do with Russo’s decision to leave WWE and go to WCW then. That’s what we’re supposed to believe? Okay Vinnie-Ru, if that’s what you say, bro! All right then.

Hillbilly Jim versus Elias. Who wins?

Talk about a groaner of a match. I like goofy wrestling and unorthodox matches with strange characters, but this one does nothing for me. Two bad characters stinking up the ring. Oy vey! Let’s go with Hillbilly Jim for this one. sighs

What if Cody brings Dustin Rhodes to the ring at Mania to counter Roman Reigns’ Bloodline? Could it happen?

Could it happen? It could, but it’s not very likely. I do suspect that Dustin will be there when Cody wrestles Roman at Wrestlemania 39, but I seriously doubt that Tony Khan would allow Dustin to participate and be part of the match. It would be cool if it could happen, but it’s hard to imagine what WWE would have to do in return and even though HHH is far more objective and open to different things than Vince is, he’s not going to concede too much to the WWE’s top rival regardless of the payoff. So Dustin is at Mania, either in the back watching or in the audience to support his brother, most likely. But as part of the match? No, I just can’t see it happening.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. And with that being said, it’s time to call it a night. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for Cupid’s arrows and foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!