Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Rick Steamboat, Baron Corbin, HBK versus Brock & More
March 13, 2023
DougMaynard.com

It’s 5:00 in the morning and I can’t sleep. What is a man to do? How about an edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A? Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s do this.

Did you know that Shawn Michaels and Brock Lesnar have never faced off in a singles match? Thoughts?

What is there to think about? Maybe they were never both top guys on the roster at the same time? Maybe there are personal differences between the two, much like HBK and The Rock who never faced off in a singles match to my knowledge either. Maybe the huge size difference and the big difference in the way they perform made Vince and WWE management realize that this probably wouldn’t make for a good match. Maybe nobody thought about it. It’s kind of odd, but it happens. William Regal and Hulk Hogan never wrestled in a singles match either. It’s the nature of professional wrestling. It happens sometimes, so we speculate about “what if?” and then move on, as we should.

Chris Jericho wants AEW to re-sign Brian Cage. Thoughts?

Brian Cage is a good, solid performer and if AEW can find a good way to use him regularly and build him into a star, then Jericho is right and they should keep making efforts to re-sign him. If all they’re going to do is tie him up with a contract and then leave him sitting mostly at home or in catering as they have been, then let him go and see if he can do better elsewhere.

At AEW Revolution, MJF threw a drink in the face of a small kid in the audience. Thoughts?

If it was not a plant, then MJF took a big risk in this crazy lawsuit-happy world of ours and probably shouldn’t have done that. But I thought it was funny and as MJF later noted, the kid looked thirsty. It just cements the MJF “heel character” and shows what a true dick he can be at times. He probably shouldn’t have done it, but if there are no major repercussions, then nothing ventured and nothing gained. Good for him.

It’s time for AEW to bring in some new big names. How about Brooke Hogan and Nick Hogan? Would you watch it? Thoughts?

There you go. Brooke can join the AEW Women’s Division and would immediately be among the top women there. At least she can talk if nothing else. And Mighty Mouse, Nick Hogan, could form a six-man tag team with Danhausen and Orange Cassidy, being their own personal Marko Stunt. Hell, bring back Marko and he and Nick could feud over the TNT Championship. The possibilities for the Hogan kids in AEW are endless. Book it, Tony Khan. We know you want to.

Could Ricky Steamboat have had a successful WWF world title run?

Steamboat is an amazing in-ring performer and can have a good match with anyone, but in the cartoonish land that was the WWF back during his brief time with the company, I don’t think a WWF title run would have worked as a long-term deal. The WWF at the time was larger than life with almost everyone and everything and let’s be honest, compared to Hogan, Piper, Savage, Honky Tonk Man, etc., Steamboat was boring. He was just to vanilla to be the top guy for that company at that time. As a transitional champion, maybe for a month or two, he would have been fine, but long-term promotional plans with Steamboat as the top guy wouldn’t have been very exciting or profitable. It never would have worked.

Rick Rude & Manny Fernandez w/ Paul Jones versus The Usos, Jimmy & Jey, w/ Paul Heyman. Who wins?

As good as Jimmy & Jey are, I think that Manny and Rude could have taken them. It would be one hell of a fight and could even be the main event of a WWE show by today’s standards. That’s how good a tag team Manny & Rude were. This could even be considered a dream match with all six men involved, including Jones & Heyman, being so good at what they do/did. My money would have to be on The Ravishing One and The Ragin’ Bull though. Damn, what a match.

Why is Baron Corbin such a Jobber?

Because WWE can’t find a character or gimmick that they like for him and are just throwing things up against the wall to try and get him over, but nothing seems to work. He’s a solid performer and one of the most reliable in-ring men in WWE right now, but he’s just being used to filling a spot on the roster right now and that means being a jobber to the stars. He deserves better and hopefully, he’ll find that niche sooner rather than later. One can only hope.

If you were able to book one “nostalgia moment” for Wrestlemania, what would it be?

How about having Pete Rose as a guest backstage and during a backstage segment, have him complain about the catering or something of that nature and then he turns around and there is Kane? And you know the drill. Kane picks him up for a chokeslam, but the camera cuts away and goes back to the announcers at ringside who can sell it and then move on to the next match. It’s a small thing, but it’s all I can think of right now. Heck, it’d be a fun moment for everyone and be a nice piece of nostalgia as well. Book it, Triple H.

How would you grade Bryan Danielson’s AEW run up to this point?

Since coming to AEW, Danielson has had a good run, but nothing outstanding or very impressive. It has been mostly consistent and solid with only occasional lapses in storytelling and judgment. I’ll give it a B-.

So Vince is on WWE Raw on Monday & Johnny Sameface (Johnny Gargano) is back on WWE NXT the next day. Coincidence?

Yes, it is exactly that, a coincidence. Gargano went back to NXT as part of a storyline between HBK and Grayson Waller, something that has been developing over the past several weeks and not overnight. WWW and NXT are stacking the card for the upcoming NXT Stand & Deliver show on Wrestlemania weekend. It has nothing at all to do with Vince being at RAW this past Monday night.

And there you go. Another edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A is in the books, and now it’s time to try and go back to bed. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Take care and be well my friends, and watch for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!