Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Chad Gable, Managers, Kobe Durst & More
April 14, 2023
DougMaynard.com

Welcome to the show. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. It’s a full card tonight so let’s cut the chit-chat and get busy. And away we go.

Chad Gable as the next U.S. champion. What do you think?

I would love to see this happen. Gable is an amazing performer with a great character. He might not be the biggest guy. Remember the Shorty G character? But that shouldn’t matter. In a company where Rey Mysterio has been a multiple-time champion, size shouldn’t matter and we did see Gable do a belly-to-back suplex on Braun Strowman a few weeks ago. Singles gold for Gable would be a good thing for WWE. Let’s hope that Triple H is paying attention and has the same ideas.

Something that really annoys me is JR’s current contribution to AEW. I admire his contribution to the business, & he is linked w/ many fans’ fondest memories. But is he now actively hurting the product? Not only w/ his dated dialogue, but his lack of prep for broadcast?

I’ll be the first to admit that Jim Ross seems to be phoning it in more often than not with AEW, but when the product is that bad, it’s hard to be invested in it and I don’t think even Johnny Depp could act enthused with the current AEW product. But that being said, Ross is a legendary announcer who adds to any product he’s allowed to be a part of, but Tony & friends don’t seem to want to take advantage of everything that Ross brings to the table. He’s repeatedly offered to help out in many ways, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes where AEW desperately needs someone to help build structure, something Ross is very good and experienced at, but no one wants to listen or pay attention. So he’s just showing up to collect a paycheck instead. Can you blame him? I don’t.

Whose the one act or character you never got the love for that everyone else did? For me, it’s Cody right now. IMO, he comes across as a phony flag shagger whose attempted sob stories would make X-factor contestants cringe.

I don’t get the attraction of The Elite in AEW. The wrestling is sloppy, no selling of moves or injuries, and the personalities are so fake and annoying. Just a bunch of flips by some spoiled children. Those are the first fake wrestlers that come to mind for me.

There was talk about bringing back The Hurt Business, but that idea seems to have been dropped. Thoughts?

I hate that it has been dropped because Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander are damn good wrestlers and their faction, along with Lashley and MJF was getting over and popular with the fans and WWE audience. Let’s just hope that WWE reconsiders and changes their minds Just imagine The Hurt Business versus The Judgement Day or The Hurt Business versus The Wyatt Family. That’s money being left on the table by WWE that could translate into some good stories and matches for the fans. Keep your fingers crossed that things change.

Eva Marie said recently that she’s been in talks with WWE about a possible return. Thoughts?

I think that Eva Marie is just talking to be talking and get some publicity. Both of her previous runs were lackluster at best and I can’t see a third run doing any better. Eva Marie back in the WWE? No, I don’t think so.

Managers in pro wrestling are a lost art. What former wrestlers or valets do you think would make great managers?

Former wrestlers or valets, that would fit well in today’s world and make good managers? How about Buff Bagwell? He’s got the charisma, energy, and name recognition and could help younger talents get over quite well. Gangrel, aka The Vampire Warrior, would be good in that capacity as well. Stevie Richards was always excellent in that role, and what about Richards’ former Right To Censor sidekick, Lisa “Ivory” Moretti? With her energy and ability to talk, she could get anyone over and make them a star.

I know there is a slim possibility that we might find out on TV yet but where do you think all of this Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy stuff was going? What was the end goal? I don’t think they even knew themselves.

The whole Bray/Howdy stuff was an absolute mess and it did seem as if they were making it up as they went along. I’m hoping that all was not wasted and lost and that WWE does manage to get Bray & his cohorts back together and on TV with strong stories and a chance to let it all play out, but to be honest, I’m not feeling all that strongly about Bray’s future in the WWE. After missing Mania and vanishing as he has, I think his days may be numbered.

With AEW running a show at Wembley Stadium, if they manage to draw a decent crowd do you see WWE having Wrestlemania 41 in Wembley?

I don’t think WWE really cares too much about what AEW does and if they get a good crowd at Wembley, so be it. Due to logistics and the time differences, I can’t see WWE doing Mania anywhere else, but in North America. If WWE does decide to show up AEW and book a show for Wembley, I think it would be a regular PLE with a strong card just to spite Tony Khan and his friends. No need for one of the big four when any WWE show would blow away and outsell anything AEW has to offer.

Would you like to see a feud between Pat McAfee and Logan Paul?

A feud with two part-timers who can easily outwork and out-perform 85% of the wrestlers on the roster, both of who have great followings, a huge presence outside of WWE, and tons of charisma and character to boot? Yeah, that would be fun to see.

Several wrestling companies have cut ties with wrestler Kobe Durst for allegedly promoting transphobia. Have you seen this? Thoughts?

The story here is that Durst retweeted a story from a Twitter account called “End Wokeness” celebrating longtime Team Canada Powerlifting head coach Avi Silverberg who entered an Alberta powerlifting competition in March claiming he identified as female. Silverberg went on to break a women’s bench press record held by trans powerlifter Anne Andres. Some people called Durst out for his support of Silverberg and it’s exploded from there. The bottom line is that Durst isn’t toeing the line with the Woken Insanity and people are unhappy that he has an opinion. This is pure insanity at its worst and a travesty. Durst hasn’t shown himself to be anything phobic and hasn’t even said anything bad to or about anyone at all. He just retweeted a post that points out the hypocrisy when men pretending to be women compete against real women in physical competitions and how unfair that is to real women. I hope this all blows over and Durst can get his career back on track and ignore this stupidity and craziness. And for the companies that are blackballing and cutting ties because of something so ignorant, let’s just channel some classic Degeneration X because I have two words for them.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. I want to hear from you. And with that being said, it’s time to wrap things up. Take care and stay well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!