Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Drew McIntyre, Trish Stratus, Eric Bischoff & More
April 18, 2023
DougMaynard.com

In the words of The Icon, Sting, “It’s showtime, folks!” It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Eric Bischoff on CM Punk: “I don’t particularly think he’s that talented. I think he’s overblown. I think he’s highly overrated”. Thoughts?

Eric can think or not think anything he likes and that’s his right, but the bottom line is that Punk draws fans, and ratings, and makes money. The box office goes up when Punk is on the card and the television ratings go up when Punk is featured as part of the show. He might be overblown and overrated, but the numbers don’t lie and to paraphrase the title of Eric’s book, “Punk Creates Cash!”. So there you go.

Nick Bockwinkel & Harley Race versus Hulk Hogan & Stan Hansen. Who wins?

If this match happened, it would be either a count-out or disqualification ending just because of the names involved and to protect everyone from having to take a loss. But if there had to be a winner and someone had to get pinned, I think Hansen and Hogan would win just for the fact that Bockwinkel is the only one whose ego would allow him to take a fall it wouldn’t damage him a bit. The rest, not so much.

Drew McIntyre turned his Twitter black and removed all signs of WWE. He hasn’t been on TV in two weeks. Reportedly, contract negotiations with WWE aren’t going well. Do you think Drew will leave WWE and go to AEW?

If Drew was to leave WWE when his contract expires and go to AEW, it would be a major coup for Tony Khan and a huge boost for his company. But I’m thinking (hoping) that Drew and WWE work things out and come to a deal that is profitable for both parties and keeps Drew in the WWE. Drew will do what best benefits his career and family, but for now, I just feel that would be staying put in the WWE.

Trish Stratus is a heel and turned on Lita/Becky. Thoughts?

It’s an interesting twist because except for the early days of her career, I can’t recall Trish ever spending much time as a heel and it’ll be fun to see what she does and how she plays the role. Trish versus Lita has a nice nostalgic feel to it, while Trish versus Becky is one of those dream matches we usually can only think about, but WWE is making it happen. I’m liking this and can’t wait to see where it all goes.

Is Ric Flair still relevant to the world of professional wrestling?

Based on who he is and what he’s done in the past as a multiple-time World Champion, his history as a member of the Four Horsemen and of Evolution, and through his daughter, Charlotte, Ric will always be relevant and an important part of professional wrestling. These days, with his comments, his lack of respect for his legacy, and the multiple questionable things he constantly does to be “the Nature Boy” who will do anything for a buck, he’s blackened his image and reputation possibly beyond redemption. I know that personally, I wish he would retire from the business, fade quietly into the sunset, and go spend time with his grandchildren. Every time his name comes up now, I cringe at what he might have said or done because it’s rarely good. Ric is and will always be a legend in our business. That’s beyond dispute. But Ric is also a sad example of someone who doesn’t know when their time is over and when to quit. I hate saying that, but it’s true.

Ric Flair, Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., and Giant Baba versus The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa). Who wins?

Four multiple-time NWA World Champions from when the time that the belt was the most prestigious in the business against Roman and his family. This would be an awesome match to see, but my money would have to be on the men who walked that aisle the most often, defending that ten pounds of gold. Ric, Harley, Dory, and Baba would win.

Should Tony Khan reach out and bring Goldberg in for the All-In event at Wembley Stadium?

I don’t want to see Goldberg anywhere near WWE or AEW myself, but for Tony, it would be a good business move to bring in Goldberg for the Wembley Stadium show. He’s a major name and Tony is going to need all the major names to make the best show he can for this event. So Goldberg? Why not?

Nick Khan recently confirmed that Triple H is entirely and solely in charge of WWE Creative, to reassure the WWE Universe and allegedly, Vince McMahon sent out an e-mail confirming this as well. So is Triple H the boss or is Vince really in charge?

I think Triple H is the boss and all final decisions come to him, but also that Vince will offer suggestions and ideas for Triple H about different characters and stories and Triple H will take that advice when making those decisions. Vince is the man who trained Triple H and is also his father-in-law, so he’s not going to totally block Vince out or ignore him. Take the advice, use some of it to appease the old man, and keep things going as best he can. And there you go.

It’s been reported that while in LA for Wrestlemania, Cody Rhodes reached out and had meetings about different movie and television projects. Is Cody already thinking about jumping ship from WWE to Hollywood?

I think Cody is being a smart businessman in the entertainment field and keeping all the options for his career, be it in Hollywood or the squared circle. While in AEW, Cody had a reality series, hosted a show on TBS, and make several appearances in the show, Arrow. He’s got the ability, talent, and brains to be both a wrestler and an actor so why not do both?

Paul Heyman had his “Smackdown 6” to build SD around when the first brand split happened. With AEW being a little over 3 years old, who would you consider to be the “AEW 6” that the company can build around for the next 5-10 years?

For the next few years, I think MJF is the most obvious name that comes to mind for the future of the company. I think Ricky Starks has the potential, as does Powerhouse Hobbs. Wheeler Yuta is another with a strong upside. Sammy possibly if he doesn’t injure himself first with the risky moves. And to round it out, let’s go with Hook. He needs to step up his game and build his character, but he’s got the “It” factor going on.

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

Ubuntu!