Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Abdullah the Butcher, Dave Meltzer, Test & More
April 19, 2023
DougMaynard.com

Time only fears the pyramids and the legends of professional wrestling. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Have you seen the recent news about Abdullah the Butcher and how he’s broke, needs a hip replacement, getting divorced, etc, and trying to raise money through GoFundMe? Thoughts?

I feel for Abby, but to be honest, I have mixed feelings about all of this. Abby is a wrestling legend and from what I understand, is in a sad state of affairs these days, but with such obvious fraud, if what he’s saying is true, I would think that legal aid and others would step up to help him if he was as bad off as he claims. Remember, Abby has always been the ultimate con man in so many ways, taking advantage of every opportunity to make a buck over the years, plus he ran a very successful restaurant for many years and I can’t see a functionally illiterate man being capable of doing all of that. Maybe he’s telling the truth, but my gut feeling is that it’s not as cut and dry as he makes it out to be and he’s not quite as much a victim as he’s claiming to be. Karma can be a bitch sometimes and something inside me is saying that all of his issues are just her doing her thing. I might be wrong. I hope I’m wrong and it’s not Abby trying to do a swerve. Only time will tell though.

Thoughts on Dave Meltzer as a journalist?

Real journalism is dead and Meltzer is a perfect example. Dave reports the news, but he puts his spin on it, reports his opinion as fact, and leaves out the parts that don’t support his friends and own beliefs. Meltzer is no different than the people on Fox, CNN, or MSNBC in that they never let facts mess up a good story and they only give you the news the way they want to do it, complete with spin and opinion factored in. I’ll tell you quickly that I’m not a journalist or reporter. My stuff is all based on experience, speculation and opinion, but I do try to be fair and see both sides of the story when I’m reporting on or talking about something. Meltzer gave up trying a long time ago.

Why isn’t WWE using Lacey Evans more?

I don’t know. She’s a solid worker, has a strong heel personality that comes across well on television when she’s allowed to be that character and can have a good match with anyone. If I was booking, I’d have Lacey back at the brass Southern Belle and use her among the top spots of the ladies’ roster. I don’t get why WWE doesn’t unless it’s a personality thing or she’s made someone mad. Maybe there’s an NDA with Vince we don’t know about. Who knows?

Nick Aldis made his return to Impact Wrestling at Rebellion, confronting new Impact Wrestling Champion Steve Maclin in the ring. Thoughts?

I was wondering where he would end up appearing after leaving the NWA and now we know. This is probably the best place for Aldis right now, what with the Endeavor sale taking place in WWE and the general confusion that is AEW, Aldis can work Impact, collect a steady paycheck, and relax while the other companies get themselves straightened out. Aldis is a definite asset to the Impact roster as well. It’ll be fun to see what happens next.

Eric Bischoff thinks that AEW should headline CM Punk versus Bill Goldberg at AEW All In. Thoughts?

While I do think that having both men as part of the event would be a good idea, having them face each other would not. Let Punk deal with The Elite while Goldberg does something else. I think Eric was just being a smartass with that comment about Punk versus Goldberg. At least I hope so.

What do you think of Andrew Martin aka Test?

I liked Test. He had a good look and presence and was a solid hand in the ring. The charisma wasn’t all that and he, unfortunately, got lost in the shuffle that was WWE far too often, but he was a good wrestler and had a good run.

When Tony Khan gets tired of the headaches from all of his shiny toys, what happens to AEW? Does it shut down, is someone else placed in charge, or what?

When Tony burns out, and he will eventually, given all that he tries to do for AEW, The Jacksonville Jaguars, the soccer team, and all of the other Khan family ventures, he’s going to have to come in off the mountain and take a break. And when it happens, I think his father will take control, hire competent managers who know what they’re doing to run the company, and just move Tony to a corporate role where he oversees everything, but delegates all the authority and responsibilities. That’s what needs to happen now if AEW, and Tony for that matter, plan to grow and survive. Either that or he just shuts down everything and sells off the assets to recoup some of his financial losses. I’m pretty sure that if anything ever happens to Tony, then AEW will be history.

A&E has been on fire with all of these recent biographies. Who would you like to see A&E feature in upcoming editions of their show?

A&E has been doing well with the stories and legends of pro wrestling, but if I could assign a few topics for future shows, I’d start with Black Saturday. I’d throw in stories about Antonio Inoki, The American Love Machine Art Barr, Baron Von Raschke, The Legacy of Blackjack Mulligan & his family, The Exotic Adrian Street, and Jim Crockett Promotions. Any or all of those topics would make for a great hour or two of documentary goodness.

Are Dom Mysterio & Rhea Ripley the Tully Blanchard & Baby Doll of the modern era of wrestling?

It’s an interesting comparison, but aside from all four of these amazing talents being just that, amazing talents, I don’t see it. Baby Doll wasn’t a wrestler, but instead more of a valet/bodyguard for Tully. She was his Perfect Ten. With Rhea and Dom, Rhea is the veteran wrestler and the more imposing of the two. Dom has that chickenshit heel character down pat and gets better every week. Good eyes and it’s a fun comparison, but they’re not so much alike in my opinion.

I just had an idea for Survivor Series. Miz gets tired of being disrespected and challenges The Bloodline to a traditional Survivor Series match to determine if Miz gets a title shot at Roman. And Miz’s team? All former proteges of his, Alex Riley, Damien Sandow, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, and of course, Miz w/Maryse taking on The Bloodline w/ Paul Heyman. Thoughts?

I don’t think this would work for a variety of reasons. First off, you have five wrestlers on Miz’s team while there are only four members of The Bloodline. That’s not a problem because Roman would just recruit a family member to fill that extra spot. But also on Miz’s team, Alex Riley and Sandow work for the NWA, Dallas is currently working as Uncle Howdy and Axel, he was working an as agent for WWE, but I believe he was dismissed. Getting this team of former Miz proteges together would be a major mess and hard to do. And what about Miz’s other former protege, Bryan Danielson? Why is he being left out? I get where you’re coming from and it would be a fun match if it ever could happen, but the logistics make it almost impossible so let’s just say no.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions you might have 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!