Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Sasha Banks, Peggy Lee Leather, Meltzer & More
May 25, 2023
DougMaynard.com

Another edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Yes, you’re welcome. Let’s do this.

Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood versus The Rock & Roll Express. Who wins?

Steamboat & Youngblood held the NWA World Tag Team Championship titles a then-record five times. The Rock & Roll Express held that same title nine times. This would be an epic match. It could go either way, but I think Steamboat & Youngblood would come out on top.

Peggy Lee Leather recently passed away. Thoughts and memories of this incredible woman?

I remember seeing Peggy wrestle Selina Majors, aka Bambi, at a live event in Raleigh, NC many years ago. A classic heel who, along with Bambi, stole the show. A good person and tough-as-nails lady that wrestled all over the world and always made an impact. Women’s wrestling was more of a special attraction then and didn’t get nearly the respect that it deserved, but Peggy, along with Bambi, Misty Blue, and the ladies of GLOW and POWW started to change things and built the path that led to today’s powerful and dominant women like Rhea, Charlotte, etc. Peggy was one of the good ones. She will be missed. RIP Peggy Lee Leather.

Mercedes Mone’ (Sasha Banks) suffered a broken foot and lost to Willow Nightingale, giving Willow the New Japan Strong Women’s Title. Thoughts?

From what I understand, Sasha was supposed to win the match and title, but she slipped to the floor and ended up with a broken foot. A call was made and Willow got the pin and the title. It sucks for Sasha, but she’ll be back and this gives Willow a chance she never would have gotten otherwise. Oh well, shit happens.

Would you consider Mercedes Mone’s career since leaving WWE a success, a failure, or something in between?

So far, she’s won a title and then lost it in her first defense, followed by a cringe promo that went viral for the wrong reasons, and then, in only her second match since leaving WWE, she botches a move and breaks her foot. I think that karma is a bitch and proves that one shouldn’t always believe the hype or be unprofessional because shit happens.

The status of CM Punk returning to AEW is now up in the air once more. Do you think he’ll be at the June 17th debut edition of AEW Collision? Yes or no?

From a report, I saw today from a respectable website, no Meltzer, Punk, and AEW officials have worked things out and the AEW Collision debut will be in Chicago and Punk will be there. I’m still a little skeptical that AEW and Tony won’t find a way to screw this up, but as it stands now, Punk will have a live mic and be on the debut edition of the new AEW show. Gee, I wonder what could go wrong?

Jade Cargill has now passed 500 days as AEW TBS Champion. Thoughts?

Over 500 days as champion, but still has only wrestled less than 60 matches in her career and has yet to have a solid match that goes longer than a squash against a veteran or credible, main-event quality opponent. Jade is still greener than toxic baby shit and unless she steps up the schedule, wrestles others besides jobbers and other rookies, and finds a serious teacher or mentor to make her better, none of it means a damn thing.

Dutch Mantell recently stated on his podcast that he thinks the recently debuting team of Pretty Deadly will be “unemployed soon”. Thoughts?

I think Breezango had a job on the WWE main roster for several years and they weren’t half as fun as Pretty Deadly seems to be. Pretty Deadly does the comedy and LayCool gimmick with their own spin, plus they’re two very talented wrestlers who came up through the NXT programs under the guidance of Triple H and then HBK. I hate to disagree with Dutch, but on this, I will. Pretty Deadly will do well on the main roster

Is Saturday night a Death Slot for AEW Colission since no wrestling shows can work in that time slot as former WWE Announcer Jonathan Coachman claims or can it work for AEW and draw good numbers?

Saturday night is not an ideal spot on television for any show, but if the wrestling is good, the show is exciting, and with OnDemand and DVRs figured into the picture, I can easily see Colission doing the same or better numbers than Dynamite. After all, WCW had a Saturday night show on TBS for over thirty years and it did great numbers for a long time. Of course, AEW isn’t the NWA or WCW, but if the product is good, the fans will find a way to watch it. And if Dynamite and Rampage are the standards for success, it’ll be fine until Tony’s booking and The Elite find a way to screw it up.

Is Dave Meltzer a credible wrestling journalist?

Dave is a wrestling historian, but so far as legit journalism goes, he gets more wrong than he gets right, refuses to admit when he’s wrong, and is extremely biased in his attempts at reporting. By today’s standards, he is a journalist. Just look at CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc. By the standards of anyone who believes journalists should report the stories and not be the stories, and not take sides, he’s just a joke. I consider him a joke.

Ox Baker & Pretty Boy Carl Fergie versus Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis). Who wins?

I remember seeing Fergie and Ox as the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions back in the day and they were an interesting combination. Fergie was the wrestler, fresh from the Memphis territory, and Baker was the monster. And Alpha has the same style as Gable an amazing technical wrestling guy and Otis, who is pretty damn good himself, is the brawn of the team. For this match, 99% of the time, Alpha Academy should and would win, but I’m feeling a bit nostalgic tonight. I think Ox & Fergie would find a way to steal this one and take that trip to the pay window if you will.

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

Ubuntu!