Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Kevin Sullivan, Curtis Axel, Trish Stratus & More
June 1, 2023
DougMaynard.com

There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues, but talking about the world’s greatest sport always seems to help. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Thoughts on Kevin Sullivan?

A larger than life character who had a fantastic career, first as a wrestler and then manager, with lots of booking for Florida, Georgia, and WCW along the way. Sullivan was such a great character that he was always believable, even with the odd gimmicks he often used. You believed this man was the devil. And even against much bigger opponents, such as Blackjack Mulligan, Dusty, and Andre the Giant, you didn’t notice the size difference. All you saw was an evil troll that had these bigger guys trapped in the fight of a lifetime. I’m surprised that Tony Khan hasn’t brought him in as an advisor yet, and also that he’s not yet in the WWE Hall of Fame. He would be great at the first and deserves the latter.

Thoughts on Gorilla Monsoon as a wrestler?

Gorilla is known to me best as a Commentator and Announcer, but before taking that role, he was also a tough-as-nails wrestler who had many classic matches against Bruno Sammartino in the late 60s and early 70s. The few matches I’ve seen show that Gorilla was a monster, hence the name, and his trademark was the big chop. While I don’t think he would be a big name in today’s business, for his era, he was a legit badass. He wasn’t a great wrestler, but he was imposing and knew how to work that big-man style and pop the fans. His commentary was better to me than his wrestling, but for his era and time, he was pretty damn decent.

Jake Roberts & Dory Funk Jr. versus The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar). Who wins?

Erik and Ivar are a good tag team, but Funk and Roberts, who teamed together in the early 80s for Crockett, would outwork them and take them apart. Dory & Jake would win.

What did you think about AEW Double Or Nothing?

It was an interesting show and there were some good matches, but it was damn too long. It seems as if Tony tries to get every wrestler on the roster into a match and then they rush through, with no time for storytelling or allowing the fans to catch their breath. That Jericho versus Cole match was terrible and I expected far better. The way they squashed Taya Valkyrie in the match against Jade and then had Statlander come out and squash Jade in less than a minute to win the TBS Championship was bad too. I liked the FTR versus Jarrett/Lethal match and Christian versus Wardlow, but most of the card was just thrown together with no rhyme or reason for being. And that four-way match with MJF versus Sammy, Darby, and Jungle Boy exposed everyone and everything bad about AEW. The right person won, but the match wasn’t good in my opinion. Not by any means.

Why didn’t Joe Hennig (Curtis Axel) get over in the WWE?

I think Hennig was doomed from the very start with that name, Michael McGillicutty. And then the change to Curtis Axel was an improvement, but he had already been buried so often, even Paul Heyman couldn’t help. Axel has personality, as any interview segment and the Axelmania run proved, but WWE wouldn’t let Axel talk on TV and show that personality. Joe was used as a background character and when he would start to get over, he would get buried just as quickly by Vince and WWE Creative. Axel had the in-ring abilities and the personality to be a big star for WWE, but he was never allowed to show it and thus, he was stuck as a B-Team Performer. That sucks too because he could have been a contender.

Should Trish Stratus get a run with one of the Women’s Championship titles before her current run with WWE ends?

I can’t see Trish working well against any of the current champions (Asuka, Rhea, Ronda & Shayna), but it would be nice to see her get a big moment one last time before she goes back into retirement. Maybe the NXT Women’s Championship? How about Trish with the Money In The Bank contract? No, I don’t see that happening either, but before it’s all over, Trish should get a chance to wear some gold one final time.

I cut a promo on some guys at work. When was the last time you did that?

I’ve done it before with my manager at work, who also has wrestled on the NC Indy scene for over twenty years, but it’s been a while now. I may have to do that when I go back to work on Friday. Hmmmm.

Thoughts on Brian “Crush” Adams?

A solid wrestler, a good person, and one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever had the honor of speaking to. I met Brian via the Yahoo Groups back in the day and yes, we verified that it was Brian and not an imposter. Brian and tag partner Bryan Clark had a group dedicated to Kronik and I was able to speak with both of them many times. I’ve still got quite a few of the e-mails from Brian saved. He had a great sense of humor and was just an awesome person. It’s all about Kronik. ‘Nuff said!

If Vince Russo and Dixie Carter were to have a kid, would that kid be Tony Khan?

Now that you mention it, there are a lot of similarities. Hmmmm.

I know the die-hard fans won’t agree but AEW needs to take a long break from Jericho. Yes or no?

I would say yes to that. Jericho has gotten stale as of late and a vacation and a reboot of his character would work wonders. Jericho has always been a master of reinventing himself and it’s time to do so once more. I just don’t think Jericho or Tony have realized that yet, but I agree. A break would work wonders and be a good thing.

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

Ubuntu!