Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
The Acclaimed, Jamie Dundee, Fantasy Booking A PPV & More
July 6, 2023
DougMaynard.com

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Do you think the Acclaimed are as over as they were a year ago?

No, I don’t and I’ll tell you why. The Acclaimed was on fire just a few months ago and hell, they were even the AEW Tag Team Champions for a few months until losing to The Gunns in February. And since then, they’ve rarely been on television and when they have appeared, it’s a lackluster feud with the Gunns and the occasional Trios match with Billy Gunn as their partner. The old cliche, “out of sight and out of mind” comes to mind here. Or typical AEW/Tony Khan booking. They’re a good team and with some strong matches and appearances on TV, they can get their mojo back rather quickly, but in all honestly, they should never have been taken off television and had their original momentum stopped to begin with.

In just three weeks, the viewership for AEW Collision has dropped by nearly 50%. Is Collision just another Rampage?

It sure seems that way. Saturday is not a good night for television and wrestling fans to begin with unless it’s a PPV or Premium Live Event, but to lose that many fans that quickly is more than just a bad TV slot. It means that people tuned in to check things out and they don’t see anything worth making an effort to come back. It’s just more typical AEW with matches that have no build, characters that aren’t consistent, and no storylines to get invested in. It’s just another Rampage but on a different night.

At the New Japan July 4th show, Eddie Kingston won the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship from KENTA, while Willow Nightingale lost her NJPW Strong Women’s Championship to Guilia. Thoughts?

Considering that Willow wasn’t planned to originally win the title she was holding, losing it this quickly is not a surprise. Kingston is getting his moment and even though I’m not a fan of what he’s done thus far in AEW/ROH, he does have an aura about him and is interesting to watch and follow. I’m happy for him and his success.

Thoughts on Hillbilly Jim?

When I was young and Hillbilly Jim first showed up, I hated him. He was goofy, cartoonish, and did nothing for me. But that was the WWF in the 80s and I was a strict NWA guy growing up so what did I know, right? But over the years, I’ve grown to appreciate Jim and his character much more. He had a role and he did it well, and while he’ll never be comparable to Harley Race, The Masked Superstar, or Blackjack Mulligan in my eyes, he was there to entertain the fans and did what he needed to do. He’s underrated as a wrestler and promo, and for that period and the WWF, he was the right guy in the right place.

Thoughts on JC Ice, aka Jamie Dundee?

Jamie has a lot of issues, but I always found him entertaining and, especially for a guy his size, good in the ring. I’ve watched so many of his shoot interviews and he reminds me of a lot of people I’ve grown up with, in that you just want to tell him to shut the hell up, but if he was there and said, “Let’s have a beer”, you’d probably accept and say okay. Well, maybe that’s just me. His demons have overshadowed his in-ring career, but he was a good performer and much better than he’s given credit for.

Thoughts on Nick Wayne?

Eighteen years old and already with over five years of experience working in the Independents. I’m interested in seeing what Wayne can do in that ring and what he brings to AEW. I’m hoping that he can learn, grow, develop, and become a well-trained wrestler and storyteller. Only time will tell, but it’s going to be an exciting ride to watch. Congratulations to Wayne on his contract and future with AEW.

Would new heel Jungle Boy Jack Perry be better as part of The Elite, The Jericho Appreciation Society, or pairing up with Christian & Luchasaurus?

Of the three options, I’d ally Perry with Christian and Luchasaurus. Given their history, it would give Perry time to learn about how to be the best heel possible from Christian, who is one of the best, and then down the road, Perry and Luchasaurus can team up and take Christian out, giving him a babyface run and keeping their rivalry and story alive, but from switched perspectives. It makes the most sense storywise and logic-wise.

Barry Windham versus Gunther. Who wins?

Barry, when he was motivated and in his prime, could have a great match with anyone and Gunther isn’t just anyone. The man is a wrestling machine and this would be an instant classic in every sense. If they wrestled a hundred times, both men should win 50% of the matches. And if it was only one time, I think the win would probably go to Gunther.

If wrestlers like Edge & Matt Hardy, Jeff Jarrett & Kurt Angle, HBK & Bret Hart, etc., could put aside their issues and work together, then why can’t The Elite and CM Punk in AEW?

The people that you mentioned had their issues but were adult enough to put the business ahead of their personal interests and were professional enough to realize the money that they could make. In the situation with Punk and The Elite, while some are willing to work things out and use the situation to make the company better, it seems that two certain executives can’t grow up enough to compromise and be adults. Damn shame too because a program with Punk, FTR, The Elite, etc., is money just waiting to be made.

You’ve been hired as the Booker for a Heroes of Wrestling II PPV. You can make any eight matches that you want, using any wrestlers you want, who are not under contract to WWE, AEW, Impact Wrestling, or the NWA. What would your show look like?

Considering what a disaster the original Heroes of Wrestling PPV was, it shouldn’t be hard to top it and put together a strong card with wrestlers from the Independent scene. Let’s try it.

The Main Event: Matt Cardona versus Goldberg. And the rest of the matches would be as follows: “Nature Boy” Paul Lee versus Michael Youngblood. Tessa Blanchard versus Samantha Starr w/ Baby Doll. Sammy Love & Angel Angels versus The Atlantic Coast Destruction Crew (Ethan Storm & TazJackson). Hang Tyme versus Fuego Del Sol. George South versus Tim Zbyszko w/ Larry Zbyszko. Sean Waltman & Hornswoggle versus Joey Janella & Nathan Cross. Cham Pain versus Shannon Moore. Nia Jax & Alicia Fox versus Madusa & Lisa Marie Varon , aka Victoria. Ten-Man Battle Royal with Chief Jay Eagle, The Renegade Warrior, Carolina Kidd, Mob Boss Phil DeCarlo, The New Breed, The Monster Brad Branson, Cruze Bittle, and Garrett Sinclair.

And there you go, card subject to change of course. My announcers would be Chris Cruise & Dutch Mantell. My interviewer would be Missy Hyatt. And my ring announcer, The Fallen Artist, Derk Douglas.

Many of these people are not household names, yet, but they’re all damn good wrestlers and this show, unlike its predecessor, would kick ass and be awesome.

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

Ubuntu!