Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Bray Wyatt, Kurt Angle, Brian Pillman Jr. & More
July 14, 2023
DougMaynard.com

You have questions and I have the answers. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

The Undertaker recently remarked in an interview that WWE needs to go back to Bray Wyatt’s original character because it was money. Thoughts?

I’ve been saying this for a while that the best incarnation of Bray Wyatt was the cult-like leader of the Wyatt Family and it’s good to see that the Undertaker agrees with me. Use The Fiend as the last resort character that Bray only unleashes as a last resort, much like Finn Balor does with his Demon, and the rest of the time, use Bray as Bray, complete with his followers as it should be.

Kurt Angle recently revealed that he spoke with Tony Khan during the formation days of AEW about being the face of the company and said that he asked for a salary of 3 million dollars for ten matches. He also said that Tony wants him for the upcoming Wembley Stadium show. Thoughts?

Does anyone remember what Kurt was like when he made his return to the WWE? The injuries had taken their toll and he was just a shadow of his former self. Kurt is a great wrestling legend, but at the point and time that AEW was forming, he wasn’t worth that much money for AEW or anyone else. Khan was right to pass on that deal.

Charlie Haas recently stated at an event that he’d love to reteam with former partner Shelton Benjamin, preferably in AEW. Would you like to see Haas & Benjamin teaming up again and if so, where?

I’d love to see Haas and Benjamin reform as a tag team and have one last run. AEW would probably be the best place, but maybe doing a one-shot in WWE would be cool too. I don’t care where so long as the World’s Greatest Tag Team, with Jackie Gayda in their corner, gets the chance to do it one more time.

Brian Pillman Jr. seemingly has been removed from the AEW roster. Thoughts?

Except for that brief feud with MJF, AEW totally dropped the ball with Pillman Jr. He’s got a good look, is good on the mic, and has that pedigree as a second-generation wrestler, the son of Brian Pillman Jr. He could have and should have been used so much better, especially with former Horsemen Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson in the company and those relationships could have been built upon for some great stories. Pillman had already been spotted down at the WWE Performance Center earlier this week so hopefully, he’ll get another chance and become the superstar he deserves to be.

What was the better “Gimmick” in your opinion? The Million 💵 Dollar Man? Or The Honky Tonk Man 🎸?

The Million Dollar Man was a great character and Ted DiBiase did a great job with that role, but the better of the two gimmicks was The Honky Tonk Man. I hated that character back in the 80s, but now that I’m older, I appreciate just how good Wayne Farris was.

Carlito versus Kevin Von Erich. Who wins?

Carlito would win and guess what? That would be cool!

What’s a current wrestler that you just don’t get the hype for and you gave him or her a shot but still didn’t like?

Bianca Belair. Yes, she’s athletic and strong. I get that, but she just comes across as a fake character who is going through the motions. I don’t sense that “it factor” about her in the slightest. I don’t feel any kind of emotional connection there and without that, it doesn’t matter how good a wrestler a person might be, but the match doesn’t matter. It’s just there. And that’s what I see in Bianca. She’s just there.

This month marks a full year since Triple H took over WWE Creative. How do you think he’s done over the past 12 months?

The ratings are up. The PPVs have all improved a great deal. There’s less stupidity and things make sense, even the small things. I think there is room for improvement in some areas, but all in all, he’s doing an excellent job.

Thoughts on Big Swede Hanson?

A big star for Crockett Promotions in the late 60s and early 70s and became a respected jobber during the latter years of his career. He was the tough guy who always put up an amazing fight but would put over the up-and-coming talent as future superstars. The best thing I liked about Swede was that even though he was considered a “bad guy”, he didn’t cheat or use weapons, etc. He was just tough and mean and played rough, but he had a sense of honor. A great wrestling legend.

One Man Gang versus Sid Vicious. Who wins?

Most people would be pulling for Sid to win here, but I’m not most people. I remember what OMG did in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic region and he was truly one tough hombre. It’d be a good big-man match and probably pretty stiff at times, but the winner? It would be the One Man Gang.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. 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!