Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
CM Punk, Judgement Day, Uncle Howdy & More
September 6, 2023
DougMaynard.com

I looked at the inbox and it seems like everything right now is CM Punk. Well, at least the first ten questions I came across this morning were about Mr. Brooks anyhow. Well, I always said that anything goes and nothing is off-limits here so I guess it’s all about Punk. I’m Doug and this is the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

Do you think AEW will be able to survive the departure of CM Punk or are we counting the days until we see Triple H in an AEW ring in Panama City?

So long as Tony Khan’s daddy remains a billionaire and keeps giving his son money to live out his fantasy as a wrestling promoter, AEW is safe. Most likely, there will be a big financial hit as a result of losing Punk, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing Triple H show up on Dynamite anytime soon.

Do you think CM Punk got fired for this being his 2nd time with the backstage BS? Also, do you think that promo Triple H did years ago on CM Punk aged well?

CM Punk was fired because Tony Khan was a poor manager and let too much stuff go on for too long and now he’s trying to make up for lost time, using Punk as an example, when the majority of the problems started not with Punk, but with his own EVPs instead. Punk screwed up and termination was the right call, but it never should have gotten this far and if Khan had better control over his own company, it wouldn’t have. And the Triple H promo? No, it hasn’t aged well.

Now that The Judgement Day has taken the Undisputed Tag Titles do you see WWE using the tension between Priest and Balor as a way to split the Tag Titles apart again?

I don’t know if the tension between Priest and Balor will be the reason, but I would prefer to see the tag team belts separate again. If we have two world champions, which we do, and two Women’s Champions, again which we do, then we need two sets of tag team champions. It’s only common sense.

Knowing that All In was his last match in AEW, would you have booked any better ending/last opponent for Punk?

A win over Samoa Joe in front of 81,000 people is a great way to go out. No one knew it would be Punk’s last match with AEW, but I don’t think he could have had a better curtain call than the one he got.

A bit of a stretch, but could the official inclusion of Uncle Howdy in 2k23 mean that WWE will end up doing more with Bo Dallas under that character as a tribute story to Bray Wyatt?

I can’t really see WWE going too hard with the Bray Wyatt stuff. They don’t want to come across as trying to exploit his death. But I am hoping that Bo Dallas gets a renewed push and if he just happens to be the leader of a group called The Wyatt 6, as a tribute to his brother, even better. Bo is a damn good wrestler and much better than the comedy mid-card role that he played under the control of Vince. I’d love to see him get a chance to prove it.

Given Punk’s firing and TK seemingly finally taking charge, do you think it’s a good idea to have active members of the roster holding EVP positions?

Nope. Wrestlers who are active members of the roster should NOT be in management positions. It never works. Never.

What are the odds of a high-profile Colt Cabana match coming up soon?

It would not surprise me in the slightest. How about Colt Cabana & Jack Perry taking the tag team belts away from Punk’s friends, FTR. That wouldn’t surprise me the slightest bit either.

What’s next for Punk? Both in reality and fantasy booking. Maybe take on the mantle of Suicide in Impact. Or start a podcast dedicated to Bollo from The Mighty Boosh?

I don’t get that last reference, but so far as what’s next for CM Punk, I don’t think he has to worry much about sitting around the house, playing with Larry, and getting bored. He still has his commentary jobs with UFC, as well as his role on the series, Heels. He’s written comics in the past for Marvel Comics, so he could always resume doing that again as well. I’m still somewhat expecting to see him show up in WWE at some point, and if not there, then possibly New Japan. And wouldn’t it be nice to see Punk maybe show up as part of John Cena’s TV series, Peacemaker, as a villain trying to take Peacemaker, aka Cena, out? A podcast would be interesting, but I don’t see Punk going in that direction. He has plenty of options available though. We just have to wait and see what he decides on next.

The TK opening of Collision…is this a work? When does a promoter come on screen to talk about the release of a talent?

No, it’s not a work. And when it’s the top star of the company, and you’re running a PPV the next night in that star’s hometown, Tony Khan was just trying to do some damage control.

So how long before Paul Heyman comes out on RAW to introduce “The Real World Champion”, bringing out CM Punk?

I’d love to see it happen in a couple of weeks, but most likely, if “the real AEW World Champion” shows up at a WWE Event, I’m thinking it will be at the Survivor Series on November 25th in Chicago, IL. CM Punk re-debuting in his hometown would just be right.

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. I’ll probably be back later today with more great stuff. Until then, take care and watch out for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!