Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Edge, Nick Bockwinkle, Maxx Payne & More
October 8, 2023
DougMaynard.com

It’s the best damn wrestling Q&A ever, period! It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s do this.

In your opinion, would Nick Bockwinkle have made a good NWA Champion?

In the manner of NWA Champions before Ric Flair, absolutely. Bockwinkle could wrestle with anyone and have a great match, cut a promo, play heel or face, and was absolutely one of the best of his era by far. Most likely, in my opinion, the only reason Nick was never the NWA Champion was because of his loyalty to Verne Gagne and the AWA. Well, loyalty, plus Verne paid him very well to stick with the AWA, where there was far less travel involved and the schedule wasn’t quite as rough. But Nick would have made a great representative for the NWA and a great champion. I have no doubts at all about that.

Is Adam Copeland the biggest signing the biggest in AEW history?

That remains to be seen, but in my opinion, that honor distinctly falls to Mr. Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk. He moved the numbers from Day One in AEW, something that Mr. Copeland can not claim.

Is Christian Cage the best thing in wrestling right now?

If not the best thing, he’s absolutely in the argument and contention. Christian has always been a great wrestler and promo guy, but this latest run, with the dead father gimmick, has reeked of total awesomeness from the start and is easily the best thing going on in AEW right now. Christian has always been good, but right now, he’s killing it and is better than ever.

Where in your opinion does Edge fit in longer term past Cage? And do you think AEW needs him?

After Copeland and Christian Cage do their thing, I think Copeland will settle in as a legend who is just there and it’s cool, but it doesn’t matter in the big picture of things, much like Sting is being used. Does AEW need him? After the loss of Punk, plus so many top guys being out due to injury, AEW needs all the help they can get, so yes.

Nick Wayne turned on Darby Allin and joined Christian/Luchasaurus. Why?

I think Wayne gave some kind of explanation about how he’s tired of living in Darby’s shadow and whatnot, but truthfully, I didn’t listen or watch. I’m just assuming that Wayne needs a strong father figure in his life, and since his father is dead, he’s reached out to Christian to take that role. I’m sure that’s what Christian will claim. I think this is a good move on the part of Wayne. He’ll have far better opportunities to grow and develop as a talent and character under the guidance of Christian and Luchasaurus than living in the shadow of a spot-monkey like Allin will ever allow.

So now that Adam Copeland is in AEW, how long before we see the debut of Beth Phoenix?

I’ll give it probably about six months at the maximum. AEW doesn’t have that much of a Women’s division to speak of, so the addition of Phoenix would add a great deal to the company. Maybe when Nick Wayne’s mother, who is allegedly sweet on Christian, starts getting involved, we’ll see Beth show up to counter her presence. It won’t be long though. We’ll just have to watch and wait.

Jon Moxley is allegedly pushing for AEW to hire Sami Callahan. Thoughts?

Callahan is a good wrestler who could add a lot to the AEW roster with his presence, but I’m scared that even if he was brought in, the start-stop booking of AEW would keep him from making a major impact or being able to show what he’s capable of. That, plus the endorsement of Moxley, has me slightly wary as well. I think Callahan would be better off, career-wise, to stay with Impact Wrestling. He may end up in AEW, but I don’t think he’s going to be as content there as everyone seems to believe.

Would bringing Vince Russo and Ed Ferrera aboard as part of AEW Creative be a good move by Tony Khan?

I hate to say it, but yes, it would improve things. As bad as Russo and Ferrera are, and yes, they were bad, those two men are all about characters and stories, something that AEW is majorly lacking. Yes, in my opinion, Tony Khan is even worse as a booker/promoter than Vince Russo was. Russo would add structure to the AEW programming, something it needs. So yes, it would be an improvement over what they currently have going on.

Do you remember Maxx Payne, aka Man Mountain Rock? Thoughts?

I remember Darryl Peterson, aka Maxx Payne, briefly from his times in WCW and WWE, but while he had a good and unique look, I don’t remember much else. He was fired from WCW after hurting Brian Knobbs in a match and then repackaged as Man Mountain Rock in the WWE after Rick Rude allegedly recommended him to Vince McMahon. And in WWE, he did a whole lot of nothing. I can’t even remember who he feuded with during his WWE run. I think he did a lawsuit against Rock Star Games for using his ring name, Max Payne, but aside from that little asterisk, his career is pretty forgettable.

Adam Copeland vs Adam Cole vs Adam Page vs Christian Cage vs Brian Cage vs Ethan Page in a Steel Cage on Rampage. Who wins?

Jim Cornette because just imagine the material and rants he would get from a match this convoluted and stupid. This would be a total cluster from start to finish and my head is ready to explode just thinking about it. Christian Cage would win because he’d remind everyone in the ring about their dead fathers and the majority of the children would go hide in the corners of the cage to cry.

So there you go. My thoughts 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!