Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Nick Wayne, Hulk Hogan’s Lies, Contract Tampering & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s not your father’s wrestling Q&A. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug, your Master of Ceremonies, and this is how we do it. Let’s roll!

Blue Meanie versus Matt Cardona. Who wins?

As much as I love both men, this one isn’t even close. Matt Cardona is the Indy King, while Blue Meanie dances. It’d be a fun match to watch, but the outcome is not in any doubt. The bWo would get involved. Stevie Richards would nail Cardona with a chair shot and a Stevie-kick while Nova kept the referee distracted. And Meanie would win.

Is the story with Nick Wayne in AEW essentially a WISH version of the Dom Mysterio angle in WWE?

I can see why one would think so. Both Dom & Wayne are second-generation talents with punchable faces and parent issues and I felt the same way at first. And now both are involved in factions with their former foes. A lot of similarities to be sure. But the stories are just different enough to keep it interesting. Dom has excelled and done well, both in the ring and as a character, while with Wayne, the jury is still out. The brawl with Darby and the small things when arguing with his mother has caught my attention though. Where I was originally wondering why Wayne was part of AEW, I’m beginning to get it. He has a ways to go before he’s at Dom’s level, but with Christian and Luchasaurus as his cohorts, I’m at least interested in the character now.

American Dragon Bryan Danielson versus The American Love Machine Art Barr versus American Starship Coyote. Who wins?

A 4th of July, All-American Braw, this would have been a match for the ages. Unfortunately, both Art Barr and Scott Hall are no longer with us. Put Del Wilkes, aka The Patriot as the special guest referee and let these three exceptional talents just go at it. Hall was so green when he was part of the American Starship, along with Dan Spivey (American Starship Eagle), so although he was showing a lot of potential, I wouldn’t put much faith in him at this point in his career. Art Barr was just beginning to show his talents as part of a tag team with Eddie Guerrero but passed before he ever had the chance to come into his prime. And the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson. He’s still main eventing on AEW today. So by default, The Dragon wins.

Remember Dusty Rhodes/The Midnight Rider, Tommy Rich/Mr. R., Jimmy Valiant/Charlie Brown, etc. Would that angle work for today’s AEW or WWE?

The last time this angle was used on a national stage was when Hulk Hogan played Mr. America in the WWE back in 2003 and it kind of got over. It hasn’t been used since to the best of my memory/knowledge, but I could see AEW bringing it back and using it again. It’s a low IQ, kind of wink-wink-nod-nod gimmick, but MJF as the Masked Jew or Christian Cage as Daddy Figure. Yes, I can see that happening. I hope we don’t, but in wrestling, anything is possible.

Impact Wrestling has allegedly made CM Punk an offer. Do you think Punk would ever consider Impact or the NWA as an alternative to WWE?

If the money is right, I think Punk would consider both options, especially with the big moves that both companies seem to be making, with Impact going back to being TNA at the first of the year and the NWA getting ready for a return to network television at the CW. It all comes down to money and the art of the deal and while I don’t think Punk has any major interest in either company, I’m sure he would consider it.

Tony Khan continues to accuse WWE of contract tampering with AEW talent. Do you think WWE has tampered with AEW talent and their contracts?

Yes, but I also think that AEW and Tony have tampered with talent under contract to other companies as well. We’re not supposed to talk about that though. Do you think that Edge’s WWE contract expired on one day, but he was able to debut at an AEW PPV the next day, complete with an intro video, music, and a new deal with no previous contact? Current OVE and former Impact Wrestling talent Mahabali Shera recently confirmed that AEW reached out to him two years ago while he was under an Impact Wrestling Contract and tried to get him to come to AEW. So Tony’s guilty of the same things he’s accusing WWE of doing. Wrestlers talk and conversations happen. It’s part of the business and every company does it. And anyone who says differently is either a liar, a hypocrite, or delusional. And in Tony Khan’s case, probably all three.

Do you think Don Callis is about to grow his faction? How would you rank him as a manager in AEW?

Honestly, I keep forgetting that Callis is there and has a faction. I rarely watch AEW anymore except for highlights on YouTube and while I see Callis show up sometimes, revealing pictures with Jericho or stabbing someone in the head with a screwdriver, his promos are boring as hell and tend to go on and on. I liked him as The Jackyl in WWE so many years ago, but now, he’s just kind of ‘eh at best. There are so many factions and managers in AEW, that I’d rank him probably a 5 out of 10. And is he about to grow his family? Well, Tay Melo is about to have a baby so that’s a new person. I’d say yes.

Vince Russo has allegedly reached out to Tony Khan and AEW to come aboard and help. Should Tony bring Russo into AEW?

At this point, it couldn’t hurt. At least Russo knows how to write characters and television, both of which Khan needs help with. And are Russo’s bad ideas truly any worse than some of the drivel that we’ve been subjected to over the past four years? Russo wouldn’t be an ideal situation for AEW’s problems, but he’d be a step up from what we have going on now.

Who’s the bigger liar? Marty Janetty or Hulk Hogan?

Marty Janetty is a master of half-truths and exaggeration, but no one tops the Hulkster, brother! Hulk Hogan was almost part of Metallica, brought Simon Cowell to America, and Scared Mike Tyson so badly that Tyson refused to work with WCW. He could have played for the New York Yankees and wrestled 400 days in one year. Elvis was a huge Hulkamaniac, even though Elvis died in 1978 and Hogan started wrestling in 1979, etc. You get the picture. No one beats the Hulkster, brother!

So, Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.) versus Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 40? Yes or no?

It’d be an interesting match to see and makes sense in a way, with Pillman Jr, aka King, betraying the memory of his father, while Austin was one of Pillman’s best friends and former tag team partner. If Austin is in wrestling shape and wants to do it, it’s a money angle for sure. I’d say yes.

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!