Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Authors of Pain, The Hollywood Blondes, Greg Gagne & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

The questions keep coming so I’ll keep providing the answers to the best of my abilities. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s roll.

Where are the Authors of Pain and Paul Ellering? I kept hearing that WWE has resigned them and they’re coming back, but so far, nothing. What happened?

I have no idea. According to everything I’ve seen, they are under contract to WWE and have been for nearly a year now, but they haven’t been at the Performance Center, NXT, or on WWE television so I don’t know what the deal is. Maybe Triple H is saving them for a special moment? I honestly haven’t got a clue for this one.

Thoughts on Mean Gene Okerlund? Does WWE or AEW need a “Mean Gene” character for their current products?

WWE has their announcers backstage to do interviews and AEW has Renee Paquette & Tony Schiavone to handle theirs, but the majority of wrestlers seem to like to be alone with a microphone and cut their promos in the ring. That’s all well and good, but I’d rather see a strong presence with them, pushing them on questions and directing the interviews, much like Gene did. If WWE could find the right person to do the job, I think it would build and help the company with some of the not quite as-strong as other talkers and make for a better product. They just need to find the right character/person. AEW, with Renee and Tony, is fine as it is.

Do The Hollywood Blondes (Steve Austin & Brian Pillman) belong in the WWE Hall of Fame as a tag team?

As singles wrestlers, both men belong in the WWE Hall of Fame. That’s an indisputable fact. Austin is already there and hopefully, Pillman will be inducted soon. But as a tag team, as great as they were, I would say no. Austin & Pillman had a good run in WCW but were only a team for less than a year. Their run was entertaining and fun to see, but Hall of Fame worthy? I just can’t see it.

Thoughts on Greg Gagne?

Greg gets a lot of hate from the fans, and hell, from the other wrestlers too, but he wasn’t a bad wrestler for his size. He only got the big push because of his name and who his father was and yes, I admit that is true, but he rose to the challenge and worked hard in the ring and, as part of the High Flyers with Jim Brunzell, was entertaining and they were a good team. Greg looked more like an accountant than a professional athlete, but I’ve seen many who were far worse.

Is it me or do these guys hate AEW or are they too harsh or opinionated?
Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette, Booker T., Dutch Mantell, Teddy Long & Vince Russo. THAT’S THE QUESTION! Thoughts?

I don’t think any of them HATE AEW, but instead hate the product that AEW tries to pass off as wrestling instead. If AEW was consistent with good matches, good characters, and stories that didn’t insult everyone’s intelligence, all of these men would make note of it and respond in a far more positive manner. I have heard every single one of these guys dish out compliments when the matches are good and make sense, when the story is strong and makes sense, or when the characters are on fire and make sense, but unfortunately, there is so much going on in AEW that doesn’t make sense, the compliments are few and far between. They don’t hate AEW. They just want it to be better.

What’s the fuss about with Hook? I just don’t get it.

Hook was a good-looking kid with a mysterious character and a strong pedigree. At first, he was a standout from the crowd and that made a difference and caught the fan’s attention. It made him different and special. Now, he’s just another guy on the roster. He had that “it” going on. Now, not quite so much.

Who is better? Eddie Kingston or Jon Moxley.

I’m not a big fan of either, but Jon Moxley, compared to what he was doing just three years ago, has fallen so much and is just a shadow of what he once was as a wrestler. Kingston is who he is and while he’s not getting better, he’s not getting worse either. I’ll go with Eddie on this one.

Since all of their birthdays are on the same day, Jerry Lawler versus JBL versus Dutch Mantell in a triple-threat match. Who wins?

This is an interesting contrast of styles and characters. I think I’d go with The King for this one.

Is ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso the modern equivalent of Booker T?

A tag team wrestler who started to get a push as a babyface single and is killing it and doing an excellent job, growing in the process and slowly finding his way as a big star. Yeah, I think that’s a good comparison. Jey Uso is following the same path as Booker did in WCW on his path to becoming a 5-time WCW Champion. Works for me.

Do you think Rhea Ripley will surpass Chyna in terms of mainstream popularity or is the business not as hot?

WWE and pro wrestling in general are not as hot as they once were, but Rhea is on fire and killing it in everything she has done thus far. I don’t think Rhea will get the mainstream attention as Chyna once did, but I think, in terms of her in-ring career, she may surpass the legend that was Chyna.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!