Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Roman Reigns, Harvey Whippleman, Managers and Wrestling Journalists & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the AM edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I meant to do this last night, but I fell asleep. It happens sometimes. So are you ready for some talk about the King of Sports? Let’s roll.

Harvey Whippleman, aka Downtown Bruno. Does he belong in the WWE Hall of Fame?

The man had a stellar career, both in Memphis, and then in WWE, both as a manager and backstage, working for the office. He was even the WWE Women’s Champion at one point. He helped The Rock get started and is one of the most unique characters in WWE history. Yes, he belongs and I dare anyone to say anything different.

Who was the best celebrity to ever wrestle a match in the 1980’s or 1990’s?

My first thoughts were Lawrence Taylor, Mr.T, and Kevin Greene. The first two headlined Wrestlemania events and Greene headlined a couple of WCW PPVs with The Horsemen. Then Dennis Rodman popped into my mind and he was pretty decent as part of the nWo. But one name surpasses them all. Former WCW World Champion David Arquette. Why is he the best? He was the WCW World Champion. The rest of these guys were not. ‘Nuff said!

What are your views on the Owen Hart situation in the WWE?

Owen’s death was a huge tragedy and one of the worst moments in wrestling history. In hindsight, they should have stopped the show, but I can see both sides of that. Owen’s widow and family don’t want anything to do with WWE now and I get that. Owen belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame, but until the family approves, it won’t happen. It’s sad, but again, I can see both sides. Hopefully, one day, Owen will get the tribute and recognition he deserves. RIP Owen Hart.

Vinnie Vegas, The Diamond Studd, and DDP versus Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose (The Shield). Who wins?

Of course, this is The Outsiders, early in their careers, with their manager, who also became a great wrestler in his own right, against one of the most prominent factions in WWE of the last fifteen years. It’d be a damn good match. I’d go with The Shield on this one.

Red Pill: The NWO, Sting, Goldberg, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, and more are a part of The Invasion. Or the Blue pill: The Undertaker’s streak never ends. What have you got?

I’d go with the Red Pill here. Just imagine what the WCW Invasion of WWF could have been if the big stars and big names of WCW had been involved. It would have been epic and even Vince McMahon, who refused to book his talent to look weaker than the WCW wrestlers, would have been forced to level things out and we would have gotten an amazing couple of years of great stories and matches. About the Blue Pill? Everything has to come to an end at some point and that includes The Streak.

Is Roman Reigns in the Mt. Rushmore conversation?

For some people, he’s already there. For myself, he’s in the conversation to be sure, but he’s not quite in my Mt. Rushmore of all time as of yet. For the past decade, for sure, but not in the bigger, longer picture of things.

So the Bang Bang Gang (The Gunn Club & Jay White) are together with The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn. The Bang Bang Scissor Gang? Thoughts?

I watched the segment on AEW and I’ll admit it. I got chills and a good feeling in my tum-tum. Billy Gunn, The Acclaimed, and The Not-Ass Boys are among the few bright spots for me in AEW right now, and seeing them reunited and all together, made me smile. I’m interested in seeing where this goes.

Following up on a recent question, you said Gary Hart wouldn’t be on your Mt. Rushmore of Managers, but that he and Oliver Humperdink deserve to be mentioned. So let’s build on that. Your Top Ten Wrestling Managers of all time?

My Top Ten Managers of All Time? It’d be Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman, Woman, Sir Oliver Humperdink, Gary Hart, James J. Dillon, Captain Lou Albano, Baby Doll, and Sherri Martel.

Who would be your Mt. Rushmore of wrestling columnists/journalists?

Which one do you want because there is a difference? Journalists report the news and facts, while columnists, like myself, do opinion and speculation. I’ll do both. For actual journalists, I’d say Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Bill Apter, Wade Keller, and Dave Scherer. As for talking heads and columnists, I’ll say, Mr. Tito, Chris Hyatte (RIP), PWinsider’s Mike Johnson & Dave Scherer (as a team), and finally, myself. We’re talking about pro wrestling and back in the day, when I wrote both Tossing Salt – Worldwide News and Six Minutes, I was pretty damn good if I do say so myself. It’s my list and my Mt. Rushmore and if I don’t believe in myself, who will, right? I just wish I could find that fire and motivation again. But until I do, you get all of these Q&As instead. You’re welcome. So there you go.

Chris Masters versus Ken Patera in a Battle of the Full Nelsons. Who wins?

Masters, now wrestling as Chris Adonis, has The Master Lock. Patera, who was legit billed as the World’s Strongest Man and was an Olympian Silver Medalist, had the Swinging Full Nelson, which was the full nelson and swinging the opponent around. Both men are powerful and do their moves as well as anyone else, although Bobby Lashley and his “Hurt Lock” belong in the argument of who does it best as well. This would be a good and exciting match to see. I think at the end of the night, Patera would be the one taking that trip to the pay window as the victor.

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!