Tossing Salt Presents
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Bron Breakker, The Royal Rumble, R-Truth & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A and that is all the people need to know. I’m Doug. Let’s roll.

Thoughts on the 2024 Royal Rumble PLE.

It was a pretty good show. The acoustics of the arena kind of dampened the sound a bit, but the matches were solid and entertaining. It was a little too by-the-numbers for me with no real surprises in the Rumble matches, but I’m not complaining. WWE did a good job.

Bron Breakker seems to have taken the Brock Lesnar spot in the Rumble. Thoughts on Bron’s appearance?

Bron came in, looked good, had a few good moments, and then got eliminated by Dom Mysterio, hopefully setting up a future angle between the two. Breakker is a star of the future and this appearance showed just that. He’s on his way up the ladder. Good for him.

The winners of the Rumble were Bayley and Cody. Thoughts?

I think my picks were Becky and Cody Rhodes so I was half right. No complaints about how it turned out. Having Bayley win the Women’s Rumble Match is probably even better with more directions to go.

TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace was part of the WWE Royal Rumble. So is the “Forbidden Door” between TNA and WWE now open?

It sure looks that way, and good for WWE and TNA. Good wrestling with consistent stories and characters can only be a positive for both companies.

Vince McMahon has resigned so there are currently no McMahons as part of the WWE. Thoughts?

Technically, we still have Triple H as the Chief Content Officer and he’s married to Stephanie, so he’s still part of the McMahon family. Hopefully now, with Vince gone, this will allow Stephanie to return and maybe even Shane. It’s a new era of WWE and that’s for sure though.

At the Post-Rumble media event, when asked about the Vince McMahon lawsuit, Hunter said that he had not read it yet and asked for everyone to focus on the positive. Thoughts?

What did everyone expect him to do? Trash his father-in-law? Hunter is walking a very fine line as an executive for TKO, but also being married to Vince’s daughter and part of the McMahon family. He skirted the question and moved on, as he should have. The time will come when he’ll be forced to address this topic in public and when it comes, I’m sure he’ll do just that. That press conference was about the Royal Rumble and a positive moment for WWE. I can’t blame him in the slightest for trying to keep things on a positive track.

Liv Morgan is back. Thoughts?

Honestly, I had forgotten about Liv. The roster for WWE, both with the men and women, is so stacked right now, that while it’s good to have her back, it’s not a game-changer in the slightest. Welcome back, Liv. Now, get out there and wrestle.

Was R-Truth the MVP of the Royal Rumble or what?

He crashes the Women’s Rumble match, tags into the Men’s match, and repeatedly saves Dom, while also allowing us to witness an Awesome Truth reunion. Then he got thrown out by Damion Priest and made fun of Adam Pearce’s hair, or lack of while calling him Nick Aldis. Yes, Truth is awesome and can do no wrong. MVP of the Rumble? I can agree with that.

Pat McAfee was back for the Rumble event (and even participated in the Men’s Rumble match.) Do you think Pat will be back full-time with the Rumble, possibly as the lead announcer for Smackdown?

I don’t think he’ll be back full-time because honestly, he doesn’t have the time for a full-time WWE career. Less is more with a guy like McAfee and I prefer him to show up randomly, trade barbs with Corey Graves, and be a pleasant surprise. It just seems to work better that way.

Allegedly, Shane McMahon originally left the WWE because he learned of his father’s behavior and was disgusted about it. And allegedly, Stephanie McMahon left for the same reason, only to return when Vince resigned from WWE and then left again when Vince forced his way back into power. Now that Vince is gone for good, hopefully, should WWE bring Shane and Stephanie back?

If this is all true, it makes sense. Yes, I would like to see both Steph and Shane back in WWE at some point, in some role. Steph was good at her job and had a very positive influence on the company during her time as a WWE Executive. Shane is well-liked by most of the people but has never really had the chance to show what he can do. Maybe the time is now. At least give them both a shot to help the company their Grandpa created without the shadow of Vince and his WWE-themed sex toys hanging over their heads.

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 need to go to work. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!