Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Titles, Dustin Rhodes, Ava Raine & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the second edition of the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A on this lovely Valentine’s Day. Don’t ever say that I don’t love you. So, are you ready? Let’s roll.

If you had to introduce a new title to WWE, what would it be and who gets it?

WWE doesn’t need any more championship titles, but if I had to add one, I’d pull out, from the days of NWA and WCW, the WWE Television Championship for a man’s singles title that would be defended at least once a week, either on RAW or Smackdown, and at all PLEs. They don’t need it but having a working champion with matches of ten minutes long, every week, could be fun and a good way to get a younger guy over, much like the TV title did in the past for Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, for example. As far as who would be the initial champion, I’d go with Dom Mysterio.

In honor of the Superbowl, who is your favorite wrestler who was a football player?

It was a tough call because there were so many greats like Wahoo McDaniel, Goldberg, Lex Luger, Mongo McMichael, Blackjack Mulligan, Ron Simmons, Angelo Mosca, and many others. I think I’ll go with The Big Cat, Ernie Ladd on this one.

Do you think it’s time for the tag belts to be split again?

Yes, I do. While the idea of Unified Tag Team Champions is nice and I like the concept, if there are two brands and two singles World Champions, there should be two sets of tag team champions as well. The tag team scene in WWE is strong right now, probably stronger than it’s been in years, and as it is now, many teams are being ignored and left out of the title scene only because there is only one set of champions to challenge. Splitting the titles back up would rectify that problem.

So would a multi-team ladder match at Mania be a good way to sign first champs for them?

A huge, multi-team ladder match would be a great way to determine a new set of champions. Yes, that would work.

What do you think the Women’s Tag title match will be at Wrestlemania?

As things stand right now, I’d go with The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka & Kairi Sane, versus Chelsea Green, and if she’s able to return by then, Sonya Deville. And if Sonya can’t be there, how about Chelsea Green & Shayna Baszler? Just make sure that Chelsea is part of the match.

What do you think of CM Punk & Big E on commentary? How would you utilize them moving forward through Wrestlemania?

I think both are excellent talkers and either would be good in a role at the Announcer’s Desk. I’d prefer to see Big E as maybe part of the Kickoff Show panels before the PLEs. Punk would work well in that role as well, but every so often on RAW to poke the bear and keep his presence strong, would be excellent to see as well.

With rumors of Dustin’s contract expiring this year with AEW, do you think we could get a Bloodline/Rhodes family feud?

It’s always a possibility, but I doubt it. I believe I’ve heard Dustin say before that once his AEW contract expires, he probably won’t sign any more big or long deals. I think he’ll probably move to a backstage role or perhaps that of a trainer. We might get a one-shot deal with Cody against The Bloodline and that would be cool, but I won’t hold my breath on that.

Will WWE ever start a working relationship with AEW?

If Vince was still in charge of WWE, there would be no chance in hell of that ever happening, but with Triple H and TKO in control of the WWE, anything is possible. I don’t think we’ll ever see it happen, but stranger things have happened in the past. It’s professional wrestling so never say never.

How do you cope with watching old wrestling content knowing that some of the people behind the curtain are “awful” people?

I can, for the most part, separate the character from the real-life person. It might be there in the back of my mind, but I can generally keep the two concepts apart. For example, I love the music of Cher. Yes, she’s a brain-dead idiot and a piece of crap person, but I still bee-bop my head to certain songs and respect her musical skills. It’s not always easy, but I can usually do it.

Ava Raine falls in love with you and wants you to meet the parents… What’s going to happen to you?

This is a great question for Valentine’s Day, but the answer isn’t quite as good. Considering that I’m older than her father, gay, and have been rather opinionated towards her dad over the years on many occasions, a match with Ava and myself probably wouldn’t get over very well or work out. But I would be polite, respectful, and just be my usual, charming self, and the parents, Dwayne and Dany Garcia would probably want to adopt me and offer me a job. I couldn’t be the man in Ava’s life, but I could be a good friend, confident, and role model in many ways.

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 it up. The sun is starting to rise and I need some sleep. Take care and be well, my friends. Happy (Greg) Valentine’s Day. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!