Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
James Storm, Jake Hager, Brian Gerwitz & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m your guiding light and party host, Doug. Let’s roll.

What’s your honest opinion on James Storm?

A talented and underrated performer who isn’t appreciated nearly enough in my opinion. Storm had a great run in TNA and now, while on the tail end of his career, still has one good run left in him. He should be in either AEW or WWE right now and working as a top guy. Yes, he is that good and I’d love to see one of the major promotions give this veteran another run. And for those who underestimate the “Beer” half of Beer Money, sorry about your damn luck.

Hornswoggle recently compared the Young Bucks and their new gimmicks to Brian Kendrick & Paul London and their run in WWE, saying, “Paul London, I feel like him and Brian Kendrick were like Young Bucks before they were Young Bucks” Thoughts?”.

If Hornswoggle says it’s true, then it’s true. The Young Bucks are the modern-day version of Kendrick and London. Works for me.

Should Orange Cassidy be elevated to the world title picture in 2024?

In my opinion, I would say no. But he’s one of Tony Khan’s favorite wrestlers and a top guy in AEW so the idea of Cassidy challenging for and having a run as the World Champion? I can see it happening.

The Good Brothers (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) have been moved to NXT. Thoughts?

This is probably a good idea. It’s worked for Baron Corbin and since Gallows & Anderson haven’t been used on the main roster as of late, why not? It keeps Gallows & Anderson on TV, plus it adds star power to the NXT roster. Best of all, it gives the NXT roster two more experienced and knowledgeable veterans to work with and learn from.

The Von Erichs (Kevin, Kerry, David) versus Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, and Cowboy Bob Orton. Who wins?

Are we in New York or Dallas? I guess it really wouldn’t matter. I’d have either a DQ or count-out finish to protect the heels. If we have to have a clean finish, the Von Erichs would take the victory.

Tony Khan has the ROH Supercard of Honor scheduled for Philadelphia on the Friday night before Wrestlemania. A good marketing strategy or not?

There will be tons of wrestling fans gathered in one place and looking to spend money and have a great time. Putting on an event in Philadelphia that weekend is good business sense and planning. The money is there to be made. However, I do seem to remember Tony Khan saying something a few years ago about how he would not be trying to piggyback off of WWE and would never run an AEW event built around Wrestlemania or SummerSlam. I may be remembering that wrong, but I remember something to that extent. My, how times have changed.

We’ve long known that Vince was never going to put himself into his Hall of Fame – and likely never will now. But what about his children? Do we see a place where Shane or Stephanie get inducted?

It might happen sometime down the road, but right now, with all of the buzz and baggage that is the legacy of Vince McMahon, there is no way that anyone named McMahon will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. There is no chance in hell that TKO will do anything to promote anything with the name McMahon right now.

There’s been a lot of talk about Brian Gerwitz being brought in to replace Triple H in WWE. Thoughts?

Let’s hope that TKO isn’t that stupid. Triple H has been on a roll for a while now and all the numbers are up. Morale is up. Everything in WWE is on the rise and it’s all due to the leadership of Triple H. Gerwitz is a talented guy and very creative, but I think if TKO was to try to insert him in the top spot at the expense of Triple H, the fans would revolt and so would a large portion of the talent/locker room. I don’t think it would be a good idea.

Can Jake Hager’s career in AEW be saved? How would you resurrect Jake’s character?

So far as Jake’s role in AEW goes, I don’t know if he can be saved. His run has been so stop-and-go for so long, that it’s hard to take Jake seriously anymore. It’s a shame because he’s a talented guy with a background that could be used and presented to make him a true badass. If he’s in AEW, I’d stick him with a strong mouthpiece and just have him get in there and wrestle, being a dominant performer and winning matches. If the wins are consistent, the push is strong, and the wrestler has talent, the fans will come. And now, with all of that being said, the best thing for Jake, in my opinion, would be moving to somewhere like TNA or the NWA, getting a good manager, and being the wrestler he needs to be, with the amateur and MMA background, and reinvent himself as needed.

Who is the best wrestler turned actor?

I won’t say they were the best, but Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas were both damn good in the Marine 5: Battleground. They both could have a strong future in Hollywood. But the best wrestler-turned-actor in my opinion, is probably The Miz. The man is a natural and in every role I’ve seen him in thus far, be it serious, comedy, etc., he’s killed it and done an excellent job.

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!