Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Shelton Benjamin, Muhammad Ali, Dom Mysterio & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s time to do that wrestling thing. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m your Guiding Light and party host, Doug. Let’s rock!

“You know why everyone boo’s you? You don’t belong here. You think the internet hates you? You should hear what the girls in the locker room say. It’s a good thing your dead brother isn’t here to see what an embarrassment you’ve become.” — Candice to Maxxine. Thoughts?

It’s a little rough, but in a world where Christian Cage repeatedly talks about dead fathers, is it too bad? It’s playing off the real-life criticism from the internet and attempting to make Dupri a sympathetic babyface. I’m not entirely comfortable with it, but it is what it is and if Dupri isn’t comfortable with it, I’m sure she would say so.

Thoughts on Three Minute Warning?

I had forgotten about this Eric Bischoff-led tag team from the Attitude Era, consisting of Eddie Fatu (Umaga) and Matt Anoa’i (Rosey), but now that I think back, I liked the concept and team as Bischoff’s enforcers. For the time and place, they were well used and it was a fun time. Eddie Fatu would go on, of course, to become Umaga. Matt wouldn’t do quite as well as the (S)uper (H)ero (I)n (T)raining, but still, both men had good runs with the company. They were cool.

With Sting retired, Okada in, and a relatively large roster, is it time for AEW to consider a brand extension? Make Dynamite and Collision into two totally separate and independent brands.

That was the original plan when The Young Bucks and CM Punk couldn’t get along, but all of those plans were scrapped when the children couldn’t play right and the adult was sent home. It’s a nice idea, but Tony has his hands full already trying to book three shows, RoH, and the PPVs, and trying to make the shows have individual identities and stories would probably be way too much for Mr. Khan to handle.

3MB versus Three Count. Who wins?

Are they fighting over a gold record? Are the sidekicks, Hornswoggle, and Tank Abbott involved? 3MB win all the way.

Which wrestler went on the fastest, hardest, and most destructive downward spiral from their peak?

My mind is drawing a blank here. Maybe it’s because I’ve been interrupted six times already while trying to answer this question. My Mom (twice), the dog, the cats (both of them), and the phone. Okay, make that eight, no that’s nine times. I really do hate this damn place. Let’s go with Buff Bagwell. In WCW, he was the stuff. Now he’s just an episode of Dark Side of the Ring.

Besides Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, or Hulk Hogan, who was your favorite member of the nWo?

The previously mentioned Buff Bagwell. I always liked the guy and was happy to see him get a push at the time. He was a natural fit.

Sammy Guevera versus X-Pac versus Chavo Guerrero Jr. Who wins?

Sammy would do something stupid, X-Pac would get hurt, and Chavito would pick up the win.

If Shelton Benjamin does end up in AEW, should they bring in Charlie Haas to team with him and reform Team Angle? Haas & Benjamin versus FTR would be awesome.

If Shelton does end up in AEW, bringing in Haas for a potential story and maybe some tag team matches against FTR seems like a no-brainer to me. I’d love to see it happen.

Who should induct Muhammad Ali into the WWE Hall of Fame?

This one is tough because the majority of people who knew and interacted with Ali during his runs in professional wrestling are either dead or working for AEW. Eric Bischoff would be a good choice since he and Ali were friends and did the Collision in Korea event together. I was thinking of Antonio Inoki, but then I remembered he died a couple of years ago. I don’t know if they ever had any interactions, but how about Stone Cold Steve Austin?

Will Dom Mysterio be a World Champion one day?

The Magic 8-Ball says yes and while I think it will be a while down the road, after he fills out a little more and gets more experience behind him, I’ll agree. Dom has a great future ahead of him.

And there you go. A quick column that should have only taken 20 minutes tops to write has taken me 48 minutes and I’ve been interrupted at least 19 times. There might be more later today as I’m way behind and need to play catch-up, but I may just go riding for a while and leave instead. Who knows? Thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Stay well and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!