Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
AEW Footage, Drew Gulak, Vince McMahon & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

Sorry for the absence. I’ve been under the weather and having a very rough week. I most likely will be laid up in the hospital for a couple of days very soon, but I’ll try and keep something up here at the site, be it new columns, “Best Of” posts from the archives, or something. Today though, it’s all about wrestling. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s roll.

Tony Khan stated yesterday that the aim of airing the backstage footage from AEW All In 2023 [between Punk & Perry] was to drive interest for Dynamite & their Dynasty PPV on April 21st. Was that achieved?

This question already feels old and dated and it hasn’t even been a week yet. Did it drive interest in AEW and Dynamite? Yes, but in a car wreck, look at the destruction and carnage type of fashion rather than anything positive. It just made CM Punk look better and made AEW look foolish. Nothing more.

What were your overall feelings on the security footage?

Airing it was a bad idea and it made AEW look foolish. By airing the security footage, they just showed that CM Punk was telling the truth and was right.

Trish Stratus or AJ Lee?

Nothing against Trish, especially after that last run a few months ago and that incredible cage match, but AJ Lee is the bomb. ‘Nuff said!

With CM Punk reframing the backstage fight and controlling the narrative (pardon the phrase) was there anything AEW could have done to defend themselves other than by showing the footage?

What they should have done is just say nothing, totally ignore the CM Punk interview, let it all blow over, and move on. That would have been the smart thing to do. Showing the footage as a means of defense was the equivalent of a rookie boxer giving Mike Tyson two sets of brass knucks to wear before he bashes their head in. Just crazy and bad moves all around.

Who does Cody feud with 1st with the WWE Title & is it affected by the WWE Draft?

It looks as if Cody’s first feud with be with either AJ Styles or LA Knight. As the set-up has already begun, the WWE Draft shouldn’t affect this first title defense by The American Nightmare.

Will Ospreay versus Triple H. Who wins?

Ospreay is a good wrestler and has a big future ahead of him, but is he ready to play The Game? I don’t think so.

Drew Gulak has been removed from WWE television due to the Ronda Rousey allegations. Thoughts?

I saw the allegations by Rousey and I saw Drew’s reply and it sounds like a whole lot of mountain from an anthill type of BS. If Ronda was offended when it happened, why didn’t she say anything then? Or just beat Drew up. We know she can do it. Instead, it’s years after the fact while she’s trying to promote her book and has entered almost Ryback levels of complaints and whining. I’m expecting/hoping that this is all just a CYA move by WWE and when the smoke settles and the fickle wrestling fans have moved on to complaining about something else, Drew will be brought back, quietly and with a strong push and maybe a raise for his troubles. It’s a lot of nothing over nothing in my opinion.

If Roman is taking time off now after his loss to Cody at Mania, what’s next for Solo, Jimmy Uso, and Paul Heyman?

As we saw on Smackdown this past Friday night, a new member of the Bloodline in Tama Tonga, who is an amazing talent by the way and as the son of Meng/Haku, a true force to be reckoned with, and Solo taking charge as the new Tribal Chief.

Is TK’s decision to show the footage equivalent to Tony Schiavone giving away the ending of Raw after their dominant run?

Both were bad ideas in hindsight, but no one knew what would happen with Schiavone giving away RAW results. As soon as the news broke about how AEW planned to release the surveillance footage, everyone and their Mama, sister, brother, and cousin with half a brain said it was a bad idea. I think in the big picture of things, the AEW stupidity is much worse.

Lacey Evans & Tyler Breeze versus Stevie Richards & Victoria. Who wins?

If this was a possibility, it would be one hell of an amazing match. The talents involved are all very underrated but are damn good. Evans and Victoria match up well in size, and the character work of all four talents is beyond reproach. This wouldn’t be a main event match, but it would be the one that everyone speaks of at the end of the night. Stevie Richard and Victoria would win.

If Vince McMahon started a new wrestling company, would you watch?

Absolutely and so would anyone with the slightest sense of curiosity and knowledge of wrestling. It would be either so good, it can’t be ignored, or like a car wreck that is so morbid and disgusting, you can’t turn away. I don’t think it will happen as Vince is over 80 years old and I don’t see him needing or wanting the hassle or headaches involved. Also, I’m sure that TKO/WWE has some no-compete deals in Vince’s contracts from when they bought out the majority of WWE. But all of that aside, if Vince decided to start a new wrestling promotion, I’d be among the first ones to be in line to see what’s going on.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. I’m not sure how regular the columns will be in the days to come as I try to get myself back on track and healthy again, but I’ll try and post something regularly, be it a new column, a “Best Of” piece from the archives, or something. Don’t give up on me. And with that, take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!