Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Finishing Moves, Don Kernodle, and yes, more Ric Flair
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug and I’m your party host and Guiding Light for the evening. Let’s roll.

What was your favorite finishing move when you were younger that we don’t see much anymore? Who did it?

Growing up, I was a huge fan of the legendary Baron Von Raschke and the power of The Claw. Blackjack Mulligan had a great one as well, but The Baron was truly the master. Also, the Masked Superstar and the Cobra. Long before Sgt. Slaughter made it his signature move, The Masked Superstar was putting away opponent after opponent with this devastating move. And it wasn’t so much the Cobra itself, but the clothesline before the move where Superstar would literally come off his feet, lateral to his opponent, and send him crashing to the mat. It was all in the set-up for the maneuver and Masked Superstar was the absolute best.

Thoughts on Don Kernodle?

North Carolina’s own Don Kernodle was a great story in how to turn a jobber into a top guy. Kernodle was popular with the fans, but didn’t win very often. And then here comes Sgt. Slaughter along with Jim Nelson, recruits Kernodle as his “Private” and Kernodle does a heel turn. And the wins started to come. As a tag team wrestler with Nelson and then later, as a recruit for The Russians (Ivan Koloff, Nikita Koloff), Kernodle continued his winning ways. He never had much success outside the Mid-Atlantic region, but he was an excellent amateur wrestler, a great babyface, and even a better heel who the Crockett fans held near and dear to their hearts. Very underrated and a Mid-Atlantic wrestling icon.

The Iron Sheik versus Nature Boy Buddy Rogers. Who wins?

Rogers was tough, but he was more show than sizzle. The Iron Sheik would humble Rogers and take a fairly easy win.

Who would win in a fight? Haku or Chuck Norris?

Chuck Norris is a legend and the stories are always fun to share, but we’re talking about Haku/Meng. I think even Chuck Norris would back away on this one. After all, it’s Meng.

What was the worst wrestling promotion you ever watched?

For some reason I cannot fathom, I rewatched the Heroes of Wrestling PPV from 1999 last night on YouTube. It popped up in my feed and I hadn’t suffered enough for one day. That’s where drunk Jake Roberts tried to masturbate with the snake. That was bad. Very bad. But that’s a PPV and not a promotion. Let’s go with the easy answer. It had so much potential when it first started, but it’s practically unwatchable these days. AEW.

With AJ Styles being involved in the 2024 KOTR, who does Cody Rhodes defend against at the King & Queen of the Ring PLE?

It is too late to bring in Jinder Mahal? I guess it would be. Gunther is also involved in the KOTR so I would guess he’s out as well. An opponent for Cody? How about LA Knight?

I think it’s time to ask the question. Is Gunther legitimately the best wrestler in the world?

I wouldn’t call the Ring General the best, but he’s certainly up there and in the argument.

Is Ivar a biker dude now? When Erik comes back are they gonna be the Biking Warriors?

I know you’re being funny and making a joke, but hell, that wouldn’t be any worse than what they have been doing for the past two years. Erik and Ivar need some repackaging and a good change to their characters. Biking Warriors is funny, but it’s better than what they’re doing now.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in hosting a WWE WrestleMania or Royal Rumble PLE. Thoughts?

I can’t see WrestleMania happening in Saudi Arabia since part of the lure of the event is all the travelers from around the world and all of the other big events that are built around the show. Saudi Arabia wouldn’t work. Maybe the Rumble, but I would think it more likely would be a repeat of the Greatest Royal Rumble, as previously held in Saudi Arabia in 2018 instead of the regular one that leads up to Wrestlemania. The Saudis are getting King and Queen of the Ring, and I could see maybe some of the B-level PLE events, but The Royal Rumble or Mania? I just don’t see how that would work.

In the story that never ends, Ric Flair has issued a new comment about the restaurant incident that happened over the weekend. Ric commented to the Gainsville Sun about being approached in the bathroom, “I’m like, I don’t shake hands or take photos in bathrooms. Any man that goes into a bathroom knows you can see into the stall. I said, ‘Get your a– off there, I need to use the restroom. I’m not going to tolerate that and you wouldn’t either… That’s a pretty offensive remark. I’ll be quite honest with you, I was pissed because I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s my word against the kitchen employee and it makes no sense. I admit to everything I said. I have no problem with it because I was mad.” Then Ric added he’s considering filing a lawsuit, stating, “I have the money to buy the restaurant. It’ll be called Ric Flair’s Italian Bistro.” Thoughts?

In another interview after this one, Ric backtracked some more and claimed that maybe he “overreacted”. He still insists that he was not drunk or tipsy. Ric is trying his best to save face and not come out looking like an asshole, while in every scenario, he comes across looking like an asshole. Ric should have just let it go from the very start but with his need to be the victim and be the ‘Nature Boy’, the hole just keeps getting deeper and deeper. He’s already trying to use the “last match heart attack” story to divert attention away from the restaurant story and before this weekend is out, I expect Flair to make some outlandish claim or be treated badly so he can play the victim to make himself look and feel better. Watch and see. Ric is just embarrassing at this point. Very sad!

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Questions, thoughts, and comments are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. And with that, let’s wrap things up. I have to go to a doctor’s appointment. Wish me luck. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for Ric Flair in the men’s room and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!