Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Dustin Rhodes, SummerSlam, Ric Flair & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug. Let’s roll.

Dustin Rhodes’s AEW Contract expires in September 2024. Do you think he’ll retire, return to WWE, or what?

Dustin spoke about this and clarified that he still has plenty left in the tank and isn’t through yet. My thoughts are that he’ll do a WWE run to work with his brother, get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2025, and end up working as a trainer at the PC, while also running the Nightmare Factory with QT Marshall, continuing to build the stars of tomorrow. I don’t see him staying with AEW, but instead moving on to bigger and better with WWE and his school.

Thunder Rosa versus Rhea Ripley. Who wins?

Rosa is a tough wrestler, but Mami will always come out on top. Rhea wins.

Are you more excited for WWE SummerSlam 2024 or AEW All-In 2024?

SummerSlam. There are so many stories building to a climax and with the possible return of Roman, Rhea versus Liv and what will Dominik do, the Priest versus Gunther match, and Punk versus Drew, it’s a packed show that is easily becoming a must-see. All In has a total of two matches listed so far and just gave away their biggest possible match on free TV a few hours ago. I’m more excited for WWE and SummerSlam and it’s not even close.

You’re starting a new wrestling promotion and you have to hire either Jim Cornette, Eric Bischoff, or Vince Russo as your booker. Who do you pick?

Bischoff is a good executive and I’d love to bring him in for the promotion and building of the company, but he’s admittingly not a creative-style booking guy. Russo is good with hot-shotting and big moments, but he doesn’t know how to do long-term storytelling or build characters and seems to thrive on chaos. I’d probably be cussed out and threatened at least a hundred times a week, but Cornette is the man I’d choose. Jim knows how to format a show, tell a story, build a character, and keep it steady and consistent. Yeah, I’d go with Cornette on this one.

The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) versus Kronik (Bryan Clark & Brian Adams). Who wins?

With all due respect to Gallows and Anderson, who I have much respect for, we all know that the bottom line is and will always be, It’s all about Kronik! Bryan Clark and Brian Adams win in what would be a great battle of the big men.

According to Meltzer, the only reason AEW is so cool right now is because WWE is so hot. Thoughts?

No, the ratings, bad stories, unknown wrestlers in prime spots, and bad booking have absolutely nothing to do with AEW’s losing viewers and decreasing ratings. They’re only cool because WWE is the hotter product and doing so well. Okay, Uncle Dave. If you say so.

Is Tony Khan delusional?

Not as delusional as Uncle Dave seems to be, but there are times that I do question whether Tony Khan lives in our reality or not. He only sees what he wants to see and hears what he wants to hear. Maybe it’s just the side-effect of being the spoiled son of a billionaire? Who knows? I won’t go so far as to say he’s delusional though. It’s just Tony.

Pharoah versus Larry in a Dog Kennel Match. Who wins?

And don’t forget the special referee, Jim Cornette’s own Harley Quinn, with the match dedicated to the memory of The British Bulldog’s Matilda. This would be a real dogfight in every sense of the word. Pharoah has the size advantage, but Larry has the experience, being involved in a backstage rumble with a couple of young bucks. Most likely, it’d be a no-contest as the owners of the participants, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk would get involved to break things up and Jim Cornette would be at ringside making sure Harley isn’t too stressed out. I think we’d see Larry & Pharaoh sniff each other and then start asking for treats while Cornette complains to Cody & Punk about everything that’s wrong with professional wrestling.

Recently, during an interview show, a drunk Ric Flair started crying about his son, Reid, and destroyed the vibe of the show. Have you heard about this? Thoughts?

I did watch the clip of the show. It was Bert Kreischer and his cooking/interview podcast called, ‘Something’s Burning’. Ric was plastered at the start and then, around the 40-minute mark, Ric started talking about his son Reid and the waterworks started. Ric had Kreischer and his co-host both crying as well. It was very hard to watch. A Ric Flair interview these days is tough to handle, but add the drinking and being drunk to it and it’s almost unwatchable. Ric either needs to quit doing these interviews or lay off the booze until the show is over. Ric continues to destroy the memories and what little legacy he has left.

Bo Dallas versus Curtis Axel. Who wins?

Both are tremendous wrestlers who are far underrated as talents in that ring. They also made an excellent tag team. I’d love to see Joe Hennig return to wrestling as part of the NWA or as an agent for the WWE. This match would be good. And I Bo-lieve that Bo would win.

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!