Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Bryan Danielson, Big E, AEW & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

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

So Moxley, Claudio, and Pac turned on Danielson and choked him out with a plastic bag. This ends the Blackpool Combat Club. Yuta wasn’t part of the attack and was held back by Pac. So what does this do for the Trios Championship that the BCC currently holds? What’s next for Danielson and the BCC?

I guess that this is what AEW calls long-term storytelling. It came out of nowhere and makes little sense, but we’ll get an explanation at some point, most likely on Dynamite. Yuta holds championship gold with Pac and Claudio, so I guess we’ll see an uneasy partnership until something develops and Yuta comes on board with his partners or aligns himself with Danielson. It’s all a work in progress and we’ll just have to see how things develop.

What is your honest feeling about WWE RAW returning to 2 hours for the rest of 2024 starting in October?

This is part of a deal WWE made with USA to keep RAW on the air until it’s time for their debut in January at Netflix. RAW’s contract was set to expire at the end of September and USA agreed to a short extension. I like the two-hour window and we’ll continue to get RAW for three more months before they make the move to Netflix. It’s a win for all parties involved.

During RAW, Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett came close to getting physical in their confrontation. Is Bad News Barrett returning to the ring?

A one-off match between Barrett and McIntyre would be good to see and could be factored in as part of the Punk/Drew feud. I don’t know if Barrett is returning to the ring, but a match against Drew would be a great way to do it.

With so many people chasing the American Dragon, from Darby to Mox to Okada, Christian, potentially Hangman or Swerve when he rises from the grave, who do you think retires Bryan Danielson? It feels like all of the contenders they set up are viable candidates.

I’ll give AEW and Tony Khan credit. Right now, Bryan Danielson has no friends and everyone seems to be after him. As the World Champion, this is how it should be and it does make things unpredictable. Who would I like to see be the one to retire Danielson? I’d say Wheeler Yuta or maybe Claudio. Who will it be? My gut keeps saying, Jack Perry. I hope my gut is wrong.

Who do you see taking the North American Championship off of Oba Femi? Or will he just relinquish the title before eventually heading to the main roster?

Since he seems to be a topic of discussion for everyone these days, how about Omos? Oba Femi versus Omos could be a very entertaining match. But more realistically, I believe in Joe Hendry to maybe be the one who has the honors.

Do you feel that AEW went too far with the Danielson ending and the Swerve vs Hangman match?

For my tastes, as well as the safety of the wrestlers involved, I would say yes. But realistically, thinking back to the days of ECW, Memphis, and several promotions of the past, I can’t really argue about it. It was way too much at once and less is usually more, but it’s AEW so that’s to be expected. I didn’t like it, but I’m not their target audience.

Do you believe that AEW will keep leaning into being the counterculture alternative to WWE mainstream like we saw at All Out? And if so, will it be a course correction as far as interest and getting their base back?

I hope they will pull back a little bit, either at the advice of their sponsors or just common sense, but I think they’ll stay in the same direction for a while. It won’t help get any fans back, but it’s what the AEW management wants so that’s all that truly matters.

Assemble a band with only wrestlers in it (5 members), regardless if they play instruments or not. What is their genre? Name the band as well.

How about Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Hornswoggle, and Van Hammer? They can play Southern Rock and be called the One Man Band, Baby!

If and when AEW creates its own Hall of Fame, a, should there be an actual Hall of Fame you could visit; and b, who would you have in the debut class?

The biggest argument against the WWE Hall of Fame is that there is no actual physical Hall of Fame location, so I would think AEW would rectify this and have an actual building. As for the debut class, I’d have Sting, Rick Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Tony Schiavone, Dean Malenko, and Owen Hart.

If/when Big E returns to the ring, would you prefer a surprise Royal Rumble return, as a mystery tag partner, a save on a New Day beat down, advertised ahead of time, or other? What would be the best for him?

It’s a tough call because I’d want Big E to have a big moment and have a chance to explode the live crowd, but it has to make sense as well. I’d probably have him come out and save Kofi & Xavier from an attack.

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 it up. Take care and be well, my friends. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!