Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Racist Hunter, Dusty Rhodes, Superstar Graham & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s Monday. Shoot me now. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug. Are you ready? Let’s roll.

Bad Blood will be the 3rd straight WWE PLE without a single Black Male talent on it. Thoughts?

But the hosts are Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, two black women. The matches are an Australian versus a white girl, with a Latino in the cage. A Latino versus an Irish Man. A white man versus a Scottish man. A black woman versus a white woman. And finally, a white guy who’s married to a black woman teamed with a person of Samoan descent versus more Samoans. That seems pretty diverse to me. All this talk about Triple H being racist is just absolute garbage. Look at the Smackdown before and RAW after the PPV. There is plenty of black representation. It’s just utter bullshit to say or make that claim that HHH is a racist.

Do you think Stone Cold Steve Austin will be part of WrestleMania 41? Do you think he’ll be wrestling, hosting, or what?

I think Austin will be a part of the show. I don’t know what role he’ll be playing, but I’m sure we’ll hear the shattered glass. I’d love to see Austin wrestle CM Punk in a dream match. We’ll just have to wait and see.

After All Out, is AEW still the “safest wrestling company”? Yes or no?

It never was and after that most recent PPV, they can not ever make that claim again.

I read somewhere that Vince McMahon wanted Dusty Rhodes as the face of the WWF instead of Hulk Hogan, but Dusty refused and stayed with Crockett and the NWA. Have you ever heard this? And what if Dusty had beaten the Iron Sheik for the Championship instead of Hulk Hogan? Thoughts?

I don’t think Dusty as the face of the WWF would have worked. It would have been a big moment and scored a huge pop, but Dusty had been a big star for fifteen years at that point. He was slowing down and had peaked. Plus the Southern style of wrestling and promos in WWF 1984, would never have worked. I had never heard this, but if it was true, it would have been a mistake on Vince’s part. Hogan was the right man for the place and time. Dusty would have been good for a big moment, but little more than that.

What wrestlers do you dislike, no matter how hard you try?

The Young Bucks immediately come to mind. Their in-ring work is so boring and repetitive to me, I just shudder trying to watch them. They don’t even pretend to take it seriously so why should I when watching them?

What is the perfect match to show someone who is watching wrestling for the first time?

My old standby has always been the Midnight Express versus Flair & Windham at the NWA Clash of Champions IV, Season’s Beatings, from Tennessee. For something more modern, I’d do Hogan versus The Rock at WrestleMania 18.

Can you name five tag teams that never wrestled in ECW that would have fit in quite well?

Five teams that I appreciate that never worked ECW, but if they had made that trip to Philadelphia, would have done quite well. Right off the top of my head, I’d go with Clark & Adams, aka Kronik, The Road Warriors, The Enforcers, aka Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko, Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody, and Jimmy & Jey Uso.

Brian Adams & Bryan Clark, aka KRONIK versus Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody. Who wins?

In reality, it would be Hansen & Brody with the win, but in my world, it’s all about Kronik. Adams & Clark win.

Which version of Superstar Billy Graham was your favorite? The colorful muscle man or the Karate character?

I had the chance to see Graham wrestle live maybe three-four times while he was working for Crockett and that character sucked. Graham was seemingly just going through the motions and it showed. The WWWF version of Graham was a million times better.

In their primes, Terry Funk versus Jack Brisco versus Nick Bockwinkel versus Verne Gagne versus William Regal versus Rick Steamboat in a Six-Pack Challenge Match. Who wins?

This match would be amazing from a technical standpoint, but damn, it would be boring for the fans. All of these men are great technical wrestlers and except for Steamboat, all have a legit shooter background. It’s a tough call, but I think, Jack Brisco would probably come out on top and get the victory.

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. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!