Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Layla, Danielson versus Nigel, Joey Styles & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

I’m Doug and this is way too early in the morning to be awake. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s wipe the sleep from the eyes and do this. Let’s roll.

Describe Dave Bautista in one word.

Drax

What is your favorite wrestling-related podcast?

For me, it would be the Cornette shows, Jim Cornette Experience, and The Drive-Thru. Story Time with Dutch is pretty damn good too.

Layla recently stated that she’d like LayCool (Layla & Michelle McCool) to get into the WWE Hall of Fame, but wouldn’t be upset if they didn’t. Thoughts?

With all due respect for Layla, the whole LayCool team was only around for a year or so and while they were cute, they’re not HOF-worthy. Michelle McCool is only in the Hall of Fame because of who she’s married to and Layla doesn’t even have that going for her. There are plenty of other women such as Victoria, Luna Vachon, Francine, and Sable, who deserve to be inducted long before Layla’s name is ever brought up as part of the conversation.

Bryan Danielson versus Nigel McGuiness. How would you have built towards and booked this match in comparison to the way AEW did?

I think a classic spin similar to what Larry Zbyszko and Steven Regal did in WCW would have worked well here. Let Nigel take his shots and make his comments as he did about Danielson while doing commentary. Have Danielson comment and refer to the response during interviews and maybe call Nigel out. Let the tension build and then finally, have Nigel make a challenge and Danielson tells him to put up or shut up. And then you get the match. The way that AEW did it, with Nigel being snarky and Danielson never responding until boom, there’s a match, was just lazy booking at its best with no history or backstory. AEW should have done better.

Matt Cardona recently said that his goal is to win the WWE Championship and he’s “gonna die trying!”. Thoughts?

Matt wants to come back to WWE and I’m sure that WWE wants Matt, but are just waiting for the right moment. We’re going to see Cardona back in WWE and sooner rather than later. Matt Cardona winning the Royal Rumble match and challenging Cody? Works for me.

Rhea Ripley versus Mercedes Mone. Who’s the bigger star and who would win in a match?

Rhea is one of the hottest talents in wrestling right now while Mercedes has killed any momentum she once had and is quickly becoming a cringe-worthy afterthought at best. Rhea is the bigger star and would win any match between the two.

Describe the CM Punk/Drew McIntyre feud in 3 words or less.

Excellence of Execution.

What are your thoughts on Joey Styles?

A talented commentator and character who set the bar back in the 90s as the voice of ECW. Smart, well-spoken, and he knew his stuff better than most. Very underrated. And no, I don’t think he’s coming back to wrestling or WWE. From what I understand, Styles has a great life and career going on since leaving the business. I can’t see him giving that up or getting back into the game. His legacy as the voice of ECW is very safe and secure.

Too Cool (Grand Master Sexay & Scotty 2 Hotty) versus The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowen). Who wins?

Everyone loves the Acclaim, but they’re not too cool. After the match, all four men, plus their mentors Rikishi and Billy Gunn, would all dance together and it would be awesome. As for the match, Scotty & the Grandmaster would win.

Whatever happened to former WWF referee Danny Davis?

Davis worked for the WWE from 1981 to 1995 as a wrestler, referee, and confident of Vince McMahon. He returned to wrestling to work for Jersey All-Pro Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance from 2002 until 2013. His last match was a time-limit draw against Johnny Idol in September 2013, and he left the business again. And what has become of the Dangerous One since then? I have no idea. He doesn’t do the fan conventions or make appearances that I can find anywhere. If anyone can give an update on the infamous crooked referee, please share. I’d love to know.

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 now, I’m headed back to bed. I have to get up in an hour, but I want every last moment of sleep I can get. Two doctor appointments this morning. Wish me luck. So take care and watch out for foreign objects. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!