Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Dixie Carter, Wade Barrett, Bronson Reed & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

I’m Doug and I’m your resident Guiding Light. This is the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Let’s roll.

Eric Bischoff believes Dixie Carter was a better wrestling booker than Tony Khan. Thoughts?

Dixie was the boss, but she was smart enough to hire experienced bookers to handle the creative side of the company and format/book the shows. Tony tries to do it all himself and he’s just not very good at it. So for those reasons alone, I’d say Eric Bischoff is 100% correct.

Do you think Wade Barrett’s shift to commentary has brought a unique perspective to WWE’s storytelling?

Every announcer is different and Wade’s perspective and style is different than Corey Graves or Byron Saxton for example. With his background and past career, Wade offers insight the other announcers can’t. He is excellent at his job and is a valuable asset to WWE.

When Paul Heyman came out and announced CM Punk as the 5th man for War Games, did you notice that he and Solo Sikoa were dressed in matching colors? Coincidence or not?

I did notice that. In professional wrestling, especially when Paul Heyman is involved, there is no such thing as coincidence. This means something, although we’ll probably have to wait until Survivor Series and the War Games to figure out what it might be.

How do you feel about Bronson Reed in the new Bloodline?

I like it. I’m assuming this is only temporary until after the War Games, but Bronson looks good and fits right in with Solo, Jacob Fatu, and the others. And could you imagine Bronson & Fatu as a regular tag team? It would be awesome. As I said, this is probably just a temporary thing, but if it turns into something more long-term and permanent, I’d be cool with that.

What is your wildest prediction for pro wrestling in 2025?

Heath Slater returns and challenges Gunther for the World Championship. Gunther laughs and accepts the challenge. He nearly beats Heath to death, but Drew McIntyre and a returning Jinder Mahal get involved and as a result, Heath wins and becomes the new World Champion. It will happen one day, I hope. Watch and see.

In your opinion, who had a bigger impact on the success of WWE, John Cena or The Undertaker? What tweaks would you make to either career?

This one is tough, but I’ll go with Undertaker just because he came first and was such a huge part of the Attitude Era. Tweaks? I’d have Cena maybe be not so arrogant as he was in the early years and give others, like The Nexus, more of a rub rather than burying them as he did. As for Undertaker, I’d have kept the streak alive.

What got you hooked on wrestling, to begin with?

I was a very small kid and my two older brothers watched wrestling. My older sister watched wrestling. And I was a fan from Day 1, almost instantly. So my family got me started.

How important is it to focus on every division in a company, or is it OK to have, for example, the tag division as a lower priority?

Every division needs some attention and focus. That’s just common sense. But at times, one group will take priority over another. That’s how business (and life) work. The key is to find a healthy balance so no group gets neglected or ignored too much. Find a happy balance and keep everyone content and strong. And there you go.

Should we be doing more managers/valets? If so, which talents do you think could best benefit from one?

I’ve always been a huge fan of managers and think they add so much to the business and wrestling product. Who could use one? Bronson Reed comes to mind. Grayson Waller and Austin Theory, if it’s the right person as the manager. Nia Jax would work well with someone by her side. Those are the names in WWE that immediately come to mind.

Create your perfect stable with 1 vet, 1 main roster, 1 NXT, and 1 TNA superstar (I grant you permission to cheat and name a tag team as 1 superstar).

A perfect stable? Okay. How about a vet like Seth Rollins? The main roster, using the cheat you provided, would be Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. NXT would be Ridge Holland. And from TNA, Jordynne Grace. Imagine these five together. Imagine the chaos and damage they could inflict. Imagine the titles they could win. And there you go.

And I guess that’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. I’ll be back later with more stuff. Until then, take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!