Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Bertha Faye, The New Day, Bob Backlund & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

I’m Doug, and this is the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Are you ready? Let’s roll.

Do you think the Ricky Starks situation is overshadowing Effy’s original point about AEW running the Hammerstein in such close proximity to a GCW event? Aren’t there other discussions to be had (in good faith) about AEW’s impact on American indies?

I’m not sure what Effy said about Shad Khan, Tony Khan’s father, but allegedly, he was questioning the booking of the Hammerstein Ballroom and the dates involved. And since Effy is involved with GCW, Tony Khan is throwing a petty tantrum and pulling Ricky Starks, who AEW is NOT using, from future GCW events. It’s just childish games and unfortunately, what I’ve come to expect from the owner of AEW.

Who’s your ideal next NXT champion, once they finally get Trick to the main roster (Tony D maybe?)?

I’d like to see Lexis King elevate his game and wear some NXT gold. Ridge Holland would make an excellent NXT Champion as well.

Who should Heyman go with? Punk or Roman?

Personally, I’d prefer to see Heyman aligned with CM Punk, but my gut feeling is that Heyman will remain as Roman’s wise man… for now.

If the New Day stayed together and turned heel (best case), what would be a good run for them?

One more run with the RAW Tag Team Titles, plus a feud against Judgment Day to start and some matches against the Wyatt Sicksto round things out. That could lead them into WrestleMania and a feud against a reformed Chase University from NXT.

Would you rather watch Punk and Roman wrestle or talk? In the past, the same question for Punk and MJF.

With two men like Punk and Roman, the best part would be the promos. The actual wrestling itself is secondary to the battle of words.

Do you feel that the criticism Ricochet receives is unwarranted for his type of wrestling style?

No. Ricochet deserves every bit of criticism that he’s getting.

What are your thoughts and memories of Rhonda Sing, aka Bertha Faye?

I don’t remember much of this woman superstar. She was huge in Japan and with her use of the power moves, was an early version of Awesome Kong in comparison. Then she went to WWE and was given a character that would make Terry Taylor happy for the Red Rooster gimmick in comparison. Bertha Faye was Vince McMahon’s way of treating Sing as a joke and wrestling clown. It’s embarrassing to her and wrestling as a whole. She deserved much better.

Who was the worst of the strongman wrestlers in your opinion? Ted Arcidi or Bill Kazmier?

Both of these men were pretty bad and forgettable inside the ring. Who’s the worst? Arcidi managed to stick around for a while and had a career. Kazmier only managed to last a few years and they were totally forgettable. So let’s go with Kazmier as the worst.

Can you shed some light on what the WWWF was thinking when they gave their championship to Bob Backlund in 1978 and kept the belt on him for nearly six whole years?

The way I understand it is that Vince McMahon wanted a babyface champion who was different than the prior WWF Champions, Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales, and he decided Bob Backlund was the man. As for why he kept the championship, Backlund worked as the champ. The ticket sales were strong, and while Backlund was boring and one-dimensional by today’s standards, he drew an audience, and McMahon Sr. liked him. The boss was happy, and nothing else really mattered.

Alexa Bliss or Tiffany Stratton?

While Stratton is growing on me and improving with every appearance and match, Alexa Bliss is awesome and a strong performer and talker. My preference? I think Miss Bliss is my favorite of the two.

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!