Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Buddy Matthews, Sami Zayn, AEW & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug. Are you ready to rock? Let’s do this.

How much longer Bloodline would have survived without Sami Zayn? And do you think he deserves a world title run?

If Sami hadn’t become part of the Bloodline, they would have just used someone else. Sami is great, but with Heyman and Triple H at the wheel, they could have found another person and made it work. They would last so long as the story continues to be good. As for Sami and the World Championship, I could see Sami as a transitional champion, but nothing more than that.

With the recent poor ratings for Dynamite would you pivot and end your big storylines like the Death Riders and strap up someone else at Worlds End or do you ride it out and see it through to its original conclusion you had in mind?

I think I would do a complete pivot and focus on someone else and a different story, but it’s AEW so we all know that they won’t do this. We’ll see this story play out.

Do you think that AEW’s problem with all controversies is that they always decide to say nothing (sign NDAs, etc) and let people leak stuff or make their own assumptions? Right or wrong WWE mostly addresses the issue to at least control the narrative.

That’s exactly the problem. Tony Khan and AEW don’t address matters or take care of problems. They just pretend they don’t exist and hope they’ll go away. Instead, they fester and become even bigger issues to deal with. Tony is a friend and not a boss and doesn’t know how to be a leader.

Afa & Sika, the Wild Samoans versus Kronik, Brian Adams & Bryan Clark. Who wins?

The Samoans were awesome and with Captain Lou as their manager, were a nearly unstoppable force. But they would learn, as so many other teams have before them, that in the end, it’s all about Kronik. The two Brian’s would win.

How long do you think it will take AEW to be back to 2021 AEW? (Consistent sellouts, long-term storytelling, great wrestling, etc) 5 years? 10 years? Never?

They’ve fallen too far. To get back to their glory days, they would need a whole reboot of the entire promotion. Tony Khan would never allow that. So the answer would be never.

Coming off of “War Games” and heading into the “Iron Survivor” match at NXT: Deadline, I’m curious. What is one match type that you would be fine with had it never been created? I’m excluding “Kennel from Hell” and “Punjabi Prison”.

Any of the “Pole” matches in wrestling history could be erased and forgotten and we would be better off for it. The Reverse Battle Royal that TNA used to do was kind of dumb as well.

What’s a common misconception about pro wrestling that even longtime fans get wrong, and how would you set the record straight?

People think it’s all fake. I’d have them take a powerbomb by Kevin Nash in the ring or a chop from Gunther. Now, tell me how fake it is.

Most underrated women in North American wrestling? Lady Frost comes to mind for me.

Lady Frost is an excellent choice. Samantha Starr, the daughter of NWA Legend Baby Doll and wrestler Sam Houston, also immediately comes to mind. She currently works for the NWA and is a great talent.

Any rising star of 2024 you think people don’t talk about enough?

Some local talents come to mind for this one. Nathan Cross, Sammy Love, and Tripp Cautious, all of who are regulars for Coastal Atlantic Grappling Entertainment, aka C.A.G.E., are all excellent and worthy of more attention. Aaron Solo in AEW could be used much better. And Samantha Starr, who I mentioned in the last question. She’s damn good and I wouldn’t be surprised to see NXT come calling sooner rather than later.

Do you think Buddy Matthews will ever return to WWE, or is he right to ignore the speculation?

When the time is right, he’ll return to the WWE. Right now, he’s being paid good money to be in AEW. Buddy will do what’s best for his career and family, as he should.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll catch you later.

Ubuntu!