Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Tribute to the Troops, Fuego Del Sol, Alex Riley & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

I’m Doug and this is the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Merry Christmas, my friends. And now, let’s rock!

Jake Hager, aka Jack Swagger, is going into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as an inductee for the Class of 2025. Thoughts?

Congratulations to Hager, a former NCAA Wrestling Champion, who is also a former WWE World Champion and accomplished MMA fighter. It’s an honor well deserved. I hope Jake wears the purple hat to the Induction Ceremony.

Who do you see as Penta’s first feud in WWE?

For some reason, Carmelo Hayes is the first name that popped into my head. The two men are similar in size and style, and it would be a very good series of matches. That’s if Penta comes in as a face. If he’s a heel, then LA Knight would be a great option.

Is Eddie Guerrero in your top 10?

Of all time, probably not. All time covers a lot of territory and I’ve been a fan of pro wrestling for over fifty years now. But Eddie would probably make my Top 25.

What are your thoughts on Fuego Del Sol?

Fuego is a talented wrestler and has a great personality. He’s not the biggest guy in pro wrestling, but in a world of Rey Mysterio’s, size isn’t as important as it once was. I would love to see Fuego work in NXT against some of the talents like Wes Lee or even Trick Williams. I think he’d get over quite well and the fans would take quickly to Fuego. He’s a very talented dude.

Haku versus Tito Santana. Who wins?

As much as I like Santana, and this would be a great match, my money is on Haku for the win.

Whatever happened to Alex Riley? Is he still involved in wrestling?

Riley has been retired from wrestling since 2016 when he was released from WWE. He did come back for a match with Create A Pro in 2022, plus wrestled a match with the NWA in 2023, but hasn’t worked any other matches since then that I can find. Riley was a good in-ring worker, plus did some excellent work as a commentator for NXT. Allegedly, issues with John Cena were what cost Riley his job with WWE and led to his dismissal. It’s a shame. He was one of the good ones.

WWE won’t run a Tribute to the Troops show in 2024, marking the first time that the company’s event for the military hasn’t aired since its inception. Thoughts?

I’m surprised at this, but I guess that the Tribute to the Troops is considered a Vince McMahon thing and not as important under the Triple H/TKO reign. My opinion though is that even if it’s not televised, a special show for the men and women of the U.S. Military was great public relations, and dropping this show is a huge mistake. I’m hoping that WWE realizes this and resumes the event. If they don’t, this would be a great opportunity for Tony Khan and AEW to jump in and fill the void with their own event.

Teddy Long thinks that the War Raiders, the WWE World Tag Team Champions, need a manager and suggests Paul Ellering. Is Teddy right? And would Ellering be the right person for the job?

Paul Ellering is already the manager of Karrion Kross, The Authors of Pain, and Scarlett, so more clients for Mr. Ellering are not needed. A manager would add to the characters of the War Raiders though as neither are great talkers. Maybe Shawn Daivari, who works for WWE as an Agent and Producer? Or maybe Drake Maverick, who currently works for WWE in Creative. Both men would be excellent in the role.

Would you like to see Mustafa Ali back in WWE? If so, how would you book his return?

Mustafa Ali is a talented wrestler and is an asset to any promotion that he works for. WWE, under the reign of Triple H, would be a great place for him. How should he return? How about as the Manager for The War Raiders? That would get him back on TV and his foot back in the door and then, his character could evolve from there.

Ray Stevens, Jimmy Snuka & The Iron Sheik w/ Gene Anderson versus The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins). Who wins?

This question makes me smile. How did Gene Anderson, a wrestler who never spoke for nearly twenty years, turn into such an effective manager? Gene was very good in this role and had a great run in Crockett in the early 80s. If I recall correctly, Stevens & Snuka were the NWA Tag Team Champions, while the Iron Sheik was the Mid-Atlantic Champion. A formidable trio to the sure. And against the Shield. What a banger of a match this would be. Three legends against the best 3-man faction of the past twenty years. It’s a tough call, but I think Gene would try to interfere, swing his cane at Roman, who would duck, and Gene would nail Stevens by mistake instead. And the Shield would get the win.

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 I guess that’s all unless I decide to do more. Have a great one and Merry Christmas. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!