Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Pez Whatley, MJF, Ricky Starks & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

Happy New Year’s Eve. I’m Doug and this is the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. Are you ready to rumble? Let’s do this.

Has MJF’s career in AEW peaked, or are better times still to come?

Unless a miracle happens, AEW has seen its best days and is in a rapid decline. MJF was the top guy for a good period, but everything presented to him seems to get more and more sad and pitiful. MJF is extremely talented and could be a big star. But so long as his wrestling home remains AEW, things will not be getting better.

Ronnie Garvin versus Lex Luger. Who wins?

The Hands of Stone versus The Torture Rack. This would be an odd match but could be a good one. It’s a tough call, but I think Lex would end up getting the win.

What would you say to a Shield versus Shield feud with Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk against Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Drew McIntyre? Who wins?

After Bloodline versus Bloodline concludes, a year or so of The Shield versus The Shield would be awesome. And look at it. Roman has heat with everyone. Cody has heat with Kevin and had heat with Seth in the past. And Punk has heat with Seth, after coming off a great feud with Drew. The history and back-stories are there. This would be a great rivalry. And the good guys win.

What are your thoughts on Pistol Pez Whatley?

Pez was charismatic and very underrated back in the day. The dude had the biggest chest and was built like a jacked-up fire hydrant. I can still recall the day he turned on Jimmy Valiant and joined Paul Jones’ Army, becoming Shaska Whatley in the process. Pez was a good heel and that was probably his best run for Crockett. Then, I remember him in WCW, working as a jobber. That was sad to see. He deserved so much better. Whatley was a talented and interesting dude. I will always be a fan.

When Natalya eventually goes into the WWE Hall of Fame, who should induct her?

Her Uncle Bret Hart is the first name that comes to mind, but former tag team partner Beth Phoenix is a strong possibility as well. And my pick? I’d go with her first regular tag team partner in WWE, a woman deserving of a Hall of Fame spot in her own right, Lisa Marie Varon, aka Victoria. Victoria and Natalya reunited. Works for me.

Do you think Ricky Starks should return to AEW and rebuild his momentum, or is his time with the company running its course?

The problem isn’t Starks not wanting to return to AEW and wrestle, but AEW won’t bring him to the shows and has nothing for him, despite being medically cleared and injury-free for a while now. If AEW would use him, he’d be there. Since they won’t, his best option is to wrestle when he can, stay in shape, and wait for the contract with AEW to end.

Peak for peak prime for prime. Who’s better all the time? Stone Cold or Shawn Michaels?

It’s a tough call because both men are excellent wrestlers and among the best of their era. It’s also like comparing steak to fried chicken because it’s all subjective and depends on what you are looking for and prefer. For me, it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin. And that’s the bottom line because I just said so.

Do you think Mercedes Mone should have more creative input, or is it better left to the AEW team?

When Mercedes has creative control, as she allegedly does now, she sucks! And we’ve already seen many times that the AEW team, aka Tony Khan, hasn’t got a clue in terms of telling wrestling stories or booking, so I doubt that would be much better. Hell, let Mercedes handle it. Maybe she’ll have some Sasha Banks flashbacks and do something good. One can only hope.

Will The Rock appear next week on Raw for the Netflix premiere?

He’ll be there. I have little doubt about that.

If you ordered The Horsemen from Temu, who would get?

Instead of Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and James J Dillon, you’d end up with Nature Boy Paul Lee, Horace Hogan, Brad Anderson, and Chris Von Erich, with Joel Gertner as the manager. And no, that is not a good thing.

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 this up. Happy New Year’s Eve, my friends. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!