Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Joaquin Wilde, Gunther, Brock Lesnar & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

Welcome to the show. It’s the only pro wrestling Q&A that matters. You have questions and I have answers. It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m Doug, your party host and Guiding Light. Are you ready? Let’s do this.

According to Fightful, Tony Khan announced that a new ROH Championship, a Women’s Pure Championship, is coming, and the new Champion will be crowned at ROH Supercard of Honor. Thoughts?

It is just what ROH needs. Another title that no one will care about is to be defended by a brand that has no television and doesn’t even run its own shows, instead tailbacking on the AEW events. They must have found someone on the ROH roster who didn’t have a participation trophy, aka a title belt, and want to fix that. ROH doesn’t need more titles and there is no point in adding another championship to an already bloated title scene.

Cody Rhodes referenced Brock Lesnar during his promo on Smackdown. Does this mean that Brock is coming back to WWE?

I wish he was, but if Brock hasn’t returned by now, and from all reports, TKO hasn’t even reached out to Brock about coming back, then it probably won’t happen. WWE feels that Brock is tainted by the Janel Grant case, and they’re afraid to bring him back. Sad, but true.

Should Tony Khan and AEW contact Brock Lesnar about coming to work for AEW?

If Tony can get his contact information, he should be making a road trip to recruit Brock personally, giving him anything he wants, to come aboard the AEW roster. Brock would actually draw ratings and be a huge score for AEW if they could get him. Since WWE obviously isn’t interested, AEW should at least reach out and see what happens.

Has WWE dropped the ball with Joaquin Wilde? How would you use the former Zema Ion?

Wilde is keeping a job and a spot on the WWE roster, so they’re using him as part of the LWO, and he’s getting semi-regular television time. So they’re not totally wasting him, but he’s just another face in the crowd when he could be so much more. I would love to see Wilde paired up with either Grayson Waller or Austin Theory once they split to allow the personality he showed as Zema Ion in TNA to have a chance to shine. I think the fans would take to Wilde if they just got to know him better. There is still hope, but he has a ways to go to become the star for WWE that I know he’s capable of being.

Do you believe the claim that Haku actually bit a man’s nose off in a bar fight?

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but enough people have said it, that I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if it was true. Even if it’s not, it makes a good story and adds to the mystique that is Haku.

Do you think Gunther would’ve made it as far under Vince McMahon?

Probably not. Gunther would have done well as Vince likes big men and big man matches, but the long run he’s been experiencing as the World Champion? That never would have happened in Vince McMahon’s WWE.

Would you like to see Layla return to WWE as a Legend?

I said this in terms of Kelly Kelly and I’ll say it here for Layla as well. She’s not a legend. She had a few years in the WWE, never really accomplished anything except for the brief tag team run with Michelle McCool, and was gone. I have no problems with Layla making a return to WWE, but she’s not a legend.

Do you think AEW is underperforming on MAX and just doesn’t want anyone to know?

If I go to Netflix, I don’t even have to type WWE RAW in the search because ads for RAW pop up everywhere. If I go to Max, I have to literally search out AEW to find it. No advertisements or additional mentions at all. Yet, we’re supposed to believe that a half-million people a week show up and watch AEW faithfully? I don’t believe it at all.

Should Ric Flair retire and quit pushing the idea he can step back into the ring?

Ric just needs to go away, quit trying to be the Nature Boy, and go into a full retirement. Ric can not wrestle again, nor, due to the medicine he’s on, take bumps. We know it and Ric, although he’s in major denial, knows it. He just won’t admit it to himself.

Do you want to see WWE have a crossover partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling?

New Japan already crosses over regularly with AEW, and I can’t see AEW allowing a crossover with WWE to happen. And truthfully, what does New Japan have to offer WWE? I could see a one-off event if WWE ever decides to run a major show in Japan, but WWE already has a partnership with Pro Wrestling NOAH for that. It’s a nice thought, but WWE and NJPW on the same event? I don’t see it happening.

And there you go. Thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and questions are welcome and appreciated. Reach me by e-mail at Doug28352@yahoo.com or on X at @Doug28352. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. And with that, let’s wrap it up. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects, and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!