Tossing Salt Presents:
Wrestling Fact or Fiction
WrestleMania & More
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

It’s that time again for another edition of Wrestling Fact or Fiction. As per usual, the credit for the questions goes to Jake Chambers from 411Mania.com/wrestling. And the opinions featured? That’s all me, your ever-loving party host and guiding light, Doug. Are you ready to rumble? Let’s do this.

Statement #1: The endings to WrestleMania 41, both Saturday and Sunday nights, were dumb.

FICTION: The ending to Night One, given the context of RAW on Monday, and just for the swerve at the end, wasn’t bad at all. It was a good match and the ending gave us a winner, but kept everyone strong, and left us in anticipation for more, which led us to RAW on Monday, and it all played out. Sunday night? The referee essentially went into a coma after being pulled from the ring, and the long, casual stroll by the idiot rapper to interfere in the match. Okay, that was beyond dumb. So, one good night and one bad one.

Statement #2: The WrestleMania triple threat match between IO SKY, Rhea Ripley, and Bianca Belair is among the best matches you’ve ever seen.

FACT: The match worked. It had a good flow, every move made sense, and the three women didn’t resort to the usual triple-threat crap where one person naps on the outside while the other two fight and then switch. All three women stayed involved in the match and the timing was excellent. And the right woman won. It was a solid match from bell to bell and a strong way to start what, except for the main event ending, was a damn good show.

Statement #3: WWE made TNA champion Joe Hendry look like a geek at Wrestlemania in his quick loss to Randy Orton.

FICTION: The TNA World Champion had a match at WrestleMania against Randy Orton. Did you hear the pop that Hendry received when he was introduced? Yes, he lost the match against Orton, but who remembers the actual matches or results? It’s all about the presentation and Hendry looked like a star. He’s happy with it and how things worked out, so what right do we, as fans, have to complain? The bottom line is, did Hendry come out better for the experience? I would say, yes.

Statement #4: NXT Stand and Deliver should be on the Thursday night before WrestleMania weekend.

FACT: WWE tries to cram too much into too short a period on WrestleMania weekend. The Stand & Deliver PLE is a perfect example of that. On Friday, we had Smackdown and the Hall of Fame. Saturday was Stand & Deliver, plus Night 1 of Mania. Sunday was Night 2 of Mania, followed by RAW and NXT on Monday and Tuesday. That is too much for most people. The two ideal solutions, to spread things out, would be to move Stand & Deliver to Thursday, plus find a new timeslot for the Hall of Fame. Stand & Deliver was a fantastic show, better in many ways than Night One of Mania, but being when it was, many fans never got to see it. There isn’t a simple solution to fix everything, but moving the NXT PLE to Thursday would be a good way to start.

Statement #5: Tetsuya Naito leaving NJPW in 2025 is not a big loss.

FICTION: I have to admit that I barely follow Japanese wrestling anymore and had to use Wikipedia to realize who Naito even is. From what I understand, he was a major star for years and years, and now, he’s just a shadow and shell of what he once was. It sounds to me as if NJPW would be better off to let this man retire. But, NJPW has lost so many major stars and talents over the past few years, that they need any and every major name with any marketability that they can get. Naito isn’t what he once was, but the fans know him and he puts butts into the seats. And right now, New Japan needs all of that they can’t get.

Statement #6: WWE events (PLE/PPV) were more enjoyable when ring mats weren’t covered in 9+ ads and the downtime between matches wasn’t twice as long as the actual matches.

FICTION: I grew up in a time when World Class had advertising on their mats. Mid-South had advertising on their mats. After the first few times, I don’t even notice the logos on the mat. I concentrate on the wrestlers and the wrestling, the actual matches themselves. To me, that’s the important thing. The commercials between the matches are too long and annoying, but it’s a small price to pay for good stories and solid wrestling, both of which WWE is delivering right now in spades.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. Once again, thanks to Jake Chambers over at 411Mania.com for allowing me to play with his toys. And on that, I’m out of here. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for flying t-shirts and FTR. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!