Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Bryan Danielson, FTR, Dominik Mysterio & 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, guiding light, and the man with the best mullet since Billy Ray. Are you ready? Let’s do this.

Bryan Danielson, in a recent interview, claims that WWE wants AEW to go out of business. Thoughts?

WWE’s parent company, TKO, may feel that way, but I doubt WWE itself, the management, and the talent want AEW to vanish. Competition brings out the best, and AEW, despite the flaws, is competition. And it provides jobs for the friends and family who don’t work for WWE. TKO itself is ruthless and all about the money, but accusing WWE seems a bit of an overreach.

Do you think Bryan Danielson should continue wrestling part-time, or is it time for him to hang up the boots for good?

With all the physical problems and injuries that Bryan has suffered, Danielson will be in a wheelchair or crippled before he’s 60. There is no reason to wrestle again and risk speeding up the inevitable.

Eric Bischoff recently referred to FTR as “fragile” after they responded to remarks by Jake Hager criticizing AEW. Thoughts?

I wouldn’t say fragile as much as broken. FTR has gone from a solid tag team with fire, inspiration, and being one of the best in the world, to being broken toys, crushed by AEW, and the past few years into becoming stooges, puppets, and Tony Khan’s loyal flunkies. Everything that made them special, they’ve given up, and now they are just going through the motions. At least that’s how I see it.

Did Grayson Waller go too far trashing lucha libre and calling masked wrestlers “furries”?

Waller is a heel and saying heel things. That’s what they do. He’s just doing his job and drawing some good heel heat.

With Cena’s final match taking place in Washington, DC, do you think it would be a mistake to have Donald Trump attend the show?

It would make for a cool and historical moment, but the extra security, the scrutiny of the media, etc., would cause too many problems. It’s a nice idea, but it’s probably better if the President didn’t attend.

According to Meltzer, AEW was not happy that pictures from MJF’s wedding were leaked on social media. Thoughts?

Many of the guests, including people who worked for AEW, were the ones sharing the pictures online. If AEW isn’t happy, they’d better speak to the talent that was posting pictures first. And why wouldn’t Tony be happy? After all, he allegedly rescheduled an entire PPV so he could attend the wedding, right? Meltzer is just speaking to speak, as he often does.

Sean O’Haire versus Damian Priest. Who wins?

What a classic and epic match this would have been. I think Sean might be an inch or two taller, but these guys are close in weight, styles, and fan appeal. I loved O’Haire’s devil’s advocate character, and in today’s WWE, he’d be a major star. And Priest is special. He gets better every match, and even though he’s not in the spotlight right now, he’s got a huge future ahead of him. An instant classic. And I think O’Haire would squeak out the win in the end.

Bill Apter says that Dominik Mysterio has changed recently in WWE, and it’s not for the better. Thoughts?

Apter is talking about how Dom, despite being a heel, is getting more cheers than most of the babyfaces. Dom is still doing all the heel things, but the fans love him, and he’s quickly become the man the fans love to hate. I’ve been saying this for a while that Dom doesn’t need to change. The fans are appreciating him, despite the heel tactics, and when he does turn face, the response will be huge. He’ll be like Eddie Guerrero was, breaking the rules and being a heel, and still get cheered for it. Apter is wrong. Dom isn’t changing. He’s evolving. And there isn’t a damn thing wrong with that.

What do you think keeps holding AEW back?

Tony Khan. He provides the money, but he’s also the company’s biggest problem. Tony needs to step back, allow people with experience and knowledge to take the reins, and just sign the checks for a year or so. The changes and turnaround for AEW will begin almost instantly for the better.

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; that is all people need to know. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!