Tossing Salt - Worldwide News: December 31, 2011

Tossing Salt - Worldwide News
December 31, 2011
Doug Maynard

We're just hours away from a brand new year and this is definitely the last edition of professional wrestling's most eclectic column for this year. I'm Doug and I've got a ton of things to ramble about and not quite so long to do it as I'd like. There are squirrels in my yard and I think they want my nuts.

So let's skip the small talk and jump right into the nitty-gritty with a column packed tighter than Zack Ryder's bank account when the merchandising checks for those cool headbands start coming in. Woo Woo Woo - you know it! I'm Doug (already told you that, didn't I?) and this is Mr. Fuji's favorite column to read while in the bathroom, "Tossing Salt - Worldwide News". Let's do this...

We'll Miss You, Scott Powers...

Before I get too far into the column, I want to send a big shout out to a very important part of the North and South Carolina Indy wrestling scene, one half of the legendary "Main Attraction" Scott Powers, who announced on his Facebook page yesterday that after close to two decades in this great sport that we all know and love, that due to the wear and tear on the body, the curtains are closing on his wrestling career and he's calling it a day. Powers, along with partner Chris Steele, have long been the predominant wrestling tag team in this area for so long and they've established a legacy that will hold proud and strong for many years to come with such companies as NACW, ACW, SAPW and everywhere in-between. And also, in addition to numerous tag team championships as part of the "Main Attraction", Powers is also a former American Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.

Speaking on a personal level, I don't really know Scott all that well, but I've known of him for a long, long time (even before Scott Powers was born and he was just a young teenager with a dream walking the streets of McColl, SC) and I can honestly say that I've never heard anything bad or scandalous about either Powers or his partner and in today's age and time, that's a hard thing to say about anyone.

Scott Powers was and is a class act all the way, both inside and outside that ring and will definitely be missed at the local shows. Maybe in time, the body will heal a bit and Powers, still a very young man, will decide to give us one more match. But that's for him to decide and even if it never happens, Scott can rest easily knowing he lived his dream and achieved success and a legacy that few can ever hope to match. Mr. Powers, you did good and best of luck in whatever the future holds for you, be it in the crazy world of professional wrestling (maybe as an announcer, manager or trainer) or in other endeavors and life experiences. You will be missed and good luck to you.

And moving on, let's jump right into the mix with a plethora of topics in something I want to call...

Assorted Spices...

The big news comes from last night when former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar, at UFC 141, lost early in the first round by TKO to Alistair Overeem. Lesnar spoke immediately after the fight and made a big announcement. He's retiring from the UFC. It seems that after a couple of major health scares earlier in the year, Brock made a promise to his wife, Rena Mero, aka "Sable", that he would give up the UFC fighting and retire. If he had won the fight last night, he planned on going after the UFC Championship and then retiring after regaining the title. But he didn't make it that far and lost last night in quick fashion. And thus, another chapter in the strange history of Paul Heymans former "client", from wrestling superstar to football camp to UFC Champion comes to an end.

So what does the future hold for Mr. Lesnar (and by association, Sable)? The rumours have already started. Is Lesnar the man who will make a return to the WWE tomorrow night on RAW, thus giving the fans a swerve and answering the "It Begins" video challenge. (It's not going to be Jericho - that's just too damn obvious and they have to do a swerve!) Or will Lesnar make a surprise return at the Royal Rumble and make a huge impact? Or will he sit at home and make a return on April 1, 2012, just in time to help launch the debut of the WWE Network? Or will he just sit at home with Sable and make more babies? No one knows at this point except Mr. Lesnar and those closest to him and they're not telling, but I am thinking that it's a pretty safe bet that sometime soon, probably within the next year or so, we'll be seeing Brock back in a WWE ring. And I. for one, am looking forward to it.

Did you see it last night on Smackdown? The Intercontinental Champion, Cody Rhodes is trading words with "Mr. Five Time" Booker T and who comes to the ring, but Dustin Rhodes, aka "Goldust". There have been rumours floating around that Dustin had been petitioning the WWE Powers-That-Be for a Wrestlemania match with brother versus brother, with him taking on Cody. It looks as if The McMahons agree that this could be a money match and would fit in at their big event in April because the build has started.

I expect that we'll eventually see Dusty in here as well to mediate and advise the "fruit of his loins" too. Think about this for Wrestlemania 28. Goldust versus Cody Rhodes with "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes as the special guest referee. I'd like to see it. Main event extreme, if you will. Make it happen, Vince and Steph!

More rumours are afloat that Zack Ryder is kind of being frowned upon by management because he's not, according to them, drawing high ratings on TV. Yeah, that's kind of a dumb reason to crap on someone when it's not the wrestlers fault - it's the bad booking and storylines by the creative teams that people are fleeing from in droves. But rather than admit that Ryder is one of the bright spots for the WWE and that the self-made "Woo Woo Woo Broski" is over (look at the audience reaction - look at the merchandise sales), the WWE has decided to tweak his gimmick a little bit by adding the lovely Eve Torres to the mix.

Yeah, we see how well it worked for R-Truth when he had Eve as his sidekick. What? Don't what me! Even "Little Jimmy" could care less about Eve and adding her to the Ryder picture isn't going to help ratings improve, no matter what the WWE seems to think. They need to leave Zack alone to be Zack Ryder. That's what drew the attention of the fans to start with and the old cliche' rings more true than ever, "if it's not broke, don't fix it!". Unless it's the WWE where the motto seems to be, "If it's working, add a stupid gimmick to make it more sports-entertainment like and drive the fans away so we can blame it on the WWE Superstar when it fails."

I guess I should be glad they didn't stick Ryder with Hornswoggle, but they're busy killing Sheamus's career with that little addition... lol. The WWE management need to leave Ryder alone, let Eve go back to wrestling in the Divas Division and go eat a bug or something. Idiots!

I heard another rumour that the WWE Studios are considering filming a remake of the movie "Bad Santa" with Mick Foley and Hornswoggle in the starring roles. Okay, that's not true and I'm totally lying, but think about it. Mick as Santa and Horny as the evil little short dude in the elf suit. I'd watch it. It might even make me end up liking cheezy holiday movies. Another movie that I'd be lying about if I said that WWE was planning to film, but that I would definitely love to see would be a remake of "Thelma & Louise" starring Vickie Guerrero and Miss Piggy. Excuse me! Excuse Moi'! I'd even pay money to see that one.

Speaking of Mick Foley, I had an idea for him to be used as part of the ongoing CM Punk - Johnny Ace squabbles. And this would work. We all know that the two things that Mick Foley is most famous for in the WWE (besides cheap pops and Al Snow jokes) is (1) taking that sick bump from The Undertaker in the "Hell In A Cell" match (back when that match meant something) and doing those "This Is Your Life" segments with The Rock (good) and John Cena (not so good). And while I cringe at the thought of Mick Foley ever taking sick bumps in the ring again (please Mick - do NOT ever wrestle again), I think you can see where I'm going with this, the "This Is Your Life" still has some life left in it.

So picture this. CM Punk comes out and does his usual great job of mocking John Lauriniatis. And then he says that he wants to make it up to John and bury the hatchet because Johnny-boy has proven him wrong. He can be creative and exciting and all of that nonsense. So John comes out and Punk says that as a peace offering to Lauriniatis, he has a very special gift with a very special present. And here comes Mick Foley to the ring and we have a star-studded spectacular edition of "This Is Your Life Johnny Ace".

Just think about it. They could have The Bushwackers make an appearance since Ace started off as their valet / associate. Have Road Warrior Animal (Ace's brother) come out and do a spot. Have Shane Douglas or Jim Cornette (yeah, right!) come out and rag on Ace for his "Dynamic Dudes" days. Hell, they could even have someone who worked with Lauriniatis in WCW (Ace was the last person to head up WCW Talent Relations) or All Japan Pro Wrestling (Ace was the liason between the company and foreign talents) come out. There is so much potential for chaos and embarassment for Ace here and a chance to give a great nostalgia moment to so many fans as well with their favorites from days gone by. I know that the last time Mick tried this venture with John Cena and The Rock, it sucked corn off the cob, but with Ace as the target and Punk to help out and lend his support, this would really work and be a major hit. I know it!

Wrestling Fact Or Fiction (The One Man Edition)

As most of you know, I now do a weekly column with the esteemed Russell Jackson called "Tossing Salt Presents Wrestling Fact Or Fiction". It's where Russell and I go down the line with a list of usually ten statements concerning the WWE, TNA and wrestling in general and simply say whether or not we agree with the statement and why. It's a good read and fun to do and I've really grown to enjoy having someone else to discuss the issues with. (And if you'd like to join the fun and be a part of the weekly Fact or Fiction column, just drop me a line at Doug28352@yahoo.com and we'd be glad to have you.)

So what was I saying? Oh yeah! We do the weekly column and it's great, awesome, exciting and more fun than a ton of cucumbers being shipped to an all-girls school in Sweden. But I'm going to do a really quick one man, solo edition here and now. Why? Because I can. So here goes.

1) WWE should not give up on Punk, Bryan and Ryder because of the low rating numbers?

FACT: It's December and the ratings are down. This happens every year and within the next few weeks, especially as football ends, the ratings will rise, especially as we lead into Wrestlemania. Neither Ryder or Bryan have been champions long enough to really have the chance to show what they can do and work the magic to get those fans in. As for Punk, since the fans got screwed by the whole HHH rivalry and the Kevin Nash angles involving Punk (which was entirely the faulty of the WWE Creative teams and management - not Punk), they're a bit hesitant to jump aboard and get caught up with the Punk revolution because they know that the WWE will screw up the angles again. In time, the ratings will build. WWE has established a solid base with their new Champions and the youth movement. They just need to sit back now and give it all a chance to work.

2) CM Punk versus Dolph Ziggler on next Monday's RAW will be a TV Match of the Year candidiate?

FICTION: While I have no doubt that it will be a very good match, it's on the first RAW of the year and we've got a long, long way to go. Unless something really, really special happens, no matter how good it is, it will be forgotten about within a month. Attention spans are far too short these days.

3) Chris Jericho will make his return on Monday night at RAW?

FACT: Jericho will be back, but he will not be the one who comes out to the video teases. That's far too predictable and I fully expect to see a major swerve. It might be Brodus Clay. It might be Brock Lesnar. It might be the return of Christian to the ring. Hell, it could even be Nathan Jones. But we'll get the video and a return and it won't be Chris Jericho. And the fans will be let down and feeling blue. And then, at the end of the night, we get some excitement and chaos and Chris Jericho appears at the last possible instance to save the show. SWERVE!!

4) Big Show will regain the World Championship from Daniel Bryan next week on Smackdown?

FICTION: This friendly feud with Big Show and Daniel Bryan has legs to it and I expect we'll see several more matches and encounters before we actually get around to any possible title changes. I'd expect to see Mark Henry get involved and maybe David Otunga as well to cause a DQ finish on Smackdown and let the feuds all play out a little longer. There's too much money still left to be made to do otherwise.

See there. That's how we do it in de' hood! Come on and join in the fun. Be a part of the "Tossing Salt" family and let's get together a "Fact or Fiction" Flash Mob! We can do it and you know you want to!

VIDEO MOMENT OF ZEN...

I love this video. Always have and always will...



CHEAP PLUGS & FINAL THOUGHTS...

I guess that's enough for today. Comments and questions can be sent to Doug28352@yahoo.com. For all things Dougie, including wrestling columns, political commentary, short stories and fictions, rambling rants about anything and everything, and lots and lots of surveys, go visit my blog-space at www.tsfiction.blogspot.com. And come find me on Facebook at www.facebook/saltpalace.com. Add me as your friend - you know you want to.

And thus ends another edition of "Tossing Salt" as well as the year 2011. So have a great New Year's Eve and be safe and I'll see you on the flip side in 2012. I'm Doug and dat' is all de' people need to know. Thank you for reading. Don't forget to support your local Indy wrestling group. And may the force be with you. Bye!

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