I don't think it would have made any difference,since Salerno was only the "front boss" who served to deflect the heat off of the Chin,who was the actual Boss of the Genovese Family. This was an open secret in the New York Mafia,and if Gotti wasn't afraid of the Chin,he sure as heck wasn't going to be afraid of Fat Tony. This only serves to show how blatantly stupid and arrogant Gotti was. He really believed that once he became Boss,no other Family would dare make a move on him. If not for a very lucky coincidence, Gotti would have been blasted into the phantom zone.