The New Day sets a new record

A tale of two teams
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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When Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E came together nearly 18 months ago I had no idea the trio would be setting a record in WWE. Their second reign as WWE Tag Team Champions has (or will) officially set a record as of December 14, 2016. The previous record holders Demolition were tag team champs for 478 days. 

There have been mixed feelings on social media about The New Day beating Ax and Smash's long-standing record. I'm a huge old-school fan, but I realize times change and new records have to be established for this generation. I also realize the lawsuit former Demolition members have against the WWE could have played a role in the changing of the guard.

 Demolition
Courtesy: WWE

I was watching live on closed circuit TV when Demolition beat Strike Force at WrestleMania IV for the titles. I also was tuned in when the Brain Busters beat Ax and Smash for the belts on Saturday Night's Main Event 478 days later. I witnessed New Day start their record-breaking reign after winning the against The Primetime Players, Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores at SummerSlam 2015. Who will be the team to dethrone them? My early pick right now is Enzo and Big Cass. 

New Day rocks!
Courtesy: WWE

Both The New Day and Demolition are great tag teams and each faced some of the best duos in the business. Demolition beat everyone from The Killer Bees to the Powers of Pain to the Hart Foundation. New Day has regained against the likes of The Dudleys, The Usos and two huge victories on Raw against The Club, Sheamus & Cesaro and Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins and Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens.

Congrats to The New Day on setting this new record. And congrats to Demolition for holding the record for 27 years. The accomplishment by Woods, Kingston and Big E does nothing to tarnish nor diminish what Ax and Smash accomplished in the 80s. Plus they've proven themselves not only in the ring but with merchandise sales too. 

New Day still rocks

Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion among some readers of this blog, but I hope The New Day retains the WWE Tag Team Titles this Sunday at Clash of Champions. For nearly 400 days Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods have held the bronze belts. Granted they don't need the titles anymore to "be over", but I've enjoyed the way New Day has changed the face of tag team wrestling.

What do I mean by that? New Day's blend of comedy and wrestling talent has put a new focus on tag team wrestling. Since winning the titles more than a year ago WWE has made it a point to make tag team wrestling matter. Over WrestleMania weekend, the trio's merchandise topped sales of every other WWE Superstar. That speaks volumes as I don't ever remember a tag team having that distinction. Now with the official sale of Booty O's cereal, the Funko Pop figures and next month champs get Pop Rocks named after them. It's a good time to be part of the New Day.

Gallows vs. Big E
Courtesy: WWE

Despite all the merch, New Day doesn't NEED the tag team titles to continue to be over with the fans. But having some stability in the championship department is something WWE has lacked over the last several years. I won't be surprised if Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows win the titles at Clash of Champions this weekend. I will be disappointed, in part because unlike many others, I haven't been swept away by The Club. I never followed them closely overseas and while I'm happy to have them in WWE, I'm not ready for New Day to drop the belts.

Can New Day carry on and eventually beat the REAL record for the tag team championship reign of Demolition? Only time will tell. The number to beat is 478.

The time I spent 20 bucks on a box of cereal

Booty O's

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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That time was two weeks ago. But there's a good reason I spent four or five times more on this box of cereal than any other box I've ever purchased. The cereal has a WWE connection. It's called Booty O's and is part of the marketing gimmick behind current WWE tag team champions The New Day. You can watch my review of the cereal on the YouTube link below.

I ordered the Booty O's off the site F.Y.E. it was $13 and after tax and shipping the total toppled the $20 mark. It was an expense I would never typically make, but I look at it as a business expense. I did a Facebook Live review of the cereal along with the YouTube video above and the blog you're now reading. Was it worth it? Only time will tell. By the way it looks and tastes a lot like Lucky Charms. And with the name Booty O's, I'm grateful there's no chocolate in this cereal. 

But I had a blast doing the live review. More people than I expected logged on at noon and asked questions during the show. I've found the best way to use Facebook Live is when you're interacting and engaging with the audience.  

Not bad

I like Booty O's, but I won't be spending $20 on the cereal again. It's something that if I saw at the store for the price of a usual box of cereal I'd throw it in the cart. It's a testament to the marketing power of WWE and the hard work and determination displayed by New Day members Xavier Woods, Kofi Kington and Big E. They took the lemons they were given early in the gimmick and made cereal (and lots of other cool merchandise) out of them. New Day does in fact rock. But I still need to figure out what it means to be booty.  

Demolishing tag team history

Demolition
Courtsey: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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I've been a wrestling fan for more than 30 years. But from time to time I learn something new or relearn something I've forgotten about the business. The most recent lesson came earlier this week when WWE proclaimed The New Day as the longest reigning WWE tag team champs. Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston have held the titles since SummerSlam 2015 (338 days to date). 

Courtesy: WWE

While I'm a huge fan of the New Day, I questioned WWE's math and history skills, remembering that at WrestleMania IV in 1988 Demolition beat Strike Force for the gold and defended the belts a year later at WrestleMania V and remained champs until the fall of 1989. The total: 478 days. I also discovered in my research that the Valiant Brothers held the gold for 370 days. Both reigns are longer than The New Day's time as champs.

But then I read the fine print. WWE in 2002 established the WWE tag team champions. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit won those titles when the first brand extension happened. By 2010 the company retired the World Tag Team champion and the belts that were held by Ax and Smash.

The New Day
Courtesy: WWE

So technically speaking, it's true. The New Day are the longest reigning WWE tag team champions. But if you're a history and a fool for old school like me, the overall longest set of tag team title holders in WWE are in fact Demolition. #TheMoreYouKnow

Careers saved by tag team wrestling

Breezango
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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So far I'm pleased that most of the established tag teams in WWE will remain intact after the draft. Of course general managers could split up some of the duos as Chad suggested during our podcast and have the Ascension and the Usos pursue singles careers. 

Selfie time
Courtesy: WWE

I'm particularly glad to see that Breezango was drafted together and Fandango and Tyler Breeze will at least for now continue to function as a team. When both men were brought up from NXT to the main roster, I had high hopes for them. After very short lived pushes each seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

A couple months ago new life was breathed into their careers when they were put together as a team. While I'm not sure they'll become tag team champions, Breezango is no doubt getting more attention from creative than they were as individuals. There have been other floundering singles Superstars saved by getting a partner.

Oh you didn't know?
Courtesy: WWE

The best example of this is the Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. Billy was transitioning out of The Smoking Gunns team and tried a solo career as RockaBilly with the Honky Tonk Man as his manager. The gimmick fell flat. Road Dogg meanwhile had departed Jeff Jarrett as the Roadie and really hadn't done much. In fact I don't really remember him doing anything until the angle with Billy started.

New Age Outlaws
Courtesy: WWE

When the two first teamed up I didn't think it was a good pairing. Then The New Age Outlaws beat the Legion of Doom for the WWF tag team titles and I thought the powers that be had lost their minds. The Road Warriors, one of wrestling's greatest tag teams of all time, had just lost the gold to a couple of midcard no names. It reminded me of when Steve Regal (not William) and Jimmy Garvin beat the Warriors for the AWA straps 12 years earlier. But this was the start of something big and the Outlaws have gone down as one of the most beloved and awarded tag teams in the history of the business. Joining DX didn't hurt with them getting over either.

New Day Rocks!
Courtesy: WWE

The current tag team champions, The New Day fit into this category too. Kofi Kingston was on the brink of breaking through to the main event scene but for some reason was derailed along the way. He quickly slipped into the land of the lost. Big E showed potential as a heel, but when he turned face he too got lost in the shuffle. Xavier Woods was working hard to make a name for himself. Then these three Superstars in search of an identity came together and the rest is wrestling history. I never imagined New Day would be as wildly popular as they are. The merchandising alone will put them in the books as some of WWE's greatest Superstars. After all, what other Superstar has had their own cereal? 

What singles stars have you seen saved by becoming a tag team competitor?

Money in the Bank Predictions

Who will win?

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I usually vlog my pay per view predictions over on my YouTube channel, but time is running out and things have been hectic this past week, so I'm going to just write up some quick thoughts on Money in the Bank.

Photo courtesy: WWE

Diva's Championship Match: Paige vs. Naomi: 
I still think the WWE has some work to do when it comes to Divas division.  There are some very talented women wrestling right now for the company, and they need the opportunity to shine.  I also don't think they've done a whole lot with Paige as the champion. Despite the fact that she's held the title for more than two months, I don't feel like I know much about her.  For that reason alone, I'd like to see her retain and the company do more to develop her character.

Photo courtesy: WWE

Tag Team Title Match: The Usos vs. Harper & Rowan:
This should be a great contest between two terrific tag teams.  The WWE in recent years has lacked solid tag team wrestling.  Every time I get hopeful that that's about to change a monkey wrench is thrown into the plans.  I like both of these teams, but I think Harper and Rowan have the edge here.  But no matter who wins here, I want to see the WWE continue to keep both teams together. No more breakups in 2014!

Photo courtesy: WWE

Stardust & Goldust vs. Rybaxel: 
I pick the recharged combo of the 'dust brothers.  I like what they're doing here and am interested to see where it's headed, perhaps another run as champs against the Wyatt Family.

Photo courtesy: WWE

Big E vs. Rusev:
This is a rematch from Extreme Rules.  Rusev has been on such a role.  I don't want to see him lose that momentum to someone he's already beaten.  So for that reason, I say continue the Rusev push.

Photo courtesy: WWE

Layla vs. Summer Rae: 
Lately, all I watch is Raw, so I don't know how this feud has been developing on other WWE programs, and honestly I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to it.  My gut tells me that Fandango, who is the guest referee, will turn on Layla and reunite with Summer. Honestly, I thought they made the better couple anyway.  Did I just say that???

Photo courtesy: WWE

MITB Contract Match: 
Here's where things start getting tough for me.  Part of my thinking is the winner of this match will cash in as soon as a new champ is crowned in the main event.  It seems logical the way the story has been building that Seth Rollins will win this match.  But Dean Ambrose has been such a thorn in his side, I could see him costing Rollins the win.  Does Triple H have something up his sleeve to insure a Rollins victory?  Since I need to pick, I'm gonna go with Rollins...

Photo courtesy: WWE

World Title MITB Match: 
Which leads to picking John Cena to win the championship. Rollins cashes in on a battered and beaten Cena, setting up for a feud with Daniel Bryan when he returns.  I only pick Cena to win this because I don't want someone new to hold the belt for a few seconds before a cash in happens.  I know there are "leaked" images of the SummerSlam poster floating around with Cena and Brock Lesnar, but I think that's all a swerve.  However, that being said, I don't know that the WWE has the faith to do a Rollins-Bryan program for the WWE World Heavyweight title.  I'd love to see Roman Reigns win it all, but I'd rather see him continue to develop and fight for it with a payoff coming at a bigger event, perhaps Wrestlemania.  I like Cesaro too, and if this was just for the contract, he'd be my pick.  

So there are my thoughts.  It's clear as mud when it comes to the two most important matches.  No matter what happens, it's sure to be interesting.  As long as Randy Orton walks out without the title, I'll be happy.  Sorry to all the Orton fans...