Instead of Diesel, how about Bulldog?

Bulldog vs. Diesel
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I'm starting a new feature here on the blog, looking at former heavyweight champs and offering up a different Superstar to hold that belt. In no way am I disrespecting the chosen wrestler, instead just wondering 'what if.'

For the first installment, why I would have rather seen British Bulldog as WWF Champion instead of Diesel.

Courtesy: WWE

This is the part where I contradict myself. I don't dislike Kevin Nash or Diesel, however, the character and the performer never resonated with me. I respect what he's done in the business. I appreciate the fact that he overcame a myriad of crappy gimmicks to achieve Legend status. I was shocked when he won the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon in early 1994. I was amazed when he beat Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship in a matter of seconds later that year.

It was November 1994. Bret Hart had once again dropped the title, this time to Backlund. I personally would have liked to seen Bret hold the belt and have a long-term, meaningful run with the gold. Yes, I know it's all a work, but I can still have an opinion on what I wanted to see on my favorite wrestling programs. Since the plan was to obviously put the title on someone new and who was a good guy, I would have gone with Bulldog. (My bad guy pick is Owen Hart here). I had an internal debate between Bulldog and Ramon for this blog, but my favorite tag team of all-time is the British Bulldogs so that's why I went with Davey Boy Smith.

Courtesy: WWE

Ramon was still going back and forth with challengers for the IC title, trading it for years to come with Jeff Jarrett and Goldust. But Smith seemed lost for a period and ended up forming a tag team with Lex Luger. The two were impressive and I thought they'd end up finally dethroning Owen and Yokozuna for the tag team titles, but it never happened.

Courtesy: WWE

Imagine Bulldog winning the belt that night in Madison Square Garden from Backlund. He could have then gone on to defend it against contenders like Shawn Michaels, Diesel and Owen. (I would have kept Diesel a heel too). Bulldog's run could have lasted a year and culminated at Survivor Series 95 where he'd drop it back to Bret much like Diesel did. This would have given Bret a win after losing the IC title to Smith at Summer Slam 92 and still kept the plans in place for Michaels' rise to the top in 1996. 

This is obviously a quick look at what I would have liked to have seen. Look for future 'Instead Of' blogs. Let me know who you would have had to win the WWF Championship instead of Diesel. 

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3 Superstars who should have been IC champ longer

Davey Boy Smith, Ricky Steamboat, Kerry Von Erich

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. I guess the same can be said about winning championships. Today I'm looking back on three former Intercontinental Champions who had short-lived reigns. (The irony, all three guys teamed up together at SummerSlam 1991)

Texas Tornado
Courtesy: WWE

Kerry Von Erich was one of the first wrestlers I remember watching before going "all in" on being a fan. He was months away from winning the NWA Championship from Ric Flair. Kerry only held that gold for 18 days. I would have loved a longer reign there too, but that's for another day. 

In 1990 when he signed with the WWF as The Texas Tornado, Kerry took the fed by storm. Shortly after his debut, he captured the IC title from Mr. Perfect. Unfortunately, he lost it back to 84 days later. Kerry's run came at a time when face vs. face matches were rare, so there was little chance of him getting a shot at The Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan for the WWF Title. A longer run with a couple more solid defenses would have done a lot for this lifelong fan.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Courtesy: WWE

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat's quest for gold started in fall 1986 after then-champ "Macho Man" Randy Savage crushed the Dragon's larynx with the ring bell. The buildup to WrestleMania III was amazing and the payoff was one of the greatest matches in the history of the event. It still holds up to this day.

It's been discussed many times that Steamboat had asked for time off from the road shortly after he won the belt. That didn't sit well with Vince McMahon or other WWF officials and Steamboat dropped the title to the Honky Tonk Man after 65 days as champ. Steamboat is another one I wish would have gotten a heavyweight championship match, but in that era, it wasn't going to happen. Had Steamboat not requested the time off, would Savage have turned face and eventually win the World Title? Could Steamboat have been in that spot? It's plausible... isn't it?

Davey Boy Smith
Courtesy: WWE

The British Bulldogs were one of my all-time favorite teams, so it was only natural I'd take to Davey Boy Smith when he went after the IC title. He beat his brother-in-law Bret Hart in a classic at SummerSlam 92. His run didn't last long either, as he lost it Shawn Michaels 59 days after winning it. 

DBS would go to other championship glory with tag team title wins and a run as European Champion, so I shouldn't complain about his lack of time as IC champ. But his chase was so built up and then he suddenly dropped the belt, as a fan I felt robbed. However, I believe he was on his way out at the time too so I understand the reasoning.

None of these guys will go down as the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, but all three were worthy champs who deserved a bit more time as second in command.

The night I stalked WWE Superstars

Searching for Superstars (circa 1996)

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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I've been a wrestling fan for more than 30 years. Twenty years ago this week I was back in my college town of Cape Girardeau, Missouri for Homecoming weekend festivities. I also had tickets for the WWF house show the next day at the Show Me Center. Back then, none of my friends were wrestling fans, so I was dragging my fiance (now wife) to the show.

But the night before we were all hanging out at the Outback Steakhouse in town having dinner before the Homecoming social was set to begin. A couple of my fraternity brothers walked into the restaurant and asked me if I knew about the WWF semi parked in the hotel parking lot next door. I had no idea but instantly became interested. We hadn't been seated yet and I looked Lisa who simply nodded and said go.

Goldust at the Show Me Center (1996)

Remember this was 1996 so there were no smartphones or social media. I did have a regular old camera loaded with film in my pocket. I quickly entered the hotel lobby and headed for the elevator. I was dressed in a shirt and tie so I figured I didn't look like a crazed wrestling fan. The hotel only had three or four floors, so I started at the top, walking down the halls hoping to run into a Superstar or two. Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Mankind, Goldust, Sid, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog were all scheduled to wrestle so I really didn't want to miss a chance to meet one of them.

Shawn Michaels wins (1996)

I walked the halls of each floor with hope fading. I never did run into any Superstars or even anyone who resembled a WWF employee. Little did I know the wrestlers were still in St. Louis for a show up there before making the two-hour drive to Cape Girardeau. I did get my picture taken in front of that semi and I thought it would be the closest I'd ever get to such a thing. But if you read this blog you know in the 20 years that have passed I've enjoyed some amazing opportunities. Here's to another 20 years of wrestling fandom and hopefully no more stalking.

SummerSlam A to Z: Wembley Stadium

80,355 fans at Wembley Stadium
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Of course WWE or WWF have the word "World" in them so it should come as no surprise that this global company took the show on the road back in 1992.  That was the first time SummerSlam or any WWF pay-per-view had originated overseas.  If my memory is correct, I think it may still be.  At the very least SummerSlam '92 is the only of the Big Four to do so.

Legion of Doom & Rocco
Courtesy: WWE

Wembley Stadium in London played host to the event.  The stadium was huge as you can see in the pictures.  More than 80,000 fans were on hand as the Legion of Doom rode motorcycles to the ring for Hawk and Animal's last match together (at least for a while).  Remember Rocco the Dummy and Paul Ellering were on bikes too?  They beat Money Inc. that night.  Undertaker made his in-ring SummerSlam debut despite being with the company nearly two years at that point when he beat Kamala.

Flair & Perfect interfering
Courtesy: WWE

The WWF championship match was not the main event of the night.  It was a rematch from the previous year's Wrestlemania as Randy Savage defended the belt against the Ultimate Warrior.  By this point, both were good guys. Warrior wore a singlet that looked like something Mr. Goodbody would have been proud.  The match didn't compare to their Wrestlemania VII classic which is my favorite Mania match of all time.  Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect interfered in the match, and Warrior ended up winning via count out.  Savage dropped the belt a few weeks later back to Flair.

Family united
Courtesy: WWE

The main event of the night featured hometown hero The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith against his brother-in-law Bret Hart for the Intercontinental championship. Again, this was a good guy vs. good guy matchup.  I believe it's the first and only time the IC title match was the closer on the show or any major WWE pay-per-view (not counting the title vs. title match between Hulk Hogan and Warrior at Mania VI).  The company did a great job putting this story together and Hart and Smith did an even better job in the ring.  The celebration afterward with Diana Hart-Smith was very memorable too.  I wish Bulldog could have held the title longer, but I know the company had other plans.  

Raw Memories: #8: Beer Bath

Raw Moment #8:
Beer bath!
Photo from WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

 The year was 1999 and attitude was oozing from the WWF.  The Rock was the new "corporate" champion after defeating Mankind (again) and Vince and Shane McMahon were singing the praises of the Great One.  This was also about the same time that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was preparing for a Wrestlemania showdown with the Rock.  In fact, this happened six days before Wrestlemania XV.

Austin and McMahon were at the height of their own feud as well, with Austin recently defeating the chairman in a cage match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  I'm not sure of the order of events, but it seemed like it was becoming a habit for Austin to destroy one of Vince's cars or do something big with a vehicle of some kind.

On a fateful night in March, Austin raised the bar like never before.  The former champ drove a Coors truck into the arena from the backstage area.  He nearly took out the TitanTron as he made his way to the ringside area.  Of course, once he arrived he soaked the boss, his son, and the champ with an ice cold beer bath.  Before the spraying started though, Austin spouted off a great promo that got right under the skin of the heels in the ring.

Austin would go on to defeat the Rock at Wrestlemania that year.  This incident with the beer truck definitely put the exclamation point on one of the hottest rivalries in the history of the WWF (and in all of wrestling)

Honorable mention:
The Hart Foundation reborn
Photo from WWE

Honorable Mention:   1997 was a pivotal year for the WWF.  The world title had changed hands several times in the early months that year.  There was no conclusive winner to the Royal Rumble and fans were quickly growing tired of Bret Hart and his squeaky clean image.  Fans wanted more.  They wanted a bad guy to cheer for and they found that anti-hero in "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Owen Hart and the British Bulldog had been the tag team champions and were on the verge of a meltdown.  They battled it out on an episode of Raw shortly after Wrestlemania.  The two were going toe to toe beating each other up, when Bret showed up and break the two apart.  He then delivered a speech that lead to the reformation of the Hart Foundation.  Only this time, it was a bigger, stronger, better unit.  

Hart reconciled with his former Hart Foundation partner turned enemy Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart.  Owen and Davey came back into the loop, and Brian Pillman helped to round out the unit.  Collectively they were the best thing going in the WWF at the time.  It was that speech during the Owen-Bulldog match that brought them all together.

Sadly though it would not last.  Pillman would die later that year.  Then Bret fell victim of the "Montreal Screw Job" and Bulldog and Anvil would leave the WWF shortly after that.  But for the summer of 97, the Harts dominated the WWF and picked up key wins, including that big Canadian Stampede victory over Austin, the Road Warriors, Ken Shamrock, and Goldust.

Mania Memories: Unlucky 13

Undertaker pins Sid

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

Wrestlemania 13 was the first in the franchise that I did not watch live or soon after the event on tape.  I was getting married a few months later and opted to save money by watching (more like listening) to the show on scramble vision.  Back then, you could still do that.

It seems like there was a lot of turmoil behind the scenes leading up to Wrestlemania 13.  Of course, I am merely speculating when I say that, perhaps at the end of the day it was all a part of the plan.  But this was really the point when the WWF title started feeling more like a prop and not the top prize in the game.  When 1997 started, Sycho Sid was the champion.  He dropped the belt to Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble, who was shortly stripped of the title.  Bret Hart won it at the February pay per view In Your House: Final Four, only to drop it the next night on Raw to Sid.  So Sid headed into Wrestlemania as the WWF champion... his opponent the Undertaker.

Taker had been on a role as we all know by this point, his Wrestlemania streak is still alive.  And in a less than stellar main event he tombstoned and pinned Sid to become a two time holder of the WWF title.  It may have been one of the weakest Wrestlemania main events to that point.  (I wasn't a huge fan of Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy either)  Shawn did do commentary for the match, but did not wrestle.  I don't know if he was really hurt at that point or if he'd been in trouble.  I've heard different stories on this topic.

Hitman vs. Stone Cold (WWE)

The undercard featured Hart versus his nemesis "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.  This was without a doubt the best match on the card, proving that the main event is always the greatest contest.  By the time this match rolled around, the two had started showing signs of reserving roles as the baby face and heel.  When the match ended (Hart won as Austin passed out in the Sharp Shooter and deemed unable to continue), Austin was over like never before and Hart was now getting more boos.  It worked brilliantly and may have been the start to the change in momentum for the WWE.  I know people will argue the exact time things started turning around, but the solidification of Austin as a face could probably be traced to that night.

Rocky gets some air (WWE)

Rocky Maivia defended the Intercontinental title against the Sultan in what was probably the worst IC title defense since the Randy Savage-George Steele match at Wrestlemania 2.  (What is it about these two cards?)  For those of you who didn't know, the Sultan (managed by Bob Backlund and the Iron Sheik) eventually became Rikishi.  Based on this match though, it's hard to believe the Kish ever became as popular as he did, and Rocky for that matter too.

My favorite team of that era the British Bulldog and Owen Hart battled Mankind and Vader to a double count out in a rare Wrestlemania heel vs. heel tag team match for the WWF tag team titles.  I liked all four men involved in this one, and thought the team of Vader and Mankind was ironic given the history between the two in WCW.  Another tag team note, there was a 6 man tag match on the card too, featuring the Legion of Doom and Ahmed Johnson against the original Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Crush, and Savio Vega), AND a four way tag match between the Headbangers, Godwins, New Blackjacks, and Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon.  By my count that's 8 tag teams, which is unheard of today (plus PG-13 was in the corner of the Nation, really making it 9 teams on the roster).  Also on the card, Hunter Hearst Helmsley beat Goldust.

So if I had to pick a favorite moment from the entire card, it'd have to be the end of the Austin-Hart match and how it helped shape the landscape of the WWF and wrestling in general.  What are your thoughts on the 13th Mania, was it unlucky for you?  Share here or on our Facebook wall.

Mania Memories: Iron Men

Iron Man match (WWE)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

By the time Wrestlemania 12 rolled around you just knew that Shawn Michaels was going to win the WWF heavyweight title from Bret Hart.  The two were scheduled for a 60 minute Iron Man Match, and when the bout ended after an hour with no one scoring a victory the crowd wondered what was going to happen.  Bret Hart, who had been through one helluva match grabbed his championship belt and headed back to the dressing room.  I guess he assumed the match would end in a draw (I know he really didn't think that).  The champ was met by then WWF President Gorilla Monsoon in the aisle who informed him the match must continue.

Sweet chin music (WWE)

So after going an hour, Bret and Shawn went a few more minutes before the Heartbreak Kid landed Sweet Chin Music and covered the exhausted Hitman for the pin.  It was the start of a new era for the WWF, or so we thought.  Shawn Michaels brought a little irreverence to the table.  He was a bad boy, even though he was a baby face.  He was Goofus to Bret Hart's Gallant (Google it if you don't get it)

Shawn's victory was impressive, but like I said, you knew it was coming.  The WWF had gone through great lengths producing video packages documenting Shawn's quest to fulfill his boyhood dream.  Sure enough on March 31, 1996 the kid from San Antonio, Texas did just that.  One thing I was really impressed with was his zip line entrance, in fact I found it so cool I tried to convince my then fiancé to have our church set one up for to enter our wedding ceremony.  My request was denied.

Warrior returns (WWE)

Wrestlemania 12 was the first to feature such a match.  It was also the Wrestlemania with the least amount of matches, only six.  This was still at a time when the company was struggling with keeping top tier talent in place.  Diesel and Razor Ramon were just months away from defecting to WCW.  "Oldtimers" like Jake "the Snake" Roberts and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper were brought in as well, and after a nearly four year absence, the Ultimate Warrior returned to the WWF, beating Triple H (who had Sable in his corner before she left him for Marc Mero)

The Undertaker kept his streak alive by soundly beating Diesel.  But as I mentioned he was on his way out, so this outcome came as no surprise.  The Bodydonnas won the tag team titles in a Free for All match before the pay per view.  This was a tournament final, but honestly I can not remember why the previous champs were stripped of the belts or lost them in the first place.  I do remember they beat the Godwins, again this was a lean time for talent in the WWF.

Brawlin' (WWE)

Steve Austin wasn't quite Stonecold yet, but got the win over Savio Vega.  Vader teamed up with the British Bulldog and Owen Hart to beat the odd combo of Ahmed Johnson, Yokozuna, and Jake the Snake.  And in probably the second most memorable match of the night, Piper beat Goldust in a Hollywood Backlot brawl.  The match had some crazy spots outside, including Piper getting hit by a car, Goldust being choked with a baseball bat, and archived footage of the OJ Simpson bronco chase (don't ask).  It all ended back in the ring with Piper stripping Dustin's golden suit to reveal lingere, ala Dr. Frank n Furter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Goldust was the Intercontinental champion, but the title wasn't on the line as Piper ended up the victor here.

Notably missing from the card, former IC champ Razor Ramon.  The 123 Kid (Sean Waltman) was also not on the show.  I don't know if the two had been suspended or were hurt, as I remember them both being on the following month's pay per view prior to their departure for WCW.  So not only would the company lose Ramon, Kid, and Diesel, but Bret Hart ended up taking a hiatus for several months after Wrestlemania 12.  It was truly a time for developing new talent, and the returns of Warrior and Roberts just didn't cut it.  We saw a minor push for Vader, Johnson, and Mero who debuted right after the event.

What are your thoughts on Wrestlemania 12?  Did you enjoy the Iron Man match?  Post your comments here or on Facebook.