VIDEO: Go Figure Friday: It's Time

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Some friends of mine picked up something for me on a trip at a recent yard sale. It's a WWE ring that is also an alarm clock and bank! Take a look and don't forget to subscribe!

Will Punk go All In?

CM Punk
Courtesy: UFC

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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CM Punk has had quite an interesting week. On Tuesday he and Colt Cabana were found not liable in a case filed against the duo by Dr. Chris Amann. Then on Saturday, Punk stepped back into the octagon for his second fight with UFC. He lost to Mike Jackson by decision which has lead to plenty of questions already about Punk's future. 

“No, it should be a wrap,” Dana White said. “The guy’s 39 years old. We gave him two shots, and he had a lot of heart tonight, and I think he should call it a wrap.”

Punk had this to say after the fight Saturday. "You win some, you lose some! I’m 1-1 this week and I’ll take it! Thanks to my team, my family, my friends, and THE FANS! Wouldn’t be here without any of you. Respect to @TheTruthJackson, thanks for the fight! You only live once, and… I’M ALIVE!"

When asked about returning to pro wrestling prior to the fight, Punk said: "I'm done." You can read the full article here. 

Courtesy: WWE

Personally, I'm of the belief that Punk will return to the ring. As we've seen with many Superstars from the past, never say never. I don't see him signing with WWE anytime soon. But I believe he'll become an attraction on the indy circuit and will likely be a part of the big All In event over Labor Day weekend in Chicago. 

I've been up and down on CM Punk. I wasn't crazy about his original run in WWE. It wasn't until the Straight Edge Society and eventually alliance with Paul Heyman that I truly embraced Punk. Then when he left, I thought he came off whiny, however, I understand his concerns and respect what he's done in wrestling. I also applaud him for going after his dreams and getting into the cage in the MMA world. 

It's not been an easy ride for Punk. I still think he has something to contribute to the professional wrestling world. I know he's already going to be at the Pro Wrestling Tees store in Chicago prior to All In. I won't be surprised to see him as a part of the show in some capacity. 

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3 Stars who need to come back to WWE

Morrison, Rhodes, Hogan
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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There are reports that 5 Star Wrestling has offered CM Punk a million dollars to be a part of an upcoming summer tour. That's a lot of money and who knows if Punk will actually do it, but the notion got me to thinking about what Superstars I'd like to see make a return to WWE. After all, the company has mended fences with the likes of Bruno Sammartino, The Ultimate Warrior and Kurt Angle. Who knows, one-day Punk may come back to be enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame, but I highly doubt we'll see him wrestle there again. So who would I like to see come back? 

Morrison in action
Courtesy: WWE

John Morrison was one of the most underutilized guys on the WWE roster. He went from a tag team guy, winning the championships with both Joey Mercury and the Miz to being a fairly well-accomplished singles star, winning both the Intercontinental and WWECW Championships. However, he never seemed to get over that hump so many Superstars get stuck at. I didn't realize he left WWE nearly six years ago. He's doing great in Lucha Underground and with some acting projects in Hollywood. Morrison (Johnny Mundo) still looks amazing and works his ass off in the ring. He definitely left before WWE really started the push for the current product. He could easily come back and work his way into the main event picture.

Cody & Goldust
Courtesy: WWE

Cody Rhodes has only been gone a year but I miss seeing him on a weekly basis. He's honing his craft and only getting better working indy shows as well as TNA and Ring of Honor. I'm loving the "American Nightmare" gimmick. I liked the Stardust character and even the idea of having Cody on one show and Stardust on the other. But he's established he doesn't need the character to get over. Sometimes leaving and finding oneself and allowing the company to see what they've missed out on is needed. Drew McIntyre comes to mind as the most recent example.

The Hulkster
Courtesy: WWE

Hear me out on this last one. Hulk Hogan is a legend in the business. While I don't agree with, nor defend what he said, it's hard to deny the Hulkster's legacy. I don't want him back full time necessarily or even to wrestle. Right now, I'd be content with some guest appearances on big shows and reentry into the WWE Hall of Fame. There's been more buzz that Hogan will return. It's time. He made a mistake and apologized. 

Who would you like to see come back to WWE? There are plenty of other names out there that can be added to this list.


Hulk Hogan merchandise  

Wrestling bad guys are usually right

The Miz is talking smack...
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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The recent war of words between SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan and Intercontinental Champion The Miz has been thought provoking. The confrontation started on a recent edition of Talking Smack. The Miz called out Bryan after the former Superstar insulted The Miz's "style" of wrestling. The tirade that followed forced Bryan to get up and leave the set. Since the incident there has been speculation that this is going to set up Bryan's return to the ring. I'll save my thoughts on that for another time, the focus of this post is about how many times the bad guys of the ring are right on the money with their comments.

The Miz
Courtesy: WWE

Miz told Bryan and the fans that he wrestles "soft" because he doesn't want to get hurt. He says over the course of his 10 year career he's never been out injured. Bryan of course was forced to retire recently at the age of 35. While it wasn't something I wanted to hear as a huge fan of Bryan's, the Miz really did hit the nail on the head with his statements. 

Bryan in action
Courtesy: WWE

Bryan went balls to the wall during his time in the ring. That style ended up taking years off his career. Fans were entertained. We all cheered things like "This is awesome!" when watching Bryan in action. But the bottom line is that intense style took him out of the game way too early. Chalk one up for the Miz. I worry about others who wrestle that similar style and the longevity of their careers.

Punk tells it like it is
Courtesy: WWE

When CM Punk was feuding with Jeff Hardy, Punk was touting a straight edge lifestyle. He told fans to avoid the dangers of drugs and alcohol and called out Hardy for not following that advice. But for whatever reason Punk was the bad guy in doing that. It's HOW Punk talked about being straight edge is what drove fans crazy. He looked down his nose at Hardy for his alleged "demons". But telling fans drugs are bad is the right message, isn't it? Who can forget these ads.... 

I was in the 8th grade when Andre the Giant turned against Hulk Hogan and demanded a match at WrestleMania III. Jesse Ventura was the one who motivated Andre to request the title match. At that time I thought it was the biggest act of blasphemy I'd seen in my short time as a wrestling fan. But as I got older I understood Andre's point of view. Just because he and Hogan were friends shouldn't have prevented him from having a championship match. After all, the Eighth Wonder of the World was undefeated. Hogan should have been happy to give his friend a shot. But when Hulkster refused, Andre had to get the help of Bobby Heenan to secure a championship match.

Andre challenges Hogan
Courtesy: WWE

These are just a few examples of when the bad guys had better judgment than their goody two-shoes counterparts. Who are your favorite bad guys who did the right thing?

Wrestling with Logic: Shooting blanks

Courtesy: WWE

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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I didn’t have a Wrestling with Logic last week due to there not really being anything to nitpick. Those weeks are few and far between. This week’s topic goes back to something we’ve discussed her several times; the little details.

At the beginning of RAW, Seth Rollins took center ring to talk about the triple-threat match at Battleground. During his promo, Seth mentioned he wasn’t supposed to talk about Roman Reigns’ suspension but since it was live TV and he had a live microphone, he was going to talk about Roman embarrassing the WWE.

As soon as Seth started to talk about Roman’s suspension, the production team put Roman’s apology tweet up on the Titantron. If Seth wasn’t supposed to talk about Roman, why was there a graphic already made and ready to be displayed? So once again, WWE’s desire to plan out every aspect of their shows takes away from unpredictability or intrigue.

A lot of people like to talk about how shocking CM Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo was as to what it takes to be a good promo in WWE. While Punk’s promo was most likely just as pre-planned and approved beforehand just like Rollins’ promo, the difference is WWE allowed Punk’s promo to come off as spontaneous. Had WWE production put up images of people Punk talked about during his promo or shown highlights of John Cena, Vince McMahon or ice cream bars, the impact of Punk’s words would have been nullified.

Steve Austin recently talked about the lack of realism in WWE at the moment and I couldn’t agree with him more. Realism comes down to the little details. If WWE wants to continue overproducing their product, that’s their choice. They just have to accept that doing so makes their programming as edgy as a Leave it To Beaver rerun.

3 items every wrestling fan would buy

The New & Booty-O's
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Money!

Wrestling has produced some usual products through the years. The website WrestleCrap has plenty to check out, from cheesy t-shirts, food products and all kinds of toys. Who cashed in on the WCW play money in the early 90s? I think there are some items that could be marketed today that wrestling fans would buy. 

The t-shirt box is creative

Booty-O's.  I'm really surprised WWE hasn't made this happen yet. Post, Kellogg's and General Mills are missing out. I think the cereal would be a blockbuster and with the New Day behind the efforts the cereal would be much more memorable than the WWF SuperStars cereal from the early 90s. And look how popular the crossover with John Cena and Fruity Peebles became. That was all by happenstance thanks to a promo by The Rock. But when it comes to Booty-O's, I don't know what that flavor would be. Heck, I'm still not sure if being booty is good or bad.  

Tear Away Suits. Cesaro has been gaining popularity over the last couple of years. When he returned to Raw the night after WrestleMania this year the crowd went nuts. He didn't look ready to wrestle when he first came out, but moments later he tore away the suit and revealed he was ready to rumble. I admit it wouldn't be practical for the most part. But how much fun would it be going to a pool party dressed to the nines, only to tug the suit jacket and dress slacks away and reveal perhaps a WWE swimming suit? It's a one and done thing for the most part, but it would certainly make a lasting first impression. 

Los Ice Creams
Courtesy: Chikara Pro

Los Ice Creams ice cream treats. Chikara fans will understand this one. El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Junior make up this oddly dressed duo. As you can see their masks are shaped like ice cream cones. The company sells t-shirts of the team, so why not take it a step further and have Los Ice Creams treats available at concession stands for Chikara events. While it's not a CM Punk quality WWF ice cream bar request, I think the treats would be cool (pun intended). Heck I haven't been to a show in years, they may be doing this, if so I'll grab one the next time I attend an event.

Would you buy any of these things? I'm still waiting for Jonathan Bowles with WrassleRoos to come up with that Giant Gonzalez onesie. I will buy one! 

Happy (Greg the Hammer) Valentine's Day

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Happy Valentine's Day!  I came across some funny cards created by fans much more clever than I am.  Sorry I don't know the original sources for these, but the Neville one is my favorite.

SummerSlam A to Z: Guest Referees

Jesse Ventura at SummerSlam 88
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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SummerSlam has had its share of special guest referees since the first event was held at Madison Square Garden.  Jesse "The Body" Ventura was chosen to ref the main event between The Mega Powers and The Mega Bucks.  Ventura made the three count against the Bucks (with some help from Randy Savage) and the baby faces won the inaugural main event of what would become a summertime classic.

Jesse's return
Courtesy: WWE

Ventura put on the striped shirt again more than a decade later when he refereed the main event triple threat match between WWF Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Mick Foley and Triple H.  Ventura was the Minnesota Governor at the time of this match and Vince McMahon was sure to cash in on the headlines the gov was getting at the time.  I remember even running it as a news story at the TV station I was working at at the time.

Sid Justice
Courtesy: WWE

In 1990 for some reason the Big Bossman refereed the match between Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Bad News Brown.  A year later, newcomer Sid Justice kept the order between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior as they battled Sgt. Slaughter, Gen. Adnan and Col. Mustafa.  Special guest referee Shawn Michaels screwed The Undertaker out of the championship in 1997 when he helped Bret Hart win the title.  This set up the very first Hell in a Cell match between 'Taker and Shawn.  

Screwjob
Courtesy: WWE

Triple H also served as a SummerSlam ref a couple of times, getting in there during the CM Punk-John Cena match in 2011 and again in 2013 when Daniel Bryan beat Cena for the gold.  In a matter of moments though, the COO would cost Bryan the belt when Randy Orton cashed in Money in the Bank.  Although it's been reported that it wasn't planned to go the way it did, that sequence of events set up one of the best storyline buildups to a Wrestlemania in the 30 year history of the event.

Shawn, Undertaker and Bret
Courtesy: WWE

The use of the special guest referee typically leads to something bigger down the road with the ref and one of the participants of the match.  As we saw in 1997, Shawn had memorable storylines with both Undertaker and Bret that fans are still talking about today.  

SummerSlam A to Z: Brock Lesnar

Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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This year Brock Lesnar prepares for a Wrestlemania 30 rematch against the Undertaker at SummerSlam, but I think few could argue SummerSlam 2014 will go down as the Beast Incarnate's best ever.  Brock not only won the WWE World heavyweight title, but he dominated the most dominate WWE champ in the last decade while doing it.

Dominating John Cena at SummerSlam 2014
Courtesy: WWE

John Cena had very few moves in the 2014 match.  The win was another big feather in Brock's cap that included a Royal Rumble victory against The Big Show and ending Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak.  Brock spent nearly 16 minutes beating the crap out of Cena.  The match looked to be over within the first 30 seconds when the Beast delivered an F5 to the champ at the start of the contest.

First championship win at SummerSlam 2002
Courtesy: WWE

Brock's first SummerSlam in 2002 also saw him beat an iconic WWE Champion for the gold.  Lesnar pinned The Rock that night to become (at that time) the youngest WWE Champion in the company's history.  A year later, he'd submit to Kurt Angle while pursuing the gold again.  Then came his absence from WWE.  Nearly a decade later, he'd return and defeat Triple H by submission at the 2012.  His SummerSlam streak rolled into 2013 when he beat CM Punk.

Only SummerSlam loss to Kurt Angle
Courtesy: WWE

As it stands Brock Lesnar is 4 and 1 at SummerSlam beating some of the biggest and best names at the annual event.  2015 is a tall order as he clashes with The Undertaker.  We're still too far out for me to pick a winner.  WWE likes to do the 50/50 booking these days, so I could see 'Taker winning here and leading to a rubber match maybe at Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble.  However I wouldn't be surprised to see Paul Heyman's client, "the Man Who Put the One in 21 and 1" come out on top. 

 

Cue The People's Court Theme Here...

King Mabel
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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It's been a week of lawsuits for the WWE, and before I go any further, I have no legal expertise.  I'm writing this to share my opinion (or My 1-2-3 Cents).  I figure most of you know that, but I don't want there to be any confusion.

The widow of Nelson Frazier, who fans know as Viscera, Big Daddy V and King Mabel has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the WWE.  Frazier died of a heart attack in February 2014.  He was only 43 years old.  Cassandra Frazier's suit alleges her husband's heart attack was caused by "WWE's willful, wanton, reckless and grossly negligent" practices.

Viscera vs. Batista
Courtesy: WWE

I mean no disrespect to the Frazier family, but Nelson weighed about 500 pounds.  He last wrestled for WWE in 2008, which was six years BEFORE his death.  He worked for various companies after his departure.  I think those few sentences summarize my problem with this lawsuit.  I know in the years since Eddie Guerrero's death in 2005, WWE has implemented and enforced a pretty strict wellness policy that goes beyond just testing for illegal drug use.  

Billy Jack Haynes gets busted open

Former WWE Superstar Billy Jack Haynes filed a lawsuit in November, blaming the company for his current health problems.  Haynes has depression, early signs of dementia, Hepatitis C and various liver and kidney troubles.  Haynes worked for WWE for two years in the late 80's.  He too had wrestled years before and after WWE.  But because the WWE is "the last company standing" there's no one else to blame (or pay up). I'm not saying Haynes never suffered the injuries.  He says he had 15 concussions in his career. Wrestling was less protective of its competitors in that era.  But three decades later, why is WWE to blame?

Vito in action (and a dress)
Courtesy: WWE

Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton have singled out the WWE as well.  In January the two sued for concussions they've suffered.  Vito is a veteran of the ring, having wrestled in WCW and ECW prior to the buyouts of both companies in 2001.  He too has worked since leaving WWE in 2007. Singleton never made it beyond WWE's development stage. 

Dr. Amann
Courtesy: WWE

WWE's physician Dr. Chris Amman is suing both CM Punk and Colt Cabana over comments made by Punk during the Art of Wrestling Podcast.  Punk claims he had a baseball size lump on his back and Dr. Amman failed to treat or diagnosis the problem for months.  Punk said another doctor told him it was a life threatening infection.  Amman is asking for a million dollars in damages.  Again, not having any legal background I don't know if the suit has any merit, but the WWE has come back swinging, releasing video of Punk wrestling and no obvious signs of a lump on his back.  

WWE's defense

Time will tell where all of these suits end up.  Anyone has the right to sue, but I don't know what kind of merit the concussion and wrong death suits have because of the wrestlers' experiences outside of WWE.  Wrestling is brutal.  People get hurt and some even die in the ring.  Proceed with caution.

Way Back WhensDay: WWF Ice Cream Bars

Delicious 

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

During CM Punk's "Pipe Bomb" promo a couple years ago, the WWE Superstar wanted the company to bring back the famed ice cream bars from the 80's and 90's.  It's something that generated a lot of online buzz after it was said, and I have to wonder if the company would consider bringing back the sweet treats.

From WWE.com

Of course, I hope that they do.  I loved the WWF Ice Cream Bars.  But when I was a kid, they were in short supply, at least in my area.  The first time I had one was on Easter Sunday.  Believe it or not, the ice cream man was cruising through the neighborhood.  After indulging on peanut butter eggs and chocolate bunnies earlier in the day, I figured why not chase it all down with an ice cream bar.

After collecting the loose change in my room, I flagged down the truck.  I scanned the selections and much to my surprise, I saw Hulk Hogan's image staring back at me.  I knew right away what I was getting that day.  

The Superstar on my bar was none other than the Junkyard Dog.  For those who never had a WWF Ice Cream bar, it was a Superstar on a cookie on top of vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating on the back.  They were delicious.

I think the bars were available at the arenas for house shows, but other than that and my experiences with the ice cream man, I don't remember seeing them in stores.  So, in reality, I may have had less than a half dozen growing up.  I also have no recollection of them returning in the early 90's.  

Did this really happen? Seriously

They say, what's old is new.  So as "children of the 80's" look back on the things from their childhood, it would be a great time to bring back the ice cream bars.  WWE is a household company now, and probably more child-friendly than it's been in decades, so I think the company would generate some cold hard cash.  Of course, along with current Superstars and Divas, the bars would need some Legends too.