The eagle has landed

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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June 20 is American Eagle Day. The eagle, of course, has been the iconic symbol for our country. The majestic bird has played a role in the world of professional wrestling too.

Courtesy: WWE

In 1988 when Hulk Hogan lost the WWF Championship to Andre the Giant on The Main Event, he came to the ring with the 'Winged Eagle' belt. It was the first time fans got a look at the championship. You may remember Andre surrendered the belt to Ted DiBiase who was promptly stripped of the title and Randy Savage won it at the WrestleMania IV tournament. The winged eagle was a staple for about a decade, being replaced by the "Big Eagle" championship. That was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's belt until the "Broken Skull" custom belt became a thing. I actually had a chance to wear a replica winged eagle belt prior to the Raw after WrestleMania 32 in Dallas.

Jay Spade

I don't know for sure if the eagle design is the inspiration for the Stride Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title, but that's the current look for the belt. This second incarnation of the title is an upgrade from the original belt design. Jay Spade we the first Stride eagle belt holder. He has traded the title a couple of times.

Soaring Eagle and Jack Swagger
Courtesy: WWE

The Soaring Eagle was also a part of WWE when Jack Swagger showed up with the 'All-American American' for a few months in 2010. The stint didn't last long and the Eagle's last appearance on WWE TV was a pinfall loss to Hornswoggle. And Sam The Eagle from the Muppet Show also appeared on Raw the night the Muppets served as special guest hosts.    

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Signing on the dotted line

Spade vs. Flood

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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One of the biggest rivalries going on right now in Stride Pro Wrestling is former friends and classmates Jay Spade and Tony Flood. The bad blood came to a boiling point after Flood won the Stride Rumble in February and earned the right at a championship match against Spade.

It was the first opportunity Flood had at the Stride Pro Wrestling Championship since night one when he competed in a fatal four-way against Ax Allwardt, Heath Hatton and Frank Wyatt for the belt. Spade retained in their first match. But Flood used a lead pipe to take out Spade and win the belt. His victory was shortlived and Spade became Stride's first two-time heavyweight champion on April 14. 

The bitterness between the two isn't over by a long shot. They are slated to end this feud inside a steel cage on Saturday, May 26 in Pinckneyville. But before we get there, the two must sign the contract. I know exactly what you're thinking because I'm thinking the same thing too. What's going to happen May 5 at the contract signing? Has there ever been a public contract signing go down in wrestling where something hasn't happened?

If you want to know you're going to have to join us this Saturday night. We'll be at Carterville Junior High School on Division Street in Carterville, Illinois. Bell time is 6:30 p.m. and plenty of action will be happening that night. See you then. 

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Be fair to Flair

Two of the greatest
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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John Cena has made his intentions known, he wants to tie Ric Flair's long standing record of being the World Heavyweight Champion 16 times. Growing up in the 80s, "Nature Boy" was the guy I loved to hate. He would lose the title and then regain it. I can remember him surpassing Harley Race's seven reigns, never dreaming Naitch would double that in the years to come. He eventually went from the guy I loved to hate to my all-time favorite wrestler.

Woo!
Courtesy: WWE

Flair said on the most recent episode of podast, The Ric Flair Show, that he's not worried if Cena wins the gold again and ties his record. He doesn't think it'll tarnish his legacy. I admire Flair for saying that. I agree, tying the record won't hurt Flair's legacy. But I'm old school and like the guys from my past to stand tall in the record books. Yes, I know it's a predetermined business and at the end of the day it probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans to most. But some fans (like me) take this stuff seriously.

The champ is here!
Courtesy: WWE

I don't think Cena is going to beat AJ Styles for the championship anytime soon. The earliest I see that happening is WrestleMania. It could be a big celebration, but does tying a record warrant a party? Cena is 39 years old. Flair hadn't even come to WWF until age 42 and still won the title there twice and a couple more times in WCW. So there's time for Cena to break the record, which I anticipate will happen at some point.

I don't want it to happen, but if Ric Flair is cool with it, who am I to complain? Also if someone is going to set a new record or even tie I can't think of anyone better than Cena to do it.

Battleground predictions

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Battleground is just a few hours away and will serve as a send off for several Superstars prior to heading to their new shows. We know the Club will no longer include AJ Styles and the new threesome of John Cena, Enzo and Big Cass is over too. Here are my picks for the show. Be sure to listen to the analysis of Battleground on the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast.

Dean Ambrose will retain the WWE Championship only to have Stephanie McMahon present Seth Rollins with the World Heavyweight Championship the next night on Raw. The only way the brand extension can truly work is to have two separate heavyweight champions. At one point I was for just one champ, but if WWE is going all in on the split two champs have to be the way they do it.

Sasha Banks and Nia Jax will beat Charolette and Dana Brooke. Bayley won't be the mystery partner. Sasha will keep the feud with Charolette going strong and the two will face off at SummerSlam. There's no need to throw Bayley into that mix just yet. 

The Miz will retain the Intercontenial title against Darren Young. I just don't see Young as IC champ material, but that's not to say he can't or won't be one day. I do like the pairing with Bob Backlund. Time will tell.

Rusev will beat Zack Ryder. I love Zack, don't get me wrong. But WWE has yanked him around so many times in the past he's not a credible threat to the monster heel Rusev. He needs to stay strong and face stiffer competition at SummerSlam next month. 

The Club and AJ Styles will beat John Cena, Enzo and Big Cass. I'm breaking my own "never beat against Cena" rule. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson can carry on with the feud against Enzo and Cass on Raw and Cena and AJ can wrap things up against each other at SummerSlam on the SmackDown Live side of things.

I like the Becky Lynch-Natalya feud going on right now. Since they're both on SmackDown Live, I'd add the stipulation that the winner of this match becomes the number one seed in the tournament for SDL women's championship, because like I said earlier there needs to be two sets of champs.

The New Day will beat The Wyatt Family. My only reasoning for this is my assumption the Family as we know it is splitting up. Braun Strowman is going to Raw and Erick Rowan and Bray Wyatt will be on SmackDown Live. Plus as the tag team champions, I'd like to see New Day going into the SummerSlam storyline looking stronger.

Despite saying the match is their final battle, I see more life in the Sami Zayn-Kevin Owens feud. I'd rather see this culminate at WrestleMania and if WWE doesn't wait that long than Hell in a Cell with Zayn winning and finally breaking that 'underdog' stature.  

The Usos will win against Breezango. I'm not sure WWE is firmly behind Fandango and Tyler Breeze just yet.

I'm probably mostly wrong with these predictions, which isn't a bad thing. I like when WWE comes up with things I'm not thinking.

Fill in the Blank Friday: Title Vacancies

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Monday night on Raw, Triple H announced he's stripping Daniel Bryan of his newly won WWE championship.  Instead of just handing it back to Randy Orton, he's going to make the two men battle for the belt at the next pay per view in October.

So this got me to thinking about other times when championships were held up.  My favorite memory of this was back in 1988 when Andre the Giant pinned Hulk Hogan with the help of an evil twin referee for the WWF title.  Shortly after the win, Andre surrendered the title to "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.  WWF President Jack Tunney cried foul and declared the title vacant and announced the winner of a special 14 man tournament at Wrestlemania IV would be the new champion.  "Macho Man" Randy Savage went on to win that tournament and cement his legacy in the wrestling business.

Flair wins!
Courtesy: WWE

I'm also reminded of the time three and a half years later when the Undertaker lost the WWF title back to Hulk Hogan at the Tuesday in Texas pay per view in 1991.  Hogan had used the ashes from Paul Bearer's urn to blind the deadman and get the win.  The match was marred with interference throughout and Tunney once again declared the title vacant.  This time the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble would be the champion.  In what has remained my favorite Rumble of all time, Ric Flair conquered 29 other Superstars to win the gold.

Of course, it's not just been the WWE championship that's been held up before.  The Intercontinental title was vacated after the Ultimate Warrior won the WWF title in 1990.  There have been tournaments to determine new U.S., tag team, and Divas champions too.  So, here's where you get to weigh in.

The Rock reigns supreme
Courtesy: WWE

1.  The 1998 Survivor Series also featured a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion.  In what was a "screw job ending" the Rock beat Mankind that night in St. Louis for his first taste of the WWF title.  But I think _________________ should have won that tournament.

2.  The WWE wasn't the only company to crown a champion in a battle royal type match.  In 1995, Randy Savage won the WCW title in a 60 man battle royal at World War III.  Instead of another former WWF guy, WCW should have pushed _____________.

3.   The best (or my favorite) title vacancy was filled in a match between ________ & __________.