Stride's King of Trios

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Disclaimer: No one from Stride Pro Wrestling is competing in the upcoming King of Trios tournament, nor is anyone from Chikara coming to Stride. This is another fantasy booking blog. Thanks.

This weekend marks Chikara's annual King of Trios tournament. I love the concept because it pairs up wrestlers from not just the company but around the world. One year Demolition teamed up with the One Man Gang. This year, Molly Holly is on a team called Sisters of the Mighty. Even former Nexus members Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Justin Gabriel are competing.

Teams usually have some kind of common bond and a creative name as well. So I decided to have some fun with members of the Stride Pro Wrestling roster (past and present) and come up with a few teams. 

Team NAFTA: Tony Flood, Dexter Roswell & Jose Magnifico

TatDudes: Heath Hatton, Curly & Arron Brooks 

Hunters & Hunted: Midwest Monster Hunters (Bo Sawyer & Jason Tiller) & Abyss (he's coming in Oct.) 

Beyond the Graveyard: Wraith, Ryzer & the Disciple

Redneck World Order: Hollywood Redneck, "The Bad Guy" Cole James & Garrett Galloway

Farmers Only: "Farmer" Billy Hills, Sarah Summers & String Bean

Old School of Hardknocks: Ax Allwardt, Brandon Walker & "Homicidal" Steven Davis (managed by Gaylord Stephens)

Beard Money: Roger Matheus, Jake Capone & James Storm

Supermen on a Mission: Daniel Eads, Chris Hargas & Josh Totten

Disciplinary Action: Jerry Travelstead, Josh Plumlee & Tony Wilson

Get Lit: Cash Borden, "Neon Icon" Justin D'Air & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Alphabet Soup: C.J. Jordan, A.J. Kellis & T.J. Kellis

Full Deck: ACE Hawkins, Jay SPADE & Dalton DIAMOND

The DR Party: Brian Richards, Nathan Brag & Aaron Edwards (managed by J. Wellington Beauregard)

U.S. Hair Force: Scott Phoenix, Chase King and Kyle Pipher


Rise & Shine: Joey O'Riley, Brandon Espinosa & JD Wilk 

The Underdogs: James Ellsworth, Eugene Drip & Shane Lauder
  
Legendary Express: "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Bushwhacker Luke & Madman Pondo

Beauties & the Beast: Lil Bit, Dale Wyld & Bull Bronson

The Wellington Foundation: Frank Wyatt, Mr. Anthony & Carnage (managed by J. Wellington Beauregard) 

I think I covered everyone who is a regular on the Stride roster and just about anyone who has wrestled for us. Granted, there are likely a few names missing but the list is mostly complete. 

Get your My 1-2-3 Cents shirt here

It's a wrestle-riffic weekend

Chad and the Horsemen

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

There is no shortage of wrestling action on this Royal Rumble weekend. Whether you're into WWE or the independent scene, there are several shows happening. Since I'm in southern Illinois, I'll stick to the local shows first.

Saturday night Cape Championship Wrestling in Cape Girardeau, Missouri presents Cages Chaos 2. Each match on the show will be contested inside a steel cage. The main event features CCW Champion "Best of the Best" Austin Lane defending against Justin "The Juice" Smart. The man who trained Lane, Jerry Lynn, will be the special guest referee for the match. Several Stride Pro Wrestling guys will also be on the show tonight, including Roger Matheus, Ace Hawkins and Brandon Espinosa. You can see the full card here. 

Also tonight, IWA Productions will invade the Fairfield (Illinois) Elks Lodge. IWA Cruiserweight Champion Heath Hatton will be among the Stride guys appearing. Chris Hargas, Dexter Roswell and Jose Magnifico are also scheduled to wrestle tonight.

Stride Pro Wrestling returns to action a week from tonight. On Saturday, Feb. 3 Jay Spade will defend the Stride Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title against Bull Bronson. The Stride Cup Tournament continues and Hatton will be the guest on 'Striking Your Fancy' with J. Wellington Beauregard. No Love Lost 2 will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Illinois Star Centre Mall in Marion.

Bull James vs. Eddie Kingston

If you follow the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page you've seen that Chad is in Philly this weekend for the Royal Rumble. He attended the House of Hardcore 37 show at the ECW Arena Friday night. Earlier today he met the Four Horsemen and he's headed to Sunday's Chikara show and the Rumble Sunday night. We'll talk more about his experiences there in Monday's My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. 

Watch the video below to learn how you can win a Shockmaster Elite action figure.

2017 Centy Awards

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

It's the start of a new year and we're wrapping up 2017 with the annual Centy Awards. You can listen to the full explanation of each award on the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast this week with Chad and me. 

Wrestler of the Year

Kevin's pick: AJ Styles

Chad's pick: Dalton Castle

Most Hated

Kevin's pick: Injuries. Dean Ambrose. Big Cass. Farmer Billy Hills. Nikki Lane. Marco Stunt.

Chad's pick: Baron Corbin

Most Underappreciated Kevin's pick: Stride Pro Wrestling referee Lane Austin 

Chad's pick: Rusev

Most Overrated Kevin's pick: Baron Corbin 

Chad's pick: Nakamura 

Breakout Star of the Year Kevin's pick: Johnny Gargano 

Chad's pick: Velveteen Dream

Show of the Year Kevin's pick: Buried Alive by Stride Pro Wrestling

Chad's pick: Tom & Jim's Top 5 (podcast) 

Star on the Horizon Kevin's pick: Matthew Riddle 

Chad's pick: Ophidian 2.0

Female of the Year
Kevin's pick: Alexa Bliss

Chad's pick: Alexa Bliss

Best Use of Social Media Kevin's pick: Chris Slammer (@macsgym)

Chad's pick: Rusev

Biggest Fall From Grace

Kevin's pick: James Ellsworth 

Chad's pick: NXT

All Out of Bubblegum Award: I came up with this award in honor of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. This year it's going to Jerry Travelstead. He does so much to help others with wrestling fundraisers. You can read more about his efforts here.

2016 Centy Awards

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

If you haven't listened to the 2016 Centy Awards podcast yet, you can read our thoughts in today's post. Chad and I started doing the awards in 2011 as a way to honor (and ridicule in some cases) the men, women, and storylines in the world of professional wrestling. 

Wrestler of the Year:

Kevin's pick: Charlotte Flair. Picking a female as Wrestler of the Year is a first here at the Centy Awards. Charlotte has proven she's one of the greatest with her four championship wins since joining the main roster in 2015. Her undefeated singles streak on pay per view is something we've never seen before either by a man or woman.

Chad's pick: "Broken" Matt Hardy. If you’d told me at any point in the last ten years I’d be picking Matt Hardy as wrestler of the year and not be ironic, I would have thought you crazy. But here we are at the end of 2016 and I firmly stand behind this pick. Then again 2016 has been a crazy year. The “Broken” character started as cringe-worthy but quickly became one of the many reasons to tune into Impact Wrestling. Teaming with Brother Nero (Jeff Hardy), the 2016 version of the Hardy Boyz have probably shown the most character development in their 20+ year career. I can honestly say I am eagerly awaiting Final Deletion. Most Hated:

Kevin's pick: Inconsistency. First, it was with the Shane McMahon-Undertaker match. Shane lost and was supposed to disappear from WWE. Now he's the Commissioner of SmackDown Live! I have no problem with that, but why have the stipulation in the WrestleMania match? Also, when are we gonna get the scoop on Triple H helping Kevin Owens win the Universal Championship?

Chad's pick: Impact Grand Championship. For all the positives Impact Wrestling did in 2016, my least favorite was creating the Impact Grand Championship. At first, I was interested due to the Grand Championship taking place of the King of the Mountain title. If wrestling fans are never subjected to another King of the Mountain match, they’ve still suffered through too many KOTM matches. My problem with the Grand Championship is the usage of rounds. I understand wrestling in rounds is popular in Europe where TNA has a sizable audience but in America, the only rounds in wrestling are the drinks you have while watching wrestling. Most Underappreciated:

Kevin's pick: Kevin Owens. I don't mean by fans, I think WWE is underappreciative of the current Universal Champion. He seems to be in the shadow of Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. I'd love to see a couple of convincing title defenses. But over the next few years, he'll continue to grow in WWE and be one of the all-time greats.

Chad's pick: Impact Wrestling. Long time readers of My 1-2-3 Cents know I have a love/hate relationship with Impact Wrestling. While I used to be a huge fan of TNA, the poor booking and business decisions they have made over the past ten years very nearly drove me away from the company. Something happened in 2016 that I don’t think any wrestling fan saw coming, Impact Wrestling got a focus and stayed the course to pretty logical booking and a focus on (with the exception of the Hardyz) new(ish) younger talent. Unfortunately due to a poor track record, a lot of fans haven’t witnessed the re-re-re-rebirth of Impact Wrestling. Most Overrated:

Kevin' pick: GOLDBERG. This isn't so much a slam against Goldberg as it is WWE writers. When Michael Cole called Goldberg "the greatest champion in WCW history" didn't sit well with me.

Chad's pick: Initially I wanted to go with Shinskue Nakamura but my disinterest in Nak has been discussed on here before so I thought I’d go in a different direction. Having seen him in the Cruiserweight Classic and a few appearances in Chikara, I still don’t understand the appeal of Zack Sabre Jr. Going back to the Impact Grand Championship rules, maybe Sabre Jr. is only appreciated if you enjoy European style of wrestling. Breakout Star of the Year:

Kevin's pick: "Broken" Matt Hardy. See Chad's description for why he picked Hardy as Wrestler of the Year. I just wish TNA would monetize and pretty promote this storyline/character. It's always been their downfall.

Chad's pick: Juan Francisco De Coronado. Chikara's last true heel disbanded the United Nations this year and in my opinion, really came into his own. Show of the Year:

Kevin' pick: SummerSlam. AJ Styles vs. John Cena stands out to me on this show. It's what made AJ a SUPERSTAR. Yes, he was great before that, but now he's truly hanging with the GOATs. Finn Balor and Seth Rollins had an outstanding match as well as Charlotte and Sasha Banks.

Chad's pick: NXT Dallas: The End. Being in attendance for the show helps make this show be more memorable than it may have been if I was just watching on TV. Star on the Horizon:

Kevin's pick: Renee Young. An unconventional pick, but I think Renee is one of the most underutilized talents in wrestling. She does a great job on Talking Smack, the pre-shows and WWE's Snapchat. I'd love to see her join one of the commentary teams in the next year or two.

Crummles and Defarge
Courtesy: Chikara Pro

Chad's pick: Crummles & Defarge are names few people are probably familiar with right now. They are a new tag team who showed up during Season 16 of Chikara. Their gimmick is old-timey beggar/chimney sweeps though they don’t carry brooms. They’re different from WWE’s old-timey team the VaudeVillians. While they haven’t lit the Chikara tag team scene on fire yet, give them a couple years of seasoning and I see big things in store for the team.
Female of the Year:

Kevin's pick: Eva Marie. I guess I'm seeking heat for this pick. Since I named Charlotte Wrestler of the Year, I went with Eva Marie for Female of the Year. Her reasoning for not getting into the ring each week was one of the most entertaining storylines of summer. I hope she's back in the ring sooner rather than later.

Chad's pick: Charlotte. Undefeated in singles matches on Network Specials. 37 Time Women's champion. Enough said.

Conrad Thompson & Bruce Prichard

Best Use of Social Media:

Kevin's pick: Conrad Thompson (@HeyHeyItsConrad). Conrad is the co-host of The Ric Flair Show and Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard. I had the pleasure of interviewing him for the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast earlier this year. Conrad interacts with listeners of his shows on Twitter like no one I've seen before. He's a great guy too as he and Bruce raised money for the American Cancer Society. I can't say enough good things about Conrad and Bruce and their show.

Chad's pick: Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump). He is a WWE Hall of Fame inductee so I’m counting him. And I don’t pay attention to most wrestler or celebrities on social media. This includes the President-Elect. I only know what Trump is doing on social media because 95% of people on my social media feeds get upset, complain and throw derogatory in Trump's direction while 2% think Trump is making America great again. Biggest Fall From Grace:

Kevin's pick: Rusev. 2016 was an up and down year for the Bulgarian Brute. League of Nations could have been a great thing, but the concept fell flat. Then he regained the U.S. Championship and had a decent run until crossing paths with Roman Reigns. Here's to hoping 2017 sees Rusev climbing back to near the top.

Chad's pick: My wrestling fandom. While I watch RAW, Smackdown, Impact, Lucha Underground on a weekly basis and the monthly Chikara shows when they are posted on Chikaratopia, I don’t pay that close attention to the shows. I couldn’t tell you why Randy Orton is a member of the Wyatt Family. Don’t know the majority of the story lines in Lucha Underground. I enjoy the shows but there’s something about wrestling today that just doesn’t stick with him an hour after a show is over.

Heath Hatton visiting Dalton

All Out of Bubblegum Award is something I came up with earlier this year to honor the memory of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. It goes to someone who has displayed courage, bravery and determination outside wrestling storylines.

This year the award goes to Heath Hatton from Stride Pro Wrestling. He is a friend of mine and has gone above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of others. Heath has put in countless hours on benefit shows and traveled to visit Dalton about a week before he died. He's an all-around good guy and a great performer in the ring.

Do you like our picks? Who would you award in 2016? Share your thoughts here or on Facebook.

Centy Claus is coming to town

Centy Claus is checking in

By Centy Claus

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hello, wrestling fans, Centy Claus here. I had hoped to be a part of the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast, but I've had a particularly busy holiday season, so Kevin is allowing me to share my list via the blog this year. Here are a few things I would like to give to the men and women of the wrestling world.

Kevin Owens: A more solid run as WWE Universal Champion. He's still a secondary thought and living in the shadows of the likes of Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

AJ Styles: Continued success as WWE World Champion. Beating John Cena, Dean Ambrose and finally shutting up James Ellsworth have been big moments for Styles. He has made himself a legit Superstar in the eyes of Centy Claus and the fans of WWE.

Neville: A solid run as the WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Like Kevin, Centy Claus is a big fan of the Man That Gravity Forgot.

Charlotte Flair
Courtesy: WWE

Charlotte Flair: No more championship losses on Raw. If Bayley is going to be the next champion, build up to a money match for WrestleMania 33. Listen to the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast Monday. Chad has a great idea for this storyline.

Ric Flair: Your 16 title reign record stays intact. Cena is a great Superstar, however, Centy Claus doesn't want that record to be broken anytime soon.

Michael Cole (and WWE writers): More access to the history of WCW. Calling Goldberg "the champion in WCW history" made Centy Claus spit out his egg nog. The elves are still laughing at that comment. If Centy Claus hears that kind of talk again, everyone involved with the segment is getting coal (not Cole) in their stocking.

"Broken" Matt Hardy
Courtesy: WWE

TNA: Success with the new ownership and a better way to monetize what's going on with "Broken" Matt Hardy. Fans are talking about TNA in a positive way for the first time in years. 2017 can be the year for TNA.

Chikara Pro: More mainstream exposure. If you're not watching Chikara you're missing out. Check out Chikaratopia and get up to speed.

Remember fans if you're leaving out cookies, Centy Claus like chocolate chip the best. Merry Christmas.

Give them a chance

The hopefuls...
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

WWE announced earlier today 38 athletes have been invited to tryout at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Nineteen men and nineteen women are getting this sometimes once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of the biggest wrestling company on the planet.

Shayna Baszler
Courtesy: UFC

Among the elite athletes are independent wrestling icon Eddie Kingston, Shayna Baszler, who is UFC fighter Ronda Rousey's teammate, and women's wrestling standout Princess Kimber Lee (who appeared on the first My 1-2-3 Cents podcast of 2016).

The article by WWE states this is the largest class of female athletes to receive this opportunity. In addition to the 19 women who want to be Superstars one day, there's also a female referee. Other than special guest spots, this would mark the first time the company has hired a woman to ref (as far as I can remember).

Eddie Kingston & The Colony
Chikara in 2012

I don't know much about Baszler, but if she's serious about getting into the business, I look forward to her getting the opportunity. I'm most excited for Kingston, who has busted his ass on the indy scene for years. He's tougher than a two dollar steak and has the look and skill set that works with WWE's New Era. I've had a chance to see Kingston in person when he was Chikara's first ever Grand Champion. 

Princess Kimber Lee
Courtesy: Chikara

Princess Kimber Lee is another one to watch. She will make a great addition to the women's division. If you listened to my interview with her, you'll remember she's the first female to win the Chikara Grand Championship. It was a groundbreaking moment in wrestling history and Kimber Lee has proven she can hang with the women as well as the men in the ring. 

Heidi Lovelace

Heidi Lovelace is in Orlando for an opportunity too. She is also a former champion in Chikara, holding that company's Young Lions Cup. She continues to do well for herself on the indy scene and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work. 

Cedric Rougeau & Jacob Fatu

Legacies are also getting a tryout. Don't expect to call Cedric Rougeau the Mountie, Jr. He's a MOUNTAIN of a man, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 300 pounds. Rougeau will fit that big guy mold like a glove. The son of the Tonga Kid hopes to follow in his father's footsteps. The "Samoan Werewolf" Jacob Fatu is a part of the legendary Anoa'i Family. 

There's no word on how many of these talents will stick around. My hope is the ones mentioned here are among the first to go to the next level. The future is bright for WWE and NXT. Best of luck to everyone involved. 

Chikaratopia: Channel 7.99

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

If you’re a wrestling fan reading this blog, you’re probably aware of the WWE Network, or Channel 9.99. Are you aware other wrestling promotions have similar offerings? Long time readers won’t be surprised to know one of my favorites is Chikara’s CHIKARATopia. $7.99 a month is all it costs for unlimited access to the history and current on goings of Chikara. I’m not sure if they’re still offering a year for the price of 10 months but if they are, it makes the price even better.

Chad with Cesaro before he was Cesaro

If you’ve never heard of Chikara or have only seen a small sampling of their product, I highly recommend at least checking out the CHIKARATopia free seven day trial. For WWE fans, this is a chance to see WWE stars like Luke Harper, Cesaro and Daniel Bryan among others early in their careers. For long time fans, watching the 1-2-3 Kid and Hakushi rekindle their feud from 1994 in the 2011 King of Trios is a blast from the past.

I have shouted praises for Chikara since day one of My 1-2-3 Cents. Going back and watching events from 2005, which is when I discovered Chikara, I can understand why other wrestling fans may have been confused by Chikara's style. It’s not necessarily an acquired taste, but it’s also not WWE. Seeing ants, time displaced knights, a guy with the face of a corncob and an actual dragon wrestling does take an open mind.

Last year's King of Trios finale

One of my favorite aspects of the CHIKARATopia is being able to go back and re-watch events that are still having effects today. One of the points I use to promote Chikara’s greatness is their attention to detail in their storytelling. Any company who has been around for 16 seasons to not have any glaring holes in their story telling is impressive. Part of the appeal to the storytelling has to be attributed to the huge comic book influence in the stories themselves. Forget the Marvel Cinematic Universe or DC Films; I’ll take Chikara any day to get my dose of spandex clad heroes.

In addition to the past season events, Chikara puts their current events up one month after their available for purchase. This translates to an on average of 6-7 week delay in keeping current with Chikara. A six-week delay for only $7.99 a month is not a bad deal. In addition to the full shows, Chikara has also been doing a monthly Power Hour live show once a month.

Mr. Touchdown & Kevin in 2012

I’m writing about the CHIKARATopia now because should you have any interest in checking out the company, this weekend is the best time. On Sunday (8/21), before SummerSlam, at 3pm EST, Chikara is presenting their first major live event. In all fairness, I do have to mention that during the Power Hour live shows, there have been some minor technical problems. Most of those problems have been with the audio while the video stream has been near perfect.

Back to the show on Saturday, since I don’t read Chikara spoilers, I’m not up to date with what happened at last month’s shows. I do know something happened with the tag team titles and on Sunday there will be a double elimination 4-way title match The full card for Sunday, as listed on the Chikara101 message board is as follows:

Team Fire Ant vs. Team Hallowicked. Both teams will have 7 members. Hallowicked is the current Chikara Grand Champion and his team (I assume) are all the followers of the mysterious Nazbuldun.

Princess Kimberlee vs. Heidi Lovelace: Former Grand Champion vs. former Young Lions Cup holder. Former friends who each have 2 points in title contention play. The winner gets a title shot, the loser starts over.

Double Elimination Tag Team Title: N_R_G vs. Los Ice Cream vs. Devastation Corporation vs. Mustache Mountain. NRG are (or were) champions. Los Ice Creams had the Golden Opportunity to cash in for a title shot. Dev Corp. are the former champs who never got a rematch. Mustache Mountain were the surprise hit of the 2015 King of Trios tournament.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jakob Hammermeier. Kingston was the first Chikara Grand Champion. Jakob is the leader of the reformed B.D.K.

Team Big Deal vs. United Nations. This is a trio’s match. Team Big Deal is lead by the wrestler formerly known as Hornswoggle.

Ophidian vs. Hermit Crab. The master of snake style vs. the rookie crustacean. 

Abominous Rex vs. Oleg the Usurper. Rex is the largest man to ever step foot in a Chikara ring (pretty sure that’s a true fact). Oleg has become a fan favorite over the past two years, though I can’t get past the fact he’s responsible for the death of Dragon Dragon. #NeverForget

That’s seven matches, which should be a pretty outstanding show. There is no reason (other than not wanting to OD on wrestling this weekend) why you shouldn’t check out “No One’s First, and You’re Next” before SummerSlam. I’m pretty confident in saying, if you give Chikara a chance, you’ll stay subscribed to the CHIKARATopia.