Give the gift of pro wrestling

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

By the time pro wrestling action figures were first introduced to me (summer of 1985) I was already a pre-teen and probably too old to be playing with toys. However, I was in love with the WWF LJN figures and before the summer had ended I'd collected all five Superstars in the first set, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Snuka, the Iron Sheik, Andre the Giant and Big John Studd. Of course, Christmas morning there were new Superstars were under the tree that year. 

That was the pattern for the next two or three Christmases. I loved those Superstars and still have them today. Looking back I'm grateful my family was able to provide these toys for me and my undying love for pro wrestling. However, I know the reality is not all kids will wake up Christmas morning to presents. That notion bothers me. And after listening to the Major Brothers Wrestling Figure Podcast last year and hearing about their figure drive, I got inspired. 

The fans of Stride Pro Wrestling and My 1-2-3 Cents donated more than 50 toys in 2018. I've continued the tradition this year and aim still aiming for 250 figures or wrestling-related toys. My buddy Chad Smart has donated an autographed 4 Horsemen poster to raffle off to those who donate. But time is running out. Sunday, Dec. 15 is the deadline to donate and we're way off from the goal of 250. If you don't live in southern Illinois, you can Paypal me (kevinhunsperger@gmail.com) and I'm going to pick up figures at Five Below Sunday night. Each $5 donation will earn you a chance in the raffle. 

Thank you all and Merry Christmas. 

Future Endeavored 2014

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
Updated at 4:30pm CST 

By now, you've probably seen the news that nine Superstars, one Diva, and one referee have been released from their WWE contracts.  I'm not surprised by this, as the company has called up some great talent from NXT in recent months. And with the exception of Mason Ryan and Ezekiel Jackson, I don't think there have been many people let go in quite some time.

The latest round of layoffs includes:
JTG
Drew McIntyre
Jinder Mahal
Aksana
Curt Hawkins
Teddy Long
Camacho
Brodus Clay
Evan Bourne
Yoshi Tatsu
Marc Harris (referee)

Brodus Clay
Photo courtesy: WWE

I'm not going to analyze everyone on the list, but there were some names that I'm disappointed are on the list.  Of course, I feel bad for anyone who loses their job, but these three that I'm going to talk about impact me the most.  I really wish that Brodus Clay would have been given more of a chance.  I enjoyed the Funkasaurus character, but I think ultimately it ended up hurting the guy.  He made the most of it, and it entertained me, but I always saw him as a monster heel type.  Unfortunately when Tons of Funk split up, we never really got to see that beast get unleashed.  

Evan Bourne
Photo courtesy: WWE

Evan Bourne hasn't wrestled in years at this point after facing suspensions and injuries.  I really hoped they would have brought him back in, and reunited him with Kofi Kingston.  Both always seem to get overlooked as singles competitors, but I really like the duo as Air Boom.  They were bringing stability to the tag team ranks a couple of years ago, until Evan got suspended. I would have also like to seen Bourne work with the current NXT champion Adrian Neville.  

Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre
Photo courtesy: WWE

I've liked Drew McIntyre since day one.  I really think the WWE dropped the ball on him, and maybe he dropped it too. I shouldn't just blame the creative team.  To me, Drew had so much potential in those early days.  I think he became a victim of his own success and ended up like a lot of guys do when the company is hot on them for a short period.  See Curtis Axel, Ryback, and Sin Cara and you'll understand that.  I must also say I marked out pretty hard in New Orleans this year when we ran into to Drew while hanging out with some of the NXT guys.  He approached our group of non-WWE guys and shook our hands and was quite cool to us.

I have no doubt that these talents will all find work on the independent scene.  TNA may pick up a few, but I don't see them as a better alternative. I'd assume Bourne will go to ROH once he's healthy.  Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling may grab some too. No matter what, I wish all of these stars the best of luck.

What the Funkasarus?

Funkasarus (from WWE.com)

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart on Twitter

Okay, I’ve had 18 hours to let it settle in and read other people’s opinions to see if there was something I was missing. I have to say, had I written this right after Brodus Clay debuted his new ring persona I would have likely went off on a rant that would have made Dennis Miller proud. But given time to let it simmer, while I don’t know if the “funkasarus” will be a star making turn for Brodus, but I’m starting to warm up to the idea.

I started watching wrestling shortly before Hulkamania took hold of America. In those days the WWF was filled with colorful characters and larger than life personas. Who could forget George “The Animal” Steele, Akeem the African Dream, or "the Birdman" Koko B. Ware?  In the early to mid-90s the focus shifted from colorful characters to guys who had other jobs in addition to wrestling. Guys like Bob “Sparky” Plugg, The Goon and T.L. Hopper the wrestling plumber were the new norm. Over the last decade there has been a move towards average ordinary guys. The new trend was muscled guys with six-pack abs and tribal tattoos.  Brodus “Funkasarus” Clay is a throwback to the 80s. Or at least he could be if given time to develop the character.

From WWE.com

I’ll admit part of my skepticism with the new Clay was due in part to having laid out a scenario in my last blog about Clay, which would have made a huge impact upon his debut. The flaw with that idea is how it would have made Brodus and Mark Henry similar in style. The new fun loving, dancing personality is a step in the right direction to make Brodus Clay stand out. What will be the key is how WWE proceeds with Brodus in the coming months.

Will they build him up slowly? Putting him in the ring against Curt Hawkins was the right first step. Have him get wins over low card stars to establish the character and then slowly have Brodus work his way up the card. Give him time to win the crowd over and go from there. What I fear is WWE will either pull a Zack Ryder and push Brodus too far too soon or will quickly transition him into a comedy role and we’ll have a new tag team of Santino and Brodus.

Funkasarus is 1 and 0 (from WWE.com)

Given WWE’s track record coupled with the absurdity of the gimmick, I’m not holding my breath that Brodus will be winning any championships anytime soon or even be in any meaningful storylines. But I’m going to give it time to develop before I get too critical.

Are you interested in the phenom from Planet Funk? Give us your thoughts on the My123Cents Facebook page. 

Getting Yourself Over

Z! True Long Island Story on YouTube

By Chad Smart

I had planned on doing a write up recapping Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s show from Saturday night. Honestly though, I don’t like recapping shows. If you really want to know what happened you can check out the PWG message board on their website or any other wrestling website that  posts results. The one comment I will make about the show is if Willie Mack isn’t on the TNA roster or in FCW by the end of the year, whoever is in charge or signing talent for TNA and WWE should get a new job. Willie could be the breakout star of the year.

Okay, so if I’m not going to recap PWG: Card Subject to Change 3 what am I going to write about?  I wanted to throw out some comments about what appears to be a possible growing trend amongst wrestlers. I say growing trend when the total number of wrestlers doing it stands at 2, but I can see others joining the group. The trend I speak of is creating YouTube shows.

Zack joins LOD (from Z! True Long Island Story)

Zack Ryder was the first to create a weekly youtube show, The Z! True Long Island Story. While not the flashiest or most thought provoking show, it’s a way for Zack to show off his personality and gain a following since his WWE television time is mostly regulated to the now cancelled Superstars show. Zack has put out 8 episodes so far and their impact is slowly starting to be seen on WWE shows.

Each episode of the ZTLI Story features a Broski of the Week. At Wrestlemania there was a sign held up throughout most of the show proclaiming the sign holder the Broski of the Week. Watching Raw as I type this and I’ve seen a couple Broski signs in the crowd. Zack’s show has not been promoted on WWE programming to my knowledge so his cult following is based primarily on word of mouth, or word of Twitter.

Curt Hawkins' YouTube channel "Callin' Sports"

Not to be outdone by his former tag team partner, last week Curt Hawkins put up a teaser video on YouTube for his new show.  While Zack has taken a couple of creative shots about WWE not using him, Curt flat out said if he wasn’t going to get any time of WWE programming then he was going to use YouTube to get over.

I think this is a clever (and maybe overdue) outlet for wrestlers who seem to get overlooked. Several wrestlers have been using Twitter in the past couple years to express their opinions and attract fans, but YouTube has been a largely untapped market. What will be interesting to watch is if Zack, Curt and any other wrestler who decides to use YouTube can build up a large enough fan base to affect their position in the company.  Not only that, but will WWE management start to monitor wrestler’s YouTube accounts and take action against them if the wrestler says something management doesn’t like? Or if the wrestler gains a large fan base on their own will someone in a position of power who may not be a fan of said wrestler try to keep the wrestler down through means of backstage power plays?

I know I’ll keep watching the YouTube shows and hoping Zack, Curt and whoever else makes a show can use this new means of reaching out to fans as a way to grab their moment. As Steve Austin said on the second episode of Tough Enough, you can’t wait around hoping for your chance. If you want it, you’ve got to seize the bull by the horns and create your moment. Those may not have been his exact words, but that was the general sentiment. And that’s exactly what Zack Ryder is trying to do with his YouTube video. Only time will tell if it works. 

And don't forget, you can check out My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube too. Subscribe and leave your comments, good or bad!