The Miz steps closer to awesomeness

The Miz
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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The Miz has taken another step to being the most awesome Intercontinental Champion of all time. Or at least the champ with the most combined days with the gold. As of this writing on Feb. 11, the Miz has surpassed The Magnificant Muraco and has taken the number two spot on the list. The Miz now has 543 days as IC champ under his belt. If he continues another 77 days, he'll take the top spot from Pedro Morales. 

Me & The Miz in 2010

I've always enjoyed the Miz and I think it's great he's getting another run as IC champ. He's been pretty hot since beating Zack Ryder for the belt just after WrestleMania 32 nearly two years ago. Maryse coming back breathed new life into his career. He's proven himself time and time again that he's a main event player. It's been said before (I think on the Pro Wrestling Unscripted podcast) that if he were on SmackDown Live still, he'd be in the hunt for the WWE Championship. I could see the Miz getting another shot at the big belt once Brock Lesnar is out of the scene. 

Muraco vs. Morales
Courtesy: WWE

The crazy thing about the new milestone for the Miz is he's held the championship eight times and hit this feat. But both Muraco and Morales are each two-time championship holders. I don't know if anyone has it broken down as to how many times the belt has been defended, I know the schedule for pro wrestlers has never been an easy one though.

Congrats to the Miz, continue being awesome.

The NeverEnding Story

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
Jittery Monkey Podcasting Network

Up until last year's build up to Wrestlemania with Daniel Bryan winning the WWE World Heavyweight title I think I was much more critical of the wrestling industry.  As a fan, I think if we don't get that instant gratification we're looking for, we begin bash the product and the people coming up with the storylines.  But there was something about that Bryan story when it started at SummerSlam 2013 and wrapped up at Wrestlemania XXX that changed my mind.  That slow burn really paid off.

The Steve Austin Show
Courtesy: WWE

I'm not naive enough to believe that this was a part of the original plan.  I do think that vocal fans may have helped dictate the outcome (along with CM Punk's sudden departure after the 2014 Royal Rumble).  But I believe that Triple H's recent comments on the Steve Austin podcast rang true.  WWE is like the NeverEnding story.  There is original content at our fingertips 52 weeks a year.  Some weeks will be better than others.

By accepting that premise, it makes me think before I immediately react to something I didn't like on Raw, SmackDown! or a pay per view.  I may still make a snarky comment on Twitter from time to time, but I am trying to look at more of the big picture.  And that's not to say that fans can't make their voice heard and not like something at the moment.  But if we remember that there is no end date to any of the wrestling storylines we are watching, it's comforting to know that things MAY end up going the way we "book" them with our friends.  We know when watching a movie they have two hours or so to tell the story and deliver the outcome we want.  Wrestling isn't like that.

Jimmy Snuka attacks Don Muraco
My first WWE memory

I've been a loyal to WWF/E since watching Jimmy Snuka tear into Don Muraco in the summer of 1983.  I stuck around through characters like the Goon, Skinner and Aldo Montoya.  I'll be here through this so-called screwing of Daniel Bryan, because at the end of the day I do think everything will work out.  It may take some time to get there, but let's be patient and enjoy the ride.  I may not love every minute of it, but in general I like what I'm seeing and therefore will continue to watch (and maybe drink the Kool-Aid).

Way Back WhensDay: Tuesday Night Titans

Tuesday Night Titans
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

Long before Monday Night Raw, the WWF had a weekly cable show called Tuesday Night Titans.  It was talk show meets wrestling, with all kinds of ridiculousness along the way.  I remember tuning in each week and watching on the USA Network as Vince McMahon (not knowing he owned the company at the time) and Lord Alfred Hayes would interview Superstars, managers, and audience members. (Eventually "Mean" Gene Okerlund would become host.)

Macho Man & Mean Gene
Photo courtesy: WWE

The show started even before Prime Time Wrestling started airing on Mondays. The only WWF fix we'd get back then was Superstars on Sunday mornings and TNT on Tuesday nights.  MTV aired a couple of WWF specials, but this was before Saturday Night's Main Event or even pay per view matches.  TNT's format was like the Tonight Show, with silly skits and an occasional match or at least highlights from one to help keep ongoing storylines alive.

How now, brown cow.

I was 11 years old when I started watching, and for whatever reason the episode that sticks out in my mind the most was the night Captain Lou Albano and Vince McMahon visited a shock therapist to help "cure" George "The Animal" Steele.  This was right after Animal turned good and was being made into a lovable character and not the brutal beast he once was.

McMahon was on hand to document the treatment and what George was going through.  Captain Lou talked us through the procedure as Doctor Sigmund Ziff hooked up the Animal.  Finally to show us it was working, Steele uttered the following with a glazed look in his eyes, "How now, brown cow."  I can still hear him saying it and the "breakthrough" the Captain thought he'd reached, until Ziff turned up the juice and the Animal ran from the room.

Crocket & Tubbs? 

Other memorable moments was the introduction of the show "Fuji Vice" with Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco.  It was cheesy 80's fun, as the manager and Superstar spoofed the popular show Miami Vice.  The two did parodies of other 80's programming as well.  Roddy Piper had an experience with the Ghosts of Christmas and Kamala "ate" a live chicken on the air one week.  The show was crazy, but it was good fun.

I wonder now that the network is in full swing if the WWE will consider doing more programming like Tuesday Night Titans.  They certainly have the talent to pull it off.  They could also show the classic episodes, which I imagine is a real possibility.