Wrestling with the Total Solar Eclipse

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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On Monday much of the country will be watching as the Total Solar Eclipse happens. It's the first time the U.S. has experienced a Total Eclipse since 1979. I live in southern Illinois, which is where the Eclipse's totality will be the most. It's been the buzz here for months now, so I figured why not look at some Eclipse related wrestling gimmicks through the years.

NXT Superstar Ember Moon most falls in line with the phenomenon. Not only does her name fit, but so does her finishing move, the Eclipse. It's a diving corkscrew stunner. The move is quite impressive. So is Moon. I really thought she was being groomed to be the one to end Asuka's impressive streak and historic NXt Championship reign. Even though she didn't capture the gold at NXT: Takeover, in my 1-2-3 cents Moon will be a major player on the main roster in the near future.

Konnan & Paul Diamond as Max Moon
Courtesy: WWE

Max Moon, no relation to Ember, was an out of this world Superstar who hit the scene in the early 90s. Konnan originally played the character, but after a contract dispute, Paul Diamond filled the role. Probably his biggest claim to fame was wrestling Shawn Michaels on the very first Monday Night Raw in 1993. By the way, that costume cost about $1,300 to make. The leather was equipped with electronics and pyrotechnic gun.

Sunny
Courtesy: WWE

Sunny has had her ups and downs in the wrestling world. But it's hard to ignore her contribution to the business. When the internet was born, so was Sunny's stardom. She held the distinction of being AOL's most downloaded woman of 1996. Sunny helped blaze the trail for other women in the business. Yes, she's had some controversial moments through the years, but the Hall of Famer made a difference in the business.

The Heavenly Bodies, Jimmy Del Ray, Jim Cornette & Tom Prichard
Courtesy: WWE

Another 90s creation I'm highlighting today: The Heavenly Bodies. Stan Lane and Tom Pritchard are the originals for this team. Jim Cornette was the force behind them at Smoky Mountain Wrestling. There have been several incarnations through the years and the team even ventured into WWE but Jimmy Del Rey had replaced Lane by then. The duo was good but never won the tag team gold, despite great matches with teams like the Rock 'n Roll Express, The Steiner Brothers and the Smoking Gunns. 

The Moondogs
Courtesy: WWE

Finally, the Moondogs get the nod in this Eclipse themed blog. Like the Heavenly Bodies, there have been several versions of the Moondogs. King and Rex were the originals and won the WWF tag-team titles in 1981. However, King left the company and was replaced by Spot. Eventually, the duo was used to put over other talents in the company. Their trademark tattered jeans and giant bones helped put them on the map too. 

These are the Eclipse related talents I came up with. Did I miss anyone? Comment here on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page.

My plans for the WWE Women's Division

Women's Championship
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Allow me to do a little fantasy booking with WrestleMania and the Women's Division. I know the likelihood of any of this actually happening is nil, but I had fun coming up with a plan that I know WWE could easily execute. I'm no booker, so I'd have to rely on WWE Creative to fill in the gaps of my plan.

Asuka
Courtesy: WWE

It all starts with NXT Saturday night before WrestleMania 33. Asuka drops the Women's Championship to Ember Moon. Later in the night we see Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan speaking to the former champion backstage. Fast forward to Sunday at WrestleMania and just before the Women's Championship match, Bryan announces that Asuka has agreed to the terms of a SmackDown Live contract and has joined the roster. She goes on to win the title that night.

Charlotte Flair
Courtesy: WWE

The Raw Women's Championship match comes down to Bayley and Charlotte Flair. Charlotte pulls off the win and regains the gold. The next night on Raw, Charlotte vows to never lose the Women's Championship and talks about how she's the most dominant female of all time. Cue Daniel Bryan's music. He and Shane McMahon come to the ring along with the new SmackDown Live Women's champ, Asuka. 

At some point during the back and forth, Stephanie makes her way to the ring too. Daniel gets to his point and lays down a challenge. A best of seven series between Charlotte and Asuka to unify the Women's Championship. The winning brand's champion then gets the women's division exclusively on their show.

Courtesy: WWE

Steph and Charolette finally accept and the matches will rotate between Raw and SmackDown Live. Of course we'll go to seven matches, with the championship to be determined either at Money in the Bank (because I'll be there) or a special event that features matches from both brands so there's no 'home field advantage'. During the course of the series, Charlotte reforms the Four Horsemen to help run interference. Sasha Banks (who works better as a heel IMO), Nia Jax and Natalya make up the new group. Stephanie "buys" Nattie's contract out from under the noses of Bryan and Shane.

Honestly, I don't really care who wins it all, I just want to see the women all on the same brand to offer more variety of matches, especially on Raw shows.