CCW's new GM

Hanging with CCW's new GM, Lane Austin 

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Saturday marked my fourth live indy wrestling show of the month, but the first that I just got to sit back and be a fan. My buddy Tom Harness and I headed to Cape Comic Con Saturday afternoon and then made our way to Cape Championship Wrestling. You can hear our thoughts on the show on Monday's My 1-2-3 Cents podcast (Episode 179).

Of course, there were plenty of great highlights from Supershow II, including Ace Hawkins and Jackson Crowley's match. The year-long feud ended in a blood and a high spot to top all high spots. Manager Jeff O'Dell lost his hair. Sarah Summers captured the CCW Women's Championship. Marco Stunt and Mikey won the CCW Tag Team Championships. And Austin Lane retained the CCW Heavyweight Title against ECW Legend Tommy Dreamer. Be sure to check out Pro Wrestling Unscripted this week and the crew there will highlight each match. 

Barry Karafa welcomes Lane as GM
Courtesy: Tom Harness

For me though, the best moment of the night was the announcement of a new general manager for CCW. Because of a prematch stipulation, Osby Tomlin is out as GM, which opened the door for a new authority figure. The powers that be at CCW picked a great man in my friend Lane Austin. The crowd popped at the news as Lane made his way to the ring. He promised changes are coming, I look forward to seeing what he has in store for the roster.

Me & Lane at CCW Supershow 1
Courtesy: Tom Harness

Regular readers here know Lane has had some ups and downs in recent weeks. Last month he was hospitalized with complications from his type 2 diabetes. The physicality of being a referee for both CCW and Stride Pro Wrestling has taken him out of the wrestling game until now. In my 1-2-3 cents, Lane will fulfill his duties as GM very well and I'm proud to see he's going to be able to continue to be a part of something he loves so dearly.

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Fun Fact Friday: Sam Hunter

Me and Sam at "Brave the Storm"
Courtesy: Tom Harness

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I've known Stride Pro Wrestling General Manager Sam Hunter for several years. He was a fan of All-American Pro Wrestling who quickly turned into a volunteer. Sam would help on the night of shows with set up and tear down, a process that I do not miss anymore. In March 2016, when Stride Pro Wrestling started, it was announced Sam would be the company's general manager. 

Sam has a take no prisoners approach when running the company. He's gone toe to toe with everyone from the DR Party, Ax Allwardt and most notably Tony Flood. Sam also brings the sound system each month to the Illinois Star Centre Mall in Marion for the Stride shows. He signed off on Saturday's night huge Buried Alive match, so be sure to join us at 6:30 p.m. Now for some fun facts about the GM.

Sam got his start in the entertainment business at an early age, DJing at the teen center in his hometown. He was 12 at the time. It's a passion that has stuck with him, as he created his own DJing business and works gigs like weddings, birthday parties and other special events.

His favorite wrestler of all time is "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Sam says Dusty's promos were among the best in the business and laid the groundwork for many of today's stars. Sometimes he even quotes the Dream during his own promos in Stride.

Sam Hunter & Lex Luger

Time for some name dropping. Sam has met quite a few celebrities through the years including; Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Sting, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Paige, Seth Rollins, The Dudley Boys, Goldust, Eugene, Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christian, Bobby Roode, Eric Young, Scott Steiner, Eric Bischoff, Rob Van Dam, and Mick Foley.

Hunter & Hatton
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

Same when to high school in Norris City with former Stride Pro Wrestling champion Heath Hatton.

Sam is an avid video gamer. He started with the original Nintendo and today owns all three major video game consoles. His favorites include; Super Mario Brothers, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Ninja Gaiden, Street Fighter, and Mega Man. He also has his own YouTube channel dedicated to gaming. Join the more than 1,200 subscribers here.

Despite what J. Wellington Beauregard says, Sam hates fish sticks.

Sam has a degree in Computer Information Systems and also enjoys reading about great philosophers including the works of Socrates.

Who's the Boss?

Vince, Triple H, Brad, & Vickie
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

As much as I want this to be a blog about the popular 80's sitcom by the same name, it is not.  The task at hand today is addressing the maze of management that currently reigns on WWE programming.  I meant to tackle the topic last week, but got busy with other things.

The late, great Jack Tunney
Photo courtesy: WWE

I'm trying to be less negative about my posts, but this blog will take me away from that goal.  I miss the 80's and 90's when the "authority figure" was only on TV for special appearances.  Jack Tunney only showed up a handful of times to lay down the law.  Often times, his directives were read by the announce team or the back stage interviewer.  He wasn't a part of the weekly show or pay per view.  Even in the early 90's, when Roddy Piper and Gorilla Monsoon became "President" of the WWF, they very rarely were so involved in the story.

Triple H, Brad, & Steph
Photo courtesy: WWE

Right now, there are no less than 5 people vying for the role on WWE programming.  Brad Maddox is finding his way as the Raw General Manager.  Vickie Guerrero is the new GM of SmackDown.  Now, each week we're getting doses of Vince McMahon, the CEO, his son-in-law Triple H, the COO, and Vince's daughter Stephanie, Director of Creative (I think that's the title they've given her on air).  Let's not forget the two men recently relieved of their duties, Booker T and Teddy Long.  I suspect we haven't seen the last of them either.  And did I miss something or is Alex Riley hanging out with Brad now too.  Is he the assistant GM?

Past bosses
Photo from Bleacher Report

The constant rotation of authority figures is nothing new.  We saw the guest GMs a couple of years ago.  Then superstars have come and gone and had their time back in the spotlight.  It seems to me like it's a lazy way to work past stars or guys they have nothing for into some kind of on camera role.  I can accept a GM.  Maybe even an assistant.  But is it necessary to have the McMahon-Triple H faction on weekly as well?  I know this is all leading to some sort of power struggle between Vince and Trips, and Maddox and Guerrero are merely the pawns in the game.  I'd much rather see the company continue to focus on the wrestling, like the series of matches Daniel Bryan went through on Raw.  They were simply amazing.

I know it's the era of sports entertainment, but we're not all entertained by everything we see.  I hate to hate on anything, especially the Divas, but that segment on Raw with Miz and Jerry Lawler and the stars of the new Divas show was one of the worst segments in recent memory to me.  Many of these ladies are talented and need a chance to shine, not be part of a skit to promote a show on E!  But again, I get that the days of "wrestling" have been replaced for the most part with "entertainment."

Okay, ranting over.  Thanks for reading, I appreciate the support.

Generally Speaking...

Former WWF President, Jack Tunney

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

John Laurinaitis has been removed of his duties as the Raw and SmackDown! general manager.  Now we're playing the waiting game to find out who will fill the role.  In the meantime, various GMs and commissioners from the past are taking the helm.  This recently spurred a discussion for our Rafter's Roundtable on From the Rafters Radio (search for it on iTunes too)

During the conversation, we talked about our favorite authority figures in wrestling.  As you can imagine, our panel and our listeners all had different thoughts on the subject.  For me, it was Jack Tunney.  While he was not exactly a charismatic figure, he was not on TV each week.  In this day and age of wrestling, I feel like the GM is a played out concept and in many cases steals valuable time from the talent.

You can probably count on both hands how many times you saw Jack Tunney on WWF Superstars.  Many of his appearances were pre taped messages.  Commentators (Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura) reminded the audience that Tunney was in charge, but there wasn't that overwhelmingly presence we see now.  I can't remember any specific pay per view appearances by Tunney, much less wrestling at one (I know Johnny is a former wrestler, but look at Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon)  I know in the pic to the right, Tunney appears to be holding a Wrestlemania mic, maybe it was at WM 4??? Gorilla Monsoon also did a good job in his role as President after Tunney retired.  His involvement was more hands on, but again it wasn't the focal point of story lines.

The modern day concept I think evolved when guys like Mick Foley, Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels (his first time 'retiring') could no longer wrestle, but the WWE still wanted to have some role for them.  I can't completely fault them with that, but I don't think we need the GM, commissioner, or president on the air every week, twice a week.  And while I'm on the subject, what is Vince's role now? We had a GM for Raw and SmackDown!, a chief operating officer in Triple H, and the chairman of the board in Vince.  But I thought last summer he was relieved of those duties.  Seriously, I'm confused and please let me know what I missed.

Okay, that's about it for now.  I'll be back from vacation soon and more regular posts will happen again.  Thanks for reading and share with your friends too.  Oh yeah, don't forget to like us on Facebook.