SummerSlam A to Z: Match Made in Heaven

Match made in Heaven
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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SummerSlam 91 had a tagline of "A Match Made in Heaven, A Match Made in Hell."  The Hell part I've discussed in previous posts, as Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior battled Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa and Gen. Adnan.  The heavenly part of the night was the marriage of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Elizabeth.

Reunited
Courtesy: WWE

The two had been estranged for two years after The Mega Powers exploded in 1989.  Liz had laid pretty low up until Wrestlemania VII (March 1991) and saved Savage from the kicks he was receiving from his then-manager Sherri Martel.  Savage had just lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior, but continued to work with the company as a commentator.  He eventually popped the question to Elizabeth (even though they'd been married 

in real life for nearly a decade at that point).  So SummerSlam was spot for the nuptials.

Courtesy: WWE

The wedding went off without a hitch, unlike most weddings in the wrestling business.  Savage was dressed in a tuxedo version of his in-ring garb complete with a cowboy hat. Liz looked lovely as always and when asked if he takes Elizabeth, Macho Man responded with his classic "Oooohhhh yeahhhhh!!!"  The two kissed and promptly headed to the reception.

Couldn't find an actual pic
Wrestling 101

That's where uninvited guests The Undertaker and a newly turned heel Jake "The Snake" Roberts ruined the fun. A snake popped out of a gift box and the Undertaker hit Savage in the head with his urn.  Sid Justice sprang into action to help fend off the bad guys.  The actions lead to the feud between Savage and Roberts, which included the cobra sinking his teeth into Savage's arm and President Jack Tunney finally reinstating Savage to wrestle Jake in a great series of matches before Roberts finally left the company.

Courtesy: WWE

For years I had worked at a grocery store in the video department.  I had just left for college when SummerSlam '91 happened.  When the VHS copy arrived at the store for rental it included a picture of Savage and Liz with a suction cup.  Someone sent it to me and I promptly hung it from the window in my dorm to further geekify the room and let everyone know I'm an uber wrestling nerd.

Throwback Thursday: He's a Studd

Winner!
1989 Royal Rumble
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

For the last 20 years, the winner of the Royal Rumble has earned a title shot at Wrestlemania.  I think in most cases (there are a few exceptions, 1997 and 1999 come to mind) the winner went on to Mania for the shot.  In the early days of the Rumble though the champion competed in the match and you only earned bragging rights for winning.  Hacksaw Jim Duggan won the first event which only aired on TV.  In 1989, Big John Studd won the Rumble.  This was the first year it was on pay per view, making it the fourth of the "Big 4" PPVs.  (Quick history lesson: Hulk Hogan won in 1990 and 1991 and Ric Flair won the title in '92, then in '93 the title shot stipulation started with Yokozuna winning)

Anyway, to my original point, the '89 rumble happened 24 years ago this week.  The returning Big John Studd threw out the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase to win.  Studd had been gone from the WWF for a few years and came back as a face.  He was back to extract revenge on Andre the Giant who had turned his back on fans two years earlier.

Jake vs. Andre
Wrestlemania V
Photo courtesy: WWE

You'd think winning the Rumble would have lead to better things for Studd.  Maybe because this was the first year for it on PPV, they weren't sure what to do with the winner.  Studd appeared at Wrestlemania V as the special guest referee for the Andre-Jake "the Snake" Roberts match.  If you consider Duggan won in 1988 and ended up in the world title tournament at Wrestlemania IV.  Hogan was the champ when he won in '90 and then got the title shot in '91 against Sgt. Slaughter although it wasn't technically part of the Rumble stipulation.  And like I mentioned Flair won the gold in '92.  So really, Big John Studd (and Vince McMahon) are the only two Rumble winners to not WRESTLE on that year's Mania card.

Mega Powers implode
Royal Rumble 89
Photo courtesy: WWE

Other notables from that Rumble in 89 included the cracks in the foundation of the Mega Powers.  Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage nearly came to blows after Hogan dumped the champ and Bad New Brown over the top rope.  Ax and Smash of Demolition started the Rumble match off that year.  It was a surprise start to the match, as the tag team champions pounded each other in the opening minutes.  The Ultimate Warrior and "Ravishing" Rick Rude had a pose off ahead of their Wrestlemania match for the Intercontinental title.

Christmas Wish List: Jake "The Snake" Roberts

We met Jake the Snake a WrestleReunion 2012
Courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

The intent of my Christmas Wish blogs is to highlight the things I hope for wrestlers in the coming months.  Some of them are written to fit into current storylines, but they are all sincere.  Today's submission is a more serious one.

As many fans know Jake "The Snake" Roberts has struggled with addiction for years.  It's been documented through storylines during his days in the WWE as well as in the film Beyond the Mat.  Recently, former WCW champion "Diamond" Dallas Page has come to Jake's aid, trying to help the ring legend stay sober.  It's part of a project called Accountability Crib.  I don't know a whole lot about it, but I truly hope that it works out for the best for Jake the Snake.

DDP & Jake the Snake
Accountability Crib
Photo Courtesy: Steve Yu

That's really my wish for Jake, and anyone else who is struggling with addiction.  I used to be of the mindset that it was the problem of the addict.  That they didn't want to get better.  However, I don't place all the blame there.  I know that people who are addicted have a real illness.  I understand that in some cases, people who develop a disease like cancer or diabetes, can take steps to prevent the illness, it's the same sort of thing with addiction.  But when critics make fun of or solely blame the addict for being stupid and not quitting the destructive behavior, it annoys me.

I don't know if Jake will stay sober this time, but I applaud him for trying again and putting his struggles out there for all to see.  I also want to commend DDP for helping a fellow wrestler who has been in need for so many years.  This may perhaps be springboard for something much bigger.

Get well Jake.  This is one fan who hasn't abandoned hope and thinks you have the strength to put your personal demons to rest once and for all.

No Gold, But They Deserved It

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Now a days it seems like many of the WWE Superstars have held gold at least once during their time with the company.  Rarely seen Michael McGillicutty is a former tag team champion, as is jobber to the legends Heath Slater.  In a previous life, Tensai held the WWE Intercontinental title.

Things are much different now than they were 25 years ago.  Hulk Hogan ruled the WWF World title scene, holding the belt for more than four years.  Honky Tonk Man and Randy Savage both had lengthy runs as IC champ.  Demolition, the Hart Foundation, and the British Bulldogs were at the top of the tag team scene.  There was no U.S. title or a second world heavyweight title.  I think had some of the men I'm about to list were around in today's WWE, they would have all won some title along the way.  But these are five guys who never held any sort of gold in their tenure with the WWF.

Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan

"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff certainly had the look of a champion.  I find it very surprising he didn't at least get a run with the IC title.  His feud with Hogan in 1986 and early 87 was legendary in my opinion.  There were actually a couple of different times I thought Orndorff was going to walk off with the title.  I marked out like crazy when he climbed over the top of the cage at Saturday Night's Main Event and he touched the arena floor.  However, the Hulkster was doing the same thing on the other side of the ring.  The match restarted and of course Hogan won.  That's probably the closet Orndorff ever came to winning the gold in the WWF.  I thought he'd be a shoe in for IC champion at some point.  I remember thinking as a kid that he should have beat Tito Santana for the title and not Greg Valentine.  Prior to and after his run in the WWF Orndorff faired much better, holding singles and tag team gold in Georgia, the NWA, and WCW.

Superfly Snuka
Courtesy: WWE

When "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka climbed to the top of a steel cage in 1982 in his WWF world title match against Bob Backlund, I thought for sure we were about to see a new heavyweight champion.  As he was perched "25 feet" in the air, ready to make his famous Superfly leap the crowd at Madison Square Garden waited with anticipation.  He came crashing down to the mat with a thud as Backlund rolled out of the way and managed to escape the cage and retain the title.  Snuka also had a series of matches against IC Champ "The Magnificent" Muraco.  Some of those matches were also held inside a steel cage, but Snuka never seemed to pick up the title win.  Much like Orndorff, Snuka found championship gold in other other companies, just not in the WWF.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor

Bam Bam Bigelow burst on the WWF back in 1987 like a ball of fire.  It was all a part of his gimmick, with the flamed tights and the coolest skull tattoo in the history of the world.  Despite his size, agility, and ability in the ring, the Bammer never came up with WWF gold.  I remember watching the Wrestlemania IV world title tournament and I had the Beast from the East picked to win the whole thing.  You can imagine my disappointment when he lost by count out in round one to the One Man Gang.  After that loss I remember actually typing a letter to Hulk Hogan in my high school keyboarding class telling him to team up with Bam Bam and take on Demolition for the tag team titles.  Ugh, did I just admit that...  I also recall Bigelow attempting to dethrone the Honky Tonk Man during his epic IC title reign, but only ever beat HTM by count out and disqualification.  Even with his mid-90's return to the WWF, he certainly could have had a run with gold, but came up short in that era too.  Truly one of the all time greats though, with or without a WWF title run.

Jake the Snake Roberts
Courtesy: WWE

It really blows my mind that Jake "the Snake" Roberts never held any kind of gold during his run in the WWF.  When he arrived on the scene in 1986 as a heel, he was one of the best characters the company had seen.  Jake could work well in the ring and on the mic, two key ingredients to success in the WWF.  I guess the company figured he didn't need a title to get him over with the fans.  His brief heel vs. heel feud with Randy Savage for the IC title was memorable.  Fans were split on who to cheer for, but I think this is what lead to Jake's eventual face turn and feud with Honky Tonk Man.  I thought for a while during HTM's long run with the IC belt that Jake would have won it.  I remember him beating HTM several times via count out, even once in St. Louis with Mr. T as the special guest referee.  He also had a few shots (mostly house shows) against Hogan's world title.
 

Junkyard Dog
Courtesy: WWE

I had to have Chad help me break the tie for my last spot on this list.  I was debating between Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the Junkyard Dog.  In the end, I pick JYD.  I still maintain him not winning the IC title from Valentine at the first Wrestlemania is the biggest miscarriage of justice from that event.  He won the match by count out, and that was as close as he'd ever get to any kind of title in the WWF.  He teamed briefly with the likes of George Steele and Tito Santana, but I don't recall them ever going for the tag team titles.

There were other choices that I did not go with intentionally for the list, like Harley Race and Dusty Rhodes.  When both men arrived in the WWF, they were nearing the end of their respective careers, and a title run would not have added anything to their legacy.  Although the young mark in me wanted to see a Hulk Hogan-Dusty Rhodes world title match.  I don't know why...

Others I considered for the list included King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, and Lex Luger.  Who would you have added to the list?  Post here or on Facebook.

   

Gone, But Not Forgotten: Gino Hernandez

Gino Hernandez (1957-1986)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

You have to be an old school fan of wrestling to remember Gino Hernandez.  With the exception of "Quickdraw" Rick McGraw, Hernandez is the first wrestling death that I remember.  I was a huge fan of World Class Championship Wrestling and Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams were two of the company's biggest heels.

It was the cocky Hernandez who persuaded Adams to turn against the ever popular Von Erich clan.  Then the two dominated the tag team ranks and even picked up a third partner in Jake "the Snake" Roberts.  The trio won the WCCW 6 man tag team titles from the Von Erichs and Bobby Fulton.

Gino and Andrea the Lady Giant were paired together at this time too. Andrea would later become Baby Doll in the NWA.  He and Adams also held the tag team titles on a couple of different occasions.  And Gino was a singles champion in the NWA and World Class.  As a kid I remember him being the guy you loved to hate.  He was smug and cocky and in my opinion one of the best heels WCCW ever had.  It's a shame he died too soon to reach his full potential.

Photo by sunnyBoy10 (Flickr)

One of the most memorable matches he had in WCCW was when he and Adams teamed up against Kevin and Kerry Von Erich.  This was a hair match, and I think maybe the first one I'd ever seen as a young fan. The good guys won and the heels had their heads shaved in the middle of the ring.  That probably hurt Gino the most, as he was often referred to as "The Handsome Half-Breed".

A short time later, he turned on Adams, blinding him with a mysterious substance.  A few days later, Hernandez was found dead in his apartment.  The official cause of death was a cocaine overdose.  Investigators though did look into the possibility that Gino was the victim of a drug-related homicide, but no one was ever arrested.  There are some who were involved with WCCW that still believe Hernandez was murdered.

It was 1986, long before Internet or Twitter could break such news.  Even though at the time I didn't like him because he was the heel, I was still sad that he was gone.  I looked forward to his feud with Chris Adams.  I wanted to see more of Gino Hernandez.  Twenty-eight is just too young to die.  I think had he lived, he'd a been a major player in the business.

Mania Memories: Iron Men

Iron Man match (WWE)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

By the time Wrestlemania 12 rolled around you just knew that Shawn Michaels was going to win the WWF heavyweight title from Bret Hart.  The two were scheduled for a 60 minute Iron Man Match, and when the bout ended after an hour with no one scoring a victory the crowd wondered what was going to happen.  Bret Hart, who had been through one helluva match grabbed his championship belt and headed back to the dressing room.  I guess he assumed the match would end in a draw (I know he really didn't think that).  The champ was met by then WWF President Gorilla Monsoon in the aisle who informed him the match must continue.

Sweet chin music (WWE)

So after going an hour, Bret and Shawn went a few more minutes before the Heartbreak Kid landed Sweet Chin Music and covered the exhausted Hitman for the pin.  It was the start of a new era for the WWF, or so we thought.  Shawn Michaels brought a little irreverence to the table.  He was a bad boy, even though he was a baby face.  He was Goofus to Bret Hart's Gallant (Google it if you don't get it)

Shawn's victory was impressive, but like I said, you knew it was coming.  The WWF had gone through great lengths producing video packages documenting Shawn's quest to fulfill his boyhood dream.  Sure enough on March 31, 1996 the kid from San Antonio, Texas did just that.  One thing I was really impressed with was his zip line entrance, in fact I found it so cool I tried to convince my then fiancé to have our church set one up for to enter our wedding ceremony.  My request was denied.

Warrior returns (WWE)

Wrestlemania 12 was the first to feature such a match.  It was also the Wrestlemania with the least amount of matches, only six.  This was still at a time when the company was struggling with keeping top tier talent in place.  Diesel and Razor Ramon were just months away from defecting to WCW.  "Oldtimers" like Jake "the Snake" Roberts and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper were brought in as well, and after a nearly four year absence, the Ultimate Warrior returned to the WWF, beating Triple H (who had Sable in his corner before she left him for Marc Mero)

The Undertaker kept his streak alive by soundly beating Diesel.  But as I mentioned he was on his way out, so this outcome came as no surprise.  The Bodydonnas won the tag team titles in a Free for All match before the pay per view.  This was a tournament final, but honestly I can not remember why the previous champs were stripped of the belts or lost them in the first place.  I do remember they beat the Godwins, again this was a lean time for talent in the WWF.

Brawlin' (WWE)

Steve Austin wasn't quite Stonecold yet, but got the win over Savio Vega.  Vader teamed up with the British Bulldog and Owen Hart to beat the odd combo of Ahmed Johnson, Yokozuna, and Jake the Snake.  And in probably the second most memorable match of the night, Piper beat Goldust in a Hollywood Backlot brawl.  The match had some crazy spots outside, including Piper getting hit by a car, Goldust being choked with a baseball bat, and archived footage of the OJ Simpson bronco chase (don't ask).  It all ended back in the ring with Piper stripping Dustin's golden suit to reveal lingere, ala Dr. Frank n Furter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Goldust was the Intercontinental champion, but the title wasn't on the line as Piper ended up the victor here.

Notably missing from the card, former IC champ Razor Ramon.  The 123 Kid (Sean Waltman) was also not on the show.  I don't know if the two had been suspended or were hurt, as I remember them both being on the following month's pay per view prior to their departure for WCW.  So not only would the company lose Ramon, Kid, and Diesel, but Bret Hart ended up taking a hiatus for several months after Wrestlemania 12.  It was truly a time for developing new talent, and the returns of Warrior and Roberts just didn't cut it.  We saw a minor push for Vader, Johnson, and Mero who debuted right after the event.

What are your thoughts on Wrestlemania 12?  Did you enjoy the Iron Man match?  Post your comments here or on Facebook.

Mania Memories: The Ultimate Battle

Passing the torch? (WWE)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

I will talk more about this in a future video on My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube, but since I'm going in order with my Mania Memories blogs, I figured I'd write about it too.  I think Wrestlemania 6 may (and I repeat may) have had the biggest main event in the history of the extravaganza.  I'll go into further details in the vlog, so save your comments for then.

Hulk Hogan vs. the Ultimate Warrior was the first time the WWF ever pitted two baby faces against each other in the main event of Wrestlemania.  It was also the first time (I believe) that there was a title vs. title match.  I know in the past world champs had faced Intercontinental champs, but only the world title was on the line.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Wrestlemania 6

Back then I was a much bigger Hulkamanic than Warrior fan.  I can say that has since changed.  While the contest between the two won't be remembered as a scientific classic, it was an attempt to change the guard. Depending on who you believe, Vince McMahon was looking for a new torch bearer.  He evidently thought the Warrior was the guy to do it.  And let's be honest folks, the Warrior may not have been the best in the ring, but he was a great showman.  He was dedicated to the character and had a lot of intensity.  He still does today, watch him on YouTube if you don't believe me.

However, Warrior in the driver's seat didn't last long and Hogan came back from Hollywood and was soon again on top.  One thing I never  understood though was why they didn't book the rematch for Wrestlemania 7.  Like I said, it wasn't a scientific matchup by any stretch of the imagination, but it would have been a better main event than Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter.  But that's for another post.

Collosal Connection vs. Demolition

Other significant events at Wrestlemania 6, it was the last Wrestlemania wrestling appearance for Andre the Giant.  He and Haku (the Collesial Connection) lost the tag team titles to Demolition.  Andre turned face afterwards, but never really wrestled in a WWF ring again.  I know he had a match in Japan shortly after that incident, and I think that was pretty much it for the big man.  He died less than three years later.

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper also made his Wrestlemania return at 6.  He battled Bad News Brown to a double count out while painted half black.  It's still one of those moments that stands out to me when I think back on the history of Wrestlemania.  This mania also marked the first pinfall loss on TV for Mr. Perfect.  Brutus Beefcake defeated Curt Hennig, who would soon go on to win the IC title that the Warrior would have to forfeit.

Liz joins the celebration (WWE)

Dusty Rhodes wrestled in his only Wrestlemania at this one too.  He and Sapphire beat Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri in a mixed gender tag match and Big Bossman beat his former partner Akeem in a really quick match that I thought would have gotten more time due to the fact that they were once friends.  The feud that started a year earlier between Jake the Snake Roberts and Ted DiBiase also came to a close at this event as well.  I always thought the two of them worked well together.

What are your memories of Wrestlemania 6?  Share them here or on our Facebook wall.

Black History Month: Bad News Brown

Bad News Brown

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

My first memories of Bad News Brown are actually when he was Bad News Allen and wrestling in Stampede for Stu Hart.  I had never actually seen him wrestle, but I read about him in magazines like "The Wrestler" and "Pro Wrestling Illustrated."

Then in early 1988 he entered the WWF.  Same bad ass look, but with a new last name.  Allen became Brown.  I'm not exactly sure why, but he had a real mean streak.   One of his first appearances (it may have been his debut) he won the battle royal at Wrestlemania.  He and Bret Hart teamed up to eliminate the Junkyard Dog, then Brown turned on Hart and nailed him with his finisher, "The Ghetto Blaster" and tossed him out of the ring.  With the victory came a giant trophy that Hart smashed into bits, thus setting up a feud with Brown.  Bad News went over in the battles they had, which was sorta surprising to me considering what Bret came to accomplish in his career.

Like I mentioned, Brown was billed as a tough guy and a loner, never being able to get along with his Survivor Series teams.  If memory serves me correctly, he walked out on both his teams in 1988 and 89.

Brown vs. Piper

Besides the time against Bret Hart, other notable feuds Bad News Brown had included a brief battle with Randy Savage for the WWF title.  Brown and Hogan also had some heated contests.  At Wrestlemania 5, Brown and Hacksaw Duggan had a fight for the ages.  They battled to a double DQ, and at the end of the match, Duggan ended up with a big snot rocket in his beard.  Jesse Ventura nearly puked doing the commentary.

But for me, one of the most memorable moments of his career came at Wrestlemania 6.  He and Roddy Piper were feuding after things got out of hand between the two at the 1990 Royal Rumble.  Brown believed Piper was a racist in the storyline and to prove that color didn't matter to him, Piper wrestled with half his body painted black.  It was a site to behold, and only fueled the fire for Bad News.  The two wrestled to a double count out.

Later that summer Brown engaged in a feud with Jake "the Snake" Roberts, promising to bring his sewer rats out to take care of Jake's snake Damien.  I don't remember there ever actually being a rat, maybe just a picture, but I could be wrong on that account.  Shortly after their match at SummerSlam, Brown left the company.  He stayed on the indy scene for a while before retiring in 1999.

Sadly, Brown died in 2007 of a heart attack.  He was 63 years old.  While he didn't gain the gold in the WWF, he did get a lot of notoriety playing the role of Bad News Brown, and the man behind the character, Alllen Coage was an accomplished Judo star.  He won the bronze medal for the U.S. Olympic team in 1976.  More than 30 years later, he's the only American heavyweight to have won a medal in Judo. (That's according to Wikipedia)

What If: Austin 3:16

Austin 3:16

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart on Twitter

Since Kevin is busy with his Black History Month series, and since there’s not much going on in the current world of wrestling that has me motivated to hammer out 1,000 words on a daily basis, I’ve decided to resurrect a previous concept around here, the What If?  This week I’m going to look at different scenarios that changed the wrestling landscape and how the world of wrestling as we know it may not exist if events played out differently.

The first installment involves an ad-libbed throwaway line that help usher in the biggest boom period in wrestling over the last 25 years. A line that, had booking plans not been changed, may have never been uttered.

The day was May 19, 1996. The location was Madison Square Garden. On the show that day, Razor Ramon battled Hunter Hearst Helmsley in an undercard match while the main event was a steel cage battle between Diesel and WWF Champion, Shawn Michaels. After the main event was over, with Shawn successfully defending his title, Razor Ramon came to the ring to celebrate with the champion. The reason for the celebration was this was the last WWF appearance for Scott “Razor Ramon” Hall and Kevin “Diesel” Nash. About two weeks later, Scott Hall would show up on WCW’s Monday Nitro program, followed a few weeks later by Kevin Nash in the start of the nWo angle.

The Kliq says goodbye

Shortly after Razor entered the ring, Hunter came out to celebrate as well and Diesel joined in the celebration.  It was no secret the four men were friends outside the ring, but this was when the Internet was still in its infancy and wrestling still was mostly presented as “real.”  Therefore seeing both good guys and bad guys celebrating in the ring was a shocking event. After footage of the incident got out to the public, Vince McMahon decided someone had to be punished for the incident. Hall and Nash were on their way out of the company, Shawn Michaels was the top guy, and the punishment fell on the shoulders of Triple H.

At the time, Hunter was being positioned to be pushed up the card and was penciled in for the finals of the King of the Ring tournament in June. Because his punishment led to Triple H being removed from the tournament someone else had to be put into the finals match. I don’t know who Triple H’s opponent was originally planned to be, but the final of the King of the Ring tournament eventually came down to Jake “The Snake” Roberts and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Austin, while a rising star in the company, had only a month before King of the Ring gotten rid of his manager, Ted Dibiase and was forging a career path of his own. 

Austin 3:16 is born!

After winning the tournament, during his coronation speech, Austin brought up Jake’s newfound Christianity by mocking Jake.  Talking about Jake quoting scripture, Austin now famously said, "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"  Austin 3:16 soon became synonymous with the WWF’s Attitude Era. The question is what would have happened had Austin not uttered this famous catchphrase?

Had Triple H not broke character and gone on to win King of the Ring as he was scheduled to do, what would have happened to Steve Austin? Without a victory over Jake Roberts, “Austin 3:16” wouldn’t have been said. Without that catchphrase for the fans to plaster on signs and WWF to make t-shirts of, would Austin have risen to be the most popular character of the Attitude Era?

I think the Attitude Era would have still happened due to it being directly influenced by ECW’s style and WCW’s rating dominance over WWF. However, I don’t know if Austin would have become the superstar he did.  Triple H’s ascent to the top was delayed a year due to his punishment. Without that hiccup, Triple H would have been higher up than Austin and could have possibly been put into the title match at Wrestlemania 14 so Shawn Michaels could pass the torch to his best friend. 

At the same time, Rocky Miavia was slowly morphing into The Rock. Even though Rocky and Austin feuded over the I-C title, had Austin not been in the position he was in after the King of the Ring, his side of the feud could have been given to someone higher up on the card. Austin could have been stuck in the mid-card waiting for the one spark to light and launch him to the next level.

Hart vs. Austin

At the same time, Austin might not have been put into the position of trash talking Bret Hart back into the WWF or being the antagonist to the Hart Foundation during the early half of 1997. No Hart Foundation feud means no match with Owen Hart at SummerSlam.  No match means Austin doesn’t suffer a stinger due to a botched piledriver and then doesn’t have the neck injury that leads to an early retirement.

Think about it, had Austin not coined “Austin 3:16,” there’s a possibility Austin would be healthy enough to face CM Punk at Wrestlemania

I really think had “Austin 3:16” not been coined, the Attitude Era would have been different and Austin, while still becoming a star, wouldn’t have gone above the number 5 spot on the roster, if that high. I attended a house show the week before King of the Ring. The third match on the show was Austin vs. Duke “The Dumpster Droese.  Austin came out first to a smatter of applause. Even after the match was over most fans were more interested in when the Smoking Gunns were going to fight instead of cheering or booing Austin.

That's the bottom line!

The bigger question than where Austin would have ended up on the card is how his non-star would have affected the wrestling landscape. WCW would have eventually self-imploded due to egos and bad booking but would WWF have been able to draw a significant amount of fans away from WCW? I don’t think so. I think the Monday Night Wars would have fizzled out. While The Rock became a bona fide superstar, and Mick Foley has success on the literary charts, neither they nor Undertaker nor Triple H had the same level of mainstream popularity as Steve Austin. Without that popularity to draw in casual fans, WWF would basically be where WWE is right now. Successful enough to be profitable but not cool enough to be popular.

That’s my123cents on a fantasy scenario. What do you think? Would wrestling have suffered without Steve Austin’s famous quote? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Royal Rumble: A Giant Exit

Andre leaves the Rumble

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger

Another one of my favorite Royal Rumble moments comes from the 1989 event.  It involves Andre the Giant.  And since today is the 19 year anniversary of his death, I thought I'd share it with you.  By this point in his career Andre was a broken man.  He was nearing the end of his career and had just entered into a feud with Jake "the Snake" Roberts.

Andre plods around the ring for a while avoiding being eliminated from the match.  He tossed a few guys out, including "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin and Roberts.  Jake eventually returns to the ring after several minutes and slides Damian into the ring.  The story line at the time had Andre deathly afraid of snakes, so once he got a look at the reptile, he jumped over the top rope, eliminating himself from the competition.

It happens in this clip, it just takes a little while to get to it, but it's worth the wait.  Enjoy some old school rumble.

Once Bitten

The snake bites back

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

I know I'm a couple of days late on this, but I'm plum out of ideas right now, so I'm digging into the archives for this one.  November 23, 1991 that Jake "the Snake" Roberts commanded his pet cobra to sink his fangs into the arm of "Macho Man" Randy Savage.  It happened on WWF Superstars.  Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper watched in horror doing the commentary after Roberts called Savage from the broadcast position. The lovely Elizabeth was helpless outside the ring.  Watch for yourself if you've never seen it, or relive the experience.

Savage had been "retired" at the time, after losing to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7.  He spent his time on commentary with Vince and Piper in the meantime.  Once Savage got to the ring though, he was attacked by the Snake and wrapped up in the ropes.

Jake then pulls out the cobra and allows it to bite Savage.  The WWF flashed a large red X with the word censored across it.  The only other time I remember them censoring something like that was when Ron Bass sliced and diced Brutus Beefcake's head with a pair of spurs a couple years prior.

No censoring here.

The cobra incident was one of those defining moments in WWF Superstars history, because back then very little happened on the show, as most of the matches were squash ones.  It lead to a great feud between Savage and Roberts as Macho Man finally got reinstated to wrestle.  The incident also lead to the eventual face turn of the Undertaker.

While it was one of those "it can only happen in wrestling" type of moments, it was one that has stuck in my memory ever since.  I was in college at the time, so it's a lot easier for me to remember those types of things.  About a year later WCW tried to relive the incident when Roberts wrestled Sting in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match at Halloween Havoc '92.  It had been too closely associated with the first attack, and took away from the event WCW was putting on.

Who remembers this incident?  Post your comments here or on Facebook or Twitter.  Also, subscribe to My 123 Cents on YouTube.  Thanks!

Boo: Spin the Wheel...

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

Wow, what a difference a couple of years make in terms of a WCW pay per view.  Halloween Havoc 1992 had a lot of old faces from WWF in the event.  The show opened with Tony Schiavone and Bruno Sammartino running down the matches.  Then Jesse Ventura and Jim Ross were doing the play by play.  I had forgotten Jesse was a part of WCW so early on.

I should also note that this was a definite transition year for WCW.  Of course Ric Flair had been gone from the company for more than a year at this point.  But he'd be returning soon from the WWF.  Secondly, Lex Luger was out of the picture.  It was a little odd missing these two WCW mainstays.

Sting of course was, and is considered the poster boy for WCW.  This PPV was centered around he and Jake "the Snake" Roberts' Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match.  And once again, this was another cheesy gimmick by WCW.  The set for the wheel spinning reeked of low quality.  It was like a goofy 70's game show meets B Horror film.  Plus Sting's reaction to it all seemed exaggerated.  Anyway, Sting had to spin a wheel that looked like a big buzzsaw blade.  There were 12 options, and where ever the wheel stopped, that was the type of match the two would have.

Where's Vanna?

The wheel stopped on Coal Miner's Glove match.  I think prior to this event, I had no idea what a Coal Miner's glove match entailed.  I wonder if this was planned, or if it was a legit spin.  They had all kinds of props on standby depending on where the wheel would land.  A pole was put up with a coal miner's glove on the top.  Allegedly the glove was lined in steel.  And we're reminded again, this match is not sanctioned by WCW.  Does that really matter?  Nah.  But it's all good.

That's going to leave a mark

Pretty basic match between the two.  Jake hit a DDT, which I will still argue was the best in the business.  Sting did a pretty cool jump and spin on the pole.  He climbed for the glove, as Cactus Jack brought Jake's cobra to the ring.  But the cobra bit Jake in the face, helping Sting get the win.  Good Lord, it was a lame way to end the match.  The damn glove was never even a factor in the match.  The snake biting was pretty silly.  The WWF did something similar a year earlier with Roberts' cobra biting Randy Savage.

Ron Simmons vs. the Barbarian

The WCW World title match was Ron Simmons defending against The Barbarian, in my opinion was pretty weak.  No offense to the Barbarian, but I would have never picture him as a contender, much less on one of the biggest PPVs of the year for the company.  A Ron Simmons-Cactus Jack match would have probably been a better draw.  In my opinion, this was just another way to undermine Simmons' title reign.  Weak opponents=weak champion...

Other Notes:

I love Jesse Ventura and JR together doing commentary.  Again, I'd never seen any Halloween Havocs before (except for '91) so these two together was a real treat.

Ricky Steamboat and Brian Pillman had an outstanding match.  Steamboat pinned Pillman, who was slowly turning heel at the time.

Big Van Vader completely dominated Nikita Koloff.  Vader was defending the U.S. for Rick Rude.

"Stunning" Steve Austin teamed up with Dr. Death Steve Williams as a sub for Terry Gordy against Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham.  Match ended in a draw.  It's fun watching these guys in the pre Stone Cold and Goldust.

Paul E. Dangerously fired Madusa from the Dangerous Alliance.  She then proceeded to kick his ass on the stage.

Rude vs. Chono (From WWE)

Despite that firing, Madusa joined Rick Rude as he beat Masahiro Chono by disqualification in a match for the NWA title.  Each man got to pick a referee for the match.  Rude picked Harley Race (Vader's manager) and Chono had Kensuke Saski.  Let me just say, I really, really miss the Ravishing One.   Rest in Peace.

I watched a condensed version of the PPV, but I will say many of the matches were pretty long.  Some over 20 minutes, the tag match went 30.  These guys were able to tell great stories, Rude-Chono and Pillman-Steamboat come to mind immediately.  There wasn't a whole lot of gimmicky, cheesiness on this event like previous Havocs.  (Of course the Spin the Wheel is the exception here)  The undercard definitely outshined the two "main events" of the evening.

Wild Wrestling Federation

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
(Photos are from WWE.)

Part of the big boom of wrestling in the 1980's was the fact that Vince McMahon was trying to make the product more kid friendly.  If you think the PG environment today "sucks" (I do not), then you really would have hated the 80's.  This formula meant the use of all kinds of cartoony characters and larger than life gimmicks.  Real live animals also became a part of the show.

Perhaps the most famous wrestling animal (okay, he never wrestled, but you know what I mean) was Jake "the Snake" Roberts' pet python Damien.  When Jake arrived in the WWF in 1986, he was a dastardly dude.  He would knock out his opponent with the dreaded DDT.  Then after the match, he would open up his green sack and dump Damien onto his unconscious opponent.  Sometimes he would even stick the snake's head in the knocked out man's mouth.  The fans of course where horrified by these actions and would boo the Snake even more.

Andre doesn't like snakes

Then Jake turned baby face and fans would applaud the actions.  It seemed all of his opponents had a phobia of snakes.  This included the 500 plus pound Andre the Giant, who apparently was so afraid of snakes that he had a mock heart attack in the middle of the ring on a Saturday Night's Main Event back in 1988.  Then Andre eliminated himself from the 1989 Royal Rumble when Damien was slid into the ring by Roberts.  Others who were afraid of the snake included Big Bossman (who refused to retrieve the Million Dollar Belt from the bag, hence turning him face), "Ravishing" Rick Rude, and the Honky Tonk Man.  Earthquake was even so afraid of snakes that he delivered his patented splash to the bag containing Damien while Jake was tied up in the ropes.  Quake then served up "Snake Burgers" on an episode of Prime Time Wrestling.

Cobra attack!

It wasn't long after that incident that Roberts returned to his dastardly ways.  This time he sprung a snake attack on the Ultimate Warrior.  Then he held a cobra as it sank its "fangs" into the arm of a tied up "Macho Man" Randy Savage.  This action cemented Roberts as the most hated man in all of wrestling in 1991 and is still one of the most memorable things to happen on the old WWF Superstars show.

Snake vs. Dragon

Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat used fire to fight fire so to speak with Jake.  Actually it was reptile to fight reptile. Steamboat was feuding with Roberts at the time and he used a small alligator in some of his matches.  If I remember correctly though, the gator was only used briefly and mostly during just the matches against Roberts.  It's a good thing Skinner wasn't around when this feud was happening...

The Bulldogs, happy together

The British Bulldogs were my favorite tag team back then, and still remain in my top 5 of all time.  Part of their gimmick included the use of a bulldog of course.  Matilda was the beloved sidekick for this team.  She would chase evil managers around the ring prior to a match.  I can remember her nipping at the heels of Slick, Jimmy Hart, and Bobby "the Brain" Heenan.  And it was Heenan who took exception to this and he and his Islanders dog napped the pooch.  The dog was so popular that the WWF started a campaign for fans to send letters of support for the dog.  The company was also able to market a plush version of Matilda.

The kidnapping set up a feud between the Islanders and the Bulldogs and culminated with a six man tag team match at Wrestlemania 4, with Heenan dressed as a dog catcher to protect himself from the dog.  The heel team even went over that night, and the Bulldogs soon left the company.

Davey Boy and Winston

Then when Davey Boy Smith returned on his own in 1991, he brought a new pooch.  This time it was Winston, but I don't remember him being around too long.  However, there was an episode of Prime Time when Heenan nabbed him and it was all caught on tape.  DBS took care of business right there that night in the studio.

The Birdman

Koko B. Ware was much milder with his pet bird Frankie.  Dubbed the "Birdman", Koko came to the ring dressed in bright colors, just like his beloved mascot.  Fans would flap their arms like a bird when Koko came out and would celebrate with him when he won a match.  I don't recall anything bad ever happening to Frankie in terms of storylines, nor do I recall Frankie ever doing anything hurtful to anyone.  Sadly though, Frankie did perish in a house fire at Koko's home several years ago.

These are the animals that immediately came to mind when this idea was presented to me (thanks Chad).  I'm sure there are others that I've forgotten. Al Snow's dog Pepper during the Attitude Era ended up as dinner for the Big Bossman.  There were also Bad News Brown's sewer rats during his feud with Jake, but I don't recall ever seeing a rat.  And I recall someone riding a horse to the ring, at least briefly, but I don't remember who.

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