Taking off the gloves: Ali belongs in WWE Hall of Fame

Some of the stars of WrestleMania

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Full disclaimer, I have no idea if Ali was opposed to going in or if there's some other reason for him not being inducted.

I'm not complaining for the sake of complaining with this post. It's something I've felt strongly about for a long time, even documenting here on the blog. Muhammad Ali should have been one of the first inductees into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. 

For years, some fans have complained about the celebrity wing arguing that Donald Trump got in before "Ravishing" Rick Rude. A long time ago I accepted the fact that the celebrity wing and the wrestling wing are separate. And when you consider WWE is a sports entertainment company, it makes sense why they have celebrities involved.

Back to my original point... In 2004 when WWE really reintroduced fans to the Hall of Fame and inducted Pete Rose, the reasoning made sense. Rose's exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame was hot news at the time and his WWE HOF induction made headlines in main stream media outlets. The next year the principles from the first WrestleMania were inducted. Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff and Bob Orton were all a part of that original main event. Since Mr. T wasn't in that class, it would have been the perfect time to add Ali (or Cyndi Lauper).

Hogan and Ali
Courtesy: WWE

Every year WWE inducts at least one wrestler, manager or announcer posthumously. They've never done that with a celebrity. I can't imagine that they would either because the point of the celebrity has always been the appeal of someone fans don't normally see at these events being a part of the show. I could be (and I hope I am) wrong about that. Ali's daughter Laila has plenty of crossover appeal and could accept on behalf of her father.

Inoki vs. Ali

Ali's history with WWE and wrestling is quite rich. He was in a boxer vs. wrestler match in Tokyo against Antonio Inoki in 1976. The buildup to that included a confrontation with Gorilla Monsoon and in ring promos with manager "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Ali was the guest enforcer referee during the main event of WrestleMania. He worked as a second for The Snowman in Mid-South as he battled Jake "The Snake" Roberts. He also appeared at WCW's Halloween Havoc in 1994.

Ali and Andre, what a pair

So obviously he has been involved enough with the business and has a high profile stature that should have put him in ahead of the likes of Drew Carey and Snoop Dog. But maybe I'm sounding like the fans who gripe that the Bushwhackers are in but not the Midnight Express...

Old guys yelling at clouds

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter
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Kevin has recently taken to using a Simpsons reference whenever I criticize/complain about something. He refers to a throwaway newspaper picture of Grandpa Simpson with the caption, “old man yells at clouds.” It’s actually annoying because it’s a go to phrase. At least he’s stopped saying, “too soon.” I’ve decided to take Kevin’s love of that phrase and turn it into a weekly segment.

The intent is to find people who complain about something and take them to task for it and not to be the old man yelling at the clouds. The first installment looks at recent Twitter comments made by wrestling veteran Vader towards a New Japan match between Ricochet and Will Ospreay. Vader had the following to say about the match.

Before I saw Vader’s tweet, I saw another tweet that included a 30-second GIF from the match. Based on the GIF, I was inclined to agree with Vader. The acrobatics of Ricochet and Ospreay, while impressive, highlighted an aspect of independent wrestling that has been slowly pushing me away as a fan for the past few years. I can appreciate the talent and athleticism involved however when a wrestling match looks more like a ballet than a fight. For me, if a match looks too choreographed it takes me out of the action and there’s no emotional impact. Instead of wanting to see who can win the match, I’m simply watching to see who can do the most impressive flip. Whether Vader’s criticism contributed or if it was their plan from the beginning, New Japan put the entire match up on YouTube for free.

After watching the entire match, I still think there are some valid complaints to be made. However, my initial skepticism of the match was unfounded. The original GIF was from the first two minutes of the match. In context it comes off as the evolution of the counter-counter- stand off moves Jerry Lynn and Rob Van Dam were doing in ECW in the late ‘90s. After that segment the match progressed into a wrestling match. Granted, a wrestling match filled with more flips and insane counters than any match involving Vader.

If you haven’t seen the match, I’d suggest you watch it and make up your own mind. Is it a competitive wrestling match or is it a perfect example of what Lance Storm once said would be justification for including professional wrestling as an Olympic sport. Is it a fight or figure skating without ice? I don’t know if Vader saw the whole match or just the GIF. If Vader had not watched the whole match before tweeting, I hope he’s taken the time to watch it and would be curious to know if he had the same opinion. If he had seen the whole match, I think he’s failed to understand wrestling has changed since he was running wild and getting his eye popped out of his head by Stan Hansen.

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. In this case, my opinion is Vader was yelling at clouds.

Kit Kats from Japan

Kit Kat bars from Japan

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

My family recently had a chance to treat our sweet teeth with some candy from Japan.  My wife's friend visited her native country over Christmas and brought back five different kinds of Kit Kat candy bars for us to try.

Kit Kat bars there come in many different flavors.  Apparently it's a regional thing there, and there are dozens of different kinds.  We sampled wasabi, green tea, rum raisin, strawberry, and strawberry cheesecake.  Believe it or not, the green tea was my favorite.  I thought the sweeter flavors might have been better.

My kids like the strawberry and my wife preferred the rum raisin.  Click this video to see our reactions.

Boo: Getting Misty

Kabuki vs. Jimmy Valiant
Photo by WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

When I was a kid World Class Championship Wrestling was one of my favorite things to watch.  I'm not talking just wrestling, but TV in general.  WCCW featured some of the best talent and I seemed to connect more with the product than I did with the WWF in those early days.

One of the many characters to come through Texas, included the Japanese superstar The Great Kabuki.  While he was no giant or a muscled monster, there was something creepy about Kabuki.  Maybe it was his face paint, or maybe it was the way manager Gary Hart had trouble controlling his charge, but Kabuki was one of the most intimidating guys on the roster.

In addition to the long hair, pre-match masks, and face paint, Kabuki was the first wrestler to blow that mysterious green mist into the eyes of his opponent.  Because of his association with Hart, Kabuki wrestled as a heel, but eventually he turned face.

Kabuki
Photo by WWE

He wrestled briefly in the NWA, again with Hart and was touted as the father of the Great Muta.  Kabuki spent most of his career overseas in Japan, but did do a spot at the 1994 Royal Rumble.  He was one of the henchmen who took out the Undertaker during his casket match with Yokozuna.  Kabuki also appeared in the Rumble match itself.  To my knowledge it was his only time in New York.

Although retired now, Kabuki shows up on list on the WWE's website from time to time.  It's good to see this interesting international star has not been forgotten.

Oh Lord (Tensai)

From WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Lord Tensai has been on WWE TV for the last two weeks.  I've got to assume he will be on Raw again this evening, making it a third time fans will get a look at the repackaged Prince Albert/A-Train superstar.  I'll be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Albert's back during his first stint with the WWE, teaming up with Droz and later Test and eventually even the Big Show before making a run as Intercontinental champion.

Tensai has spent the last few years mastering his craft in Japan.  From all the reports I've read on line he's had a lot of success overseas and has developed as a wrestler.  So far, I'm not 100% on board with this new character.  I haven't noticed a whole lot of differences yet.  That could be more apathy on my part than a lack of development by Tensai.

His first match on Raw a couple of weeks ago was a squash against Alex Riley.  Remember him?  He's the guy who beat the Miz last year about this time and was seemingly on his way up the ladder.  Looks like that's all but over now.  Then just last week, he destroyed Yoshi Tatusi.  In both matches Tensai won when the referee declared that his opponents were too incapacitated to continue.  I'm not sure how I feel about that either.  If he refuses to pin his opponent and keeps beating on them, wouldn't that warrant a disqualification?  Am I being too critical and reading too much into this?  Probably so.

Tensai destroys Riley (WWE)

Tensai means "disaster" in Japanese, and I get that is the whole point of these squash matches right now.  My concern at this point is what's the long term big picture look like?  And by that I mean even the next few months.  In a way, Tensai reminds me of the repackaged Jamal from Three Second Warning a few years ago.  Remember when Umaga came to the ring and just tore his opponents apart?

Some positive things about Lord Tensai, I like the fact that they are acknowledging he had a past with the WWE.  While I haven't heard them say Albert or A-Train, the commentary team has at least said he's wrestled in WWE before and went to Japan to hone his skills.  Secondly, I like the idea that this is another character type wrestler.  I personally am sick of the cookie cutter blue print of much of the current roster.  Many of the guys either wrestle under their real name or have a fictitious name that sounds real.  Not everyone has to be a character or a gimmick, but it's nice that they're adding more of that to the show.  I also like that he has a manager, another old school element that is missing from today's product.  I'll be curious if we ever actually hear from Sakamoto.  I'm not even sure if at this point it's safe to say he is Tensai's manager.  Only time will tell I suppose.

From WWE

Right now I don't see him climbing much higher than the mid card, but I could be wrong.  Sure he has the potential, but I don't know how long fans will want to endure squash match, after squash match with the big guy before they're hungry for something more.  It'll be interesting to see who he crosses paths in terms of a big time challenger.   I will admit though that I like the idea of a strong monster heel push.  I'm just not sure if Lord Tensai is the guy I'm ready to get behind.  Before I totally dismiss him, I'm going to give him some more time.

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