Mt. Rushmore: Gone Too Soon

By Kevin Hunsperger @kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter Listen to the podcast  Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Wrestling has had more than its share of losses through the years. This week, on the Mt. Rushmore blog, a look at four wrestlers who left us way too soon. Obviously, there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of wrestlers, announcers, and managers I wish were still with us. Also, I'd like to thank Jittery Monkey Podcasting Network founder Greg Mehochko for this idea. 

Kerry Von Erich was my first favorite pro wrestler. When I first saw him wrestle Ric Flair in late 1982 inside a steel cage, I was sold on pro wrestling. He and his brothers ruled the ring in World Class Championship Wrestling. In early 1984, big brother David died unexpectedly, and Kerry later beat Flair for the NWA Championship. That remains one of my favorite moments in wrestling.

He'd later wrestle for the WWF, and shortly after that run, he ended his own life. It was a tragic ending to a string of tragedies the Von Erich family faced. I remember reading the news of Kerry's death in the newspaper in my college library. Someone on my floor had told me the news, which I didn't believe. Remember, this was pre-internet, so I had to read all about it in the newspaper.  

Yes, Kerry battled demons. You'll see a few others on this list did as well. Kerry was only 33. I'd like to think he had at least another decade in him, had he stayed healthy. We have the legacy of his nephews, Marshall and Ross, and his daughter Lacey who have all contributed to the business. 

Eddie Guerrero is someone  I admittedly did not appreciate enough when he was alive. Yes, I thought he was an amazing wrestler. First, really seeing him in action in ECW. His time in WCW and WWE made him a household name. I never dreamed he'd be the man to beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, but he did it, and despite his brief reign, he made a lasting impression.

I was stunned when I went into work in 2005 and learned the news that Eddie had died. His star was still shining so brightly. At just 38, I figured he had at least another run or two as World Champion in him. I have no doubt he'd still be involved in the business in some capacity today. Viva La Raza!

Owen Hart's death may be the most tragic in wrestling history. I listened in shock to Jim Ross tell us that Owen had fallen and a short time later that he had died from his injuries. It made no sense, and I couldn't wrap my brain around it.

While wrestling as the Blue Blazer, Owen was likely to win the Intercontinental Championship the night of his death. There are plenty of stories that Owen had intended to retire from the ring in a few years. I believe had he lived and continued to wrestle, he would have had at least one run at the top of the mountain. 

Brian Pillman was someone that caught my eye during his time in Stampede. I read about him in the Apter mags, and a short time later, he ended up in WCW as Flyin' Brian. His character development was as amazing as his skills inside the ring.

I loved it when Brian showed up in the WWF in 1996 and looked forward to him being healthy enough to wrestle full-time again. In fact, I was in the crowd at In Your House Badd Blood in St. Louis in October 1997. However, they never announced to the crowd that Pillman had died, just that the match wasn't happening. I got the news the next morning after calling a wrestling hotline. I was crushed.

I'm happy to see Brian Pillman, Jr. is tearing it up in the ring. I have no doubt his father is smiling down and so very proud.  

As far as honorable mentions, I have to add Gino Hernandez and Brodie Lee to the conversation. I hated Gino when I was a kid as he was a huge foil for the Von Erichs, but I know he was a great performer with the benefit of hindsight, and I believe he would have been a huge star in WCW or WWE eventually. And we just lost Brodie Lee last year as he seemed to reach new heights of popularity in the ring. His potential was finally being realized at the time of his death.

It is hard saying goodbye to our heroes. They're gone but not forgotten. 

VIDEO: Go Figure Friday: Kerry Von Erich

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By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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This week's Go Figure Friday commemorates the anniversary of Kerry Von Erich winning the NWA World Title from Ric Flair in 1984. Kerry is one of my all-time favorites and in 1990 when he jumped to WWE (F) I was all in.

While there, Hasbro made an action figure of the Texas Tornado. I've had mine for years and decided to 'let him breathe' in this video. 

AUDIO: Analyzing the AWA's SuperClash III

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By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Thirty years ago this month the AWA held its one and only pay-per-view event. SuperClash III was held on Dec. 13, 1988, and featured a unification match between AWA World Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler and WCCW World Champion Kerry Von Erich.

This week for the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast Minnesota native Bob Schulte joined me to discuss the show and the highs and lows of the AWA.  You can listen here.

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Improving past Survivor Series teams

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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When Survivor Series made its debut in 1987 I was instantly hooked. I loved the concept, 'teams of five strive to survive.' I hated it when the WWF tweaked the format in 1992 and started moving away from the elimination matches. Through the years they've done different things with the show but to me, the best events are the ones with those matches.

That being said, I've decided to make today's blog a fantasy booking one where I replace one member of a team to make that unit more strong. Obviously, I'm not going to hit each year or every match but just a few here. Let me know what you think and how you'd change previous Survivor Series teams.

Courtesy: WWE

In 1987 there were three glaring omissions to me from Survivor Series. Ted DiBiase, The Ultimate Warrior and the Junkyard Dog. I understand wanting to save DiBiase and have him make a bigger impact. I'll even give it for the Warrior too. However, JYD had been a long time staple in WWF and would have fit well into the show. So no disrespect to Ken Patera, but I'd replace him with the Dog. Patera's second run as a face was lackluster. I believe JYD would have added some charisma to Hulk Hogan's team of Don Muraco, Paul Orndorff and Bam Bam Bigelow.

Courtesy: WWE

When 1990's event rolled around, I'd argue the "Macho King" Randy Savage was among the top heels in the company. However, he wasn't even on the card. At least he didn't wrestle. If I remember correctly, he and Queen Sherri cut a promo that night. However, I would have made The Perfect Team more perfect by adding some royalty. Savage, along with Mr. Perfect and Demolition (Ax and Smash with Crush on the outside) would have been a better foursome. I would still use Ax even though he was being phased out and close to leaving. However, he and Smash were the better form of Demolition and one of WWE's most iconic duos. 

Courtesy: WWE

A year later I would have done some swapping around on the card, not removing anyone. I'm a huge Kerry Von Erich fan and his appearance in 1991 was in a hodgepodge match, teaming with El Matador, Hacksaw Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter. The faces all survived and beat Hercules, Skinner, Col. Mustafa and The Berzerker. I would have put Texas Tornado in a higher profile contest with Roddy Piper, Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith. That would move Virgil to the team with Duggan and company. 

Also in 91, I can't remember why, but for some reason, Sid Justice and Jake "the Snake" Roberts were pulled from their respective teams. Justice was to lead Big Bossman and the Legion of Doom into battle against Jake, IRS and the Natural Disasters. Instead, we got a three-on-three elimination match which actually went on last that night. I guess that was so fans didn't leave upset with Hogan dropping the WWF Championship to the Undertaker. Like I said, I don't remember the reason for the change but it would have been a much better match if the two captains had remained involved. 

Courtesy: WWE

Shawn Michaels was the last minute replacement for Jerry "the King" Lawler to face the Hart Family in 1993. Lawler's partners were all 'knights' from his roundtable. I get the reasoning for that because it fit the gimmick. However, when Lawler was pulled from the show and HBK put in his place, the knights should have been scrapped too. As cheesy this sounds, they could have kept the 'knights' under masks and just called them Hartbreakers. Remember the team they're facing and Shawn's heartbreak kid gimmick was peaking here.  

What are your thoughts? Share here or on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page. 

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Kerry Von Erich: 'I must break you.'

Kerry Von Erich as Ivan Drago?

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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You never know what you're going to come across on the world wide web. I recently saw a post in a Facebook group I'm a part of called 'The Von Erichs' that stated Kerry Von Erich was one of three men considered for the role of Ivan Drago in the iconic film Rocky IV. I've been a fan of pro wrestling since the early 80s and had never heard this story. I did some searching and found that one of the other contenders for the role, Nikita Koloff confirmed the story.

The role eventually went to Dolph Lungren. But how cool would it have been for Kerry to have won the part? I'm a self-confessed KVE mark. It was his match against Ric Flair inside a steel cage in 1982 that helped hook me on wrestling. My fandom for him never wavered. I can admit Kerry wasn't the greatest on the mic. However to think that he could have been in my favorite film of the Rocky franchise would have been amazing.

In doing the research for this post, I found an interview with Koloff who explained why Kerry didn't get the role. Simply put, it sounds like he wasn't prepared at the audition. I find it interesting a wrestler from the NWA and World Class Championship Wrestling were under consideration and not a WWF Superstar. Remember just a few years earlier, Hulk Hogan was a small part of Rocky III. Some would argue that move is what helped put Hulkamania on the map. 

 

I wonder how life for Kerry or Nikita would have changed inside the ring. Drago is an iconic movie villain. Rocky IV is the highest grossing film of the franchise, making more than $300 million worldwide. One would have to assume Vince McMahon would have loved that kind of publicity in his company, snatching up either Von Erich or Koloff much like he did with Hogan during the publicity for Rocky III. 

We all know Kerry eventually went to the WWE but not until 1990. Koloff never made it up north, but he would have been a great foil for Hulkamania as the mighty Russian heel. I've fantasy booked Kerry in the WWF before so I won't repeat myself here. 

Kerry did have a small role in the film Problem Child, something I learned years after the fact. He had the look but could he have done the role of Ivan Drago justice on the big screen? We'll never know but it's fun to think of where his career would have gone had he gotten the part.

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What if Hulk Hogan never existed?

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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First, credit where credit is due. Tom and Jason Skull tackle the topic of Hulk Hogan not existing and who would Vince McMahon have picked to lead the way for his expansion of sports entertainment. You can listen to all of their picks on this week's SkullBuster WrestleCast here. I agree with most of their ideas but when I saw the headline for the show one name stood out to me immediately and that's Kerry Von Erich.

Kerry vs. Flair (1982)

I've professed my fandom for Kerry numerous times here on the blog and on the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. His 1982 steel cage match against Ric Flair is one of the moments that hooked me and made me a fan. Yes, he ruled Texas but could have ruled the world and taken pro wrestling to the next level. Here's why I believe that...

Kerry as NWA Champion

Back in 1984, Hulk Hogan beat the Iron Sheik for the WWF Championship. A few months later, Kerry pinned Flair at Texas Stadium to win the NWA World Championship. His reign only lasted 18 days. But fans clearly loved Kerry and voted him Pro Wrestling Illustrated's 'Most Popular Wrestler' that year. I believe those awards were legitimately selected by readers of the magazine (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). The match against Flair was also voted 'Match of the Year'. 

The Hulkster

So that being said, there's no doubt McMahon and the machine could have propelled Kerry even further into Superstardom. Hogan had been back in the WWF less than a month when he pinned Sheik for the title. Kerry could have easily started at that same time frame and pulled off the victory. That's not to say Hogan only made his success based on McMahon's marketing. It was a team effort, coupled with the right mix of opponents for Hogan like Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff and Bob Orton in the early days. 

Kerry had the look. His physique was phenomenal. He was young. Had he beat Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden in January 1984, he would have been champ at age 23. Hogan was 30. Kerry's mic skills weren't great and he wasn't as large a personality as Hogan. However, I think some of those skills could have been taught along the way or even prior to the victory at MSG.

Kerry vs. One Man Gang

Kerry faced guys like Kamala, One Man Gang and Terry Gordy in World Class Championship Wrestling and slammed all of them. Hogan battled many of these same monster heels in WWF. Because I saw him first and became a fast fan, Kerry was always the bigger deal to me than Hogan. He could do no wrong, but I know that wasn't always the case.

Kerry had a problem with addiction. I never noticed it impeding his ability. Imagine had he had all of those problems in check how much more potential he would have had. Perhaps outside of Texas and under the WWF/Titan Sports umbrella he could have and would have gotten the necessary treatment.

Kerry vs. Mr. Perfect
Courtesy: WWE

Eventually, Kerry did make it to New York. As the Texas Tornado, he had a short run as Intercontinental Champion. I'm bummed it didn't last longer than that. But I'm grateful he had a chance to shine on the grandest stage of all for a brief period of time.

A few others I could have seen in the role of Hogan; "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. He was a bit older but wildly popular prior to Vince Jr. taking over the WWF. Sgt. Slaughter and Junkyard Dog fall into a similar category. I won't name the other guy because he was a surprise pick mentioned in the podcast, so go listen.

Who are your choices and why? Weigh in here or on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page.

3 best cage match endings

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Pro wrestling has a rich history of steel cage matches. The endings to these contests often stay etched in the memory of fans. There are many great ones, but I've narrowed it down to my three favorites. Yes, the headline says best. But it's really my favorite. (These are in no particular order.)

1. Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair, Christmas Day 1982. This match stands out to me for a couple of reasons. It features two of my all-time favorites. It's also the very first match I remember watching as a young fan. I was nine years old and the Modern Day Warrior quickly captured my attention. 

Michael Hayes was serving as special guest referee. Terry Gordy stood guard outside the ring. Back then the Freebirds and the Von Erich brothers were allies. That changed on this night as Kerry could have taken advantage of Flair's misfortune with Hayes, Von Erich refused. This enraged Hayes and Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry's face. This set up Flair to get the win and started one of the greatest rivalries in pro wrestling history. 

Tie!

2. Hulk Hogan vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, January 1987. I was in eighth grade when this match happened on Saturday Night's Main Event. I was away for the weekend on a Boy Scout campout and could not wait to get home that Sunday afternoon to watch the show on VHS. 

I had been a Hulkamaniac since first seeing Hulk Hogan burst on the scene. However, in my rebellious teenage phase, I turned my back on the Hulkster and wanted "Mr. Wonderful" to win. And I thought he was going to. This is the cage match where both men dropped to the arena floor at the same time. Even in the instant replay, it was too close to call. I loved this ending but it didn't take long for the Hulkster to come back and retain the championship. 

3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon, February 1999. One of the hottest feuds of all-time is the Austin-McMahon rivalry. The two hated each other with a passion and put their hatred to the test inside a cage for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre event. The ending of this match is iconic too (obviously or I wouldn't be writing this). 

The debuting Big Show (aka Paul Wight) burst through the ring from underneath. He assaulted Austin and chucked the former champion into a wall of the cage. It came off and Austin slid to the floor to victory. It was one of the coolest finishes I can recall and it set up Big Show to be the newest monster on the WWE roster.

Obvious honorable mentions include Jimmy Snuka vs. Bob Backlund when "Superfly" leaped off the top of the cage. Big Bossman vs. Hulk Hogan and the superplex Hogan delivered on SNME. And Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff when Dusty came in to help Flair and the Horsemen turned on him and broke his ankle. 

What are your favorite cage match endings? Share here and be sure to see more steel cage action this Saturday night (May 26) at Pinckneyville High School as Stride Goes Steel in the 'Ville.

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Instead of Hart, how about Von Erich

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I suspect this will not be a popular post among some. It's part of my series of blogs looking at championship scenarios involving other Superstars. In no way am I saying Bret Hart should have never won the WWE Championship. I'm just offering an alternative. That being said, I should also mention that Kerry Von Erich is one of the first pro wrestlers I ever saw on TV and I credit him for hooking me as a lifelong fan.

Okay, now that the disclosures are out of the way, let's dig into this scenario... Of course for this to have worked, I'm basing it on Kerry being clean and sober and free of any demons. He had beaten Ric Flair in 1984 for the NWA Title. Repeating the act with the WWE Championship n 1992 would have been amazing. Kerry had the look for sure to be one of WWE's top guys. His mic skills weren't the greatest, but his work in the ring would have more than made up for that while developing his promo abilities.

Courtesy: WWE

Kerry could have lead the way for years to come. He was just 32 years old during this era of wrestling. Imagine him winning the gold and going on to face Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. Of course I would have loved for him to retain and go on to face Bret Hart at the next year's WrestleMania X and that's where Hart begins his run as champ. But I also don't think I would have avoided Yokozuna as WWE Champion all together. This also would change the return of Hulkamania and him winning the belt before heading to WCW.

For the sake of this plan, lets remove Hogan from the equation. I wasn't a fan of how that all went down anyway and for him to drop the belt back to Yokozuna anyway seemed kinda silly to me to have ever had Bret lose it. So Kerry loses to Yokozuna at WrestleMania XI. Yokozuna drops it back to him at SummerSlam. Kerry goes on to feud with "The Narcassist" Lex Luger, who co-wins the Royal Rumble with Hart. (There's no need for the All American gimmick and I liked heel Lex better anyway.)

Courtesy: WWE

WrestleMania X would still feature Bret vs. Owen and Kerry vs. Luger, with Kerry retaining and later going on to lose to Hart. Then Hart could have had a solid run through the rest of 1994. I previously wrote about putting the belt on Bulldog instead of Diesel. That could mesh in here, with Bulldog turning on Bret earlier than he did or simply having Bret vs. Shawn Michaels a year earlier at WrestleMania  XI and getting that rivilary off the ground.

Yes, hindsight is 20/20. There are plenty of things I've proposed that wouldn't have worked. Vince McMahon allegedly isn't a fan of face vs. face matches, so I'd imagine Kerry vs. Bret at WrestleMania would have been a hard sell anyway. However, I think this would have been a phenomonal match and a great way to book one of my all-time favorites.

Previous 'Instead of' blogs

Instead of Garvin, how about Windham?

Instead of Diesel, how about Bulldog?

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Seven things I love about WrestleMania VII

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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It's hard to believe WrestleMania VII went down 27 years ago today (March 24, 1991). I was a senior in high school and it's one of the first WrestleManias I watched live. I watched the first WrestleMania on closed-circuit later that evening and WrestleMania IV the same way but from the Kiel Center in downtown St. Louis. My buddy Jim had invited me over to watch VII and I still remember being so stoked to not have to watch to get a VHS copy of the show.

So since today is the anniversary, I figured I share some things I love about WrestleMania VII. 

7.  Bret Hart's solo career launches. Hart and his tag team partner Jim Neidhart lost the WWF Tag Team Championships that night to the Nasty Boys. It was pretty much the end of the Hart Foundation as Bret would get a huge push as a solo act and won the Intercontinental Championship at the company's next pay-per-view, SummerSlam 1991. They'd tried this a few years prior, but the Hitman and Anvil ended up reuniting. This time, however, Hart went full speed ahead as Neidhart joined forces with Owen Hart for a while. 

Courtesy: WWE

6. Blindfold match. The blindfold match between Rick Martel and Jake "The Snake" Roberts gets criticism from some fans. However, I enjoyed the hell out of it and the story that led to the match. Back in the early 90s, there were no Raw or monthly pay-per-views. WWF was able to build this story and let it simmer from the fall of 1990 all the way to the culmination in March 1991. 

5. Andre's swan song. I don't think anyone knew it, but WrestleMania VII would be Andre the Giant's last Mania. He died less than two years later and even at the event in Los Angeles. He wrestled a few more times after this. You probably recall Andre didn't actually wrestle at Mania, just aided the Big Bossman in his match against Mr. Perfect.

Courtesy: WWE

4. The Streak is born. In 1991 no one had any idea that the Undertaker would still be showing up for WrestleMania in 2018. I had believed at that point that the gimmick would be around for a year or two and then fade away like so many of the other over the top cartoonish characters we'd come to see in the WWF. But much credit to Undertaker, Paul Bearer and WWE Creative for staying the course and creating one of the most iconic characters ever. The Streak was something of importance for more than two decades as well. 

3. Hulkamania ran wild again. Yes, I was a Hulkamaniac, even in high school. I couldn't stand the fact that Sgt. Slaughter was WWF Champion. It was great to see the belt back where it belonged (even though I had no problem with Warrior's run on top either).

2. Kerry Von Erich makes his WrestleMania debut. WrestleMania VII was Kerry's one and only Mania appearance. Growing up, I was a huge fan of his. When he signed with WWF in 1990 as the Texas Tornado I was excited to see him on the big stage. His run was solid despite having the personal demons he battled. His appearance at Mania was short and sweet, but he was victorious that night beating Dino Bravo.

1. "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior. This remains my personal favorite when it comes to WrestleMania matches. The emotion involved in it radiated through the TV that night. The end was amazing with Warrior, war paint smeared all over his face, pinned an exhausted Macho Man with one foot on his chest. Some criticized that move, but to me it was perfect. Then with Sherri turning on Savage and Elizbeth making the save made me pop. I loved Savage and Sherri together, but we all know he and Liz were meant to be.

So what are your favorite moments from that night? Share here or on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page.

My favorite Kerry Von Erich moments

Kerry Von Erich after winning the NWA Title

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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February 18, 2018, marks the 25 year anniversary of the death of Kerry Von Erich. Regular readers here know Kerry is one of my all-time favorites and growing up I ranked him higher than Hulk Hogan himself. Instead of focusing on his death though, I wanted to use this day to remember a few of my favorite Kerry Von Erich matches.

1. Without a doubt his winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship is not only my favorite Kerry Von Erich match but one of my all-time favorite matches. It features two of favorite wrestlers. Kerry fulfilled his promise to honor the life of his brother David that day. In front of a then-record crowd, Kerry battled the "Nature Boy" for just over 11 minutes before catching Flair with a backslide and winning the gold. 

I was 11 years old then and through the roof with excitement. Kerry's reign only lasted 18 days and I was deeply disappointed by the loss, but I viewed it as a huge accomplishment for Von Erich. He went on to appear on the covers of many wrestling magazines in the weeks that followed holding that ten pounds of gold. I collected those mags and hung posters featuring the "Modern Day Warrior" on the wall of my bedroom and even my locker at school. Less than a year later, I was fortunate enough to see a rematch between the two in St. Louis. Flair got himself disqualified. 

Texas Tornado vs. Mr. Perfect
Courtesy: WWE

2. Kerry stormed into the WWF in the summer of 1990 as the Texas Tornado. It was my senior year in high school and when he was placed in the Intercontinental Championship match against Mr. Perfect at that year's SummerSlam, I was stoked. After five minutes of action, Kerry pinned Perfect and was crowned the IC champ. 

Again, his title reign didn't last nearly as long as I had hoped it would. But he got the rub of hanging with The Ultimate Warrior on several occasions. I think had Kerry been in a different place in his personal life back then, his WWF tenure and championship run could have had more meaning than it did ultimately. 

Kerry Von Erich vs. Kamala

3. As I mentioned earlier, Kerry was to me what Hulk Hogan was to millions of fans. Before the Hulkster bodyslammed Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy or  One Man Gang for that matter, Kerry was performing these feats of strength. I remember vividly Von Erich battling Kamala on slamming him. I believe the announcer, Bill Mercer, said it was the first time the Ugandan Giant had been body slammed. I have no idea if that's true, but to me, it was a feat of superhuman strength. As the years passed, Kerry slammed other big men, including Gang. 

There are plenty of other fond memories I have of Kerry Von Erich. His feuds with the Freebirds, Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez are also among some of my favorites. There are too many instances in those battles to pick favorites. And I still think he should have won the battle with Jerry Lawler in the AWA Championship matches. What are some of your favorite moments of the "Modern Day Warrior"?