Follow my blog with Bloglovin On Monday much of the country will be watching as the Total Solar Eclipse happens. It's the first time the U.S. has experienced a Total Eclipse since 1979. I live in southern Illinois, which is where the Eclipse's totality will be the most. It's been the buzz here for months now, so I figured why not look at some Eclipse related wrestling gimmicks through the years.
NXT Superstar Ember Moon most falls in line with the phenomenon. Not only does her name fit, but so does her finishing move, the Eclipse. It's a diving corkscrew stunner. The move is quite impressive. So is Moon. I really thought she was being groomed to be the one to end Asuka's impressive streak and historic NXt Championship reign. Even though she didn't capture the gold at NXT: Takeover, in my 1-2-3 cents Moon will be a major player on the main roster in the near future.
Konnan & Paul Diamond as Max Moon Courtesy: WWE
Max Moon, no relation to Ember, was an out of this world Superstar who hit the scene in the early 90s. Konnan originally played the character, but after a contract dispute, Paul Diamond filled the role. Probably his biggest claim to fame was wrestling Shawn Michaels on the very first Monday Night Raw in 1993. By the way, that costume cost about $1,300 to make. The leather was equipped with electronics and pyrotechnic gun.
Sunny Courtesy: WWE
Sunny has had her ups and downs in the wrestling world. But it's hard to ignore her contribution to the business. When the internet was born, so was Sunny's stardom. She held the distinction of being AOL's most downloaded woman of 1996. Sunny helped blaze the trail for other women in the business. Yes, she's had some controversial moments through the years, but the Hall of Famer made a difference in the business.
The Heavenly Bodies, Jimmy Del Ray, Jim Cornette & Tom Prichard Courtesy: WWE
Another 90s creation I'm highlighting today: The Heavenly Bodies. Stan Lane and Tom Pritchard are the originals for this team. Jim Cornette was the force behind them at Smoky Mountain Wrestling. There have been several incarnations through the years and the team even ventured into WWE but Jimmy Del Rey had replaced Lane by then. The duo was good but never won the tag team gold, despite great matches with teams like the Rock 'n Roll Express, The Steiner Brothers and the Smoking Gunns.
The Moondogs Courtesy: WWE
Finally, the Moondogs get the nod in this Eclipse themed blog. Like the Heavenly Bodies, there have been several versions of the Moondogs. King and Rex were the originals and won the WWF tag-team titles in 1981. However, King left the company and was replaced by Spot. Eventually, the duo was used to put over other talents in the company. Their trademark tattered jeans and giant bones helped put them on the map too. These are the Eclipse related talents I came up with. Did I miss anyone? Comment here on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page.
When thinking back on the previous 999 episodes of Raw, I debated on which moment would top my personal list of favorites. I chose Ric Flair's sendoff after Wrestlemania 24 for a couple of reasons. Probably the most important one is that I was there in the live crowd for it.
Chad and I had attended Wrestlemania 24 and witnessed Flair's last match ever (or so we thought). It was an emotional night to say the least. We all knew in hearts that Flair was going to lose with all the hoopla around his Hall of Fame induction the night before, but it still stung when the referee counted three. The 16 time champ had tears in his eyes before HBK even connected with his Sweet Chin Music, so you can imagine what it was like when the match was over.
4 Horsemen reunite!
Typically when we go to Wrestlemania, we leave the next morning. But for 24, we bought the Wrestlemania Package, which included tickets to Universal Studios. We decided to hit the park on Monday and spend an extra day in Orlando. When we got back to the hotel late that afternoon, Chad read online that the Four Horsemen were going to be at Raw for Flair's official sendoff. Without hesitation, we decided to head downtown and see if we could get tickets. Much to our surprise, not only were tickets available, but they were good seats and really not at all expensive.
The end of the show saw legends like Ricky Steamboat, Greg Valentine, Harley Race, and of course the Horsemen (JJ Dillion, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard) come out and say their goodbyes. I think it was significant that the Horsemen were there because I believe that was the first time the five of them had been together in nearly 20 years (in public).
Undertaker pays tribute
Stars on the roster like John Cena, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H also came out for the celebration. When Raw ended, the festivities continued. Vince McMahon and the Undertaker also did salutes to the Nature Boy. I'd say it would be hard to find a dry eye in the arena after all of the celebrating. It was such an emotional evening.
Of course some of that emotion has been tarnished with Flair's decision to return to the ring. Never in the history of the business has anyone received such a lavish sendoff. I don't think it will ever happen again either. But I still feel fortunate enough to have been a part of that night. Woooo!
Honorable Mention:
Raw Episode 1
Photo courtesy: WWE
Honorable mention: How can I list my favorite Raw memories, without mentioning the first ever episode. It was something new in terms of what we were used to seeing in the world of professional wrestling. Primetime Wrestling, Superstars, and Tuesday Night Titans were all taped shows with the hosts sitting inside a studio and talking about the matches. With Raw, it had a pay per view feel in terms of the "live" element. I know those early shows were recorded, but if you didn't know it was hard to tell.
Vince McMahon, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, and radio host/actor Rob Bartlett made up the announce team. It was an interesting dynamic to say the least. Bobby Heenan trying to get into the show was also a very entertaining aspect of things.
Damien Demento vs. the Undertaker
From WWE
Originally Raw was only an hour long. I don't think it was until the Monday Night Wars picked up that Raw added that second hour. Raw also started off with a lot of top talent versus enhancement guys. I mean, the main event of that first show was the Undertaker vs. Damien Demento. Shawn Michaels also beat Max Moon that night, and the Steiners Brothers were in action against tag team jobbers.
Raw has certainly come a long way over the last 999 episodes and nearly 20 years. I'm already making plans to attend the 2,000th since I can't be in St. Louis tonight. For those who are there or on the way, enjoy the show. We'll be watching on USA tonight for My 1-2-3 Cents and From the Rafters Radio signs.
Pulling another silly costume from the vault for today's post. Max Moon. I learned a few things about the character doing a little research. I think I knew that Konnan originally donned this goofy costume, but somewhere along the way I had forgotten that fact. He had a contract dispute with the WWE back in 1992, and because the costume fit, Paul Diamond got the gimmick.
I was in college during this time period, so I didn't get to watch wrestling as much as I wanted to. I lived in the dorms and back then there weren't a whole lot of fans around me. I kept up with things through magazines, but I did catch Superstars and Raw from time to time. I saw Max Moon wrestle Shawn Michaels on the first Raw. That was the Paul Diamond version of the character from the future.
Paul Diamond
Something else I learned about the gimmick, that costume apparently cost about $1,300 to create. The leather get up was equipped with electronics and pyrotechnic gun. Pretty impressive, sort of. The character was only around about a year, so I guess he didn't impress much of anyone. The cartoon character ride proved to be a failure in this case.
I wonder if they still have that costume. Maybe it will be a part of the Wrestlemania Axxess exhibit, I'd like to see it up close after reading all these new details about it.
