Bayley is the modern day Rocky Maivia

Bayley & Rocky Maivia
Courtesy: WWE

 By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Perhaps a bold headline, but let me explain. When Bayley was on the NXT roster she was beloved by fans. She was a big fish in a small pond. I actually saw this analogy after I had the idea for this post (I swear). After hearing the reaction to Bayley's interview about being injured for SummerSlam, it's clear the crowd isn't into the hugger like they once were. 

Courtesy: WWE

Bayley's initial popularity reminded me of Rocky Maivia 20+ years ago. He was a cookie cutter babyface, who took the time to slap hands with the crowd. But just like it appears with Bayley, fans grew tired of the goody-two shoe persona. Eventually, he turned heel and took on the role of The Rock. The rest, as they say, is history.

In my 1-2-3 cents, Bayley isn't likely to become a megastar like the Rock did. But I definitely believe a gimmick change will help her. She's talented in the ring and played the role of the girl next store, sweetheart, very well. But it doesn't seem to work in 2017. Or at least on the grand stage of WWE. 

Bayley's announcement
Courtesy: WWE

I must admit I like the fact that so many young girls look up to Bayley and appreciate what she's doing. However, a change of character could be what's needed to take her career to the next level. Many of the NXT refugees on Raw and SmackDown Live have had similar experiences. Bo Dallas, Tyler Breeze and Neville all had growing pains on the main roster. Their gimmicks have all been tweaked and it appears to be helping their individual situations.

This blog is just scratching the surface. I wish I had the time and energy to go into more details about my thoughts, but you guys get it. WWE Creative needs to do a better job in helping the talent get over when they arrive on the main roster. Likewise, the talent needs to know how to react to the crowds. I enjoy Bayley's wrestling, but her overall character needs something new. Maybe showing Sasha who's Boss is the next step in the evolution of this Superstar.

Famer Friday: Rocky Johnson & Tony Atlas

The Soul Patrol
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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I know Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas were not inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame together, but when I first started watching wrestling the duo was the tag team champions. I believe they were the black first tag team to hold the WWF titles, having beaten the Wild Samoans in late 1983.

Courtesy: WWE

Johnson and Atlas, better known as The Soul Patrol, would come out and defend the titles and do some fancy footwork in the process. They worked well as a team and the fans seemed to love what they were doing. As their momentum was building, it seemed as if the rug was suddenly yanked from under them.

It was April 1984 and an unlikely tag team (at least in my 11 year old mind) of Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch upset the Soul Patrol for the belts. Johnson and Atlas had such great physiques it baffled me that two guys could lose to a pair in the shape of the heels. Remember, I was 11 and new to wrestling. In the closing moments chaos ensued and Adonis rolled up Johnson for the pin. I thought as this was happening, he's so powerful, why can't he push that guy off of him. Again, I wasn't in on the act yet and sulked after the champs were dethroned.

Saba Simba
Courtesy: WWE

Both Johnson and Atlas stayed with the company as singles wrestlers for a bit after the loss. I lost track of Rocky, but Atlas would go to World Class and compete as "The Black Superman." Yes that sounds ridiculous, but when you consider his return to the WWF in 1991 as Saba Simba, you'd long for his days in WCCW. That stint was brief and Atlas fell on hard times.

Years later WWE would not only induct Atlas in the Hall of Fame (2006), but bring him back as a manager for Mark Henry. The duo seemed to work well together, but it wasn't a long term plan. The Hall of Famer was released, but was a part of Legends House on the WWE Network. And long before any of that Atlas was press slamming Hulk Hogan (a heel) over his head and making magazine covers for doing it. He was a beast.

Son & father
Courtesy: WWE

Johnson was inducted in 2008 by his son The Rock. Prior to that he had made a few appearances on WWF programming, with the most memorable being when he saved Rocky Maivia during a three-on-one attack by The Sultan, The Iron Sheik and Bob Backlund at WrestleMania XIII. The father-son combo beat up the bad guys and I thought it would lead to at least a one and done tag team match for the combo. It never did though.

Regardless, both Johnson and Atlas were a big part of my early fandom days. From their time as tag team champions, to their stints as singles Superstars, I appreciate what each man did for the business. I consider myself lucky to have been on hand to see each go into the Hall of Fame.

Rumble Ramblings: 1997

1997
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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The 1997 Royal Rumble match has one of my favorite endings.  For those who don't remember, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin  was a rising star in the company.  He had drawn number five and had gone on two total elimination runs, leaving just himself in the ring.

Waiting for more victims
Courtesy: WWE

Then Bret "The Hitman" Hart came out and the action intensified.  The two had a great feud going at the time and I think the rub from Hart helped to build the Stone Cold character.  The two battled for about 90 seconds until Jerry "The King" Lawler left commentary and entered the ring.  He was eliminated about four seconds later, courtesy of Hart.

Stone Cold wins
Courtesy: WWE 

They battled it out alone until the ring slowly filled again.  In the end it was The Undertaker, Vader, Hart, Austin and Diesel.  Hart tossed Austin over the top rope, but because the referees were distracted by Terry Funk and Mankind brawling on the floor, Austin slipped back in the ring.  He pushed Undertaker and Vader over the top as Bret threw Diesel out.  Of course Bret thought he'd won, only to to be thrown over by Austin.  Since the refs hadn't seen the prior elimination Austin was declared the winner.  As a Stone Cold fan, this made me happy.  Nineteen years later it's a textbook example of how to help get a guy over even more.

Despite Austin winning the Rumble, he did not get the "guaranteed" championship match at Wrestlemania that year.  The newly crowned champion Shawn Michaels gave up the belt and Bret won it in a special four man match at the In Your House pay per view, only to lose it the next night to Sid thanks to Austin's interference.  That set up the Mania match between Austin and Hart and Sid defended against The Undertaker.

Here are some other ramblings about the 97 event...

Vader roughing up Rocky
Courtesy: WWE

• Toward the end, I thought it was cool watching it today and seeing all the future mega stars in the ring with established Superstars and legends.  Terry Funk, Vader, The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, "Diesel" (now Kane), Rocky Maivia (The Rock), and Mankind were in there together.

• JR made the same joke I did about Flash and Terry Funk not being related.  Of course more people heard Ross than me...

Mil Mascaras

• There was more inconsistency with the eliminations as Mil Mascaras jumped off the top rope and to the floor.  When Randy Savage did a similar move in 1992, he was allowed back into the match.  

• Faarooq also eliminated himself trying to escape Ahmed Johnson who had eliminated himself earlier in the evening.  I never understood why guys not involved in the match could do this, but I digress.

Bottom line as Stone Cold would say, I enjoyed this Rumble and think the ending is second only to Ric Flair's historical win in 1992.

Mania Memories: Unlucky 13

Undertaker pins Sid

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

Wrestlemania 13 was the first in the franchise that I did not watch live or soon after the event on tape.  I was getting married a few months later and opted to save money by watching (more like listening) to the show on scramble vision.  Back then, you could still do that.

It seems like there was a lot of turmoil behind the scenes leading up to Wrestlemania 13.  Of course, I am merely speculating when I say that, perhaps at the end of the day it was all a part of the plan.  But this was really the point when the WWF title started feeling more like a prop and not the top prize in the game.  When 1997 started, Sycho Sid was the champion.  He dropped the belt to Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble, who was shortly stripped of the title.  Bret Hart won it at the February pay per view In Your House: Final Four, only to drop it the next night on Raw to Sid.  So Sid headed into Wrestlemania as the WWF champion... his opponent the Undertaker.

Taker had been on a role as we all know by this point, his Wrestlemania streak is still alive.  And in a less than stellar main event he tombstoned and pinned Sid to become a two time holder of the WWF title.  It may have been one of the weakest Wrestlemania main events to that point.  (I wasn't a huge fan of Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy either)  Shawn did do commentary for the match, but did not wrestle.  I don't know if he was really hurt at that point or if he'd been in trouble.  I've heard different stories on this topic.

Hitman vs. Stone Cold (WWE)

The undercard featured Hart versus his nemesis "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.  This was without a doubt the best match on the card, proving that the main event is always the greatest contest.  By the time this match rolled around, the two had started showing signs of reserving roles as the baby face and heel.  When the match ended (Hart won as Austin passed out in the Sharp Shooter and deemed unable to continue), Austin was over like never before and Hart was now getting more boos.  It worked brilliantly and may have been the start to the change in momentum for the WWE.  I know people will argue the exact time things started turning around, but the solidification of Austin as a face could probably be traced to that night.

Rocky gets some air (WWE)

Rocky Maivia defended the Intercontinental title against the Sultan in what was probably the worst IC title defense since the Randy Savage-George Steele match at Wrestlemania 2.  (What is it about these two cards?)  For those of you who didn't know, the Sultan (managed by Bob Backlund and the Iron Sheik) eventually became Rikishi.  Based on this match though, it's hard to believe the Kish ever became as popular as he did, and Rocky for that matter too.

My favorite team of that era the British Bulldog and Owen Hart battled Mankind and Vader to a double count out in a rare Wrestlemania heel vs. heel tag team match for the WWF tag team titles.  I liked all four men involved in this one, and thought the team of Vader and Mankind was ironic given the history between the two in WCW.  Another tag team note, there was a 6 man tag match on the card too, featuring the Legion of Doom and Ahmed Johnson against the original Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Crush, and Savio Vega), AND a four way tag match between the Headbangers, Godwins, New Blackjacks, and Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon.  By my count that's 8 tag teams, which is unheard of today (plus PG-13 was in the corner of the Nation, really making it 9 teams on the roster).  Also on the card, Hunter Hearst Helmsley beat Goldust.

So if I had to pick a favorite moment from the entire card, it'd have to be the end of the Austin-Hart match and how it helped shape the landscape of the WWF and wrestling in general.  What are your thoughts on the 13th Mania, was it unlucky for you?  Share here or on our Facebook wall.

Black History Month: The Rock

My attempt at doing the People's Eyebrow

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

The Rock has a lot of proud in his Samoan heritage.  It's now tattooed all over his upper body.  But as many of you know, the Rock is the son of the legendary Rocky Johnson, who I also recently featured as a part of the Black History Month series.

I think few could argue that the Rock is one of the all time greats of the ring.  He's on my personal Top 5 of favorites.  And I believe he's one of the few wrestlers who have SUCCESSFULLY transitioned from the ring to the big screen.  In fact, I think the Rock is "that guy" when it comes to gauging success beyond the squared circle.  In terms of box office appeal, he's surpassed Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and even Jesse Ventura.  If you ask non wrestling fans to name a wrestler, more often than not these days I hear "the Rock" as the first response.

Now the Rock is back in the WWE, at least temporarily.  And I'm glad to see him involved in wrestling again, I really am.  But I don't think he should go over John Cena at Wrestlemania.  As the event gets closer I'm sure Chad and I will spell out the reasons why we believe that.  For now, I want to focus on the Rock's successes in the ring.

Rocky Maivia (WWE)

He evolved from Rocky Maivia into the Rock over a short period of time.  The fans first cheered the bright eyed, energetic third generation star who was proud of his family ties to wrestling.  But soon he became the egotistical, power hungry up and comer in the Nation of Domination before embracing the fans again and then turning into a corporate suck up in Mr. McMahon's corporation.  Finally, the fans again welcomed the Rock with open arms, and they haven't been able to get enough of him since.

I enjoyed the Rock after he dropped the Rocky gimmick.  He's one of those guys I've liked either as a heel or a face.  He's entertaining on the mic and he's never been afraid to put someone over.  Remember when he jobbed to the Hurricane?  What about the Big Bossman?  He even helped to propel the career of Brock Lesnar and put Goldberg over when he came to the WWE.

The Rock at Survivor Series 2011 (WWE)

The Rock is one of those guys who the fans will always hold a special place in their hearts.  Heck, I still make "The Rock's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies" and "Rock Bottom Pancakes" out of the Can You Take the Heat cookbook from 2000.  I would imagine after April 1, we'll see even less of the Rock than we have over the last 12 months.  But I'll be the first to admit, it's nice having him around.  Next stop: Hall of Fame???