Mt. Rushmore: SummerSlam Main Events

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

SummerSlam makes its return this Saturday, so I thought, what better topic for this week's Mt. Rushmore than my favorite SummerSlam main events. Please note I said my favorite vs. the best because I think those are two very different things. My list, as you will soon see, is built mostly on nostalgia. 

Courtesy: WWE

John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan (2013): This match, I realize, is probably a happy accident in terms of how it all played out. Daniel Bryan, my favorite wrestler of that era, was finally getting some main event love. Sure, he'd been the World Champion earlier, but I felt like he was truly over now, and the powers that be seemed to be on board.

He challenged John Cena to a great match for the WWE Championship and ends up winning. I was pumped until Randy Orton comes out to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Triple H, who was the special guest referee, double-crossed Bryan, and Orton won. Of course, the underdog prevailed in the end, winning the undisputed championship six months later at WrestleMania XXX (a match I was there to see). 

Courtesy: WWE

British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart (1992): My all-time favorite tag team is the British Bulldogs. In the 80s, that duo feuded with the Hart Foundation. The matches were incredible. Fast forward a few years, and now Davey Boy Smith and his brother-in-law Bret Hart are feuding for the Intercontentinal Championship. Both men were good guys, but that didn't stop them from bringing out all the stops.

Hart and Smith closed the show at Wembley Stadium. It was the first and only time in SummerSlam history that the event was held overseas and that the IC Title match was in the main event. Bulldog got the victory in this hard-fought match. Unfortunately, his reign and his time in WWE were cut short, but that doesn't take away from this incredible matchup. 

Courtesy: WWE

The Mega Powers vs. The Mega Bucks (1988): I can't leave off the first SummerSlam main event. This was reffed by Jesse 'the Body' Ventura and featured the new WWF champ Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan teaming up against Andre the Giant and 'The Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase. It was a solid main event for the inaugural event. 

The match ends with Elizabeth showing off her legs and distracting the Mega Bucks. It was great storytelling as the seeds were being planted for the eventual breakup of the Mega Powers, which would culminate at WrestleMania V.

Courtesy: WWE

Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa, and Gen. Adnan (1991): What an awesomely bad main event this was. It's the era I grew up in. I have to pick it. I loved this time and everything that was going on in the WWF at the time. Newcomer Sid Justice had just arrived and was the referee for the match. Ric Flair was being talked about coming in at the time. I was so stoked.

But yes, the match quality here was low, but it was fun. As a fan, I had no clue about the tension with the Warrior at the time. Little did we know that would be the last time we'd see him for six months until WrestleMania VIII. As I write this, I'm noticing many connections between SummerSlam and WrestleMania... go figure.

So what are your favorites? I think John Cena and Roman Reigns will close the show this year and do an excellent job. 

SummerSlam 2018 predictions

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I have not shown WWE much love on this blog in quite some time. It's not because I'm not digging the current product, but life is moving way too fast right now and I simply do not have the time to invest in three hours of Raw, two hours of SmackDown Live and an hour of NXT each week. I have kept up with storylines and try to watch most or all of the pay per views still.

That being said, I wanted to spend today's blog on SummerSlam. It's hard to believe this event started 30 years ago. I was a sophomore in high school and remember talking to a friend of mine in the locker room about the results. He had seen it, I had not. I was disappointed that my favorite at that time the Honky Tonk Man (yes, it's true) had gone down in defeat to the Ultimate Warrior, losing the Intercontinental Championship in 31 seconds. 

Fast forward to 2018 and SummerSlam is still thrilling the WWE Universe. This year's event promises to be a compelling one and as I write this, it will be the first SummerSlam without one of these four men wrestling on the card: Bret Hart, Undertaker, Triple H and John Cena. I'm not sure what that means for wrestling, but it tells me it's time to keep moving forward and creating new Superstars. So here are my quick picks for this year's SummerSlam, keeping in mind my viewing habits.

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Andrade "Cien" Almas & Zelina Vega will beat Rusev and Lana.

The B-Team will retain the Raw Tag Team Titles against The Revival.

Drew Gulak will win the Cruiserweight Championship.

Nakamura retains against Jeff Hardy (maybe Randy Orton gets involved in this too).

Charlotte Flair turns on Becky Lynch to win the SmackDown 

Women's Championship.

I'd like to see Daniel Bryan and The Miz end in a no-contest to keep this feud brewing.

Seth Rollins will beat Dolph Ziggler to reclaim the IC Title. Ambrose will eventually turn on Seth, but not at SummerSlam.

Kevin Owens will end up with the Money in the Bank briefcase.

The Bludgeon Brothers will walk out with the SmackDown Tag Team Titles.

Finn Balor has got to beat Baron Corbin.

Ronda Rousey will beat Alexa Bliss by disqualification.

AJ Styles will retain the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe.

Roman Reigns will beat Brock Lesnar and moments later Owens will cash in his briefcase and walk out WWE Universal Champion.

I have zero percent confidence in any of these picks. I'd personally rather see Bobby Lashley win the Universal Championship but as you see he's not even on one of the biggest events of the year. 

Snap and win

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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WWE is bringing its SummerSlam Heatwave Tour to Carbondale, Illinois this week. The show is set for Monday night at the SIU Arena. Tickets are still available here.

I know several supporters of My 1-2-3 Cents and Stride Pro Wrestling will be attending the show. I'm going too and looking forward to my first WWE House Show in nearly a decade. To help get the My 1-2-3 Cents brand out there and in front of hundreds (maybe thousands) of potential new readers and listeners, I've created a Snapchat filter for the show.

Please use the filter Monday night at the show, screenshot or save your pics with the filter and email them to my123cents@gmail.com and you'll be entered to win a My 1-2-3 Cents prize pack. For each Snap you send to the email, you'll be entered. Also, add me on Snapchat, my name is 'hunsperger' there. The filter will be up and running from 7 to 11 p.m. in the entire SIU Arena.

I hope to see lots of filter pics and I'm looking forward to being at the show. AJ Styles, Carmella, Rusev, the Miz, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and many more Superstars are all scheduled to be there. 

WWE turns up the heat in southern Illinois on Rusev Day

Rusev & Aiden English
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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The countdown to SummerSlam is on. This is year 30 for the WWE event. It's happening on Sunday, Aug. 19. But before we get to that show, WWE's SummerSlam Heatwave Tour makes a stop in Carbondale, Illinois. I'm particularly excited about this because it's the first house show I've attended since 2009 when WWE was across the river from me in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I took my son to that show.

The last few times WWE has come to southern Illinois or southeast Missouri I've been out of town. The Heatwave Tour stop is Monday, July 23. I'm super excited and looking forward to not all seeing the Superstars of SmackDown Live! but also debuting my new Shinesty suit. It's custom made and features the My 1-2-3 Cents monkey.

Meeting Rusev & other Superstars in 2014

Leading up to the event, WWE made arrangements for me to interview former U.S. Champion Rusev. The cool part is this interview happened on Rusev Day. He not only promoted the event but also talked about life on the road and his dream opponents. You can hear the interview in its entirety in the link below.

Are you going to the WWE SummerSlam Heatwave show? Let me know here or on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page.  

There's a new beast in town

Braun slams Brock
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I know Brock Lesnar defied the odds and retained his WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2017. But the post-show buzz is all about Braun Strowman, which really doesn't surprise me. He is one character I didn't give two sh!ts about in his Wyatt Family days, and even when he made the move to Raw I was still less than impressed. But then something clicked and I've become a fan.

Destroyed
Courtesy: WWE

Once again he has proven he's earned a spot in the main event. From his destroying of Roman Reigns repeatedly on Raw to the destruction of Lesnar at SummerSlam, Braun is the real deal. I'd love to see WWE hold off on a battle of the beasts one on one for WrestleMania, but the rumor is churning that Strowman will be the next contender to Lesnar. 

Because Reigns took the fall at SummerSlam, I'd assume he's the heir apparent to the Universal Championship. Again, this is an assumption and plans can change and I really hope they do. Going with that line of thinking, perhaps the feud between Strowman and Reigns resumes after WrestleMania. Again this is assuming they're holding off until April for the next title switch. In my 1-2-3 cents that transaction could have happened last night. But I knew with the stipulation of quitting WWE if that happened, Brock would retain. 

Beast mode
Courtesy: WWE

I will say whoever the chosen one eventually becomes, they'll get one hell of a rub when they win the championship. Unlike Seth Rollins in 2015 though the new champion needs to pin or force Lesnar to tap out. Not only does the belt need to be passed, but also the torch. Right now I'd rather that be Samoa Joe, with Braun Strowman a close second. That's something I never thought I'd say.

SummerSlam: Quick picks

SummerSlam 2017

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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SummerSlam 2017 is nearly here. This year's card is beyond stacked and overall the show should be pretty good. WWE has several great story lines developing right now and most of the time the wrestling is outstanding. So here are my quick picks for this year's event.

Brock Lesnar will retain the Universal Championship. I don't want that to happen, but with the stipulation added that if Brock loses he and Paul Heyman are done with WWE makes me think he'll live to fight another day as champ.

The buildup for the Shinsuke Nakamura-Jinder Mahal match was been weak in my 1-2-3 cents. I say Jinder remains champion, but not necessarily by beating Nakamura.

Depending on the status of Baron Corbin, I can see his match going with John Cena one of two ways. He rages at the former champ for costing him his MITB cash in, or Cena squashes Corbin. I'm not a Corbin fan, but if the company does want to go all in on him, taking out Cena and sending him to Raw is a bigger gesture than having him as champ.

"Demon" Balor avenges the Raw loss against Bray Wyatt. 

AJ Styles will retain the U.S. Championship against Kevin Owens, building new drama between Owens and Shane McMahon.

Please let Alexa Bliss retain against Sasha Banks. But I have a feeling the Boss will win.

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will capture the Raw Tag Team Championships from Sheamus and Cesaro.

I'd love for Natalya to win the SmackDown Live Women's Championship to lead into a feud with Charlotte, but I have a feeling Naomi will retain. And for the love of Pete, don't have Carmella cash in yet.

Randy Orton over Ruseve, duh.

Big Cass will beat the Big Show.

The New Day will retain the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships against the Usos.

I want my guy Neville to win the Cruiserweight Championship back, but I have a feeling Akira Towza will hold on to the gold. Plus I like the Titus Brand gimmick they're doing. 

The Miz, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas will beat Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz. This will eventually lead to a Jordan Intercontinental Championship win. 

What are your picks this year? Unfortunately, I won't be up to watch the entire event. The Total Solar Eclipse peaks in our region and being a journalist, I couldn't take the day off as our coverage will be hardcore. Speaking of the Eclipse, Sunday's blog will be a wrestling tie into this big event.

BANKRUPT: Baron Corbin's MITB cash-in is a bust

The cash-in
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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The odds were in Baron Corbin's favor. Of the 17 men who have won the Money in the Bank ladder match, 13 have successfully cashed-in and won the heavyweight championship. Corbin failed to do that with his cash-in against Jinder Mahal and joins the ranks for John Cena, Mr. Kennedy and Damien Sandow. I put Kennedy in that company because he lost the briefcase to Edge, but I digress...

Cena gets whacked
Courtesy: WWE

Regular readers of this blog and listeners to the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast know I'm no fan of Corbin. My blog before MITB this year was titled: My Pick for MITB is ABC (Anyone But Corbin). But I never expected him to fail in his attempt to cash-in. I also believed he would wait until Nakamura beat Jinder at SummerSlam and then win the title himself.

Pinned!
Courtesy: WWE

It's strange to me that the company was seemingly so high on Corbin since calling him up to the main roster. He won the Andre the Giant Memorial in his debut and then picked up MITB. It appeared they were grooming him for a top dog status. I didn't agree with it, but I had come to accept it. I wonder what happened. My first instinct is he must have pissed someone off backstage. Not just because he lost the opportunity but how quickly and cleanly he lost it. 

Some fans online have said it was too early for Corbin to win the gold. I agree with that assessment, but let's face it, the contract is valid for a year, so he still had 10 months. That's a lifetime in this business. Working with Cena at SummerSlam and adding some opponents like AJ Styles and Randy Orton would certainly have put him in a better position by the spring. But obviously, there wasn't a plan in place for that to happen.

The agony of defeat
Courtesy: WWE

Even though the character hasn't grown on me, I'm sympathetic to the fact that the guy has missed out on a golden opportunity. In my 1-2-3 cents, there is always a chance to grow and develop and turn me into a believer. Now I'm curious to see what happens with him and Cena Sunday at SummerSlam.

Foreign Object Friday: JR's candy dish

Jim Ross and his candy dish
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Since it's SummerSlam season I figured why not take a look back at an infamous moment from the year 2000. I remember it clearly now but had forgotten about it until hearing Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson talk about it on a recent Something to Wrestle With podcast.

Tazz had been harassing good ol' JR, to the point that Jim Ross ended up with glass in his eye after Tazz damaged Jerry "The King" Lawler's rental car. These actions lead to a matchup at the annual summer event.

The night of SummerSlam 2000 there was a candy dish on the announce table. At one point during the Tazz-Lawler match, the referee took a bump and went down. Tazz verbally assaulted JR and warned him he'd choke out the King and then come after Ross. Tazz locked in the Tazzmission finisher and as he and Lawler dropped the mat, JR popped up. The King was out, but he and Tazz were close enough to the ropes that JR was able to crack the former ECW Champion over the head. The dish shattered and glass and candy littered the ring. Lawler pinned his unconscious opponent.  

Despite it being "sugar" glass used in the incident I imagine it still hurt like hell. It was one of the more unique foreign objects I recall being used in a match. 

Put the shovel away, Nakamura isn't buried

John Cena faces Shinsuke Nakamura next week on SmackDown Live

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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In the wake of Tuesday's SmackDown Live, I've seen a lot of wrestling fans complaining about the upcoming John Cena-Shinsuke Nakamura match. Daniel Bryan declared the winner of next week's encounter will go on to face Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship. Some fans are seemingly upset because the match is being "given away" on TV. Others think Nakamura will lose and in turn, is getting buried. But I disagree with both arguments.

Sure this match will definitely be a PPV quality outing. But now that the WWE Network exists and most fans are locked into a subscription does WWE have to "save" matches anymore? And if you're not a Network subscriber would you pay $9.99 a month for this one match? Probably not. In this near era of technology, it serves WWE better to save high profile matches for Raw and SmackDown Live and boost the ratings for USA Network. Good ratings on TV equals higher rates for advertisers.

John Cena confronts WWE Champion Jinder Mahal

The match hasn't even happened yet and some have already predicted a Cena victory. I agree that he will most likely win this encounter, but in my 1-2-3 cents, fans should put the shovel away because Nakamura isn't getting buried. Cena is a familiar face and will likely do the press leading up to SummerSlam. Plus the story will be 'Can John Cena break Ric Flair's World Championship record?' That alone adds more drama and interest to the match than a straight up encounter between Nakamura and Mahal.

Baron Corbin gets a kick from Nakamura 

I can see the "rubber match" between Nakamura and Baron Corbin coming at SummerSlam. One scenario is Cena winning the gold only to lose it after being attacked by Khali and Corbin cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Then Nakamura and Corbin could feud for the belt. However, that scenario leaves Jinder out in the picture and the company has done a lot to build him up, and the best way to continue on that path is to have him beat Cena at SummerSlam.

There are plenty of possibilities, so let's not jump to conclusions before the match has even happened. Enjoy the ride as we gear up for SummerSlam. It's my belief Nakamura will one day be the champion, but it doesn't have to happen right now.

Battleground predictions

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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The road to SummerSlam is taking a pit stop at the next SmackDown Live event, Battleground. The show happens tomorrow night on WWE Network and here are some quick thoughts on the show. 

Jinder Mahal will retain the WWE Championship in a Punjabi Prison Match against Randy Orton. The only thing that will make this more awesomely bad is an appearance by the Great Khali. My fingers are crossed as I type this, which is making it difficult.

John Cena will beat Rusev in the Flag Match and likely go on to beat Mahal either at SummerSlam or sometime before that.

AJ Styles will beat Kevin Owens. Since AJ just won the U.S. Championship I don't see any reason to hot potato it back to Owens. 

Sami Zayn will win against Mike Kanellis because, you know, it's WWE 50/50 booking.

My hope is that the New Day will pick up the SmackDown Live tag team titles, but I'm not holding my breath for this match.

Charlotte Flair will win the fatal five-way number one contender's match. In my 1-2-3 cents since this is for a SummerSlam title match against Naomi, Charlotte will make the better big match opponent. However, I'm not opposed to Natalya winning and since Flair is a face still, I can see that happening.

Nakamura will beat Baron Corbin because doesn't the Money in the Bank briefcase winner usually go through a losing streak before cashing in?

Tye Dillinger over Aiden English.

What are your Battleground predictions? Who do you want to see get the upper hand as we head into the hottest night of the summer for wrestling?

Foreign Object Friday: Sherri Martel's purse

Sherri's purse knocked out King Duggan
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Earlier this month, we marked the 10 year anniversary of the death of "Sensational" Sherri Martel. The WWE Hall of Famer will be remembered as one of the most talented performers to step in the ring. She was an amazing wrestler and manager, leading the likes of Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Ted DiBiase, Ric Flair and Harlem Heat into battle. 

Sherri tumbles in with the purse
Courtesy: WWE

The memorable thing about Sherri in this role was she was never afraid to mix it up with the Superstars. She got physical during matches with the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Dusty Rhodes. As JR would say, Sherri was tougher than a two dollar steak. 

Hogan uses the purse
Courtesy: WWE

But sometimes Sherri relied on more than her talent and abilities in the ring or outside to help her man. A loaded purse would come into play. Who knows what was in it? Maybe a brick or some rocks... She attempted to help her team of Savage and Zeus in the main event of SummerSlam 89. But Hogan got a hold of the handbag and used it to blast Zeus and get the win. Sherri also got a taste of her own medicine and Elizabeth knocked out the Sensational One. Liz and Beefcake then cut Martel's hair.

Another time when the purse worked out for Savage was when he whacked King Hacksaw Duggan in the head with it and pinned him to win the crown. Sherri had been tussling with Duggan and Savage took advantage of the distracted Duggan. Sherri and Savage would go on to be the King and Queen of the WWF until Savage retired after WrestleMania VII, some 18 months after being royalty. 

Hall of Fame induction
Courtesy: WWE

Yes, the purse was dangerous, but Sherri's ability to manipulate and distract wrestlers was just as dangerous. A decade later, her presence is missed. I never got to see her wrestle in person, but was on hand in Chicago when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the year before her death. Rest in peace Sherri.

Free agent John Cena

Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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While listening to the most recent DeMarco Wrestling podcast, I got the inspiration for this blog. Greg DeMarco and his cohost Patrick O'Dowd bring up the recent postings by WWE that "Free agent" John Cena returns to SmackDown Live on July 4th. I don't think his new nickname is going to be "Free Agent", so what does this mean? WWE offers a kayfabe explanation on its website, so I thought why not offer my 1-2-3 cents on the situation too?

Make-a-Wish appearance
Courtesy: WWE

Cena hasn't been around since he and Nikki Bella beat the Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33. And before that, his appearances in the ring have been limited. Cena is 40 years old (not old by any means, as I'm 44), but has been the WWE's "guy" for more than a decade. Besides the rigors of performing between the ropes, there's the Make-A-Wish appointments, public relation appearances and the hosting and acting gigs. Besides Vince McMahon, he's probably the hardest working guy in the business.

Courtesy: WWE

Greg and Patrick talked about the free agent status of being a way for Cena to become more of an attraction and not be tied down to one roster. He can show up where he's needed when he's needed. It would be similar to how the Undertaker was on both Raw and SmackDown in his most recent run. I have no problem with that. Cena has certainly earned the status of "attraction Superstar". I could see him coming back for the Big Four events for the next few years; Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Of course, that would include some TV time leading up to the shows as well. 

Flair & Cena
Courtesy: WWE

But there will likely be another championship reign for Cena too. I can't imagine just tying Ric Flair 16 time record and leaving it at that, however, I'd have no problem if they do. If someone on the current roster breaks that, it has to be Cena. 

The other talk is Cena and Roman Reigns meeting a SummerSlam this year and Cena "passing the torch." It's too early for me to speculate on that, but it's a scenario that makes sense. I'll be curious to see what is next for all parties involved.