WWE Superstars you didn't know were Olympic athletes

An Olympian
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Angle at the 96 games

Many times people hear professional wrestling and automatically think FAKE and discount the men and women who work hard to train and perform year round. Some Superstars come from very decorated amateur sports backgrounds. We all know Mark Henry, Kurt Angle, Ken Patera and the newly drafted Chad Gable competed in the Olympics. But here are a few more that I (and maybe even you) didn't know were part of the games. By the way, Angle is the gold medalist to have wrestled in WWE.

Allen Coage aka Bad News Brown

Bad News Brown competed in judo in the 1976 games. He represented the USA and won the bronze medal that year. Brown went on to a great career in the squared circle, spending much of his time in Japan and Stampede in Canada. I best remember him in WWF in the late 80s, winning the WrestleMania IV battle royal and feuding with Bret Hart. He had a series of matches against WWF champion Randy Savage and battled Hulk Hogan too. Other big feuds including "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Brown retired in 1999 and died in 2007.  

Danny Hodge

Danny Hodge wrestled at the 1952 Olympics, finishing fifth and four years later won the silver medal. Technically Hodge never competed in WWE, but has been on a couple of episodes of Monday Night Raw in the past. His professional career was over before I started watching wrestling, but from the stories I've heard from others, Hodge was truly a great in the business.

Mad Dog on the Olympic list
Courtesy: WWE

Mad Dog Vachon also wrestled in the Olympics. In 1948 he represented Canada in the games. He won his first round match in less than a minute, but later lost to the eventual bronze medal winner. Vachon went on to become part of the infamous Vachon family in wrestling and is the uncle of Luna Vachon. He  retired a few years after I started watching wrestling, but I remember him being part of the AWA at that time. We were on hand for his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2010. Mad Dog died a few years later at the age of 84.

Doing research for this piece busted a wrestling myth I long believed. The Iron Sheik apparently never competed in the Olympics. Good luck to all our Olympic athletes. Maybe one day we'll see some of the men and women competing right now in the squared circle too.

WWE releases part 2

Cody Rhodes
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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A couple weeks ago WWE released a handful of talents, ranging from the Brooklyn Brawler to "King" Barrett. Another round of releases has started.  Over the weekend Cody Rhodes requested and was granted his release from WWE.  Embattled Superstar Adam Rose has been 'future endeavored' too.  

Adam Rose
Courtesy: WWE

The Rose release isn't surprising.  He was serving a 60 day suspension for a Wellness Policy violation.  During his time away he was also arrested on domestic charges violence charges.  None of us knows what's going on his life, but I hope whatever hardships he and his family are going through, they get the situation worked out.  Never say never as we could see him back in WWE at some point.

Cody's release was a surprise, but I don't blame him wanting to step away.  He was clearly frustrated with his place on the roster and walking away now gives Cody a chance to perhaps reinvent himself elsewhere or find a whole new line of work.  Again, I wish him nothing but the best.  Here's what Cody had to say about the situation via his Twitter page @PrinceCGR.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Our weekly host on WWF Superstars 

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I've had a bit of writer's block for the last couple of days, but this morning as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, a friend of mine asked the question "What's a favorite Sunday memory you have growing up?"  For me the answer was easy, watching wrestling.

It wasn't just that I was watching wrestling.  It was about who I was watching it with.  Long before I became obsessed, my dad, brother, and uncle watched every week and would go to live events when the NWA would come to St. Louis.

World Class Championship Wrestling
Photo courtesy: WWE

Soon, I'd start watching too.  This was the mid-1980's, so we had several different wrestling programs that aired on the independent station in town, KPLR Channel 11.  I believe they showed both Wrestling at the Chase and WWF Superstars.  Over on one of the other stations, we'd watch World Class Championship Wrestling.  It was hours and hours of wrestling fun.  From the Von Erichs and Freebirds beating the crap out of each other to Roddy Piper cutting down a popular babyface in Piper's Pit, we always had a good time.

Wrestling at the Chase

We'd often go to church before wrestling would start, and I remember counting down at the end of the service so we could make it home in time to catch the action.  Some weeks we'd get out late and miss the start of the show.  At one point, I remember WCCW started airing on Saturday nights too, so I'd watch that along with Central States Wrestling and just focus on WWF on Sunday mornings.  My mom always made a big breakfast and we'd eat with the TV on, watching our favorites do their thing in the ring.

Those days are long gone.  I miss the variety of wrestling programs with different characters and storylines.  But more importantly I miss that time that I spent with my dad, brother, and now dearly departed uncle.  Those memories will stay with me forever though, and for that I'm grateful. 

Fill in the Blank Friday: The Ultimate Warrior

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I'm starting a new feature here on the blog each week.  I'll come up with a topic, but I want you to write the blog.  I'll post three statements, and in the comments section below, I would love for you to fill in the blanks.

This first edition is about the Ultimate Warrior.  Since he has come to an agreement with the WWE on the new 2K14 game, I thought it would be timely.  I haven't really said anything about this new relationship, but honestly I hope it's something that develops into more involvement from the Warrior.  I wasn't the biggest Ultimate Warrior fan back in the day, but for the sake of nostalgia, I would love to see him back at least on a temporary basis.  As time has gone by, I've become more of a fan of this legend.  The WWE seems to recycle the same superstars of yesteryear, so seeing the Warrior back would be something fans haven't seen since 1996 (not counting his WCW run in '98).

Photo courtesy: WWE

That being said, it's time for you to Fill in the Blanks...

1.  If the Ultimate Warrior does in fact wrestle again for the WWE, the one opponent I would love to see him face is _________________.

2.  The Ultimate Warrior had two runs as Intercontinental Champion and one reign with the WWF(E) championship during his time with the company.  I think his greatest match during that time was against ______________.

3.  I believe the Ultimate Warrior (chose one) should or should not be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame because _____________________.

Remember, enter your answers in the comment section below.  You don't have to have a Blogger or Google account to participate.

Thanks!

Where's Waldo... I Mean Zack Ryder?

MIA: Zack Ryder

By Chad Smart

Monday Night Raw was live from Long Island this past Monday.  There was a lot of hope and speculation Long Island native and Internet sensation, Zack Ryder would see the fruits of his labor for his YouTube show rewarded with a match on the show. After the three-hour show was over, fans were left asking, where was Zack? This apparent snub led to several WWE wrestlers, and fans, taking to Twitter to voice their disappointment in WWE creative not giving Zack something to do on the show.  


Kevin asked yesterday on the My123Cents Facebook page if WWE should have used Zack Ryder on Raw. Several people offered up their opinion saying Zack should have been on the show. I, however don’t think Zack’s non-appearance is really that big of a deal. Hopefully after I lay out my case, you will either agree or understand I am not just going against the grain to be THAT guy.

Photo from WWE

First off lets take a look at Zack Ryder.  Here’s a guy who’s been under contract with WWE for five years. He is a former tag team champion along with Curt Hawkins back when the two were Edgeheads. After that angle played out at Wrestlemania 24, Curt and Zack were separated and neither done anything of note inside a WWE ring. Both have seen more time on Superstars then on Raw or Smackdown. Three months ago if Zack Ryder would have had a match on Raw the majority of fans would have most likely looked at each other and asked, “who’s the new guy?"

  

Zack, not content to accept his position on the roster and wait for his moment to come decided to try and make the moment happen. He started a YouTube show called The True Long Island Story. It was a bold move not only because there was no guarantee people would want to see a weekly Internet show with some nobody (I don’t say that in disrespect. Simply pointing out Zack’s lack of name value at the time.) but also because in the videos, Zack took shots at WWE for not using him in a meaningful way.  Word quickly spread about the videos and Zack became a hit racking up an average of 75,000 views per episode per week.

From YouTube

As the videos became popular, WWE superstars started promoting Zack on their Twitter feeds and in interviews. Top level guys like John Cena, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler were telling fans and WWE management (I’m guessing not many interviews are done that management isn’t aware of) Zack Ryder needed to become a more integral part of Raw. Unfortunately, the leap from Superstars to Raw has yet to happen on a full time basis.

Now that we’ve covered the backstory of how Zack Ryder started a grassroots campaign to make himself a star, let me tell you why him not being on this week’s Raw isn’t the end of the world.

The theme for this week’s Raw was All-Stars. With the exception of a few divas, everyone on the show is either currently or has been within the last six months placed in a high profile storyline. Zack Ryder, at this time, does not fit into the All-Stars theme.  The show was also the last show before Sunday’s, Capital Combat pay per view. The focus of Raw was to get fans interested in the pay per view so when Sunday rolls around the fans will spend their $44.95 on a show that will not feature Zack Ryder. Sure, WWE could have put Ryder into either meaningless backstage skit, or into a match with someone who will be on the pay per view. However that would have most likely guaranteed Zack would have ended up fist pumping with his back on the mat looking up at the lights. While wins and losses are secondary to the push a wrestler receives, throwing Zack out there for something meaningless could derail his road to stardom before he leaves the gate.

From WWE

Assuming WWE wants to make Zack into a star, and that’s a pretty big assumption at this point, they need to start building him up before putting him into the ring.  WWE did a good job promoting Sin Cara and Kharma before their debuts. That type of build up has been missing from wrestling in the past few years. Now would be the time to do it with Zack. Incorporate bits from his YouTube show talking about how WWE is missing the boat, dropping the ball and getting cold feet about putting him on TV. Have Zack do promos where he says he’s going to seize the brass ring and he can’t be held back.  His time has come and no matter what his dad thinks, Zack Ryder will be the next big thing. The fans who are already Zack Ryder broskis will eat it up and have their fists in the air waiting for their guy to make an impact. The more casual fans will start to think Zack is someone worth caring about and not “just that guy who teamed with Primo.” 

While I think Zack Ryder should be on Raw because it would add some freshness to the show, I don’t see his exclusion from the Long Island episode as a major issue. What I would be more interested in knowing is if Zack or his supporters are going to creative members pitching ideas to get Zack on the show. Then is creative not capable of finding a spot for Zack, or are they then going to Vince McMahon with ideas for Zack and Vince is saying, no.  WWE universe has to accept Zack Ryder as a true Superstar. Woo woo woo, you know it.