Post Andre the Giant battle royal success

The trophy
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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WWE introduced fans to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX and I was in the crowd watching live. I figured The Big Show or Sheamus would be the winner. I was pleasantly surprised when Cesaro tossed Show over the top rope to win the event and the enormous trophy with Andre the Giant perched on top.

Cesaro and the big trophy
Courtesy: WWE

In the weeks and months that followed the victory I expected big things for Cesaro. Sure he had already held the U.S. Championship, but I thought the win would line him up for a run with the Intercontinental Championship or in my fantasy land of booking, a series of matches against the newly crowned WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan. Instead it seemed winning the battle royal was a curse as Cesaro went on a pretty big losing streak, missing opportunities against the secondary champions and other Superstars on the card.

Finally in early 2015 Cesaro and Tyson Kidd formed a pretty awesome tag team and won the championships. They held the belts twice before Kidd ended up getting injured. Cesaro toiled on the mid-card with little success before getting hurt himself and spending some time of television. I popped like everyone else in the crowd at the Raw after WrestleMania 32 when The Swiss Superman returned. 

He had a promising run coming back, but was still unable to capture singles gold. Then Raw General Manger put he and rival Sheamus together and the duo pulled off a big win, ending the New Day's record breaking tag team title run. Their title reign was short lived though, but they remain in the hunt and go for the gold (or copper) this Sunday at WrestleMania 33. 

Baron Corbin in 2016
Courtesy: WWE

Another Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, Baron Corbin gets a shot at gold in what will be his second WrestleMania match. Winning the trophy at 32 was a huge accomplishment for his debut. The followup hasn't been shabby for the former NXT star. He's getting a crack at Dean Ambrose's Intercontinental Championship. I'm still not sold on Corbin, but I do believe he will unseat Ambrose Sunday. It gives me anxiety to think he'll be 2 and 0 at WrestleMania and could be building a streak before you know it...

Big Show celebrating at Raw
Courtesy: WWE

The Big Show is the other Superstar to win the battle royal. He's actually competed in all three and is set to appear again in this year's. That's probably a big indication that WWE Creative has nothing much for Big Show who has become more of an attraction in the last few years anyway.

Braun will win this year
Courtesy: WWE

I never expected Show to go on to win gold again, but I figured since he won the Battle Royal in 2015 they'd at least do something to showcase him. WrestleMania 33 was supposed to feature the (not so) much anticipated battle with Shaq. Now it appears they're grooming him to pass the torch to Braun Strowman who I have no doubt will win Sunday's battle royal. With that win I predict an even bigger push than he's seen, simply because he's a "big bastard" and we know how Vince McMahon feels about those kinds of Superstars.

So while two past winners are going for championship gold at WrestleMania and one is looking to pass the torch, I still find the battle royal interesting. Yeah it's filler to get everyone on the show or at least almost everyone, but I don't really have a problem with that. It is the biggest night of the year and Superstars all deserve a moment to shine.

Tag Team Troubles... Again

The Usos
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Once again the tag team scene in the WWE is struggling to stay alive.  Three great teams have been sidelined recently due to injuries.  While I wish all three Superstars who are hurt the best in their recovery, I'm also concerned about how the absences will affect what seemed to be a rebounding division.

In April Jey Uso suffered a dislocated shoulder which required surgery.  Doctors say his road to recovery will be six months, which would put him back sometime October potentially.  

Kidd's surgically repaired neck
Courtesy @KiddWWE 

Tyson Kidd, who had recently formed what I consider the best team on the scene today with Cesaro, just underwent major neck surgery after suffering an injury in a match against Samoa Joe.  Kidd tweeted out a pic of his surgically repaired neck and explained the road to recovery will be long.  Speculation is that he'll be out for up to a year.   I feel bad for Kidd as I would argue he's one of the most underrated talents in the WWE.  Since forming the team with Cesaro, I felt like both men were finally getting some solid support from the team backstage.  It's a setback for sure, but I hope Kidd comes back stronger than before and ready to dominate again, hopefully with Cesaro.

Harper & Rowan
Photo courtesy: WWE

Erik Rowan and Luke Harper have finally reunited as a team.  The two were back together briefly before Rowan suffered a torn bicep and will likely be out until the end of 2015.  I really thought the reunion of the two would lead them to a run as tag team champions in the near future.  I hope when he returns, the opportunity to team with Harper again is there.

Ryder & Rawley
Photo courtesy: WWE

On NXT, a new duo has formed with Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley.  I like their spirit and energy and I wish the team nothing but success.  I really hope WWE focuses on developing a few more teams as it looks like three major ones on the roster will be on the sidelines for months to come.  Good luck to Uso, Kidd and Rowan on the road to recovery. You're already missed. The Prime Time Players, The New Day, LuchaDragons and Los Matadores need more competition.

Reunited and It Feels So...

The Shield "returns"
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Some surprises came out of the WWE Payback show, at least to me.  I'll get into the undercard in a minute, but since I titled this as such, I figured I'd touch on the brief, but awesome reunion of The Shield during the main event.  Obviously going into the the fatal four way I knew that Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns had once been a part of the most dominant trio in recent years.  But it never occurred to me that they would all work TOGETHER during the course of the match.

Crash landing
Courtesy: WWE

Because of my work schedule, I was fast asleep (actually I was still tossing and turning) by the time the WWE World Heavyweight Title match started.  When I logged into Twitter hours later, I saw pics and gifs of the "one-time only reunion" between Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns.  It made me look forward to coming home and watching the former Shield members take out Randy Orton with the triple power bomb.  

Nope
Courtesy: WWE

I loved it.  I know the way the current storyline is going it doesn't make sense to reunite the trio for good.  But for those few moments, I thought it was awesome.  I liked how Rollins seemed to think the band was back together and when Ambrose and Reigns tore into him and Kane it was a nice break from what I'd expected during the match.

Did he quit?
Courtesy: WWE

Another minor surprise, although I had written in my previous blog my predictions and they mostly matched up, there were no title changes.  I feel like that's a rarity these days, but I don't have any proof that it is.  I'm curious to see where the Rusev angle will go next, as I do believe they botched up over emphasizing that the Superstar must say "I quit."  Clearly Rusev did not.  I imagine the story will unfold on Raw with Rusev "firing" Lana, which will be odd to see these two without each other.

New Day... rocks
Courtesy: WWE

I thought New Day did a great job getting heat during the tag team title match.  I still love the combo of Cesaro and Kidd and those uppercuts that the Swiss Supermen threw were incredible.  This story could continue, but I do think the tag team ranks need some fresh faces in the hunt for gold.  Speaking of which, I was surprised to see Axelmania and Macho Mandow lose in their first outing as a team.  I really am impressed with both men's impressions of the legends, but Axel's "Hogan" routine is spot on as far as I'm concerned.  I guess this means The Ascension is here to stay.  

Busted open
Courtesy: WWE

Dolph Ziggler getting busted open was ugly.  It took ten stitches to sew him up.  There's plenty of speculation online as to whether he did that himself or if it happened the hardway.  It seemed a bit too bloody too fast for a blade job, but I'm just a fan.

I hope Bray Wyatt's win over Ryback helps him continue to climb the ladder (perhaps right into Money in the Bank).  And despite some online criticism, I think Naomi is a great athlete.  I'm still not sure she's next for a run as Divas champ.  Time will tell for all these things and the future of the Intercontinental title will be told in a couple of weeks at Elimination Chamber.  We'll break it all down soon here and on the podcast.

Payback 2015 Picks

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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We're days away from another WWE pay-per-view/Network event.  I'm not exactly sure the proper phrase anymore, but as we know Payback returns this weekend.  The show has had some good build up, and even with several rematches, I'm looking forward to some great performances.

 The kickoff features the newly formed duo of Macho Mandow and Axelmania against The Ascension.  I have no idea where WWE is going with Damien Sandow and Curtis Axel, but I'm enjoying the homage to Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.  Plus it's another tag team to get behind in a somewhat weakened division.  The Mega Powers 2.0 will win this one and eventually implode like they did more than 25 years ago.

Bray Wyatt will step into the ring with Ryback.  I'm looking forward to this match.  I feel like both men are still growing and headed to superstardom.  Ryback has been hot and cold since being repackaged a few years ago.  I've always liked Wyatt, even as Husky Harris.  He's got something special and I think it's important for him to shine Sunday night against Ryback.  

Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus will have a rematch.  I really have enjoyed Sheamus much more as the heelish bully since returning from his injury earlier this year.  I was surprised Sheamus lost the Kiss Me Arse match at Extreme Rules.  I can't see him going down in defeat two events in a row, so I pick him to win this time, setting up for a rubber match at the next show.  I don't mind repeat matches when they involve guys giving it their all.

Neville takes on King Barrett in a rematch from the King of the Ring finals and the kickoff from Extreme Rules.  Each man has a victory.  The company seems to be fast tracking Neville to big things (perhaps an Intercontental title run) so for that reason and because I'm a huge Neville mark, I hope he wins.  I won't be disappointed though if the King reigns.

The New Day will defend the tag team titles against former champs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro.  I like both teams.  I think Kidd and Cesaro's reign came to an end way too soon.  They're my favorite current team and I feel like WWE needs to stay behind them.  Again, I'm not going to be disappointed with whoever wins, but I believe the champs will retain.

Rusev will try to win the U.S. title back in an "I Quit" match against John Cena.  Both men have their submission finishers.  I think Cena will win, Rusev and Lana will split and hopefully he won't end up in no man's land as a result.  I like the concept of the U.S. Title Open Challenge Cena has been doing.  There's still some mileage to get out of that angle.  I can't wait to see who is eventually put into that role of winning the challenge.  

For my thoughts on the 4 Way, check out this week's 3 Count over on YouTube.

Seth Rollins Makes History Three Times in the Same Night

Cashin' in
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
Listen to the Wrestlemania recap podcast here

I'm going to encourage you to check out our Wrestlemania review show over on the Jittery Monkey Podcasting Network.  The link is above, or you can find it here as well.  My overall grade for Wrestlemania 31 was a B-.  The ending gave the show a few extra credit points in my book.

Seth Rollins did make history three times in that one match.  He's the first WWE Superstar to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase during a match to make it a triple threat encounter.  This was the perfect way to get the title off Brock Lesnar and make him continue to look strong.  Chad didn't like the triple threat element, but as the rules state, the holder of the contract can cash in at ANY time.  I loved it.

Rollins curb stomps the champ
Photo courtesy: WWE

Secondly, Rollins becomes the first man to use the briefcase at Wrestlemania.  It's been talked about for years, but no one has ever come out and done it on the grandest stage of all.  I thought two years ago Dolph Ziggler was going to do it, but he elected to wait until the next night on Raw.

New champ
Photo courtesy: WWE

Finally, Rollins becomes the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion born AFTER the start of Wrestlemania.  He was born in 1986.  Wrestlemania of course started a year earlier in 1985.  Truly this is a good sign for the "youth movement."

I'm disappointed Rusev lost the U.S. title.  But Rollins as World champ, Daniel Bryan as Intercontinental champ and Cesaro and Tyson Kidd with the tag team titles all make me happy and indicate a step in the right direction.

State of Tag Team Wrestling

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

It never fails after I upload a YouTube video on a particular topic I always think of other points that I wanted to make.  Such is the case with today's submission on tag team wrestling.

Until very recently I was hopeful for the tag team division in the WWE.  Just a few short months ago there was a tag team tournament with eight teams to determine who would face the tag team champions.

Hell No vs. Rhodes Scholars
Courtesy: WWE

I'm disappointed Team Rhodes Scholars has disbanded.  This team had a ton of potential and honestly I was shocked they didn't beat Team Hell No at the Royal Rumble.  They held a couple of non-title victories over the champs (I think that's accurate) so to see them be taken out of the scene seems a little silly.  Besides Hell No, I think Rhodes Scholars was the top team in the WWE.

It seems Hell No is heading for a breakup soon too.  It would make sense from a storyline standpoint, although I hate when teams are constantly being split up.  For the time being though, Daniel Bryan and Kane ARE the tag team champions, so I'm really not happy about the fact that Bryan is in the Elimination Chamber match to determine a number one contender to the World Heavyweight title.

The Prime Time Players
Photo courtesy: WWE

The Prime Time Players had a lot of potential early on too.  But I think after Abraham Washington's departure from the company a lot of the wind was taken out of their sails.  Seriously, this duo needs a good manager to help them refocus.  The Usos never seemed to catch a break, although I enjoy their work too.  Primo and Epico have been jobbers lately not only to other teams, but to singles guys like the Great Khali and Ryback.

Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara are both back, so let's see if they stick it out.  If I was a betting man several months ago I would have put my money on a Mysterio-Cara match at Wrestlemania.  Now I'd say there's a better chance of a Bryan-Kane match that night.

Unfortunately Tyson Kidd is hurt so his partnership with Justin Gabriel is on the sidelines.  They split up Kofi Kingston and RTruth so the stars could pursue singles careers.  It worked for Kofi briefly, but now that he's without the Intercontinental title, we've seen very little of him.  Then there's Zack Ryder and Santino.  Need I say more?

Oliver Gray & Adrian Neville
Photo courtesy: WWE

On the horizon there have been hints of a Tensai-Brodus Clay tag team.  I'm not sure I love the idea, but again, it's just the online buzz, so I'm not buying into it just yet.  Of course on NXT the new tag team champions Adrian Neville and Oliver Gray.  Regular readers now I'm high on Neville and can't wait to see him on the main roster.  Perhaps it may be as a tag team wrestler in the not-so-distant future.

Only time will tell how the tag team situation shakes out, but I think others would agree there are a lot of issues with the current state of affairs.

Get the Table

The Dudleys
Photo from WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Regular readers know that we don't like to write blogs based on rumors and things unconfirmed on the Internet.  But recently I've seen a lot of talk about Devon and Bully Ray both being near the end of their contracts with Impact Wrestling.  And whenever rumors like that are posted, people jump the gun and make the assumption that they'll head back to the WWE.

So this begs the question, IF the two are finished with TNA, and IF they sign with WWE again, should they reunite as the Dudley Boyz or continue to pursue separate careers as singles stars.

IF (and I'm going to keep emphasizing that) the two are indeed leaving, I think bringing them back in as a tag team would be an ideal situation for the company.  After reading online (again, not necessarily a viable resource) Triple H is interested in revamping the tag team division.  In the last few weeks there have been indicators to support those claims.  Boom Truth (I don't know if that's their official name, but it's what we've dubbed them here at My 1-2-3 Cents), The Usos, The Prime Time Players, and now Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd are back too.

1987 Survivor Series
Tag team mania
Courtesy: WWE

Granted four teams (all mostly newly established) aren't nearly enough to have a solid division, it's a start.  They're getting more screen time, which will hopefully lead to the future development of some long term tag teams.  Remember, I grew up in an era where the first two Survivor Series events featured 5 on 5 tag team elimination matches.  These weren't just fly-by-night teams either, they were all legit tag teams.

Signing Devon and Bubba Ray as the Dudley Boyz again would bring a lot of legitimacy to the division.  Typically I don't to see older guys come back and get pushed to the moon, but I think Bully Ray and Devon are in the best shapes of their career.  TNA was the right decision for them years ago, and now I think the younger teams in WWE could benefit from the rub of working with such a good duo.

Bully Ray vs. Devon
Photo from Impact Wrestling

So IF the rumors are true and IF the Dudley's are looking for something in their future, I would support a reunion.  It could help get the momentum moving for a solid tag team division.  As of this writing on September 1, both Devon and Bully Ray are listed on the Impact Wrestling roster.  Devon in fact is still the company's TV champion.

He's Not Kidding

Tyson Kidd

By Kevin Hunsperger 
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

 Tyson Kidd may very well be the most underrated wrestler in the WWE. Colt Cabana used that phrase to describe him on his Art of Wrestling podcast a few months ago. We discussed this on our most recently edition of From the Rafters Radio as well.

 Now that Kidd has earned a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match, he has a chance to shine. I don't think he'll reach the top and secure the briefcase with the guaranteed title shot in it. But I do think he'll put on one heck of a show and hopefully in turn will show the WWE Universe and maybe more importantly, the powers that be, that he deserves a chance.

The Hart Dynasty

 When Kidd arrived in the WWE a few years ago with Natalya Neidhart and David Hart Smith as the Hart Dynasty, I had high expectations. The tandem won the tag team gold and I really thought the dying tag team division was given new life. But alas, not only was their reign a short lived one, the team split up, had a brief feud on WWE Superstars (of all places) and DH Smith was future endeavoured. Since then, Kidd has wrestled primarily on NXT and Superstars (both shows are online). The WWE paired him up with Justin Gabriel and put the two in a dark match for the tag team titles at Wrestlemania. I liked the idea of these two teaming together. They are both risk takers who like to fly. Gabriel got hurt though and Kidd was used as enhancement talent for the likes of Antonio Cesaro and Damien Sandow.

Kidd pins Tensai
Photo from WWE.com

Now, with a pinfall victory over the monster Tensai, Kidd has qualified for the ladder match. I really hope Kidd shines in this match and works his way back on TV and not as someone putting over others. He's got the in ring skills and while this is "sports entertainment" guys like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk have proven that fans do still crave wrestling too. I don't expect Kidd to walk out with the case, but I do think he's capable of stealing the show and taking his rightful spot on Raw and SmackDown!

Mania Memories: Have a Hart

Revenge (WWE)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

Wrestlemania 26 provided two big stories in my opinion.  It was the end of the road for Shawn Michaels and it was a new beginning of sorts for Bret Hart.  Chad and I were on hand in Phoenix for this Mania too. Again, the crowd is always buzzing and Wrestlemania, so the atmosphere helps to make it a great night no matter how lackluster some of the matches may seem.

Hart family celebrates (WWE)

I'll start with Bret Hart.  After several years of a strained relationship, Bret returned to in ring action at Wrestlemania 26, facing the boss, Vince McMahon.  Vince has done a good job over the years of making himself the punching bag of some of the top stars in the company, and even extending the olive branch in a few cases (Hulk Hogan comes to mind immediately)  The Hart-McMahon Street Fight was not pretty by any means, and let's face it, almost 13 years overdue, but it was good seeing the Hitman back under the WWE banner and not harboring any resentment towards the company.  Truth be told, one of my favorite aspects of this match was the sudden development and push for the Hart Dynasty.  Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, and Natalya had toiled for a while without getting a whole lot of attention.  Soon after their appearance at 26 and helping in the McMahon beatdown, the duo won the WWE tag team titles.  As you've seen in past posts, their reign was way too short and they should have never split these two superstars up, but for the time that it lasted, I enjoyed the Hart Dynasty and their official launch into superstardom came that night in Phoenix.

Bye, bye Shawn (WWE)

The other story of the night was of course the retirement of Shawn Michaels.  He had been obsessed with beating the Undertaker after going down in defeat to the Deadman a year earlier.  Shawn vowed that if he didn't win, he would hang it up forever.  By this point in his career, Shawn really had nothing to prove.  He had come back from back surgery and quite honestly, I think he deserved a break.  He may have lost the match that night, but he gained a bit more respect from me showing that he's not letting ego keep him in the game past his prime.  I didn't think this match was as good as the first Wrestlemania encounter between the two, but it was still a good contest.  It was actually the last match on the show, the first time they've done a non-championship match last on a Wrestlemania in many years.  (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was the LT-Bam Bam Bigelow match from WM 11)

Other quick tidbits, John Cena won the WWE title (again) against Batista.  In what may have been the shocker of the night, Chris Jericho beat Edge to retain the world title, only to drop it a short time later to Jack Swagger (who won that year's Money in the Bank match)  I'm still scratching my head on that one...  Randy Orton overcame the odds and beat his former Legacy buddies, Triple H humbled Sheamus, and CM Punk did the job for Rey Mysterio (probably the biggest disappointment of the night for me)

Share your Mania Memories here or be sure to like us on Facebook.

MIA Already

Courtesy: WWE

Tyson Kidd's monster body guard Jackson Andrews is already MIA.  I think he might have appeared on three episodes of Raw.  His last being the squashed by Mark Henry a couple of weeks ago.

The reports I've read on line indicate Andrews was sent back to FCW, the WWE's developmental territory.

My question is this:  why in the world did they even add him to the main roster?  Surely they knew before bringing him in that he was still green.  And from what I've read they decided to NOT use him on this season of NXT because he wasn't ready.  So he's not good enough to be a on a show decided to rookies learning the craft, but you're going to put him on a show that millions of people watch each week and rip apart (ie, me)  I don't understand that.

But of course this is just what the other websites are reporting.  Maybe there is some other legitimate reason behind all this.  I just wonder where this decision leaves Tyson Kidd.  And if and when they bring Andrews back, will he have a new gimmick?

Share your thoughts.  Thanks for stopping by.