My New Endeavor

Hanging with Kurt Angle

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

I didn't plan on telling everyone this through a blog, but it makes the most sense (or My 1-2-3 Cents), as I can reach everyone who has supported through the years with one simple post.  If you're reading this and know me, you know I LOVE pro wrestling.  I have always wanted to work (and get paid) in the wrestling business.  Several months ago, that opportunity presented itself.

TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Wrestling posted a job opening in the fall for a writer/producer.  I had no idea if I qualified, but I figured with my years in TV and my love for wrestling, I should at least apply.  It was appealing to me too, because TNA (aka Impact Wrestling) is based in Nashville, so I wouldn't be far from my original home of St. Louis (where my parents and inlaws still live)

I once managed Velvet Sky

In January, the company's human resource manager called me.  This was more than two months after applying.  I was shocked when she invited me to Nashville for an interview.  So I went and I thought things went pretty well.  They did mention my blog and some of the anti-TNA posts Chad and I have made through the years.  It was a bit awkward, but I figured if they called me for the interview, they were at least interested in me.

Then another two months passed and I heard NOTHING from them.  Then on Monday, my phone rang as I was leaving work.  It was Dixie Carter (owner of TNA) herself, offering me the job.  So, I have accepted the position and will start working with TNA Impact Wrestling in June.  I still can not believe this is happening.  It went from nothing to something pretty fast.  We're still working on the details of whether we'll stay here and I'll just travel with the company (it's a road job) and come home during down time.

If you're in southern Illinois and reading this, thanks for your support through the years.  This appears to be the end of the road... except for the fact that this is an April Fool's joke.  (Did I get anyone?)

Walk the Wall

The Hunspergers visit Croatia 

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I've been blogging over the last few weeks about our trip to Europe.  It was a great adventure, which included a cruise and several stops in countries I'll likely never visit again.  Our last stop was in Croatia and we spent part of the day in Dubrovnik.  

Checking out things

All I knew of Croatia was what I had heard in the news at they battled for independence in the early 1990's.  That was 10 years prior to our visit, so I never left like we were stopping in an unsafe area.  I was curious to see the country though and its rich history.  Our stop in Croatia was very brief, I think we were there about three or four hours before having to return to the ship and heading back home.

Little jailbirds 

Dubrovnik is a beautiful city.  It's surrounded by a giant wall, that you can buy a ticket for and walk around the city.  For just 16 bucks, (kids are free) the five of us took a closer look.  It was money well spent.  We got a birds eye view of the city.  As we walked, we came across little openings with bars that closed, so the kids got inside and looked like they were in jail.  

My kids were young at the time; 6, 5, and 1, so they weren't as impressed with the beautiful buildings and the amazing view out to the sea.  Their highlight was a woman who was hanging her clothes on a  line to dry.  It was one of those lines that come from the window and extend across to the next building.  They were in awe as they watched her hang stuff, pull the line and hang more clothes. 

Losing my head...

We had other photo ops along the way including Ethan pulling the rope as my head was in the guillotine.  Before we got back on the boat, we visited a woman selling trinkets to the tourists.  We bought each of the kids a set of Nesting Dolls to remember the historical country we had just visited.

Butts & Guts

Before the race!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Just over a month ago I ran my first half marathon. I haven't done any competitive races since then, just my runs around the neighborhood. I recently got an invite from the American Cancer Society to do the Butts and Guts 5K for colon cancer awareness. The flier included the line wear your favorite pair of boxer shorts.

Earlier in the week, I picked up a pair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle boxers.  I grabbed a TMNT mask from the kids collection and was ready to run.  However, when I arrived at the sign up, there was no one else in boxers.  There were a few female runners there with the boy shorts style underwear, so I chickened out.

I asked one of the race organizers if others would be wearing boxers, and he said probably.  A moment later, I noticed several racers wearing boxer shorts on top of their running shorts.  So, not to be a trend setter, I followed suit and put my boxers on over my shorts.  I felt more comfortable doing this.  I had read about the Undie 500 before, but folks here seemed a bit more conservative.  

We all got medals in our age group

I ran the 5K with a couple of people from work. They're much younger than me, and I actually think this helped me to run faster.  I don't know if this was a true 5K, as I finished in 24:15.  My best is somewhere around 28:00, so I don't know that I really ran it that much faster.  But I could tell I was moving quicker than usual, and while I couldn't keep up with my younger counterparts, I did feel inspired to at least try to.  

That philosophy worked, because I ended up finishing second in my age group and earning a medal.  This is the first time I've got a medal in a race where they weren't awarded to everyone who participates.  Granted, there were only four men in my age group, but I'm still taking it as a victory.  But what really matters is this event was a fundraiser for a great cause and a I had good time doing it.  I like when organizers spice up a usual 5K event. 

Throwback Thursday: Our Wrestlemania Experiences

Hogan & Piper at Wrestlemania 25
2009

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

My brain isn't working in terms of coming up with something to actually write about.  I shared my thoughts about the Internet Wrestling Community's "dream" Wrestlemania matches on the YouTube channel today.  So c
heck that out, and in the meantime, I put together a few pics of our past Wrestlemania trips.  Next week will mark our eighth one.

Beth Phoenix at Wrestlemania 24 Axxess

Measuring up to Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 22

The Heenan Family at Wrestlemania 27

Brawler, Rooster, Hitman at Wrestlemania 27

Fork tie at HOF for Abdullah the Butcher

Money Inc & Chris Hero at Wrestlemania 26

Model, Mouth, Akeem, Savage, Vince, & Jesse WM 28

Grand Wizard, Warrior, & Freddie Blassie at WM 29

I'm scanning the QR Code, I swear

Fans catching the Spirit Squad in action at WM 22

Lillian Garcia at Wrestlemania 24

Jesse Ventura: Movie critic at Wrestlemania 28

Outside WWE Headquarters WM 29

Way Back WhensDay: Tuesday Night Titans

Tuesday Night Titans
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

Long before Monday Night Raw, the WWF had a weekly cable show called Tuesday Night Titans.  It was talk show meets wrestling, with all kinds of ridiculousness along the way.  I remember tuning in each week and watching on the USA Network as Vince McMahon (not knowing he owned the company at the time) and Lord Alfred Hayes would interview Superstars, managers, and audience members. (Eventually "Mean" Gene Okerlund would become host.)

Macho Man & Mean Gene
Photo courtesy: WWE

The show started even before Prime Time Wrestling started airing on Mondays. The only WWF fix we'd get back then was Superstars on Sunday mornings and TNT on Tuesday nights.  MTV aired a couple of WWF specials, but this was before Saturday Night's Main Event or even pay per view matches.  TNT's format was like the Tonight Show, with silly skits and an occasional match or at least highlights from one to help keep ongoing storylines alive.

How now, brown cow.

I was 11 years old when I started watching, and for whatever reason the episode that sticks out in my mind the most was the night Captain Lou Albano and Vince McMahon visited a shock therapist to help "cure" George "The Animal" Steele.  This was right after Animal turned good and was being made into a lovable character and not the brutal beast he once was.

McMahon was on hand to document the treatment and what George was going through.  Captain Lou talked us through the procedure as Doctor Sigmund Ziff hooked up the Animal.  Finally to show us it was working, Steele uttered the following with a glazed look in his eyes, "How now, brown cow."  I can still hear him saying it and the "breakthrough" the Captain thought he'd reached, until Ziff turned up the juice and the Animal ran from the room.

Crocket & Tubbs? 

Other memorable moments was the introduction of the show "Fuji Vice" with Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco.  It was cheesy 80's fun, as the manager and Superstar spoofed the popular show Miami Vice.  The two did parodies of other 80's programming as well.  Roddy Piper had an experience with the Ghosts of Christmas and Kamala "ate" a live chicken on the air one week.  The show was crazy, but it was good fun.

I wonder now that the network is in full swing if the WWE will consider doing more programming like Tuesday Night Titans.  They certainly have the talent to pull it off.  They could also show the classic episodes, which I imagine is a real possibility.

Good Call on the Bad Guy

Razor Ramon
Photo Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Razor Ramon joins an already superb class of 2014 for the WWE Hall of Fame.  I like the choice, but I'm a bit surprised they're inducting him as Ramon and not Scott Hall.  Of course his biggest wave of success in the WWE and perhaps in his career was under the Razor Ramon moniker, so in that regard it makes sense.

I have followed Scott Hall pretty much his entire career.  I can remember when he was Starship Coyote along with Danny Spivey as team called American Starship.  I watched Coyote and Eagle team together at an NWA house show in St. Louis in 1985.  I was always impressed with his size and ability to get in the ring and wrestle.  When he went to the AWA and wrestled under his real name, I thought for sure he'd become the world champion there.

The Diamond Studd
Courtesy: WWE

Confession time: When Hall went to the NWA again and became The Diamond Studd, I had no idea it was him.  In my defense, he had lost the puffy brown hair and Tom Selleck mustache and looked more rugged, and was a bad ass.  He finally shed that goodie too shoes gimmick I felt he had in the AWA.  I was disappointed though that NWA didn't really do anything with him.

Wrestlemania X win
Photo courtesy: WWE

It wasn't until 1992 and his appearance in a vignette on WWF programming that I thought we'd finally see something good in Hall's future.  Now he was Razor Ramon, and he oozed machoism.  He feuded pretty instantly with former WWF champion Randy "Macho Man" Savage, beating him at a house show in attended while in college at Southeast Missouri State University.  He got a pretty good push, eventually facing, but losing to Bret Hart at the 1993 Royal Rumble.  Hart was the champ at the time, but Ramon had a good showing, but really shocked me when he beat Bob Backlund at Wrestlemania IX.

Long story short, Ramon shot up the ladder (literally) becoming the a good guy and winning the Intercontinental title.  He remains one of my favorites to hold that title. There was just something so cool about Razor Ramon.  His matches and feuds with Savage, Hart, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Jarrett, and Goldust all stick out to me. 

The Fake Razor
Photo courtesy: WWE

I HATED it when he left for WCW and formed the Outsiders (I know I'm in the minority).  Of all the personalities, including his own, Razor has always been my favorite.  I assume that it is the Scott Hall version of Ramon going in and not this guy --------->

We all know Scott Hall the man, has been battling lots of demons in the past.  I think with the help of Diamond Dallas Page he's on the road to recovery.  I look forward to hearing more from him on April 5 in New Orleans. 

Manic Monday

Bomb squad on scene
Photo courtesy: Jared Roberts

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

March 24, 2014 started off like any other day.  I went in to work, prepped for and anchored the morning news, and was working on Tuesday's show when we got word that a "suspicious package" had been found in the mailbox.  I can't go into exact details, but the item prompted our staff to take the necessary precautions, which included calling the authorities. 

Evacuation time
Photo courtesy: Mandy Robertson

Police and firefighters were soon on the scene and escorted us out of the building and next door to River Radio.   The staff there was very inviting as more than a dozen of us gathered in their conference room.  We made small talk and drank coffee for the first 30 minutes or so.  Then people started getting antsy, wanting to get out and cover stories or get back to their desks and work.  I wanted to get back to the station to finish my usual preps for the next day.

Police kept us away though.  The two entrances to the station were blocked off. Unfortunately, I had left my wallet in my car and wasn't allowed to go back to the parking lot to get it.  By 11:30 I was starving and just wanted a snack from the vending machine, but that wasn't happening.  My stomach rumbled as I updated (or tried to) our website from my iPad.  I wasn't able to upload pics, but eventually that happened too.

No threat found
Photo courtesy: Jared Roberts

About 12:30 Monday afternoon we received word that the package had been secured by the bomb squad and no threat was found.  We were given the all-clear and returned to the building.  The FBI and police are still investigating.  It was strange seeing other TV stations and media covering something happening at our station.  

Waiting things out at River Radio

While the situation was less than ideal, I'm thankful for the quick response from all the agencies involved.  I don't want to name names because I'm afraid I'll overlook someone.  I'm also thankful for the friendly folks at River Radio who shared their space with us for 3-and-a-half hours.  Many of my friends texted, tweeted, and Facebooked their concerns, thanks for that too guys.  We're all safe, mostly just annoyed, although as you can see, we had some fun with it too.

To read more about the situation and to see a collection of pictures, click this link.