2 is Greater Than 1

Ace Hawkins & Heath Hatton on WWE (WWE)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

For the last few weeks the artist formerly known as Skip Sheffield has been mowing down the competition in the ring.  Ryback has been competing against "local talent" on SmackDown! and on Sunday night at Extreme Rules, his opponents including two wrestlers I personally know.

Billed as Aaron Relic and Jay Hatton on the WWE pay per view, All American Pro Wrestling fans know them better as Ace Hawkins and Heath Hatton.  Readers of My 1-2-3 Cents may remember Heath being included in my Stars of 2012 post earlier this year.

Ace vs. Ryback (WWE)

Even though their prematch promo lasted about as long as the match, it was great to see a couple of our guys in the WWE spotlight.  They may have been demolished by the "terminator" but I can't tell you how proud I am of Ace and Heath.  These two guys have worked hard on the indy scene for the last few years.  It's great to see them getting a little time in the national spotlight.

This may very well be the tip of the iceberg for both Ace and Heath.  I want to again congratulate them and let them know how proud I am of their accomplishments and what they did Sunday at Extreme Rules.  Way to go guys.  I wonder if we can get Heath's "2 is greater than 1" trending.

You can catch both Ace and Heath at the May 19 Collision TV in Marion, IL.  Go to AAPW's website for more details or to watch the two in action.

My First Chikara Experience

First in line!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

For years, I've listened to Chad hype the independent wrestling company Chikara.  Years I tell you.  He even drove 15 hours once to watch a series of shows in Pennsylvania.  I'll be honest, having watched just a bit of it on DVD, I didn't understand the appeal of driving all that way.  The shows were a bit campy in my estimation and while entertaining, lacked a wrestling company feel that I had been accustomed to.

But fast forward 6 years and my exposure to indy wrestling has exploded.  Besides working with All American Pro Wrestling for the last year, I've also been to several other shows, including ROH and Dragon Gate.  Then on Saturday, April 28 I attended my first Chikara show.  A day later, I was at my second show.  And what an experience.

My fellow AAPW comrades Adam Testa and Drew Robbins loaded up in my Prius (hopefully Daniel Bryan reads this) and headed to Chicago Ridge.  It was an estimated 5 and half to six hour drive, but we made it in about 4 and half.  We met AAPW Executive Producer Chris Hagstrom and Chad outside the building, ready to embark on two days of wrestling bliss.  Three shows, two towns, many countless memories.

Mr. Touchdown and me

Chikara opened the weekend up with "Hot Off the Griddle."  I must tell you I was really impressed not just with the talent in the ring, but the way they all interacted with the fans outside the ring.  I posed for pictures with the Colony (a group of wrestling ants), Mr. Touchdown (a wrestling football player), and Chuck Taylor (one half of the new campeones de parejas).  Not one of them asked for any money or for fans to buy their merchandise.  They were there and took the time to thank the fans for being a part of the show.

Without bashing ROH too much, I can't say the same about them.  Photos with their stars were $10 each. After the price of admission for three shows, travel, hotel, food, and other merchandise; I decided that was not a good deal.

The wrestling from both companies was solid.  This was booked as a Synergy event, and talent from both companies appeared on each other's cards.  El Generico for example wrestled on both shows, in the main event of Hot Off the Griddle he was pinned by the Queen of Wrestling, Sara Del Rey.  What an amazing contest that ended up being.  I will write and vlog more in the near future about that match and the topic of men vs. women in the ring.  Kevin Steen took Chikara Grand Champion Eddie Kingston to the limit in a match that the champ won by disqualification.  Steen definitely knows who to work the crowd, as many of the Rudos (heels) do.  Chuck Taylor for instance hurled Chad's cousin's bottle of Gatorade across the arena.  The kid was devastated.   A couple of other highlights from first day: Mixed Marital Archie, the Throwbacks, and the Colony.  All very entertaining and not too campy or over the top like I thought Chikara might be.

After the double shot Saturday afternoon and evening we headed about 40 minutes away to Indiana where we booked a hotel.  After a few hours sleep we headed south to Lafayette for day two of Chikara and the Contaminated Cowl event.  Because Lafayette is a much smaller town than Chicago Ridge, this show was in an old movie theater.  It was quite an intimate feel to it as well as we were so close to the ring that when guys were on the floor brawling we could reach out and touch them.

Chuck Taylor & me

It was another solid day of wrestling action, this time just by the men and women of Chikara though.  I got to get a pic with Mixed Martial Archie and watch FIST members (Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano) become two time campeones de parejas (a first for Chikara).  Chris got his hat tossed into the crowd, Chad's show was stolen and elbow dropped in the main event, and Adam had his shoe thrown across the room too.  Adam also tried to show respect to his team, 3.0 and offer up some Red Bull and Slim Jims, only to see the beverage dumped in the ring.  We interacted after the show again with the likes of Dasher Hatfield, who did 10 Questions with us a while back, Arik Cannon, and Chuck Taylor.

I'm so very glad I made this trip.  Not only did I get to witness Chikara live and in person for the first time ever, I had a great time with my friends. The saying getting there is half the fun is an understatement.  This is only the tip of the iceberg, there were so many memorable moments.  My hope now is that Chikara will head a bit further south in the future, maybe St. Louis or even southern Illinois.  How about it Quack?  Also, I hope that Darkness Crabtree and Dragon Dragon make a comeback too.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook and tune in to From the Rafters Radio each Thursday at 7 p.m. CST.  Click here for details.

WWE Cover Bands

Mariah Kerry Von Erich is one of my favorites

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

One of the cool things about Twitter (at least in my opinion) is the creativity some people show while on the social networking site.  Case in point, yesterday we say #WWECoverBands popping up all over the place.  I'm not 100% sure who started it, I saw it first in a CM Punk tweet, although I have reason to believe Marty DeRosa came up with it.

Wrestlers and fans posted several creative wrestling related music acts.  It's pretty simple if you think about it, yet very creative and fun as far as I'm concerned.  I've listed some of my favorites.

Scott Hall'n Oates

@AshleyFountain: Lady Ante-Bella Twins

@proudcaucasian: Torrie Wilson Phillps

@proudcaucasian: Mariah Kerry Von Erich

@bitterlunatic: Kerry Von Erich Clapton

@ChrisSchully: Manfred Mankind

@proudcaucasian: The Mamas & Papa Shango

@scottstanford1: Lauren Hill & the Mr. Fujis

@IHateMattDrufke: Jake "the Whitesnake" Roberts

@arikcannon: Olivia Newton John Laurinaitis

@proudcaucasian: Paula Abdullah the Butcher

@bitterlunatic: Scott Hall & Oates

@thelastjimperor: Rowdy Roddy Stryper

Kool & the One Man Gang

Here are my two contributions:

@kevinhunsperger: Kool and the One Man Gang

@kevinhunsperger: Grand Funkasaurus Railroad

You get the point.  This is just the tip of the iceberg, so if you're on Twitter and missed this over the last couple of days, type in #WWECoverBands and take a look.  Post your ideas here or over on our Facebook wall.

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Get Well, Buff

Hanging with Buff Bagwell circa 1998

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Marcus "Buff" Bagwell continues to recover from a near fatal car accident.  The former WCW star crashed his Jeep after possibly suffering a seizure.

TMZ has released the 911 call from his wife, Judy.  She explains that Buff has been on medication.  You'll also hear from other witnesses to the crash.  Click this link to listen.

From the reports I've read Buff broke his neck in the accident.  I hope and pray that he makes a full recovery from this.  We all know he broke his neck several years ago while wrestling Rick Steiner.  I have seen no updates on his condition today (April 26) or if there has been an official ruling on the cause of the crash.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bagwell in 1998 when I was working as a news reporter in Alabama.  WCW was doing a live episode of Thunder in Huntsville.  A couple of coworkers and I headed over to do some pre-show interviews.  I had no idea who we were going to get to talk with, but Buff was one of the guys on the list. Right before we started rolling, we had a brief conversation.  He decided to do the entire interview in character, which was quite entertaining.  This was during his feud with the Steiners after Buff joined the nWo.  I felt like he played that cocky heel role nicely.  I know some people in the Internet Wrestling Community hate on Bagwell, but I found him to be a pretty cool guy.  We talked after the interview too, and I really enjoyed the experience.

Below is link to that interview too.  There are others on the video, including Bobby Heenan and Ray "the Big Bossman" Traylor.  We'll post updates on Bagwell's condition on our Facebook page when we get more details.

MMA is Finally Entertaining

Archibald Peck & company

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

One of my breakout stars of the last year is Archibald Peck. “Marchie” Archie, along with his majorette Veronica, made their debut at Chikara’s “Operation Big Freeze” in a losing effort against current Chikara Grand Champion Eddie Kingston.

In his second appearance, Peck issued an open challenge to any competitor in the locker room at King of Trios. Colt Cabana answered the challenge only to be defeated by the crafty bandleader. Archie would later reveal that when Eddie Kingston hit the Backfist to the Future in his debut match it actually sent Archie to the future where he picked up a sports almanac and knew who would answer the open the challenge.

(From Chikara)

Archie went on to rack up a 7-1 record leading into his rematch against Colt Cabana at Chikara’s first Ippv “High Noon.” Prior to the rematch Archie revealed his new mascot, Colt Cabunny. Cabunny had not been seen in Chikara since the 2005 Tag World Grand Prix where he teamed with CP Munk. Due to the treatment of Cabunny by Archie, Cabana was going into the match not only with the hope of avenging his loss but also to free the bunny. At the end of the match Colt Cabunny got involved and helped Cabana win the match.

Since the loss at “High Noon,” Archibald has gone on a 7 match-losing streak. The lack of trips to the pay window did not set well with Veronica who came out and said if Peck didn’t start winning she would stop accompanying him to the ring. Throwing another wrench into the situation was the debut of Mr. Touchdown. Anyone who has gone to high school can relate to the scenario of the cheerleader pining for the captain of the football team.

With the consecutive loses along with the loss of his valet, Archie decided a change was in order. Two weeks ago “Marchie” Archie was retired and Mixed Martial Archie debuted. I have not seen the match nor have I heard much about it. I don’t know much about the new gimmick, but I am curious to see it in action. “Marchie” Archie was fantastic (and his last match against Chuck Taylor from the 3/25/12 show in Canada is one of the greatest matches ever) and I have no doubt Mixed Martial Archie will be just as entertaining. Here is MMA’s promo leading into the contest this Saturday against Kobald.

For full thoughts on this weekends Chikara and ROH shows follow My123Cents on Facebook and Twitter.

Wrestling with Logic (Yet Again)

CM "Drunk" (from WWE)

By Chad Smart & Kevin Hunsperger
@my123cents on Twitter

Throughout the majority of the three hour RAW on Monday, I kept having the same thought. Did we really need an extra hour just to see clips of Brock Lesnar beating up guys who are now on the TNA roster? Our good friend Adam Testa summed up the night pretty well in his article for the Baltimore Sun.

Besides being bored with the show, there were several moments that left me scratching my head, as the logic involved was even more illogical than normal. In no particular order here are things C&C Music Factory would look at and say Hmmm.

First up, the CM Drunk situation. Chris Jericho claimed Punk was drinking in the hours leading up to a WWE event and should therefore be stripped of the title based on some unknown rule. Johnny Ace orders Punk to take a field sobriety test in the ring to see whether or not Punk was in fact drunk. Why didn’t Punk have to take a Breathalyzer test? That would have given an accurate result and saved the audience 10 minutes of bad comedy. Instead we got Punk acting drunk, the police officer determining Punk to be drunk and then? Instead of Teddy Long stripping Punk of the WWE Championship, the Officer leaves, Punk screws up the alphabet in reverse, moonwalks and beats up Jericho.

The most mind scratching part of the event was the rule about WWE Champions not being allowed to drink before a show. Has this always been on the book, or was it an amendment added after Steve Austin was done being champion? I’m pretty sure Austin used to drink DURING WWE shows.

Several fans will most likely say, the new rule isn’t that big of a deal and it was there for the segment so just shut up and enjoy the show. To that I say, no. I’m tired of having my intelligence insulted. I have not problem with rules appearing on the book out of nowhere, but don’t make them contradict one of your biggest stars in the last 15 years. As we talked about last week on “From the Rafters” radio, each wrestling company sets up rules in their own universe and then builds on those rules. The good promotions will adhere to those rules. Bad promotions will ignore those rules and treat each show differently and do whatever they want whenever they want to fit the story they want to tell. Since Vince McMahon likes to talk about how WWE is an entertainment company and they “make movies,” the same rules apply in TV and films. Consistency is a trait of solid storytelling.

Kevin's 1-2-3 Cents:  I couldn't agree more.  Is this really how two superstars, who claim to be "the best in the world", should be booked?  As Gorilla Monsoon would say, give me a break!

This is more of a nitpick and doesn’t have anything to do with logic, but why are the Intercontinental and United States champions wrestling in tag team matches instead of singles matches?

Kevin's 1-2-3 Cents: Another valid point.  Why in the world won't the WWE look beyond the main roster and develop some tag teams.  There's a lot of talent being wasted.  Even the tag champs are at this point, but I have a feeling this is part of something big for them (at least I hope so)

Sign the dotted line (from WWE)

The main attraction of Raw was the contract signing between Brock Lesnar and John Cena for their match this Sunday at Extreme Rules. I don’t like contract signings because they don’t make sense to me. Does every match have a signed contract? When wrestlers show up to TV shows do they have to sign a contract with the person they are facing that night? How do impromptu matches happen if there’s no signed contract?

As I asked during RAW on our Facebook page, what would have happened if Brock or Cena didn’t sign the contract? Would a match WWE has been promoting and using as a selling point for the pay per view for the past 2 weeks not have taken place? What exactly did the contract signing accomplish?

RAW started with everything in place for the contract signing. Well everything except Brock Lesnar. Are we to believe Brock doesn’t have to show up before the show starts? That’s another pet peeve of mine. Wrestlers showing up after the show starts? The contract signing got postponed until the end of the show, even though Brock showed up at least an hour prior but when it was time for the signing, John Cena was nowhere to be seen. Was he in the bathroom? Did no one tell him the contract signing was coming up? Why wasn’t he waiting to come to the ring? Maybe he fell asleep when Brock started talking too. This whole segment in my opinion was horribly written. Brock has been with WWE for 3 weeks and he’s just now making a list of demands he wants before getting into the ring?

I also don’t understand John Cena’s character. He’s been the focal point of the company for eight years. He’s defeated everyone put in his path in that time. He loses one match to a former superstar and has another former star get the better of him and now he’s all super serious moody suffering from lack of confidence? I could understand if Cena talked about Brock’s UFC career and there was mention of their feud where Cena said Brock’s beat him before and Cena doesn’t know if he can beat Lesnar. While I think Edge cut a good promo and explained the reason why Cena needed to beat Lesnar, Cena’s mime routine last night didn’t do anything to make me care to see Brock vs. Cena. Maybe it’s just me.

Kevin's 1-2-3 Cents:  I'm still having trouble getting interested in Brock Lesnar.  I didn't like him in his first stint, and I'm not in to him now either.  I did however like the selective editing with the opponents that Lesnar destroyed early on.  Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan, and Kurt Angle.  Childish, yes.  Funny, indeed.

Family reunion? (from WWE)

Because I can’t think of anything they can do to make me care about a Kane vs. Randy Orton match, I’m not going to mention the segments with Paul Bearer. Trying to think if there’s anything else I need to complain about. I think I’ve said enough.

Kevin's 1-2-3 Cents:  I'm going to contradict myself here with this one, but I'm a wrestling fan.  I didn't mind the Paul Bearer bit.  It's become a running joke of sorts.  He's become the Kenny from South Park.  How many times will they kill off Paul?  It's inconsistent for sure, but hey it's fun in my view.

One other note from me, why in the heck is a Bella twin the Divas champion?  If they wanted to get the belt off of Beth Phoenix (which I still think was the biggest injustice of the night) why not have her drop it to Natalya or Tamina Snuka?

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Feel the Flow of 3.0

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

While Saturday’s show has a main event of Eddie Kingston vs. Kevin Steen, the Grand Championship match is not the only Chikara title match happening this weekend. On Sunday, April 30 in Lafayette, Indiana, newly crowned campeones de parajeas 3.0 defend the titles against the men they won the titles from Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano of team F.I.S.T.

This match up is a bit shocking given 3.0 won the titles one month ago in Chikara’s Canadian debut. In the world of Chikara before being able to challenge for the tag titles a team must accumulate three points. Three points are accomplished by getting three consecutive victories without suffering a loss. Losing the titles on March 24 and having a return match on April 30 is I believe the quickest turn around for getting a title match.

F.I.S.T. got their three points in one four-way match at Chikara’s last show, I’ll Be a Mummy’s Uncle on April 14. It took just eleven and a half minutes to eliminate the teams of the Maximos, QT Marshall & Jack Bonza, and the Bravados to secure three points. It’s pretty much a given Taylor and Gargano will be focused on regaining what they feel are rightfully theirs.

On the other side of the ring is the team of 3.0, Shane “Big Magic” Matthews and Scott “Jagged” Parker. 3.0 debuted in Chikara in February 2006 as 2.0. Their win-loss record over the next four years wasn’t real impressive. They were more concerned with having a good time then racking up victories. In 2010, 2.0 were booked in a loser leaves town match against the Badd Boyz, a tag team that had shown up earlier in the year. After 2.0 lost by count out due to not showing up, the Badd Boyz revealed they were really 2.0 and from that point on they would be known as 3.0 since they were new and improved.

3.0 got their first shot at the tag titles on September 18, 2010 coming up short in a valiant effort against champions Claudio Castagnoli and Ares of the BDK. 3.0 would not get another shot at the titles until March 24, 2012 when they beat F.I.S.T. for the titles.

I can’t see 3.0 dropping the titles in their first defense. Since Taylor and Gargano are feuding in other promotions, I’m curious to see if Chikara will work it into their story lines or if they’ll keep the Chikara universe separate much like there are alternate universes in the comic book worlds. Can we see Ultimate Chikara debuting soon?

While I predict the Kingston/Steen match to be a hard hitting all out brawl, I have a feeling the 3.0/F.I.S.T. match will be more technical based with some slight comedic antics sprinkled throughout the match. Much like the Grand Championship match, this title match could be worth the price of admission alone. If you’re near Lafayette, Indiana on Sunday, I doubt you’ll find anything more entertaining then Chikara’s show. Just be sure to stock up on pepperoni sticks and Red Bull before heading out to the show.

Follow My123Cents on Facebook and Twitter. We’ve been stocking the prize vault and may have another giveaway soon.