Raw Memories: #9 Punk Drops the Bomb

Raw Moment #9:
Bombs away!
Photo from WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Most of my favorite Raw moments go back in time, but one of the top memories for me occurred last year when CM Punk dropped his so called "pipe bomb".  John Cena had been laid out in the ring.  Punk grabbed the mic, parked himself at the top of the ramp and went on a rant.

It seemed to me that Punk spoke straight from the heart that night and I think it really connected with the fans.  This was the big buildup to Cena and Punk's WWE title match at Money in the Bank.  Punk's contract was set to expire and Punk promised he'd walk out with the championship and hold it hostage. Punk delivered on that promise, winning the belt and bolting the arena that night.

This initial speech laid the groundwork for many of the story lines in the company.  Vince McMahon was "relieved" of his duties, Triple H emerged as the COO, and John Laurinaitis became the Raw interim general manager.

Punk really did speak the truth, and I loved the phrase about "glad handing, nonsensical, douche bag yes men."  He also took a shot at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and just as he was about to continue his rant, Punk's mic got cut off.

My only wish was they would have stretched out the title hostage situation.  I also wish they would have worked Colt Cabana into the angle in more than just a mention on TV.  I know Colt is happy doing his thing, but a cameo appearance would have been great.

Honorable mention: The birth of Mr. Socko
Photo from WWE

Honorable Mention:  During the Monday Night Wars, Vince McMahon and is crew decided to create an evil boss character.  McMahon embroiled in a memorable feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin.  The two beat the hell out of each other every chance they got.  At one point the CEO ended up in the hospital and in an attempt to cheer up the boss, Mankind showed up.  

After bringing balloons, chocolate and even a clown, Mick Foley decided to Vince needed a sock puppet to make him smile.  Mr. Socko emerged, a hand drawn face on an old tube sock.  But Vince was less than impressed and kicked everyone out of the room.  Of course when the doctor appeared it was Stone Cold who proceeded to beat the hell out of Vince again, right there in the hospital.

Vince's expressions throughout the bit are priceless and it gave way to one of the most famous non-wrestlers in the history of the business.  Socko still makes an appearance every now and again, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see him on July 23rd as well.

Raw Memories: #10 Brain Drain

Raw Moment #10:
Gorilla Monsoon fires Bobby Heenan
Photo from WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

For the next 10 days I'll be posting my favorite memories from Monday Night Raw as we count down to the 1,000th episode.  I am basing my list on the things that I still remember after all these years.  I did not go online to look up anything (other than the photos and videos).  My list may be obscure, but hey I'm not a "normal" person anyway.  I also have more than 10 moments that I wanted to share, so I'm going to write my 10 favorites and then 5 "honorable mentions".

I should also state for the record that I started watching Raw when it debuted, I was in college and it became a Monday night tradition for me to head down to the pizza restaurant on campus and watch with a few other fans.

My #10 memory comes during that first year of Raw.  It was December 1993 and Gorilla Monsoon "fired" color commentator Bobby "the Brain" Heenan.  The former manager was set to leave the company and his departure was one of the most significant to me.  No doubt Heenan is one of the greatest personalities in all of wrestling and to see him leave my favorite company was sad to me.  At the time I wasn't sure he was headed to WCW (this was before the internet), but when he did arrive there I did find some comfort.  But let's face it, I don't think he was the same Brain as he was in the WWF.

The night Monsoon fired Heenan, he gathered all his belongings and tossed them outside the arena.  Heenan was then tossed out after them and the door locked shut.  The camera stayed with the Brain as he tried to gather his items and started crying.  It was the end of an era in wrestling and the start of the big name stars heading to WCW.  Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and countless others would soon be following suit.

Honorable mention: This is your life.
Photo from: WWE

Honorable Mention:  I may catch flack for making this an honorable mention and not one of my top ten, but the "This is Your Life" segment with the Rock and Mankind has landed here.  I enjoyed the segment, and obviously the fans did too as it is still the highest rated segment in Raw history.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember this leading to any lasting results in the WWF at the time.

This was during the Attitude Era and honestly my memories of this time starts to get fuzzy as there was SO much wrestling on at the time I had a hard time remembering all the events that happened then.  But the bottom line of this story was that the Mankind was trying to get into the Rock's good graces and brought back several blasts from his past.  The Rock systematically ran down everyone Foley brought to the ring.  The segment came to an end with Triple H hitting the ring with a sledgehammer.

Stay tuned, more memories will be shared tomorrow.  Be sure to like us on Facebook and check out My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube.

Friday Fail: Sid's Tough Break

Sid breaks his leg

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I debated doing this as a Friday Fail as it saw someone suffer a serious injury.  But one of our readers (and a friend of mine), Weston made the argument that a fail happens when you attempt to do something and it doesn't go according to plan.  Maybe it wasn't the best idea for a 6'7" monster to climb the top rope.

I'll be honest, I can't even go back and look at the footage of the accident.  It happened at the WCW pay per view SIN in 2001.  Sid was wrestling Scott Steiner, Animal, and Jeff Jarrett.  Sid went to the top rope and to say he landed wrong is an understatement.  He landed on his leg the wrong way and it snapped like a twig.

The break was so graphic and horrific in my opinion, I was shocked that Sid eventually was able to get back in the ring and wrestle.  He was no spring chicken at the time of the accident and to see him still active today is a testament to his determination.  I interviewed Sid once before the accident.  He talked about all the training he goes through to stay in such great shape.

Why Hornswoggle?

Mystery solved, but why?
Photo courtesy: WWE.com

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

 Those of you who watched Raw this past Monday night learned the answer to a longtime mystery in the WWE. The anonymous Raw General Manager was Hornswoggle. Yeah, that's right we're to believe that for more than a year the diminutive wrestler was behind one of the WWE's biggest angles. After all, week after week fans speculated who was sending all those mystery emails setting up matches and making the rules on the show.

 Then on July 9, 2012 we found out it was Hornswoggle. It's a move that still has me shaking my head and really losing more than a little faith in the WWE Creative Team. It seems like they pitched this angle in the trash just for the sake of doing it. I don't think the WWE ever had a plan for the reveal, so I don't know why they did something so hastily. I think we could have all gone without this.

Daddy's boy
Photo courtesy: WWE

 Of course this isn't the first big angle that we've seen Hornswoggle the focus of. Several years ago he learned that he was the "illegitimate son" of Mr. McMahon. Initially I believe Mr. Kennedy was supposed to be the one revealed as the long lost son, but he had gotten hurt or suspended around the time the announcement was made. In the long run though Hornswoggle turned out to be pulling a fast one on the McMahons with his "real" father Finley.

Hornswoggle is entertaining to the kids, but as an adult I find him borderline annoying.  If the creative team wants to use him, he should be in that silly sidekick role, and not the center piece of major story lines.  I'm not hating on the guy, I'm just expressing some frustration that I've had with several things in the WWE right now and Hornswoggle is the straw who broke the camel's back.

What About Bob?

Backlund's first title run

By Kevin Hunsperger 
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

 I've talked about it before, but after watching Raw I've got to ask it again. Why is Bob Backlund STILL not in the WWE Hall of Fame? The man is the second longest reining champion in the company's history (right behind Bruno Sammartino) and he has seemed to have a healthy relationship with the WWE.

 After his initial run as champ, Backlund left the WWF for several years before returning in 1993. When he first came back he primarily was used to put over newer talent, I remember being shocked at how quickly Razor Ramon beat him at Wrestlemania IX. But by the end of 1994, he was had turned heel and was embroiled in a feud with WWF champion Bret Hart. In fact, he won the title and held it for all of two or three days before dropping it to Diesel. That move shocked me even more than the loss to Ramon.

 Backlund stuck around for a bit, but was already well into his 40's and pushing 50 at the time. He came back to the WWF in 1997 and was paired with his former nemsis the Iron Sheik as they managed The Sultan. Backlund made other appearances in the last 15 years, so I really can't understand why he's not in the Hall of Fame.

Heath Slater vs. Bob Backlund
Photo courtesy: WWE.com

 I know, I know, it's a gimmick. It's validity is in question, and by even posting this blog, I've fallen victim to "caring" about the HOF. I'll close on this, while to some the Hall of Fame is a joke, I do really enjoy it. I think if he's willing, Mr. Backlund needs to be a part of the Class of 2013, along with Randy Savage and Rick Rude. But I'll post more on that when it gets closer.

X Marks the Spot

Austin Aries, new TNA Champ
Photo courtesy: Impact Wrestling

By Drew Robbins
@NGPDrew  on Twitter

TNA is never going to be the WWE.

For most of its history, TNA has been a company operating in ignorance of this fact; they’ve aimed their content at the same audience, tried directly competing with the WWE and its flagship program, and, in a move that is inarguably the most notorious of all, hired a consortium of wrestlers that were either well past their prime or were from an entirely different era altogether.  Last night at Destination X, the company’s latest pay-per-view event that annually aims its glance at the roster’s brightest young superstars, TNA fell victim to none of these expected tropes and instead shifted its focus elsewhere:  inward.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never much cared for TNA; if a company can’t envision itself as anything better than a generic-brand clone of its top competitor, then, in my eyes, why should I picture it any other way?  Last night, though, I couldn’t tear myself away from what was suddenly a unique interpretation of the medium that couldn’t be seen anywhere else. 

Destination X was not aimed at the middle of the demographic, didn’t offer itself up as direct competition to the WWE and its brand of wrestling, and the only superstar in the spotlight that was past their prime was Kurt Angle, a grappler who, even after years of wear and tear suffered in the ring, is still better than most on his worst day.  Destination X was instead aimed at crafting a new image of the company that wasn’t a replica of anything else on the market, and, in that vain, it was a rousing success.

Rubix gets some air
Photo courtesy: Impact Wrestling

The event wasn’t perfect by any means thanks to a few hiccups in storytelling and a few matches that felt like ho-hum filler used only to best utilize the three-hour timeslot, but it was an unquantifiable amount of steps in the right direction for a promotion that has spent much of its life walking backwards.  TNA successfully highlighted a burgeoning focus on the independent scene’s most talented members and did so in a way that was unlike the WWE or any other federation across the globe.

At Destination X, TNA defied expectations and became what it was always meant to be:  TNA, a brand defined not by its competition but by its own vision of how wrestling should be. 

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!