Have you seen me?

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Long time WWE Superstar Kane has been missing in action for nearly eight months. The last time for the former World Heavyweight Champion appeared on WWE TV was Nov. 29, 2016, when he beat Luke Harper on SmackDown Live. The two had battled it out earlier in the month at Survivor Series. Kane won that encounter too.

Harper vs. Kane
Courtesy: WWE

There has been little talk of the Big Red Machine since that time. In fact, I don't know if he's been mentioned on WWE programming since late last year. I half expected him to either appear at or be a part of the promotion for the new Great Balls of Fire event for obvious reasons. But there was no hellfire and brimstone to be seen.

Of course, I know Glenn Jacobs, the man who brought Kane to life nearly 20 years ago (later this year I'll have a tribute blog up), is running for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Jacobs, now 50, has been vocal about his political aspirations in the past. My assumption is WWE is giving him time to run his campaign. I love that he has a fireball in his logo and his slogan is "Lighting the way for our future." I don't think he'll kick off council meetings by raising his arms and lowering them to flashes of fire, but it is a cool visual. Go ahead and think about it for a second. 

The election isn't until May 1, 2018, but it's my sincere hope we get to see at least one Kane match in 2017 to mark the 20 year anniversary of the character. Win or lose in May, I'd like to see him get a good send off. He's certainly earned it. Also, I'm excited to see that another Jacobs character, Isaac Yankem, DDS is the exclusive Elite figure from Toys R Us at this year's San Diego Comic Con. 

Congratulations, it's a son

Father-son united
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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The big payoff from the Kurt Angle 'love' angle has played out on Monday Night Raw. Despite lots of speculation of it being either Dixie Carter or Stephanie McMahon, WWE switched gears and revealed the secret is that Angle has a son. That son is former SmackDown Live tag team champion Jason Jordan.

I'm relieved that the surprise wasn't a love affair with Stephanie or Dixie. Honestly, I've enjoyed the break from Stephanie being on TV. And I'm not sure how a Dixie run on WWE TV would work, although I'm willing to give it a shot in some other storyline. 

Kane & Paul Bearer
Courtesy: WWE

Of course, this isn't the first time a wrestling storyline has involved a father-son duo that isn't actually father and son. Kane and Paul Bearer comes to mind. This angle worked for me as a fan. WWE did an excellent job telling the Undertaker's backstory and why Kane and Bearer both played a role in it. 

Hornswoggle & Finlay
Courtesy: WWE

The father-son relationship between Finlay and Hornswoggle was a bit less believable. I realize as I write this that may sound ridiculous that a 300-pound monster covered in red from head to toe is related to a portly man in white face paint and jet black hair is more believable than an Irishman being the father of a leprechaun, but hey it's my blog, right? I didn't hate the Finlay-Hornswoggle story (at least it was better than Vince McMahon being the daddy), but it wasn't one of my favorites.

Courtesy: WWE

In my 1-2-3 cents, the Angle-Jordan connection can be a great story. One of my first questions was 'why is Corey Graves involved?' He answered that during commentary, explaining he and Jordan were good friends in NXT and he wanted to help unite Jordan with his biological father. I did laugh when Booker T suggested Jordan being on Raw is a conflict of interest because the General Manager is his father. I instantly thought of the McMahon family, but I digress.

American Alpha
Courtesy: WWE

Even though I'm bummed American Alpha didn't get a long run on the main roster, I'm glad they didn't just split Jordan and Chad Gable and have them feud, especially since that's what's going on right now with Enzo and Big Cass. Jordan and Gable have great potential on their own and putting them on different rosters is a good idea right now. 

Only time will tell what's next in this angle (pun intended). I have to believe since Kurt made such a big deal out of the implications the announcement would have on his career that there's still more to come than just the hugs and handshakes we saw after the initial announcement.

World Emoji Day: WWEmoji review

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Last year I felt like I celebrated World Emoji Day pretty creatively with a blog made up of nothing but emojis. I was going to attempt to repeat that feat with the new WWEmoji app, but after about an hour of trying to figure it out, I'm waving the white flag to surrender.

It's most likely user error, so instead of using the emojis in place of words, I'll write a bit about the app and share my thoughts on it. The cost is $1.99 to download. That gives you access to several pages of emojis with a variety of WWE Superstars. Noticeably absent in my 1-2-3 cents is the current Cruiserweight Champion Neville. There is, however, five variations of Bo Dallas and seven different Enzo characters. I'm not knocking either Superstar, but as a fan of WWE, I'd like more choices.

The Legends page includes the usual favorites like "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Bret Hart. The late Eddie Guerrero and Ultimate Warrior are also featured. One glaring omission (besides Hulk Hogan) is that of Andre the Giant. I don't need four Kevin Nash or Goldberg icons if it means skimping on other Legends.

There's also a section with nothing but belts and other accessories used in the ring. Roddy Piper's kilt, Eric Rowan's sheep mask and Jimmy Hart's megaphone are among the options. That's also where I found the lucha mask for the photo I created. You can also add quotes and phrases from your favorite Superstars and Legends as well. And some of the emojis include movement, which is cool. 

Obviously, I've only had the app a few hours so I will have to get used to how it how it works. I'm still trying to understand why when I hit share with Snapchat it's not working. I know I'll have fun with it, especially after I figure out more about it. 

Wrestling fans and their ink

New Day rocks

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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For as long as I can remember I've wanted a tattoo. I will get one eventually, but I have no idea about a design. There are plenty of wrestlers who have gotten ink through the years, and WWE even has a show on their website about it. I've seen several fans' body art popping up on Twitter lately, including some fans of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Those fans are getting VIP tickets for life to live shows and tee shirts for their dedication. So now I share with you some cool tattoos I've come across.

WarGames turns 30

WarGames 87

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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A decade before Hell in a Cell and 15 years before the Elimination Chamber there was a match called WarGames. Dusty Rhodes is created with creating the cage match concept and introducing it to wrestling fans in July 1987. The Dream got inspiration for the idea after seeing the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Dusty vs. Arn
Courtesy: WWE

The concept included two teams, two rings and a giant cage. The match started as a one on one competition and a coin toss would determine who had the advantage when adding members to the match. The brawling continued until all members of both teams were in the ring and then and only then could the match come to an end. Something I'd forgotten though was apparently pinfalls didn't count. The only way to win the WarGames was by submission or knocking out your opponent.

July 4, 1987, saw the very first WarGames match. Despite having the disadvantage at the start, The Road Warriors, Dusty, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering beat the Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & Lex Luger) and J.J. Dillon.

The match concept continued a few times in '87. While the Road Warriors, Dusty and members of the Horsemen were the main staples, other competitors like The Rock 'n Roll Express, Midnight Express, Barry Windham and Big Bubba Rogers had appearances in the early matches.

I don't think I'd ever seen a WarGames match live (on PPV) until 1991. But I saw clips on NWA programming and articles in the Apter magazines. At WrestleWar '91 Flair, Windham, Sid Vicious and Larry Zbysko beat Sting, Brian Pillman and the Steiners. Sid delivered two sick powerbombs on Pillman that looked like they legit knocked out the high flyer. I remember his head hitting the top of the cage before crashing to the match. El Gigante came to the ring and surrendered the match on Pillman's behalf.

The last one happened in 1998 when DDP, The Warrior and Roddy Piper beat nWo Hollywood (Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Stevie Ray) and nWo Wolfpack (Kevin Nash, Sting and Lex Luger). 

Courtesy: WWE

WarGames was a great concept. Fans have wanted WWE to bring back the match, but I'd be surprised if it ever happens again. But I'd love to see it happen for old times sake at least once.

Foreign Object Friday: Green mist

Muta, Kabuki and Tajiri
Courtesy: Superluchas.com

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I'm not exactly sure who was the innovator of the mysterious green mist in the world of wrestling. I believe it's a tradition that started in Japan and the first wrestler I remember seeing do it was the Great Kabuki in World Class Championship Wrestling. According to some sources, Kabuki was the first to do it, so I guess my recollection is accurate.

Muta & Kabuki

Kabuki was managed by Gary Hart and would spray the mist in his opponents eyes to get an unfair advantage. The top baby faces in the company experienced a blinding from time to time against Kabuki. Then he and Hart split and Sunshine took over the contract of Kabuki and the bad guys were sprayed. For me, one of the most memorable moments during his face run was spraying One Man Gang in the eyes after Gang wrapped a chain around Kabuki's neck and lifted him off the mat. Kabuki passed the mist tradition on to his son, the Great Muta. He too would spit in the eyes of his opponents, sometimes during the match, sometimes it came after. Muta used it in contests against Sting, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson.

Before Muta's mist debut in WCW, Killer Khan was spraying opponents in WWF rings in 1987. For some reason, a match with Outback Jack sticks out to me with Khan using the mist. He also battled Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship and while researching this piece, I found the plan was for Khan to spray mist in Miss Elizabeth's eyes to set up a feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage. An interesting idea, but I like the Honky Tonk Man angle better.

Tajiri vs. Viscera
Courtesy: WWE

Long after Khan left WWF, Tajiri showed up in WWE and kept up the mist spraying tradition. Black mist was used by the Superstar and Nidia ended up going "blind" after a shot. Various colors were used during this time and I found on a Wiki fandom site a breakdown of the implications of each color.

Green- The commonly used mist which is said to obstruct the opponents vision.

Red- Quite often used but is said to Burn the eyes. Used by Gangrel which was known as Blood Mist.

Black- Said to blind the opponent for several weeks. 

Blue- Sends the opponent to sleep.

Yellow- Paralyzes the opponent.

Purple- Cause momentarily distraction and memory loss (once used by Roxxi Laveaux).

Who (not Neidhart) is Kurt Angle involved with?

Angle & Graves
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Admittedly I've been half-assing my mainstream wrestling, ahem, sports entertainment following in recent weeks. I did, however, catch the most recent episode of Raw, which ended with Kurt Angle on the phone. He was involved in a very deep conversation with someone who has been presumably texting Corey Graves during Raw broadcasts. There's plenty of speculation about who is on the other end and in a few days, we'll allegedly find out who it is.

So here are my 1-2-3 cents on who this mystery "lover" could be. I put the word lover in quotes because the conversation ends with Kurt saying, "I love you." That's lead many to assume it's an affair that will come to light and ruin Angle's life. But it could be a family member, even a so-called love child for the Olympic Hero.

Kurt & Steph
Courtesy: WWE

I've seen plenty of names brought up for who this person could be. Most are speculating it's Stephanie McMahon. That's where my money is right now too. With rumors of a Kurt Angle-Triple H match coming up at SummerSlam it would make sense. Angle and Steph have a long history too. Part of me hopes it's not Steph because honestly, I've enjoyed the break. 

Angle & Dixie
Courtesy: TNA Impact Wrestling 

Dixie Carter's name has been mentioned a lot too. The former TNA owner was part of the recent Network special on Kurt. While I'm not opposed to seeing her on WWE programming, I'm not convinced it's her. Her character work on Impact was horrible, but maybe WWE has worked with her. A plus to it being her is she would be fresh for what many consider stale WWE programming.

Courtesy: WWE

Corey Graves has been put into the mix. I'm not against this idea either, but in my 1-2-3 cents, WWE won't do the angle justice. It's an interesting premise and would explain why he's been involved in the storyline. But I am not going to put any money on that idea. 

Vince, Kurt and Hunter
Courtesy: WWE

The child conspiracy theory has lead to Chad Gable of American Alpha. I've also seen a few people suggest Gable's partner Jason Jordan. Vince McMahon's name has been dropped as a father figure "I love you." So as you can see it can be anyone. There are all kinds of theories. As long as it's not Katie Vick or Claire Lynch, I'll be happy.