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JR's Blog: Damn It's Cold... Hot Random Thoughts..Shawn Michaels Thoughts..Business is About to Pick Up!

Posted: Jan 12th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Indeed it's colder than an Alaskan gold miners nether regions on a frosty morning. So let's roll while as yours truly has miles to travel and we're burning daylight.

Congrats to the brave souls who made the trek from their warm homes to enjoy MNR live in Nashville. When I think of loading the kids up in the car, driving to the arena, parking, buying tickets, and getting settled in our seats type of business I honestly have to say that on a frigid night I'd be tempted to stay in the warmth of my home nestled in my La-A-Boy.

The Nashville crowd seem to have fun and even came up with some surprising chants notwithstanding the "We Want J.R." chant that spawned a bunch of activity on our Twitter account @JRsBBQ. That particular chant surprised me I have to admit.

Raw was highlighted, IMO. by the announcement of Shawn Michaels being the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame for 2011. HBK is SO deserving and is arguably the greatest in ring performer of all time and let me tell you folks that statement covers a lot of ground.

Announcing HBK as being the centerpiece of this year's HOF Induction Ceremony the night before WM27 certainly give one even more viable reason to buy tickets for the event which go on sale Saturday.

While having dinner in OKC a few weeks ago with HBK we talked about three hours about a zillion things seemingly including family and business. During the conversation the subject of the WWE HOF came up and Shawn mentioned to me how much going in 'some day' would mean to him. Little did either of us know at that point in time that Shawn wouldn't have to wait long and nor should he.

HBK was a 'natural' for the wrestling biz. He was a life long fan. He was a very good athlete. He had a natural swagger and loads of confidence, some critics would likely say too much confidence, once he stepped inside the ring. HBK knew that he was going to be great because he was willing to put in the work and study to get there.

Shawn's first territory was Mid South Wrestling and I was there. His first major break in WWE was in the mid 90's and I was there.

Being at the right place at the right time to be able to see the complete evolution of this all time great is a true professional blessing for me.

Over his long, distinguished career, whether one liked him or not, and some didn't like the HBK of specific eras, one always knew that what one got from Shawn was what he felt at the moment and he wore his Texas sized feelings on is sleeve.

If one had a heated conversation in the locker room about a non ring matter with Michaels he would have the same delivery then as he would if he were addressing an adversary in the ring. Shawn Michaels may have been called HBK, among many other well earned nicknames, but Shawn Michaels never played a 'role' as he always was himself, for better or for worse.

When HBK mentioned me in his farewell address on the MNR after he lost to Undertaker at WM26 in Shawn's I will freely admit that I was touched and Shawn's remarks brought tears to my eyes. He will never know how much that brief mention of me meant after the weekend that I experienced in Phoenix.

Congratulations Shawn. You are special in so many ways. The man you have grown to become is admirable. I am so proud of you for a multitude of reasons but nothing as much as you becoming the wonderful husband and father that you are.

Indeed nothing on MNR for me came close to rivaling HBK's surprise appearance and Shawn Michaels once again stole the show w/o saying one, single, solitary word.

Now THAT'S a performer.

I text HBK a congratulatory message Monday night and he responded in 3 minutes which I personally thought was amazing on a busy Monday night.

WWE has done a nice job of making Miz vulnerable and I'm guessing that Randy Orton is the favorite to win the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble in sold out Boston later this month. I, for some reason, wouldn't bet the old farm on that one but time will tell. Miz is very beatable which is not a bad thing.

Orton's vigilante attitude is working well. Shocked Randy didn't RKO King Monday night to be honest with you.

Speaking of King, outside of John Cena, Orton, and John Morrison, perhaps, Jerry Lawler is on as nice a protagonist roll as any one on Raw. Good for Jerry and perhaps this will necessitate the King finally getting his long awaited, highly desired wrestling match at WM27.

CM Punk is ultra talented and in the span of a couple of episodes he has given me reasons to reinvest in Nexus again as I am curious as to how the Punk leading Nexus business plays out over time. More importantly, I'm curious as to what young athletes will 'breakout of the group in time as individual stars.

Cena vs. Punk next Monday on Raw is a heck of a main event and good TV producing as it gives fans a week to think about the presentation and a good reason to make sure and tune in.

Morrison, who's star continues to shine brighter, and Sheamus had another hard fought, solid bout. Morrison is breaking thru but there are always fans who wanted that to occur 'yesterday.'

My pick of the Oregon Ducks to upset Auburn fell by the way side but taking the under (74) did me well. Helluva game and it lived up to the hype. Love that ESPN did not use a three man booth as two skilled broadcasters offered less clutter and still got their stories told.

Emailer....Yes...Bobby Heenan was an excellent wrestler in his day. Very underrated. Hands down the best manager ever. Arguably the best color commentator too. Buy his DVD which is out now and you won't regret it. Have yet to hear one negative review of it.

Folks are loving our Main Event Mustard and Chipotle Ketchup and the fact that neither are perceived as 'seasonal.' I hope that you will hit our store and order some today.

KC Chiefs coach Todd Haley needs a hair cut. I hear he's a little arrogant. Not sure if that's bad or not but it's an observation that former OC Charlie Weis would like agree with.

GSP vs. Jake Shields in Toronto will sell lots of tickets but experts are saying that the UFC event at the domed Rogers Centre will likely do about 30,000 fans. I was and still do expect more especially with Randy Couture fighting.

Love the speculation on line about who's going into the WWE HOF but if folks make enough guesses they're bound to get a few of them right. I like Ron Simmons chances, personally, but that's no guarantee but simply a prediction. I've been wrong many times before but I' m right when I saw that the WWE HOF Induction Ceremony is one of my favorite events of the year and that I'm looking forward to attending this year in one of my former home bases of Atlanta.

Got to run but let's see if we can get 'business to pick up' this week in our store. You will throughly enjoy what you buy....I promise you that.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.