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JR's Blog: Questions/Answers..Solie Today..JBL/JR Wager..Heyman/Carwin..Ebersol ..Rock/Tough Enough..Order JR's Today!

Posted: May 20th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Thanks for stopping by and for keeping us in mind for your grilling, etc needs. Here are some random thoughts from your emails and Tweets @JRsBBQ which, BTW, now has approximately 150,000 followers.....

@jclayfield aka JBL and I have a bet on the NBA Western Conference Finals between Oklahoma City and Dallas. I've got the Thunder and JBL has the Mavs for a case of our Original BBQ Sauce vs. a case of John's New Leaf iced tea. Unless Dirk Nowitski gets kidnapped, I may be getting ready to ship JR's Original to the island of Bermuda.

Twitter...No, I never worked in the Memphis territory. They had Lance Russell and Dave Brown and certainly didn't need me. Lance, in particular, was one of the businesses all time great voices and a man of class and integrity which there wasn't an abundance of in many old school, wrestling territories.

Email...Yes, Dick Ebersol, who announced his retirement as President of NBC Sports this week, was a key component in the success of WWE over the years. Dick is a brilliant man with uncanny vision. He was always professional to me and I enjoyed working with him on the XFL project. Last time I spoke to Dick he was standing in the lobby of a Phoenix hotel at WM26 talking to Bret Hart.

Twitter...We offer a signed item for every package that we sell from our on line store that includes a Topps Trading Card, a photo or one of our 'To Go' or Kids Menus from our old eatery. These are for USA customers only and our site does not ship outside the USA however those who want to order JR's products and who live outside America can do so by simply going to http://www.wweshop.com.

Emailer....Why did we close our BBQ joints? Several reasons not the least of which was financial. When one owns a place and has many people working on site and behind the scenes, the owner or owners are the last to get paid. In a business as challenging as the restaurant biz, especially BBQ, where slow smoking is a meticulous process, one needs to be on site essentially full time. I couldn't facilitate that schedule due to other obligations plus I had some health issues at that time so closing it albeit a tough decision was the right decision. We have zero plans to get back in the restaurant business again for those who ask but also have no regrets. We launched a successful on line business at the same time in 2007 that continues to grow.

Emailer...Does Wrestling matter? Hell yes it matters if one is in the wrestling business.

Twitter....'Stealing wrestling moves' is so much to do about nothing in my opinion. If not, is Ed 'Stranger' Lewis spinning in his grave every time we see the occasional headlock utilized when an athlete actually applies logical, wrestling holds? Or what about circus trapeze artists when a wrestling match breaks down into not much more than a succession of flips, flops, and flies leading to an inside cradle for the eventual pin?

Twitter...No I am not surprised that Shane Carwin was impressed with Paul Heyman's producing abilities. Paul is a gifted communicator and has the skills to obtain marketable sound bytes from athletes, performers, etc. In theory, it is all the same whether one is a ball player, fighter, entertainer, etc. Many within the media and even some MMA purists think that people with pro wrestling backgrounds can't help an MMA entity in a variety of areas. They are wrong.

Emailer...Why would any independent contractor in any vocation NOT obtain health insurance? Isn't the real issue who should or shouldn't be an independent contractor in the eyes of many pundits within pro wrestling? Obviously, having adequate health insurance in today's world is a no brainer as is automobile insurance. I assume that health insurance for a wrestler in today's world might be easier to obtain than it was generations ago due to the show biz aspect of the genre being better understood and the competitive nature of the insurance business. Is it cheap? No. Is it a necessity? Absolutely. Let the debate rage on on the independent contractor issue but aside from that having adequate health insurance is a must.

Twitter...@steveaustinBSR has made Tough Enough his own vehicle and if season #2 rolls around and Steve is able to interject himself from the beginning of the process, I'll predict that next season's Tough Enough will be even better. I love the editing and look of the show and could see a DVD extra on a WWE PPV featuring outtakes, etc. None of the kids have jumped off the TV at me as of yet but that could change anytime. @TheRock guest stars next Monday on the USA Network just before Raw from Portland, Oregon.

Emailer...Could Gordon Solie's style have worked today? Perhaps it depends on who Gordon was working for but I don't see 'The Dean' changing his style to any large degree. It's challenging for any broadcaster to change with the times once they have established 'roots' on how they approach the genre of which they broadcast. Gordon Solie had a uniquely, superb style that will never be forgotten by those of us who admired him but how well he would fit into today's presentation of his old genre is a good question.

Twitter...Did any one actually believe that @goldberg was going to take his skills to TNA? Call me naive but I didn't and still don't see it happening. However, if it does occur, good luck to all involved. I've been a Bill Goldberg fan for a long time. Oklahoma boy, you know.

Hoping to attend a Thunder playoff game before all is said and done. The OKC marketplace has gone nuts over their young, NBA team and the Thunder's popularity is beginning to rival the Oklahoma Sooner football program. Notice I said, 'beginning.

Got a bunch of Topps Trading cards to sign for our on line packages which is a nice project while watching the thunderstorms move back into our area on the Weather Channel.

Thanks for stopping by and a special thanks to all those who order our products here or for out of USA delivery at http://www.wweshop.com.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.