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JR's Blog: Lia Maivia; Hitman Email; Jericho picked to retain; Monsoon; Mulligan; WWE Europe

Posted: Oct 22nd 2008 By: mikeiles

Thanks for checking in with us. Nice, quick trip to Laredo, Texas on Tuesday for the Friday Night Smackdown taping with the HHH vs. Undertaker match being the highlight of the night in what was well over a 20 minute battle. The match was physical and intense and was the best old school main event I have seen in a good while on free TV.

Our family sends its condolences to the family of the late Lia Maivia who passed away a few days ago at the age of 81. Lia promoted pro wrestling on the island of Hawaii for years after the death of her husband, High Chief Peter Maivia. Lia was a engaging lady who had a wonderful spirit and, much like my late mom, was quite the character who was always fun to be around. Never a dull moment. I do know that she was so proud of her grandson Dwayne Johnson and deservedly so. I am really happy that I had the chance to meet Lia after hearing so much about her in th early part of my career. She will be missed by all that knew her and her legacy will be forever remembered in the annals of pro wrestling.

Yours truly received a cool email from Bret "The Hitman" Hart this week. It is always nice to hear from friends especially friends that are happy and doing well. Bret's provocative autobiography has made its way onto the New York Times Best Seller list and it cannot come more highly recommended from me. There are only a few books that I have read that I honestly feel all wrestling and sports fans should read and this is one of them. I still think that Bret's autobiography would make a entertaining film or dramatic series on a HBO-like network.

Who are you picking in the Chris Jericho vs. Batista bout at Cyber Sunday this weekend in Phoenix? Sounded like the Raw announce team is heavily leaning towards Batista but I'm hanging my hat on Jericho retaining his title.

The enigma known as Jeff Hardy and yours truly were on the same flight coming out of Laredo to DFW to catch our connecting flights home Tuesday and I am happy to report that there were no "incidents" that would be considered internet worthy. That is unless snoring is considered controversial and that would have been me. I will admit it. I'm man enough to say I snored rather loudly or so I am told on the American Eagle flight. I should have hooked up my CPAP machine but it was in checked baggage. I apologize to all my fans....both of you.

I would bet a rack of "J.R.'S Family BBQ Restaurant" ribs that Jeff is the overwhelming favorite to face HHH this Sunday on PPV even though I would be intrigued to see how undefeated Vladimir Kozlov would hang at this stage of his game in a PPV main event.

The King seems to be unusually excited regarding the Divas Halloween Costume Contest this Sunday. Word on the street has it that Jerry is going to dress up as either Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt for the contest that only he should MC and/or judge. Of course, now in the PG world of the WWE no one will hear the Hall of Famer blurt out "puppies" even on PPV....I don't think.

The WWE's 3 day tour of Puerto Rico grossed over $1.2M in tickets sales alone.

In Mexico, the WWE did huge business during their four events in Monterrey and Mexico City grossing approximately $2.5M in ticket sales in only four events.

The Hardy brothers did a media day in Laredo while working on little or no sleep after the Mexico tour that paid considerable dividends for the attendance on Tuesday night. Smackdown/ECW in Laredo actually out grossed the Corpus Christi Raw which is a rare occurrence. A huge day of ticket sales in Laredo.

It was nice to see that approximately 3.5 million viewers turned in last Friday night to view Smackdown on MyNetworkTV which isn't the easiest network to find. Wrestling fans have always been among the most loyal television viewers in existence and here's to hoping that they keep tuning in on Friday's as yours truly is still trying to earn that elusive "gold watch." I remember back in the day when Mid South Wrestling got monster ratings in New Orleans on independent station WGNO that rivaled what the local, network newscasts were garnering.

The WWE crew is excited about the upcoming European tour in November that includes a Friday Night Smackdown taping in Manchester on Tuesday November 11 which is already sold out. That would be the night the "Angriest Man in the World" (Tazz) and yours truly broadcast a super sized night of Smackdown.

Several events on this tour are already sold out which is a testament to the WWE's popularity with some of the most loyal and enthusiastic fans one can find any where.

Brussels, Minehead, Sheffield, Cardiff, the Manchester Raw, London, Glasgow & Aberdeen are all sell outs and several other events on the tour could be sold out by the time many of you read this. For fans in areas the WWE is traveling abroad be sure and contact the arena box offices for updated info on ticket availabilities. Don't assume that there are no tickets until you check with the respective box offices. Needless to say this is going to be another hugely successful international tour with stops in Italy, Belgium, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland and Germany.

The Survivor Series in Boston is also sold out the Sunday before Thanksgiving. When I think of Boston, I always think of sharing a small locker room in the old, Boston Garden with the late Gorilla Monsoon and him telling me stories of many of the escapades that occurred back in the day in the home of the Celtics and the Bruins. Blackjack Mulligan is lucky to have gotten out of the Garden in Boston alive once upon a time.

Speaking of Blackjack, his autobiography is a fun read especially for long time fans as "Mully" is one helluva story teller and has some amazing tales to tell. I love hearing/reading these stories when the wrestlers were a completely different "breed of cat" as compared to today's generation which is probably a good thing for today's environment. I have had Blackjack's book with me on the last few road trips and I find my self listening to the big man speak while reading his book. I encourage you to check it out.

Yours truly leaves Oklahoma Friday for stops in Manhattan, Kansas, Phoenix, and San Diego before returning to Norman, Oklahoma in mid week. Lots of travel but there should be lots of fun involved as well. That is IF Oklahoma can beat K-State this Saturday in a game that I will be attending as I try to keep my streak of attending every OU Football game this season alive.

Our thanks for those of you that are shopping in our store and please keep our Sauces, Jerky, Shirts and Caps in mind for your holiday shopping needs as we have many items for less than $10.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Jerry Lawler, ECW