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Post Toronto Thoughts...New Q & A's Are Up...Hodge vs. Angle...Merry Christmas to All

Posted: Dec 24th 2008 By: mikeiles

Merry Christmas to all and if you are traveling please be safe and allow yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. For those of you flying over the holidays, all I can say is "What are you thinking?!"

It was somewhat chilly in Toronto but the reception from the fans was warm and over 17,000 packed the Air Canada Center to watch a doubleheader of Smackdown and Raw Monday night. Here are some random thoughts.

It was great Monday getting a few moments to visit with Trish Stratus who still looks awesome, her husband HAS to be the luckiest man in Canada, and the hometown fans in TO really loved seeing the former 7 time WWE Womens Champion. Trish really strengthened the competition within the Divas when she was wrestling full time and is arguably the greatest female performer of the modern era. She would get my vote. I don't think that Trish is interested in getting back on the road full time but perhaps she could be convinced to make a few more special appearances. I would love to see more of her....that didn't come out just right...as she adds "star power" to any event in which she is involved. I have written about it before but I vividly remember Trish's first WWE interview in my office in Stamford and when she left I had the feeling we had just found someone special. Luckily, I was right on that one. The utilization of Trish Monday night was extremely effective as the fans have made an emotional investment in her over the years and ate up the fact that Trish was going to be competing in a rare and unique wrestling match. Perhaps the WWE can find a way to make Trish a part of WM25 in Houston in April of 2009.

Our "J.R.'S Cookbook" features Trish and Stacey Keibler gracing the cover on either side of this black hat wearing, Oklahoma Sooner fan if you're keeping score at home. Our cookbook which is also filled with wrestling content was one of our best holiday sellers this year.

It might just be my old school opinion but I still steadfastly believe that most wrestling fans today would still rather see actual in ring wrestling than well intended verbalizing by those that can't pull off that particular phase of the business. Monday Night Raw was really fun to watch and I credit much of that enjoyment to the fact that there was several meaningful bouts on the show. It was one of the better Raws of the year even though I still don't fully understand the outcome of the JBL-Rey bout that included HBK's interference.

Here's some BBQ (food) for thought, I would just as soon see Santino Marella involved in a verbal presentation on Raw as I would to see him wrestle even though he is entertaining from bell to bell. However, Santino is one of the best talkers to come along in the WWE in quite some time and one of the worst kept secrets of the game is to exploit a talent's strengths and to hide their weaknesses. No one should have been surprised that Santino, who grew up in Ontario as I understand it, was received so warmly in Toronto Monday night.

I will work late into the night on Tuesday night putting the finishing audio touches on this week's Friday Night Smackdown broadcast. The Jeff Hardy vs. Big Show match was really solid and the broadcast features two, title bouts.

Our next Friday Night Smackdown taping will be next Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the Izod Center where we will record 22 segments of TV. These nights are challenging for all involved but getting that extra show recorded is a good thing as it relates to the week we don't have to travel. It also allows me to attend the OU-Florida National Championship Football game on January 8 as the broadcast of January 9 will be the second show recorded in Jersey on December 30. Of course, I get to stay home on "amateur night" aka New Year's Eve to do audio work on the first show that airs on January 2. Confused? Me, too but that's why I keep an updated calendar on my desk.

As I have said many times, I am all for freedom of speech unless it crosses the line in the form of signs that essentially profanely scream, "please look at me." The "Cuck Fena" sign that was wisely confiscated in Toronto is a good example of crossing the line. It's akin to the "Tuck Fexas" shirt some here in Oklahoma wear. Bad taste...not cool. There was a time when that sort of material was actually encouraged and marketed in the WWE but that attitudinal ship has sailed.

A handful of WWE staffers made a night of it at a local, Irish pub in downtown Toronto Monday night spreading Holiday cheer and "sources say" that John Cena was as generous as usual. I saw some of my friends come essentially from the Christmas celebration straight to the airport to take first flights out from the ultra busy Toronto airport on Tuesday morning. I know I got to the airport at 4:30 a.m. and it was a zoo then.

We have answered many of your emails and they have been posted on the Q&A section of this site. So if you haven't checked out out Q&A section recently there is some new material for you to peruse.

One question that came up recently on the Q&A is who would would win a legit, wrestling match between Danny Hodge and Kurt Angle if they were to compete against each other in their primes. I have huge respect for Angle and he proudly won a Gold Medal for the United States in 1996 but there is no way that I could pick against Hodge versus anyone who has ever laced their boots in a pro wrestling ring. Hodge in his prime was a legit freak of nature as many "old timers" will attest. Dan Hodge is another of my sentimental favorites to be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame some day as he is in virtually every other Hall of Fame that exists for wrestlers. Hodge had a successful and long pro career and in the world of amateur wrestling and in Japan, Dan is God-like.

Upon reading the "spoilers" for Friday Night Smackdown, which I don't recommend if you plan on watching the broadcast Friday night, I read a stimulating statement that said, "J.R. and Tazz came to ringside." Now that my friends is a scoop. We were hoping to keep that one under wraps.

Monday afternoon and evening in Toronto was an overwhelming day for many who put in some hellacious hours getting to TO and then doing their respective jobs. Bottom line is that it seemed like some people would have rather been at home preparing for Christmas than at work on Monday. I mentioned to a few of the wrestlers who were not overly pleased with their schedule that, just as is said in mafia movies "this is the life you chose." I also relayed to them that back in the day in the wrestling territories we usually worked Thanksgiving and Christmas. If a wrestler, referee, or TV announcer wasn't booked on Thanksgiving and Christmas then they knew something was wrong as those were usually two of the biggest events of the year resulting in fatter paydays. Some territories ran "double shots" on those holidays to make matters even more profitable.

Enjoy the balance of the holidays and remember the true meaning of Christmas. I have so much for which to be thankful. Be safe, be happy and enjoy your time with loved ones. Merry Christmas.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Danny Hodge