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JR's Blog: Reid Flair...Tag Team Wrestling...Silva vs. Griffin...Pacquiao-Hatton...Buddy Rose

Posted: May 4th 2009 By: mikeiles

I hope that every one is having a great weekend. I have spent a bunch of time this week at our BBQ joint in Norman which is always fun but even more fun when we have a massive weekend as we have had this weekend. Thanks for the business if any of you who dined with us happen to be reading this blog. I'm looking forward to heading to "6-Burgh" in a few hours to prep for the taping of Smackdown Tuesday night in the Mellon Arena. It's BBQ'ed Blog time.....

Reid Flair, the youngest son of "The Nature Boy" was arrested again last week for another DUI and apparently in possession of heroin. The drunk driving matter is a serious issue but the heroin business takes this matter into an entirely new level of severity. Reid needs extensive, professional help immediately and he needs to take that help seriously, as in life or death serious. The young man is lucky that he is still alive and is flirting with disaster as would any one who uses and abuses illegal drugs and/or alcohol. I think being in the wrestling business should be the furtherest thing from Reid's mind right now and quite honestly the wrestling biz simply might not be the right vocation for the son of arguably the greatest in ring performer of all time. Following any famous father's footsteps is a daunting task for any athlete or entertainer especially in the relatively small world of pro wrestling. Reid Flair needs to address his issues and prioritize getting healthy and not worry about learning how to be the "next Naitch" or Reid's next booking. Reid's generation, in general, has entitlement issues that will never serve them well and that usually lead to disaster to some degree including the ultimate disaster of facilitating one's own demise. The good Lord gave Reid a break but my suggestion to Reid is for Reid Flair to not to P.O. Him, man up, and prioritize living his life clean and sober. I'm pulling for Reid to kick out of this matter and get his life on track and to evaluate if putting all his eggs into the "wrestling basket" is prudent thinking.

We get tons of emails about tag team wrestling in today's TV wrestling marketplace. Bottom line is this.....great tag team wrestling has its place in the business w/o question and I am a long time fan of some of the greatest tag teams ever in wrestling. Back in the day, no one wanted to follow a Midnight Express vs. Rock-N-Roll Express bout on any card if they didn't have to. However, teams like that don't exist any longer. Period. Bottom line. End of story. If teams can come together organically and develop natural rivalries with other quality teams, then I say go for it. However, to simply throw teams together, as some fans suggest, for the sake of having a tag bout on TV makes little sense to me. Over the years, with some exceptions, the big money in wrestling has always been in one on one bouts and that fact hasn't changed today in my view. With the overall lack of quality, main event level depth within the business today, I do not see red hot, tag team wrestling returning any time soon to the scene especially if fans are looking for several, established teams to dot the landscape.

My prediction of a KO win and picking Manny Pacquiao Saturday night in Vegas over tough, Ricky Hatton was on the money but I can't honestly tell you that I thought Manny would KO "Hitman" in two rounds. That was a shocker and Pacquiao looked like he was from another, faster galaxy. Now the world will anxiously await to see it a Pacquiao-Mayweather, Jr. fight can be facilitated which would be another step in taking boxing off its perceived life support system.

Ever wonder why most wrestling bouts utilize no time limits on TV or at live events? Me, too. I think using time limits adds to the drama much like main stream sporting events that utilize a game clock in various fashions. I personally like the sense of urgency that time limits provides a wrestling match. Of course, that's just one man's opinion.

Don't be mislead by seeing the late Buddy Rose in all those late night, tag bouts on AWA Classics on ESPN Classic from time to time and think that Rose was just an o.k. in ring performer. Buddy Rose was, in truth, an excellent in ring talent and some of his bouts in the WWWF against Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund were of the big time variety. Many long time WWWF fans and historians will second that statement I assure you. Buddy's weight became his enemy later in his career but he still always retained his natural timing and his excellent in ring psychology.

The upcoming Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin bout at UFC 101 will be an offensive, aggressive and physical battle that will erase many casual MMA fans memory of Silva's last PPV outing in Montreal. Griffin "comes to fight" and to impose his will on his adversaries so one can be assured that the great Anderson Silva will be pushed and pressured in this fight where we'll see Silva step up in weight. As I have said before, I am jacked about Lesnar-Mir at UFC 100, GSP, too, but Silva vs. Griffin should be one of the most exciting fights of the year at least it seems to be on paper. Obviously, only the two fighters themselves can make their upcoming main event live up to the hype but I will be one shocked, BBQ aficionado if that occurs.

This just in....not really "just" in as it was apparently a slow news week in 'rasslin but the Iron Sheik apparently wet his pants on Opie and Anthony's radio show last week. I saw this "news item" on the 'net but refused to click on to the photo....o.k. so I took a quick peek and it was sad and not funny.

We've had a run on new questions for our Q&A Section of which we have updated...AGAIN.

I wish people would stop asking me how to get a job with WWE and simply do what other somewhat normal people do and that is to contact the WWE Human Resources Department and find out the job openings and qualifications thereof. If one is looking to be a WWE broadcaster, get ample experience in broadcasting and make yourself a demo reel to accompany your resume and make sure that you don't look or sound like me.

Another emailer asked why I mentioned why I 'hated" "Beyond the Mat." I never said I 'hated" the film but did not like other aspects of the project. I thought, with good reason, that this was going to be a small, art house, film and a film that the producers wanted to do because of their passion for the business after being life long fans. At the end of the day and as I understand it, the film made money, was more than an art house film, sold a fair amount of DVD's, and those of us who devoted many hours to it never saw the first dime or even a complimentary, DVD copy of the movie. The editing and creative process of "Beyond the Mat" is extraordinary but the "art of the deal" left a little to be desired in my opinion. To demonstrate that I am not a "hater," wrestling fans who have not seen the movie should take a look at it but we aware that it looks at the rather dark, underbelly of the business and doesn't highlight many of the positives of which there are plenty to tout.

Please take a moment of your time and check out how you can very economically help Steve "Dr. Death" Williams raise the funds for his "hands free" talking device after having his larynx removed during his battle with throat cancer. Check out www.wrestlersrescue.org for the quick and easy details.

We have had a run on our black, autographed JR's BBQ caps and our autographed cookbooks. Our on line store never closes and we ship out most order within hours of receiving them. Most of our items are under 10 bucks and make great gift ideas for any fan. We are also selling a bunch of our easy to ship JR's Dry Rub and Beef Jerky.

What's the over/under in Jose Canseco not signing his contract to fight in the circus-like MMA event in a few weeks in Japan? Jose can cite "contractual issues" for his reason to wisely, perhaps, develop the limbertail.

Thanks for stopping by and for supporting all our BBQ efforts. Your business and continued support are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Boomer Sooner

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Ric Flair, Midnight Express, Rock-N-Roll Express, AWA, Steve Williams