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JR's Blog: HIAC Thoughts...Tough Weekend for JR...Rock is Happy...What to do in Newark on an Off Day

Posted: Oct 6th 2009 By: mikeiles

Hope your Monday is going well. Seems like I've been n the road forever as I departed Norman before the Boston event. Thanks to those of you that are placing orders as we sincerely appreciate your support of our products. Here's some BBQ'ed random thoughts.

I flew into Newark from Miami after attending the OU-Miami game on Saturday night which my Sooners lost 21-20. Congrats to the Rock's 'Canes for outplaying OU as I know Rock was very proud of his alma mater as we conversed via email multiple times over the past few days. Even though Oklahoma is getting hammered in the local and national media I am still firmly behind my team as I believe that when one makes a committment that one should keep it. Loyalty is a good trait and I appreciate my late parents for instilling that quality in me. Admittedly sometimes my loyalty has bitten me in the butt but I've got no regrets overall.

HIAC was an interesting event from my perspective at ringside. I found out somewhat later than usual that the Punk-Undertaker was going on first which changes one's dynamic as the biggest match SD had to broadcast was that particular one. I actually enjoyed the wresling side of the World Title bout and "felt" the story that was being told. I assume that Punk will get a return match in the future but don't know the official date.

Morrison and Ziggler continue to both be a "work in progress" and I felt both showed great promise and potential during their IC Title bout. Both men need to continue to build their foundations and I feel comfortable in saying that both are going to be significant stars sometime in the future. These two young men's future isn't about "titles" but building their body of work and developing their personas. I see Morrison and Ziggler as two of the shining, young stars on the SD roster.

The tag title bout at HIAC was excellent. Lots of classic tag team strategy utilized and the 4 SD stars give me more reason to look forward to going to work Tuesday in Trenton, N.J. which is JJ Dillon's hometown.

Tough spot for McIntyre and R-Truth to find themselves in at HIAC but every PPV is more apt to have those occurances. The only thing that they can do is what they did and stay focused and work their butt's off. Better positioning will hopefuly be in the future for these two. I do like that young talents are getting opportunties nonetheless.

The challenge of making 3 HIAC bouts all unique is undaunting. I am an old school fan who would prefer to see one HIAC bout per year but times change and new concepts have to be tried nonetheless.

Grisham and I had to park in the third level of pubic parking at the Prudential Center which created some interesting dynamics. It seems as if every person in the world now has a camera phone and I apologize for not being able to take the time to take a photo with every fan who wanted one but we were blocking traffic, had horns blaring, imagine that in the northeast, and had cops yelling at us.

BTW the Prudential Center is a super building and I look forward to returning to it someday.

The "Dinner Impossible" episode we shot at Summerslam will air on The Food Network on Wednesday November 11 at 9/8 central time. I want to make it clear that I did NOT burn the chicken! That was a joke. Working on this show was a blast and I hope that you will check it out. Chef Robert Irvine and his crew are cool dudes and know their stuff. I did make some mean BBQ sauce if I do say so myself. No, I wasn't allowed to use JR's Original BBQ Sauce due to legal mumbo jumbo.

Reading some internet rants about watching "older wrestlers" compete and how some fans don't like it concerns me. I am thankful that the biz still has many great vets who can add star power to a show and help keep the business going until younger talents evolve which takes time. These vets are also imperative in the advancement of the younger guys.

MVP is a big fan of the "U" (Miami) and I'm sure that I'll hear his take on the big game sooner than later. He sent me an email today with him wearing a Miami jersey but I congratulated him and will take the good natured "ribbing" in stride. Jack Swagger may not take it so well but that's their issue.

Will the all knowing ESPN give Big Ben's appearance on Raw Monday night any love? If so, and it's doubtful, it will be with tongue in cheek as no self respecting "legit" sports guy could never admit to endorsing pro wrestling even though they use "wrestling terms" all the time. Stop the pain and enjoy wrestling for what it is....an entertainment program.

ESPN has been hyping Favre vs. the Packers like it was the main event at Wrestlemania which makes sense for their network but hype is hype and every entity does it. The Favre led Vikes are the "heroes" while Green Bay seems to be the "bad guys" in this steel cage match, according to ESPN. I have many friends who work for ESPN and I enjoy the network but am not a fan of seemingly arrogant, elitist talking heads.

I will check out the football game Monday night duing Raw commercial breaks as I'm curious to see how Big Ben is utilized on Raw along with his offensive linemen. Hopefully the Pittsburgh Steelers QB is kept out of harm's way but who knows how a naturally competitive guy is going to react? Remember the Shaq Raw? I know, apples to oranges, but one simply never knows until it happens.

Great seeing and visiting with The King Sunday night and a recent poll done in Memphis regarding the Mayoral race showed Jerry leading the pack. The election is a week from this Thursday.

Considering I am laying over in Newark on Monday, I will try and answer some of your emails later tonight. No trips are planned to the "Bada Bing."

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Jerry Lawler