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JR's Blog: Thursday Update...A WWE Channel??...Edge...Jeff Hardy...No UK for JR

Posted: Nov 6th 2009 By: CMBurnham

Greetings everyone and thanks for stopping by our site. It's another beautiful day and I remain patient and vigilant that the facial nerves on the right side of my face will come to life any time now. Bells palsy has been around for at least 200 years with no known cure or cause. The last thing someone in my position should do is to stress over something that one can't affect. So I don't. No timeline...no new news...no worries.

Life is good. Here's some BBQ'ed random thoughts....

Yours truly is going to actually leave the house tomorrow and fly with the Oklahoma team up to Lincoln for the Sooners Big 12 game against long time rival Nebraska. Husker fans are class acts and this will be my first game ever in Lincoln. I can't wait as attending a game there has been on my list of things to do for a long time. This will be easy on me travel wise and keeps me from having to drive as the vision in my right eye still isn't a bargain. Plus, I will be around my friends and in a positive environment.

Lots of internet talk about WWE financials today since WWE did their quarterly report Thursday morning. A couple of thoughts include:

PPV business....it is and always has been attraction driven. It also is affected by the disposable income folks have for an expendable entity. For example, we don't HAVE to watch every PPV on TV but we HAVE to have housing and food. PPV's coming at us fans with such frequency is challenging to. process, prioritize and to afford. However, with the PPV business being such a vital part of any wrestling organization's bottom line, I would be surprised to see the number of PPV's decrease. So, it will come back to providing the consumer with what they are willing to and can purchase which will always be attraction driven fueled by button pushing creative which is no exact science.

WWE TV Network...to me it seems as this is a logical progression for WWE in the future. If I had to place a bet, I would bet that WWE having their own TV channel on cable and satellite would happen sometime Sooner than later. I don't know when this channel would launch but I do know that WWE has plenty of programming to help start a network. Plus new, non live event programming can be facilitated much like ESPN has done with their, seemingly, zillion hours of original programming that they produce for their multiple platforms.

Read where THQ and WWE were continuing to do business for the foreseeable future which is a good thing based on my experience working with THQ who employs several folks that have ample product knowledge in the wrestling genre. I've enjoyed my dealings with THQ and working on the Smackdown vs. Raw video game has been fun especially the one that is currently out now. I admit that many in my generation aren't "gamers" and nor am I but I read plenty of feedback re: this genre and it seems like many more positive things are being written and reviewed about SD vs. Raw than not. College age kids who work at our BBQ joint play the game and really like it.

Interesting to read where Jack Swagger wrestled John Cena this week in Dublin. Swagger vs. Cena is new and fresh and it also is a good for the young Okie to hunt with the big dogs. I applaud the pairing of these two former college athletes.

New is good...it won't always work as nothing is a guarantee but it is the right exercise to utilize especially in these non televised markets where one can get a feel for new matchups.

I see the continuance of the Jeff Hardy legal issue as positive news for Jeff. I'm not an attorney nor do I play one on TV but one can make an argument that if the authorities thought that they had an overwhelmingly strong case that they would not be interested in postponing the proceedings. I strongly feel that Jeff Hardy is NOT a drug trafficker whatsoever and that he will be vindicated. I am also not unbiased in this matter as I am a Jeff Hardy fan and have been since signing Matt and Jeff to their first WWE contracts.

Upon leaving WWE for a hiatus, Jeff Hardy was as popular as any WWE superstar that I can recall in quite some time.

Here's to a full recovery to former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar who has been diagnosed with mononucleosis. This ailment really drains one's body and I would not think that the UFC Heavyweight Champion will be able to get back in the Octagon for at least 2-3 months.

How much chaos would ensue if UFC decided to "strip" Lesnar of the heavyweight title? I obviously don't perceive that happening but one can't argue that it wouldn't cause significant debate and controversy. I know...UFC isn't pro wrestling but MMA isn't immune to their share of unique developments either.

UFC is feeling the sting of a lack of main event, PPV selling, talent depth much like the genre of pro wrestling has been enduring.

I got a great series of text messages from Edge who recently was doing promotional work in Paris, France. Edge had a birthday last week and it only seems like yesterday that I was fortunate enough to sign both Edge and Christian to WWE deals. In my old, WWE role, sometimes it was better to be in the right place at the right time and being a little lucky more than any thing else. The one thing that I saw in both Edge and Christian was passion and two young men wanting to live their dreams. Life long wrestling fans who have the athletic gifts and the work ethic such as these two, young men from Ontario sure increase their chances of becoming big time, in-ring performers. And both have.

I think Edge being 100% by Wrestlemania 26 is going to be a photo finish and I hope that I am wrong on that assumption. Edge had taken his game to another level prior to his injury and he will no doubt return to the ring fresher and ready to turn more heads if he makes sure that he is totally healthy. Torn Achilles obviously cannot be taken lightly. Edge would arguably need to be close to ready by January to really be able to capitalize on the promotional, TV build up for Phoenix or at least that's one school of thought.

On Friday November 13, I will be at JR's Family BBQ in Norman with the crew from Houston's 1560 The Game as they broadcast live all afternoon from our BBQ joint. Drop by and say hello if you're in the area. It should be a fun day with many special guests including what we hope are at least three Heisman Trophy winners. You can listen to it live at www.1560thegame.com.

Don't forget to check out the new packages we are adding to our on line store. We are hoping that many of you will consider us for a portion of your holiday shopping. We will certainly continue to offer FREE SHIPPING and several free premiums with many of your orders. For folks with large families or lots of friends or customers for which to buy holiday gifts, think about the case prices of our products and also buying our fantastic JR's Championship Original Beef Jerky in bulk.

It is with regret that I will be unable to make the trip to Sheffield, England this go around but I will be there in spirit. I talked to The King yesterday and he was making his plans to arrive in England early Monday morning which will then see him fly back to Memphis on Tuesday morning. Jerry is scheduled to be at the Texas Motor Speedway this Saturday to hook up with Kyle Busch and Joey Logano so my former Raw, broadcast partner is going to be plenty busy the next few days.

Old friend and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson sent me a text today and I responded that I was doing well and not going "banana." I guess one had to be there and to know how the native of Montreal speaks English. Pat is a significant resource for WWE and still possess great vision and wisdom for which the wrestlers can draw. I feel that the duo of Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens were as good as any tag team that I ever saw on DVD, etc as I never got to seem them in person. Any young wrestling team who aspires to be great needs to study the legitimate masters of the profession and Patterson and Stevens were an amazing pair. Many people who I respect greatly and who saw Pat and Ray in person or, better yet, wrestled them say that no team was ever better.

I haven't joined the "Twitter generation" but I am thinking about it. Stay tuned.

Thanks again for stopping by and especially for your business. We will do all we can to ship your orders out within hours of receiving them. But we suggest that you order early to make sure you have every thing you need for the holidays.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Jack Swagger, Pat Patterson