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JR's Blog: Tuesday Update...ECW...RVD...UFC PPV...Geno Auriemma, Wrestling Manager..Free Shipping on On Line Orders

Posted: Feb 17th 2010 By: mikeiles

Thanks for stopping by today. Just a couple of notes before we commence...we are selling our Original BBQ Sauce at an amazing clip and I re-ordered a shipment of it in late January. How ever due to weather issues we haven't received it as of today but we expect to have it in house within 48 hours. It's a nice problem to have as we are receiving critical praise for JR's Original BBQ Sauce which is a great accomplishment in itself. The success of our sauces at Oklahoma based Homeland Grocery Stores has been excellent.

Also, our Hot BBQ Sauce is NOT habanero or Tabasco hot but it is pleasantly spicy and for those that have tried it, some reluctantly, have been happy that they did.

Our webmaster tells me that we will have our new packages on the site in a few days and these packages still feature FREE SHIPPING and other surprises.

The Mrs and I sat court side last night for the #1 ranked UConn Huskie women's basketball team 65th consecutive victory as they visited Norman to take on the Sooners. UConn is a juggernaut loaded with talent, well coached and highly disciplined. OU had the lead a couple of times in the second half after trailing by 2 going into intermission. Women's hoops officiating is consistently inconsistent and Monday night was no exception. Title 9 has done the quality of women's basketball officiating no favors as many men and women are calling college game that are not ready for the assignment. It was funny watching one of the UConn female assistants 'restraining' head coach Geno Auriemma after a questionable call ala the attendant picking up the late, singer James Brown after the "Godfather of Soul" would take one of his faux falls of exhaustion near the end of his act.

Geno Auriemma would have made a dandy, wrestling manager as he is short, charismatic and easy for non Huskie fans to outwardly dislike. Plus, Geno likes Geno.

Our list of Twitter followers has grown tremendously over the past few weeks. I hope that you will join as well as we are at http://twitter.com/JRsBBQ.

Tonight is the last night that ECW will air on TV which signals the end of a unique and memorable era within the business. The underfunded, attitudinal, and overachieving original ECW was fun to watch on TV although I have to reluctantly admit that I never attended a live, ECW event in South Philly. I think that re-branding the Tuesday night time slot on Sy Fy is timely as the letters "ECW" always conjured up a different image than I saw on my TV screen. Mid South Wrestling was "extreme" before ECW took the term to a different level and I know how I would feel if someone would attempt to replicate Mid South or even UWF for that matter. The original versions of both ECW and Mid South Wrestling were relevant in a different era, with a distinctively different talent roster, and a different mindset as it relates to the genre. The days of blood and guts in wrestling are largely over due to health issues and political correctness which is simply what it is and not a hill that I choose to die upon.

I have always saluted Paul Heyman's creation and his ability to motivate his team to an "us versus the world" mentality that worked and kept the ship afloat even when financial woes plagued ECW.

Many viable stars were created in ECW and Heyman had the gift that many decision makers before him possessed in the territory days and that was throughly understanding his wrestlers and hiding their weaknesses to the TV viewer while exploiting those individual's strengths.

ECW made unique and significant contributions to the pro wrestling world and their alumni should feel a source of pride for their accumulative accomplishments. I will enjoy watching old episodes of the "Original" for years to come when the opportunity presents itself. No one can tell the ECW story in today's marketplace better than their one and only voice, Joey Styles.

Speaking of ECW, of the many top hands that made their mark in ECW, none were more uniquely talented than Rob Van Dam who is one of the hottest "free agents" available right now. It would seem to me that RVD would be a high priority to any wrestling organization and that facilitating a travel schedule to his liking should be attainable. RVD is a one of a kind talent who connects with his fan base and Rob's in ring work is singularly his which would be a breath of fresh air to many TV broadcasts.

Interesting night for Jerry Springer on Monday.

We 've been getting a good deal of emails on wrestling related books to read. I am a major proponent of reading all one can about the business and from a variety of vantage points and philosophies. For example, a friend who attended the Jack Brisco funeral services last week told me that he was reading Howard Brody's book entitled "Swimming with Piranhas" and was really enjoying it. I have the book but haven't started it yet but I will be getting to it sooner than later. If anyone out there has read Howard's book and wants to send us a book review, please feel free to do so.

Also, I suggest checking out the many books by Larry Matysik who was the voice of St. Louis Wrestling back in the heyday and promoter Sam Muchnick's right hand man. Larry's perspective on the business is more that of an educated and objective fan and not that of a disgruntled ex-wrestler who rants about how they were done wrong, got the shaft, and generally bemoans, "woe is me." Larry is objective, honest and always provides a great read.

I think that every young wrestler should be reading all that they can about the business and in organized settings they should be tested on such.

Have you joined us at Facebook? You can find us at http://facebook.dj/jrbbq/.

Bret Hart has a Facebook page and he said some mighty nice things about yours truly recently. My relationship with Bret has been built from day one on respect. One of the best nights I've had in my career, off the clock, was at the Cauliflower Alley Club sitting at the hotel bar and shooting the breeze and telling stories with Bret and Steve Austin until about 6 a.m. I've often said that those types of pairings would make for some awesome DVD releases because of the talents' chemistry and the fact that there is so much archived footage that can be utilized.

When the wrestling business produces a TV show ala HBO's 24/7 special on NASCAR's Jimmy Johnson, then I will know that the biz is truly paying attention to what is trendy, hot and what fans want.

Read an interesting story at Yahoo Sports about UFC's PPV business. UFC dominated PPV in '09 and how well they do in 2010 depends on many factors. One can cite the overall economy, the general PPV marketplace, the frequency of PPV events and other viable criteria. However, the PPV business is and always will be attraction driven. PPV's are great destinations for first time encounters or the rubber match type scenarios we all enjoy emotionally investing.

UFC is hot, exciting and growing exponentially and if they can keep their key athletes healthy then I don't see why UFC shouldn't have another great year although matching '09 revenues in the PPV world will be challenging.

Whether promoters of any ilk like it or not, disposable income for the "Average Joe" is not over flowing.

An emailer suggested that more titles be added to the seemingly endless list of wrestling titles. Too many titles water down the product and things like a "Legends Title" in all due respect doesn't resonate with me as a fan. If the existing titles were made to be more viable then the talk of adding more gratuitous championships would at least lessen or perhaps even cease for a while.

I am told that I have at least four viable book deals that people want to discuss. No discussions have taken place as of yet but I am interested to hear the pitches and proposals. Once those meetings take place then I will better be able to decide if and when I want to assume this major undertaking. I can't see it happening in 2010 but I assume stranger things could occur.

I do know that if or when I assume this project that I refuse to write "fluff." Some of my experiences especially in the 70's and 80's might be a "North Dallas Forty" or "Semi-Tough" type of material as many of the things I have seen or be involved lend themselves to some vivid, mental images.

Check out our JR's Beef Jerky which is great, full of flavor and is 97% Fat Free. It's a great snack and isn't like eating flavored shoe leather. No, it's not as tough as a Government Mule.

Speaking of clich?s, I heard a broadcaster on the Daytona 500 say, "business is about to pick up" on Sunday. Kinda cool.

Thanks, again, for stopping by and we hope that you will come back and visit us soon.

The Q&A Section of the site is updated as of midday Tuesday.

We appreciate all of you that are placing on line orders. Your business here keeps this site alive.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, ECW, MSW, UWF, Jack Brisco