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JR's Blog: Monday Update...Live Raw Tonight Hot...Gorgeous George...LT's a Jet...Twitter JRsBBQ...Stunner Anyone?

Posted: Mar 15th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Thanks for stopping by our site. We appreciate everyone's support and are happy to say that our on line business is good and that big days lie ahead with our friends in Oklahoma at Homeland Grocery. Here we go...

Monday Night Raw is live tonight from San Diego and is a loaded card that includes the return to Monday night of Stone Cold Steve Austin. I am anxious to hear and see the reaction Austin gets when the glass breaks on Raw which one can assume will be early in the evening. Steve will be moderating the contract signing for the McMahon-Hitman Wrestlemania 24 bout which will arguably be the highlight of the evening for many fans.

I talked with Steve this weekend and he was really excited about being back on Raw and feeling that live audience, adrenaline rush that one experiences. I cannot name any wrestler who better connected with their audience than did Stone Cold Steve Austin and I've seen a few in my day. I even think Steve was going down from LA to San Diego on Sunday, he's still old school, to be ready to rock the house Monday night. Obviously, WWE will be promoting the film "Damage" starring Stone Cold that will be out on DVD on March 23 which is only 8 days from now.

One of the best WM matches that I can ever remember seeing was the Austin-Bret Hart match at WM13. If you haven't seen it in a while or did not see it at all, I suggest that you check it out as WWEClassics.com has it and 100's of others for your enjoyment. That match 13 years or so ago still plays extraordinarily well today and smart, physical, fundamentally sound wrestling really never goes out of style.

I plan on hooking up with Steve later this week in LA.

WWE announcing Gorgeous George as a new inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame is a cool thing for the business. When I first got in the wrestling biz in 1974, my boss, Leroy McGuirk, was a former wrestling star who had crossed paths with Gorgeous George on many occasions. I heard numerous GG stories from McGuirk who was a former NCAA Champion at Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State) and was considered one of the toughest men in the business. McGuirk was a old school guy with a "jock mentality" and he wasn't crazy about the show biz aspect of the Gorgeous George persona but McGuirk always said that George Wagner was much tougher and more skilled in legit wrestling than people would ever give him credit for being.

George had to be tough because he was a truly despised villain in an era that was not long on security at live events. Not to mention the fact that many of the police did not like the bad guys because the villains incited the fans via through the course of doing their jobs. I've heard many stories of where George had to fight his way back to the sanctuary of the locker room after infuriating the fans. Some fans found out the hard way that they should never confuse the in ring persona of Gorgeous George with the man fighting for his own safety.

Looking at the Gorgeous George persona it seems clear that many fans disliked George's in ring persona because of the "effeminate" nature of the character which was likely one of the first public displays of homophobic behavior caught on TV. Gorgeous George was a television icon and was one of the highest paid athletes/entertainers in the world during a span of time in the late 40's-early 50's. He was great friends with the biggest stars in Hollywood especially Bob Hope and stars like James Cagney were regulars at the wrestling events in Hollywood.

Gorgeous George set the trend for 100's of wrestlers that would follow him into the business with his over the top, flamboyant behavior that drew attention to the man with the platinum blond locks. During his matches, George cheated to gain unfair advantages in a manner that has been repeated countless times within the world of pro wrestling and still works today when properly executed. The "cowardly villain" persona was truly perfected by Gorgeous George.

George, like many of his peers yesterday and today, wasn't prepared for his fame or the fortune that he amassed and died at 48 with little money and with a severe drinking problem.

Nonetheless I am of the opinion that Gorgeous George had a most profound impact on the world of professional wrestling and that no other performer has remotely approached George's contributions and influences as it relates to making a lasting impact on an entire genre.

If WWE does a movie of this amazing pop culture icon, it will be one that I have to see.

The ESPN produced Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks film is a "must see" for sports fans or fans of documentaries of which I am both. This film underscores the importance of having heroes and villains in any endeavor of sports or entertainment. In Indianapolis, Reggie was a massive hero but in the Big Apple the fans despised the shooting guard who liked to talk trash with film maker Spike Lee. The film made for compelling TV and I highly recommend it.

The New York Jets may have gotten a huge steal when they signed LaDainian Tomlinson this weekend to a two year deal. The HOF bound running back can still play especially if he doesn't have to carry the entire load. Jets fans should be happy that LT is now a Jet and that coach Rex Ryan is doing something about his weight issues which invariably would have lead him to have health issues in the high stress world of pro sports.

We've answered more Q&A's on the site as of Monday morning. BTW if you are getting our email updates late, please let me know by dropping us a quick line at the Q&A section. We're trying to address any issues here on the site. Thanks.

Our on line store is staying busy thanks to many of you. It is very rewarding that we are getting so many repeat customers which speaks volumes to us as it relates to our products and our customer service. Our team is a small one but we all work hard to earn your business every time you place an order.

Many fans are organizing Wrestlemania watch parties and we encourage you to serve our products for the special occasion. Plus, it is "grilling season" which is one of my favorite times of the year which is another viable reason to use our BBQ Sauces and our Chipotle Ketchup.

I will be signing another contract extension this week with WWE to allow us to get past Wrestlemania and to give us more time to finalize our newest agreement which will hopefully see me remaining with WWE for the long term future. At least, that's the goal for all involved. I'm going into this negotiation with a positive frame of mind and hopeful that all will work out to everyone's mutual happiness at the end of the day.

Thanks for those of you that regularly check on how I'm feeling. I'm doing great and have no complaints about any thing that I can control. (Don't get me started on American politics...crazy Glenn Beck and budding media star Sarah Palin were in Oklahoma last week, ugh) Like my Grandpa used to say, "Every day above ground is a good day."

Follow us on Twitter at JRsBBQ. Plus , you can join us at Facebook at http://facebook.dy/jrbbq/ .

Be well every one.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Gorgeous George, Leroy McGuirk