Oklafan.com v5 Beta > Columns > JR's Blog: Hitman Emails..HBK Text..LeBron..Bautista in MMA..NWA Legends Fanfest..Rock.."Little Vader"

JR's Blog: Hitman Emails..HBK Text..LeBron..Bautista in MMA..NWA Legends Fanfest..Rock.."Little Vader"

Posted: Jul 10th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Hello from rainy Oklahoma. Hope everyone is well and just a reminder that when you place your next order with us that all orders will be shipped next week. Let's fire up the grill...

Got a nice email from Bret Hart today who's getting married in Calgary on July 24, as I understand it. We will be sending Hitman more J.R.'s BBQ Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup and Beef Jerky to his home in Hawaii for a wedding gift. We have a standing invite from Bret to visit him in Hawaii any time which I hope to be able to take advantage of sooner than later.

Emailer...the last text I received from HBK he said he was relaxing and enjoying being a Dad and a Husband and was having a great "family summer." HBK continues to do a significant amount of church work as well. Shawn may be the first, big time wrestling superstar to 'retire' from pro wrestling since Jack Brisco to stay retired. Precedent says that won't happen but if Shawn does make a return to the ring I have to believe that it will be a very special, well timed occasion that will also be extremely logical.

I'm a LeBron James fan having met him on numerous occasions as he was a big fan of the King and me back in the day. LeBron had the Cavs send me an autographed jersey and an autographed basketball over the years but the gifted athlete received bad advice on using ESPN and prime time TV to make his announcement Thursday night. It came off, in hindsight, as too self serving in my view. Now, anything less than winning the NBA Title will be perceived as a failure for the Miami Heat. Watch Pat Riley do the proverbial 'run in' at some point in this season likely after the first of the year when the playoff picture starts to take shape.

Items from our closed BBQ joint such as plastic, sauce bottles, dish washer safe , plastic J.R. glasses, and a very limited number of laminated menus will be put on the website soon but now likely this month. We will keep every one informed and I don't expect these items to last long and when they are gone they will be history. We're still trying to figure out how to best market them. Suggestions are always appreciated. All of these items are 'sign-able.'

Emailer...Yes...Vince Russo played a significant role in the success of the Attitude Era of WWE back in the day but everything and I mean every thing that appeared on TV was vetted and approved by the Chairman of the Board. Everything. The talent roster wasn't bad either if you will pardon me while I pat myself on the back (Thanks, Gorilla.) But Russo should be given his due in all fairness.

Emailer...I believe that in ring talents need to come in a variety of shapes and sizes and that athleticism and charisma can't be measured specifically in inches and pounds. Diversity and being different is a good thing in my opinion when it comes to in ring performers.

If you plan on being in Charlotte in August for the NWA Legends Fanfest, I hope that you will make it a point to come see us and enjoy an informal BBQ Thursday night. We'll sauce it up!

Emailer...we can't economically sell you one bottle of sauce and provide free shipping. Again, we always appreciate our customer's suggestions on how we can increase sales.

WWEShop.com has reordered from us three times now in about a month and WWEShop.com is your source to ship to Canada, the UK, and Germany as I understand it. They are currently stocking J.R.'s Original BBQ Sauce, our best seller, and our 97% fat free beef jerky. If you want WWEShop.com to stock more of our products, I suggest that you email them.

Emailer...we have only ONE, HOT BBQ Sauce as the new, HOTTER sauce replaced the hot BBQ sauce that we had in the beginning.

Emailer...yes...I brush on our Original BBQ Sauce on grilled salmon and I do it the last couple of minutes of the grilling cycle. I prefer to use our HOT sauce on shrimp on the grill. Both are badass and here's a suggestion...brush more WARMED sauce on the plated product to add even more flavor. These are two, great healthy entr?es.

Follow us on Twitter @JRsBBQ.

Emailer...No...it isn't fair to compare Dave Bautista to Brock Lesnar as it relates to Dave's potential, MMA career. Not only is their age when they started the process much different, Lesnar was much younger, but Brock's amateur wrestling background is non paralleled. Dave is a big, strong, athletic guy who has a competitive demeanor but can he acquire the necessary skills to perform at a sustainable, marketable level? Time will tell on that one. Bautista is currently training in earnest to develop his MMA skills and if that can be accomplished it is likely that the former WWE star will sign with Strikeforce. Lot's of "ifs" but if Dave can acquire the necessary skill set then one can easily predict that he will do a viable TV rating for Strikeforce/Showtime/CBS especially if Dave fights Bobby Lashley. Lashley would be a heavy favorite to win that contest. I wish Dave well and would certainly watch him fight if that day actually comes. I still think that exploring his movie opportunities and eventually returning to WWE is "The Animal's" best options but I always encourage people to do what they feel is best for them. We're all just passing through this life one time as best as I can tell.

Keep those recipes and suggestions for uses of our products coming. I....have....an.....idea.

Vader's son Jesse White, who we saw in Vegas with Sam Bradford and company, is going back to Japan in August to wrestle and is staying there for a few weeks for additional training. Jesse is a really good athlete and seems to have a bright future in the biz if he keeps improving, getting a variety of coaching/experience and can stay healthy. Jesse came to OU as the most recruited center in America weighing close to three bills but now looks to be a nice, lean, 245 or so.

When I visited with Dwayne Johnson in Vegas last weekend at the Lesnar fight, I don't recall ever seeing him look better. Dwayne is presently in Puerto Rico filming another 'Fast and Furious' flick which will see him pitted against Vin Diesel. One could easily see that the man known as the Rock to his legion of fans has been spending tons of time in the gym. Dwayne had his head shaved and was sporting an Austin-like goatee.

I updated your Q&A's as of Friday afternoon. Check 'em out.

Does any one remember back in the day when Jerry Lawler vs Randy Savage sold out and turned people away from the cavernous Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky? Monday Night Raw emanates from one of the most famous hoops arenas in the land this Monday night when it returns to Lexington.

Thanks for the visit and for your support of our site.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.