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JR's Blog: JR Talks Charlotte And NWA Legends Fanfest

Posted: Aug 9th 2010 By: CMBurnham

We have a blog posted covering the amazing UFC 117 spectacular Saturday night that I hope that you will check out. I've also updated the Q&A section of the site for those seeking 'dirt.' For those seeking BBQ Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup, and Beef Jerky we will ship your orders Monday so order today and we're all over it.

Dusty Rhodes, who MMA fighter Roy Nelson resembles, and Taz received shipments of JR's products this week and sent me great feedback. Thanks, gentlemen.

Greg Price and his crew do a nice job in organizing a challenging and at time thankless event that has to appease the ego's of many wrestlers and make discerning fans happy all at the same time. That's no easy feat I can tell you.

From my time in Charlotte this past Thursday and Friday, it seemed the Price was right and Greg's staff did a really nice, solid job of facilitating a massive undertaking.

Our Friday autograph session was challenging as it was set for 3 hours but I know that I stayed 4 1/2 hours to accommodate everyone that was in line and I still don't think that we got everyone. I had to leave to change for the Legends Banquet which was hosted by Jim Cornette.

As one would expect, JC does a great job as the MC as he has never been at a loss for words. Corney is a talented man and a wrestling purist without question. He's damn entertaining and when he gets on a roll he's like Eb of 'Green Acres' fame all loaded up on Diet Mountain Dew.

Good seeing so many of my long time friends from the business that I have not seen in years.

My old, WWE schedule rarely allowed me to look up much less take bookings such as this function. I hope to do more appearances akin to this one in 2011 or at the end of 2010. I won't miss an OU football game on a Saturday to make these types of appearances.

I saw 80 year old Bob Caudle for the first time since 1990. Bob was truly one of my favorite broadcast partners and was always a man of character and integrity, not always a prominent trait in the biz, and is without question, in my opinion, the most underrated, wrestling announcer ever. We had some great outings and Bob especially remembered and talked about the night we broadcast from a non air conditioned Ft Bragg, North Carolina on a TBS, live Clash of the Champions. That night we both sweat through our suits. It was over 100 degrees at ringside and I got in some hot water for saying I would enjoy a Coors Light which was sponsoring a portion of the broadcast.

That wouldn't be the last time my ad libs got me in 'trouble.'

General Skandar Akbar is now 75 and we had a great visit and talked road stories, he was one of my very first traveling partners along with Dan Hodge, and of course the OU-Texas football rivalry. Ak is a Longhorn devotee and that was the topic we engaged in over hundreds of miles of highway back in the 70's. Ak could squeeze blood out of a quarter and was so instrumental in helping me understand that no one makes too little money to not save some of it. The 'squatty fullback of the Vernon, Texas Lions' will always be one of my favorite guys. Many don't know how instrumental Ak was in helping steer Steve Austin in the right direction early in Stone Cold's career in Dallas.

Nikita Koloff looked super and was it great to catch up with him and his "Uncle" Ivan.

Long time wrestling journalist Bill Apter must have done his Jerry Lewis impersonation 100 times over the duration of the Fanfest. Bill still has the most famous 'comb over' in the biz.

Danny Hodge is simply the greatest living, pure wrestler alive and at 79 could have probably whipped any man attending the banquet. Danny loves MMA and said if he was coming out of college now that he would have gone to UFC, not pro wrestling or pro boxing, and would have likely fought at 185. Hodge would have been amazing in UFC. Hodge and Mickey Mantle were my two boyhood, Oklahoma sports heroes so my being asked to induct Dan into the Hall of Heroes was a wonderful honor.

Always good to see Les Thatcher my old Smoky Mountain Wrestling broadcast partner. Les is celebrating 50 years in the biz. Congrats Les. Les and I worked for the first time at a big event Cornette promoted in Knoxville many years back that was a really solid show and is floating around out there somewhere on DVD.

Terry Funk is still middle aged and crazy, like a fox, and is one of my favorite people plus we had a visit about some of the matches that we broadcast together. Terry was SO underrated as a color analyst. Check out some of our work on DVD or WWE 24/7 On Demand.

Glad to see Harley Race getting around a little better but the legend will live with his back and hip issues until the good Lord books Harley in heaven. He seemed to be improved though that how he felt at the CAC in Vegas in April.

I thought Sunny looked great, as did most of the men in attendance, and she's mentally in a better place in her life than perhaps she has been in years. I was happy for her and she seemed to still connect well with the fans. A creative entity could still utilize her name identity and skill set in the proper environment.

Had a great visit with Sting as he was preparing to sign for a huge line of fans anxiously awaiting to meet him. We really had a wonderful albeit quick chat. He said he looked back on some of his early matches when he was just learning his craft and how much better I made him sound than he actually was. Great compliment but I was only doing my job. That's what announcers are supposed to do, get talents over with the fans and make them better than many of the talents are. We exchanged numbers and I expect to keep up with my old friend that I had not seen in person since around '93. Sting is a class act and will always have my respect.

The merchandise tables were fascinating to visit. I secured one of my canceled pay checks from Smoky Mountain Wrestling from 1994. The merch selection for those who love nostalgia was top shelf and reason enough to attend the function.

Because I left EARLY Saturday morning, I missed many folks that I would have loved to have seen who were appearing on Saturday.

I also turned down a request to do a 'shoot' interview for a payday as that offer was quickly dismissed due to a total lack of interest on my behalf. If I ever do a DVD interview regarding my career then I'm going to own and edit it, not someone else unless WWE wants to produce it.

Old pal Jerry Brisco and I sort of closed down the bar in the hotel lobby LATE Friday night but we weren't there alone. It was just a great opportunity to sit and visit with old pals and many great fans. Our bar visitation made for a 'short night' before I left the hotel at 6:45 a.m. for my flight back to OKC. (Had to get home in time to see UFC 117.)

I'm not sure if I will be invited back to Charlotte next year or if all the details could be worked out for a return trip but I enjoyed the experience and especially seeing old friends and meeting so many fans who have appreciated my work over the years. I must have answered the same question dozens of times, that being, "When are you coming back on the air?"

It's heartwarming to be missed but my return to weekly TV is a ship that has sailed.

Overall, the NWA Legends Fanfest was fun for me to attend and I hope that the promoter does well financially on the undertaking.

BTW our BBQ Sauces and Chipotle Ketchup were a big hit. I'm just saying.

The Q&A Section of the site has been updated as of Sunday afternoon so check them out when you have the time.

Don't forget to join us on Twitter @JRsBBQ.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes, WWE, Skandar Akbar, Dan Hodge, Nikita Koloff, Terry Funk, Harley Race, Sting, Jerry Brisco