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JR's Blog: Cena..King of Ring Returns..Punk Raw Commentary..Miz WWE Champ..Roy Nelson to WWE?..Bedlam Nears..Order Today for the Holidays

Posted: Nov 24th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Beautiful day here in Norman and I'm excited about Thanksgiving as our home will smell absolutely wonderful beginning Wednesday night thanks to wife Jan's cooking. She will make my Mom's homemade, Cornbread Dressing from scratch which is very likely my favorite dish of all time. Food and Football all day Thursday right on through the weekend isn't a bad way to spend some down time at home while counting our many blessings.

John Cena arguably delivered his best ever promo Monday night on Raw as it felt naturally organic and truly reality based.

The buzz on Cena's 'firing' by Wade Barrett is a hot topic on this site and one that will likely be addressed in more detail next Monday on Raw on yet another three hour special on the USA Network. Philly is a great spot for the King of the Ring TV special and I would love to be on hand, I'm not going to be for conspiracy theorists, if for nothing else to head over to Tony Luke's and grab a cheese steak.

If one likes episodically produced TV, which is what pro wrestling was built on and is based upon, then watching the return of the King of the Ring tournament which starts and ends, I assume, in one night is episodic TV in it's most basic form.

An issue starts, it's cultivated and then it concludes with a payoff all in one night.

One thing's for sure, the USA Network is working diligently to enhance their cable TV ratings and standing with ESPN as ESPN is doing well thanks to their Monday Night Football franchise. MNF has featured some nice games which doesn't include Monday's game pitting Denver at San Diego which was only nice for Charger fans.

We've received many emails and Tweets (@JRsBBQ) regarding Miz as the new, WWE Champion. I've been touting Miz for months on this site as a future big time player and one that I felt several months ago would be in the main event mix at Wrestlemania in Atlanta. Looks like that may well happen now. As for Miz being WWE Champion and specifically for all the naysayers, I suggest that you allow this matter to evolve more than just a few hours before damning it.

Antagonist champions who are physically beatable on any given night and who have talented albeit annoying verbal skills are a nice persona traits for a successful champion to have.

BTW....my first King of the Ring PPV broadcast was in 1993 in Dayton, Ohio with Bret Hart winning an impressive, KOR tourney and then being attacked by the villainous Jerry Lawler while Hitman was being interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund. I broadcast the event with Macho Man Randy Savage (Yes, he should be in the WWE HOF) and the amazing Bobby Heenan. Great memories.

Speaking of the King, we talked Monday night after RAW about Thanksgiving and football as this Thanksgiving marks an anniversary of the day that he and I rode on the WWE float at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This was a big deal for both of us as we both had watched this event for years and years and finally had the opportunity to ride in it. When we turned the corner near the NBC TV broadcast position, NBC's Al Roker introduced our float and listed our names and then called the King, "Jerry 'the RING' Lawler" and I thought my long time partner was going to jump off the float and give America's favorite weatherman a fist drop. "The RING?" Come on, Al.

What year was that any way?

We've got to head up to OKC and pick up some more of JR's Original & HOT BBQ Sauce and some Chipotle Ketchup. Our business on line has picked up.

JR's Main Event Mustard should be in stock by next week at this time. It's a special blend of Jalape?o Honey Mustard that's sweet & spicy.

We received several emails from fans wanting me to comment on CM Punk's work at the broadcast table Monday night. Any thing that I say in this regard will be examined word for word on the 'net and then interpreted in any attainable way to make for a better headline or sound byte.

Same goes for the questions I receive about Grisham and Striker on Friday Night Smackdown. Why should I address them and then, no matter what I say, be thrown under the bus so someone can manufacture a sound byte? I wish no ill will on any broadcaster simply because, poor me as Tony Soprano would say, I'm not sitting out there any longer. My run exceeded my expectations of which I am very thankful.

Commentating on wrestling TV shows is a daunting task and likely more challenging today than ever before for a multitude of reasons. The product has changed drastically over the years plus a wrestling TV show now serves many masters and agendas with a variety of focus.

I've never been a huge fan of the three man announce booth expect perhaps on special occasions such as a PPV, etc. Having a three man team on weekly, two hour shows isn't my cup of tea. With that said, no wrestler walks out to the announce booth and is as good as they will be, if they invest their time and energy into the broadcasting process, over time. Most wrestlers have to realize that them doing commentary isn't about them but about enhancing the other wrestlers that they see on their TV monitors. All that comes with practice and preparation.

Three man booths take time to develop a synergy and timing amongst the three talkers. Punk is a bright guy who is extremely talented in the ring because he worked so diligently to achieve becoming a main eventer and he should be able to accomplish the same thing at the announce table if he works at announcing the same way he worked at becoming an wrestler. It won't happen over night but I wish CM Punk all the success in the world and enjoy his quick wit.

Bedlam tickets, that's OU vs. Oklahoma State for the uninformed, are going for up to $5K per on the 50 for Saturday night's game in Stillwater on ABC. The Big 12 Title is up for grabs and I will be writing more about that HUGE game later today. It seems like this will be the Cowboys year but I never count out my Sooners. Can anyone say, "Slobber-Knocker?" I will be on the OU sideline which is about 6 feet from the OSU student section which can become a little dicey when young lads have indulged in too much brewsky.

It looks as if WWE is actively pursing a locale to build a WWE Hall of Fame facility. Not sure when or where but it seems to be on their radar. I love the idea and think that if it is placed in a tourist area IE Orlando, for example, that it will do well. Maybe they'll want a black hat.

Our Q&A's are updated here on the site which also is where you can find our store and order some products. Remember, ordering sooner than later is a good thing to prevent shipping delays that often occur this time of the year.

Looks like Tough Enough will return to USA, I assume USA, next year as there is casting call info all over the internet. I hope that the reality show does well. It will be interesting to see who WWE casts from their existing collection of performers to appear on the show. One could assume that WWE will schedule several, surprise guest appearances on TE.

We bought the Steve Austin DVD 'Hunt to Kill' at Sam's Club for $14.88 and will enjoy it over the Thanksgiving Holidays. Steve is presently in Vancouver filming another action adventure flick. 'Hunt to Kill' would make a cool, stocking stuffer for Austin fans.

One reason that Valets are not used that much in the pro wrestling biz is that very few of the ladies have a clue as to how to effectively perform the role.

A rep of Roy Nelson casually contacted me about the hard hitting MMA fighter wanting to get in the WWE at some point. So the rumors of Nelson wanting to jump from MMA to WWE aren't totally unfounded. However, one has to wonder if this isn't a case of leveraging or posturing to some degree by the big puncher. Roy Nelson might become a star in pro wrestling if he applied himself to it but so many athletes come into the wrestling biz thinking that it's easy and takes little effort to be good at it. Nothing could be more wrong. For the record, I have not gotten involved in this matter and likely will not. If I were Nelson, I would cultivate my relationship with UFC and look to earn some hefty paydays before looking for the next in ring career move. Nelson fits well into the UFC heavyweight division and I could see him earning some nice money with his puncher's power the next couple of years especially if he would focus more on his conditioning.

Thanks for stopping by and for supporting our site with your orders. Follow us on Twitter @JRsBBQ. We're approaching 100,000 followers.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.