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JR's Blog: Creative Subjectivity..Wrestling Mt Rushmore..Heyman vs. Savage..CFB Thoughts..WWE vs. TNA..Rumble Prediction..Order Today!

Posted: Dec 26th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Merry Christmas everyone! 'Tis is a blessed day and I hope that each of you enjoy it to the max in the most responsible and happy way that you choose. Now...please unwrap these random thoughts.

We've engaged many on Twitter (@JRsBBQ) with some intelligent discussion regarding 'fat jokes' directed at Vickie Guerrero this past week on WWE TV. Strong feelings have been expressed by many individuals both enjoying the comedic exchanges and vehemently opposing such.

Personally, I find various things funny. I used to always laugh at 'America's Funniest Home Videos' when they featured plus sized women slipping and falling on ice, etc. For some reason, large ladies taking a bump made me laugh. Does that make me a bad person? To some, it does. To most, I would like to think , it only says to them that I have a sense of humor.

I do not endorse real life bullying whatsoever. Bullying on the school yard or any where else in a 'real life' environment is unacceptable. When bullying in a fictitious, staged, entertainment program comes into play that where the lines get blurred.

Taste is a tough one to regulate. I've seen many, many things on pro wrestling TV show s over the decades that I could not and will not endorse. However, the 'villainous" TV persona of Vickie G getting her comeuppance via one liners ala a 'roast' did not offend me, personally. Which is not to say that every one who reads this should feel the same way.

Wrestling storylines are subjective. I've been a part of many, many storylines since 1974 that I have really liked that others thought were ill conceived and poorly timed. I've also experienced others that I was embarrassed to watch but many viewers either thought was 'cool' or 'funny.'

Like I said, creative content in any entertainment program is subject and no one will always be on the money, score 100% of the time, no matter how hard one tries. Plus, no creative entity can please every one all the time because we all have different tastes and sensitive in this complex, information laden world in which we live.

Personally, I dislike the use of religion, politics, and sexual orientation as a part of any pro wrestling storyline. Those subjects turn me away from the genre, a genre I utilize more often than not to escape the daily challenges of real life. Unlike many in the wrestling media, I don't feel compelled to throughly analyze each segment of a pro wrestling TV show although I understand that many of those folks earn a living doing critiques of these programs and being a critic or commentator, in essence, is a part of their job.

Humor, in general, is one of the more subjective forms of entertainment available today. I see some stand up comedians on TV and often wonder how they earn a living knowing full well that they are successful but for whatever reasons they don't make me laugh. Same goes for wrestling storylines. They won't ever and can't always appeal to everyone.

Finally, just because I like something doesn't make it 'good' or 'right.' At the same time, just because a wrestling media type endorses or dams a facet of TV creative doesn't make them right or wrong either. It simply is one person's opinion. The jury is and always will be the fans who will speak volumes via TV ratings, live event attendance, PPV biz, etc.

As in any business, the consumer will eventually determine the success or failure of any entity.

We got some really good questions and comments on the last round of Q&A's that have been updated here on the site as of Xmas day. That's in the Q&A Section of the site.

Here are some answers to some other recent questions or Tweets that we've received:

* The long term future of WWE appears to be bright to me. The company has a strong infrastructure manned by some intelligent, hard working professionals and have continued to take positive steps in putting their footprint around the Globe. As in any other entertainment or sports entity for that matter, the development of the next wave of superstars who can transcend the biz is imperative. WWE is an attraction oriented business and when new, main event level, attractions evolve and become established then 'business will pick up' without question.

* My early pick to win the 2011 Royal Rumble would have to be John Cena. (One of my favorite Rumbles as a broadcaster was working with Taz on his first Rumble PPV. Remember to check out Taz' new venture at http://www.teamtaz13.com)

* Haven't read the Tony Atlas book yet although I have it, cost me $20 from Tony himself, but it appears to be an honest depiction of Tony's career. Because Tony wasn't prepared for success and did no financial planning, he encountered several challenging periods of time in his life that he could have avoided had been better prepared for success plus the eventual end of his 'run' of which every wrestler encounters. Tony's professional and personal issues that include the good old boy, racist world of old school pro wrestling will make for some interesting stories and observations.

* If you want me to sign something for you then you must send us the item to be signed and a self addressed stamped envelope. Once your items are signed and returned in your self addressed, stamped envelope we will mail them back to you but there is no way that we can be responsible for the postal service doing their job. I'm doing these for free BTW and can't be responsible for your items not being returned. Be assured that I won't be confiscating any of your swag as I'm a little swag heavy myself. The address is PO Box 721294, Norman, Oklahoma 73070. I bring this up because some have complained that they haven't received their trading cards, etc back and I can assure one and all that I'm not looking to poach trading cards or any other JR items from those wanting me to sign them...for free.

* Some fans of TNA have asked me when I predict the time line that TNA will over take WWE in the marketplace. Without coming off as a tool but simply being totally realistic, the answer is never. But wait, there's more....does it matter? I would suggest to you that TNA has all they can say grace over making their brand stronger and are likely, if they are smart, not even trying to compete w/ WWE but only with trying to make themselves better. WWE is the NFL and no other football league will ever touch the NFL. Period. End of story. That certainly doesn't mean that another league can't make money and be viable in their world. I'll never wish TNA or any other company ill will but IMO this is the reality of the matter and the answer to a question we seemingly get all the time. I can assure you that I want our on line biz to grow but I don't fixate on other similar sites but instead try to think of ways to make our site better.

* Was asked to come up, again, with my personal 'Mt. Rushmore' of pro wrestling. I find that question virtually impossible to answer. Again, its a subjective subject that likely has no one, right, definitive answer. Does one go real, old school and include Ed 'Stranger' Lewis, Jim Londos, Lou Thesz and Gorgeous George? Without these men, there would be no Verne Gagne's, Bruno Sammartino's, Buddy Rogers, and Freddie Blassie's. And no Hodge's, Brisco's, Race's and Funk's. Not to mention no Hogan's, Andre's, Backlund's, or Flair's. Or Austin's, HBK's, Undertaker's, or Rock's. See what I mean? When some one says that they have the definitive 'best of,' 'top 50,' 'all time great list,' etc it can be an eye roller but usually a good topic of conversation and debate. Another one of those subjective issues that seems to permeate pro wrestling.

* It has been amazing the feedback that we have received on our new, Main Event Mustard. It's the most nutritional friendly condiment I've seen and the taste is at the Wrestlemania level. We want our Mustard and Chipotle Ketchup to be in your fridge the year around. Neither are perceived as seasonal as some do BBQ sauce...some that just don't know. :)

* We do not ship outside the USA but http://www.wweshop.com does. Another idea for those reading this outside the USA is to have us ship it to an American relative or friend and have them ship it to you. There are seemingly less 'issues' when individuals ship other individuals food products than when a company albeit a small company like ours does. Just an idea. Plus we ship to American hotels all the time to folks traveling from abroad. We expect to ship a great deal of packages to Atlanta hotels during WM27.

* Sounds as if win, loss or draw that University of Michigan football coach Rich Rodriquez is out after the Wolverines bowl game. Allegedly, the deal is done or at least that the consensus of some within the game of college football. LSU's Les Miles and Stanford's Jim Harbaugh appear to be the leading candidates, both 'Michigan Men,' to succeed Rich Rod if he gets the ax in the next few days. Some feel that Harbaugh wants the 49ers gig if and when it comes open while Miles may have out lived his shelf life in Baton Rouge. The rumor mill also says that if Miles leaves LSU that Nebraska's Bo Pelini heads out of Lincoln to take the LSU job. Lots of speculation and what ifs but one major job opening causes a domino effect within the coaching ranks. Expect many top assistants to change addresses after their team's bowl games as well.

* I do think that Booker T could be an effective broadcaster on a wrestling TV show if paired with the right partner and given some time to establish his body of work and timing with his partner. I could also see Booker being a great manager, if the manager role, which would be new in today's world, was brought back.

* A handful of Ohio State football players have embarrassed their university, families, and teammates by selling Big 10 Championship rings and other awarded properties/items for cash and, of all things, tattoo services. Gonna cost them the first five game in 2011 but not the upcoming Sugar Bowl which is a head scratcher. Tough penalties handed down by the NCAA, which is one of the more unpredictable monopolies in existence, and it may drive several of the flawed five to the NFL Draft early....if there is one in 2011.

* Happy folks like the latest Legends Roundtable on WWE On Demand on Overachievers and Underachievers. We are scheduled to tape two more shows in late January but I do not know the subject matter, the panelists, or when they will air.

* Paul Heyman and Randy Savage were totally different broadcast partners for me. I had more chemistry with Heyman largely because we spent significant time together and we did a great deal of work in WCW before working on MNR in WWE. Savage and I did not have that many reps before we worked on WWE programming nor did we hang out outside of the biz. Nonetheless the two men were very different in many ways. Savage brought a wrestler's mentality to the broadcast table whereas Heyman came as an antagonist broadcaster with a more manager-like mindset. Some fans still bring up WM17 where Paul and I comprised the broadcast team on one of the better Wrestlemanias ever.

* We always appreciate any recipes of way that you use our variety of products. One never knows but if I could accumulate enough of them we might consider doing another cookbook. We indulged our Main Event Mustard on slices of summer sausage on Christmas Eve.

* It's obvious that many that Tweet us (@JRsBBQ) do not read our blogs. Again, I am not personally boycotting any return to weekly TV. That simply isn't the direction that WWE has chosen to take. I am fine with that, for the record, and am excited about the many other areas of which I can contribute to the team effort. Some ill informed folks still believe that I am sitting at home unwilling to return to weekly TV for some ****amamie, egocentric reasons that continue to confound me. Also, some have asked if I still feel that I can 'hold my own' with today's pro wrestling broadcasters? Come on, Man!

* Yes, we will continue to ship orders throughout the holiday season. December has been a record setting month for us of which we are very thankful. But our on line store never closes.

Thanks for dropping by and have a safe, blessed and happy weekend. Our family sincerely appreciates all your support. My lovely wife is cooking and has been since early Xmas morning and our home smells fantastic. She's the best!

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.