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JR's Blog: JR's On Line Biz Brisk..Harley Race..Cauliflower Alley Club..Strikeforce..Wrestling Territories, Questions Answered..Let's GRILL

Posted: Apr 11th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Good of you to stop by today. Lots going on and here's a quick blog...

Our on line biz has been brisk as grilling season for casual Grillers is upon us with warmer weather on the way. Now is a good time to stock up w/ JR's products that are guaranteed to make grilling a more tasty experience.

Talked to the King Saturday night as he was in my old territory area of Ft. Smith, Arkansas wrestling. I used to referee in Ft. Smith every Wednesday night at the Jimmy Lott's Sports Arena on Towson Avenue there which was a closed, Pontiac dealership turned small arena. The most I ever earned working that market was $40 and all the left over hot dogs from the concession stand that I could take home.

Enjoyed my 200 mile round trip drive Friday night to help out old friend and wrestling legend Harley Race at a benefit wrestling event in Sand Springs, Oklahoma which also happens to be Johnnie Mae Young's home town.

Harley broke in the biz at age 15 when he was the driver for 800 pound Happy Humphrey who rode in the back seat of a four door car and had to sit in the very middle of the seat to insure the that the vehicle was safely drivable. Harley said that when Humphrey sat down that the front of the car rose significantly. Race estimated that he drove the huge attraction hundreds of thousands of miles on non interstate, two lane highways.

For more info on Harley's wrestling school check out http://www.harleyrace.com.

Check out http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org for all the info on the upcoming CAC Banquet which is shaping up to be the biggest ever in Las Vegas. Several WWE personnel will be attending including yours truly. Anxious to see many old friends, wrestling legends, etc and am still of the belief that all true wrestling fans should be a member of this organization.

Considering that my suit, shirt and tie that I wore last week on Raw were all new and that I had never worn them before, my wife wasn't overwhelmed with the BBQ sauce mess that was made. Its a good reason to do more shopping, right? As the King always says, "One can't grieve forever."

The Oklahoma Sooners closed scrimmage Saturday was fun to observe. OU has lots of talent and QB Landry Jones has gotten bigger and stronger since last season and will undoubtedly be a first round draft pick in the NFL when Landry decides to enter the draft which I guess will be after this season.

The Mrs and I are so fortunate inasmuch as we could live any where in the States that we wanted, of which I am thankful, but she's willing to live in Norman so that I can engage my passion for OU sports. I really out punted my coverage when I made the lovely, Pittsburgh, Italian lady my bride in 1993.

Enjoyed Strikeforce Saturday night on Showtime. Announcers Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock did a nice job on the show. Not one fight sucked pond water and the crowd was into the show throughout or so it seemed on TV. With the UFC honchos now owning Strikeforce , expect more subtle changes to be made likely sooner than later. The 'business as usual' line by UFC officials sounded good on day one but that theory isn't realistic moving forward. BTW Nick Diaz is one angry, talented, hellacious fighter.

@mauroranallo always works in a few pro wrestling buzz words on his MMA broadcasts of which I always enjoy. Last night it was 'Ox Baker' and 'crimson mask.'

Recent questions...

No...wrestling territories are dead and will likely stay that way. The key to a territories success is getting local, strong TV clearances with a slick produced TV show that airs weekly. That isn't going to happen. It's not affordable nor does the majority of fans want to see largely unknown wrestlers. Most investors, who haven't lost their sanity, would never invest in obtaining TV clearances and upgrading TV production values notwithstanding funding a wrestler payroll. Weekly territories are a thing of the past and will never be seen again to the level that they once were or even close.

On the flip side, having viable, successful territories did more to develop main event level talents than any thing ever and nothing that can be created in today's marketplace will ever supplant that concept. New talents can and will be developed but it will have to be in a much different way than back in the territory days where a different audience could be utilized to watch a gambit of wrestlers evolve and learn their craft. Being able to relocate to a variety of territories with differing creative philosophies and audiences/fans helped many wrestlers become stars.

I have not seen the film 'Memphis Heat' but have heard nothing but good things about it. I'm anxious to get a DVD of it.

The WWE All Stars video game got more great reviews last week in another gaming publication. The new, THQ produced video game was a blast to work on especially reuniting with The King on commentary. Many fans think that they are a 'booker' so this arcade styled video game allows one to book the greatest matches that never happened. Plus you don't have to listen to the talents bitch about creative or money. :)

Someone asked me the whereabouts of Sid Vicious and I am under the impression that Sid still lives in Arkansas near Memphis. I'm not in touch with Sid any longer but have heard some speak of Sid's young son who apparently is a viable, pro wrestling prospect.

I can't answer all the questions that I receive on where future Wrestlemanias are going to be held as I don't know. However, holding them outdoors in the cool weather of an early April evening isn't too likely and wouldn't be too smart. That includes recent inquiries such as the football stadiums in Columbus, Ohio and in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. Those suggestions are illogical due to the weather if nothing else.

A Twitter follower @JRsBBQ asked about New Orleans and the Superdome for a Wrestlemania. Again, I don't know but much of those decisions are determined by how hard the local communities recruit/solicit the event as cities bid on Wrestlemania annually. Could a New Orleans Wrestlemania happen some day? It could but it isn't a city that I've personally heard WWE officials discuss in recent times.

BTW...our Twitter following is now over 125,000 and growing daily. Thanks! @JRsBBQ.

I guess one should never say never, but I never see @HeymanHustle returning to the pro wrestling world on a full time or regular basis. Never. I get asked this question weekly it seems.

Lots of folks are using our Chipotle Ketchup and Main Event Mustard on grilled hot dogs and are responding as if they just discovered some sort of miracle food which is awesome. The combo is righteous without question especially when adding some chopped onion and sweet pickle relish or relish of one's choice.

We are not in http://www.wweeuroshop.com as of yet but would love to be. Any folks who live in Europe can help us by contacting the website and asking them to carry our goods there.

Remember that at this time and for the foreseeable future we do not ship outside the USA however http://www.wweshop.com does and they do a really nice job of shipping JR's products around the Globe. As a matter of fact, they are having trouble keeping our products in stock and seem to run out every week or so. Nice problem to have.

Yes...I still think all the catcalls, etc that we that were there experienced at the WWE HOF Induction Ceremony were annoying and uncalled for. Some fans, if that is what they are, simply crave attention and feel compelled to be defiant and attitudinal. Its unfortunate and presents a bad overall image to fans who love the biz and that do conduct themselves with class and decorum.

No...I do not think that @TheRock vs. @JohnCena should happen before Wrestlemania 28. Let's put that matter to bed. It isn't going to happen before WM28 in Miami. As comedian Ron White would say, "Let it go."

Love how many crystal ball possessing, wrestling creative valedictorians already know that the long range plan for Rock-Cena isn't a good idea. For you that have this all figured out, can you also provide me some lead pipe cinch, stock tips or the National Champion of College Football winner for the upcoming season?

Good luck to @IAmJericho as DWTS continues this week. Remember to watch and to VOTE.

My wife and I have watched WM27 again since returning from Atlanta and really enjoyed the show especially the TV production values. If UFC wants to hit a home run in Toronto for their biggest show ever at the domed stadium now known as the Rogers Centre, the MMA conglomerate will study how WWE produces TV in a dome. Looking back at the last Wrestlemania WWE produced in the same venue a few years back makes sense to me.

Thanks for your business as we appreciate everyone's support of our products which are perfect for Grilling Season or any other time of the year. We hope that you consider ordering from us soon at our on line store.

Boomer Sooner!

JR

Tags: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Harley Race, Mae Young