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JR's Blog: Twitter Craziness..Mayberry Mafia..Shaq for WWE HOF?..@TheRealXPac..Brock Lesnar is Honest..Diaz/GSP..Grill Today w/ JR!

Posted: Jun 3rd 2011 By: CMBurnham

Hope everyone is having a great day and thanks for stopping by our site. For those that utilize excerpts of this blog, please provide the link to our site in its proper form. Thanks. Let's grill...

Interesting week. Never blocked so many Twitter followers in my life but opinion is one thing, calling people names is another but dropping every F-Bomb and repeatedly sending negative manure to us is too much. Sorry but that's the way that it is. I follow no one that I don't enjoy or respect. Don't understand why anyone would to be honest with you.

Sorry to see Shaq leave the NBA but it was time for the big fellow to call it a career. Shaq was the nicest, pro athlete to ever visit Raw and participate in a WWE ring. Not a bad candidate for the 'celebrity wing' of the WWE HOF. Loved his moment or two in the ring with the Big Show a couple of years back. Bottom line, Shaquille O'Neal is a legit, good dude which may raise the ire of some Kobe Bryant fans.

@IAmJericho, Chris Jericho is looking at doing a 3rd book! Amazing. I can't even put a plan together to write one while wanting to stay away from a full blown autobiography at this time. Jericho is uber talented in many areas and has likely not wrestled his last WWE bout. The thing about Jericho is that he's going to do things on his time line and that he enjoys doing. When or if he becomes ready to return to WWE he will. The Winnipeg native and Fozzy front man certainly doesn't 'owe' any of us one more match.

@TheRealXPac is on Twitter and has a website that you should check out. On our twitter @JRsBBQ many have talked about the Raw match many years ago between X Pac vs. Bret Hart where Macho Man Randy Savage and I did the commentary. Classic match...clinic-like in my view thanks to the men in the ring.

Yes emailer....Alex Riley has upped his game the past two weeks on Raw while beating up The Miz. The key to Riley's rise to stardom and latching on to something tangible at the next level is his continued ability to shine and to get on a roll. The roll has started but how long will it be sustained? That's always going to be the question no matter the talent. Riley-Miz has been some of my favorite, MNR content the past two broadcasts. It feels new and fresh.

My wife read Brock Lesnar's book 'Death Clutch' and felt it was an easy read, succinctly written, and honest. I am starting on it soon and will let you know my thoughts. It's always interesting to see how former WWE talents perceive specific, career events and how they feel about a myriad of their professional experiences after the fact and after having time to allow those experiences to soak in.

@DanaWhite scored big for UFC with the signing of Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz for October on PPV. Should be an explosive fight between two highly skilled men. Diaz is an enigma who, the more he talks and interacts on TV, the more PPV's that UFC will sell. GSP will be the favorite going in which should fit Diaz' personality perfectly. If the controversial Diaz, at least on TV he's controversial, were to upset GSP the UFC would have the potential to have two more bouts between the two. Funny how most fans talk of the fighter's personalities rather than the Undisputed Welterweight Title that's at stake. The actual championships, UFC, WWE, etc need more equity but it will always be a fact that personal issues and strong attractions sell tickets and PPV's.

The THQ rendition of the WWE12 video game is going to really be slick. THQ has some very educated and intelligent fans of the genre working on this game and I look for it to be the most ecstatically pleasing and exciting to play video game that THQ/WWE has done to date.

Of course, I'm still partial to the arcade like WWE All Stars video game because it features so many legends and allowed The King and myself to reunite as a broadcast team.

What am I saying about myself when I say that I enjoy watching 'Swamp People' and 'Pawn Stars' throughout the week on A&E? Can't wait for the return of 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' too. I even wore a 'Pawn Stars' T shirt to the gym recently. Some will assert that "JR has no shame." That fact has likely been proven long ago if one is an avid TV viewer. :) I am a fan of reality TV and 'Pawn Stars' and 'Swamp People' are simplistic, easy to follow and is escapist TV. I don't want to sit down at night and have to over process info on TV but that's me. That's one reason that sports programming will always be popular. It's easy to follow or at least it should be.

Tweeter....No, I do not believe that college football players should be paid because school's can't pay every one as specified by Title 9 which would include the women's cross country team, etc.

Be assured that 'getting paid' wouldn't have prevented the out of control insanity that is The Ohio State University's beleaguered football program. The newest Sport Illustrated has a compelling article on the Buckeyes business which is a must read for college football fans.

Heard I got some props today on the nationally distributed Jim Rome radio show for my comments I made this week to the New York Times about comparing LeBron James changing his protagonist, Cleveland Cavaliers persona to that of a nWo like antagonist when he created on a TV special about himself where he announced he would be 'taking his skills to South Beach.' The greatest wrestling heroes I've ever been around largely became great because they had viable villains with which to 'dance.' The Miami Heat became a bad guy faction ala the nWo and fans do and always will pay good money to see someone that they dislike strongly enough lose. That means that the Heat sell tickets in every city that they travel plus they've invigorated what was an eroding Miami Heat fan base. Check out the NYT piece that is on line at their website under sports or NBA.

UFC has a great opportunity, as I Tweeted about Saturday night, to make ex-Marine Captain Brian Stann a super hero inside the Octagon. Stann is a sponsor's dream. Great image and character and who wouldn't want the American hero representing their products? Plus, he's tougher than a $2 steak. Stann's promo last week about 'not tapping on Memorial Day no matter what' was money and should have been more emphasized on the UFC PPV broadcast Saturday night IMO. UFC might want to get Stann out there now and embarking on a viable PR campaign for seemingly one of their next, big time investments. If I'm a big time sponsor ala a beer company or automobile manufacturer, I'm going to feel comfortable with Brian Stann endorsing my products.

Emailer asked if I missed the old, WCW days. My wife and I loved living in Atlanta. Some of our favorite restaurants and oldest friends still live there. I've never lived in a city since I've been in the wrestling biz that I liked more than Atlanta. However, I do NOT miss the mismanaged WCW, the near sighted TBS suits who showed little respect for the wrestling business and who, largely unknown to Ted Turner, conducted themselves like the Mayberry Mafia.

Remember, we will begin shipping again next week but you can still order if you choose any time here on our site which is for USA orders only. International orders to selected countries are still be shipped without interruption by http://www.wweshop.com at a brisk pace.

All new material on WWE On Demand TV as we speak as I caught some last night including a Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher Slobber-Knocker from World Class Wrestling from the mid 80's. Also a nice, Legends Roundtable talking about the biggest stars of the 80's is also featured.

I encourage you all to check out http://www.wweclassics.com as it has some awesome content and from what I hear, you know, 'sources say', big things for WWEClassics are eminent.

Thanks for stopping by and we appreciate everyone's business. Grilling season is officially underway and you're burning daylight if you haven't ordered yet. Thanks!

Boomer Sooner....

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Jerry Lawler, WCW, Bruiser Brody, Abdullah the Butcher, WCCW