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JR's Blog: Wednesday Blog..RAW Thoughts..JR's Week..Ronda Rousey..Stakes Rising on NXT..Beef Jerky Sales Booming..Flatuence in Church

Posted: Jul 11th 2012 By: CMBurnham

Lots of random thoughts before heading to the airport. It's going to be a busy but productive week. I hope that you will consider checking out the 20% Off Sale at http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss. Several great packages to choose from, outstanding 97% Fat Free Beef Jerky in 5 flavors and all the signed items are authentic...guaran-damn-teed. Let's kick this off....

Monday Night Raw was a unique 'go home' broadcast. The A.J. 'love triangle' story has played out nicely and one can assume that the pay off of that matter will be this Sunday at the MITB PPV. I'm not a big fan of non referees donning the striped shirt at anytime and especially in a WWE Title match but I will admit that the scenario has been intriguing. Something has to give Sunday but I would hate to see CM Punk's impressive WWE Title reign end on an unbalanced female's decision.

Asking A.J. to officiate as well as HBK did at WrestleMania is asking WAY too much.

As a former administrator working with talent in WWE, I always figuratively held my breath when Money in the Bank Ladder Matches were booked. There's very little in the way of preparation that one can do and, as I said years ago, no one learns how to safely fall from a 20 foot ladder.

I'm guessing that John Cena and Dolph Ziggler win their respective MITB bouts this Sunday on PPV. No wagering please.

I'd love to see some of WWE's younger talents have break through performances this Sunday on PPV. Like in main stream sports, I believe in throwing someone in the game and seeing if they can help the team win. Nothing ventured...nothing gained.

There is talk of having a tournament to crown a NXT Champion which, if and when it is held, could create some amazing opportunities for several young athletes looking to get noticed with the hopes of making it to a Raw or Smackdown WWE roster.

Every outing at the NXT tapings is pressure packed for each talent because of all the watchful eyes looking on at the talent's every move. The atmosphere at Full Sail University in Orlando this Thursday night should be fun as the arena seats around 500 and is an excellent setting for this unique vehicle that's unlike any broadcast WWE produces.

It's hard to say what Jerry Brisco and I will see Friday afternoon in Waterloo, Iowa during the tryouts. Sometimes one can find a genuine diamond in the rough in these settings and hopefully we will come away with some prospects that we can take a longer look at in the future. Hopefully we will see some well conditioned athletes who have big personalities and are fundementally sound.

I've been extremely impressed with Kane the past several weeks as I have previously mentioned here. The veteran continues to deliver in a big way inside the ropes which is where it counts the most. Kane is a great success story as he migrated through the independent scene to earn a HOF level career in WWE. When I first saw Kane, it was in an arena of maybe 100 fans, he looked a great deal like Sycho Sid in size and wrestled under a mask known as the Unibomber. We had him come to a WWE TV, which I think was in Georgia, for a try out and officials were impressed with his size, athleticism and demeanor. No major star that I can recall has been easier to work with than the highly intelligent and articulate Kane. I have great respect for the man....even though he tried to BBQ me once upon a time.

I thought John Cena's promo about this Sunday was one of John's better, serious promos in quite some time.

I've received a great deal of positive feedback from my appearance on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour Monday afternoon. I enjoy talking about MMA just as I enjoy talking about football, etc.

Chael Sonnen will be broadcasting some UFC action this week. As I blogged earlier this week, Chael is a proven box office star in UFC with several more fights in his future but I could easily see the Oregon native successfully broadcasting in UFC as his post fight career. Obviously, UFC is going to be producing more and more TV, which can be a good thing or not, and their list of broadcasters isn't that long at this time. Sonnen is a natural born talker and having someone who has the entertainment skills to go along with product knowledge is invaluable.

Speaking of Sonnen, one of the biggest challenges, and there are many, that a MMA fighter would have coming to a company like WWE is the schedule. The travel of a WWE superstar is unwavering while most MMA fighters only fight a few times a year and are essentially grounded in their training camps or with their families the rest of the time.

If any MMA fighter isn't willing to work as hard training for WWE as they did while training for UFC,etc then my suggestion, as a talent evaluator, is to say a polite adios to them and call it a day.

Ronda Rousey's cover for ESPN the Magazine is smoking. The Strikeforce fighter is arguably the most marketable, new female athlete to come along in years and her 'people' should accelerate her progress ahead of the success that some Olympic Women will attain. Rousey is a major talent and I'd have zero issues booking her on a major UFC PPV in the future. Notice I said UFC and not Strikeforce.

I hope those involved in @RondaRousey career realize what they have.

Lots of fans are enjoying WWE on Net Flix or so they tell me. @netflix has a ton of really good WWE content.

We get some really good comments and questions on Twitter @JRsBBQ but it you want some laughs have yourself a social beverage and read my timeline over the past few days.

...especially like the one's where I"m asked if I speak Arabic. Hell, I'm still working on mastering English. Or, if I will be at RAW 1000.

Couldn't get into the MLB All Star game broadcast Tuesday night...I think that last season's NFL Pro Bowl has scarred me for life regarding all star games.

Lawler airplane spinning Michael Cole Monday night reminded me of some of the rehearsals that we had filming Man on the Moon when Jim Carrey wanted to do some of his own stunts. That idea went over like flatulence in church.

Lots of people asking these days if I have a book in the works. The answer is no but I'd like to write multiple books while most of my brain cells still function. However, I have no desire to 'ham and egg' it and major publishers aren't exactly beating my doors down looking for material. My journey has been unique and through some amazing eras including the explosion of cable TV, satellite TV, and PPV. It would certainly be a book about more than wrestling.

Many of those that inquire about me writing a book seemingly are only interested in 'dirt,' under achievers and screw ups.

Good seeing Bob Backlund on Raw Monday night but in hindsight I'd have loved to have seen Bob make his cameo while RAW was in the northeast. Perhaps he wasn't available. The former champion is in amazing condition for a guy in his 60's but Bobby has always been a cardio freak and his strength was always grossly underrated. I have no knowledge of the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Class but Backlund has to be high on the list of potential inductees. Backlund was a two sport All American in College both on the gridiron as a defensive end and on the mat 190.

It's always great to be in the same room with the two Dan's, Hodge and Gable, as I will be this weekend in Waterloo, Iowa. I hope that the fans turn out as JBL's presentation alone will be stellar.

Follow me on Twitter @JRsBBQ as this should be an interesting week. It's time for some of the young pups in Florida to step up to the plate and display their wares. l'd suggest they lace 'em up tight come Thursday night.

Thanks so much to all of you who help our undermanned team promote JR's products especially those of you that order from http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss. Your support is sincerely appreciated.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.