• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

JR's Blog: Thursday Update...Wrestling TV Ratings...Hitman..."Damage"...NASCAR...WCW/Atlanta Days...Warrior...Sandy Scott RIP

Posted: Mar 12th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you will tell a friend about our site. For those of you that are supporters of our site via your on line orders, we want to make sure and say THANKS for all you do and for giving our products as gifts and using them on a regular basis. Here we go...

Lots of random thoughts...opinion...shameless plugs...and pet peeves 'o the day....

Read a sensationalistic statement by Jesse "Call Him The Governor" Ventura where he said that Hogan made more money than the entire card at WM3 which is either another embellished statement from the author and host of "Conspiracy Theories" or the old documents that I have, have been "swerve worthy" for years. My guess is that the former is true rather than the accounting info that I read. Plus, it's discretionary income that is distributed any way so...what the hell? Just let it go. There were lots of great bouts at WM3 of which one can argue but the story was the event was one match, Hogan vs. Andre. End of story.

An emailer asked me to speak of some of my favorite WCW/Atlanta memories. There are many actually even though my tenure there was somewhat abruptly ended and under dubious circumstances. Leaving WCW was the best thing for my career as it has worked out which proves that one making a change of business addresses isn't always a bad thing. Certainly seeing Ricky Steamboat return to relevancy in WCW in the late 80's was a really cool. Getting Terry Funk to become a regular on WCW/Atlanta was also a real thrill for me. Facilitating Cactus Jack and Vader both getting positive exposure on national, cable TV was a plus. Ric Flair defending the NWA Title was a joy to see and Flair's matches with Sting, Steamboat, and Terry Funk, among many others, were memorable. Hanging with the Horsemen after hours was awesome but I likely left a year or two of my life in a few establishments over that period of time. Ric Flair ordering 117 Kamikaze's at one time was something one doesn't experience every night. Plus, living in Atlanta was awesome and it's still one of my favorite cities.

I will also say that being on the WCW booking committee was not a highlight of those years. All the in-fighting, multiple, covert agendas, politics, paranoia, and the fact that active wrestlers were on he committee making crucial, creative decisions was a flawed system that was bound to fail from the get go. Several members of the booking committee could have done a great job booking WCW on their own and with their own crew but having a multi person, committee and not always having a strong, organized individual with objective, product knowledge to make the final call was another indication that upper management in Turner did not have a clue as to how to organize and manage a wrestling company.

Can we please stop receiving emails about TV ratings on wrestling shows IE PG, TV14, etc? PG is more politically correct in today's marketplace and is likely the smartest thing to keep one's company off the negative radar screen of the various consciences of those "watch dogs" who need to monitor every little thing in our lives. Personally, I don't care what a rating is for a show as long as I enjoy the program that I'm watching. I'm not going to watch a TV 14 show with my granddaughters or with the children of my friends for the record. If I have this burning desire to see blood then I can easily watch MMA if I choose. BTW I do watch a great deal of MMA on TV. I don't care to see nor will I condone chair shots to another's skull so if that is a TV14 criteria then I'm out. That's overtly dumb in the heightened era of concussions. Chair shots are like run on's in that we see so many of them that they end up meaning next to nothing because they are not special any longer.

Other emailers have asked me if I thought Bret Hart would be "100% by Wrestlemania?" The man had a major stroke and still has lingering issues from that issue that aren't going away any time soon and likely forever. It is a testament to Bret's desire and strong mindset to even be stepping in a wrestling ring at 52 years of age and being a stroke survivor. So, no Bret Hart will not be 100% physically at WM26, yes, it makes him vulnerable and, yes, his mindset to compete and perform at a high level has never been better from what I can see and after talking to him. I think WM26 is special for many, many reasons and seeing Bret "Hitman" Hart in the ring, likely for the last time in this particular presentation, is one of them.

We have commenced to deleting long, negative rants regarding wrestling creative just so you will know in case you never see some emails addressed on the Q&A pages. "Succinct" is the key term to utilize when emailing us and when you start an email off with, "I have ___ questions for you" they are likely to bite the dust. Just to read and print rants that offer no plausible solutions and simply want to point out what some folks don't like would be akin to taking a long car trip with an ex or listening to Arianna Huffington read a long book. Ain't gonna happen.

For some reason, we are getting lots of emails about the Atlanta Wrestlemania event for 2011. I don't even have travel plans made for this Wrestlemania much less do I know what I think will headline in 2011 or who will be inducted into the WWE HOF there.

The reviews that I have read from "experts" re: "Damage" which is the new film starring Steve Austin and out on DVD on March 23 have been positive and seem to be falling in the 7 out of 10 range. That's great for a small budget film. I have not seen an advance copy of "Damage" and will be buying my copy like every other ham and egger. I hope that everyone who has every enjoyed Austin's in ring exploits support Steve and buy yourself what is said to be a damn, good action/adventure film on DVD.

I think Steve is heading to Bristol, Tennessee for a NASCAR event soon. NASCAR is "hot shotting their brand" (much like wrestling has done over the years) and Carl Edwards has become an unlikely antagonist to some fans for intentionally wrecking a driver last week in Atlanta. I thought old school, NASCAR racing was about being edgy, attitudinal, and fostering individual characters. No driver is going to go out of his way to maim another but wrecks are part of car racing. Then if it gets too heavy, take it to the garage and settle it like men. Redneck, NASCAR fans like aggression and to see personal issues fostered.

Kinda like pro wrestling should be.

I expect Stone Cold to "pop a TV rating" on Raw this week on a show that will emanate from San Diego. Some big time bouts are scheduled.

BTW...I enjoy Showtime's Inside NASCAR but Michael Waltrip doesn't fit my image of what a NASCAR driver should sound like. What's up with that??

Check out the second part of a multiple part interview that I had with www.heavy.com MMA writer Jeremy Botter which is now live.

The same two or three Warrior fanatics email me virtually every day about what I have heard about Warrior and WWE. I'm tapping here. I've heard nothing. What one hears today could change tomorrow. I don't know the relationship between the two entities. I honestly don't care about their relationship. Why? Because I can't affect it one way or another. If the two aforementioned parties are happy with whatever they are feeling then I am ecstatic....borderlining on euphoria.

Condolences go out to the family of the late Sandy Scott who passed away early this morning of pancreatic cancer. Sandy and his brother George were a superbly smooth tag team who grew up in the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada area and were fixtures inside the ring for many, many years. Sandy, who many of his friends called "Angus," was a genuinely nice man who was so easy to respect and to want to be around. While so many ex-wrestlers from Sandy's generation, and after, are bitter about their careers, about not saving their money or preparing for their future, Sandy was a joy to be around and he rarely had a cross or negative word to say about any one. Like pro sports and other forms of entertainment, pro wrestling is wrought with paranoia and insecurities but through it all the men and women who rise about the minutia stand out. Sandy Scott stood out as a wonderful gentleman and a true credit to the business of which he devoted his life. I will never forget how friendly and professional Sandy was to me when I first went to work for Jim Crockett Promotions and that fact alone put Sandy on a short albeit unforgettable list. Thanks, Sandy. Rest in peace.

On line business is good and tomorrow I have a meeting with Homeland Grocery about continuing to build our brand of JR's products in their Oklahoma stores. Our store is always open here on our site and I hope that you visit today and place your orders. If you're going to eat ketchup the year around or BBQ sauce during the "grilling season" it might as well be ours.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter at JRsBBQ.

The Q&A's are updated as of Thursday morning. Thanks.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, Andre the Giant, WCW, Terry Funk, Cactus Jack, Vader, Ric Flair, NWA, Sting, Warrior