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JR's Blog: Travel Hell..Savage..Alex Riley..Over the Limit..R Truth's Niche..Heyman/Lesnar..Order JR's Products For Your Cookouts Today!

Posted: May 25th 2011 By: CMBurnham

After over 12 hours of travel Monday it's great to finally be back home in Norman, Oklahoma. Getting from Seattle back to Oklahoma, thanks to Mother Nature, took longer than it usually does to fly to England. Nonetheless...here are some random thoughts...

It was fun to be a part of the Lawler-Cole bout Sunday at Over the Limit in the Key Arena and I was especially excited to discover once I arrived at the arena that @BretHart was in the house.

Loved the Orton-Christian match and felt like it was the show stealer on the PPV. Two really skilled guys and once again it showed that Christian is underrated but is an important facet of Friday Night Smackdown. Orton is a major star, without question, but his best days should lie ahead.

R Truth seems to have finally found a viable niche and he is one of the brighter aspects on Raw. Truth is embracing his new persona and I happen to think it fits him well.

Enjoyed calling the one match at OTL but would have loved to have been able to be sitting at the announce desk for Orton-Christian. I was impressed with the physical toughness of Cena, Miz and Riley. Leather straps,chairs, bouncing off steel, etc are no fun to experience and all three gutted out the 'I Quit' match which is a challenging piece of business with which to navigate for the athletes and even for the announcers.

My friendly wager with @jclayfield for a case of our JR's Original BBQ Sauce vs. a case of his New Leaf ice tea on the OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks playoff series is in peril. I will likely be shipping our Original BBQ Sauce to JBL's Bermuda residence after Wednesday but OKC might have some fight left in them after losing two straight at home.

Here's some thoughts on some questions that some of emailed us here or Tweeted us @JRsBBQ:

Yes...Former NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol is a lock to be a 'celebrity' entrant into the WWE HOF, IMO. Dick is a brilliant man and made many huge contributions to WWE including NBC's presentation of Saturday Night's Main Event which was bigger than big for WWE at the time. I really enjoyed getting to know Dick especially during the XFL days.

No...I have no idea if or when Randy Savage will be inducted into the WWE HOF or if he will go in with his former wife and valet, the late Miss Elizabeth. As I have said many times, it is obvious that both are deserving.

Thanks for asking....my personal health is excellent. I have not felt better in years which I attribute to a smarter diet, a regular workout schedule and cutting WAY back on alcohol consumption. Key word on the latter is simply, 'moderation.'

If you live outside the USA, contact http://www.wweshop.com to see if they ship to your country. Each country has different laws, etc regarding what types of food items that can or cannot be shipped inside their borders. I do know that WWEShop ships our products often to the UK, throughout Europe, and to Canada. WWEShop's business w/ our brand is growing tremendously.

Yes...I was impressed with the interaction between Alex Riley and The Miz Monday night on Raw as was, seemingly, the live audience in Portland. I am intrigued to see where Riley on Smackdown, I assume, and Miz, continue to evolve. Riley looked very impressive doling out the physicality on Miz on MNR.

Without question, @steveaustinBSR was 'driven' and a self starter when he was in WCW and would not 'settle' to be just another guy. One always looks for guys who continually look for a way to get themselves noticed in a positive manner and to maximize their minutes in the ring and that was Austin from day one until his last match at WM19 at Safeco Field. More guys today need to embrace that philosophy and not wait until 'their turn comes.'

Why does WWE change talent's names? Because it is smart business. WWE wants and needs to own the names of their stars whenever possible. When WWE owns a talent's name that intellectual properly then belongs to the company. I see it as simply being smart.

I have no definitive comments to make on the "Jeff Hardy incident' as I don't follow TNA that closely nor do I know the accurate details of the issues at hand for Jeff other than he has had a court case pending that has seemingly dragged on forever which means the legal meter has been running, one would assume, for weeks and weeks. I like Jeff, I signed both Jeff and his brother Matt to WWE contracts, and hope that any personal issues that he may have can be resolved sooner than later and for good.

Working with Tony Schiavone in 1988 was fun and I always enjoyed working with Tony even though professional positioning by TBS drove a wedge between us at times. Tony is a good guy, a family man, and a talented broadcaster. As I have said, the WCW 'zoo' toward the end of their existence seemed to take the fire out of Tony which is certainly understandable. We were a good team when allowed to work together. The politics of the business, especially in that era, were unhealthy and did many within the biz no favors.

What will Hulk Hogan's legacy be at the end of the day? I can't see why it won't be excellent. If Hogan is judged on his contributions to the business of pro wrestling then it's a no brainer. Hulk's legacy is intact IMO as I don't choose to judge him or anyone else by personal issues that happen in many of our lives.

What is the future of tag team wrestling? I don't have a firm answer on that one except to say that today's tag team wrestling scene leaves a great deal to be desired. You've heard that here before.

What was @HeymanHustle like to work with in 2001? Same as always....unpredictable, cerebral, caustic, talented and it was always an adventure. Paul Heyman understood the business throughly and never played the role of a broadcasting antagonist. Paul was always being himself and was very good at his craft. I also think that he is through with pro wrestling. BTW, Brock Lesnar's book, 'Death Clutch,' co-written with Paul Heyman is available NOW. I can't wait to read it.

How was I able to commentate a 1992 match between Randy Savage/Hitman vs. Flair/HBK when I wasn't in WWE until the spring of 1993. The answer, the magic of video tape. I voiced it over long after the fact.

Were 'old wounds' opened when Eric Bischoff came to WWE? Hell, no. Any issues that Eric and I had were long since gone by the time he came to WWE and I tried, as the head of Talent Relations, to make his stay productive and professional at all times. All those lingering, pro wrestling personal issues are not something that I care to carry with me. Who would really want to live carrying that garbage around with them for years? Not me.

Is WWE going to India? Obviously, they just opened an office in Mumbai. When? I don't know.

Do I like four man announce teams? Lord, no. That's at least one too many voices to have to listen to or to tune out.

We've got some great packages for you to select from in our STORE here on the site. Each comes with a signed item and are all fairly priced for the best BBQ Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup, our Championship Original Beef Jerky and Main Event Mustard that you will find. Give our products a shot and you won't be disappointed. If you are, simply email me at Contact Us on the home page of our site.

Hard to believe that we have over 150,000 Twitter followers @JRsBBQ. You're personally invited to join and to spread the word.

Thanks for everyone's support.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, WWE, TNA, Ric Flair