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JR's Blog: Chipotle Ketchup on Back Order..More on Lesnar's 'Death Clutch'...Dos Santos-Carwin..Foley..Eddie Guerrero..Grill W/ J.R.

Posted: Jun 6th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Hope all had a super weekend. It's terribly hot in Oklahoma but it's that time of the year. At least the H2O in the pool doesn't feel like bath water yet. Let's grill....

We are still waiting on our much anticipated shipment of Chipotle Ketchup and it will be the end of next week before it's ready. We can't rush perfection and I apologize for any inconvenience that this may be causing. For those that have orders pending that include Ketchup we are happy to substitute either our Original or Hot BBQ Sauce or our Main Event Mustard instead of the Ketchup and ship your orders ASAP. That's your call and you can let us know by emailing us on our home page of this site at Contact Us and clicking on orders@jrsbarbq.com. Just let us know what you want us to do and please include your order number.

Sorry for the inconvenience but business has been rocking and our factory is working as diligently as possible to get us caught up. It's not a bad problem to have and I appreciate everyone hanging in there with us.

Another UFC PPV hits the air this Saturday emanating from lovely Vancouver. Interesting card especially the main event between Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin to determine the #1 contender for the UFC Heavyweight Title currently held by Cain Vel?squez. Of course Carwin replaced Brock Lesnar who underwent surgery for diverticulitis a few weeks ago and will likely be out of the Octagon until sometime in 2012.

I see no way that Dos Santos and Carwin will go the three rounds. This one will be won by a knockout or stoppage and either could easily happen in the first round. Carwin has only gone past the first round once and that was against Lesnar in a losing effort. It seems as if Carwin doesn't look as puffy and some insiders have said that the man who has only lost once in MMA is eating much differently and training to increase his cardio. Both heavyweights are striking demons which should make for an exciting fight....while it lasts.

Someone emailed me, sort of an overly cerebral type of question IMO, if I really read Lesnar's 'Death Clutch' in two hours. Well, I didn't time it but it was around two hours and change if that's important. Slow news day I guess for some folks. 'Death Clutch' is an easy read, isn't over detailed oriented or too 'deep' that's for sure but as I mentioned I enjoyed it and was curious to see how Lesnar would address his time in WWE which largely fell under my talent relations watch.

My goal was to sign Lesnar. Thanks to the efforts of Jerry Brisco we were able to 'get our man.' We thought that if Lesnar was going to make it that we should know in a year of training in OVW. IMO that should go for everyone in developmental. If one can't ascertain if a talent's got 'it' or not in a year something is wrong. Low and behold, Lesnar was in developmental 4 extra months which seemed to be an issue with him.

Sometimes people aren't ready for a variety of reasons and all those reasons don't have to do with in ring skills. Brock made it clear in his book that he did not like specific nuances of the pro wrestling biz. Some competitors simply aren't 'wired' for the business, socially, physically or psychologically, notwithstanding the extensive travel that comes with it.

Scheduling regular 'down time' for talents would help address the issue of 'burn out' and going forward and as more depth is developed I can easily see that happening. It just makes common sense. I don't see the business ever having a season but I do see a day where schedules are more talent friendly which will extend the shelf life, so to speak, of any wrestling company's most valuable commodity, their performers.

However, some people, even with ample off time, would never be long termer's in the unique genre of pro wrestling. Brock Lesnar was likely one of those types of individuals. Yes, he was enormously gifted athletically and aptitude wise but Brock was uncomfortable around strangers in a non controlled environment and he disliked travel no matter how much or how little it was. I've known many guys that fit that bill. It's not a crime but it's simply how some people are.

As the head of talent relations, just as with all talents, I had good days and not so good days with many individuals on the roster. It was simply the nature of the job. Same goes with my dealings with Lesnar. He was a guy with a similar, growing up on a farm background as me and was a straight forward, shoot from the hip kind of guy which I was as well. We had many good days on the job, more good than bad, and really never had any significant issues until he was frayed around the edges and was preparing to leave WWE after wrestling Goldberg at Wrestlemania.

With that said, when I saw Brock for the first time in years in his locker room after the Carwin UFC war in Vegas last year, he was gracious, classy and professional to me and my wife Jan. Brock is 'at home' in UFC and his new employer is seemingly a perfect fit for the former WWE Champion.

I still have great respect for Lesnar and feel he was one of my department's greatest ever signees. He made more money quicker than any one I have ever been associated with in the business. That's a statement I told Brock but I'm still not sure if he believed me based on what he wrote in 'Death Clutch.' That statement was the truth BTW.

However, money can't buy true happiness and it seems to me that Brock Lesnar has found true happiness with his Minnesota based family and competing in the Octagon for the UFC. I am hopeful and send good thoughts his way daily that Brock heals and returns to what he loves doing. Brock Lesnar to once again be the UFC heavyweight Champion would be great in my eyes because I am still a Lesnar fan and will always be.

Bottom line, I suggest that you read 'Death Clutch' and if you write about it be sure that you accurately time how long it took you to read it. :)

Emailer....What was my lowest point in WWE? It wasn't anything creatively I can assure you. Getting upset over storylines is stupid and, yes, I've been stupid many times, but losing both my parents at different times while on the WWE clock was obviously he lowest point for me. It's amazing how some people constantly dig for dirt and would rather talk about a half empty glass than a half full one. Of course, I've been a part of creative that wasn't my cup of tea but so what?

Twitter....I have NO interest in this year's weak, NBA Draft. Zero.

Emailer...What was Eddie Guerrero's #1 moment in WWE? I'd guess beating Brock Lesnar in the Cow Palace to win the title or wrestling in a main event at Wrestlemania. Hard to say but the Wrestlemania bout, as I recall, was facilitated because of the Cow Palace bout. Realistically, Eddie's #1 moment should have been him gaining control of his demons and getting his personal life under control.

Emailer....Do I think that WWE will unify the WWE and World Title? Nope. Plus, it isn't something I spend too much time thinking about. ALL titles can be made to mean more which is more important to me that talk of unification.

Emailer...Who do I think was the most influential Japanese performer to compete in the USA. Tough one. Could be one of several men but for me it would be the Great Muta. The REAL one BTW. So many influential 'Japanese' wrestlers in the USA weren't even Japanese.

Emailer....Do I think that Mick Foley will ever return to WWE? Better question for Mick to answer than me and he's on Twitter. I don't know. I do think that Mick's best, on going assets are his verbal skills and not a long string of wrestling bouts. Mick's PR value to any company is significant. Someone also asked if Mick vs. Undertaker at WM28 would make sense. For me, no. That ship has sailed and those two can never replicate what they once had and did back in the day nor do I think that they should try. However, Mick Foley is a great human being and certainly a future WWE Hall of Famer in my eyes. Mick is another guy who would be a great mentor to young talents in any developmental system.

Remember, if you have Chipotle Ketchup on order as in a Sampler, etc please let us know if we can substitute Original or Hot BBQ Sauce or Main Event Mustard in the Ketchup's place. Simply touch base with us here on the site at Contact Us on the home page and email the info to orders@jrsbarbq.com and include your order number please.

Your support is helping our business grow exponentially of which we are thankful.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. (@JRsBBQ)