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JR's Blog: Being booked down South takes new meaning...Flair Phone Call...Hulk @ 'Mania??...WGN Wrestling Show...Rourke Screwed??

Posted: Feb 24th 2009 By: mikeiles

Thanks for stopping by and I hope every one had a great weekend. Mrs. J.R. and I attended the OU-Baylor Women's Basketball game Saturday afternoon in Norman on "Breast Cancer Awareness Day" before a record crowd of over 12,000 fans. I am headed to see the OU men take on Kansas tonight here which is a huge Big 12 game specifically with OU's Player of the Year candidate Blake Griffin not playing due to a concussion he suffered Saturday night against Texas. Before you leave the site today, please drop by our store section of the site and check out all the new specials that offer you some savings on shipping with some of the various packages.

Even with domestic economic woes facing all of us, WWE had a great weekend in the southeastern part of the USA and did some strong business in Mexico, Peru, and Chile. The event in Santiago, Chile was sold out as was Friday night's event in Guadalajara. The future business picture for WWE internationally is encouraging and it seems that more foreign territories will evolve much like the UK has which is an amazing development. Years ago, I thought being booked "down south" meant heading to Louisiana.....not South America.

Nonetheless, the diversity as it relates to the markets the WWE promoted this weekend speaks to the potential, long term growth of the brand because the basic product of wrestling is universal and wrestling is something small kids do naturally and on a regular basis much like the kids did when I was young which I actually was once upon a time.

I look forward to heading to London in April and plan on arriving there on Sunday and taping Smackdown on Tuesday. That is of course if I am still on Friday Night Smackdown after the annual WWE Draft. Nonetheless my laid back former broadcast partner, the King, won't be in any hurry to leave Memphis as he will arrive as customary the morning of the event he is working. With my luck, I would have airline issues and with no backup flight would miss work. King has never missed a show and hates flying in early for any assignment.

Great blog recently by Eric Bischoff speaking of the challenges facing the Gagne family after the tragedy that Verne was apparently involved in where he was staying in an assisted living home. I had heard the story some time ago of the state of Minnesota "legally" taking Verne's family home/land which sickens me. For those of us that spoke with Verne when he was inducted into the WWE HOF, Verne had "issues" then and apparently they were progressing at a rapid rate. Verne actually got off a funny line about Vince McMahon during his HOF speech but, trust me, there were issues that Verne's family had to deal with while at the function. I hope this matter doesn't result in a lawsuit as both families involved in this tragedy need peace and closure brought to this situation much sooner than later. Getting money hungry lawyers involved in a personal injury lawsuit or a civil suit just doesn't seem approiate in this particular matter. I cannot see a jury finding Verne guilty under his unique and unfortunate circumstances.

It is frustrating to see on the 'net where some fans are already declaring that the WWE TV show on WGN beginning in April the WWE's "C" show without ever seeing one episode of it nor knowing exactly what the show's format will be. Any talent who gets air time on WGN should look at it as a tremendous opportunity to impress the fans and decision makes. I've said it before, no matter one's role, when they get valuable TV time make the most of the opportunity. If it's only 3-4 minutes, then make it a memorable and special 3-4 minutes and that can be done. Wrestlers, announcers, and any other personalities involved with the WGN process has the chance to turn heads if they remain positive and put forth the effort. I can assure you that if I broadcast this show I'm not phoning in any thing.

Speaking of TV, and this is merely one guy's opinion, but it seems as if USA Network might be missing an opportunity by limiting the WWE HOF Induction Ceremony to only one hour. This event is one of the most special nights of the year and a two hour show would fly by for most viewers. I think USA made a great call on making the Annual WWE Draft a 3 hour broadcast but I feel just as confident that the WWE HOF Induction Ceremony could be a helluva, two hour show. Between USA, Sci Fi, and MyNetworkTV one would think that this event go move to 2 hours next year.

Personally, I do not enjoy any night of the wrestling year more than the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and that includes Wrestlemania....and I love 'Mania.

I got a nice phone call from my friend Ric Flair on Saturday morning. "Naitch" was in the midst of a "doubleheader" of appearances on Saturday and was his usual, happy self. We spoke of seeing each other at WM25 as I think we are both getting into Houston on Thursday which means I will have to get my naps in before I get there. If you haven't watched the entire Flair/CBS News TV interview on line, I suggest that you do. It's about 12 minutes long and it really a nice piece in its entirety.

We've been getting plenty of new questions and comments for our Q&A section of which I worked on updating just this morning and some are asking about Hulk being at Wrestlemania. I have no idea if Hulk is or is not going to be at WM25. I'm sure that he would be more than welcome to attend the HOF Ceremony which would be tremendous for all. The point is this, for Hogan to attend 'Mania does he have to be involved in a match or could he simply come and be a part of the Hall of Fame evening? I'm just thinking out loud here but I feel that if I was no longer on the air for the WWE that I would be hard pressed to not attend the WWE HOF Induction Ceremony as a show of my respect for my peers and to those that enabled me to earn a great living for many years. However, I digress, as my point was that every year at this time we start hearing tons of "Is Hulk coming to Wrestlemania" rumors which remind me of every December when the Dallas Morning News usually starts or perpetuates the rumors that Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is "rumored to be leaving Oklahoma" so that it will adversely affect OU's college football recruiting. Point is, I would love to see Hulk enjoy the weekend with his peers whether he wrestles or not. I think hanging with the boys in Houston for a day or so would be great for Hulk after all the BS he has been through over the past year or so.

Did the "wrestling bias" bite Mickey Rourke on the ass and cost Rourke the Oscar for Best Actor Sunday night? I think that theory is likely. Even Best Actor winner Sean Penn seemed to feel that Rourke deserved the award and specifically mentioned Mickey's return to the game in a positive light during Penn's "moment."

Not sure many of you are familiar with the Baylor Women's basketball coach but she is a fiery competitor would would have made one helluva "Sherri Martel-like" manager if she had chosen another career path. All I can say is that the three officials who called the OU-Baylor women's game Saturday left Norman "ass-less" as the Lady Bears coach was chewing them essentially the entire game. Nonetheless Kim Mulky is a helluva coach.

I need some help....if you have any suggestions for a list of significant moments from the first 500 episodes of Smackdown, this week is show # 497, please send them along to the Q&A section of the blog this week. I need to do a project for WWE.com and I need your research assistance about memorable Smackdown moments over the years.

Been reading where former WWE Diva Victoria, aka Lisa Marie Varon, is training to migrate to the world of MMA. I think that the women who compete in MMA are "money" down the road and that Gina Carano is already one of MMA's best known stars. However, my concerns are that Victoria started this venture somewhat late in her athletic life and has to play "catch up" with the other competitors. I do feel that if she can learn the craft, start off deliberately, and find early success that she will be able to earn a few paydays in this, new physical world. I'm not sure how her knee issues will affect her but one has to assume that they might. I do know one thing about this matter ever so conclusively. and that is that Victoria will prepare harder than virtually any one I can think of and will dedicate her heart and soul to this new venture. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she can make the transition successfully as she was and will always be one of my favorite individuals.

The WWE production of the February edition of the Legends Roundtable was awesome. This WWE 24/7 On Demand feature featured some compelling stories about race in wrestling over the years and the WWE production team did an amazing job adding footage to the discussion and for editing it in such a way as to keep it within time restraints without losing any of the integrity of the broadcast. I strong suggest that you check this show out and if you don't have the VOD service check it out when it comes to DVD.

Our store is open....we need your business....we have some great specials for you with many priced at under $20....and some great savings on offers that are shipping friendly.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.

Tags: Jim Ross, WWE, Jerry Lawler, Verne Gagne, Ric Flair