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

JR's Blog: Summer Slam, Undertaker, Punk-Cena, Cole as a Manager??, Tag Team Revival?, JR's Twitter tops 200,000! SAUCE IT!

Posted: Aug 11th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Here's hoping everyone is having a good week and are looking forward to Summer Slam as much as am I. Our business continues to grow at http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss of which we are grateful. Check out the link as it costs nothing to look. Let's grill this blog and then sauce it.....

Looking forward to hitting LA this weekend for Summer Slam. The event is sold out at the Staples Center and the Los Angeles crowd usually delivers in a big way.

The Chicago crowd at MITB was extraordinary which gives the fans in LA something to shoot for on Sunday. The live audience can make a break a show and it's up to the talents to motivate the fans to the level that we all want and need.

Most of the feedback we are getting in our Q&A's here and via Twitter @JRsBBQ are about the undisputed WWE title bout so the pressure on the two WWE Champions John Cena and CM Punk will be significant. These are the moments that many athletes covet, knowing that the success of a PPV rides on their show closing shoulders.

Throw HHH into the mix as the special referee and one has the ingredients of an unpredictable Summer Slam main event that likely will have many twists and turns. I fully expect a wide variety of emotions to come out of this show.

The only thing that I'm somewhat sure of is that when we sign off the air Sunday night on pay per view that there will be only one WWE Champion.

If you plan on attending Fan Axxess at Summer Slam, be sure and drop by the WWE merchandise area and nab some JR's BBQ Sauce and Beef Jerky of which I have signed all the bottles and bags respectively. You might even see yours truly wondering around on Saturday.

I hope to say hello to Steve Austin while we're in LA but if I don't I'll see him next week in Connecticut when we narrate three of his greatest matches for his late November DVD release.

Was able to get a couple of tickets for talented actor and friend W. Earl Brown, who played Dan Dougherty on the amazing HBO program 'Deadwood' and who has been a wrestling fan for years. Earl was also in 'Something About Mary' among many other films but his work on 'Deadwood' as Al Swearengin's right hand man was spectacular. I'd love for 'Deadwood' creator David Chase to make a 'Deadwood' film some day. I'm sort of a big fan of the series as you can tell.

So, it will be an exciting weekend in Southern California including heading down to San Diego on Monday for Monday Night Raw.

Now for some of your questions.....

How do I like my new travel schedule? No worries whatsoever. I now leave a little earlier for my destination and have ceased taking the 'first flight' out' when returning home. Being around all the WWE personnel on the day of a live show is a blast.

What do I think of William Regal's TV commentary? I think the Brit has a bright future as a broadcaster. Very underrated talent. Regal would also be a great manager type personality, too. Regal is very glib and entertaining for my BBQ dollar.

Will WWE ever do another show in Wembley Stadium? I honestly don't know nor am I in that loop. I don't see WWE doing a PPV from there due to the time difference and the perception that it adversely affects business in North America. Would WWE produce a UK PPV from Wembley some day? Would that sort of production be significant enough to fill the stadium? Good questions all.

Where are our products available? Get asked this one every day. If you are traveling on I-35 through Norman, which is just south of Oklahoma City and north of Dallas, you can stop at any of the 4 Homeland stores and pick up our products w/ no shipping. The easiest one to find is by taking the Robinson street exit and go east but you can also take the Lindsey or Main street exits and go east and both main drags pass Homeland Grocery Stores. Aside from that just go on line at http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss.

Has the Undertaker retired? Absolutely not. The more he is away the more questions that we get on 'The Phenom.' I still expect to see the Undertaker back for WM28 to attempt to go 20-0 at that event. No...I don't know if we will or will not see him prior to April 1, 2012 nor do I know who 'Taker might face in Miami on the night that Cena faces The Rock. I do know that WM28 wouldn't be the same without The Undertaker and his 'Streak' of that I'm sure.

Do I think that Michael Cole would make a good manager? He probably would if WWE decided to go that direction with Cole. Cole's TV persona is easy to dislike and he would likely garner plenty of antagonist attention to whoever he mentored/managed, etc.

What are my thoughts on the Cena/Punk issue? I've enjoyed it and feel it has legs beyond Summer Slam. I also know that we've gotten tons of feedback from many older fans who have reinvested their TV time into Raw since this matter has begun. Personally, I love reality TV in general and this issue feels extremely reality based to me and, apparently, to many others as well.

Now that I'm back on the road do I still travel with the King? Oh,yeah somethings never change. We generally meet at the 'team hotel' and take it from there on these trips. It's just like old times and as if I never left. We generally talked on many Mondays even when I was not on the road.

Will I miss any OU games this fall because of WWE travel? Looks like I will on October 15 when Monday Night Raw is going to be taped in Mexico City and the Sooners play at Kansas in Lawrence that day. I'm also trying to figure out how to get from Tallahassee after the September 17 Florida State-Oklahoma game to Atlanta to fly to Buffalo for the Night of Champions PPV. Decisions, decisions....any one willing to take a passenger back to ATL?

Can the tag team division in WWE be revived? Absolutely and it could be done in a matter of months. Plus, the tag division doesn't need a dozen teams but half that number would arguably fit the bill. The duos just have to be made to be relevant and get ample TV time both in the ring and on the mic. For many WWE fans, viable, tag team wrestling would be something new.

Are we going to be adding any new products to WWEShop's lineup? Yes. We are thinking of another Beef Jerky flavor or two along with a dynamite, Dry Rub. If you have any ideas on new products, please let us know either at the Q&A Section or at Contact Us on the home page or via Twitter @JRsBBQ.

By the way, thanks for helping us exceed 200,000 Twitter followers @JRsBBQ.

Gonna hit an OU football practice on Thursday as kickoff is just about three weeks away for the preseason #1 ranked Sooners. That means that OU has the old bull's eye on their chest. Let's hope that my favorite college team ENDS the season #1 which is much more meaningful.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.