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JR's Blog: JR's Survivor Series Predictions, Lack of Mentoring in Pro Wrestling, Order JR's Online for Holiday Gift Giving!

Posted: Nov 25th 2013 By: CMBurnham

A pleasant Sunday to all from a snowy, Norman, Oklahoma. Full day of NFL it seems for the Ross household. Let's kick this quickie off....

Great trip traveling with the OU football team to Manhattan Kansas Friday and returning after a significant Big 12 win Saturday against Kansas State. I love being around the athletes, mentoring them when I can, and developing relationships that last for years after they've left Oklahoma University.

Mentoring is a unique thing within pro wresting. Unique in that it isn't something that is done enough. Some 'old timers' who could mentor much more efficiently are silently bitter about today's talents who are either making more money or on the cusp of earning MUCH more money than did the vets back in the day at a similar time in the vet's careers.

Most young talents are smart enough to know when they are being worked by a veteran who is in a position to help the youngster so trust then erodes if not destroyed. Talent growth cannot happen without trust and the confidence that the system is willing to do all that they can to facilitate the next wave of big stars.

To hear those that are in positions of authority silently nod in agreement at all of upper management's concepts or suggestions and then gather amongst themselves to bitch and complain is disheartening. Those offenders will tell you that they've just trying to keep their jobs which is more often than not sadly true.

My presentation skills have never been award winning but being truthful and speaking up wasn't something that I wouldn't do. I felt that honestly and any expertise that I had could be share with the company that was paying me good money for my services was approiate.

I will get much more into some of these philosophies when I preform my one man shows which will begin early next year.

One of my favorite Boston, the site of tonight's WWE Survivor Series, memories with WWE saw me sharing a small dressing room in the old, Boston Garden with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. The Brain would hide Gorilla's suspenders, socks, etc in the non air conditioned cubby hole that we were sharing. At just the right time, before the "Big Ape" exploded, "Wease" would refrain from angering the giant of a man any further. It was all about 'timing' and no one had better timing than Bobby Heenan. This was the Survivor Series in November 1993 the year that I came to WWE. We may have actually done radio for that event and no TV which may have been the cause of Gorilla's disdain about having to don "formal wear" for the event while dressing in a glorified closet that was likely used in the day of the two man, NBA referee teams.

That afternoon in a stuffy, small locker room with two of the greatest ever would have made for some amazing TV in today's reality TV world.

I'm planning on catching the Survivor Series tonight on PPV and with that in mind here are predictions for the PPV that used to be one of the biggest of the year specifically when there were only four, WWE produced PPV's annually.

Kofi Kingston was educated in Boston and is kicking off the pre show vs. the newly re-minted villain The Miz..so to get the crowd engaged and up...I'd go with Kofi winning. With that said, Miz likely wins the pre show match.

Big E retains the IC Title vs. Curtis Axel in definitive fashion. Hopefully, Big E won't have to suffer through a series of losing efforts in the "non title' bouts that he's booked in the near future. Fans of any ilk can associate with winning and winners. Hopefully, Big E gets on a roll and resurrects the Intercontinental Title. BTW...Big E's 'Five Count' ala King Kong Bundy that "E" used in NXT was good stuff. I wish that he'd do it now. Fans loved it at Full Sail.

Two traditional Survivor Series Elimination tag matches involves 14 or so Divas in a bout that will likely feature rapid fire finishes with the Total Diva cast winning on a night that their show airs on E and coming off the heels that another season is in the making. This match will follow something that is expected to be hot. This match will be about comedy, one liners and to promote the E Network's Total Diva program.

Traditional Survivor Series Elimination tag #2....features a guaranteed Cesaro Swing in a somewhat cold match. I'd assume the fan favorites will win but I'm somewhat ambivalent as to the outcome. I'd expect WWE to protect Rey Mysterio especially if he's coming back to a close to full time schedule from knee issues. Watch for tension within The Shield.

Punk/Bryan vs. Harper/Rowan with Bray Wyatt....I see this as the potential show stealer. Gut says something is going to happen here in a significant way. Remember Bray Wyatt scheduled to be at ring side. It's hard to beat three up and coming villains when the villains have a man advantage and are in the evolution process. Nice thing about this match for me is that it is somewhat unpredictable. Wyatt Family need the win more than the two protagonist stars.

Remember, there are several ways to do things correctly in the biz.

Cena vs. ADR for World Title....likely straight forward Cena win but the shocker would be for Cena to tap in his hometown of Boston and to continue the story. ADR losing essentially takes him out of the loop including the predicted live event rematches vs Cena that likely will include new stips. Remember, even Superman had kryptonite but it's likely a Cena wins via submission.

To shock the world, get close to have ticket selling steam on a main event villain, and set the hero on a chase to regain his championship, the bold move would be to beat Cena in Boston. But if that occurs I will swear off BBQ for a month.

Orton vs. Big Show for the WWE Title....I'd expect some sort of a 'Boston Screw Job' at Survivor Series especially with Bret Hart on the HOF TV panel. Plus, remember when Bret got shafted at Survivor Series versus Bob Backlund. Just seems as if it's too easy to not cheat Big Show out of the title and to add much needed heat to Orton and the 'Authority' personas. Nice place here for the Shield to circle back through the PPV.

You can expect the PPV to be slick and clean, a trademark of WWE TV production, and hopefully we will see some archival footage to make the Survivor Series event feel more important and significant within the big picture of WWE.

Hopefully the esteemed, HOF panel that will be utilized during the night will not be overproduced and be allowed to express themselves openly and honestly.

Just think, if the WWE Network launches in the next few months, that next year the Network could feature tons of great Survivor Series footage including back stories PLUS the PPV itself on the WWE Network. Hey, it could happen.

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No, I haven't forgotten that tonight is the season finale of one of my favorite TV show, 'Boardwalk Empire' on HBO and I will be watching during the night as I predict the 'significant' body count to be 3-4 regarding some of the primary characters.

Have a great day.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.