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JR's Blog: Saturday Blog..WWE TLC Predictions..Holiday Delivery for JR's Products Still Available at WWEShop.com

Posted: Dec 18th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Here's hoping everyone is having a great weekend. Happy Holidays to all and to all...let's get the show on the road.

WWE TLC is this Sunday night on PPV from Baltimore. The old arena should present a great atmosphere for the last WWE PPV of the year. The live audience can help make or break any TV event so let's hope that the Baltimore fans are in good voice.

TLC for WWE Title- I look for CM Punk to retain. Punk is the hottest WWE Superstar on the roster at this time and seems to be building much needed momentum for a marquis, PPV selling bout at WM28. The question here is how well will the Miz and ADR distinguish themselves Sunday night? An off the chart performance by each would be superb.

Mark Henry vs. Big Show- World Heavyweight Title where chairs are legal. My guess is that the Champion and World's Strongest Man retains his title. I hope that these two can top their most recent PPV bout which I felt was an outstanding, super heavyweight contest. I could see this match ending somewhat suddenly given the talents involved and the added element of chairs.

HHH vs. Kevin Nash- Don't overlook these two, established veteran stars. Both men will want to make great accountings of themselves where a sledgehammer hangs above the ring and can only be reached by using a ladder. Expect to see the ladder used in a multitude of offensive ways in route to the sledge finishing one of the two former Kliq members. I have HHH winning at TLC. With all the main event experience both men have, I am of the belief that this can be a potential show stealer.

Cody Rhodes vs. Booker T- IC Title at stake and the opportunity for the younger Rhodes to take another step up the ladder. I'll be disappointed if this isn't one of the best bouts of the night. Rhodes gets a quality win over a top veteran.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder- The United States Title is on the line in a contest that has the challenger finally getting a one on one, PPV opportunity. Contender Ryder has been campaigning vigorously for his chance and it's here. Zigger is one of WWE's most outstanding, young stars but Ryder's time seems to be upon us. Ryder in somewhat of an upset.

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett- Barrett truly NEEDS a major win here in this Tables match. This one is hard to predict but the slight nod goes to the Englishman.

If you are in Baltimore attending the event, tickets are still available in a limited quantity as I understand, by the way, be sure and not leave town without enjoying a crab cake. Best I ever had. Plus, a visit to Sabatino's in Little Italy is always encouraged. Sitting at a table with Ric Flair and company upstairs at the Italian eatery in a private room after various events back in the day yielded some amazing times. They could have been 'jail time' but, luckily, they weren't.

Q&A time...

How was Michael Hayes as a TV, color commentator? PS was exceptional and knew all the nuances of how to be a villain, had great timing, and, most importantly, knew how to embellish the personas of every performer on TV whether they be 'friend or foe.' I enjoyed our days together with Cowboy Bill Watts' UWF. We had a bitter on air rivalry but never allowed that to interfer with our story telling and making talents bigger stars.

Would Japanese greats, IE Misawa, have been great stars in North America? Athletically, without question in my opinion. The issue is connecting with the audience without the ability to communicate in English unless they had a viable manager. The art of verbalizing cannot be discounted in the wrestling business and that particular skill has become even more imperative.

"JR, you were a great ring announcer." Via Twitter...thanks but I was only a ring announcer for a short while and I wasn't that good at it. Great ring announcers include WWE HOF Howard Finkel and the late, Jimmy Lennon, Sr. Fink's my favorite. My rep was built as a play by play guy....for better or for worse.

Does JR's Cookbook have more than just BBQ recipes in it? Absolutely. There are many more NON, BBQ recipes in our last cookbook than not. Most of the recipes were my Mom's and are my wife Jan's. We simplified them so even a 'Caveman could do it.' This particular cookbook was designed as a cookbook for guys or beginning cooks. There are tons of wrestling stories and photos in it I signed all the JR's Cookbooks at http://www.wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss.

Do wrestlers know how to fall safely off a twenty foot ladder? Uh, not to my knowledge. Performing with inanimate objects is risky business. TLC proves that time and again.

Twitter question of the week..."JR, did you break your neck because you head looks weird on your body?"

Stupid move of the week....Kobe Bryant with no pre-nuptial agreement with his soon to be ex-wife. Can one say reconciliation?

Perplexing Tweet of the week..."The Wrestler was such an inspirational movie." Wow. That would be the Mickey Roark version and not the Ed Asner version, by the way.

Check out the podcast of my weekly http://www.YahooSportsRadio.com radio appearence with Sean Pendergast later today. We go live on Saturday mornings at 10:30 central time for about an 30 minutes.

Will be catching Showtime MMA fights tonight, peeking at the NFL game, too. Zuffa can build a unique brand with women's MMA if they want to invest in the genre. Women's MMA is different and is a nice compliment to a TV card. Plus, it appeals to new fans. If I were Zuffa, I'd be scouting collegiate, female wrestling teams and the women playing collegiate hockey in hopes of finding tomorrow's stars of that gender. Skilled, female fighters gives the Strikeforce brand on Showtime some exclusivity. Another Gina Carano is out there somewhere.

I'm still of the opinion that the Lesnar-Overeem UFC fight on December 30 won't go past two rounds. Can Brock avoid Overeem's nasty knees and strikes is one question MMA people are asking. Hopefully, Brock learned something from the Velasquez-Dos Santos fight and that is Cain should have gone for takedowns early....as in immediately. Lesnar cannot and should not stand with a man whose strength is striking. Brock is a monster of a wrestler and should dance with what 'brung him.' Lesnar bull rushing Overeem to the Octagon and then taking down Alistar might be one, viable school of thought. Obviously, bull rushing while avoiding a devastating strike is definately advisable. I still think Lesnar wins via stoppage in the 2nd round.

WWEShop.com can still get you in the USA JR's products by December 23 and the flat rate for shipping is only $10. Hit http://www/wweshop.com/Category/JimRoss for all the info.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day. Also thanks for helping us exceed 300,000 Twitter followers @JRsBBQ.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.