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JR's Blog: JR's RAW Thoughts, Punk-Cena Match Awesome, King Eats Sonic, WWE HOF Thoughts, Order JR's Today For WM29 Parties

Posted: Feb 27th 2013 By: mikeiles

It's clear and cold in my neck of the woods and a great day for OKC to host WWE Smackdown. This is the last OKC WWE event until December and I hope that we have a good crowd despite of all the weather issues that have hammered parts of the state the past few days. Busy day so here we go...

I really enjoyed the hot start to Monday Night RAW from Dallas and also the close of the broadcast which translates to me into a good broadcast.
Dallas was a legit sell out, I couldn't even get tickets for a few friends, and the crowd helped make the show better.

The McMahon-Heyman in ring confrontation told a brief albeit short story that set up the HHH-Lesnar confrontation nicely. Lesnar needed, allegedly 12 or more staples in his head to close up a nasty gash that he received in a collision with the ring post. BTW the ring post generally wins those meetings.

I am hopeful that HHH vs. Lesnar is a major part of WM29 and I have NO issues with this or any other viable match being a 'return' contest. Those that have issues with big time matches having a second go around have issues that I honestly can't fully fathom. I can't think of too many, major WWE main events that haven't had a return match with the exception of a small handful. This concept has been around since before I got in the business in 1974 and is a viable part of the fabric of what sports entertainment is.

It's obvious to me that Ryback is improving weekly. Considering where Ryback started as it relates to in ring experience, etc I feel that his evolution is a positive. Plus, Ziggler is a developing star who STILL has the MITB brief case which makes him remain relevant no matter the outcome of any TV bout.

I like where Mark Henry seems to be headed and that is to become a viable contender for the World Heavyweight Title. The monster, Super Heavyweight is on a roll and gaining momentum. Henry is a classic example of one who maximizes their minutes as his match with Khali wasn't long.

Slick move by Sheamus and Orton to distract The Shield while Orton did his drive by RKO. I thought that plan was not only strategic but surprising as well.

Swagger is showing much more aggression and confidence in his in ring work and also seems like he is beginning to fill out and closer to his size at Oklahoma his first two years when he played defensive tackle and was the heavyweight on the Sooners wrestling team. At 6'6" the Perry Oklahoma native can easily carry 280-290 without sacrifices any quickness or agility I'm thinking.

Funny stuff by the Tag Team Champions, Team Hell No.

Followers on Twitter @JRsBBQ hit me with their concerns of recent heart attack victim Jerry Lawler eating a couple of bites of Sonic fried food in a promotional piece within the broadcast. I'm sure King is happy for the concern but, really folks?

I thought that the Cena vs. Punk match that filled approximately the final 30 minutes of Monday Night RAW was one of the absolute best RAW TV bouts that I can remember in a long, long time. The near falls continued to escalate as did the effort and physicality of both men. Punk working such a high level match after flying back from Turkey and battling jet lag as well as a motivated John Cena was $2 steak tough. Cena adding a few new wrinkles to his offense was surprising and effective. Both men had a noticeable sense of urgency which never fails to translate well if it is genuine and this certainly was.

Bottom line is that two, main event talents had something tangible to fight for, the opportunity to compete for the WWE Title at WM29, and were allotted the approiate TV time to tell us a helluva story.

Not enough can be said about the pacing of the match and how it built to a significant crescendo. My black hat is off to both men as these are the types of main events that announcers throughout the ages have embraced and love to broadcast.

I did not miss Glenn Beck not appearing on RAW. As I've said, I'm not a political animal and I hadn't even heard Glen Beck's name mentioned since he exited CNN. I'd suggest that Beck got more publicity over this WWE business than he has for any thing else that's happened in his career except when Bill Maher occasionally makes fun of him on Maher's HBO show.
@MichaelCole handled the attempt to interview Beck extremely well and professional. Check it out on You Tube or at WWE.com.

Amazes me how some who follow me on Twitter @JRsBBQ or hit our Q&A section of the site can differentiate a WWE HOF induction for a celeb from an active participant. Donald Trump going in the 'celebrity wing' is essentially an honorary award and should not be confused with someone like Bruno or even a broadcaster like Mean Gene Okerlund. However for some reason there are many who feel that Trump is going into the WWE HOF over say, for instance, Macho Man Randy Savage, etc. That's simply NOT the case but many refuse to want to understand this matter.

BTW Donald Trump made many contributions to WWE including WM's 4&5 and his involvement in the hair match with Mr. McMahon at WM23 did huge business.

I take personal offense when I am tweeted that the WWE HOF is meaningless. I wear my WWE HOF ring daily and feel very blessed to have been inducted in 2007.

RIP to Cyclone Negro who passed away yesterday. He had a magnificent physique and wrestled with and without a mask. He was a huge star in the regional aka territory days of pro wrestling and if I'm not mistaken had a son who played college football at Alabama many years ago. Cyclone was 80.

Good luck to Chris Jericho whose new TV show, Robot Combat League, which debuts tonight on the SyFy network at 10/9 Central. Jericho is a man of many talents and I expect him to try and steal the show at WM29.

Fro fans in the UK and Europe part of the world, thanks for supporting our efforts of distributing JR's products with @americansoda and their American Candy stores. Hit the American Soda website for more info on how to order including a package with a personally autographed, limited edition trading card.

WWEShop.com has a full page of JR's products including five flavors of JR's Beef Jerky that many countries will not allow to be imported. Take a look at the JR;s Cookbook which can be shipped anywhere and is signed and less than $20. It makes a great gift idea. The link to WWEShop.com is http://www.wweshop.com.

I'm only a handful of followers away from reaching 700,000 on Twitter which isn't bad for a guy who only makes sporadic TV appearances. My goal is to hit 1M by years end. Come on along @JRsBBQ. Remember @TheGeneOkerlund is on twitter as of a day or two ago. Follow my friend Mean Gene.

Will be working on the Q&A's throughout the week as that aspect of what we do here is really growing and is almost impossible with which to keep up.

Thanks for stopping by.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.