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JR's Blog: JR's Slammy/RAW Feedback, Heisman, JR's Tickets on Sale NOW, RAW Announcing, Sugar Bowl, Order JR's Online ASAP for Christmas

Posted: Dec 11th 2013 By: CMBurnham

Season's greetings everyone. Time is running out if you are going to make JR's products a part of your holiday gift giving via online shopping. Jump on it ASAP at http://www.wweshop.com, http://www.americansoda.co.uk, or http://www.beyondtheropes.co.uk today and place your orders. We certainly appreciate your business. Let's get to cooking....

Some of my RAW observations include:

Great closing segment that exposed what the fans in Seattle and elsewhere seemingly want to see plus it was a magnificent way to utilize all the former champs that were brought in for Slammy business.

That's strategic booking. Utilizing all of one's assets at one's disposal and not over exposing one's perceived weaknesses. That's still booking 101.

WWE got some great market research Monday night from the live audience, who I realize had an emotional and biased investment in the local hero, Daniel Bryan, and through the voting by the fans on the Slammy Awards.

Smart businesses should never do market research unless they are going to use it.

The final segment added some fuel to the fire for Sunday's Unification match, the second in 12 years w/ Chris Jericho prevailing then, and hopefully the last. It also exposed some matchups that fans gravitated to immediately. HHH vs. Punk is money. Daniel Bryan vs. HBK is money even though I DON'T think that it will ever happen and it also put John Cena who stole the segment verbally and then built to a potentially unique situation at TLC as not only Orton's mortal enemy but also an unlikely ally to the Authority. Or not.

Plus, Cena vs. Bryan....Bryan vs. Punk.....are also great attractions if, like every thing within the genre, they are built properly.

John Cena's promo Monday night surrounding by an impressive group of his peers and predecessors really stood out. Perhaps Cena's best mic work to date.

Those that don't like WWE right now for whatever reason likely still aren't going to like it even after the great final segment on RAW but I'm more interested in watching the TLC PPV this Sunday than I was prior to the broadcast. (Some fans seemingly just have more fun "hating.")

I mentioned on Twitter last night when the plethora of ex-champs/talents were all in the ring, that stars are not measured in pounds as there was a wide array of body types in the ring notwithstanding ethnicities and varying personalities. The greats, no matter their size, had the ability to connect with the audience in some unique manner and they also possessed the "it" factor that I don't think can be taught.

Thought WWE had some solid bouts on RAW that would have been made even better if the commentary had been focused on what the viewers were seeing. For example, when a talent is in trouble, selling, agonizing, etc and it isn't verbally documented then that misstep takes one out of the moment. How much trouble or pain can an athlete be in if his angst is being ignored?

Verbally it was a busy night at the announce desk but I do enjoy the two man teams more than three voices chiming in endlessly especially on a marathon, three hour show.

Ironically, WWE is similar to UFC in that they are one case of laryngitis, etc away from being in a bind on a major show regarding their broadcasters.

Thought the video package featuring the champions of yesteryear was spectacular. Content such as this often times is much more effective than a cold, meaningless match that is booked to simply get individuals 'exposure.'

Ambitious week for WWE between the live RAW, WM31 press, Smackdown taping in Portland, and then the taping of Tribute to the Troops. Great props go out to the TV crew and talents of WWE for the work and effort that they will put forth this week. Notwithstanding many will have LONG flights to get home from the northwest after the work is done.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango will wrestle on the TLC pre show Sunday. Many fans will bitch about this matter but the talents, if they are smart and I'm thinking that they are, have a great opportunity to raise the bar for the evening and make decision makers regret that the duo wasn't booked on the PPV.

Going through life turning negatives into positives is never a bad philosophy.

RINGSIDE: An Evening w/ Jim Ross tickets are available now at the Gramercy Theater box office and via http://www.ticketmaster.com for my two shows on Saturday March 1 in New York City. VIP meet and greet tickets are limited as are essentially all the tickets as the venue holds less than 500 folks. I hope that you will join me if you are in the New York/New Jersey area including my friends in Connecticut, etc.

Somewhat annoyed that a question that I answered on Ask JR here on the site was positioned to have me painting Zack Ryder with a negative brush. I am a fan of Ryder's and enjoy his serious work and his work ethic in general. He's a great kid who loves being in WWE. I think that if Ryder was taken more seriously that he could contribute more to WWE. This has every thing to do with how Ryder is cast and then how the new casting is executed.

Speaking of 'Ask JR,' the questions that made the cut are updated elsewhere on the site.

Michelle Beadle will do a spectacular job hosting the Tribute to the Troops this year. Huge talent, big, WWE fan and a major league personality. She's at @MichelleDBeadle on Twitter. Michelle's from Boerne, Texas where Steve Austin used to reside.

Purchased our Sugar Bowl tickets Monday for the Jan 2 OU vs. Alabama game in New Orleans. My birthday is January 3 so spending it in NOLA sounds like a good deal to me. My Sooners are a huge underdog versus the mighty Crimson Tide in the BCS Bowl Game.

If you want to make some JR's products a small part of your holidays and want your products before Christmas, please jump online and order now at:

http://www.wweshop.com

http://www.americansoda.co.uk

http://www.beyondtheropes.co.uk

Don't burn too much daylight folks, order today if you can, and remember that we appreciate your business and every order helps the cause.

Check out the podcast where I join Jim Cornette today at http://.www.MLWVIP.com for the 2nd of two parts. Today we address @UFC and much more. Good stuff that I think that you will really enjoy.

Still seems as if WWE would be well served to have some alums in various roles to appear at WM30 and Brock Lesnar fits that description but more is needed IMO. I still think that Hulk Hogan makes an appearance just as I suggested many weeks ago. Goldberg in a match, if it made sense, would be fun.

The key to any marketable, former WWE star contributing at WM30 is the build on weekly RAW TV. These individuals need to have at least reoccurring roles to properly build the anticipation for the April event. I'm not endorsing over exposure but I need a taste of what I'm ordering for dinner with the healthy price that comes for the entree.

Rapidly gaining on 1M Twitter followers as I'm about 7,000 away @JRsBBQ. Please follow if you aren't.

With OU going to the Sugar Bowl, our plans to attend the UFC PPV in December are now being re-evaluated. Would love to do both but we're not there yet.

Look for Jameis Winston to win the Heisman Trophy to be announced Saturday. The FSU QB is a great sound byte, a gifted player, a freshman which makes for a good story, and he was exonerated of any wrong doing in his legal issues in Tallahassee. The media loves the kid and he was going to win the Heisman whether he was charged or not.

With all that said, I still like AJ McCarron, just as I've said for weeks, and I still feel that Alabama is the best team in college football as do the experts in Vegas.

If Texas Coach Mack Brown steps down today the best head coaching job in all of college football becomes available. It's going to be interesting to see who's hired and hired quickly for recruiting purposes. I expect the new HBC to be paid 5-6M starting salary. Anxious to see how seriously UT takes hiring a minority for this job of college jobs.

Thanks for stopping by and come back when you can stay longer.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ