ECW Preview; Gregory Helms Surgery Complete; Jim Ross' Latest Blog
Gregory Helms underwent successful Fusion surgery Monday to repair the two broken vertebrae in his neck. I'm sure WWE will be posting a followup article once Helms can have some rest post op. Everyone here wishes for him to have a complete and fast recovery.
Jim Ross posted the following new blog on his website, jrbarbq.com:
Dream’s Commentary.. Cryme Tyme MIA??.. “Gusty”.. Bischoff’s Book.. “Nevers”.. Kerry’s Amputated Foot??.. Mike Shaw.. Warrior ’96.. HBK/Hulk Relationship.. Joe Buck.. Jack Buck.. “Being There”..
Times a wasting, you Sauce and Jerky freaks! Let’s address some comments...
Vanilla Wafa- Dusty Rhodes’ TV commentary as The Dream, is naturally, was always entertaining. Dusty can verbalize with the best, even though he “borrowed” a few of my clichés that I “borrowed” from others when he was on TBS. Seriously, Dusty is one of the most entertaining people I have met in the business, even though he is a die hard Texas Longhorn fan.
Adam- Ed Ferrera’s rendition of “Oklahoma” was what it was… a guy doing his job. Did I like it? Not really, would you? Nonetheless, those days are long gone and I have zero ill will over this subjective creative material. There isn’t any “poor me” regarding this matter, that’s for damn sure.
Jason- Where is Cryme Tyme? You mean at this moment? They are out on the road working and learning their craft. Do you miss them? I see them every Monday at Raw and they seem to be getting better each week.
Cory- Yes, Booker and Stevie Ray are brothers in the true sense of the word and both are living in Houston where Booker has started a small wrestling operation. I assume Booker’s brother helps him out with the school, but I am not sure.
Jerry- Did Steve Austin get fired from the WWE? Uh, no. He did quit a time or two, but that was a long time ago and things and times have changed, all for the better I might add. Steve is doing great and has two more movies contracted to do for the WWE. Even though “The Condemned” did not burn up the box office as everyone wanted, I have yet to see a single wrestling fan that saw it say they did not like it. No one should worry about Steve, as he is still positive about his film career, as are all of us that know him. The one thing that Austin always had going for him was the will to be the best at what ever he did, and being an actor in movies is no different. My money is on Steve Austin. Movie critics will most likely never cut the WWE any slack, but that should come as no revelation to long time wrestling fans. By the way, did you ever see one commercial OUTSIDE WWE programming for “The Condemned”? I sure didn’t.
Sam- I try to talk to the wrestlers who perform on Raw or a PPV as little as possible about what their plans/strategy are for a match. I am a fan, will always be a fan, and would much rather be surprised at what I see and call it that way.
Seann- I absolutely remember KTUL channel 8’s weatherman Don Woods and his nightly drawings of “Gusty”. The Tulsa ABC affiliate was one of our best received stations down in Westville, which is about 100 miles east of Tulsa. I have frequented “Granny’s Attic” in Tahlequah while a student at NSU on many occasions. I consider attending NSU one of the best experiences of my life.
Black Scorpion..; if that is your real name… yes Barry Windham is working full time in the WWE attempting to impart his knowledge to the young wrestlers of the WWE. I hope some of them can become as proficient in the ring as BW was back in the day.
Ray- Yes, I read Bischoff’s book “Cash Creates Controversy” and enjoyed his view of wrestling history and his time spent at WCW. Was I technically fired from WCW? No. However, I was removed from the air and reassigned, which equates to the same thing from where I sit. I don’t know how I would have used Eric to “get over” in the WWE, but he has the right to his opinion. I would like to think my work had something to do with the WWE fans accepting me into their family, but as I have said in the past, what in the hell do I know??
Billy- I would say that Bret Hart will NEVER wrestle HBK again. Or anyone else for that matter. That’s too bad, as the young wrestlers of today could learn a ton by watching Bret, but there are always DVDs.
Rob- As I understand it, Kerry Von Erich had his foot amputated after a motorcycle accident. I never saw it first hand, but I have spoken to other wrestlers who say they did. Kerry had a ton of charisma and will be a big part of the upcoming Von Erich/World Class Wrestling DVD the WWE is planning.
Stan- Do I see Elijah Burke becoming a regular participant in main events someday? Absolutely, if he continues to study the business, work hard, and stay issue free. Elijah is a natural born talker, which is imperative for today’s top wrestling stars.
Dave- I agree with you that the 2000 HHH-Rock rivalry was strong. It was one of the better issues the WWE has ever featured in my view. I wish we could have HHH-Rock 2, but that’s simply not in the cards.
Kim in Norway- You can get J.R.’s products by going to the WWE Shopzone website. The WWE ships products worldwide. Many people speculate that a robust road schedule contributes to the amount of injuries to wrestlers. Whether that be accurate or not it is a valid point and speaks to developing more depth at the top of the rosters so the main event level talents can get a break from time to time. The schedule as it is now, where most talents work 4 days and are off 3, is so much better than is used to be for the record.
Matt J- Mike Shaw was a helluva nice guy who I enjoyed working with in WCW as “Norman the Lunatic” and in the WWE as “Bastion Booger”. Mike came to WCW with a glowing recommendation from Stu Hart, who spoke to me personally about Mike. Stu loved Mike’s professionalism and hard work. Stu’s word was all I needed to endorse Mike being hired by WCW. Mike was an agile super heavyweight and understood the business after several tours of duty in Calgary where I am sure he amassed a ton of classic stories. As a matter of fact, he told me once that he kept essentially a diary of his time in Stampede Wrestling, which I can’t wait to read. I always respected Mike and felt he had a good heart. Perhaps his weight hampered him later in his career, but that can be said of many wrestlers. Mike also had a great sense of humor. I wish him well on his pending book.
Nick- No, I never met Joe Buck, but I did interview his dad, the late Jack Buck, on my Atlanta Falcons pre-game show once before a Monday night NFL game. That was a major thrill for me, as I grew up listening to Jack Buck and Harry Carey on KMOX Radio out of St. Louis. Jack Buck was a wonderful man to me and a class act. Jack Buck was very natural on the air, which is imperative for any broadcaster… simply be yourself.
Kris- I have no idea what the long term plans were for the Warrior in 1996 except to get him back on TV and maximize his appearances and reintroduce him to the WWE fans. Unfortunately, that particular tenure was somewhat short lived, much to the surprise of not many.
Matt- In order to do a legacy DVD of Mid South Wrestling, the WWE would have to own the library or have access to it and they have neither at this time. I would personally love it because it was in Mid South that I got my start in broadcasting wrestling. Bill Watts could produce a helluva one hour, weekly wrestling show when his head was in the product and having men like Ernie Ladd and Buck Robley, among others, around him did not hurt anything either, not to mention having an awesome talent roster.
Cameron- New York Post nay sayer Phil Muchnick is not related to the late St. Louis promoter Sam Mushnick, hence the different spelling of their last name. Sam Mushnick had tons of class, but I’m not so sure about the other gentleman.
RPA- I have spoken to Paul Heyman once, he called me to congratulate me on the HOF, since ties were severed with the WWE. He is busy writing movie scripts and working on a variety of other projects, none that I am aware of that have anything to do with wrestling. Your guess is as good as mine whether or not if Paul would or will ever return to the WWE in any capacity.
Brian- I don’t know if HBK doesn’t like Hulk. That’s an HBK question. If I had to make a guess, I would suggest that Hulk will not be on HBK’s Xmas card list, but that’s simply my assumption. I doubt if either loses any sleep over what the other thinks of them, to be honest with you.
Daniel- How does the NWA fill the shoes of Flair, Race, Rhodes, and Steamboat? They don’t, but neither does anyone else.
Ian- With the WWE severing ties with Deep South Wrestling, I am under the impression the WWE is opening a territory in Florida. I hope they open several territories and give that many more willing athletes the opportunity to main event on the main stage. Again, training tomorrow’s main event stars is a huge priority for the long term future of the biz.
David- The most inspirational wrestler? Tough one. Your suggestion of Zach Gowen is not bad. Wrestling with one leg takes guts and skill. I can also think of some older wrestlers who gave it their all every night for not much money back in the day. Very subjective question. Ric Flair is an inspiration to me because at age 58, he’s still better than the vast majority of wrestlers in the business.
Steve- Why don’t you see more of Shelton Benjamin and Johnny Nitro? There could be a dozen reasons I suppose, but I do know that both guys have talent and ability and one would assume they will get more exposure as time marches on. I like both wrestlers personally. However, you know my philosophy that “potential” doesn’t buy the groceries. I would not give up on these two athletes if I were you, nor would I read too much into the fact that neither is being featured at this time. That could change tomorrow.
Xander- If I remember correctly, John Cena was the WWE Champion when he came over from Smackdown to Raw and simply brought the title with him, which seems to make sense. If I am wrong I am sure someone will chime in.
Did anyone check out the new book “Being There” by Eric Mirlis, where approximately 100 top sports broadcasters describe their favorite sports moments they have seen in person? If you are a true fan of several sports, you will love this collection of stories from the sports world’s biggest names, and yours truly.
Our last Hall of Fame offer on the site sold out and we are launching a new one, so “stay tuned.”
Did you know we ship most, if not all of our products via Federal Express? The Jerky is a lay-up to ship and is obviously not as expensive to ship as the sauce, which comes in sturdy, glass bottles.
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The countdown is on until we open “J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q” in Norman at I-35 and Main on June 27! Business is about to pick up with some of the best, slow-smoked Bar-B-Q you ever will taste. That’s a guarantee, not a boast.
Be well and I will be back with more after I return from Judgment Day and Monday Night Raw. Thanks for visiting and for telling a friend about our site.
Your business is sincerely appreciated.
BOOMER SOONER!
J.R.
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