On Goldust: Sorry to hear of Goldust’s rotator cuff injury that will apparently require surgery. This is usually a 5-6 month recovery period. Don’t forget about Goldust’s biography that would make a good stocking stuffer and should be interesting reading. He’s had a helluva life for such a young man. hate to see any one hurt especially someone who has worked so hard to become relevant again. Last time I saw Goldust he was in, without question, the best physical shape of his life. Some day Goldust will likely be a great coach/teacher of the biz.
On The Miz: WWE Champ The Miz gets a shot on TMZ later today (Wednesday) which he will no doubt knock it out of the park. Miz was tremendous on the Food Network cooking show, ‘Dinner Impossible,’ that we did a year ago at Summer Slam. He stole that show with ease and will like do the same on TMZ TV later today. Miz is a work in progress and it should be encouraging for WWE fans of just how good Miz can become in time if he stays healthy and focused on becoming the best antagonist in the biz.
On Rey Mysterio: An emailer asked me why Rey Mysterio has become so popular while many of his fellow Lucha Libra stars did not become bigger in the USA. Firstly, Rey has ‘it’ and ‘it’ can’t be manufactured. Rey also throughly understands all the ins and outs of the biz after starting in it when he was 14 or 15 years old. Rey also understands that ‘less is more’ and that doing 2-3 spectacular maneuvers in a match or a sequence is always better than doing a half dozen or more of them in such quick fashion that the majority of the eye opening maneuvers can’t be processed or remembered minutes after they are completed. Too many wrestlers today try to squeeze too much into their bouts and as a result much of what they execute is watered down and rendered less meaningful. Over game planning the acrobatic aspect of one’s match is a common mistake in many pro wrestling circles especially when talents perceive that their in ring persona’s are not established with the majority of the fans and the only way to garner attention is by becoming strictly an amazing young man on the flying trapeze.
On Josh Matthews Announcing Raw: I thought Josh Matthews did a really nice job replacing Michael Cole Monday night on Raw after Cole discovered Randy Orton’s RKO. Josh is a student of the game and works hard and I hope that he gets more, higher profile opportunities in the future.
On John Cena:
John Cena arguably delivered his best ever promo Monday night on Raw as it felt naturally organic and truly reality based. The buzz on Cena’s ‘firing’ by Wade Barrett is a hot topic on this site and one that will likely be addressed in more detail next Monday on Raw on yet another three hour special on the USA Network. Philly is a great spot for the King of the Ring TV special and I would love to be on hand, I’m not going to be for conspiracy theorists, if for nothing else to head over to Tony Luke’s and grab a cheese steak.
On The Miz:
We’ve received many emails and Tweets (@JRsBBQ) regarding Miz as the new, WWE Champion. I’ve been touting Miz for months on this site as a future big time player and one that I felt several months ago would be in the main event mix at Wrestlemania in Atlanta. Looks like that may well happen now. As for Miz being WWE Champion and specifically for all the naysayers, I suggest that you allow this matter to evolve more than just a few hours before damning it. Antagonist champions who are physically beatable on any given night and who have talented albeit annoying verbal skills are a nice persona traits for a successful champion to have.
On Commentators:
We received several emails from fans wanting me to comment on CM Punk’s work at the broadcast table Monday night. Any thing that I say in this regard will be examined word for word on the ‘net and then interpreted in any attainable way to make for a better headline or sound byte. Same goes for the questions I receive about Grisham and Striker on Friday Night Smackdown. Why should I address them and then, no matter what I say, be thrown under the bus so someone can manufacture a sound byte? I wish no ill will on any broadcaster simply because, poor me as Tony Soprano would say, I’m not sitting out there any longer. My run exceeded my expectations of which I am very thankful. Commentating on wrestling TV shows is a daunting task and likely more challenging today than ever before for a multitude of reasons. The product has changed drastically over the years plus a wrestling TV show now serves many masters and agendas with a variety of focus. I’ve never been a huge fan of the three man announce booth expect perhaps on special occasions such as a PPV, etc. Having a three man team on weekly, two hour shows isn’t my cup of tea. With that said, no wrestler walks out to the announce booth and is as good as they will be, if they invest their time and energy into the broadcasting process, over time. Most wrestlers have to realize that them doing commentary isn’t about them but about enhancing the other wrestlers that they see on their TV monitors. All that comes with practice and preparation.
On The UFC’s Roy Nelson:
A rep of Roy Nelson casually contacted me about the hard hitting MMA fighter wanting to get in the WWE at some point. So the rumors of Nelson wanting to jump from MMA to WWE aren’t totally unfounded. However, one has to wonder if this isn’t a case of leveraging or posturing to some degree by the big puncher. Roy Nelson might become a star in pro wrestling if he applied himself to it but so many athletes come into the wrestling biz thinking that it’s easy and takes little effort to be good at it. Nothing could be more wrong. For the record, I have not gotten involved in this matter and likely will not. If I were Nelson, I would cultivate my relationship with UFC and look to earn some hefty paydays before looking for the next in ring career move. Nelson fits well into the UFC heavyweight division and I could see him earning some nice money with his puncher’s power the next couple of years especially if he would focus more on his conditioning.
Be sure to check out the full blog now at http://www.JRSBARBQ.com/ Order some BBQ sauce as well – it’s amazing.
About a decade ago, the MTV viewing audience was introduced to a guy from Ohio named Mike Mizanin, who was one of the cast members on the 10th season of "The Real World" (which brought the housemates back to New York for the first time since the show's debut season). He was most certainly the show's breakout star, and during his regular arguments with Coral, Nicole and Malik, a character that Mizanin called "The Miz" emerged as a sort of alter-ego that allowed him some freedom of expression. What viewers didn't know at the time was that Mizanin had been cultivating that personality because he had aspirations in the world of professional wrestling, and he scored his greatest achievement in that business on Monday night's (November 22) episode of the WWE's flagship show "Raw" where he won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton.
Following his stint on "The Real World," Mizanin became a staple on the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge," managing to win both "Battle of the Seasons" and "The Inferno 2." He continued to compete on reality shows until he landed a spot on the fourth season of "Tough Enough," the WWE's reality show that sought to give an unknown a contract with the company. Though Mizanin came in second place (he lost to MMA fighter Daniel Puder, who only lasted a brief time with the company), his in-ring ability and skills with a microphone earned him a developmental deal with WWE. After spending some time in their training program, he made his television debut on "Smackdown!" in 2006.
From there, the Miz developed into one of the best villains in WWE, and he has gradually climbed up the ladder. He scored his biggest early success as the tag-team partner of John Morrison (they had a long reign as champions) and later earned the United States Championship as a singles star. A few months ago, Miz won the Money in the Bank briefcase in a ladder match, which allowed him to cash in a title shot at any time.
That's exactly what he did on Monday night. Champion Randy Orton had a main event match with Wade Barrett, and following Orton's victory, Miz crashed the ring and beat up on Orton's already-injured knee. Though Orton fought back, Miz managed to deliver his patented move (called the "Skull-Crushing Finale") and win the title. He's the first member of the MTV family to win said championship, and we salute him.
