J.R On Benoit's Finisher, Orton/Manu On E!, Ric/Reid Flair, & More

Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section on his official website, JRsbarbq.com, and he defends wrestlers using Chris Benoit's former finishing hold, the "Crippler Crossface." Ross said, "Benoit wasn't the first man to use a cross face. Why do wrestlers use a headlock? It's a hold that works even though it was made famous by Ed 'Stranger' Lewis in the early 1900's." Ross also snaps at a reader who wrote (20 times) that he wanted to see Undertaker's WrestleMania streak end. Ross wrote, "Are you an idiot? You have sent me this email so many times it is sad. Please cease and stop embarrassing yourself. I swear you sent this 20 times word for word. Thank you." He also comments on why Stevie Richards failed to achieve more success in WWE. "You've placed Stevie in esteemed company. It simply may have been the 'it' factor as he was a great guy who I loved being around," Ross said. "I hope he finds the success he wanted in wrestling now in his post wrestling career. Guys like Stevie Richards would make great members of a creative team." Other topics discussed include whether J.R. keeps up with the indy wrestling scene, Brock Lesnar, and former Mid-South broadcaster Boyd Pierce. You can read his latest Q&A at http://www.jrsbarbq.com/jrs-qa

The E! Channel's popular clip show The Soup featured WWE in their special The Soup Presents - "Dudes, Bro---The Whacked Out Men of Reality TV" episode that aired this past Monday night. The clip features WWE Raw stars Randy Orton and Manu (and Cody Rhodes by Manu's side) in a backstage segment forehead to forehead apparently moaning at one another. Following the airing of the clip, The Soup host Joel McHale said, "In 30 years of watching wrestling, this is by far the creepiest and most homoerotic thing I've ever seen." The clip originally aired on an episode of The Soup a few weeks ago. In case you missed it, The Soup Presents episode featuring the clip of Orton & Manu replays tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET.

WWE will be holding a house show at The Arena Of Nimes in Nimes, France on June 13th, 2009. Tickets go on sale January 10th, 2009 at 10 AM. {Thanks to Devin Cutting}

WWE will be running two SmackDown brand house shows on July 7 & 8, 2009 in Japan at Budokan Hall. The official WWE Japan site, www.WWE.co.jp, has video of Mr. Kennedy cutting a promo promoting the tour.

Ric Flair and Reid Flair will be appearing at the Big Time Wrestling events in Danbury, Connecticut on March 28th, 2009 and Webster, Massachusetts on March 29th, 2009. Go to http://big-time-wrestling.com for info about BTW. (Thanks to Devin)