J.R.'s Family Bar-B-Q

They hung an innocent man the night the lights went out in Georgia and Monday night on RAW John Cena got the short end of the stick in Oklahoma City’s Ford Center on a raucous night that started with a power malfunction. The OKC faithful which numbered around 10,000 delivered the goods and were a hot crowd all night. Many on the internet were speculating as to why the power went out in the arena as in using “Oliver Stone” type logic that everything that happens on TV is well planned and has a reason for happening. It’s a live TV show that simply experienced a power failure due to some issue with the heat in the arena essentially tripping massive breakers in the Ford Center. The arena itself is a first class facility hosting many major events including a WWE pay per view in 2005 and the NBA Hornets. It certainly isn’t as if every minute of every live RAW broadcast is like a well oiled machine. It’s live TV and things happen virtually every week that most of us don’t expect. RAW # 696 will be remembered that way for me. Lita advances in the first match of the tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion after Trish won the Title at Unforgiven and retired to marry and lead a normal life. Lita has to be the favorite to win this tourney with Mickie James right there breathing down her neck, so to speak. I’m begging to see a tournament bracket. Umaga blew off Jonathan Coachman Monday night and still got involved in Kane’s match for the IC Title with Johnny “Don’t Call Me Monday” Nitro. I detest when matches end abruptly and without a clear cut winner or loser. I assume next Monday in Topeka Coachman will conference with Estrada to address Umaga’s lack of institutional control. Nitro is evolving well as the IC Champion but he needs to get away from Kane. Health insurance for independent contractors is expensive these days. Melina is still a jezebel who will most likely dump Nitro to “up grade” the minute Nitro loses the IC Title. That’s just one man’s opinion. Maria and Eugene in a car on a long trip with “spy cameras” might make a nice “reality show”. Who could we add to this “cast”?? Cryme Tyme is going to definitely be fan favorites or so it seems. This is a RAW team in more ways than one but I think there is an upside here with these two men from “the hood”. Ric Flair was called into action again Monday night. I love “Naitch” but less is more as it relates to seeing this legend in the ring. Flair’s matches should be kept as “special occasions” and not weekly occurrences. It has not been a stellar two weeks for the Spirit Squad in singles matches. Maybe the self appointed alpha male of the group, Kenny, no last name needed, will be the next young buck to challenge the 16X champ next week in Topeka on RAW. Did you know that the Spirit Squad are the World Tag Team Champions? (Hey, it’s only a joke. Or is it???) I still don’t know who won or lost the Gauntlet Match that DX competed in on RAW. My best educated guess is that it was a double Disqualification with DZ and Cade and Murdoch. I love the potential of Cade and Murdoch and think they may be the best of the young talents who have been developing on RAW but this young, talented duo has no identity yet. I won’t even get into haircuts or facial hair here as it relates to these young pups. As long as DX is together they need viable competition in tag team matches and it looks like Cade and Murdoch may be the first one’s to step up to the plate and want to dance with the big boys. One thing is for sure, Cade and Murdoch will get better and better the more in ring time they have with DX. Would Viscera, who can do some pretty amazing things for a man of his enormous size, be even more menacing if Vis did not wrestle in pajamas? Charlie Haas looked Middle Eastern to me Monday night for some crazy reason. Another mysteriously, covert message to be analyzed in depth. Or it may have just been the light or my senility. I would have loved to see more of the Jeff Hardy-Shelton Benjamin match Monday night but Jeff ended it suddenly and not in typical Hardy fashion. Shelton is arguably the best pure athlete on any WWE brand but his personal, social views need to be left off TV and he should just focus on wrestling and beating people. The Randy Orton/Carlito rivalry has the potential to escalate into something special on RAW. However, potential doesn’t buy groceries. Super Crazy has been an “Extremely” and pleasantly surprising addition to RAW. King’s bumble bee reference regarding Super Crazy was hilarious. Chris Masters hasn’t seemed to be quite the same in the ring since he returned from hiatus. Masters may be too one dimensional offensively as it relates to his “Masterlock” and the use thereof. Masters might benefit from being in a tag team with a veteran wrestler and I am not referring to Orton. It was surprising to see the honorable Eric Bischoff on RAW Monday night. The silver haired, deal maker has written a controversial book, I read the original manuscript, that will piss off some within the business and tells an enlightening story from Eric’s perspective of the Monday Night Wars and the tumultuous days he experienced at WCW. There is a great deal of talking “wrestling politics” in this book and I think most hardcore fans of the biz will enjoy it. “Cash Creates Controversy” could easily be a sleeper hit. Bischoff holds little back in this one. The last one armed tied behind one’s back match was one I called years ago in Ft. Worth when I sit in for a week on World Class Wrestling and it was Freebird Buddy Jack Roberts vs. referee David Manning. That might be a WWE 24/7 nugget someday. After John Cena easily disposed of Lita, no surprise, with one armed tied behind him Monday night it felt like the “fix was in” when the three Smackdown wrestlers made a surprise appearance. Edge loved what he saw when Booker, Regal and Finley did a number on Cena prior to their 6 man tag this Friday night on Smackdown on the new CW network. I am shocked that no one from RAW came to the ring to assist Cena Monday night. I assume DX had left the arena because if DX had been available they would have obviously intervened. By the way, “King” Booker, lose the Lennox Lewis-like British accent. It’s about as genuine as a mother in law’s hug. That’s no knock on Booker’s wrestling ability but the faux accent is killing me. Maybe that’s the point. What is the over/under on how long Kurt Angle stays in TNA? I think the world of Kurt and hope he gets totally healthy much sooner than later. Perhaps being a part of TNA will work for Kurt as it relates to travel and in ring demands. I do think this genre is much better suited for Angle than mixed martial arts, UFC, etc. I wish Kurt well on his new opportunity and that is true, damn true. The WWE is excited about the TV ratings for the first Smackdown broadcast on the CW network. It was 2nd overall in their target demo of men 18-34. It was great to see so many of my friends at the Ford Center on Monday night including OU Sooner head football coach Bob Stoops who brought his kids along with 5 other OU football coaches and their sons. My pal and country music superstar Toby Keith and his son were also at ringside. I received a much unexpected surprise at the end of the evening which can be viewed if you dare and have a strong stomach on www.wwe.com. Luckily for all those with sight it did not last long. I knew it was going to be too good to be true for me to “escape” OKC unscathed! There are some very “unique” (o.k. sick) individuals working behind the scenes in the WWE to think up stuff like this. Nonetheless it was done in the spirit of fun and it seemed like the fans got a kick out of it. We will have another wrestling blog this week as I am heading to Tulsa to watch Smackdown and ECW from the familiar haunts of the Tulsa Convention Center. ECW airs Tuesday nights LIVE on the Sci Fi Network but you probably already knew that. The big Monday night RAW Homecoming on October 9 will be a three hour affair, sounds like an old Lawler relationship, and will feature stars from all three WWE brands. Does that mean we will have three sets of announcers at ringside so everyone can get their “rub” off the flagship TV vehicle Monday Night RAW? Perhaps we can throw in Carlos and Hugo and make it “Announcer-Mania”. Hey, after my October last year I am just happy to be here, period. Dodging the colon cancer bullet was much more significant for me personally that who gets a “rub” or how many on cameras one brand gets over the other. Fragile egos should not get in the way of the reality of real, life and death issues. The television business, in general, eats people up and spits them out as does every form of sports and entertainment. One day, one is loved the next day one is old news. That’s simply the way it is. I am so thankful for the gift of life that I go to work every week looking to have fun and enjoy the total experience rather than to become immersed in political bull@#$%. There are no guarantees for “next week” in any phase of our lives so we will be better served if we count our blessings more often. Take care and check us out again this week. Don’t forget to visit our photo gallery as we will have some new stuff up this week and our store. Our goal here is to sell some product, to be dead-ass honest, and I think you will love our sauces and merchandise. If not, just let me know. Thanks! J.R.