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

Let’s wrap up turkey day with some email feedback! Firstly, thanks to all of you who sent your best wishes on my recent contract signing with the WWE. Your support over the years is heart warming. Jimmy- Adrian Peterson is as good as gone from OU and will no doubt enter the NFL draft in 2007. I do think AD will play in the Sooners’ Bowl game when it is determined on December 3. Allen Patrick is not at 100% so look for freshman Chris Brown from Alexandria, Louisiana to get the bulk of the carries Saturday in the Bedlam game I will attend in Stillwater, Oklahoma against Oklahoma State. Abel- We work with a 7 second delay when doing live RAWs and PPVs. That’s pretty standard for most TV shows. Anthony- In my opinion, the WWE has all it can say grace over with THREE brands so I would doubt seriously if WCW will ever be re-started. Frank- I am sorry you think my work is stale but I respect you opinion. My style of commentary isn’t for everyone, I’m sure, but it has kept me working relatively steady and providing for my family for over 30 years. My style has changed because the product has changed. When one stops growing one starts dying. I would love to have more old school wrestling matches on every TV show and go back to doing actual play by play but that is not the current trend. Just like a football player, I run the plays I am instructed to do. Perhaps King and I would sound better if you used your mute button and tried the closed captioning version of RAW. Mitchell- I am no longer in the loop on WWE contracts so I have no idea when Rey or Edge’s deals are up. I do know the WWE loves both talents and I would assume would make every attempt to re-sign both talents who I signed originally and think the world of. Neither talent can make the money working elsewhere that they can in the WWE even though the WWE schedule separates the men from the boys rather quickly. Andrew- I have not heard any updates on talented D’Lo Brown in a while. I don’t know what the WWE thinks of D’Lo or visa versa but I always felt that D’Lo was an intelligent and talented wrestler and a damn nice person to boot. Mike- Ms. Ene Watts (Cowboy’s ex) owns the Mid South library. I don’t know about the CWA but I think Jerry Lawler owns a good portion of the Memphis content. I agree that a DVD of the King would be super. Jerry’s long and productive career should definitely be documented and is without question Hall of Fame worthy. Dreamboy3000- I try to remain patient with your seemingly endless flow of “glass half full” emails. I did NOT lie to anyone about my contractual status. If you understood business and contracts, which you obviously do not, you would understand that I simply signed an EXTENSION of my existing contract while the negotiations where on-going. Justin- I watch all wrestling on TV including TNA most weeks. I wish them well. I knew zero about he TNA Connecticut event until I heard it was postponed or cancelled. Conspiracy theorists love to implicate the big dog (WWE) for taking a piece out of the little dog (TNA) but most folks within TNA would most certainly admit they have bigger fish to fry and that the Connecticut cancellation had more to do with changing buildings and local laws than anything else. Of course, that doesn’t make for good internet or newsletter copy. Joel- You feel that I have essentially “sold out” by re-signing with the WWE and not only that but by doing so I am “endorsing their tasteless product”. Wow. That’s pretty heavy Joel. That statement is akin to an actor walking off a TV show because he or she doesn’t like the creative direction. It sounds noble on the outside but in reality it can also be ill advised or simply pet coon goofy. Providing for my family in a honest and professional manner is my top priority. Not who wins or loses wrestling matches, or who is featured or who is not, or how many talking segments are on RAW or not, or how much actual match time is on a particular show, or how much edgy or controversial content may be on a given broadcast. I respect your opinion and decision to write expressing your feelings apparently more than you respect mine for doing what I perceive to be the right thing for my family and me. Happy Holidays. Stephan-Why sign because the WWE treated me like crap? The above response covers it but I have had many, many more good days with the WWE than bad ones. The bad ones did not kill me and only made me stronger. Life is full of challenges and no TV skit will ever hold the significance in my life of facing a potential colon cancer battle in 2005 and dodging the bullet. The major surgery I endured last year was real as real can be. The skits that have “belittled me”, tasteless or not, were satire and designed for entertainment purposes. Sometimes they succeeded and sometimes they did not, in my opinion. Ed Jones- Nice hearing from you Ed and I hope you are well. Mid South Wrestling was a wonderful experience for me and Cowboy Bill Watts could produce a one hour wrestling show better than anyone I have ever been around especially considering the limited resources Cowboy had to work with back in the day. My professional passion for the product was definitely ignited in Mid South and it still burns to this day. At times, I don’t know if that is a blessing or a curse. I do know that without my tour of duty in Mid South and working under the watchful and challenging eye of Watts I would not be where I am today. J.D.- It is always nice to work Monday Night RAW in Pittsburgh, one of the truly great sports cities in the country. My lovely, Italian wife is from Pittsburgh and is an ardent Steelers fan so I have become one too by default for lack of a better term. Coach Bill Cowher is a man’s man! I also think of the legendary Bruno Sammartino when we travel to Pittsburgh and sincerely wish Bruno and the WWE had a better relationship and that Bruno would accept being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I hope to see you Monday Night in the “Igloo”. Finally, it was nice to hear from Cowboy Bill Watts on our site this week. “The Big Cowboy” is a special man in my career and is a true friend. Watts was my mentor in the early days of my career and without his help, guidance, knowledge and passion for the product, I would not be in the position I am today. Bill, I am grateful to you for all you have taught me about the business and your relationship with God is not only inspirational but personally motivating as well. Thanks. J.R.