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

We’re burning daylight as John Wayne used to say so here we go: Andre- The day I stop being loyal to our fans is the day I walk away from the business. Without our fans there would be no wrestling business. Plus, the day I stop being a fan I should stop cashing my paychecks. Thanks for noticing. I have been asked to name my personal picks for MVPs of each brand. This is a tough one to do. Firstly, people get their feelings hurt and their feathers ruffled. I don’t need that. Several talents have carried the bulk of the load for all three brands, some more successfully than others. I applaud all those talents who work on the road on a regular basis and who do all the extra things they are asked to do to promote their brands. These individuals are much more valuable than people who just show up to work, stay in their comfort zone, and don’t care to go the extra mile to help promote the product. Tim- I don’t know if the WWE will ever do TV in Monroe, Louisiana but we are doing TV in Bossier City in a few weeks from what I understand. The size of the arena as it relates to the ceiling and the backstage area eliminates some arenas from consideration because of the production requirements in producing the shows. Never say never but I would not want to give you false hope. Josh..and others- Lita will definitely be missed for many reasons. I had the privilege of hiring Lita in 2000 or late 1999 and she has been a joy to be around. No female was willing to attempt more spectacular maneuvers than Lita. Lita raised the in the ring with her athleticism and passion for the product. I have also been impressed at how far she came with the speaking aspect of being a WWE Superstar. Lita and Edge were awesome together in my opinion. Lita is such a bright individual and has prepared financially for her future that she will be just fine. I sure hope we see her in the WWE again some day but until then I wish her nothing but the very best. Lita is a class act who I had a great repore with and hope that continues in the future. Jason- I have answered the Rock question many times. Time will tell if The Great One ever comes back to the WWE. As successful as the WWE was in New Zealand on their last trip I cannot imagine there not being a return engagement. It will probably be paired with an Australian tour. Aaron/Singapore- There are many good tag teams in the biz these days but not nearly as many as there was a generation ago. Back in the day, tag teams could have headlined a Wrestlemania level event if the personal issue was hot enough but I don’t see that happening today but things can change. This is not meant as a knock to any teams but the trend has been that the most tickets are sold to see single matches and not tags for the past several years. Again, times could change and probably will. Quality finishing maneuvers are paramount to the success of any wrestler. Without a good finisher, a wrestler will never fully realize one’s potential. Steve/Scotland- I am happy you enjoyed the live WWE events in your area recently. As it relates to wrestling newsletters and websites, I sample them and find interesting things on them from time to time. The biggest issue I have with them is that they get so little direct interaction with the subjects in which they report on that much of what is read is personal opinion or hearsay. I fully endorse these individuals expressing their opinions as it provides us with a different perspective whether I personally agree with it or not. I do not subscribe to the theory that these newsletters and websites are bad for the business but some sites are more accurate than others. On one site recently I got accused of not paying attention to the show Monday night as I misspoke when I inadvertently identified the site of the ECW PPV site as being Albany, Georgia instead of Augusta, Georgia and in the heat of battle said “DX” when I intended to say Team Rated RKO. I simply made a human error but was accused of not paying attention which was an asinine statement in my opinion. It often times amazes me when people who have never broadcast a live TV show seem to know all about the intricacies of a broadcast and are not too unforgiving when it comes to human error. I have made a ton of on air mistakes because we do live TV and there are no “re-do’s”. Plus, I still get genuinely excited and that too lends to misspeaking. Maybe I should switch to Sanka/de-caf prior to going on the air. Eric- I think the WWE has tried to position “J.R.” as a bad guy in the past and it did not work too well. I would rather stay in the role I am most comfortable with to be honest with you. I feel that in the business in general most individuals who are the most successful are simply an extension of their own natural personalities. Charles- Interesting point about the WWE keeping the brands more separate. I can’t argue with your logic. To truly create 3 separate brands the more the 3 brands intermingle the more confusing it may become to some. However, I do enjoy the competition between the brands when they get it on. It is a challenging balance. Joel- When I said the WWE schedule separates the “men from the boys” it was not a cheap shot at TNA or anyone else. It was simply a figure of speech. The WWE schedule is challenging to say the least. I still stand pat that the WWE had zero to do with the TNA show being cancelled recently up in Connecticut. But again that doesn’t make for a good story or so says Oliver Stone. Frank- Do I think the WWE will ever do business with TNA? I am not the WWE spokesman but my educated guess would be no. Adam- I was never overly comfortable with the Eddie Guerrero story line. That’s simply a personal opinion. I am happy however that Vickie Guerrero is involved with something she enjoys and that helps her support her family. Same for Chavo. As time goes on, one would think that this presentation will become more about Chavo and Vickie’s issues say with Chris Benoit than about the departed Eddie who I loved like a little brother. Someday I will write about my many conversations with Eddie in a variety of situations over the years. I do know that Eddie is in a better place but he is certainly still missed by all of us who loved and respected him. Ronald- Indeed the Sooners play a huge game in K.C. this Saturday night against a strong Nebraska team (Tazz’s favorite) for the Big 12 Title. I will be there freezing my ample Oklahoma backside off on the sidelines but I will be loving every minute of it. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the team is simply not “just happy to be there” as some media members have suggested. RMS420- Raven is a very bright individual who was probably utilized best in the old ECW. I have always liked Scott Levy’s work in the ring and have found his promos to be unique to say the least more often than not. If Stone Cold saw something in Raven, that is damn sure good enough for me because Steve has a great eye and a natural instinct for the wrestling business. Raven, at times, has been his own worst enemy but no one can deny Raven’s talent. Russ- Good luck to your Husker team but you know where my heart lies Saturday night in K.C. Nonetheless, I have HUGE respect for the Nebraska fans and the utmost respect for the Husker program. I spent many a Thanksgiving weekend watching the OU-Nebraska game on TV as a kid with my Dad. I hope we get a break in the cold weather but it is December in Kansas City. Matt V- I think Rob Conway is one of the more underutilized Talents in wrestling. Rob has great fundamental skills and needs to find a persona that works for him. Perhaps he should simply try being himself. Discorus- Wow…how lucky are you?? Wrestlemania tickets and Big 12 Title game tickets too! You are one lucky individual. Count your blessings and root for OU! If you bump into me at the game be sure and say hello. Ray- Who not under WWE contract would I like to call a match for? Interesting question for sure. My answer might surprise you but it would probably be either Goldberg or Brock Lesnar. Both are freaks of nature and natural athletes who are also tough guys. I think both could help any roster if all the stars were aligned correctly. I would love to see them both utilized to their maximum abilities but that ship may have already sailed. However, I subscribe to the old wrestling saying of “never say never”. Dustin- I love the “Rookie Years” DVD idea and think that has been discussed already inside the WWE. It is an excellent concept although some egomaniacal talents would hate to have their early matches “exposed” on tape. I find that somewhat funny and sad at the same time. Canadian Dream- for a moment I thought this was the King of Canada Carl DeMarco….only kidding. I am not sure when a permanent Raw G.M. will if ever be selected. However, we do have Mr. McMahon running the show which he will do one way or the other until the day he dies and invades Hell and kicks Satan out of town. Seriously, having Mr. McMahon on RAW on a semi regular basis at least adds an unpredictable element to the show that no other brand can replicate. Maybe young Johnny Coachman, who’s becoming quite the star on CSTV, will “graduate” to being the head honcho on the WWE’s Flagship Broadcast, Monday Night Raw. Greg/UK- C.M. Punk got a great hand in Philly at the Survivor Series without question. Punk is a keeper and I wish he was on RAW to be honest with you. Philly is definitely ECW Country but Punk is becoming a popular almost cult like hero in more parts of the world than just Philly. J.R.