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

Danny- I have enjoyed Sabu’s unique style of wrestling for years. He has certainly put his body on the line time and time again. Simply in my opinion I feel Sabu is at his best when he is in matches with physical stipulations. Brawling and weaponry are two of Sabu’s strengths. Derrick- Chris Benoit is simply one of the greatest wrestlers and finest people the business has ever known. Chris is deserving of any championship in existence. Raven Effect- I, Jim Ross, has “Vince’s ear”. Perhaps you’ve had one too many chairshots. Jamie- I have an interest in writing a book chronicling my career but not just yet. I think to be totally honest about my long and lucky career in wrestling that I should not be an employee of a wrestling company IF I want to tell the complete and honest version of my experiences. I will never write a book if I can’t be 100% honest. Finally, the King in his prime was one of the great in ring performers of all time. A great talker, a great fan favorite and a great villain. I know I sound biased but take a look at some of the classic Jerry Lawler matches from Jerry’s prime. William-The challenges of starting a new wrestling promotion and maintaining it based on today’s production standards, etc are essentially overwhelming. I don’t hold out much hope for there ever to be more than a small handful of full time wrestling promotions that actually make enough money to keep their doors open. Wyn- I think A.J. Styles is a talented young man. I have no idea if he will ever wrestle for the WWE. Matt- As best I can tell Roddy is more than holding his own with his battle with cancer. Keep Hot Rod in your prayers. Joel L.- Wrestling websites are like any other website that follows a particular genre. Sometimes they are right but often times they aren’t. My issue with them is that “rumor” is actually reported as “news” on some sites. In general, I think these sites get too much credit and too much blame for things that allegedly adversely affect business. Bottom line is that many of these sites seem to get bad info from their “sources” who may have an unobjective agenda. Plus, people who live in American have the right to earn a living in any legitimate matter they choose. That’s a good thing. Lewis- Despite the fact that “Kane” once BBQ’ed me, I still find him to be a true gift to the profession. Scott- I wrote on an earlier blog my thoughts on the WWE Hall of Fame as I have been getting many emails regarding it. I certainly have my opinions to who should be inducted just as anyone else but I am not in a position to affect the selection process positively or negatively. I do love the function nonetheless. I do hope they hold the list of inductees down to 7-8 so everyone has the appropriate time to speak “their piece”. Desmond-Matt Cappotelli is a wonderful young man who has more guts than just about anyone I know. Matt’s battle with brain cancer is on going but I will assure you Matt will deal with it thru the grace of God and the courage the Good Lord provides him. I feel in my heart Matt will win this one! Anthony-I really enjoy Divas who can wrestle like Victoria and Mickie James among others. I am hopeful that we will see more of that type of female talent on RAW as time goes on. Brock- Sounds like you were PO’ed when you emailed me. Sorry about that. If you don’t enjoy the product then you might want to watch it less or amended expectations. I have addressed the sign issue and it is not worth rehashing. I am not sure who you perceive as being the “enemy” but I can assure you it isn’t me. Katherine- I can only assume that the reason the Divas wear “racy attire’ as you term it is to cater to the primary demographic which is men 12-17 and men 18-34. You apparently are not in that demo. I could make a Jerry Lawler joke here but I won’t. Callum- I had a blast working in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. I loved working with Les Thatcher and the creative genius Jim Cornette and a bunch of “hungry” wrestlers. It was a fun time for me. I can’t wait to watch some of the old tapes someday on WWE 24/7. Liam- I ASSUME the post Wrestlemania Raw will be in Detroit. That seems to be a trend and it gives the folks who travel a great distance to see the PPV and a Monday Night Raw on the same trip. I like it. Tommy- Cryme Tyme seems to be getting more comfortable on camera and I am anxious to see them wrestle more as time goes by. They are an entertaining duo but the bottom line to me is what they can do over the long haul in the ring. Gareth- I agree Victoria’s character has really jumped off the screen the past few weeks. Chris A- I have not seen Angle-Joe 2. How much BBQ can a southern boy eat?? No disrespect meant but I seem to have less free time these days than ‘ol guy should have. Lance- In ring psychology is becoming a lost art form. Many of the greatest wrestlers I have seen over the past 30 years just had “it”. “It” is not manufactured and can’t be anything but authentic. Simply put some guys have “it” and some don’t and many never fully understand the fundamental art of storytelling. For example, crashing and burning should only be an element in great story telling not the focal point of it. The understanding of wrestling holds all many styles should basically understood by any one who aspires to be a wrestler in today’s market place. It’s called product knowledge and with product knowledge comes the chance one might understand the business better thus acquire the art of in ring psychology. Stevereno- Sorry you did not enjoy the ECW PPV. I am still making the time to watch it myself as I was in the air when it took place. I fully respect your passion for the product but my simple advise would be for you to exhale, detach from your angst, and move forward in a positive manner. Trust me, stress is bad business. I’m not kidding you. Charles 3- Your rumor of a Rocker Reunion is new news to me. Highly unlikely as Gorilla Monsoon used to say. Fletch- Mickie James is excellent now and should just keep getting better. I respect that she likes in ring physicality. Mickie is a little bit of a throw back when it comes to her approach to wrestling. Plus, she’s cute. Even ‘Ol J.R. still likes “cute”. Andrew- If Chyna and X-Pac were at a recent RAW I sure did NOT see them. And I would have. Is this more internet stuff or merely fertilizer? Matt- I like the unique approach that C.M. Punk brings to the ring and have said many times that I felt like Punk would be a star in the WWE in the future. Selfishly, I would love to see Punk compete on Raw but as I said, selfishly. DXfan 101- Uh, no I don’t think the “Million Dollar Challenge” will be accepted or even acknowledged. Do I like Mr. McMahon? I assume I have the same opinion of Mr. McMahon that he has of me. Thanks for participating and we will do this again by the weekend. J.R.