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

Busy week with New Year’s Revolution and Monday Night Raw back to back but with the events in Kansas City and St. Louis respectively the travel from here in Norman, Oklahoma was a breeze. Traveling approximately 51 weeks a year is challenging to say the least especially with airport security, the long lines and the number of seemingly first time fliers who can’t understand that when security says “take off your shoes” they really mean “take off your shoes” and that it isn’t negotiable.

Here are some of the “hot topics” about which you have commented on:

HHH- This is a serious blow to Monday Night Raw as The Game will be out 4-6 months after undergoing surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama. The only consolation is that this quadraceps injury isn’t quite as serious as the last quad injury HHH suffered. Don’t get me wrong, this is a serious injury but not a career threatening one as I understand it, especially knowing HHH’s work ethic and how hard he will rehab to get back to ring worthy condition. Nonetheless, when quality depth is in such short supply, losing an athlete like HHH is a challenging blow to the flagship show of the WWE. It will be interesting to see who steps up and makes this horrible situation into an opportunity to run with the ball, so to speak.

Monty Brown- Is not in the witness protection program and will debut when his name is called. I don’t even know what show Brown will be on as I write this. Brown has natural athletic gifts but needs ring time to fulfill his potential. I like his upside but don’t know Monty well enough to accurately comment on his work ethic even though I assume it is strong as Brown has NFL experience.

Kemper Arena Jinx- I don’t know about that one but I can also see where one might come to that conclusion. All things happen for a reason even if we mere mortals can’t figure them out for certain. I must admit it did feel a little strange walking into Kemper Arena Sunday afternoon.

The cliche is “about as useful as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest”. Hey, it’s live TV and sometimes I am not even sure what I say. That comes from getting excited and drinking too much coffee. It is akin to the equally tasteless “one armed paper hanger”.

The One Man Gang- The biggest “Game**** of ‘em all” is indeed alive and well and living in southern Louisiana working as a prison guard. OMG, real name George Gray, was an awesome big man in his day and was a dominate hand for Cowboy Bill Watts back in the day and before he went to the WWE. Some fans abuse Michael Cole too much and let’s remember Cole wasn’t doing this voice over process alone.

The Rock- Contrary to what wikipedia may or may not say, I NEVER said The Rock was coming back to the ring in 2007. Would I love seeing “The Great One” in a big time match in 2007? Of Course. But wrestling is not what the Rock does for a living any longer and making movies is. The Rock will be in the remake of the TV show “Get Smart” which begins filming soon.

Mick Foley- I never had a clue that Mick was going to be launched off the top of the Hell in a Cell OR fall thru the cage violently to the canvas in the much talked about Pittsburgh match with The Undertaker. I was aghast and in shock….probably just like many fans.

WWE Hall of Fame- To the absolute best of my knowledge there has been NO ONE selected thus far for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame for 2007. I expect/assume the list of inductees to be finalized by the end of January or early February. The ceremony is slated for the Fox Theatre in Detroit the night before Wrestlemania 23. Lots of wrestlers and personalities are deserving but I hope the list is kept to 7-8 inductions. Also, and this is a delicate subject, the WWE doesn’t need to induct too many deceased wrestlers, simply in my opinion, as it has the potential to bring the night down somewhat. That’s only my two cents.

Announcing off a monitor-Announcers are taught to work off their monitor as that is the image that is being seen at home. To talk about something the viewer cannot see is not recommended but that is not to say it doesn’t happen from time to time. Many an announcer has been verbally spanked when caught not paying attention to their monitor. When the monitors go out for whatever reason, I usually watch the TitanTron until our monitors are operable.

Masters/Bulldog comparison- Physically there is a similarity even though I would guess that Davyboy was the stronger of the two. Wrestling wise, it is not fair to make this comparison as The Bulldog was a seasoned pro when he arrived in the WWE and Masters was/is not. Will Masters ever be as good as The British Bulldog? That is entirely up to Masters, but filling Davyboy’s boots won’t be easy.

Matt Hardy/Edge- Why has one “broken out” and the other seemingly has not in the opinion of some readers? Interesting question. I can only offer my opinion but one of the big differences in these two aforementioned wrestlers is their verbal skills. Edge has had more opportunity to refine his verbal skills and has done a bang up job with that aspect of his game. Edge may well be the best antagonist on any WWE brand. Matt has distinct skills but his lack of “talking time” has not helped his overall presentation. Both Edge and Matt are excellent in ring talents and are a credit to any roster on which they are a member.

Dean Malenko- I always thought Malenko was underrated as a wrestler. Dean was unfairly earmarked as “too small” which is a real load of horse manure. Malenko’s greatest asset today might be teaching young wrestlers the fundamental skills they need to advance down the long and winding road to wrestling success.

Bob Sapp-Obviously Sapp has the size that many covet in this business. Sapp is also an athletic big man which is a great combination to possess. I don’t know Bob well enough to get a feel for his work ethic or how hungry he is to establish a legacy in wrestling as he has done in Japan in mixed martial arts. If Sapp were available to sign, which he is not, and had his heart set on becoming the best in his field then Bob Sapp could probably make millions of dollars in the world of wrestling.

Why doesn’t the WWE re-sign Brock Lesnar? First of all, I don’t even know if this matter is on the WWE’s radar. Secondly and most importantly, it takes TWO to tango. I don’t know if Brock would even entertain coming back to the WWE as I thought the two parties were close at one time but the deal fell through for reasons I am unaware. Again, if the field was totally level and everyone was on the same page, Lesnar could help the WWE as he is a gifted and talented wrestler. However, if Brock’s heart wasn’t into the commitment and he was only wrestling for the cash, this would be a partnership doomed from the beginning.

Is The Warrior crazy??- Far from it. Is the Warrior an enigma? Probably. Warrior had “it” and still does.

Droz- I last saw Droz was in Atlantic City for Raw and he was in good spirits and, as always, we talked football more than anything else. Droz seems to be as well as expected and had noticeable movement of his arms but was still confined to a wheelchair. Nonetheless, Droz was positive and is a joy to be around.

Raven- I always thought Scott (Raven) Levy had a great wrestling mind and was probably underrated by many decision makers within the business. Some of Raven’s early stuff in Portland was really strong. Scott had talent but at times was his own worst enemy, yet I always got along well with him.

Bobby Heenan- truly a genius. Bobby could make any audience laugh and had a brilliant grasp of the wrestling business. Bobby lived the business for years and years and learned something from virtually everyone he worked for or with. I love Bobby and his wife Cindi and not seeing them on a regular or at least a semi-regular basis is tough. Heenan was challenging to do taped voice overs with because he was so naturally funny it was sometimes impossible to not just laugh uncontrollably out loud. This would necessitate us having to start what we were working on all over. Bobby was arguably the best wrestling manager of all time and could take an ass whipping better than any manager I ever saw. When Bobby moved to the announcing side of the business he mastered that craft too and excelled with Gorilla Monsoon as they were a natural comedy team who jelled big time. Heenan had the skills and talent to make people love him or hate him which is truly a lost art form by the vast majority of individuals who earn a living now days in the business. Heenan is a treasure in this business and could be utilized as such if the right opportunity comes a long. I think Bobby would be a great evaluator of young talent among other things.

Wrestlers copying other wrestlers- Umaga/Samoa Joe, etc….much to do about nothing. Who cares? How far back to we want to travel? If one wanted to nitpick perhaps every Samoan wrestler has copied Peter Miavia in some form or fashion. Ric Flair copied Buddy Rogers, the first “Nature Boy”. HHH has put things in his game very similar to Harley Race, Arn Anderson, and Ric Flair. HBK has implemented Flair elements to his presentation as well. Virtually every top wrestler I have ever known copied some traits from their predecessors which I think is the way to go. Everyone needs role models and young wrestlers today would be well served to ID certain stars of yesteryear and copy some of their maneuvers and in ring strategies. It goes as far back as the Dusek Brothers, the Riot Squad, being the forerunners of the Four Horsemen who were the role models for the nWo, etc. More on this topic soon.

J.R.’s influences- My mentor from the first day I spent in the business was Cowboy Bill Watts. I acquired my foundation for wrestling from Watts who learned from LeRoy McGuirk, Roy Shire, Verne Gagne, Eddie Graham, Jim Barnette, and Fritz Von Erich. So I would have to say many of the things those men taught Cowboy were passed along to me at an early age. I have tried to learn from everyone I have worked with and for, but the foundation was laid for my professional career by Watts back in the 70s. Reality based, athletically oriented wrestling was what I grew up on and what I experienced the first several years of my career. However, there were plenty of great in-ring talents who had main event experience and were gifted in-ring performers back in that era even through the 80s and most of the 90s to facilitate that style. That is not the case today as we have discussed here on many occasions. Wrestling is in need of more great “wrestlers” of which we have far too few in my view.

Stone Cold- As we have said many times, and I thought I had short term memory loss, Steve Austin’s movie “The Condemned” is scheduled for release around April 27. That means that one would assume that Austin would have a “role” at Wrestlemania on April 1. What that “role” will be is unknown to yours truly. I would, however, bet the farm that Austin will be prominently featured somehow at Wrestlemania 23. After all the Austin Beer Bashes over the years I never heard of any one getting pulled over and having to explain the aroma of beer to a police officer. I came home with smelly clothes plenty of times myself but never had any issues with the law. Plus, it would have been easy to explain. Much easier than the wrestler in the 70s who loved to smoke pot and bought pot flavored air freshener from a head shop. When ever he was stopped and the police officer smelled the pot smoke the wrestler would break out into a staged belly laugh and show the officer the pot scented room deodorant. I don’t think this hemp lover was ever arrested for pot smoking which is a miracle.

Post Wrestlemania Raw- I have also heard it will be in Dayton, Ohio and not in Detroit. I can only assume an arena in Detroit was unavailable. Nonetheless, Detroit to Dayton isn’t a bad drive.

New Zealand, Nova Scotia, Australia- I am not in the loop on the scheduling of WWE events. However, I would definitely think that if the WWE goes back to Australia in 2007 which seems to be a cinch that New Zealand will be attached to that tour because of geography and travel compatibility. Nova Scotia might be harder to schedule but I am sure the WWE will do all they can to make it happen if it is remotely possible. You can also contact your local arena where the WWE plays and ask them if they are holding any dates for future WWE events.

Finally, I have never had a commercially produced Bar-B-Q Sandwich that I felt held up to “old school Q”. if there is one out there I would love to try it.

Please tell a friend about our site and my personal thanks for all of you who have and are buying our sauces and merchandise. We will have more blogs this week.

J.R.