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

It is great to be home, after my original 3-day trip to Milan turned into a 10-day trip that also included being in London for a week! I got word on Friday afternoon that our travel plans had changed and that I would not being coming home between Milan and London’s Raw broadcasts. No worries mate, one just packs more clothes and a few extra packs of J.R.’s Beef Jerky! Some WWE staffers made the trip back home, but I think Mrs. J.R. was happy to get rid of me for a few days so she could continue with our home re-modeling project that has been on going since late 2006. Plus she knew I would stop by the fabulous Harrods Department Store in London to do a little shopping for her! (I’m only kidding, but I did do exactly that.) I did find a great Bar-B-Q Restaurant called Bodean’s not from the Chelsea Millennium Hotel that we called home for a week. As a matter of fact, I think I ate something like 6 or 8 great meals there, over 7 days and thoroughly enjoyed it including bringing some of their sauce home to share with my Bar-B-Q loving friends. As a matter of fact, there may be a synergy developed between Bodean’s and J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q some time in the future. Stay tuned. Milan was really nice, but I had a blast in London. I went on more than one “Pub Crawl”, successfully I might add, and met some great folks. As usual, the WWE fans of the UK are of the main event level. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful hospitality and for making this old, Okie feel so much at home. I loved calling the Cena-Michaels match Monday night and thought both men stepped up big time. It was actually Cena’s birthday and John losing on his 30th B-Day should have made many of the “Cena haters” out there happy. This was definitely one of the best matches I can recall the WWE presenting on Raw in recent memory, and no other match off the top of my head sticks out like this one. My hat is off to both men and I hope they can recharge their batteries this Sunday for Backlash. Knowing the work ethic of each, I suggest making Sunday special will not be an issue. It never ceases to amaze me that while most intelligent fans and many that report on the biz loved the HBK-Cena match, that there were others who simply could not wait to pick the match apart. I really don’t think that should surprise anyone. I believe it is simply a sign of the times. It’s the Nancy Grace/Bill O’Reilly era of reporting and as long as folks continue to buy it, that presentation will continue. Everyone has become an “expert” and reporting the sensational headline is more important, seemingly, than anything else. I value everyone’s opinion, but some things I read on the net are simply “pet coon goofy.” It was like one of our commenters named Booker, real name or not, who demanded to know what “personality” this site was going to take. Who was I going to cater to and was I going to simply try and appease our younger fans? I thought I had done a fair job of speaking directly to everyone, but if you are looking for the “end of the movie in advance” information, so to speak, you are on the wrong site. Let other sites that feel the need to reveal creative information have at it. So lighten up Booker (or Francis), or simply don’t torture yourself by visiting us. That’s your call. I am also not going to run with unfounded gossip that adversely affects other’s lives. Some “reporters” don’t give a damn who they hammer. I do. It was like a week or two ago that many were reporting that Michael Cole was going to take my chair on Raw come this fall. I personally like Michael Cole very much and he could certainly do my job on Raw well, but Michael is the voice of Smackdown – not Raw. That’s my gig for now and I plan on it staying my gig TFN. If someone better comes in and blows me out of the water, then more power to them, but for the wrestling media to create a story based on no facts whatsoever other than my contract ending this fall, is horse manure. Has anyone ever heard of contract renegotiations? Do you think my family enjoys hearing about this sort of garbage from their friends who surf these sites? I can handle it and have over the years. I have been knocked to my knees on more than one occasion, both personally and professionally. That’s life. I am a big boy and can withstand all the B.S. thrown my way and still come out smelling like a rose. My late father did not raise a quitter or a man without character. But I do get P.O.’ed when I have to continually explain to friends and family about my wrestling career either ending or not seemingly on a regular basis. Back to the good stuff which this week is Backlash. I fully expect the entire Fatal 4 Way to be intact, including Randy Orton and Edge to go along with HBK and Cena. Orton, as reported by WWE.com was sent home from the tour for unprofessional conduct, which I am sure will most likely cost the 3rd generation star some hard-earned cash. Nonetheless, Orton will most likely be in Atlanta Sunday, and if he is not I will be surprised. Orton is not unlike many young athletes who reach fame and fortune at a young age and have issues handling it. I read about it seemingly every week regarding athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. That certainly doesn’t make it right, as there are only so many “second chances” to go around and it would be a damn shame to see any young talent self destruct and permanently damage their career because of utilizing poor judgment. Randy is a talented and good hearted kid, but he has to make better choices, especially when it comes to anger issues. In my opinion, if Randy decides to change how he approaches certain situations he can be successful in doing so, which would in turn extend his career into one of the longer, more successful ones in the business. I speak from experience that “attitude” starts and ends with the person one sees in the mirror. My over 9 hour flight Tuesday from the UK was then met with an almost 10 hour delay in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport due to a thunderstorm. If I could have ever gotten a straight answer from the airlines, I would have simply rented a car and would have driven the 3-hour drive from DFW to Norman. I leave again Wednesday for a full day of media appearances on Thursday in Nashville promoting Raw for Monday night. I really like visiting Nashville and heading to Atlanta is almost like going home, as I lived there for years when I worked for WCW. We will get to your comments this week after I return from Nashville. Be well and thanks for visiting our store! Boomer Sooner! J.R.