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

J.R.'s New WWE Column

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 16:47 — webmaster

Posted in:

J.R.’s new column at www.wwe.com is a must read this week and a departure from his usual “Raw Superstar of the Week” column. We think you will enjoy what J.R. has to say about the main stream news media and get a laugh when reading it as well.” Webmaster

webmaster's blog
Login or register to post comments

Comments

Sat, 07/07/2007 - 15:10 — Albert (not verified)

Mr. Ross, I was wondering if the WWE ever thought about bringing in special guests like Kenta Kobashi, Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa and other legends from Japanese wrestling promotions, just to show the fans on this continent a different type of wrestling, I collect New Japan, All Japan & Noah wrestling DVDs, and I have to say the wrestling in Japan is outstanding, I thought some U.S. fans might appreciate a different type of wrestling from time to time. Thank you. Albert.

Fri, 07/06/2007 - 22:48 — Ro (not verified)

Without comparing it to anything, in your many years in the business, what is your opinion of WWE's current product in Raw, Smackdown and ECW? Thanks, Ro

Fri, 07/06/2007 - 15:15 — logan2007 (not verified)

Dear jr im a worker or wrestler as ilike to call it .I would like to thank the wwe for taking the show back to wrestling . i for a change sat down and enjoied raw and ecw. i think making the matches old school is great .it bring back the reality of working a body part .i love that i my self use the cross face chicken wing . i love to work the arm and neck and then slap the i the cross face chicken wing .any way i live in mississippi and i work for the battlezone wrestling .its a small out of the way wrestling show in maggie ms we work hard to put on a good entertainig show .if you ever have a talent scout in the area please send one .well thank you listening to me ramble on .your friend logan

Fri, 07/06/2007 - 13:00 — charles (not verified)

J.r. i heard a rumor that vince was thinking about rebuilding and recreating the N.W.O. Any possible truth to thatand if yes who are the possible canidates for it?

Tue, 07/03/2007 - 15:59 — Jamie P. (not verified)

I suspect there to be a lot of smoke coming from that grill tomorrow. May the whole Ross family have a blessed and very happy Independance Day! *Say a prayer for our troops* Jamie P.

Tue, 07/03/2007 - 02:02 — Jamie P. (not verified)

I would like to thank you for simply being good ol' JR. Reguardless of all the outside buzz on recent events, everytime I tune into Raw, it's JR with his overly-exuberant sidekick Lawler who put a smile on my face. Allow me to just say that I've experimented before and hit the mute button in the heat of action a few times, and I find it just too damn miserable without ya both. I must admit, at the end of every Monday night, it's the commentary my friends and I are recapping. A HUGE thanks to you and to the many who continue to work hard through the remaining wreckage to bring a smile to the millions of fans each and every week. Despite what has happened, us true wrestling fans out there see the situation for what it is and will continue to push forward with the help of the Big Man upstairs. A lightened, unbiased, and highly intellegent view of this tragedy is what we need. Nothing but respect to a man who always seems to know what he's talking about...and is damn good at it. This world could use a few more JR's. Forever a Fan, Jamie of the windy city.

Tue, 07/03/2007 - 01:55 — Ali (not verified)

JR, One of the most talented and very funny, wrestlers were released from the WWE a couple of years ago... Ernest "The Cat" Miller.Is there any chance in him being brought back? My friends and I, are always watching his videos on youtube. He is extremely enter- taining.

Mon, 07/02/2007 - 16:24 — Jay-Bird (not verified)

J.R., Enjoyed your insights on what passes for "NEWS" these days, BUT... You stated... "King’s suspenders might have been bound a little tight or he may have mixed up his much ballyhooed garlic tablets with a Viagra pill, as the broadcast veteran, who knew Marconi when he invented the radio, seemed enamored with the less than truthful Hilton." J.R., Marconi's pattent was overturned DECADES ago as it was found he "borrowed" too much from TESLA (The TRUE electrical genius of his time). I'll let it go THIS TIME... Just DON'T let it happen again. ;-) PEACE Jay-Bird

Sun, 07/01/2007 - 20:50 — Ed H. (not verified)

J.R. -- I did not know in what discussion to place this comment other than this one. I am a long time wrestling fan since my days in high school (late 60's and early 70's) watching the likes of Superstar Billy Graham, my all-time favorite Wahoo McDaniel and even Ric Flair in the old AWA days when they came to a local high school gym. I, like everyone else, have been trying to make some sense of the tragic event(s) of last weekend. The only thing I can come up with is this. My prayers go out to Nancy and Daniel and their extended families and my prayer for forgiveness goes out to Chris Benoit. As I watch and listen to the so-called experts talk their way through the various news shows we must all remember the only things we will know for certain are the following. We will know how all the victims died and what were, or were not, in their systems when they died. Anything beyond that is pure conjecture because all witnesses are not with us. Several people, so-called wrestling fans, are commenting in certain sites and blogs Chris Benoit should "rot in hell." I will agree Benoit's actions are despicable and those of us who are parents of children of any age will not understand or be satisfied with the answer to our question "Why?" However, a comment or judgment like that is not ours to make. That was decided when Chris showed up at St. Peter's gates last weekend. We'll have to wait until each of us shows up at one place or the other before we know for sure. Thanks for reading. Keep up the excellent work.

Sun, 07/01/2007 - 20:09 — me (not verified)

HELLO JR I SEE THAT U R RITING N THIS IS GOOD AFTER THIS HORIBLE THING THAT HAPPEN. I WISH U AL OF MY LUCK IN BEING ABLE 2 CALL ACTION LYKE WE KNO U CAN. U R KEWL JR THANK FOR EVEEERYTHING U DO BIG MAN AND BOOMER SOOMER LOL!

Sun, 07/01/2007 - 03:16 — Steven Millan (not verified)

Wonderful commentary there at the WWE site,for I feel very sorry for you having to suffer through Paris Hilton's interview on Larry King(as well as anything[or anyone]that appears on the Fox News Channel),for I never bother to watch television nowadays.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 18:26 — Jason (not verified)

J.R.- First off thanks for taking the time to read all of these and respond to most..i think you do an outstanding job and Raw will not be the same when you do decide to hang em up..hopefully not for awhile though.. Just was wondering if you could shed any light on the latest of injuries to HBK..and Triple H....and when you would expect to see them back!..Thanks alot..AND GO BADGERS!!!!!!!

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 16:28 — Tom (not verified)

JR, I loved your column. Unfortunately I watched most everything that you watched and I wasn't even under water. Put on a good show this week in Dallas and lets all get back to wrestling. The hell with the media. Take care.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 14:49 — P.A.W. (not verified)

Hey JR, Man I don't know how to react about this beniot thing cuz he was one of my favorites. But at the same time, I'm ready to move on and get to some wrestling, and by this happening it left some big voids. #1 ECW. Benoit was the top babyface of the brand and now passes that down to CM Punk. That's cool but who else is there. I mean without you saying it, you can pretty much tell the rest of the orginals left(dreamer,ballz,guido,& richards) will just be there to elevate risings stars. And Boogeyman is a attraction wrestler like Khali, and can not be taken seriously, only maybe as a papa shango type heel. The rest of the roster (nitro,elijah,vis,thorne,miz,styrker,knox lol,) are all heels. The Only two hope ecw has is this Marquis Cor Van turning babyface. You have got to admit his work has improved(he pounced Lashley out the ring), and has excellent mic skills that the wwe has yet to tap into yet, surprisingly. He can be your next big thing I'm sure of it. The next is to bring over another talented mid-carder over from RAW, namely Jeff Hardy and/or Super Crazy. Who better to represent the new vision of ECW the WWE's own Mr. Team Extreme. He is done with tag teaming for now and Matt is becoming a Main Eventer on Smackdown. The Raw main event spot is going to be crowded once everyone is healthly so Jeff Hardy can become an instant main eventer on ECW. That's his style and matches with CM Punk, Elijah, and Nitro would be classic. Super Cr Crazy is a original that is not doing anything, yet he's so talented. Let him go home to the Land of Extreme cause they need him. I know you don't have the power to make any of this happen but I just wanted to FINALLY get your opinion since this is my 5th post with no response. Do you think those would be some good trades and if you think Marquis Cor Van could steal that show. Oh and great to see you and king argue a little a couple weeks ago, great tv to add to the action.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 13:34 — Anthony (not verified)

Hey JR just wanted to say you are absolutely right about how awful the Mainstream Media is at reporting stories about things they usually have no clue or real facts about of course the worst three offenders being Nancy "Clueless" Grace, Geraldo "Mustachio" Rivera and Bill "Pompous Ass" O'Reilly. Instead of focusing on the real tragic lost of a family and honoring the victims and their families they instead choosed to turned it into a smear campaign against Vince McMahon and WWE which is just shameful and disgusting! Of course they focused alot of time on the stories cause they knew it would get big ratings and I agree bringing in ex WWE stars like Joanie Laurer and Debra Marshall and some other people who haven't been in the company for more than 5 years to speak out is ridiculous since all they wanted was their 15 mins back in the spotlight and offered no real insight whatsoever. Only Chris Jericho and Bret Hart were good at speaking about the person behind the wrestler and the kind of man he was since they knew him personally and professionally as a friend and not at pointing fingers and blaming like everyone else has done. Thankfully I don't watch these news programs at all so I stay clear of the BS. Of course the Entertainment Media is just as bad constantly talking about Paris Hilton and Linsday Lohan so it stinks both ways. Anyway JR, thanks for letting me voice my opinion!

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 12:31 — chuck eden, quebec, canada (not verified)

Hey JR, loved the new column at wwe.com. I totally agree with the American media being in it for the ratings. I have yet to see a panel on Canadian television talking about how alleged steroid use led to the tragedy, or ex-wrestlers airing their opinions about a business they weren't good enough at to continue to be employed in. I wonder with all these media outlets pointing out the amount of wrestlers passing under the age of fifty, have they ever stopped to check if these people had access to adequate health care? From the outside, it seems to me that with very few exceotions the majority of these individuals were either working the indy circuit or on to other fields. I was just wondering if maybe the US health industry being the way it is, did these people have access to the services they needed? In Canada, if you are sick and you go the the doctor, it costs you nothing. If they say you need a new heart, you go on a list and when it comes time for the operation, it cost you nothing, unless you have to travel to a larger center in which case they pay a bus ticket for you and some of the hotel costs for family. Not so below the 49th parallel as far as I know. Maybe instead of complaining about how there are so many people dying, they should ask why your government can send billions in aid to other countries and allow sick individuals in their own land to die. Also, I was wondering, if you could start your own promotion, but could only take the graduates of one wrestling school from not matter which era, which school would you choose? In spite of the heartache(no pun intended) that would come with it, I would choose the grads of Stu Harts dungeon. I've taken enough of your time, it is off to the grill, as it is sunny skies on the east coast. Keep up the great work on the website and good luck with the restaurant. I know with a class act such as yourself running things, it will be a great success. Take care, my prayers are with all of those in the extended WWE family, who have entertained me for as long as I can remember.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 11:26 — Eddie ( Ireland) (not verified)

Hey Jim, Im a long time wrestling fan and as you can well imagine i was deeply shocked at this incident. I only heard of it following rumers on Monday. I stayed up untill 1 a.m. when RAW was shown on sky T.V. and for the past few days i have been glued to the whole stoy unfolding on the net. I am at an end to even contemplate a reason for this. Chris Benoit was without a doubt one of the most professional men on the show and i know from many of my friends younger brothers that this man was a role modal of perserverence and belief. So you can well imagine how it has hit them. What i would like to draw your attention to, and in a way i know you will pass on the word through the WWE ranks is the coverage of the incident in the U.K. While a huge distance away from the home of the WWE as you know there is a huge following growing this side of the pond, and naturally enough the media has jumped on the bandwagon of any story they can twist. Since tuesday morning i have read and heard everything from "being high" to "mad on steroids" to the downright sick. one daly paper even posted the headline "wrestling superstar kills wife and child with own wresling move". now im not gonna start explaining what i find wrong with that...... I will leave that to your good self and anyone else who cares. I managed to get a look at the web cast of Vince McMahons interview on the Today Show and i believe he admirably admonished the scandlous coverage in the media in the states. However, sadly i feel that this was not enough to help the cause over here. I honestly feel that Vince McMahon needs to address the public across the atlantic, simply to ensure that the WWE's image is not perminantly tarnished and that the media will not distroy it. finally getting back on point i would like to entend my deepest sympanthys to all at WWE, superstars and staff alike. Chris Benoit in my opinion was the best technical wrestler in the WWE today, and it is unfortunate that the proud, distingushed and indeed hard fought career of such a brilliant wrestler has been tarnished and any hope of future recognition (i.e. WWE Hall Of Fame) has now ended. Thanks for taking the time for reading this comment and my thoughts are with all involved.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 09:49 — Matt Gunville (not verified)

The first thing that comes to mind when I read this article is "OSNAP". Television has been in a decline as a watchable form of entertainment for a while now. I've found that many people in the media frequently report false information as the truth, rarely bothering to check their facts. In fact, Geraldo said that Sherry Martel and Nancy Benoit died on the same day, which he said was June 15th. We all know that to be a false statement. I haven't watched any television since last October. I prefer the internet for my news, as I can find multiple sources which may conflict in ways, but the facts always come out sooner. As for my WWE and other programming needs, I've also stuck to the internet. After an airing of any of my favorite shows, I can download them via bittorrent and watch at my leisure (and commercial free). I haven't missed a single televised WWE event since giving up TV, which is actually better statistics than when I watched. Actually, I think if the WWE were to utilize the internet as a way of allowing fans to watch their brand (full episodes, not tidbits) each week via streaming online media, WWE viewership may go up considerably. This could lead to a massive rise in ticket sales and PPV buyrates. The double edge to that sword is that PPVs are also now frequently being watched for free the same way I described. Every ying has its yang. Take care, JR, as always I'll be watching Monday (well tuesday morning, anyway).

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 09:42 — Johno (not verified)

J.R., Truly great column that was spewing truth from every orifce, but I find Cowboy Clint Eastwood better than 'The Duke' in all honesty! (I hope this can't trace were I live, like with that wikipedia thing, gulp...) Im trying flippant references like you, but yours were better honestly... That line about comparing O'Reilly to the Monday Night Wars (I assume DVD) was a classic! Although on matters unrelated to this, I sometimes agree with Mr O'Reilly (Help!), but not this. Of couse, anyone can blatantly see that the media is villanising pro-wrestling and having a certifiable field day with this tragedy, apparently the coverage is garening big ratings. The ultimate irony is that Vince would kill for this mainstream coverage in any other way... I must be honest and say that Iam a little concerned with the number of dead wrestlers, but PERSONAL RESPONSIBILIY (Billy Graham was spot on) is key, if wrestlers wish to take enchancemnts, who are we to tell them not to? I can see the other side of the arguement, however, being the aforementioned high death rate (but only 5 contracted by wwe). What side of the fence are you on J.R.? You take a very humerous, satirical take on the news-media coverage, what do you think of the wrestling websites coverage of said events? Generally, they and wwe need to be acknowledged for the way they have handled this. I truly respect you sir and how you have dealt with this. On a lighter note, hows the restraunt coming along? Actually, that was a pun because dining at J.R.'s sounds like it would make you heavier, not lighter, due to the tasty food that I must remember to order one day over here in Australia, well, not a plate of BBQ, as that would be akward, more like some jerky which I have been hearing so much about, but I digress... God bless you Sir, Johno

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 09:21 — Jamie (not verified)

Dear AVF, Its dangerous for J.R. to sit near the Spanish announce table because folks usually get put through it. "And what do you think of Bret Hart, Superstar Billy Graham, and Chris Jericho's appearances on varios news programs over the past few days? Personally Im really proud of them, and hope that the WWE is too.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 09:18 — mat (not verified)

Thanks JR. Your colum brought a much needed smile to me in the UK

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 08:51 — John in Ozark (not verified)

JR, I am not making any kind of excuse for Benoit or think that it is a conspiracy, but something just is not right. I really believe someone else is involved. 1) The text messages: From 2 different phones 1 minute apart. 2) Nancy was Bound and gagged, strangulation is more of a spur of the moment crime. 3)If you are going to die anyway why wrap a towel around your neck to prevent ligature marks? Many things just don't add up. I hope the police do a full investigation and not jump to conclusion because the media has found "The Wrestler" guilty. Thanks for listening.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 07:36 — Alexander (not verified)

Hallo J.R., i'm very sad about the Benoit tragedy, even german newspapers brought it. In fact it's true american media is sick (my opinion). Maybe the whole culture is going down (not only yours, mine too). But who cares? Nobody. And thats the problem. Enough. I'm looking forward for Monday Night Raw in Dallas, Tx. Hope it will be a great show. Grüsse aus Deutschland.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 03:07 — SteC (not verified)

I started laughing from reading the 'Enough is enough' paragraph. Indeed it should be, what with frivolous reports.

Sat, 06/30/2007 - 01:26 — Bob (not verified)

JR, I was searching for some info on Chris Benoit on WWE.com and they have taken almost everything off. While I understand what he did was wrong - he is still one of the greatest superstars ever in wrestling history and should be treated with more respect than to be thrown out with the trash. Business is Business. I hope Vince puts out a best of Chris Benoit DVD set. People died, yes - benoit is a murdered - yes. But let us never forget the great person he was...not the monster he became. Celebrate the great man.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 23:59 — Paul (not verified)

J.R. you're not only an outstanding wrestling play by play/blow by man (arguably the best that ever was, very comparable to the late, great Gordon Solie in terms of where you rank among the great pro wrestling broadcasters), you're also a very funny man, who has a great sense of humor after I read your column. Thanks for making me smile after reading your WWE.com J.R.'s Superstar of the Week. It was truly needed. I hope Vince is reading this week's column, and finds a way to incorporate your funny side on WWE telecasts, whether it is TV like RAW, or Pay Per Views, or special events like the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. The King, Jerry Lawler, might get a little envious, even though he is great at humor as well. You and the King are my alltime favorite RAW duo, with all due respect to the others who have been on RAW to commentate or do the play by play.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 23:11 — Harold (not verified)

What gets me the most is the misifromation the media gives. Like on the Nancy Grace show the other night she asked Bret Hart if he thinks Benoit was depressed about getting demoted form the Horsemen to RAW. Ok makes now sense at all. Then the all think on FOX News whne they said Sensatinal Sherri was killed the same day as Nancy Benoit and that Kevin Sullivan might be behind this cause he worked with them both in WCW and was the "boker". Then the whole thing that it was "roid rage", so sick in tired of that one. Like you and many ppl said lets wait for the toxicology report to come back beofre we jump the gun. All the damn mainstreem media wants is ratings, they did alot of this when Owen Hart died also.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 22:46 — Matty P (not verified)

J.R. - That was awesome. Period. Thanks for being the calm in the storm...maybe Jericho and you should handle all mass-media interviews needing a rep from the industry from here on out...that seems to keep the bitter and sour out of the finished recipe, and is much more pleasing for the rest of us.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 21:36 — Craig Mac (not verified)

J.R., I live in Tulsa, OK, and with all the rain, I am losing signal on my satellite so I can't even watch "The Duke!!" Oh well smackdown is on now and I have a tricky question... How is the demise of Mr. McMahon gonna play out now that he has exposed himself? Personally, I know (assume) that he was gonna come back Machiavelli style. Also, how does one who is in broadcasting school later become an announcer like yourself?

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 21:26 — Jozeph (not verified)

Everyone always ask you about broadcasters or wrestlers? But how does one become a referee? What is their daily workout regiment? There seem out of shape but work many long matches and multiple ones too.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 20:27 — Pr0 (not verified)

Good stuff. I'm not getting all this rain either. We haven't had a dry day in Tulsa since the winter. Every day, rain rain and more rain. Everythings so green up here its painful to look at. Some neighbors across the street have wood shingles and grass stalks are starting to sprout out of their shingles from grass seed thats gotten blown into the shingles over the years. And I live right on the Arkansas near downtown so every time the thunder rolls I go out on the porch to watch the river level right near Zinc "lake" to make sure I'm not going to wake up swimming tomorrow morning. I didn't bother much with the TV though myself. In my opinion Joanie Laurer and Deborah Marshall are probably the two least qualified individuals to be discussing this whole debacle. Joanie is a great woman but to see her trying to talk on TV and lecture people about drug use was a bit disingenuous. And Deborah was hardly a Puritan herself. Billy Graham was the only person on Hannity and Colmes making making any sense and of course, because he was, they kept cutting him off. Overall the people that have put the best face on this situation have been Chris Jericho on Nancy Grace, he was really professional and very succinct and intelligent in that interview...and surprisingly Lex Luger. Just really gets under my nails that the media is pulling up old personalities with grievances against the business and people in it to be so called "experts" in the Benoit tragedy. Like Deborah is unbiased? Please. When she said "Had I come forward sooner I could have saved Nancy and her little boy"....I almost threw up. All I saw out of Deborah was A-G-E-N-D-A. Again just comes down to what I said before. Sad day when the news is putting on a circus and the wrestling carnies are trying to report the news.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 20:23 — Zack (not verified)

Hysterical, JR. Intelligent and coherent thoughts never did seem to be the blond long-haired one's strong point, and such is still the case. I find it sad and pathetic that someone would use the tragedy of a former co-worker as an excuse to get their rather haggish looking face back on TV.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 20:06 — Terrence Keenan (not verified)

JR Great column. Very funny. Methinks your good friend Mick Foley had it right when he subtitled his second book "And the real world is faker than wrestling." Keep on chugging, Sir. Your words and thoughts are appreciated by me and many many others.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 18:45 — Sam Smith (not verified)

I liked the column too. I really hate our media, but it's here to stay, I'm afraid. One of my least favorites, Hannity & Colmes had an awful discussion on the big story of the week, as far as the wrestling community is concerned. I see how easy it is to "innocently speculate" about something, but in the process start a completely baseless snowball of accusations that accuses someone of a horrible crime. And the news team is all too happy to not only let it happen, but help it along. Foley is Good really summed up the unfair media treatment on wrestling in an excellent manner. It also served as an example on a wider scope of how fake the real world really is.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 18:22 — Molly (not verified)

JR BRAVO I LOVE U and this business JR, PLease tellme the WWE is going to be ok and VINCe isnt going to have to step down. I know I am being a typical drama queen chick LOL BUt i luv this business my son whomn I havent let him watch till MONday, ( he just wants DX BACK ) . I am extremely worried by what this guy at new york post is saying about past 15 yrs he has gone after the WWE and what could happen. I love agian what you guys do and all u do is to entertain you are not babysitters the media is going out of control PLEASE SAY THE WWE IS GOING TO MAKE IT WORRIED FAN FOREVER MOLLY MOM OF 2 in Portland OREGON PIPER COUNTRY LOL

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 18:00 — AVF (not verified)

Hey JR, I'm wondering... why is it dangerous territory being near the Spanish annouce table? They seem like nice people to me. Oh and that was an excellent column by the way. Thanks

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 17:44 — Mark P. (not verified)

Just as a strange question, what is your favourite john wayne movie? because i always end up watching my dads favourites (Rio Bravo & she wore a yellow ribbon.)

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 17:08 — Tisha (not verified)

Hey J.R., Thank you. That is the first time since Monday I honestly laughed out loud at something. Your column was refreshing to say the least. Oh and the comment about the hair extensions and intelligence...I agree 100%. Once again, thank you very much. That was exactly what I needed.

Fri, 06/29/2007 - 17:02 — bobrimpnerton (not verified)

Hey J.R. If you have the TV on long enough you'll soon realize (as I have) that the commercials are more entertaining than the programs much of the time. My advice - spend more time with your lovely wife, and stick with the John Wayne movies!