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

Feedback time….Bar-B-Q Style!! Dizzy- I do not consider Chris Jericho’s title reign as undisputed champ a disappointment whatsoever. Chris has never done anything to disappoint me in the ring and is one of the classiest individuals I have ever worked with in wrestling. Those that may unwisely think that Chris’ run as undisputed champ was less than it should have been need counseling. Evan- Your long scenario involving a Flair-Hogan match at Wrestlemania 24 is an interesting read, but it will never happen. Yes, I said never. I would love to be proved wrong. Mandy- C.M. Punk is a uniquely talented wrestler and is one of the primary reasons I watch ECW every Tuesday night. Some day I hope he is a part of the Raw roster. CycloneFan- As you are an Iowa State fan I will see you in Ames later this month on the Sooner sideline. I have enjoyed many WWE DVDs and think that department does a terrific job with their productions. The 4 Horseman DVD was super and so was the Dusty Rhodes DVD. Perhaps some day old J.R. will be able to tell his story on DVD, but I won’t hold my breath on that pipe dream. Craig- I enjoyed working as the head of talent relations for many years in the WWE and signing so many individuals who became major stars. Those days are now merely memories and a part of wrestling history. I have zero desire to devote 24/7 to anything outside my family at this stage of my life, so the odds of me ever going back to head the WWE talent department are pretty much non-existent. Sign Guy- I actually saw the film “The Wrestler” at a drive-in theater in Fayetteville, Arkansas, of all places. I still think it was a fun film and am looking to purchase a clean DVD copy of it. The wrestling scenes in it were damned awesome. Rhodes and Murdoch as a team were big time as was the late Ray Stevens. Good call Sign Guy! Varish- Where in the blue hell did you hear that the Rock was returning to the ring to wrestle HBK at WM24 in Orlando?? What website pulled that one out of their netherlands? That’s about as likely as old J.R. moving to Austin, Texas…starting a french cooking school, becoming a Speedo model and a Longhorns fan. Ain’t gonna happen Varish. Donnie- I don’t have a clue if Chyna will ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I suppose it is possible but most likely, not probable. Plus, I still stick by my guns that Chyna wrestling men back in the day in the WWE was ill advised. If some fans enjoyed it, then great. I did not, as I don’t think women should wrestle men, at least not in front of paying customers. Fisha- I would suggest that a chair is a weapon and that fighting all over the ring increases the chance of injuries tremendously. Extreme Rules matches are fine, but too many of them lessen their affect. Stephen- The WWE is not through making films and is currently looking at other projects to star Steve Austin. A new head of WWE Films has been named and I would suspect he will accelerate the development of new scripts that would feature Austin, among others. Anthony- I think you are correct in saying that Carlito has duel citizenship in the United States and Canada because his mother was born in Canada. At least that is my understanding. Amy- Stay warm in the North Pole and thanks from one Okie to another for proudly serving our country in the USAF. The next time you are in Norman your dinner is on me! If you or anyone ever sees me in an airport never hesitate to come up and say hello. That is unless I am in the men’s room and then all bets are off. Our Sooners have a tough one this week against a really good Missouri team. I can absolutely assure you that every one who travels to Iraq representing the WWE loves the experience and many have wonderful stories to tell of their experiences. I am jealous I have never gotten to go. Mr. X- To be honest, with so many other issues to deal with, especially the injuries that seem to have riddled the WWE roster, I have heard no one even mention Ashley’s Survivor experiences. As the King always says, “One can’t grieve forever.” Neil- I have not read Lance Storm’s commentary about his feelings regarding the TV announcing on TNA. Mike Tenay is a wonderful man who I greatly respect for many reasons, so I will be the last guy to ever “knock” Mike’s work. I do not know Don West and don’t feel it would be right to rip him either. Announcing wrestling matches isn’t an easy job plus one can only comment on what is on one’s monitor and all broadcasters are expected to tow the company line, whether it be in wrestling or other TV vehicles, or seek work elsewhere. Brandon- Never say never about either Hardy Brother holding a WWE or World Title. You can help facilitate Jeff’s opportunity to do just that with your votes for Cyber Sunday’s Raw main event. David- I have addressed Raw emanating from Australia many times in the past. Yes, I think it will happen, but I have no time table. I would like for Raw to originate from Oklahoma City too but I am, just as you, remaining patient. Samantha- I don’t like to do best of this or best of that very often, but the best Diva in the WWE over the past 5 years would most likely be either Trish Stratus or Lita. Samer- Liger was Rey Mysterio before there was a Rey Mysterio, Jr. Jushin Liger was an innovator and a special in-ring performer who over came the issues of his lack of size to become one of the business’s all time greats. The B.S. of a wrestlers having to absolutely be a particular size to sell tickets and to become stars is just that…manure. Jorge- Nice to hear from a fan in Portugal. You are absolutely correct inasmuch as some fans take wrestling WAY too seriously as it is plain and simply an entertainment vehicle that is best enjoyed when it isn’t OVER analyzed. Danny Boy- If Austin Idol were in his prime today he would be a wealthy “Heartthrob.” Great charisma, great talker, really solid in ring work and Idol was blessed with “it” which is either in a wrestler or not, as it cannot be manufactured. Cleveland Browns’ G.M. Phil Savage told me some cool Austin Idol stories when I saw Phil at the Cleveland Raw a couple of weeks ago. Try and find some old tapes of Idol vs. Lawler as that was some badass stuff. Mikey- I have commented on the outstanding abilities of A.J. Styles many times here. Whether or not A.J. ever makes it to the WWE isn’t my call, it’s the WWE’s and A.J.’s. Please give my best to him nonetheless. Mike- Stone Cold killed a huge buck while we were in the Grand Rapids area years ago at the hunting lodge I mentioned on a previous blog. I killed a lot of time and a few cold one’s but never shot a deer there. Scott- I had a feeling that Youngstown, Ohio’s own Kelly Pavlik was gonna whip Jermaine Taylor and thought they had a helluva fight. Pavlik is the real deal, sorry Evander, and is a slobber-knocker of a fighter. I expect to see Kelly at an OU game one of these days as he is from our head coach Bob Stoops’ home town. Those Youngstown boys stick together as they should. Pavlik-Taylor 2 is a lock. C in the UK- Billington was amazing, Davy Boy was really good, Finlay is a throw back and a fine wrestler at that, and Regal is grossly underrated. With all that said, my pick of the litter for being a World’s Champion from that elite group would have been Tommy Billington, in his prime. Chris from Ct.- “Oh, and J.R. and the King the Yankees will whip the Indians.” Oops. Tony- Tag team wrestling will rise in prominence once depth issues are addressed, and they seem to be slowly, and there is more TV focus on duos. I think fans still enjoy good tag team wrestling, but they have to emotionally care about the teams they are seeing and the teams need to be steeped in a personal issue. Joseph- Perhaps Lawler’s voice doesn’t sound so “Southern” on purpose as having a “Southern” sounding voice is often the kiss of death on a national TV broadcast including wrestling. Remember, TV in general puts a greater emphasis on looks and youth than it does on talent and experience. Ronnie- The WWE is releasing a major Von Erich/World Class DVD soon that I am told is going to be compelling. I hope it is as the story of the World Class promotion almost has to be seen to be believed. I helped start the negotiations with the Von Erich family on the WWE acquiring the World Class library when I was still based in Connecticut and dealt mostly with Kevin, who I have always liked. Andy/UK- One of the first high fliers I recall seeing was Ricki Starr who actually wrestled in ballet slippers but was one bad dude. Chavo Guerrero, the brother of Eddy Guerrero, was way ahead of his time and one of the all time great high fliers and was the first man I ever saw do a moonsault. JBR/Canada- In all due respect, your friend is wrong, in my opinion, when he says that Stone Cold or Trish do not deserve to ever be in the WWE HOF. Heather in Dallas- Cena, like many wrestlers, finished his match injured and hurting because of one thing….passion. We have all seen it time and again where the big time players finish the task at hand even after they have been hurt. Cena’s effort was a gutty one but John will be the first to say he wasn’t the first man to gut out a match after being injured nor will he be the last. Dan W.- J.R. trying to be a bad guy back in 1996 was not one of the stellar moments in my career but the in-ring promo I did in Hershey, PA may have been one of the first “attitudinal” promos ever done on WWE TV. The harder I tried to be a jerk and knock the WWE the more the fans seemed to like it for some crazy reason. I am happy those days are behind me. I have always simply enjoyed being a play by play guy and a wrestling fan with a great seat at ringside. Ryan86- The King and I drove a lovely, little Pontiac to Grand Rapids from Chicago last week, which is an upgrade from the lovely, little PT Cruiser we had the previous week in Cleveland. Martin- Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton is my early choice to defeat Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in December. Mayweather being “hungry enough” could be the question here as Hatton seems to be hellbent on proving that he is the best in the world. It’s a fight I don’t want to miss. That’s it for this time. Thanks for checking out our site and I hope you will take a moment to stop by our on line store. We still have a limited number of J.R.’s Cookbooks left and we are happy to autograph them for you and remember that shipping in the continental U.S. is free! Be well and thanks for all your support. BOOMER SOONER! J.R.