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

We received three particularly interesting comments over the past few days that our webmaster decided not to include here, which was his call that I don’t disagree with, but that I would like to address. The first one was from Spyros who posted a comment at 4:13 a.m. on November 24 who said, “As a long time WWE fan I feel compelled to say that your commentating is not as good nowadays as before.I believe you have lost your passion.” Spyros was also disappointed in my reaction to Jericho’s return. Mike wrote, “What is wrong with you? Lately you have become a company stooge. This site used to be fine where you told things as you saw.” And finally, Brian wrote “Are you getting too old to color the matches? You completely let out that the olympic runner was going to get laid out before it happened. Maybe time to hand up the boots/mic?” No issues here with any one expressing their opinion of my work or our site. I have had much worse said about my broadcast skills, or lack thereof, and our website is still a work in progress that will continue to get better and better. I can assure Spyros that I have not lost my passion for the business. I also believe that one’s passion must also match the moment and some moments are not passion worthy….”the new phone books are here…the new phone books are here”. I would like to believe that when the time is right that the appropriate “passion” is demonstrated by yours truly. The other option is that I could yell and scream for two hours which is akin to crying wolf and then people start to mentally tune one out. So Spyros, I appreciate your opinion but losing my passion is not an issue I promise you. I will screw up from time to time but it won’t be because of a lack of effort or “passion”. Mike says that I am a company “stooge”. Mike, is that as in “Shemp” or are you flaunting your “insider knowledge” by calling yours truly a stooge? Perhaps one should use some common sense in this instance. I feel I have been honest on the issues I have addressed here, but there are some issues I do not choose to address. That is my choice Mike. Just as it is your choice to visit this site or not. For example, I do not feel the need to continue to discuss the disgusting Benoit tragedy in depth. I do not feel compelled to damn all the WWE creative even though there are, at times, elements of creative that are personally not my cup of tea. Mike, if you want a web site to damn the WWE essentially from start to finish then there are many alternatives for you to explore. I will continue to express my feelings as I see fit on this site and if you feel turned off by me being an alleged “stooge”, as you described, then simply don’t visit us. We hate to lose you but one should not engage in any thing that is of a personal choice, such as this, that one doesn’t enjoy. Brian-I am not sure what me “coloring” the matches actually means nor am I aware of the Olympic Runner issue you described as I recall not saying anything of significance when the runner entered the arena. Nonetheless, I don’t feel as if I am “too old” to handle the job but your opinion is what it is and I respect it. I do make mistakes, just as most humans do and I even called Jeff Hardy’s “Whisper in the Wind” a “Twist of Fate” not once but twice in the past two weeks. That is a mental block on my part and I need to better concentrate on that specific matter whenever Jeff wrestles. Is is grounds for dismissal or retirement? Hopefully not. What I do as announcer on Monday night is not easy. Our show is totally live and we work without a net and sometimes I make mistakes. I often times have said things that I wish I could retrieve and start over but that’s not how it works. Plus, the company establishes the direction that they want the commentary to travel which means we are not in “business for ourselves” which becomes another subjective matter one could argue. The same writer who brought up the Jeff Hardy mistakes I made loved the “drama” of the Flair-Orton match on Raw from Charlotte but neglected to mention that the commentary just may have added to the “drama” of the moment. If one doesn’t believe that to be true, then watch the match again with the sound muted. If broadcasters are doing their jobs then their efforts should enhance a match. There have been matches over the years that I have witnessed that even a great call wouldn’t salvage. I am also sure that there were some good matches that one could have made great with a different approach or a different slant on the story being told. I am sure I am guilty of both. An argument could be made that perhaps the broadcast efforts of the team of “J.R. and The King” are simply taken for granted by some people. After all these years of sitting at ringside and doing our best to entertain the fans and viewers perhaps our efforts are simply an after thought by some. If so, then so be it. It will not adversely affect our show prep or our efforts to do our very best each and every Monday night for as long as the current Raw broadcast team is still together which I hope is for years to come. As I have said many times, when I think I can’t get it done any more I will want to get out of the biz and get out quickly. I won’t let the door hit me in the ass on the way out! The legacy that I have attempted to establish over the past 30+ years is extremely important to me. I don’t want to be remembered as a guy who “used to be a pretty good announcer.” The WWE has 4 strong broadcast teams and each brings something unique and exclusive to the table. However, I will put the work of the Raw broadcast team up against any of the other teams in the WWE or any where else for that matter. That is not a statement made out of disrespect but simply a confident, matter of fact. However, at the end of the day the fans have the final say on what they like or they don’t like. Even though I don’t personally agree with Spyros, Mike, or Brian, I have acknowledged their opinions and the fact that they are fans of wrestling….just like me. J.R.