Welcome to J.R.’s Blog

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and making wise decisions, as in not drinking and driving, and making sure that your seat belts are used for everyone in any vehicle you may be riding. Common sense is a good thing, even though I have been guilty MANY times of not using the aforementioned trait, including having one too many beverages to be driving a vehicle, for which I paid a price, and for rolling a pickup while not wearing a seat belt and being fortunate enough to live to tell about it.

Just a few random thoughts before we get to your comments:

• I would like to see a few two out of three fall matches on TV this next year, as they seem to be TV friendly, as at the end of a fall the commercial break could naturally come along and upon the return to the action the next fall could commence.
• Is it really necessary for some fans to yell “boring!” when wrestlers apply a pressure hold and actually attempt to focus on a specific body part of their opponents?
• How many tables does it take these days to get the beloved and much adored adulation of a “Holy S*#@!” moment?
• No… wrestling announcers are not utilizing the old school “play by play” these days to any large degree because that is not what they are instructed to do. The irony of this is that many of the announcers themselves are damned for such heinous actions, even though they are doing as instructed by their employers. As announcers, we have a job to do and are damned happy to be there doing it. So would many others, I assure you.
• From where I sit, wrestlers do not have to be 6’2”/250 pounds to be stars in today’s marketplace, but what do I know?
• College football bowl games are similar to wrestling championships… there are too many of them.
• Why am I supposed to dislike a wrestling antagonist, the bad guy, if said individual makes me laugh more often than not?
• At the end of the day, who do short matches on TV REALLY help? The winner? The loser? Or no one??
• Why do some fans who obviously read a fair amount of the wrestling internet, feel compelled to create personally insulting signs to be displayed on TV? I can remember one such sign right after I came back from one of my bouts with Bells palsy that said, “J.R. Has Lost His Smile!” Nice…
• I would rather see a wrestler, even if it were one of my favorites, lose by pinfall or submission ANY DAY, than by a lame disqualification or count out.
• As a viewer, is it really necessary for wrestling announcers to yell at me for the duration of their broadcasts? I know I have been guilty of this and it is akin to crying wolf.
• Does it seem that hot, personal issues are oftentimes more interesting than title bouts?
• Why does it seem that so many longtime fans love WWE 24/7, even if they don’t watch the current product on a religious basis?
• Do you think that if more fans would focus on the really important aspects of their lives, and not live and die by what they see on a wrestling show, that they would be better off? Just curious…
• Why don’t more people know the difference between Bar-B-Q’ing and Grilling? It is huge! For those that want to know the difference, I explain it all in my book, “J.R.’s Cookbook.”
• Did you know that our autographed copies of “J.R.’s Cookbook” are a wrestling story book essentially for men (there are TONS of my own personal wrestling business stories in it), plus some really great recipes too.
• Are you as tired of hearing about the Mitchell Report regarding steroids in MLB as I am, and do you wish that there could be steps taken immediately to bring closure to the matter?
• How about zero tolerance for everyone? I mean e v e r y o n e.  (more…)

Everyone here at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q wishes all of you a safe and happy holiday season. We hope you had a safe and Happy Christmas. There is nothing like spending time with family and for those that are fortunate enough to be able to do so, you are encouraged to enjoy every minute of it. We should also take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States do on a daily basis for each of us that live in America. My black hat is off to all these brave American soldiers along with a Sooner-sized thank you.

Being the avid sports fan that I am it is a particularly crazy and interesting time of the year, especially in the NFL. With the poorly marketed and promoted NHL, along with the no defense playing NBA just getting their seasons underway, the pros in football are heading into crunch time. The next few weeks leading up to a February, yes February, Super Bowl is going to be interesting to follow. With no clear cut, favorite NFL team to cheer for, yours truly enjoys following several teams that feature former Oklahoma Sooners players that I have gotten to know on a personal level over the years. Plus, games with playoff implications make for great TV, too. Here in Oklahoma we get ample doses of Dallas Cowboy information and I do like Coach Wade Phillips and former Sooner DB Roy Williams is a dangerous weapon in the Cowboys secondary.

Bobby Petrino leaving his Atlanta Falcon team, a team I used to broadcast for in the early 90’s, was suspect judgment at best as it relates to how the former Louisville coach departed Atlanta. Petrino has a right to work where he chooses, but the manner in which the head coach took a hike on his team was had no class. If Petrino stays at Arkansas over 4 years, it will be a minor miracle and I hope that I am wrong. If factions at the U of A can run off native son, Houston Nutt, who won games and invigorated the program, then Petrino must win quickly and that is win quickly in the SEC . Good luck on that one. (more…)

Thanks for checking out our site and here’s hoping everyone is having a great holiday season. We are staying busy as we can be in our online store and our shipping folks are working over time to get everyone’s orders out and to you as quickly as possible. I hope you will take a moment and visit our store and take a look especially at our “Big Nuts” merchandise and our “Redneck Gift Buckets,” which are autographed and make super gifts for birthday or any occasion. When you are finished reading the latest feedback, click on the link below (it will open in a different window) to see this article about J.R. written by Robert Przybylo that appeared in the Dec. 9th edition of the Daily Oklahoman newspaper. I certainly appreciate the write up, Robert!

Click here »

I have received a LOT of feedback in the last week concerning the 15th Anniversary shows with LOTS of questions. We are going to post questions with the answers. Today is Part 1 of Updated Feedback answers…

Now on to your feedback… Bar-B-Qed style!

Hi JR,
Just wanted to send my thanks to you and everyone else involved in Raw XV. I sat 4 rows behind you for Monday’s show. It was great to see all the old faces there, especially Barry Darsow. I was also exceptionally lucky to have CM Punk and Gerry Brisco give me thumbs up at the end of the night for having a “Bring out Ricky Steamboat” sign. The work that went into that show was astonishing. The high school students I teach went absolutely crazy for all the pictures from the show that I brought into school today. Just wondering what your own favorite memory of the show was? Thanks!

Bryan

Keep up the good work educating our youth. Bryan. I too, am a Steamboat fan and am happy he is working with the WWE. Ricky is a class act who is a great teacher. Darsow, as Repo Man, was classic stuff and Barry, more importantly, had a great time.

Jr, There are a few rumors going around that CM Punk was drinking a beer at the end of RAW this week? Is it true? I would believe that he didn’t, but there’s a side of me that has to know for sure.

Alyssa

Ah, more rumors… Punk drank no beer at all - and neither did a few others.

Hi JR,
You touch on Hogan being on RAW, but still make no mention of Hogan’s strange Savage reference on the show, even though several people have questioned you regarding it. What gives?

Adam Piatt

I addressed this question on the last blog. As best I know it was simply a Hogan adlib. As best I know it means zilch as it relates to a future match between Hulk and Savage. Have you had your J.R.’s Bar-B-Q Sauce today?

(more…)

Greetings from under the black 200X Resistol hat from a man who is tickled to death to return to Oklahoma and 50 degree weather after 72 hours in “chilly” Pittsburgh and Buffalo for Armageddon and Raw, respectively.

First of all, from the Ross family to yours, I want to wish everyone a blessed holiday season filled with good health and happy times. We will be celebrating Christmas here in Norman, Okla., with family and friends and it simply doesn’t get any better than that.

After Sunday and Monday’s amazing efforts in the ring,  it would seem somewhat obvious who the Raw Superstar of the Week is going to be … the high-flying, charismatic, risktaker who is on a roll … the Intercontinental Champion and No. 1 contender for the WWE Title, Jeff Hardy!

WWE.com” target=”_blank”>Read the rest of J.R.’s column at WWE.com »

Thanks for stopping by J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q! There is still clean up to be done here in Oklahoma but with neighbors helping neighbors we are all getting along fine even though many of us lost some beautiful trees during the recent ice storm. Many thanks for the comments of concern. Also with all the bad weather here in Oklahoma, our restaurant has been doing some record setting business the past few days which is amazing.

Business in our store has been excellent and remember that you still have time to make any of our J.R.’s products fun and unique Xmas gifts or gifts for any occasion for that matter. My family is working over time to insure that your orders are shipped as quickly as possible and our goal is to get all your orders to Federal Express within a few hours of receiving them here on the site. So, don’t burn any more daylight and place your orders today and we will do our absolute best to ship out your order later today or, at worst, tomorrow.

Let’s get to some feedback:

John- Other than the hair style, I don’t see Kennedy and Ronnie Garvin being too much alike at this time. Garvin was one of the most aggressive men I have personally ever seen in the wrestling biz and if young Kennedy can elevate his aggression to that level then we have a viable comparison to discuss. Kennedy is aggressive but “The Hands of Stone” took aggression to another level rarely approached by most grapplers. (more…)

Greetings from under the black, 200X Resistol hat from your resident Okie, who is looking forward to traveling to Pittsburgh this Sunday for Armageddon and then on to chilly Buffalo for Monday Night Raw, which will have a hard act to follow after the three-hour, 15th Anniversary Raw Monday evening in lovely Bridgeport, Conn.

It was great seeing so many former WWE Superstars Monday, as it was hard not to see everyone in the relatively small confines of the Arena at Harbor Yard. I am sure I missed visiting with some folks, which I unquestionably regret because one never knows when the next opportunity will arise for a gathering such as this or who of us will still be around the next time there is a special occasion such as a Raw Anniversary show.

WWE.com” target=”_blank”>Read the rest of J.R.’s Column from WWE.com »

Happy Holidays everyone and thanks for stopping by our site. Recently yours truly has seen some of the most hectic, travel times I can recall in quite some time, as airline travel these days is hellacious, to put it mildly. The airlines are over booked, especially with folks who rarely travel, which causes some unique issues that we veteran travelers must endure. Sometimes one wants to say, “Come on lady, take off your damn shoes so we can all get through the security line today!” If any of you are planning on traveling any time soon via air, please go online and read what one can and cannot do as it relates to security issues, carry-on luggage, liquids, etc. For all of you who will be travelling over Christmas, believe me it will help you to go to your airport or airline’s website and read the latest rules to save yourself some time and aggravation.

Last week I spent the night as a guest in the home of Steve Austin while I was in LA doing some media promotion for the 15th Anniversary Monday Night Raw broadcast. Steve and I had a great time, and rest assured that we did not drink and drive – because we did not drive anywhere. Nonetheless it took me 11 hours to fly from LAX back to OKC, which was murder. This week it took me 12 hours to fly from DFW, after having to make a 3 hour drive there from OKC due to the ice storm here on Sunday, so I would be ready to work Monday night in Bridgeport in case of bad weather up there. Then while flying home on Wednesday from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, what a nightmare of an airport, to DFW and then to OKC, a trip that took almost 12 hours due to “air traffic” issues and “rain.” Now I am preparing to fly to snowy Pittsburgh this coming weekend from OKC for the Armageddon PPV and then the King and I will make the 3-plus hour drive on Monday from Pitt to Buffalo, NY for Raw − and they are saying that Buffalo is apparently expecting snow for our visit. There’s never a dull moment traveling in the WWE! Perhaps the King and I should invest in a charter aircraft for this trip… but that isn’t going to happen, sports fans. We will make our usual drive… discuss the NFL, especially the Browns… and make our normal stop at a Cracker Barrel (there’s no J.R.’s in that neck of the woods… yet)… and we’;; be at work on time to do our job. Just another day at the office… ringside at Raw. (more…)

Wow… our online store business is really rocking these days and we sincerely thank everyone. It is not too late to get your orders in for the holidays as our hard working shipping folks are working overtime to get all your orders promptly processed. “J.R.’s Big Nuts” shirts and all the other new merchandise is doing super, as are the autographed, Redneck Gift Buckets. We have gifts to fit virtually every budget so please visit our store today and we will help you put a smile on someone’s face for the holidays!

Bar-B-Qed Fan Feedback:

Kramer- I have not heard from you since that stand up comedy routine you performed that went “south,” nonetheless, I do not see TNA on the same level at this time as WCW whatsoever. Not even close as Turner and Time Warner had much more resources.

Ron- I am happy you enjoyed your Sooner experience in San Antonio. It was a heck of an atmosphere which is one of the many reasons I love attending college football games especially OU games. Many of my WWE-Texas colleagues love to pile on when the Sooners have a bad day, but I rarely retaliate and I chalk up their boorish behavior simply as being insecure and jealous. (more…)

Greetings from under the 200X, black Resistol hat from your resident Oklahoma Sooner fan, who is still in a celebratory mood after OU won the Big 12 Title last Saturday night in San Antonio and who is looking forward to the HUGE Monday Night Raw 15th Anniversary Spectacular this Monday on USA Network starting one hour early at a special time of 8/7CT.

This week’s Raw Superstar of the Week are all the WWE Superstars and crew who left North Charleston, S.C., immediately after Raw to fly to Iraq for WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops event. There is no more important date on the WWE calendar than this yearly event that will be broadcast on USA Network on Monday, Dec. 24. My hat is off to all the folks who made this challenging journey and put so many smiles on the faces of our fighting men and women. Boomer Sooner to each of you!

WWE.com for rest of story”>J.R.’s Column continues at WWE.com »

My thanks to those of you that have responded with such positive feedback over the past few days. It is refreshing to read of the positive energy from so many especially for a business that is about entertainment and not about any of the urgencies that we face in many aspects of our every day lives. Wrestling is intended, in my opinion, to be fun and entertaining and to not be over analyzed as it so often times is. There is no doubt that TV wrestling is subjective and that some weeks are definitely better than others. Just like we have some days that are better than others, some wrestling programs are better some weeks than other weeks. I plan on doing my best to keep this site positive and fun and to not allow myself or what I do for a living to be taken too seriously. The product should be entertaining, but without fail some weeks will be more entertaining than others and no broadcast will ever be perfect. I’m still looking for that perfect show even after 4 decades of trying. I will continue to seek the perfect broadcast even though I fully realize I am likely to never experience it. But I will continue to have fun and enjoy what I do and the day that ceases is the day the black hat disappears from your TV set.

It was a great weekend for yours truly on a personal level as I attended the Big 12 Title game in San Antonio and watched from the OU sideline as the Sooners won another Championship over a talented Missouri team, that had a super year.

Now it is on to the Fiesta Bowl for my team and I plan on attending the festivities in the desert, come January 2, when Oklahoma plays a really strong West Virginia team.

This Monday is really a wonderful milestone in broadcasting, as it will be the 15th Anniversary of Monday Night Raw. It is amazing that this program has lasted all these years in the volatile world of cable TV and in prime time to boot. Kudos to the many men and women who have contributed to the show’s success over the past 15 years. I am proud to have been a small part of the process and hope to continue to be sitting at ringside every Monday night for the foreseeable future doing what I love to do and that is broadcast wrestling and to, hopefully, entertain people. There isn’t another two hours of the entire week that I enjoy more than being at ringside as a part of Monday Night Raw. (more…)