Welcome to J.R.’s Blog

It’s nice to be back at home after a 3 day and change road trip to the northeast, that included stops in New York City, a whopping three hour car trip from MSG to Philly, and the second HD Monday Night Raw at the Wachovia Center before a large, but seemingly less than expected loud crowd in the City of Brotherly Love. No that’s not a knock on Philly, but the fans there are usually more boisterous, but perhaps they weren’t seeing what they needed to see to get them over the edge. Who knows the reasons, but there sure were a bunch of younger kids there, which works for any promoter.

The biggest news to come out of the weekend was the surprising return of John Cena, who some WWE fans seemingly dislike as much, if not more than they did before John was injured and underwent pec surgery to repair a torn tendon. As I have said before, when fans pay their hard earned cash they can cheer or boo for whomever the hell they choose. This is certainly not to say that John Cena doesn’t have a legion of fans, because I can tell you from his merchandise numbers that John does. I was backstage at MSG pretty much all afternoon Sunday and NEVER saw Cena one time. I am under the impression that John did not arrive to the arena until after the event started, but that’s an assumption. When I talked to John on Monday he said he was feeling great and was healthy, that he had rehabbed extra hard for his return and was bench pressing around 400 pounds, which sounds pretty damn healthy to me. One of Oklahoma’s strength coaches was Cena’s coach in college and said that John was strong as a bull when he arrived on campus as a freshman and spent more time in the weight room than any other player on Springfield College’s football team. That doesn’t surprise me considering Cena’s work ethic. (more…)

The Royal Rumble was a fun show, certainly had its moments, including the surprise return of the controversial, John Cena, who won the 30-man Rumble match after eliminating HHH.

A huge crowd of over 20,000 sold out Madison Square Garden and the fans had their usual impact on the event, including booing, popular, Rey Mysterio because one can assume they simply wanted to support Rey’s opponent, Edge, more. You pay your cash so boo or cheer who you choose, just don’t sit on your hands.

I am happy Ric Flair is still in business, but one would assume the next man to dance with “Naitch” will be Kennedy.

JBL-Jericho will almost undoubtedly meet again but don’t expect any catch as catch can classic from these two. Bowling shoe ugly brawls are more likely.

I was pulling for Jeff Hardy and was disappointed when his effort to go to the next level and win the WWE Title failed. Hardy winning the title would have certainly thrown a wrench in the WWE Title picture, not that the return of John Cena doesn’t make things “interesting.” (more…)

Greetings from under the black, 200X Resistol hat from WWE’s resident Okie, who still gets just as excited about traveling East to New York City and Philadelphia, as was the case well over three decades ago, especially when the Royal Rumble awaits in Madison Square Garden on Sunday and with Monday Night Raw in an always rowdy Philly.

Last week was Raw’s maiden voyage in HDTV and from what I have read, fans enjoyed the WWE’s flagship broadcast in HD. Our local cable company, Cox Cable, doesn’t offer USA Network in HD on our digital system, but hopefully they will at some point in the near future. Nonetheless, the HD aspect of the programming will be crisper and the color will pop more, but an unsightly blemish could be a disaster for a Diva or a male Superstar who acts like a Diva.

Read the rest of J.R.’s column at WWE.com »

WWE Hall of Fame broadcaster and life long Oklahoma Sooner fan Jim “J.R.” Ross will provide color commentary for Friday night’s Oklahoma University vs. Iowa State University Big 12 Conference wrestling showdown in Norman. Ross, the long time play by play voice of the WWE’s Monday Night Raw, will join veteran wrestling broadcaster Scott Casber on the broadcast that can be heard live at www.takedownradio.com at 7 p.m. central time.

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Thanks for checking in with us and I hope all are well during these frigid days for many here in the States. Unless one is in South Florida or Hawaii it seems to be colder than hell in most places, which includes Oklahoma, where it was 20 degrees when I stepped off the plane Tuesday morning after taking a 5 a.m. (central time) flight from Norfolk to DFW to OKC.

Business is still doing nicely in our online store and I hope you will check out our Valentine’s Day Special which is a super value. Plus, you’ve got to order one of the “Big Nuts” T-shirts as they are becoming one of our hotter items and are great conversation pieces. We also have some really good prices on a couple of flavors of our Beef Jerky for all you Jerky lovers out there.

Random and largely non important thoughts.

Charlie Haas was on my flight Tuesday morning, but he wasn’t wearing his mask which might have posed some problems with the TSA folks at the Norfolk Airport.

Van Halen is in OKC Tuesday night and the Mrs. is going with friends, but I am “tagging out.” How could I pick attending a Van Halen concert over watching the ECW TV show live?! There could be a “CATFIGHT!!” or a “YAMBAG” mention.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I made a mistake in commentary on RAW Monday night when I mentioned that it was Hogan and HHH who were the only two men who had held the WWE and IC Titles at the same time. Of course I meant to say it was the Ultimate Warrior who defeated Hogan for the WWE Title at WM6 in the Skydome in Toronto and for the record the Hulkster did kick out at 3 1/2, by golly, if you are keeping up with such info at home. Several wrestling websites had my misspeaking as a headline of sorts on Tuesday morning. My bad…no excuses…but it won’t be the last time I fumble. For all of you that have done live TV and have experienced many different sounds in one’s headsets I am sure you know what I mean. Someone even nicely said I was “entitled” to make a mistake and all this time I thought that every human was “entitled” to make the occasional mistake. Shows what I know. The next thing that some Einstein will write is that “J.R. is undoubtedly slipping” or that “J.R. must have gone to happy hour before RAW celebrating his new contract.” (more…)

Here are some more answers to many of your comments. Be aware that some of these questions may seem dated but we are getting to them as quickly as we can. If I forget and leave the caps lock on don’t think I am yelling at you. If my answers seem tongue in cheek and somewhat lighthearted then they probably are. If you want to rant, please rant elsewhere but we will still accept your business in our never closing store. As a matter of fact we have a helluva Valentines Day Special running at this very moment from J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q Restaurant. Plus we have some real deals on selected flavors of our top of the line Beef Jerky.

Please remember to help Ol J.R. out and keep your questions and/or comments succinct. But by all means, keep your comments coming. Believe it or not I try and read every one of them as my schedule permits.

J.R., how’s it going? I have a question that I hope you could take the time to think about. What was your favorite match to call in your WWE announcing career? One that just pops into your head that you remembered right off? - Troy

Making this call is like saying “which of my children to I like better?” I have had the opportunity to call some awesome matches over several decades and to pick one is impossible.

Hi JR, sorry about the Sooners, but I’m a Notre Dame fan and I think I have it a little worse than you, but the Sooners did do okay against WVU. It was just that unstoppable WVU offense that stopped OU. I was wondering about your opinion on the choice for NFL coach of the year. Did you agree with the decision? Also, is Undertaker’s nephew still in the Middle East? That was brought up at WM19 I believe and I never heard anything else about it. Matt

Notre Dame is having a great recruiting season so one would think they will be back in the hunt and much improved in 2008. Charlie Weis needs to loosen up and smile occasionally though. He’s got a helluva job at his dream school making big bucks, but I hear from those that have dealt with him that Weis is tough to be around. I have not heard about Taker’s nephew being overseas. 

Hey JR. How’s it going?
I’ve been a fan of women’s wrestling for years now and while so many people think they suck in the ring. I disagree. I know that the divas are more capable in the ring then how they are used. Mickie vs. Beth was a great match at Armageddon. Candice vs. Beth at Unforgiven was exceptional and saw moves not seen in the division since the days of Nakano and Blayze. I’ve also seem some of Candice, Beth’s, and Mickie’s house show matches and I must say if the WWE booked them like that with those women and even the others who can wrestle, then the fans would see Women’s wrestling differently for sure. On a side note, I hope Candice is doing better. I cannot wait to see her again and get in action. She’s a real trooper. Talk to ya later! Have a great 08! – Mike H

I would be careful comparing any America female wrestler with Bull Nakano in her prime. I am often too hard on women’s wrestling as there are some performers who are better than I acknowledge sometimes in the ring.

Hey, JR.
I gotta say, I respect your work as a commentator. if you ask me, you sound like the most realistic announcer in the WWE.

I wanted to know if you think when Matt Hardy returns, he might beat MVP for the US Championship? I like MVP and all, but I think he has had a bite of too much to chew. I think 8 months is too much for a newbie. In 2006, we had US title changes from JBL to Bobby Lashley to Finlay to Kennedy then to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and MVP even surpassed You-Know-Who’s reign. On another note, MVP keeps retaining his title by counting himself out? What the hell? - Jonny R

What the hell is right? You obviously have issues with tenured champions. I don’t. How are long term issues built if the title changes hands frequently?

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A new, two year contract has been signed between Jim Ross and World Wrestling Entertainment. Ross, a 34 year veteran of pro wrestling/sports entertainment, is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame and has been with the company since debuting at Wrestlemania 9 in 1993. Ross and his fellow WWE Hall of Fame partner, Jerry “the King” Lawler, comprise the broadcast team on the WWE’s longest running, flagship broadcast, “Monday Night Raw” which airs live on the USA Cable Network every Monday night at 9/8 central time and globally in over 100 countries. No other details on the terms of the contract have been released.

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I enjoyed visiting with Paul Bearer in Mobile Monday prior to RAW. PB is a funeral home director in Mobile and dabbles in wrestling a little, but just for the fun of it. At one time Paul weighed in at 525 pounds before he had gastric bypass surgery (I think that is what it is called) and now tips the Toledos at approximately 300.  Paul is a great example of what I preach more often than not and that is any one wanting to get in the wresting business should have their college degree or have an established trade that they can fall back on when their wrestling days have ended. 

A guy in the DFW Airport asked me Tuesday morning if Britney Spears was coming to the WWE to be a Diva. In a rare moment of clarity and before I blurted out “Hell, No,” I simply said that one never knows what is going to happen in the WWE and that if Britney made an appearance somewhere down the road, how could any of us be totally shocked. What if she came between Edge and Vickie Guerrero?! (more…)

Here’s hoping everyone is well and enjoying life. Thanks for all the comments and we are getting to them as best we can. Our store is staying busy as well and I hope you will check out our special Valentine’s Day offer which features some new shirt and delicious, homemade Peanut Brittle which I have to say is REALLY good. We have other special offers that make great gifts or just to do something good for you.

It’s BBQ’ed Feedback Time!!    

Hi J.R.,

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but in Powerslam magazine that came out here in England today, there’s an interview with Brock Lesnar that is really in depth. Anyway he is blaming Johnny Ace and YOU for his botched Wrestlemania shooting star press. Apparently he hadn’t done it for over a year and wasn’t comfortable doing it and yet you said the match needs a “Wrestlemania moment” and so he did it. I would like to hear your side of the story, as there’s always two sides. Thank you. – Dreamboy3000

I don’t think I have ever read Powerslam Magazine, but nonetheless I have no idea what Lesnar is talking about. That assertion is just plain stupid.  Even when I was in charge of talent relations I never got involved in match structure. The WWE provided Lesnar a wonderful opportunity to earn a great living for many years and Brock chose to leave. He chose to leave, no one forced him out. I have no idea where his “Wrestlemania Moment” story came from but I could truly care less what history Lesnar cares to rewrite. I know I personally treated Brock Lesnar fairly and honestly and went far above the call of duty with him on more than one occasion no matter the “poor me” B.S. one sometimes hears. However, I do wish Brock well in his MMA career. but for some reason one could surmise that controversy may well follow the talented athlete there as well.     (more…)

My former colleague at WCW and an individual I personally like, Chris Cruise, according to some wrestling websites, has “called me out,” or at least that is the term some sites have used, about my comments regarding the United States Congress investigating steroid, HGH, etc abuse in professional wrestling.

In a recent blog, I made a comment that I personally thought that Congress had better things to do than focus on this matter but did not infer that Congress should cease their investigation. I was thinking of other issues such as our national security, the war we are currently fighting, the economy, health care, education and perhaps even balancing the budget. Nonetheless, Chris makes a valid point about the endless subcommittees that are available to work on matters such as steroids in pro wrestling, all the while the other work that I just outlined still gets addressed. Point well made and well taken. (more…)