Greetings friends and neighbors from under the 200X, black Resistol hat from WWE’s resident Okie, who can’t believe that WrestleMania XXIV is only about a month away and is gaining more momentum by the day.
Yours truly thoroughly enjoyed the short trip Monday from Oklahoma to Arizona for Monday Night Raw and especially the fact that I got to celebrate Ric Flair’s 59th birthday with him in Phoenix. Ric is genuinely moved to be going into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 29 in Orlando’s Amway Arena; tickets become available to all this Saturday. The Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels bout has all the makings of a classic, and for those fans that automatically feel Flair can’t beat HBK at WrestleMania XXIV, I would politely suggest that you think that matter through again. I would like to sit down someday with Ric and a camera crew and simply tell a few stories that we have shared over our near 30-year friendship, some of which I would not believe if I had not been there to witness them. It might make an entertaining DVD. (more…)
Damn, that’s a boat load of cash that Floyd "Money", "Pretty Boy", "The Greatest Fighter on Earth" Mayweather, Jr. is apparently getting to step in the ring with the Big Show at Wrestlemania 24. Twenty million dollars will buy "Money" a bunch of J.R.’s Bar-B-Q, let me tell you and even a few "I’ve Got Big Nuts" T-shirts, which you should be ordering today for yourself. I still don’t know what the match stipulations will be, but considering that Big Show is going to box an exhibition bout on the next Monday Night Raw, one could assume that the Mayweather-Show attraction at WM24 will be a boxing contest. However, we all know what happens when one assumes, especially in the wrestling biz, don’t we?
Many boxing purists have expressed concerns about Mayweather venturing into the world of sports entertainment, as if professional boxing was pristine. Mayweather’s decision to perform against the 400 pound Big Show could send shock waves through the boxing world if Floyd were to get injured and for one to say that can’t happen could be considered Pet Coon goofy. For the record, how much publicity is enough to cover a $20M tab? I don’t have that answer, but if 1,000,000 fans world wide buy the pay per view on March 30 then the investment in Mayweather most likely would have been a good one. The investment in Mayweather and the P.R. it will garner after WM24 is worth a bunch. One thing is for sure and that is Mayweather has a lightning rod-like personality that motivates many fans to dislike him and that is not likely to change between now and WM24.
I just wish I would have been invited to attend the Wrestlemania 24 Press Conference to see if I could have picked up an extra hundred or two of Floyd’s "walking around" money he threw out to the crowd. (more…)
Please note: These questions are accumulated over time and some of the answers may be dated by the time we are able to post them, but we are getting to all your questions that we can as quickly as we can. The volume of questions J.R. receives is overwhelming.
Webmaster
ACE
How come all your products are so expensive, even for me, a New Yorker?
$3 Beef Jerky is expensive? I paid $16 for a room service burger the last time I was in NYC. We price our items fairly as possible Ace. Tazz lives on Long Island and he’s a good customer. What would you suggest? We are open for suggestions.
J.R. Says
david
i was wandering if there is any chance vince would bring in an orchestra to wrestlemania to play ric flair to the ring?
How in the blue hell would I know the that question? I mean really, how? Mr. McMahon likes it best when I don’t have any lengthy conversations with him and I do my best to accommodate his wishes.
J.R. Says
Leo
hey there JR..
since this the first time I’m writing let me just say that I love your work in wwe.
But let’s get down to business.Why did wwe released BObby Lashley? WWE can’t afford to lose a superstar with that value in my view…
Lashley wanted out and no one can be forced to stay if they don’t want to be there. This is a better question for Bobby to answer.
J.R. Says
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Random thoughts from hither and yon including useless trivia, personal opinion and an attempt to garner more customers to J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q and our online store, which never closes. Baby needs new shoes, you know.
The WWE is holding a big time press conference in L.A. Monday at noon at the Staples Arena to officially announce the Big Show vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather bout to be held, duh, at Wrestlemania 24 wouldn’t you think?! I’m wondering what type of match it is going to be. Will it be the old wrestler vs. boxer fight, like the 1976 Andre the Giant vs. Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner outing which was on the under-card of the Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki debacle. I remember that one well, as I invested 10K in it, as a 24 year old novice promoter for the closed circuit broadcast at the Tulsa, Oklahoma Fairgrounds Pavilion. Surely, I know, don’t call you "Shirley", Show vs. Mayweather won’t be a wrestling match, one would think for "Money’s" sake. Perhaps this matter will take on an entirely new look, all together, but without fail the attraction will provide ample photo ops and perhaps the beloved "SportsCenter" moment where all the cool anchors can put tongue in cheek, or not, and take a few more shots at the business. (more…)
Greetings friends and neighbors from under the 200X, black Resistol hat from your barbeque-lovin’ Okie, who is happy to be home from an exciting trip to the Pacific time zone that resulted in more surprises than I ever expected at No Way Out and on Monday Night Raw.
The winner of this week’s coveted Raw Superstar of the Week award is an easy choice. No, it’s not the lovely and talented actress Lindsay Lohan, who spent the afternoon at Raw in Anaheim, Calif. and who certainly would have gotten Jerry “The King” Lawler’s vote (King loved Ms. Lohan’s freckles.), but another individual with a “party reputation” of sorts and who just happens to be the greatest wrestler of all time – the first announced inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008, Ric Flair. (more…)
Please note: These questions are accumulated over time and some of the answers may be dated by the time we are able to post them, but we are getting to all your questions that we can as quickly as we can. The volume of questions J.R. receives is overwhelming.
Webmaster
Hector Z
Interesting analysis… which, if any, current UFC fighters do you envision would have a legitimate shot at becoming a decent star in the WWE today? I remember Bughs casually mentioned if he ever retired he’d be interested in the WWE, but does anyone come to mind for you?
Hector I am just getting back into the MMA scene and will have to get back to you on that one. However, some of our readers may have ideas.
J.R. Says
Lori
Hey JR, I love your blogs. My question is, do you think we will ever have a King of the Ring tournament again? They are great tournments and we have had some very good winners. It would be nice to have one again as an opposite to WWE title holders. What do you think?
I don’t see the KOR on PPV but perhaps on regular TV. I like tournaments.
J.R. Says
eric
hey jr, i’ve finally got around to watching the brett hart dvd and all i have to say about that is that i have so much respect for brett. just watching his matches and seeing how he could tell the story in the ring. honestly. i don’t see that anymore. the title says it all the best there is, the best there was, and the best there will ever be. so do you ever see anyone being that good or even close to being that good in the near future?
Wow….hard to say. Not really at this time. No young wrestler reminds me of Bret at this time. Bret was a rare find.
J.R. Says
Jordan Womble
Hey Jr. Who is Chris Jericho suppose to appeal to? He is a pretty boy who has kids. Why would jbl talk about jericho having kids? Did anyone ever bring up that shawn micheals had kids in a story line? Hell No.
Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Could we be over thinking this matter just a tad? Don’t you like "personal issues"? Lighten up, Francis.
J.R. Says
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It is always great to get back to Norman, Oklahoma after a road trip, that saw me leave Friday and get back home on Tuesday afternoon. I was home about an hour before I headed to the OU-Baylor men’s college hoops game, that the Sooners were lucky to win in OT 92-91. After officiating college basketball for many years, once upon a time, I hate to say it but it seems the level of officiating in the college game is really inconsistent. Especially in the women’s game, from what I have seen this year from our court side seats at Oklahoma games. But, I digress.
I had the occasion to have some healthy football talk with college head coaches, Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Bo Pelini (Nebraska) and Mike Stoops (Arizona) Friday night in Las Vegas as all the Youngstown, Ohio natives were in town for the Kelly Pavlik-Jermaine Taylor fight Saturday night. Pavlik is a Youngstown fighter who still lives and trains there.
Pavlik-Taylor 2 saw Pavlik win a unanimous, 12 round decision that was a closer fight, from my perspective. If Pavlik fights Felix Trinidad in Madison Square Garden in June, as some speculate, it will result in a huge payday for the blue collar Pavlik and most likely a healthy pay per view number. (more…)
Here is our first run of the new Q&A. Let us know what you think.
-Webmaster
Nick Regan
J.R.
First time writing so this is huge for me, thank you for comming into our homes each and every week its been a real pleasure, the question i had was one you proabaly get all the time but i was wondering Do you think Owen Hart should be inducted in the 2008 hall of fame? I hope so!!! Thanks
I definitely think Owen will be in the WWE HOF someday without fail. Whether it is 2008 or sometime in the future is TBD.
J.R. Says
JJ
What’s your take on high fliers? I know they get a lot of flak from old school fans and wrestlers, as well as current main eventers due to their tendency to do more flippy-floppy stuff as opposed to telling stories and being devoid of personality. However, I feel that they don’t get enough credit. Let’s look at Sabu for example: he got over because his very character was someone who would fight you to the death by doing whatever it took. He basically old a story in his own way by doing crazy spots because it fit his character. Hell, he even innovated table spots and invented springboard moves. And then Rob Van Dam got over for his cocky persona. I just feel that high fliers don’t nearly get the appreciation they deserve.
High fliers have always had their place within the business. There were high fliers in the 70’s when I first got into wrestling. I am not against them whatsoever but feel some high fliers at times become too one dimensional.
J.R. Says
Jason
Hi Jr, was just wondering on your thoughts on Kane being sent to ECW.Personally I feel this guy deserves better than he has recently been treated, don’t get me wrong there are some ioncredible talents on that show, but he should be main eventing Raw or Smackdown not low carding on what is quite obviously not the number on e show WWE produce. He’s one hell of a worker and a definitive fan favourite and yet just lately he seems nothing more than a glorified punchingbag. It seems he does everything the WWE asks of him with out question or complaint and yet never gets the opportunities he truly deserves. I think it’s the whole Samson thing. Kane was brilliant til he lost his mask and now, well I think it’s about damn time he was champ again, what is 12 years since he last held the title?? Anyway just my humble opinion. Thanks for listening.
Kane has been a big time player since day one and still is in my view. I don’t look at Kane appearing on ECW as "punishment". The business needs more athletes like Kane who can easily headline any card with any other wrestler. Kane fans generally speaking feel Kane is underutilized.
J.R. Says
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I spent most of last two days answering approximately 350 questions from many of you that will become the beginning of our new Q&A section of this site and will be added a handful at a time over the next several days. With our webmaster and yours truly being the sole providers of content here, we are working diligently to keep content fresh and to respond to the comments we receive that merit responses. Some questions have been asked multiple times and those have largely been deleted. Other questions are simply some people’ssmart ass attempts at being cute and defiant. Many of those, too, fell by the wayside. Also, if the comments and feedback read like a novel, bye-bye. We are looking for intelligent, succinct, and entertaining feedback. We are not looking for manure spreaders who hide behind screen names and simply want to bitch about “creative direction”, “glass ceilings”, someone’s “push” and a seemingly endless string of perceived problems that I can’t solve or care to waste my time addressing. There are plenty of sites that will welcome all the negativity they can acquire so take your overtly negative and repetitive baggage to those locales who will welcome you will open arms. Whew…damn I feel better.
BTW…keep those questions and comments coming. (more…)
Greetings from under the black, 200X, Resistol hat from your barbecue lovin’ Okie friend, who is packing for an early trip to Las Vegas where WWE will present No Way Out this Sunday on pay-per-view.
So, who is the winner of an exclusive “I’ve Got Big Nuts” T-shirt along with an assortment of peanuts and BBQ Sauces from www.jrsbarbq.com this week? Without question several WWE Superstars distinguished themselves Monday night on the final Raw before No Way Out. “Horny” McMahon – the illegitimate son, not the Chairman – upset his loving father, thanks to an assist from Finlay. Chris Jericho had a hard-fought win over the malicious millionaire, JBL and John Cena overpowered the World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry. Helluva broadcast, wouldn’t you say?
Read the rest of J.R.’s column at WWE.com »
