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

Travel in general usually sucks pond water, but getting home safely is always the bottom line and that's the case here. With that said, no more boring details of a relatively uneventful road trip that saw the King and I navigating on some of California's most popular and busy freeways Sunday and Monday never seeing hide nor hair of the inside of an airplane while in California. But I would like to stay in just a hotel one week that doesn't have signs posted that say, "Pardon our construction".

With exception of Randy Orton's broken clavicle (collar bone) which I was told will keep him sidelined for 4 months and the Big Show's gashed eye, One Night Stand came off as a solid and successful show from where I was sitting and the fans in San Diego helped the cause with their enthusiasm. The show did not measure up to the very first One Night Stand, no ONS most likely ever will, but nonetheless I thought that Sunday's PPV was bell to bell success. Certainly many of the matches had the time to evolve and develop which is not always the case on Monday Night's. Taker and Edge had one helluva match to end the show in a shocking albeit memorable way. Taker is still "the man".

On Monday Night Raw the announcement of McMahon's Million Dollar Mania was clearly made and apparently lots of folks are registering. Registering is free as best I can tell so what does any Raw fan have to lose especially if they are going to watch the show any way. Hopefully this promotional vehicle will help increase ratings to some degree over the next several weeks. The way I understand it is that several people have the chance to win varying sums of cash each week on Raw totalling $1M per week TFN. Tell a friend to register because some one is going to win the dough and it might as well be you or one of your friends.

An audible was called at the top of Raw Monday night without informing the broadcasters which is why yours truly stumbled out of the gate. No matter, it was my bad all the way, the buck stops here, but I was sober as a judge I assure you. When one travels with the King there is no smoking and no drinking and that is is a fact. I love broadcasting live and without a net but sometimes one can look or sound less than stellar when there are no "re-do's".

Let's hope that the idiot that hopped in the ring Monday night craving some TV time doesn't start an annoying and dangerous trend. That fellow in Bakersfield was lucky he slipped by security and even luckier that this was not an earlier era. When I was a referee back in the day, I have seen fans who entered the ring beaten to a pulp, lose teeth that were left lying on the mat and even wet themselves under the "pressure" of an irate wrestlers who were going to make sure that the intruder had a life long story to tell and to dissuade anyone watching that jumping into the ring was not a wise move. I'm glad that Monday night's culprit wasn't dared by his pals to jump off a bridge but I did hear the individual was arrested which is not a good way to end one's evening.

In the Mid South territory, disruptive fans who ventured into the ring to challenge a wrestler and who interrupted what the other paying customers were seeing were escorted to the locker room area by the police where the usually drunk and disorderly individuals were introduced to some extremely tough and combative men and were then left to "chat" with said wrestlers by the local authorities who left to handle other "issues". Ouch. Many of these over zealous fans next trip after the "chat" was to a hospital. I am not encouraging that any individuals get maimed but no one should enter the ring that isn't authorized to do so.

Monday night after Raw, as I was in the parking area of the arena in Bakersfield waiting on the King I was standing by our rental car when the sea of security, all heavily armed, walked by me with Mr. McMahon's Million Dollars on the way to safely deposit it in an armored truck. One of the "Barney Fife's" in a cheap suit, but packing heat, gave me a serious once over as if he thought I was casing the place. I honestly thought I saw him reach to near his hand to his gun....I never realized I looked so suspicious (must be the black hat)....nor did I think that the WWE's crack security staff would not acknowledge that I was on the "home team". Obviously, when a million bucks in cash in being transferred these security guys are dead serious.

It was nice seeing Candice Michelle in Bakersfield Monday night in the back talking with friends. Honestly it is always good to see Candice no matter if it was near Buck Owens Blvd or elsewhere. She told me she would be going back to the doctor to have her collarbone (clavicle) checked in two weeks. I am not sure when she will be able to return to wrestling but one would assume in a month or so. BTW, she looked hotter than donut grease.

Overall I enjoyed CBS's presentation of MMA Saturday night but the network and the promotion came awfully close in over exposing the charismatic Kimbo Slice. Slice was exposed and it is arguable if he was over exposed when taken to the ground and being less than effective but no one can deny Slice's toughness and punching power. Slice needs to be protected big time and needs to spend as much time as possible training on the mat learning counters, mat defense, and perhaps even a few submissions as it is abundantly clear that the Floridian can punch. Bottom line is that many of the intensely trained, well rounded MMA heavyweights would devour Kimbo at Slice's current skill level. I enjoy watching Kimbo brawl but brawling in today's MMA world will only get one so far. Keep in mind that I saw the west coast feed and not the live feed so I apparently missed some of the live feel of the presentation. I do think that the referee made a good call in stopping the Kimbo match when he did but the second round of the fight when Kimbo was being essentially motionless raises other questions. Finally the women of MMA is potentially a money maker too. MMA needs more stars, male or female, like Gina Carrano who obviously under trained for her fight but she is special without question.

Bottom line for the MMA world overall is that many first time viewers sampled the product on CBS Saturday night and I would suggest from a marketing standpoint that the water cooler talk has been prominent and that the curiosity level for MMA in general has been elevated. That will help the genre especially the biggest dog in the hunt, the UFC.

Sore spot of the week.....Young wrestlers who are in training and who do not show adequate self control or use good judgment when it comes to drinking are in need of a "sit down". I have been guilty of utilizing a lack of judgment myself and am not proud of it. If I were a young guy wanting to make the primarily roster of a major company I damn sure wouldn't give the suits any reason, such as getting a DUI, to not give me a chance.

If you fans of Chyna are wondering, I doubt that the King and I will ever specifically refer to Chyna on TV while speaking of Beth "The Glamazon" Phoenix in part because many fans today don't remember the Chyna of the WWE but the Chyna of reality show fame. That's not a good comparison to utilize in some instances and doesn't help any one. So for those Chyna fans out there, of which I am sure there are still several, that's the deal....that ship has sailed as best I know. I still get feedback about how great an IC Champion Chyna was but don't get me started about women wrestling men because come hell or high water I am not a fan of it. This is not intended to be a "knock" on Chyna as she always treated me respectfully and professionally but I also can't say her exit out of the WWE wasn't tough for her. This is not one of those "wish her well on all her future endeavor" deals but I do hope Chyna finds the happiness and success she's looking for.....but I still don't think women should wrestle men. :)

The great Thoroughbred race horse Big Brown's trainer sounds like a cross between Muhammad Ali's late "handler" Drew "Bundini" Brown and an old school wrestling manager. I have never heard a horse trainer cut promos like Rick Dutrow has in recent weeks. I'm not quite sure if it is "refreshing" and "entertaining" or if Dutrow is simply a "pain in the ass".

The Florida judge who denied Nick (Hogan) Bollea's request for a 30 day or so house arrest until his 18th birthday should be commended but honestly what else could the judge realistically do? Agreeing to the order would have been political suicide for His Honor and the decision seems to be on the money. Yes, when one does the crime and one does the time. Simple cliche but true nonetheless. It would appear that the young man is being held in solitary confinement for his own protection of which his family should be relieved. Nick attempting to "drop a leg" on the general inmate population would be ill advised. Nick is much safer in isolation than walking around in the general population. Hopefully, Nick's folks will encourage him to take this time to work diligently and seriously on improving himself. Read books and more books. Write daily...keep a diary...document your experience. Meditate. Think about the past and the future because the present for the next few months is as it is. I heard the term used in the WWE locker room recently, and excuse my crassness, referring to the "lucky sperm club" and these unnamed individuals were not speaking of Nick, but an argument can made that Nick is really lucky that he is the son of Hulk Hogan because things in young Nick's life could be much worse than Nick perceives them to be if his Dad weren't the bandana wearing celeb and wrestling icon that he is. Jail isn't designed to be a pleasant experience but the young man's penal experience could be much worse, without question. Do the time, make the best of it, come out a better human being and get on with the business of becoming a well adjusted adult and a solid citizen. I know I am an old school fart, but there are worse things for young Nick to do than getting to the task of earning a college education once his days behind bars are history. What a novel idea but it doesn't have the sizzle of "starring" in a reality show now does it?

I finally finished my voice work for the next THQ/WWE video game and I am told that I will be starting the v/o's for the "Legends" game in a few weeks. I can't wait for that one. I hear the "Legends" game is due out around Wrestlemania 25 next spring in Houston.

Thanks for checking out the store and we are staying busying shipping your goods. Plus the Q/A section of the site is addressed as we are still refining it but do encourage your to send us your SUCCINCT questions or comments. Thanks.....

BOOMER SOONER!
J.R.