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

Thanks for stopping by. I spent a great deal of time here on WWE.com this morning which stimulated me, no jokes please, to jot down 10 thoughts and observations. more »

After getting my BBQ chores handled and getting back home about 7:45 p.m.,  I had the opportunity to sit down in my favorite chair and watch Monday Night Raw like the wrestling fan that I am. Often times people in my position can get too close to the product but I purposely watched this broadcast knowing as little about the show as possible including purposely not reading the advance lineup info on WWE.com (sorry Joey). Here are my thoughts on the broadcast without the use of notes and in no particular order.  more »

It is nice to not have to get on an airplane this week until I leave EARLY Sunday morning for Boston after attending the Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech college football game on Saturday night in Norman. Nonetheless, here are some random thoughts that can be dissected any way you choose. more »

Former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Title Saturday night in Las Vegas with a 2nd round TKO over UFC legend Randy Couture. Perhaps now MMA purists will acknowledge Lesnar's athletic abilities and not hold his tenure in the entertainment world of the WWE against him. But somehow I doubt it....at least not for now.  more »

Still on England time and thought I would write another blog with some new info and some updated thoughts plus a correction from an earlier blog. Surprisingly there will also be the obligatory mention of our BBQ products hence the name of this website. But on to the news and opinion.   more »

Here's hoping everyone has a great weekend. My Sooners are off this weekend as they prepare to face Texas Tech on ABC's National Game of the Week next Saturday night in Norman of which I will attend before taking a 6 a.m. flight to Boston for the Survivor Series on Sunday morning. Random thoughts....we have plenty... more »

Just as Dorothy said in the “Waffle House Movie” or was it The Wizard of Oz, there is no place like home. Enough already of coughing people, crying babies, anti-deodorites all contained in a flying cylinder known as an airplane for multiple hours. Nonetheless, travel issues aside, I am happy that WWE has had such success in their autumn, European tour and the live audience that many of you will see on Friday Night SmackDown will illustrate why so many of us enjoy traveling to the England in particular.

The “Angriest Announcer in the World,” my partner Tazz, actually landed in Manchester on Sunday so he was there an extra day and many of us barely left the hotel in downtown Manchester, the Marriott Renaissance. Tazz was in rare form when I first saw him on Monday as he was enjoying a “pint” and eating, of all things, hummus. I don’t even like bean dip so hummus is definitely out. The only salvation in keeping Tazz from beating up on the housekeeping department in our hotel is that on Sunday overnight, one TV channel played a plethora of NFL games one right after the other until something like 6 a.m. more »

Tazz and I arrived at the Manchester Evening News Arena about 3 pm Tuesday for a 7:30 pm start for the taping of two episodes of Smackdown.

The crowd was on fire for the 1st show, without question.

We had to have both shows finished by 11 pm which put everything at a breakneck pace.

Lots of the second show will be done in post production. more »

Here we are in Manchester where it is rainy and cool.
That’s a revelation, right?

Random thoughts....

Tazz has been here since Sunday and he’s not happy especially after missing the big Jets win on Sunday.

Tazz likes humas. Who would have “thunk” it? more »

The WWE grossed over $2M Monday night with sold out events in both London and Manchester. That's "serious money."
Tuesday night's taping is also a sell out in Manchester with many more massive ticket sales grosses to come as the WWE continues a hugely successful European tour.