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

Random thoughts from under the custom-made, black hat from WWE's resident BBQ lovin' Okie, who is Cleveland-bound this Sunday - right after I watch the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners play the talented Cincinnati Bearcats on ABC from the Sooner sideline.

WWE suffered another injury blow to one of its biggest stars when Shawn Michaels tore his triceps Monday night on Raw in an altercation with Chris Jericho and the Michaels-trained Lance Cade. Yours truly communicated with HBK this week and Shawn said he fully intends to "finish what I started," regarding his issue with Jericho. So that tells me that Michaels, even with a bad wing, definitely will fight Jericho this Sunday in Cleveland at Unforgiven. Even with only one good arm, Michaels is still better than most, but I don't like the future Hall of Famer's chances come Sunday. Jericho is too good and too motivated, and we all know the egocentric Jericho couldn't look himself in the mirror if he were to lose to a man with a torn triceps. The pain may be with Michaels, but the pressure to win this match has slapped Jericho right in the face since the doctor's diagnosis was made public late Monday night.

I hope every one is having a great week. Things are good in Oklahoma with another OU Football game on tap for this Saturday afternoon in Norman versus a talented Cincinnati team that won 10 games last year and returns 9 defensive starters.  Nonetheless when the Sooners are in town are BBQ biz booms which is a good thing. Now on with the show.

After coming to terms and reconciling with Randy Couture earlier today, the UFC announced Tuesday afternoon, as we reported here last week, that the Couture-Brock Lesnar fight would take place on Saturday November 15. The fight will not be held in Portland as previously thought but in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. This provocative fight will be five, 5 minute rounds and reportedly for the UFC heavyweight title that Couture never lost before he and UFC management had issues and Couture left the organization.   Informed sources have told me that Couture wants to have three more fights in the UFC and then retire. Couture will give up approximately 50 pounds to Lesnar come fight time which makes the 5 rounder especially intriguing. Couture is a master at capitalizing on a fighter's mistakes and is a supreme strategist. However, if Lesnar continues to improve as he did between the Mir and Herring fights it will be extremely difficult for anyone who is giving up that much weight and is over a decade older to defeat the former WWE and NCAA wrestling champion. I applaud the UFC for getting this alleged, internally personal matter resolved as it relates to Randy Couture and UFC honchos.  The fans should always come first which should be a no brainer business wise but in personality driven businesses like MMA, etc it isn't always that simple.           

I want to clear up a mistake that I made. The famous Baba vs. Killer Kowalski match that put Baba into another level was a physical, 45 minute draw. Kowalski was later victorious on that same tour over the Giant Baba on Japanese TV.  Kowalski was booked to face Japan's Godfather of professional wrestling Rikidozan on this particular tour but also  faced Baba along the way to the big showdown with Rikidozan. The point here is that at one time the biggest,  most imposing antagonist in the business on a global basis was the Killer.    

When it is said that the business lost one of its all time greats when Killer Kowalski passed away a couple of days ago,  that simple statement might actually be an understatement. Killer's look, intensity, aggression, and professionalism separated him from virtually all his peers.  I just wanted to clear this up in respect to Killer's memory.  Thanks.  JR

St. Louis wrestling fans got to "play two" Sunday night with a doubleheader that included the taping of Monday Night Raw for Labor Day airing and this Friday night's Smackdown. Some random thoughts about wrestling doubleheaders...

I guess at this age... when we reflect upon those we 'knew'... or that 'impacted our lives'... and 'their passing'... it is a time of thought and of the mystery of life...

I believe in a Sovereign Lord... so I do NOT believe in 'random events'... I believe 'everything has purpose and meaning'... whether or not I understand it...

And I've seen people 'who come into my life' for a 'moment'... and those who have come in for 'a while'... and those too who have 'remained close'...

Greetings from college football crazed Oklahoma, from your BBQ selling, SmackDown talking, Unforgiven prepping, resident Okie – who is ready for Friday Night SmackDown – and for the kickoff of the college football season in Norman Saturday night.

Random thoughts from hither and yon….

Friday Night SmackDown arguably offers the best in-ring wrestling of the week on WWE TV, headlined by a Champion vs. Champion bout between WWE Kingpin Triple H and United States Champion Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin has shown flashes of brilliance in recent weeks and it will be exciting to see him pair up with The Game in a WWE Championship Scramble preview. No one in the WWE is more athletic than Benjamin, and I mean no one, which has been serving Shelton well in recent weeks.

I have said many times that Triple H reminds me of WWE Hall Of Famer Harley Race. Interfacing the physical with the mental part of the game was one of Race’s greatest traits, in addition to being able to recuperate faster than most athletes from injuries. Triple H has demonstrated many of those same qualities over his illustrious career. The 12-time WWE Champion may be an underdog at Unforgiven, but what reigning champion isn’t in those unpredictable Scrambles?

We announcers have driven that point home relentlessly, haven’t we?

Great to visit with John Cena Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, just a few hours after his surgery. As you know from reading WWE.com, Cena’s surgery was successful and John “might” be back in action down the road.

Sources close to the MMA world indicate that a November fight between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture could be finalized as early as Tuesday of next week. If a deal can be reached, the fight would likely take place in Portland's Rose Garden.  Sources also say that in a perfect world that the legendary Couture would like to have three more fights before he retires and those fights would all be for the UFC. Lesnar vs. Couture would be an extremely intriguing match up if contracts can be worked out.  One would assume that getting a deal done quickly after the Labor Day holiday would allow both fighters to officially begin their preparation within a few days.  It will also be interesting to see where the betting line starts and ends for this one if it does happen.  This match blows away the previously discussed Lesnar-Kongo fight and should do huge business on PPV.  

I received an email this morning from long time wrestling fan Diane Devine who was informed that Killer Kowalski passed away early Saturday morning around 2:15 a.m. Killer has been in a coma for quite some time after suffering a heart attack and other ailments that severely affected his brain function. Until mid week, amazingly Walter's vital signs were strong even though the doctor's had discovered the severe brain damage.