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

As John Wayne used to say, “let’s stop burning daylight” and answer some more comments…

Jeremy- Abdullah the Butcher owns “Abdullah’s House of Ribs and Chinese Food” in Atlanta and has been successfully operating it for quite some time. Abby is a very astute businessman who perfected what he did in the ring over time and was one of the more marketable wrestlers on a global basis of his era. I never knew Bad News Brown well enough to offer you an opinion, but when I did meet him on occasion he was a quiet guy, but you knew he was legit tough.

Sanghei- You may hope Khali wins the WWE Title some day, but I would surmise, going out on a limb here, that you are in the minority. Nonetheless, stranger things have happened over the years.

Michael- Having Wrestlemania originate from 3 different locales is possible, but not likely to ever occur again in my view. The event has grown to the level that it makes sense to headquarter in one city with all the activities that are planned, etc. I like having the event in one spot personally.

Dennis- I loved the Edge vs. Orton Match from Raw. I thought it rivaled the Cena vs. HBK match from London, which is probably the best match of the year so far on Raw in my opinion. Orton and Edge have great chemistry, either as partners or foes.

WCW Fan- I never felt that I “go out of my way to trash WCW,” as you suggest. I had a great run in Atlanta and have stated on numerous occasions that those were some of the best days of my career. Any negative feeling I may have about my tenure at WCW, and they are essentially non exist ant nowadays, would have been how I was treated at the end of my tenure there, but I got over that years ago. However, obviously I know not of which I speak, as you are clearly a mind reader on a completely different intellectual plane than am I. Finally, I haven’t drank any of Mr. McMahon’s Kool Aid lately, but I prefer grape when I do.

Sign Guy- The one territory I wish I could have worked in, that I did not, would have to be Florida. The weather, the deep talent roster, working with the brilliant Eddie Graham and learning from Gordon Solie would have been a great experience.

Andre- We are working on some new t-shirt designs and will have them on the site soon. We are always open for suggestions as to what slogans or sayings anyone feels is marketable. I am not sure what my favorite WWE DVD is, but I have really enjoyed several including releases on Pillman, Rhodes, Flair, Horsemen, and the AWA that I can name off the top of my head. My thoughts on Don Imus are that he stepped over the line, but CBS knew what Imus was famous for when they hired him. Now expect a newsworthy legal battle between Imus and CBS over the $40M that Imus says he is owed. Bottom line is that Imus made a mistake, but one could make an argument that the punishment didn’t fit the crime. What is the correct penalty for bad taste? The Rutgers Ladies Basketball Team did not deserve this corporate slap in the face.

Steve- I am not familiar with Davey Richards so I cannot address whether he is too small for the WWE or not. The global success of Rey Mysterio makes me think that talent and charisma are much more important than size to most fans.

Nick- a 3-hour Pay-Per-View is usually set for around 2 hours and 50 minutes or thereabouts. I think satellite transmission time usually goes away at the 3 hour mark, so one would certainly want to be under that length of time.

Sean- When I commented on the third National Promotion question earlier in the week I was not singling out ROH, as I did not know at the time of their business plans. My opinion doesn’t change nonetheless. This is not me lashing out at ROH, but only providing info on how I feel about the question. The cost of doing business these days is steep and it will be interesting to see if the die-hard fans will support ROH’s efforts over the long haul while ROH attempt to become more established in a “new arena”. I wish them the best of luck.

Wes- If Randy Moss still has a strong set of physical skills and can still run as some say he can, then the Pats have made a steal. I have no worries that Moss will disrupt the New England locker room. Belachik and company will not allow it, plus this is Moss’ shot at a Super Bowl ring. Perhaps his last shot.

Vitaliy- It was Mr. McMahon who suggested that I wear the black hat on a weekly basis. It has become somewhat of a trademark for me.

Mile High Mark- Glad you are enjoying the jerky! We are having great success selling it and the repeat orders are amazing. Piper vs. Buzz Sawyer was some brutal stuff between two big time players. Sawyer died way too early and was one of the most intense wrestlers I ever knew. Perhaps too intense at times. Nonetheless, Piper and Sawyer meshed really well culminating in the Dog Collar match. Piper also had a memorable Dog Collar match with Greg Valentine.

Ken- There is absolutely zero wrong with being a proud Canadian. Why shouldn’t you be proud of your country? I think the Benoit issue is somewhat overblown, as I have personally said many times that Chris was born in Montreal, raised in Edmonton and currently lives in Atlanta, which is all true. Chris is proud of his heritage, I can assure you. I am looking forward to Raw in Toronto coming up at the end of May. The ACC always rocks. Plus, I might get to see Trish Stratus while I am in town!

Cory- Indianapolis wrestling history? That’s easy. Among many stars, two names stand out when it comes to Indy… Dick The Bruiser and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.

Rickie- I heard about flyers being handed out in Nashville, but did not see it first hand as I was a little pre-occupied at ringside between 8 and 10 or so Monday night. Rickie, may I suggest to you that it’s a little early for anyone to start worrying about rainy weather for next March in Orlando? Somehow I sense that you are praying for rain on that eventful day for some perverse reason.

James- Wrestling villains like Blassie and The Original Sheik were special to begin with, and they were in their prime in an entirely different time in our society. Heroes were clearly defined in those days, as were villains. That line seems to have blurred in recent years, which is a sign of the defiant young male demo that we see at wrestling events and other sporting events on a regular basis. Years ago, few fans were brave enough to openly cheer for a wrestling villain or to boo the hero. Times have changed, as has society’s views on who or what is “good” and who or what is “bad”.

Eric- I have never watched a complete episode of Wrestling Society X. I don’t have an opinion of this group and could not even tell you if they are still around. Independent wrestlers taking too many risks isn’t killing the business. Wrestlers taking unnecessary risks only hurt themselves and shorten their careers. I don’t think the business is on it’s “death bed” whatsoever.

Jaime- I would suggest that the World Title featured on Smackdown shares lineage back to the WCW Title. The WCW Title had lineage to the old NWA Title that men like Thesz, Brisco, Funk, Race, Flair and Rhodes held once upon a time.

Rich- Will Paul Heyman return to ECW? I would take the “under” on that one and say probably not. Of course Heyman could show up Tuesday night on the Sci-Fi Network for all I know. However, my educated guess would be a no.

Sigh- I don’t think old J.R. is General Manager material to be honest with you. I really like what I am doing right now and hope to continue for some time to come.

Rob- I was never around the Young Stallions back then, so I don’t know if, or why they personally did not get along. Usually when two partners don’t co-exist, it is because of ego issues, jealousy, etc. Obviously, if this rumor is true, perhaps Roma and Powers simply did not want to be in this team or perhaps any team at that point in time.

Mike- the routing of WWE events is one of the toughest jobs in the company, almost a damned if you do and damned you don’t scenario. I assure you I remember the `97 PPV in Calgary during the Stampede as being one of the most emotional nights I can ever remember being a part of. Geography has much to do with the scheduling, as the WWE has one TV Production truck and it has to be able to get from the Raw city to the Smackdown/ECW city safely and efficiently. These days also have to route with the previous week’s cities and the following week’s cities.

Bill- You heard a web rumor that J.R. was becoming the voice-over person for Skittles did you? I can only say, I wish. I would love that opportunity, but unfortunately this is another web rumor that is completely unfounded—which I know some may find hard to believe.

Chuck- Thanks for the Minneapolis Bar-B-Q suggestion. Enjoy AD and linebacker Rufus Alexander, who may be one of the sleeper picks of the NFL draft. There will be some “purple and gold” in our Bar-B-Q Restaurant come mid-June.

Meshani- There is some really good stuff in the WCW library that the WWE owns and I would be shocked if major events like Starrcade and The Great American Bash were not featured in DVD collections in some form before it is all said and done. I would personally like to see a box set of the Clash of Champions events. Lots of good memories living in Atlanta for me, working out of CNN Center, broadcasting Falcon football, doing my Sunday night radio show at AM750 WSB and getting the opportunity to anchor the TBS Saturday Night wrestling broadcast, including being the color commentator for the first Clash.

Katie- The referees in wrestling don’t get the credit they deserve for the job they do. This role is tremendously underrated and under appreciated. Tommy Young is one of the all-time greats and is considered by many wrestlers as the best referee of his generation. Some of my best on-the-job training came when I was a ref in the 70’s.

Brad- Your “business/marketing plan” for J.R.’s Beef Jerky is….. different to say the least, but entertaining nonetheless. We are the little guy who is just trying to get in the game, but things are coming along well and as we all know, competition is good in all arenas.

Chris- Glad you got to meet the King in Newburgh, New York last week. He told me he had a great time up there and then went on to describe the outlet mall he must have spent hours at, which is his M.O. My broadcast partner is a professional shopper and loves sampling new malls especially tricked out, outlet malls. Jerry still loves to wrestle and seems to not have any plans on slowing down on his in-ring activities, which he does as his schedule permits. I would personally love to see King get the opportunity to wrestle at a Wrestlemania before he calls it quits.

Don’t forget to stop by the store and look around. Our autographed Cap and Jerky offer is blowing out the door and I am signing more caps today.

Thanks to all of you for your business and for telling a friend about our site.

J.R.