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

For some reason, I assume it was the way I was raised, every time I travel to Washington D.C. and see the White House, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc, it just makes me feel good about being a citizen of the USA. There is just too much wonderful history in our nation’s capitol to leave D.C. without feeling positive. That’s not an indictment on other countries whatsoever, as I am sure when folks from other lands visit their country’s capitols they probably feel the same way.

I saw the Cold Pizza show on ESPN, which I watch most mornings, and their coverage of the Battle of the Billionaires was done, as usual, tongue-in-cheek, so as to make sure their audience of “hard core” sports fans will not mistake the on air personalities as being “wrestling fans”. Of course, the ESPN on-air personalities are opinionated, speak in sound bytes, attempt to have the most controversial statement on a given show and that is o.k. for their hip, edgy programming. For the record that’s what wrestling personalities have been doing for decades and long before cable. But wrestling is show biz and ESPN are legit sports or so they want you to believe. They are entertainment, perhaps in their own way “sports/entertainment” because if their cute repartee isn’t entertaining, the hosts are gone. Days of straight forward sports casting are dead and buried. I can assure you from personal experience that many of the ESPN staffers are HUGE WWE fans and, in confidence of course, several of the ESPN on air “stars” are all fully aware of the WWE and the WWE’s global success because they all live and die with the ratings and the Monday Night Raw cable ratings by and large kick any thing ESPN does with the exception of an occasional “Special” or a big time NFL game. I am a fan of ESPN and watch their programming a great deal, but if Monday Night Raw went into a ratings dumpster like many of the ESPN shows, i.e. SportsCenter, get on a regular basis there would be MAJOR changes to the look of Raw starting, perhaps, with yours truly. I would surmise that should come as no surprise to any one who has followed the product over the past few years. Being young and being perceived as “hip” is a fact of life in the TV business and the WWE is no different than any other producer of television. It’s just sad that some ESPN on air personalities are so fragile and these individuals are so insecure that they have to place tongue in cheek when making any reference to the WWE or the business in general unless it is a tragedy. Then it is o.k. to lay it on thick because bad news or scandals are what draw ratings. On an airplane I once sat next to the former head of ESPN, whose name escapes me, who left them to go to work with Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, and he was one of the most conceited and arrogant individuals I can remember meeting. A non jock that probably got hell from his athletic friends as a kid and evolved into a first class jackass as an adult. This “I’m better than you” attitude is sad for any one to have. Of course I reminded him that Monday Night Raw on cable earned about 4 times the rating his beloved “SportsCenter” earns in multiple airings. He did not take that well. Tough. I hope he has gotten over it.

TB- The Rock has no contract with the WWE as far as I know. I would expect to see “The Great One” again make an appearance on Raw in the future but that is only my opinion. I don’t hold out the same hope for Rock to wrestle again but I wouldn’t either if I were him. Making movies pays well and the chance of serious injuries is significantly lessened. I thought the Rock’s taped promo was one of the many highlights on Raw Monday night.

James- Will Christian ever return to the WWE? Most likely as he did not burn any bridges when he left and he is a talented performer. I recruited Christian and have a great deal of respect for his passion and love of the business. Plus, he is a great guy. Never say never and I hope to call more of his WWE matches.

Eric- I was not a huge fan of the Tower of Doom. It was not horrible mind you but not my cup of tea. I am a fan of War Games and hope to see it utilized again some day.

Ryan- Being in the Navy, thanks by the way, is going to make it a little more challenging to get wrestling training. Nonetheless, the school I might encourage you to check out is in Ocala, Florida and is run by a legend, Dory Funk, Jr.

Matt- When I watch Raw back on Tuesday when I arrive back in Norman I listen to see if I talked in sound bytes, what I missed as it relates to the story telling of the match, if I talked when I should have not, if we documented the transitions with each match, and if we displayed natural emotions and not some contrived hype that sounds like a carnival barker upon further review. I am harder on myself than any one else I have ever worked with in my career and I have worked for some pretty demanded men, I assure you.

Andy- The WWE core business is really strong and growing on a global basis. What needs addressing is the signing and training of “tomorrow’s stars” which will be priority # 1 in my eyes for years and years to come. This process is being done but it needs constant review and constant improvements.

Bob- We are not planning on making a pizza sauce but we will have Bar-B-Q Pizza on our menu. We have had several castings over the past several weeks and the Bar-B-Q Pizzas have been a HUGE hit. We use our original Bar-B-Q Sauce which is sweet instead of marinara for one of the best “pies” I have ever tasted.

On a side note, our beef jerky is selling great and we received several orders over night last night. I promise you our beef jerky is healthy, not dry, and we have 4 flavors of which you should mix and match and try them all to determine which one or which one’s are your favorites. We ship them in minimum ships of 6 packs of jerky.

Kris- I don’t know who officially will close Wrestlemania 23 but if I were calling the shots, and I am not, I would suggest it be Undertaker vs. Batista.

Jay- I am not involved in the scheduling of arenas or the routing of live events or TV events. I know the Canadian fans are loud and proud and not “too out spoken” so I would suggest that the scheduling is a simple matter of multiple arenas being available during the same time frame so the TV trucks can get from locale to locale efficiently and safely. Some of the most fun I have had in the business has been in Canada but we won’t get into the details of those moments at this point in time. There is no conspiracy I assure you but many wrestling fans and wrestling media love a nice conspiracy much more than simple facts.

Arice- HBK may not be athletically better today than he was when he was younger in the 90’s and prior to his back issues. However, I will honestly tell you I think Shawn is a much smarter wrestler today and therefore that makes him more effective, in my mind’s eye, than he was a decade ago. Can HBK win the WWE Title at Wrestlemania? Without a doubt and I am sure John Cena would agree. This is going to be a super match as HBK has this habit of taking pleasure in “stealing the show” and I feel this might be John Cena’s signature match thus far in his career. The question is can these two co-exist between now and April 1 and for that I have no answer. Their relationship could be blown to hell this Monday in Indianapolis for all I know.

Bill- Yes, I follow other sports in addition to being a football fanatic including March Madness, the NBA playoffs, Major League baseball when it gets past the All Star break, and Poker (is that a sport?) I am not a fan of the NHL simply because I need someone to help me with the rules. I don’t even know what “icing” is. I also follow some of the mixed martial arts stuff out there and some boxing contests.

Next week is when I will be in Cambridge Massachusetts to teach/lecture two days at M.I.T. which I am really jacked about. This is a wonderful opportunity to interact with some very bright and motivated young people and talk about the history of our business which I love doing. Who would have thought an Okie from the hills of eastern Oklahoma who started his career in wrestling below the ring crew level, and yes I worked on the ring crew, too, would some day be talking “wrestling” at one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the entire world. I can just see my late Dad who was more like a John Wayne like character than not, rolling his eyes at his only child being asked to “talk about wrestling” because I have been doing it all my life. I used to use my toy Army men as wrestlers back in the early 60’s and built a wrestling ring by driving 4 nails into a board and then using twine as the ropes. This was LONG before action figures were even an after thought.

My best wishes to Regis Philbin who is going to undergo heart bypass surgery this week. Regis has been a great friend of the business since the heyday of Classy Freddy Blassie and was wonderful to me and my wife Jan when we did a cooking segment on “Live with Regis and Kelly” a few years back.

I hope you try the Jerky and I am so thrilled that our sauces are selling like crazy with many repeat orders. If you haven’t tried them, you just don’t know what you are missing.

WE will have more this week so please check back early and often. I’m headed to OU football practice where the Sooners are scrimmaging today. Football season never ends in Norman, Oklahoma.

Boomer Sooner and eat more Bar-B-Q!
J.R.