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

Heading to California, where I was born January 3, 1952 in Ft. Bragg, for Sunday's One Night Stand in San Diego and then a nice little 200+ mile drive up to Bakersfield for Monday Night Raw. The King and I are Road Warriors, not of the Hawk and Animal variety, but enjoy traveling together and often times drive for miles without talking about wrestling but when we do we generally "re-book the territory". :)

It will be interesting to see what bout closes the show on Sunday Night but my vote would be for it to be the TLC Match for the World's Title between Edge and, if he doesn't win it he leaves, The Undertaker. These extreme rules PPVs are challenging to broadcast because if everyone doesn't pay attention there is the opportunity to duplication in some bouts which is always something one attempts to avoid.

I am anxious to see what changes are initiated on Monday Night Raw this week as it seems that several changes are rumored to be on their way. Last Monday's lackluster TV rating for Monday Night Raw would certainly be reason enough to move these changes along as no one could ever be content with a 2.9 national cable rating. Personally, I am for longer match times and to see if some of the younger, talented individuals who have been developing, some for quite some time, can add to the mix and provide a "fresh feel" to the presentation. The announcers are talking less, which I have zero issues with quite honestly as it is television and not radio, but one could also make a case that the televised, talking segments could be more succinct as well. One man's opinion.

It's time to "reshuffle" the deck as the old wrestling expression goes and attempt to create new stars involved in new issues which might give cause for "business picking up".

As we reported here several weeks ago, it looks as if Bobby Lashley has pulled the trigger on the start of what might become a successful MMA career by apparently signing with the American Fight League. Hopefully Lashley did not sign an exclusive, can develop a body of work by the most obvious way available, win just win, and then be romanced by the big boys IE the UFC. Unless I have missed something observing Lashley while he was in the WWE, Bobby has all the skills it would seem to potentially become a factor in the MMA world but I also do not know what sort of "striker" he will be which seems to be an obvious key component in MMA. Lashley is a great natural athlete nonetheless and I wish him well.

Brock Lesnar finds himself in a challenging predicament on August 9 in his home town of Minneapolis in UFC 87 against tough Heath Herring who is a talented athlete. Is Lesnar in a "must win" situation already in only his second UFC fight in prime time (PPV)? Many insiders say yes and when the chips are down and Lesnar is somewhat "cornered" he can be an animal which is a necessary ingredient for success in MMA. Having the "home field" advantage can be a blessing or a curse as every family member, friend, cousin, etc wants tickets and can cause a huge distraction. Trust me on this one as I have had more requests for free tickets to the June 30 RAW in OKC than I could ever fulfil. I've always wondered why people who claim to be your pals wouldn't want to simply buy a ticket to your event to support the cause. I don't get free tickets to OU Football and would be embarrassed to ask.

The Ted DiBiase book that we reviewed here a few days ago is out on June 10. If you missed our review, you can still read it in the archived section of the site. I suggest you check out this 241 page, easy but informative read which focuses on Ted's wrestling career and not that much on his Christianity. What do you think the next step for young Ted Dibiase will be who, BTW, looks like a young Bob Orton to me?

Seems like a natural move for the NWA to add Ric Flair to the list of those being inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame. Flair will be inducted by Jim Cornette which will no doubt be entertaining and informative as it relates to JC's personal interactions with "Naitch". This event in Atlanta is next Saturday and from what I understand "plenty" of seats are still available.

Congrats to Chris Bell for his diligence in getting his film, "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" produced and in some theatres. I predict this film will do really well on DVD and it has one definite customer in yours truly. I despise the fact that athletes abuse their bodies by still using steroids and HGH and pray for the day that a conclusive drug test for HGH is developed, preferably thru urinalysis. Every sports and entertainment entity will always have its cheaters but closing all the perceived "loopholes" and getting as "healthy" a roster, no matter the team or company" should be the major goal for all that can affect this matter. One of the things that attracts me to MMA is the utilization of smaller albeit highly skilled athletes. The days of sports entertainers having to be "bigger than life" are history in my view. "Bigger than life" personalities and "bigger than life" skill sets however are still necessary ingredients for success.

I am told that our new look website will be up and "live" by Tuesday. That's my story and we are sticking to it. Enjoy the weekend and I will be anxious to blog again when I return Tuesday from this road trip. I hope I have some exciting things on which to comment.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.