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

These are some odds and ends from some of the comments we have received over the past week or so.

Firstly, I appreciate being corrected on the Final Four prediction as I did my Final Four guess cold turkey and picked two teams in the same bracket. My bad. I guess I am more interested in the Women’s Tournament where the Oklahoma woman have a chance to do pretty well if they can survive the Dayton bracket which is loaded. The OU women are strong. For the men, I have seen Kansas and Texas play in person and they are really good at both ends of the floor and Kevin Durant of UT is a freak and is NBA bound one has to think and I mean this year. Durant reminds me of LeBron James as a teenager. Texas A&M is a good team and well coached, too. UCLA and North Carolina will be around until the end too. Or maybe not.

It is hard to believe how much beef jerky we are selling! I kid you not, our 4 flavors of jerky are selling like hot cakes and I can honestly say this jerky is moist and tender – and not dry and tough. We use only certain cuts of beef to insure the quality of our Jerky which is a great, healthy snack. I hope you will get an assortment of our newest product and give it a try.

Rock vs. Hogan 3? Highly, Highly Unlikely.

Larry Matysik and Barbara Goodish have apparently finished with their book that I participated in about the late Bruiser Brody aka Frank Goodish. I am anxious to read the completed product as the excerpts I have been privy to are really good. Frank, or Bruiser, was a complex man in many ways but I had a great report with him from the day he came to the Mid South territory his first year in the business. The fact that his alleged murder went unpunished is O.J.-like. Another person, Emerson Murray, has also written a Brody book, but I am not familiar with that particular body of work. If Bruiser Brody was in his prime today he would be earning a fortune in the WWE.

Our Canadian readers frequently ask about the status of Harry Smith and Nattie Neidhart. As far as I know they are training and getting ready to hopefully get the phone call from the WWE they are awaiting. I see no rush. More young talents are called up too soon in my opinion, than not, and the longer an athlete can prepare for the big time the better. Anyone showing up on a major TV program with less than 2-3 years experience in a comprehensive training environment is either a rare natural or they have been picked too green. Plus, I am not sold that re-forming a new-era Hart Foundation is the way to go, but I do know that the Hart kids are really talented and will no doubt make their marks on the business if they so choose.

Crafty Mr. Fuji, who lives near Knoxville, Tennessee, will no doubt pull a major practical joke on someone at Wrestlemania. Fuji Vice will have Don Muraco as his presenter, unless something changes. Muraco is a great story teller too and was one helluva hand in his day and is already a WWE Hall of Famer. Muraco lives in paradise… Hawaii. I wonder if The Magnificent Muraco knows Dog the Bounty Hunter who “might” have the same hair dresser as Freebird Michael “P.S.” Hayes.

Yes…Ohio State has a great mens AND womens basketball team and each will or should go far in the NCAA Tournament. Again, my basketball bracket study has been lacking. Between traveling, Monday Night Raw, and building a business, I seem to be staying as busy as a fruit merchant.

Will Monday Night Raw ever be in HD? Absolutely.

I am not as versed on where to recommend you out-of-towners eat while in Detroit. Perhaps some one from the Motor City can provide that info. I have had some great food in Greektown though. Can any one help us?

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake at Wrestlemania? I guess it “could” happen, but I would suggest a Gorilla Monsoon line here as in “will you stop?!”

Wrestlemania 24 in Vegas? That’s an interesting rumor, but that’s all it is from what I know. I will however be happy to volunteer to do onsite marketing research of Vegas if asked. I love going to Vegas I assure you.

“Hardcore Diaries” by Mick Foley is at #7 on the NY Times Best Seller list, so it seems as if Mick has done it again. I think if you liked Mick’s other wrestling themed books you will like “Hardcore Diaries”. I definitely would recommend it.

Does the above info beg the question, “will Mick Foley return to the ring?” My guess would be, “definitely”, but not full time. I can’t believe Mick has never done a sweat pant commercial or a roller coaster commercial, by the way. I feel that Foley fans may see more of Mick over the next several weeks in conjunction with his book promotion. Remember, a signed book is a sold book.

Again, I have never heard of a life time contract with the WWE and I know Gorilla Monsoon went thru a contract negotiation while we were there together and it wasn’t for life. Does anyone deserve a life time deal any where? Perhaps. However, it would have to be a very special person who still enjoys the business and fans and who puts the business first. Those qualities alone make for a short list of candidates.

I have been collecting wrestling memorabilia for a long, long time. A pair of autographed boots worn by Steve Austin when he won his first WWE Title are at the top of the heap. These and other priceless collectables, they are priceless to me, will be on display at our Bar-B-Q eatery when it opens in Norman, Oklahoma in the middle of May (fingers crossed). We will probably have some John Wayne and Mickey Mantle items in there too, plus tons of things from my 30 plus years in the wrestling business.

What is D’Lo Brown’s status. Well…. he’s about 6’2”, a CPA, a former Maine Blackbear, a Libra, a talented athlete, wrestling in the independents and is happy and well as best I have heard. Seriously, D’Lo is a good human being which is infinitely more important than being a good wrestler. He’s that too.

Manuel…take it easy amigo…I will definitely try Argentinean beef some day. I am sure it is WONDERFUL and promise to try it soon. Here in Oklahoma we eat Oklahoma beef and Nebraska corn fed beef which aren’t bad either my friend. Especially if you use our Chipotle Ketchup like a steak sauce.

I am told that HHH’s rehab is going really well. HHH will work as hard as humanly possible to heal as quickly as Mother Nature will allow. I expect to see HHH back on Raw in late Summer or early Fall. He’s a tough guy to endure this rehab procedure not once but twice. The WWE will be in the UK and Italy among other countries, in April, as in next month. The April 16 Raw is scheduled to emanate from Milan, Italy and the April 23 Raw will come to the world from London. That’s some serious miles when one starts his journey in Oklahoma and following Wrestlemania.

Someone mentioned having our sauce come in plastic bottles to reduce the shipping costs and we have discussed that. Our bottler isn’t prepared at this time to go from glass to plastic, plus experts tell us that the product tastes much better when stored in glass. This Bar-B-Q venture is an ever growing process and we will continue to work hard to make all we sell better for every customer who shops with us. Our tasting parties have been going great as we are cooking every item on the menu several times to make sure it is all good to go.

Are tag teams getting the shaft in the WWE? Not from where I am sitting. How many great tag teams are there in the WWE? There are a few but I mean the established ones that have been together long enough to be a well oiled machine? I would suggest not enough however if some of the established teams stay together then I think the tag team competition in the WWE will only get better. If quality depth is an issue in singles wrestling it damn sure is in the tag team area.

I have done a fair amount of media interviews about the recent passing of my friend, football and wrestling legend Ernie “the Big Cat” Ladd. Ernie used to say on promos after beating a fan favorite, usually by cheating, such as JYD, “It is a fool who looks upon the skills of a wise man and calls it luck.” That’s classic Ladd. I have to use that one some day as a tribute to my domino playing friend.

Finally, I have never heard anyone stupid enough to cross the Undertaker behind closed doors or in a bar or in a parking lot….you get the picture. Interesting question I suppose. The Undertaker is “The Man” in the WWE as it relates to seniority and locker room respect. Every good thing someone could say about Taker is well deserved. Using a Ladd-ism, “The Undertaker wears a size 17 shoe and his feet covers the ground he walks on.”

I am looking forward to my stint at MIT next week. Sam Ford has prepared me well and I am ready to be around some bright young people who have been studying our business this semester. If you are around Cambridge, Mass next week I will be the guy with the Oklahoma drawl wearing, most likely, the only black, Resistol hat on MIT’s campus.

Remember…. the word of the day is Beef Jerky. OK, that’s two words, but you get the drift.

Be well. Check back with us soon.

J.R.