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

Thanks for checking out our site here on another busy week. Business is booming at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q in Norman, Oklahoma as we had one of our biggest weeks to date last week. This week we were on a “wait” Monday for lunch and dinner, which is pretty amazing for so early in the week.

As I mentioned on the last blog I wrote, our autographed cookbooks are selling hot and heavy and we are shipping them out essentially within hours of receiving your order. We think that they will make great gift ideas for the holidays and hope that you do too.

Tough trip out to Boulder, Colorado last week after the WWE 24/7 taping, which was a blast by the way, as I arrived in Denver on Friday afternoon to prepare to drive to Boulder Saturday for the Sooners vs. the Buffalos. CU outplayed OU and won an exciting game on a last second field goal as many of you may have seen on TV. My hat is off to the Buffs for playing such an inspirational game.

This Saturday is the annual Red River Shootout between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at the historic Cotton Bowl. I am excited about making the short trip down to Dallas later this week and attending the big game on Saturday afternoon on ABC. This is one of the most storied rivalries in college athletics and is a proverbial “must win” for both teams as it relates to the national championship of college football. For those that have asked, we are not taking our Bar-B-Q trailer to Dallas this year, but are already looking into the possibility of doing so next year at the Texas State Fair. I have attended many, big time sporting events, but none overshadow the OU-Texas game. The Sooners need to step up this week and regain their swagger and rhythm and stop a two year skid against their burnt orange arch rivals.

I was saddened to hear of John Cena’s torn pec injury after the news came out Tuesday from Dr. James Andrews office in Birmingham, Alabama. John is one of the hardest working WWE superstars I have ever had the privilege of working with over my many years with the company. Yeah, I know some of you are not Cena fans, but no one who pays attention or knows what is really going on can ever fault John Cena’s passion for the business or his work ethic. Those are two traits of the many that I really covet in a wrestler and more importantly in a human being. If one doesn’t enjoy Cena’s wrestling style or persona, that’s cool, but no one should celebrate this injury, or anyone’s injury for that matter, simply because one wants to see someone else wear the WWE Title. Bottom line here is that some one new will wear the WWE title come this Sunday’s No Mercy PPV from the sold out All State Arena in Chicago.

If you are in our neck of the woods you can enjoy No Mercy at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q in Norman on Sunday night. Yours truly will be flying into Chicago early Sunday morning from Dallas after attending the aforementioned OU-Texas football game on Saturday and, HOPEFULLY, celebrating a Sooner Big 12 South victory Saturday night with family and friends.

Nice seeing our friends Travis Hafner, designated hitter and #48 of the Cleveland Indians, and Phil Savage, General Manager of the Cleveland Browns Monday night at the “Q” in Cleveland for Raw. I will be following the King’s beloved Indians during the MLB playoffs as I am a Hafner fan, who is also a big OU football fan. Phil, a native of Alabama, was a big Austin Idol fan when Phil was a young man and has been a fan of wrestling for years. At least now I can most likely score some Browns’ tickets in the future even though King is well connected in Cleveland, to say the least. Speaking of the King, we enjoyed participating as guest of the Cleveland Indians Monday afternoon at the big pep rally they had next to the baseball stadium, even though it was held in a driving rain.

Here’s some feedback for you:

Nic- More “extreme rules” matches usually equates to more injuries and the WWE certainly can’t afford to endure any more injuries at this time. The occasional hardcore match works for me, but over exposure of such lessens their impact and increases the odds for wrestlers to be hurt and sidelined.

Philip- We may consider another cookbook some day if our Bar-B-Q dreams continue to come true. I hope to have time some day to devote to many writing projects I have milling around in my mind. We are doing some exciting things in our restaurant that I think some day would convert into a fun, useful cookbook.

Thorsten- The White House seems to be a mess as are politics in general. Honesty is a fleeting skill it seems and standing the party line and not putting the citizens first, no matter their party affiliation, is becoming more rare by the day. I don’t know if Ventura would ever be able to fund a presidential campaign, but Lord knows Jesse couldn’t screw things up any more than the pros are already doing. Will it ever happen…highly unlikely, for The Body in the White House.

Murphy- It is fights like Hatton-Mayweather, Jr. that puts the pulse back into boxing for me. I enjoy the heavyweights, but just as in wrestling, I don’t think a boxer has to be a heavyweight to be popular or do make money for the lovely promoters of the world.

Dan in Ireland- After Owen Hart’s accidental death, the other tragedy that comes to mind is Droz’s in ring injury. I was at a Michigan deer hunting lodge with Stone Cold when we got the word about Droz, who was one of the most popular guys in the locker room and a helluva athlete.

Mile High- Thanks for the Treat Williams update. I have no clue how this rumor even started regarding the actor getting into the wrestling biz. The business needs more kick ass athletes and fewer bad actors in my opinion. I enjoyed my visit to Colorado except for the game, but the rest of the journey was super. Perhaps the Sooners will play the Buffs again in the Big 12 Title game??

Barry in Ireland- I think I was referring to calling a Flair-Rock match, if both were in their prime. Nonetheless…good call. I do remember their bout and it was good, but a longer, better build up would have had us all investing in it more emotionally which is the key to success in this business.

Tom W.- The Save Us 22 feature that has been airing on Raw is apparently working because we are getting a ton of feedback on it. It certainly appears that interesting days lie ahead because it wouldn’t be making air if something significant wasn’t planned, right? That’s all I will say on that matter, but I suggest that everyone should stay tuned.

Shannon- I am not the tattoo police and haven’t noticed Taker’s artwork being altered. I need more free time. Also, I don’t feel it is my place to talk about wrestler’s private lives to the extent that many of you have inquired regarding this matter. If you really need that sort of dirt then some of the internet sites will oblige.

Chuck- I have no idea who the “next big thing” is in the WWE developmental areas. I just hope that there is one…or ten.

Kev- One of the most shocking persona turns I have witnessed personally was Dick Murdoch, who was Ted DiBiase’s mentor, turn on Ted on Mid South Wrestling. There was serious angst amongst the fans in the territory and many of them wanted to genuinely see DiBiase maim Murdoch. That was one helluva hot issue, but there have been many, many others. Terry Funk attacking Ric Flair in the late 80’s was heated, but as I said there have been so many it is hard to pin one down as the all time best for me.

Draven- The Ohio Valley Wrestling beginners class is a great place to start one’s journey to become a wrestler and to get noticed by the WWE. Check out www.ovwrestling.com.

Dr. Gonzo from Austria- I am a big fan of more athleticism and physicality in wrestling with a sampling of talk and comedy but that is only a personal opinion and not the cure all I suppose. I can’t tell you why most wrestling shows feature more sizzle than steak, but that seems to be the trend and perhaps some day it will change. Actually, change is inevitable. I don’t recall Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard having too many bad matches, especially on PPV or at a major show. AA and Tully’s PPV bout vs. Sting and Nikita Koloff was damn solid and over exceeded many people’s expectations.

Z.C.- Our future plans are to sell franchises for J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q nationally. To tell you someone will buy a franchise and put a store in Jacksonville, Florida would be impossible for me to do but I will say it is a distinct possibility. Franchises could pop up any where just like any other food chains we are all familiar with around the globe.

Pat- It is hard to compare Matt Hardy and MVP with HHH and The Rock. That really isn’t fair for me to do, but I will say that both HHH and The Rock had star appeal and were driven to become stars and refused to accept any thing less than main event status. Time will tell if Matt and MVP have the same mental drive to become perennial main eventers. Both are physically talented, but how hungry are they at the end of the day? I do hope that both of them make it to the main event at Wrestlemania some day.

Michael- In their prime a Taker vs. Andre match would have been priceless. Andre in his prime was hard to handle for any human and would have to be considered the favorite in the competition. I was not in the WWE in 1992 when Flair and Hulk had their encounters. It sure seems like a missed opportunity to me that more was not made of the long awaited meeting between the two legends. Building anticipation for this match would have certainly been an attractive main event for Wrestlemania.

Dean in Ireland- My favorite movies usually are John Wayne films. As a matter of fact one of my favorites is “The Quiet Man” which was filmed, as I understand it, in Ireland. I like a wide range of films, especially action/adventure and comedies. “Hollywood Nights,” “Porky’s,” “Stripes,” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” are just a few of the movies that pop into my mind.

Peyton- I appreciate the comment and I definitely try and let the criticisms about the business or my own work roll off my back. I refuse to get too upset about the direction of any TV show or if I misspoke on the air or misidentified a hold, etc. My life is measured these days by much more than the wrestling business, but at one time, wrestling was the measure of my life. I still love it, but I love so many other things too that are more important in my world, especially the Mrs. and my kids and my health. Simple philosophy, but it works for me. 10, 20 or even 30 years ago, that statement would not have come out of my mouth, most likely, which is sad to say.

Jimmy- Good suggestion about the T-shirts in size medium. I will pass that along to the merchandise folks at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q. We are working on several new shirt designs, but if any one out there has a suggestion or two please pass them along to us here on the site.

Thanks so much and we will be back with more later in the week.

Please check out our store, especially our red hot, autographed cookbook deals.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.