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

Thanks for stopping by. I spent a great deal of time here on WWE.com this morning which stimulated me, no jokes please, to jot down 10 thoughts and observations. more »

Just as Dorothy said in the “Waffle House Movie” or was it The Wizard of Oz, there is no place like home. Enough already of coughing people, crying babies, anti-deodorites all contained in a flying cylinder known as an airplane for multiple hours. Nonetheless, travel issues aside, I am happy that WWE has had such success in their autumn, European tour and the live audience that many of you will see on Friday Night SmackDown will illustrate why so many of us enjoy traveling to the England in particular.

The “Angriest Announcer in the World,” my partner Tazz, actually landed in Manchester on Sunday so he was there an extra day and many of us barely left the hotel in downtown Manchester, the Marriott Renaissance. Tazz was in rare form when I first saw him on Monday as he was enjoying a “pint” and eating, of all things, hummus. I don’t even like bean dip so hummus is definitely out. The only salvation in keeping Tazz from beating up on the housekeeping department in our hotel is that on Sunday overnight, one TV channel played a plethora of NFL games one right after the other until something like 6 a.m. more »

Tazz and I arrived at the Manchester Evening News Arena about 3 pm Tuesday for a 7:30 pm start for the taping of two episodes of Smackdown.

The crowd was on fire for the 1st show, without question.

We had to have both shows finished by 11 pm which put everything at a breakneck pace.

Lots of the second show will be done in post production. more »

Here we are in Manchester where it is rainy and cool.
That’s a revelation, right?

Random thoughts....

Tazz has been here since Sunday and he’s not happy especially after missing the big Jets win on Sunday.

Tazz likes humas. Who would have “thunk” it? more »

Editor's Note: Here's Jim's weekly pre-game blog. Jim Ross of course is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, owner of J.R.’s Family BBQ, but a life long Sooner fan who has written three best selling books and has appeared weekly on national TV for over 25 years.

A road game in the Big 12 Conference, to quote the Eagles, does not give me a “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, especially at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas in the Texas A&M Aggies last home game of 2008. more »

Well boys and girls, I just made my first full-fledged road trip with my new partner, the Angriest Man in the World, Tazz, as we drove together from Tampa Tuesday morning to Orlando for the WWE’s flagship network broadcast Friday Night SmackDown.

Here are 10 things I learned on this particular road trip about my new partner: more »

Got word to be in Tampa late last week. Nice surprise. Good to be a part of the celebration.

Lots of announcer speculation re: moving brands, etc but that would be news to me. Wrestling, like many entities, can be over analyzed. In my view the WWE has bigger fish to fry (creating new stars) than playing musical chairs with the announcers..

But at the end of the day only one man knows for sure what he wants for his company. more »

It’s not the “Game of the Century” but make no mistake about it the Oklahoma-Nebraska game in Norman Saturday night is extremely important because it’s the “next game” and, for the Sooners, winning the “next game” is imperative to be able to continue to travel the rocky roads to the Promised Land.

Can OU still contend for a National Title this season? Of course they can but it’s an obviously huge challenge and a long shot. But so were the Tampa Bay Rays making it to the World Series.
Bottom line is…..win the “next game.” more »

I enjoyed Monday Night Raw watching it from my hotel room in San Diego. It was a solid show with a nice balance of wrestling and entertainment.

The Cena feature was first class. Loved it. Cena’s return in his hometown of Boston at the sold out Survivor Series will be impactful.

Young men like DiBiase, Rhodes, Punk, Kofi, and Manu represent a potentially viable part of the WWE’s future. Who will step to the head of the class. Who will not make the Dean’s list? more »

J.R. has been busy answering your questions. Be sure and check out his latest responses in our Q&A section.