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

No one will ever accuse me of being a skilled writer nor should they. With that said, let me clarify what I wrote earlier about Starrcade.

Starrcade was created in 1983. Wrestlemania was created in 1985. Now that we have that established allow me to interpret my original message indicating that Starrcade was the NWA’s answer to the WWE’s Wrestlemania. Obviously I did not explain this well. JCP often talked after the 1st ‘Mania that the NWA already had “their Mania” in Starrcade. After the success of the 1st ‘Mania, an increased focused was put on Starrcade to be as big as Wrestlemania. McMahon hit gold with his PPV “big event” concept and Jim Crockett Promotions wanted to follow suit and essentially mortgaged their future to some degree to do so. more »

Just spent most of the day Monday (these 4 a.m. wake up calls are killing me) working on an upcoming Starrcade DVD and hosting the final, top 5 bouts in Starrcade history for WWE 24/7.

I won’t divulge the results of the voting for the top 25 bouts, especially the top 5, but I will say that some major stars are going to be POed, if you will.

After reviewing all the Starrcade cards beginning in ‘83, I must say Crockett’s original idea for Starrcade to be the NWA’s answer to Wrestlemania was on the money. more »

Nice to head back to Norman. Nashville is always a nice place to visit. Good food, Jack’s BBQ, and beverages, Tootsies.

ECW’s Jack Swagger is being coached up by Arn Anderson. Nice. The former OU star couldn’t have a better “tutor.”

ECW is really evolving nicely w/their one hour format.

Friday Night Smackdown featured a couple of strong multi-segment bouts, including Jeff Hardy vs THE Kendrick and an old school bout between HHH and MVP. Plus there was a major upset on the show and an obligatory Tennessee Titans’ QB Vince Young joke or two. more »

I have to admit that I multi tasked Monday night with my TV viewing sharing time between Raw and the Cowboys-Eagles NFL game.

I DVRed Raw and here are some observations:

Jericho-Punk had a really solid opening, cage match. Both men bring something special to the table. Nice chemistry between 2 athletic talents.

Nice to see Santino Marella, an entertaining antagonist, get to sit at the “grown up” table in a key interview segment. more »

Yours truly feels "Unforgiven," "Raw," and like I have been "Smacked Down" after three lovely days of travel from Norman, Okla., to Cleveland to Milwaukee to Chicago and back to Norman. At least I get to hang around the house until I leave for Seattle Friday to attend the Oklahoma vs. Washington college football game Saturday evening that will be televised live on ESPN HD. 

Lots of folks along the beloved, Internet trail have chimed in on the inaugural "Scramble" bouts that WWE launched this past Sunday in Cleveland. Some liked it and a few folks didn't. Personally, I like new things and even though I wouldn't mind seeing an occasional, old school 2-out-of-3 Falls Match on Friday Night SmackDown, I applaud WWE for trying something new and innovative in the Championship Scramble.  more »

Raw was an entertaining broadcast from Ft. Wayne Monday night.  The youth movement continues, which is imperative. Jericho adds a fresh element as the surprising World’s Champ w/ many viable challengers. Manu changed his gear for the better and was put in the spotlight in the 6 man tag. Randy Orton has a curious relationship with DiBiase, Rhodes, and Manu. I’m interested. more »

Sitting in the Cleveland Airport trying to blog on my Blackberry and I hope I don’t “tap.” Unforgiven was an intriguing event...had its moments....gave some talents a chance to perform on the main stage....and it was interesting to see how the 3 Scramble bouts could have their own unique identity.  more »

Editor's Note: Here's the first of Jim's weekly pre-game blogs. 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.

Random thoughts from under the black hat from your resident Sooner fanatic and BBQ aficionado (first obligatory mention of the day) who stayed until the end of last Saturday night’s assault from Mother Nature on Owen Field.Firstly, after a 57-2 victory over an obviously outmanned UTC squad, the one thing I feel compelled to say is that the UTC players never seemed to quit even when they knew their efforts were futile. There is something to be said for any team who doesn’t decide to phone it in after getting beat on like a government mule.  more »

Random thoughts from under the custom-made, black hat from WWE's resident BBQ lovin' Okie, who is Cleveland-bound this Sunday - right after I watch the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners play the talented Cincinnati Bearcats on ABC from the Sooner sideline.

WWE suffered another injury blow to one of its biggest stars when Shawn Michaels tore his triceps Monday night on Raw in an altercation with Chris Jericho and the Michaels-trained Lance Cade. Yours truly communicated with HBK this week and Shawn said he fully intends to "finish what I started," regarding his issue with Jericho. So that tells me that Michaels, even with a bad wing, definitely will fight Jericho this Sunday in Cleveland at Unforgiven. Even with only one good arm, Michaels is still better than most, but I don't like the future Hall of Famer's chances come Sunday. Jericho is too good and too motivated, and we all know the egocentric Jericho couldn't look himself in the mirror if he were to lose to a man with a torn triceps. The pain may be with Michaels, but the pressure to win this match has slapped Jericho right in the face since the doctor's diagnosis was made public late Monday night. more »

Greetings from college football crazed Oklahoma, from your BBQ selling, SmackDown talking, Unforgiven prepping, resident Okie – who is ready for Friday Night SmackDown – and for the kickoff of the college football season in Norman Saturday night.

Random thoughts from hither and yon….

Friday Night SmackDown arguably offers the best in-ring wrestling of the week on WWE TV, headlined by a Champion vs. Champion bout between WWE Kingpin Triple H and United States Champion Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin has shown flashes of brilliance in recent weeks and it will be exciting to see him pair up with The Game in a WWE Championship Scramble preview. No one in the WWE is more athletic than Benjamin, and I mean no one, which has been serving Shelton well in recent weeks.

I have said many times that Triple H reminds me of WWE Hall Of Famer Harley Race. Interfacing the physical with the mental part of the game was one of Race’s greatest traits, in addition to being able to recuperate faster than most athletes from injuries. Triple H has demonstrated many of those same qualities over his illustrious career. The 12-time WWE Champion may be an underdog at Unforgiven, but what reigning champion isn’t in those unpredictable Scrambles?

We announcers have driven that point home relentlessly, haven’t we?

Great to visit with John Cena Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, just a few hours after his surgery. As you know from reading WWE.com, Cena’s surgery was successful and John “might” be back in action down the road. more »