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

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful birthday wishes. Reaching the “double nickle” today is an accomplishment considering the health issues I have been fortunate enough to overcome especially with my colon cancer scare of 2005. That’s why I never take good health for granted and I hope you don’t either. Our health is truly one of the greatest gifts we can have.

I get lots of emails about legend’s matches and I must say that most legends would not want to be put in a position to have to deliver a match that would be considered close to what they were remembered for. Example, I personally would love to see Ric Flair wrestle Ricky Steamboat on a big stage but I don’t know how younger fans would react to the match and if Ric and the Dragon could replicate, even remotely, some of their classics from the 80s. Expectations for this particular match might be unfairly high but again I would pay money to see these two go at it one more time. And no, I have no idea if this match will ever occur except in the imaginations of many of us. I would not want to see these two greats in a match such as the legend’s battle royal at Wrestlemania a few years ago although it was “entertaining”.

I am all for documenting the past as WWE 24/7 does on many of your cable systems. I am an avid viewer of WWE 24/7 and would be even if I were not a WWE employee. I wish more WWE employees would watch this effort and learn our business’ past. I love the classic material and encourage any young person who wants to get in the business or is just getting started in the business to watch as well. Fundamental skills and the art of physical story telling are still as applicable today as ever and some of the industry’s best talents are featured in their prime on WWE 24/7.

I am under the impression that the panel of legends will do more round table discussions in the future. I hope I am a part of it as it was a blast to sit around and tell stories about some of wrestling’s most colorful stars with some colorful personalities.

The K-Fed appearance on RAW got the WWE a ton of outside the box publicity which is a nice bonus especially heading into yet another pay per view. Obviously, the culprit in the Cena loss to K-Fed was Umaga who Cena faces on Sunday in K.C. at New Year’s Revolution. I think K-Fed has the potential to make a viable manager if he chose to focus on the art of being one. Hey, someday K-Fed may need the cash, who knows? Having the gift of being easy to dislike is a true blessing for a wrestling villain.

Travis in Boise, I applaud your Broncos and their season. I plan on watching the game today from start to finish. I guess I am a glutton for punishment. Boise should be proud of their team and a 13-0 season does wonders for recruiting. The Sooners only have 7 seniors on their active roster so OU will be good next year even if Adrian Peterson goes to the NFL which is almost a gimme. Plus we have to develop a QB but that is another issue. I am happy for you and I plan on even eating some potatoes later today. Congrats and enjoy the win.

Speaking of Boise State, I have been asked if Tazz was taking shots at me on ECW Tuesday night when he was talking about an “upset” during the tag team match. Tazz and I talk football often when we see each other and I am relatively certain Tazz was provided that info to illustrate “upset” and for others to have a little fun with my “Sooner misery” over the Fiesta Bowl loss. It’s no big deal and I have no issues with Tazz or anyone else over this. By the way, I enjoyed Tazz and Brad Armstrong’s banter on ECW. I hope to hear more of it.

My comments about my many announcing partners seemed to draw some interest from some of you. I can get into that subject in more depth at any time and will certainly include many “announcer stories” if I ever write a book. I had forgotten about working with Terry Taylor years ago, no offense to TT, and as I recall Terry had a nice gift of gab and did a good job on commentary but his heart was in the ring not behind a mic. Also, someone asked about my thoughts on the broadcasting work of the late Lord Alfred Hayes and of Sean Mooney. Alfred was a priceless character more often than not and was a great comedic figure in the WWE back in the day. Many old schoolers will also remember Lord being a great wrestling villain with the ability to cut a scathing promo that was not comedic at all. Mooney, who I did not know well, was solid in his role, had the look the WWE covets, but did not seem to ever truly have his heart in the product which may have been evidenced by his leaving the business sooner than most. That’s my observation of Mooney but again I did not know him well and may be off base with that assessment.

Easy E…I have left the WWE 3 times since 1993 if anyone is keeping score or if it really matters. All were legit but did not kill me or my career. There is no secret that I am not the perfect image the WWE would prefer to see doing Monday Night Raw, but I can only work with what tools I have and the hand I have been dealt. I assure you that if I could have NOT had two bouts of Bells palsy I would not complain, but my Oklahoma drawl will be what it is…me.

The “War Tony” on the first J.R. action figures was an obvious mistake by the manufacturer and not many were made. I think I have one or two of them somewhere in a box.

Blah, Blah miss interpreted my saying I was not creative team material as a negative. I am not forbidden to speak to anyone on the creative team and to the contrary am encouraged to do so. However, Mondays are usually so busy that no one has time to engage in long chit chat unless they are loafing and I don’t see much loafing prior to Monday Night Raw. And yes, I have been involved in creative since the Mid South Wrestling days but I have done my tours of duty in that area and am happy with my role as it is at the present time.

Speaking of Mid South, someone mentioned that Ene Watts wanted $5M for the Mid South library which is news to me. I do not believe that to be true and the number sounds very high. The WWE has attempted to purchase this asset and perhaps will be able to finalize a win/win deal for both parties in the future. Mid South was physical and hard core long before ECW was even an after thought and also launched or enhanced the careers of some of the most prominent names in the business.

Cowboy Bill Watts was a task master, a Vince Lomardi type intimidator, who was a brilliant strategist and produced some awesome one hour, weekly, episodic TV programs back in the day. Cowboy had a gift of being able to keep his finger on the pulse of the ticket buyers i.e. the fans. I have 100s of Cowboy stories that I will get into someday. If any one is interested in Watts’ legacy one should purchase his book, “The Cowboy and the Cross” which I enjoyed a great deal and in which Bill tells some great stories of his life and times. Watts was a wild man in his day and once urinated off his 12th floor balcony of the CNN Center instead of taking the short walk down the hall to the men’s room. Cowboy also enjoyed brutalizing individuals who wanted “tryouts” to be wrestlers. I have seen some amazing in-ring situations after our TV tapings in Shreveport over the years involving the big Cowboy punishing young wannabes to the point they urinated themselves. Good grief, I used urinate twice in the same paragraph. Sorry. Also, to answer another Watts’ question, I seriously doubt if Watts would have booked K-Fed back in the day. Lawler/Kaufman would not have happened in Watts’ territory either, in my opinion.

For the record, when an athlete is injured in a match, one of the first people to know it is the referee. That particular function is an important part of the referee’s job.

I have been asked to comment several times on the whereabouts of Eric Bischoff. I know that Eric has a variety of projects outside wrestling in the works that is keeping him busy. As far as Eric coming back on Raw, I don’t know the status of that matter but it would not surprise me if he did. Eric’s TV persona is easy to dislike which as I have said is a gift for a wrestling antagonist. That is akin to some fans comparing Jonathan Coachman to Mr. McMahon which isn’t really fair. Mr. McMahon is very easy to dislike while Coachman, with years less experience, has to work at it more. I do think Coachman is getting much more comfortable in his role which should lead to bigger and better things for him.

No, not all my memories of Kansas City are bad. Far from it. It is just that when asked of my most memorable experience in K.C. the Owen Hart tragedy will always pop back in my mind. I think most folks can understand that. K.C. is a great town with really good Bar-B-Q and was home base for the great Harley Race for many years. What’s not to like?

Sigh…I ignore ALL the good questions and comments? Not hardly. Just the stupid ones or the ones that have been addressed over and over. For the record, Scott Hall was released per a directive from up top as I did not go into business for myself. I happen to like Scott and think he has one of the brightest minds in the business I have ever been around. However, at that time in his life it was better, in the opinion of many including myself, that Scott did not need to be on the road with the WWE. To go into all the personal details really isn’t the thing to do nor is this the place for that info.

I am not sure what the worst things I have seen on TV wrestling shows are but yours truly being in matches would be on the list. Plus, Robocop from the WCW days, a scaffold match from WCW (not the Midnight Express match vs. the Road Warriors) where, I think, 3 of the 4 guys involved in the match were afraid of heights, and the Kennel from Hell would all be on the list. Seeing a wrestler who wore yellow tights have a bowel explosion, so to speak, on an old LeRoy McGuirk Championship Wrestling show I did in the 70s was quite an experience as well and yes it made air in its entirety. Mr. McGuirk was my color commentator and was totally blind and he could not understand why the studio audience was laughing so much and I couldn’t tell LeRoy on the air for obvious reasons.

Regarding why Howard Finkle isn’t on TV ring announcing is a question for someone else. Fink is the greatest ring announcer ever and can still get the job done as good as he ever could when provided the opportunity. Fink should be the next “announcer” to go into the WWE Hall of Fame.

I have never heard Ted Dibiase speak in a church but certainly will if Teddy is ever in the Oklahoma area. I think that Ted’s calling is his ministry and I am proud of him for following his heart and not making life decisions based on a paycheck. The Million Dollar Man should be Hall of Fame bound some day too. Dibiase is another Mid South alumni.

I am VERY anxious to read the Bret Hart autobiography. I would suspect it will be a thick book if Bret is to tell most of the great stories of his life. Bret is a great storyteller and this book should really be something. I have great respect for Bret and wish I could see him more often.

My advise to beginners in wrestling…...be in great physical shape and don’t look like you workout part time and work full time at the donut shop, respect and understand the history of the business, study video tapes of the greats of the game and attempt to understand what each did individually that made them special, never be late to practice, talk less and listen more, and don’t be afraid to put in extra work. This is a 7 day a week deal at a beginner’s stage of the game.

Someone suggested that the WWE tag titles all be unified. I don’t know if that is a bad idea but I doubt that it would be considered as it goes against the brand seperation the WWE seems committed to. I am not saying it would not work, but it is not likely to happen.

Tim…one of the reasons I don’t answer every email personally when they are addresed on our site is time, or lack thereof. I am the sole provider of creative content for the site. Sometimes I have time to do more on the site but often times I don’t. So it is a time issue. But, Tim, don’t take it personally. I do read all the emails and then, Tim, I try and answer the ones that have not been addressed or that I can provide new info. Thanks for reading our site, Tim, and for bringing up this point so I could clarify it. I am only joking with you but the bottom line is that it is a time issue.

Remember, try and keep your comments short, get right to the point and ask your question and then editorialize if you choose. Those of you reading can also respond to each other if you care to.

Have a great day and thanks to those of you that have become customers. Without customers, we don’t exist. Ah, such is life. Again, thanks for the birthday wishes.

J.R.