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

I am not sure how this Randy Savage business got started but I would like to address it. Firstly, no one has told me or ordered me to stop talking about Randy Savage. Randy was a tremendous wrestler who was an excellent in ring performer long before he came to the WWE. As a matter of fact, Bill Watts and I discussed hiring Savage in Mid South Wrestling just prior to Randy arriving in the WWE. We even produced a music video of Savage that never aired because he headed North. Randy made the best business call he could have made by making that decision, but I would be lying if I said I would not have liked to have seen Savage in Mid South, albeit for a brief time if that would have been in the cards. Savage’s matches vs. Ricky Steamboat, among others, were big time and their Wrestlemania match was one of the best ‘Mania matches ever. There is no doubt in my mind that a Savage DVD would be ho,t but as I have stated before that is not my decision. I would be surprised if the WWE did not produce a Savage DVD some day, but that is only one man’s opinion. As for being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, does Randy Savage merit induction? Of course he does. Will he ever be inducted? I have no idea. Would Randy accept the honor if asked? I have no idea. Randy and I were never at the same place long enough to build a relationship, but I certainly respect his work and the intensity with which he approached his craft. We are not blocking Randy Savage questions, but do I think we have covered his potential induction into the WWE Hall of Fame quite adequately. Savage made significant contributions to the WWE over the years and was the sparkplug of the roster for a good while. Those contributions are everlasting. Was Randy complex and controversial at times? Absolutely, but that is not an indictment to his talent. Being different and being a “lightning rod” are assets in the wrestling biz. Finally, we have a moderator and a webmaster who see all the comments you send. I do not, nor do I have the time to read every one of them. That will not change. There are only so many hours in the day and I do the best I can to offer you fresh blogs whenever I can. If some of your comments don’t make the “cut” it is because the moderator or the webmaster believed your questions or comments had already been made, usually on several occasions. I only see the comments that make the site. I hope this clears up this over blown matter. Jim Trotsky- I am sorry I did not see your son’s comments regarding Randy Savage. I am pleased that your son made the honor roll in school however, which is intimately more important than anything I can or will write in a blog. Hopefully I have addressed his Savage questions at the top of this blog, but if not he can comment us a follow up and it will hopefully make it to the site. Katie- The WWE has not censored me from writing about Randy Savage. Why should they? What business sense would that make? The WWE owns hundreds of hours of Savage video tape that they will some day monetize. The WWE has not censored me about anything I have written about here. DD- If you ordered J.R.’s products from WWE.com and they were out of stock it will only be temporary. They re-order often so please be patient. Again, for fans outside the USA, the WWE can ship J.R.’s products to you immediately. Nick- Would I want to be a wrestling manager at this stage of the game? Hell, no. Let the young guys have the spotlight and the travel nightmares. Dogfather- I assume if the WWE TV truck were to be disabled that the WWE would find another truck to handle emergency duty. The TV show would go on! Marty- I totally agree that surprises help make wrestling fun to watch and of which to be a fan. I think with Raw live all these years it has become known for its surprises which has helped make Monday Night Raw the #1 rated weekly program on all of cable more often than not. The fact that I enjoy being surprised is why I rarely talk to the wrestlers prior to their matches. Jayne- If you or anyone wants to know the WWE touring schedule, that info is available on wwe.com and that’s where I get it as well. Ivan- We have collected so much wonderful wrestling memorabilia from almost 4 decades of being in the business, but having something from Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers and Ed “Stranger” Lewis would be cool. Many of our most prized pieces will be hanging in our J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q that opens on June 27. Kyle- Sorry I never heard of John Crystal or don’t recall him, so I don’t know his whereabouts. Chris- Will you see more music i.e. Ozzy on WWE television? It wouldn’t surprise me from time to time. but not on a regular basis would be my guess. Jared- Of course something important is lost in “empty arena” matches…. fan interaction. That is why one rarely sees these types of matches. I don’t expect to see another empty arena match in my lifetime, quite honesty. Dave- I believe the WWE has access to the Stampede Wrestling Library and has big plans for it. I am excited about seeing it myself. Andrea- I am sure the WWE will return to Italy in the future. We had a great time there. Wonderful food and friendly people for the most part. Not to mention lovely ladies which always makes the King more fun to be around, as he is not big on international travel. Working with the Italian announcers was enjoyable and they were very fun-loving guys. They were always laughing. However, after they did the two hour Raw they were sweating as if they were going to the electric chair, as it was hot in the arena in Milan and they were not used to that atmosphere. Fun guys nonetheless. Robert- I have heard nothing of Paul Wight returning to the WWE. Paul wrestled with Hulk in Memphis recently on an indy show that did o.k., but I think Paul has his sights set on other non wrestling projects (movies?) at this point in time. I have heard the big guy has lost significant weight, which will do nothing but help his general health. I have always liked my apple butter eating friend, Paul Wight. And no, he doesn’t have the “Andre Disease,” but did at one time, but was cured. Mike R- Great story about the Sauce and Jerky being gobbled up before you could get your hands on it. At least your friends got to enjoy it. Thanks for the order. Carlos- I don’t think the Million Dollar Belt helped Austin to any large degree because Steve’s heart was not in the Ringmaster persona. Ted DiBiase did indeed do a fine job with Austin, but being the Ringmaster and having a manager wasn’t Austin’s cup of tea or bottle of beer, if you will. If a wrestler doesn’t feel his or her persona in their heart it won’t work long term. As for Ted returning to the WWE, I could see him returning to accept induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, but I think Ted is committed to his ministry at this time. I do hope Ted’s sons make it to the big dance nonetheless. Tex- You are correct in saying that men like Hulk, Savage, and Warrior contributed to the WWE’s success over the years and I am sure you will agree that those men did not do it alone. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that without any individual wrestler or even two or three major stars that there would be no WWE. No individual or group of individuals is bigger than the business. Just an opinion. Dave- The Florida territory was the territory I mentioned here a while back that I would have loved to have worked in back in the day if I could have picked any to work in. As to the question you responded to, I was referring to cities, not territories, when I singled out NYC and St. Louis. A valid argument can be made for several cites being hot wrestling markets including Tampa, but was Tampa even the hottest market in the old Florida Championship Wrestling days? These types of questions always create a degree of controversy. Maybe that is a good thing. Shaun- Let’s not hold our breath on Goldberg returning to the WWE. Bill’s tenure in the WWE, according to Bill’s own words, wasn’t overly positive. I think Bill has moved on from wrestling and if he ever makes a return somewhere to the ring I would suggest it will be a cameo at best. Logan- I enjoy traveling to Omaha and eating at either Charleston’s or Mahogany Steak House. What great food! Yes, I remember, reluctantly, Robocop on a WCW PPV back in the day at the old D.C. Armory. Shane- Yes indeed, Steve Austin and I spent several hours signing autographs in Ft. Hood one day and had a great time on base. As far as WCCW alums, there are a few left, but many of the biggest World Class stars have passed away. Too many. Storm Raven- I have heard rumors of JBL wanting to return to the ring and he and I have even discussed it. I think JBL’s heart is there, but I am not so sure about his injured back being willing. John has done a tremendous job going from wrestler to commentator and I would suggest to him, I did actually, to not return to the ring unless he was 100% healthy. At this time I would surmise that the chances of JBL returning to the ring would be less than 50/50, but that could change if his back could be treated. That’s too bad too, as JBL has plenty of fuel left in his tank and he loves to compete. M.- “King Heenan-esque” these days? Maybe so. If so, it is simply a coincidence as Jerry is just being Jerry. As I have said before, if we “argue” it raises eyebrows and if we don’t, people want Jerry to be more of an antagonist. I say, let’s just be ourselves and if an argument ensues, so be it and if not, let’s not force it. How’s that sound? Sign Guy- I wouldn’t consider my association with the faux Razor and Diesel my most embarrassing moment whatsoever. I am not sure what that moment is to be honest with you, but I have never been too embarrassed at anything I have seen or been a part of in the business. I learned early on that I wasn’t going to like everything I saw or would be involved with, but that isn’t totally unlike anyone else’s job is it? I do think that my in ring promo in Hershey, Pa that night may have been the first “attitude era” promo anyone in the WWE had done to that point. However, if the goal was to make fans hate me, I failed, not that there is anything wrong with that over the long haul. Phil- There is no doubt that Auburn got the shaft a few years back when they missed out on playing the USC Trojans for the national title. The BCS is a system built to fail. Big time college football needs a playoff system plain and simple. Regarding cooking baby back ribs, use a little “dry rub” and cook them low (200-225 degrees) and slow (depending on the number of slabs from 4-8 hours) preferably in a smoker and definitely NOT on direct heat. Our last cookbook has more info on this “art”. Jared- It sounds like you have “inside info” on the Mid South Wrestling library when saying that “they have no intention of selling to the WWE”. I would suggest that they would, and so would I, if the $$$ were right, but nonetheless their upcoming DVD should be fun to watch. The Mid South library has some great stuff in it and its marketability may be in the episodic nature of the weekly shows and not simply a random selection of matches. It’s all good. Alexandia- I have to admit I have NEVER listened to Yo-Yo Ma in my life. What am I missing? I think I will stick with classic rock (The Eagles, etc) and some country for now. Thanks for the heads up though. Tim- Jim Carrey was a trip to be around on the movie set of “Man on the Moon”. He stayed completely in character 100% of the time while making the film and was, at times as pain in the backside, because he tried to channel Andy Kaufman all day, every day. I do know that Carrey P.O.’ed the King more than once. I had a wonderful experience working on this film and watching Oscar winning director Milos Forman work was pretty amazing. Most of my lines were essentially ad-libbed as the writers did not write enough copy to cover the action I was to describe. That’s why I got some of my own material in the film. We had a great time being a small part of the movie that still airs on cable from time to time. Mike- I did not intend to strike a nerve with you about the NWA title and its current status. I would venture to say that I have spent more time in my life than most who visit this site promoting the NWA Title and calling NWA Title bouts over the years. I am not an enemy to the legacy of the NWA. Thanks for checking in with us and everyone here at our site appreciates your business and your comments. My banker really appreciates your business and so does the Mrs. who is quite the little shopper. Seriously, I am so happy many of you like our Jerkys and Sauces and encourage you to keep shopping when you can. We will stay with this site as long as it makes sense financially and for that to happen we need to sell products. Plain and simple. No sense lying or beating around the bush. Contrary to what some nay sayers and negative types may think, we do our best to be honest here. That doesn’t mean I am going to answer every question you pose. Some questions have no right or wrong answer and I am not interested in creating a firestorm just for the hell of it. I will leave that to selected, professional wrestling websites who seemingly have all the answers. We are not intentionally looking for controversy on this site, but to have some fun and to communicate with other wrestling fans, tell a few stories, answer a few questions and to sell our products. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you take the time to browse in our store and to vote on our T Shirt poll. BOOMER SOONER! J.R.