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

I’ve always felt that living back at home in Oklahoma was more like living in “Paradise Alley” than “Tornado Alley” but that wasn’t the case this week. Luckily for my family we survived the week’s weather in tact of which we are thankful. It’s amazing to see who checks on their friends when these situations occur … and who doesn’t. Our family appreciates those that did I assure you. But as the King always says, “One can’t grieve forever.” So let’s commence with laying the SmackDown!

It was great to see Ric Flair back on WWE programming this week as he added excitement to Monday Night Raw in Oakland, Calif. “Naitch” still has “it” -- that magical intangible that cannot be manufactured or replicated. I don’t know what Ric’s future plans are as they relate to WWE, but I, for one, hope that we see Flair in Houston in some shape, form or fashion during WrestleMania week festivities … as long as he isn’t wrestling. Flair’s verbal exchange with Chris Jericho Monday night got Raw off to a rousing start and was arguably the best aspect of the broadcast.

Christian returning to WWE wasn’t a huge surprise as the speculation of “Captain Charisma” rejoining WWE had been on going for weeks and weeks. However, I was shocked to see Christian show up on ECW and not on Raw or Friday Night SmackDown, which would have been my personal preference. Certainly Christian provides ECW a marketable boost and with Evan “Air” Bourne about to return from an injury along with ECW Champion Jack Swagger progressing so well, even though the last couple of weeks have not been stellar for Swagger, Sci Fi’s Tuesday night show starring Slammy Award winning announcers Todd “I’m funnier than people think” Grisham and Matt “I despise pronouns” Striker has received an extreme makeover in the wink of an eye.

Speaking of ECW, has Natalya officially joined the ECW roster?

The locker room gossip Tuesday in Fresno had a great deal to do with the upcoming WWE Draft to be held live on Raw on Monday, April 13 in Atlanta. Last year’s Draft was held in June, a memorable evening for yours truly, and resulted in several major roster shifts. The 2008 Draft also proved that anything can happen in WWE. Change can often times be good for all involved and it certainly feels like good timing to shake things up within WWE and essentially start a new “season” of entertainment with some new faces on all three brands.

I wonder if any of the broadcasters will re-locate this time around. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit, not that I am advocating any changes.

There seems to be an issue brewing regarding the United States Title currently held by Shelton Benjamin between the “Gold Standard,” MVP and Chavo Guerrero. MVP actually got a significant amount of cheers in Fresno when he faced Chavo Guerrero, which you will see this Friday night on SmackDown. The United States Title is one of the most prestigious titles in the game and if you take a look at the men who have held this title and what they have gone on to accomplish, it is impressive. The United States Title merits the increased focus that it is seemingly about to receive.

The big news regarding SmackDown this Friday night is the return of Jeff Hardy as the former WWE Champion addresses his recent professional and personal turmoil underscored by figuratively getting stabbed in the back by his own brother Matt. I was surprised at what Jeff had to say about the challenges in his life, but you can judge the Extreme Enigma’s comments yourself Friday on MyNetworkTV. Jeff certainly had a different mindset than many would have taken.

Read the rest of J.R.'s column at WWE.com »