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

The WWE had an awesome crowd in Salt Lake City, arguably the hottest crowd of the year, for Monday Night Raw. The fans in the arena can make or break a show with their enthusiasm or lack thereof. I've always thought when all is said and done that it's up to the promotion to provide the fans with an exciting product which normally leads to the desired crowd reaction. Plus the WWE not having been to SLC in such a long time did not hurt things either. Great job Salt Lake City and thanks for making being in the E Center Monday night a helluva good time. I read on the 'net where someone was wondering why Ric Flair was sweating so profusely Monday night. A..it was 90 degrees in SLC Monday (Naitch wasn't the only one sweating wearing a suit) and the arena was hotter than hell and B...Flair is a habitual sweater from way back. Remember those old Crockett and TBS days? Nonetheless "Naitch" looked to be in really great physical condition and continues to work out diligently. He indicated to me that he was on the road 19 days last month, which is a busy month of travel, but that he usually gets to be home on the weekends. Ric loves his "Ambassador" role as Ric does exceptionally well at private functions where he can converse with corporate types. There are no plans for Ric to wrestle again but I liked seeing him on Raw even though one can argue that by promoting his appearance that it might have helped increase interest in the broadcast. Hindsight is usually 20/20 and reasonable arguments can be certainly made that the return of the legendary Flair could have been handled with more fanfare and impact. Chris Jericho has arguably been, at least, the verbal star of Monday Night Raw the past couple of weeks. Nice illustration that one doesn't have to yell to make one's point while executing a big time promo. It's hard to fathom producing Raw in San Antonio without HBK but that might be the case this coming Monday in Shawn's hometown thanks to this to Michaels issue with Jericho specifically the HBK eye matter. In the old days none of us would see the injured individual for several weeks to allow the personal issue to evolve which most likely means Shawn Michaels will on Raw from his hometown Monday night. Does any one remember the Freebird-JYD "blinding" issue of yesteryear? By the way, JYD's been gone now for a little over a decade if my memory serves me correctly. That just doesn't seem possible. There are seemingly endless questions regarding the format of this Monday's tri-branded, WWE Draft. What brand drafts first....will this be a random lottery drawing....what happens if a champion IE Matt Hardy who is the reigning United States Championship which appears to be a Smackdown title is drafted to Raw? Does the wrestler leave the title behind or does the title come to a new brand? I know that these types of things have occurred in the past but is there a hard, fast rule on matters such as this here in 2008? Will there be trades as there has been before? Who will represent Raw which has no General Manager? Nice seeing Cryme Tyme and the World Tag Team Champions Monday night....for all of what, 8 seconds? Thanks for coming fellas. Regarding the conclusion of Raw Monday night, lots of folks are wondering, why Lance Cade? Why did Cade insert himself in the main event mix near the end of Raw? I suggest, why not? The only way new wrestlers are going to rise to the next level is for them to step in the deep in of the pool and either sink or swim. Any TV presentation can always been over analyzed and sometimes certainly for the better but I like the fact that, philosophically, someone new is getting a chance to perform with the big boys. The key to this matter will be the follow up come Monday night. Hearing from a passionate Cade would be a nice start. Bottom line here is this...no wrestling promotion has any bigger or more important challenge than developing tomorrow's main event stars. For example,who will headline the next Wrestlemania is always a viable question. Not just in 2009 but the year after than and so forth. Long term planning is crucial to the success of any business including a wrestling business. For those of you keeping tabs on things such as this, it took yours truly, thanks to Mother Nature and good 'Ol American Airlines, 10 hours to get home Tuesday from Utah. Let's hope I get to New York without any issues this Thursday for the taping of two WWE 24/7 Legend Roundtables. Between JBL, Mick Foley, Flair and yours truly our host Mean Gene Okerlund should have no problem hosting some entertaining and sure to be controversial programming. I have to do some home work on some of the greatest factions/groups in wrestling (I can freely say "wrestling" on this blog) and the most important moments in wrestling's history. That last topic really covers a lot of ground and is very subjective. This taping has the chance to be one of the best WWE 24/7 offerings yet. I can't wait to "debate" my fellow panelists. I thought the money give away on Raw was a much better presentation this week but, as usual, I would love to have seen more wrestling. Call me crazy but I still think fans tune in on Monday night's to see people compete against each other, whip some ass, have some compelling, wrestling bouts and do things athletically that can't be seen on any other program on TV. I like to see lovely ladies in bikinis as much as the next guy, I might be on a diet but I can damn sure still look at the menu, but was Monday night the right place for the out-of-the-blue "fashion show"? Perhaps it was but I would have enjoyed more physicality and longer wrestling matches but that's just me. Monday it was nice to see the sparkle in Harvey Whippleman aka Bruno Lauer's eyes when he talked about actually getting his new book published. The big time wrestling stars usually get all the accolades and glory (and certainly the bulk of the money) but it is nice to see someone who has traveled many of the same miles if not more for a whole helluva lot less money be able to tell their story from an entirely different perspective. "Wrestling with the Truth" is damn sure a honest account of one man's long and interesting wrestling career even though it may not make Bruno (who used to live in Jerry Lawler's back yard in a shed with no plumbing) overly popular with everyone mentioned in this new publication. Mark this down on your calendar if you are in the Long Island/NYC/New Jersey/Connecticut area the night before the Great American Bash at the Nassau Coliseum as Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley and I will be appearing at a signing on Saturday July 19 from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. at Franklin Square Video located at 984 Hemstead Turnpike, Franklin Square, N.Y. 11010. I have not done too many appearances ever and I have never done one that I can recall with The King and Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy. I hope you will find the time to drop by and say hello. Speaking of Mick Foley, his old pal Al Snow was seen at J.R.'s Family BBQ in Norman, Oklahoma Saturday while in OKC for a wrestling event. I did some TV color with Al in Smoky Mountain Wrestling way back in the day and he was really entertaining. Good guy too. But that Avatar character..... Is it just me or does any one else think that the UFC pays WAY too much attention to the fledgling MMA groups out there? The UFC is the NFL of MMA but there will always be a place for the small "Arena Football League" groups that will only serve as a feeder system to the UFC from where I sit. Los Angeles Laker fans will be hard pressed to live their dream this season of winning another NBA Title with Boston needing only to split at home to win it all. Isn't it ironic that no matter the level of hoops that at the end of the day more often than not it comes down to home court advantage and free throw shooting that decides many games? I knew Celtics' coach Doc Rivers when he played for the Atlanta Hawks and when I had courtside seats courtesy of TBS' Ted Turner and Doc was a helluva good, down to earth guy then and still seems to be the same today. It is coincidental when incidents occur with athletes and entertainers(pro wrestling has its share lately too) that these knucklehead moves usually happen after midnight? I know that this point has been made in this space before but when will the offenders and their keepers get it? If one is going to party after midnight use common sense...please. Why young wrestlers hoping to make it to prime time continue to make these same mistakes over and over are beyond me. I have been DVR'ing AM RAW and using it for show prep for Monday nights and I have to say the one hour version of Monday Night Raw is a quick, fun show to watch. Some times I watch it live as I am a night person who watches NBC's Poker After Dark virtually every night it is on so staying up until 1 a.m. central isn't that challenging. for the record, in another life I would like to be a profession poker player....or domino player. :) Our new restaurant in Moore, Oklahoma is really looking awesome. This place is going to be super for any wrestling fan to visit. Our memorabilia there rivals our original store in Norman and we have so much new wrestling, football, Mickey Mantle, and John Wayne swag for the Moore store it has to be seen to be believed. Of course, swag is nice but one doesn't eat swag but never fear the food will remain kick ass I assure you. We hope to open after the 4th of July and I will keep you apprised. Remember "sauce is good" but only if it is J.R.'s Bar-B-Q Sauce. Try some today in our online store and don't forget to order some delicious beef jerky which is 97% fat free. Thanks. Boomer Sooner! J.R