By GREG OLIVER - Producer
SLAM! Wrestling
To hear Jim Ross talk about the art of smoking meat just right is to have one’s mouth water. Just as he is an expert on describing what’s going on in a wrestling ring, he’s damn good at explaining what makes his barbecue joint so special.
"Smoking is kind of a lost art in the restaurant world, ostensibly because it’s so darn time consuming," he explained to SLAM! Wrestling recently. At his restaurant, J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q, located on 353 Interstate Drive in Norman, Oklahoma in a refitted Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop, a few employees arrive at 4 a.m. to get the outdoor smoker started each morning. The pulled pork, for example, made from pork shoulder or pork butt, is a 12-hour process. (more…)
It was a long travel day Tuesday, but American Airlines got yours truly home safe and sound and on time. It is always fun to travel to the UK and I keep telling myself that on some of these international tours I am missing a great opportunity by not traveling a day or two earlier and enjoying the sights more. I am sure one of these days I am going to look back at all the trips I will have made abroad over the years where I essentially flew in, worked and left. As usual, the UK fans were awesome and they are so knowledgeable. For the record, I watched "No Country for Old Men" twice on the plane and still don’t "get" the ending. Helluva movie though.
The WWE’s international growth is pretty amazing, especially when one has the occasion to meet many of the ever evolving "business partners" the WWE is establishing around the world. I could see broadcasting many more Monday NightRaws outside the USA as times goes on, which will be important to global brand building. (more…)
It’s nice to be back at home after a 3 day and change road trip to the northeast, that included stops in New York City, a whopping three hour car trip from MSG to Philly, and the second HD Monday Night Raw at the Wachovia Center before a large, but seemingly less than expected loud crowd in the City of Brotherly Love. No that’s not a knock on Philly, but the fans there are usually more boisterous, but perhaps they weren’t seeing what they needed to see to get them over the edge. Who knows the reasons, but there sure were a bunch of younger kids there, which works for any promoter.
The biggest news to come out of the weekend was the surprising return of John Cena, who some WWE fans seemingly dislike as much, if not more than they did before John was injured and underwent pec surgery to repair a torn tendon. As I have said before, when fans pay their hard earned cash they can cheer or boo for whomever the hell they choose. This is certainly not to say that John Cena doesn’t have a legion of fans, because I can tell you from his merchandise numbers that John does. I was backstage at MSG pretty much all afternoon Sunday and NEVER saw Cena one time. I am under the impression that John did not arrive to the arena until after the event started, but that’s an assumption. When I talked to John on Monday he said he was feeling great and was healthy, that he had rehabbed extra hard for his return and was bench pressing around 400 pounds, which sounds pretty damn healthy to me. One of Oklahoma’s strength coaches was Cena’s coach in college and said that John was strong as a bull when he arrived on campus as a freshman and spent more time in the weight room than any other player on Springfield College’s football team. That doesn’t surprise me considering Cena’s work ethic. (more…)
Well, this is your sleep-deprived, overworked Webmaster with a website update. As you can see, I have done absolutely nothing, in fact, I have taken stuff away. No, this is not some sick joke, just more delays in a never ending battle with our online shopping cart. We are trying to make your time at J.R.’s a pleasant and enjoyable experience, and on your way out, we hope that you will purchase some of our fine merchandise (the holidays will be here before you know it). Anyway, you didn’t come to this site for my endless babble. I am pretty sure this is J.R.’s website, so I will stop typing and get back to work. To get you through the day, I thought you might like some feedback from your favorite Wrestling and Bar-B-Q Aficionado…
Good Bye Moolah.. Football Talk.. Headbangers.. Missing Cruiserweights..
Thanks for stopping by and checking out our site. Exciting things are going on here and many major changes are underway. I hope you will take a moment to browse in our store (as soon as my webmaster has it finished) as we have some awesome new things for you to check out.
I was truly saddened to hear of The Fabulous Moolah’s passing last week. The first woman to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame was one of a kind and survived in a male dominated world where many men generally thought a woman’s place was being pregnant and bare footed. Moolah had a tremendous influence in the world of women’s wrestling serving as a trainer, mentor, manager, tour organizer, and had a 28-year run as the Women’s World Champion. Moolah’s legacy will be forever remembered as the most powerful woman in the business and she has left us to meet her Maker and will no doubt charm Him with Lil’s Southern Belle warmth. Do you think Moolah will call the Good Lord Darlin’?
Let’s get to a few of your comments:
Chris- I missed the Ghost Hunter episode on Sci Fi with Elijah Burke, but I have no idea what in the hell WCE is.
WCW fan- Buy WCW if you can, but you will still have talent depth issues no matter who’s “jersey” they are wearing. (more…)
…and the feedback just keeps on Smokin’ just like the ribs and brisket at J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q!
Mason- I don’t have the info on autograph signings at live events domestically or abroad, but if you check out www.wwe.com or with the arena they can probably provide you better info. Even though Cena will not be wrestling in Australia in November I am sure you will still enjoy the live event.
James- I have had the opportunity to call so many matches that I really enjoyed, so I can’t name one that stands out as “the best” but the ‘89 Flair-Funk “I Quit” bout was memorable because of the two wrestlers and that I worked with Gordon Solie. The Wrestlemania 22 match between HBK-Mr. McMahon was special inasmuch as I had been essentially turned out to pasture and never thought I would call another ‘Mania and did not know if WM 22 would be my last one, so there was a little extra fuel in my tank on that one. You selected some good ones, nonetheless.
Christopher- The Undertaker is a HOFer now it’s just that he hasn’t been officially inducted. Your guess is as good as mine as to when ‘Taker gets the official nod, but I hope it isn’t for a while, as I still enjoy watching him wrestle.
James- Will MVP be the next Rock? Too early in MVP’s game to be comparing him to the Rock. Those are rather large shoes to fill for MVP. MVP just needs to continue to work hard and be the best MVP he can be and not be concerned about being anyone but himself. (more…)
What a week! John Cena is out of action for what may be up to a year. Knowing Cena, it won’t be that long, but one might as well count John out for 8 months or so. It’s also the annual Red River Shootout in Dallas today between Oklahoma and Texas. Notwithstanding, the WWE PPV No Mercy this Sunday in Chicago where a new WWE Champion is certain to be crowned and we have the makings of a hectic and unpredictably exciting week for any one with a pulse.
On the Bar-B-Q front, biz is still rocking, thank goodness and don’t think we don’t count our blessings, and our autographed cookbook offer is doing super and we are doing a superb job of getting all your orders shipped quicker than a hiccup. Please visit our on line store before you leave us on this visit and place your orders today and we will have them in your hands sooner than later, I promise you.
Bar-B-Qed Feedback Time:
Scott- ECW’s Mike Knox looks to be a fundamentally sound athlete. I have no idea what how his personality will evolve, but that will be a key to his success long term. Knox has physical abilities but that is not the total package, especially in an era long on sizzle.
Mike- The most fun thing I did while working in the WWE front office was seeing young talents sign WWE contracts and going on to live their dreams and become successful wrestlers. The saddest thing was seeing individuals with wonderful potential and God given skills blow their opportunities, usually because of poor judgment and immaturity. (more…)
We’re burning daylight Pilgrim so let’s allow business to pick up!
Locky- I have never been to the Land Down Under, but look forward to the day that the WWE does a PPV or a Raw from Australia, which I see happening some day.
Rob- HHH vs. The Rock had great chemistry and the two had some exceptional bouts over the years. Both were up and coming, both were students of the game, and both were hungry to establish themselves as main event players in the WWE, so the timing of their rivalry was on the money. These two men were two of my finest signees while I was the head of talent relations for the WWE. A few more fortunate hires like this would “cure what ails us” in today’s marketplace. (more…)
Following a HUGE Labor day and then capping off the week with some phenomenal football business, J.R.’s Family Bar-B-Q had our biggest week last week since our opening! Our plans to open more Oklahoma based stores are moving rapidly forward, including the second store plans to be located on the west side of I-35 in Moore, Oklahoma near the 19th Street exit, which we hope to have open by spring of 2008. After that, the plans are to roll out several stores in 2008 and beyond. Not only is our delicious food carrying the load in the restaurant, but we are also selling a bunch of sauces, Jerky, and merchandise at the store and right here on line. One great sign of a growing restaurant is to have repeat business and we have a noticeable amount of “regulars” who frequent our place, which is super. My wife Jan and I are blessed to be living our dream, as it relates to our second career, that being a “still learning the ropes” restaurateur.
As I mentioned on our last blog, I am currently in negotiations with the WWE to remain with the company for the foreseeable future and those talks are moving along well from my perspective. Unless something pops up unexpectedly, I fully expect to sign a new contract with the WWE in the next few weeks, which has been the goal of the company and yours truly all along. If you want to read the absurd, check out the websites who allegedly have all the details on this matter. Either these sites are talking to someone inside the WWE, who “might” have limited knowledge on this matter, and I stress “limited,” or they are simply running with a rumor and making it a bona fide news story and, of course, we know none of these sites would ever do such a thing, or they have actually talked to me, novel idea, which has not happened. So then, how do these selected wrestling sites know all these alleged details? If any of them want to respond, I would love to know my “real” status with the company and how my contract issues are being addressed internally. Or could you ask your moles to send me a cryptic message just for old time’s sake?? (more…)
It’s great to be back in soggy Oklahoma from my brief, but enjoyable trip to North Carolina, flying into Raleigh and driving to Fayetteville. This trip was supposed to be fun, and in a large part it was, but my Raw road trips are not the same without King, who is the “wheel man” and handles renting the vehicles. My rental overheated and the AC wouldn’t work, so on the way to Fayetteville I had to turn around and go back to the RDU Airport and exchange the car, which is always fun getting to stand in line, again, and then having to explain to quasi brain dead people why, again, I was returning the car after only a few hours. It was over 100 degrees in the Carolinas on Monday and having no AC and a car that was over heating was a bad combination, as I felt like I was sweating “fried chicken.” I had planned to eat lunch at the BBQ Shack in Fayetteville, but my transportation woes prevented that, which was a bummer. I can’t say as Booker T. (no “king” Booker reference here) brightened my evening, but Booker may experience some less than positive moments come SummerSlam this Sunday on PPV against HHH. Wouldn’t that be a shame? Nonetheless, SummerSlam looks really solid on paper and with a huge, sell out crowd on hand this Sunday the atmosphere should motivate everyone involved with the process. I am looking forward to Sunday, I can assure you.
I leave again this Saturday for the personal appearance/autograph signing I have committed to attending this Saturday night in Union, New Jersey at Amazing Heroes which is located at 966 Stuyvesant Avenue in Union. Their website is www.amazingheroes.com and their telephone number for more info is 908-687-4338. I will be at Amazing Heroes from 6-8 p.m. and hope to see you there if you live or will be in the area. (more…)
Thanks for checking our site and for all the feedback. The Bar-B-Q is slow smoking so let’s get to your comments.
Tom W.- The Bret Hart ship has sailed in my opinion and I would be shocked to see him back on WWE TV for any thing other than a special occasion, but not on a regular basis. Perhaps when Bret’s much anticipated book is released, the Hitman “may” make an appearance to promote his book but I am not holding my breath on that one either. Nonetheless, I am anxious to read Bret’s book.
Dawn- It is nice to hear from a responsible parent who monitors what her young children watch and is simply “paying attention.”
Daniel C- an Australian Wrestlemania certainly isn’t far fetched, nor is a ‘Mania in the UK. Unfortunately, I am not involved in that area of the business, but with the WWE becoming more and more of a global brand, promoting a Wrestlemania outside North American is becoming more of a likelihood. I can only suggest you remain patient. (more…)
