Thanks for stopping by and spending a few moments here in the land of WWE and BBQ. All is well in both ... unless you know something that I don't know.

WrestleMania XXV is on the lips of everyone in WWE as we continue to count down the days until the big event in Houston at Reliant Stadium which looks like it will be packed with around 60 something thousand WWE fans.I can only imagine how great the stadium will look come show time. Early in the afternoon on the day of WrestleMania is one of my favorite times as it allows one to leisurely walk around the ringside area and even sneak upstairs to look down at the entire lay of the land. It is sort of the calm before the storm because when the show starts, it's on!

Monday Night Raw had a little bit of everything on it from Jacksonville, Fla., this week including a face-to-face between two WWE Icons, the crowning of a new IC Champion, an alleged affair involving WWE management, a new title match signed for the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and a home invasion.

Just for my money, there might not be a match at WrestleMania more eagerly anticipated than the one-on-one between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Both men are sure-fire "first ballot" HOF'ers and as HBK pointed out Monday night, Undertaker has never defeated Michaels. Do you remember their epic Hell in a Cell Match? These two Superstars will likely never meet again in an environment such as WrestleMania. For me, simply as a fan, this is a "must-see" match, just as last year was when Ric Flair had his farewell match in Orlando at 'Mania ironically thanks to HBK.

No one that I can recall has ever been a better "big match" wrestler than Shawn Michaels, but one could argue that Undertaker is "right there" being 16-0 at WrestleMania. 16-0 is freakish when one really thinks about it and breaks down all the stars that have lost at WrestleMania events but are, as they should be, still considered legends. "The Streak" will never be approached in my opinion, and if anyone can beat 'Taker it's Mr. WrestleMania.

Speaking of the Demon of Death Valley, 'Taker gets the opportunity to avenge his recent Friday Night SmackDown loss to Vladimir Kozlov come this Friday night on MyNetworkTV in a main event that the "World's Angriest Announcer" and yours truly look forward to broadcasting.

Did Triple H take things too far with his home invasion of Randy Orton's abode this past Monday night? Many will say yes on this one. I say settle this in the ring where it counts, but I also realize how personal an issue this matter is. I think WWE should do all that they can to keep these men separated until April 5, but the judicial system may provide an unlikely assist on this matter, too. I guess we get to see more lawyers on Raw which is always a treat as we all love the barristers of our world.

JBL is the new Intercontinental Champion after defeating CM Punk who will still compete, I assume, in the Money in the Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania.Does this mean that the brash talking Texan turned Big Apple native will defend the IC Title at WrestleMania? When was the last time the IC Title was at stake at the WWE's premier, annual event? Nonetheless JBL vs. whomever at WrestleMania will be hard-pressed to out-perform the WrestleMania Intercontinental Title Bout between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and 2009 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.  That bout was arguably the greatest IC Title bout in WrestleMania history.

Good grief, what is apparently going on behind closed doors in WWE these days? First we find out that Edge apparently has a fling with wedding planner Alicia Fox just prior to the Edge-Vickie Guerrero nuptials and now there is video proof that allegedly Big Show and Mrs. Edge are romantically involved. We need an All My Children-type score card to keep up with all these comings and goings. Will the WWE Board of Directors look into possible a conflict of interest issue as it relates to this most recent issue and GM Vickie Guerrero? Or will the Board feel that what people do on their private time is their business? This really is "As the WWE Turns" isn't it?

BTW Edge faces an invigorated Kofi Kingston this Friday night on SmackDown, with Kingston having plenty of motivation and momentum. Kofi qualified for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, with a little assist from Ric Flair, Monday night plus, it was Edge who disabled Kingston just prior to the World Heavyweight Title bout inside the Elimination Chamber that resulted that night in Edge becoming the champ and with Kofi hitting the trainer's room.

Carlito and is younger brother Primo, the one with the normal hair, are the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions, but this Friday night they attempt to unify the tag titles in WWE by defeating Miz and Morrison for their World Tag Team Titles. Personally, I think it makes sense to unify the tag titles but that feat is easier said than done.

Matt Hardy, sporting what some say is the young, Abe Lincoln-like beard, will apparently "speak his mind" Friday night on SmackDown. Going out on a limb here, one could assume this sermon will involve jealousy, insecurity, and paranoia which, with tongue firmly planted in one's cheek, would be new topics to the grappling game.

The King may be jealous of Tazz this Friday night when SmackDown presents Melina and Maria vs. Maryse and Michelle McCool in a Diva tag bout. The King loves M&M's and this bout represents ample amounts of "M's" without question. BTW did you know that Lawler has more free, WWE black T- =shirts than any man alive? Jerome wore yet another affordable T-shirt Monday night, and we should always remember that King's favorite price is "Free 98."

WWE has scheduled the aforementioned King and Ol J.R. to both appear at WWE Fan Axxess on Thursday night April 2, Jerry from 6-8 p.m. and me from 8-10 p.m. at the "Announce a Match" exhibit. It's almost like having the band back together but not quite. I wish we were going to have a J.R.'s Family BBQ exhibit at Axxess, but we simply couldn't work out the details. We do have several great specials right now on the site at www.jrsbarbq.com that I invite you to check out. We have some great deals that include some breaks in the ridiculous shipping costs we all have to deal with these days.  

Finlay or The Brian Kendrick will qualify for the final Money in the Bank Ladder Match slot for WrestleMania. Take the Irish and the over. I hear that "The Quiet Man" Finlay has consulted with Notre Dame's Charlie Weis and has a great game plan prepared for Kendrick including accounting for Ezekiel Jackson. I just had a great idea ...WWE should handcuff the plus-sized Coach Weis to Ezekiel which would severely limit Jackson's movement! I think King may still carry a set of 'cuffs in his carry-on but you didn't hear that from me.

WrestleMania's main events are of the inter-branded nature, which makes announcer types wonder out loud what bouts that they will be broadcasting down in Houston. I hope that all three teams get plenty of opportunities at WrestleMania. The Slammy Award-winning couple of Todd "Why Do I Love Soccer" Grisham and Matt "Don't call me Pronoun Boy" Striker will likely add their insights to 'Mania along with HOF'er Lawler and his new best buddy Michael Cole, if that is his real name. I think my pal Stocky Balboa has some inside info on that matter but we'll let that one lie for now because that's "vintage" Stocky.."Oh, My!"

Congrats to Koko B. Ware, who BTW, got the "B" aspect of his name while wrestling for fellow 2009 HOF'er Cowboy Bill Watts in the Mid South Wrestling days. For the record, Koko was an outstanding high school football nose guard back in the day. It will be good to see Koko again along with the King's first cousin and the Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time, the Honky Tonk Man, who will induct the "Birdman" in Houston.

Thanks for stopping by WWE.com and also for checking out www.jrsbarbq.com when the opportunity arises. I enjoy your e-mails at both sites and also write several blogs weekly on a variety of topics at the BBQ site.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.