It's good to be home after a wham bam trip to London of 48 hours in the U.K. plus a little over 20 hours of travel time. (Remember kids, drink lots of H2O when you're flying.)

Friday Night Smackdown will undoubtedly be the WWE broadcast of the week and might even get a Smackdown Superstar on the vaunted, home page of WWE.com.

Friday Night Smackdown features several main event level bouts this week including a slobber-knocker of a contest between the fearless phenom known as the Undertaker vs. the near 500 pound Big Show. (I know that Show is intro'ed as weighing 441 lbs but please...)

For the record I am told that after Backlash this Sunday, the WWE Draft will officially take effect and the brands will remain split and very little if any interbranded bouts will occur. I hope that is the case as it will provide new faces and others who need consistent TV time an opportunity to become stars or to become bigger stars. WWE is no different that the NFL, MLB, NBA, or Hollywood inasmuch as developing new stars is positively essential.

John Morrison, a Smackdown wrestler, is being compared by some WWE fans as a young Shawn Michaels. I hope that Morrison succeeds in becoming another HBK but it won't be easy as HBK's don't grow on trees.

Finley should not quit his day job and pursue a singing career if his vocal talents displayed Thursday night on WWESuperstars is any indication. ECW's "The Quiet Man's" son Hornswoggle, or "Horney" as he is called by his close friends, has been drafted to Raw by Raw G.M. Vickie Guerrero. I wonder what sort of "plans" Ms. Guerrero (Mrs. Edge) has for the little fella or should we even speculate?

What adulterous frontier will Vickie next attempt to conquer, WWE.com's Stocky Balboa or even the legendary ring announcer and WWE HOF'er Howard Finkel?? The humanity of it all!!

Speaking of romances....Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella...stop the pain as Michael Cole used to say. Just say no, Beth. This is a "vintage" train wreck. Oh, my!

Believe it or not I found a John Wayne movie ("North to Alaska") on UK TV Tuesday morning and that became part of my pre-game prep for the Tuesday night taping.

Gail Kim challenges Divas Champion Maryse for the title Friday night on Smackdown. Maryse has improved as much as any Diva I have seen in a long time from the time she unexpectedly won the Divas Title until now. Never forget two things.....Maryse never met a mirror that she didn't adore and that Maryse loves Maryse. Nonetheless if my broadcast partner Todd Grisham speaks French to me about Maryse during any more commercial breaks I'm going to punch him.

Can't wait to get to Madison Square Garden this Tuesday night for the taping of Friday Night Smackdown. MSG is truly a hallowed hall and without question "The World's Most Famous Arena." I'm not sure what I'm going to do Monday in the Big Apple but may try to hook up with JBL and try and find some BBQ.

I wholeheartedly enourage each of you to check out www.wrestlersrescue.org and consider helping my friend Steve "Dr. Death" Williams as we are trying to raise funds for him to have a device surgically placed in his throat so he can talk "hands free." Doc has beaten throat cancer and needs our help. Please check out the aforementioned website and help if you can. Thanks.

Have you ever seen the classic film "Breakfast with Blassie?" It stars WWE HOF'er Freddie Blassie and Andy Kaufman. It's a classic comedy as Kaufman tried to comically out maneuver "Classy" Freddie but ended up being out ad-libbed by the legendary Blassie. This movie had no script and is hilarious. The reason I bring it up is that I saw somewhere that it was being released on DVD and it's something most WWE fans would enjoy seeing.

Backlash will fill the Dunkin' Donuts Arena this Sunday night with nary a Krispy Kreme in sight. Should be a big night for Tim White's Friendly Tap as well as it will be an exciting evening in Providence, Rhode Island. Here are a few predictions on the pay per view:

The Khali Kiss Kam....may scare small children and make even "The Fink's" hair raise. I'm begging for a closed mouth, Hollywood kiss.

C.M. Punk vs. Kane....two Smackdown wrestlers face off and I have to give the nod to "The Big, Red Machine" in this one even though Punk's Muay Tai strikes might lead to a "Chicago Made" win. 

Jericho vs. Steamboat....I love Ricky Steamboat and have all the respect for him in the world but unfortunately Jericho doesn't and will likely win this match. I hope that I'm wrong.

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy....Who will say "I Quit?" I'm guessing Jeff Hardy finally beats his older, insecure brother.

Jack Swagger vs. Christian....be careful of wrestlers with only one name, JACK! Christian left WWE for a long "hiatus" and returned to win titles so here's Captain Charisma's chance. If Christian doesn't win Sunday his road back to the Promised Land will go from being a freeway to being a gravel road.

WWE Title Bout....this is a unique way, to say the least, to put the WWE Title on the line and almost impossible to predict. Until someone beats The Game, he's my pick but Randy Orton has become a huge star, has momentum, and even has his share of fans. Orton will no doubt be WWE Champion again but will his next reign start this Sunday?

World Title Bout....Did Edge essentially win the title Monday night after scrambling John Cena's brains with a concharito? That's what I'm thinking plus Edge is a desperate man who is down to his last chance to come out on top of Edge's biggest rival. I give the "slight lean" to Edge in this one but I'm rarely right and suggest that you do no wagering.

Did you know that you can purchase authentic, personally autographed "J.R.'s BBQ" caps for less than $10 on our BBQ website, www.jrsbarbq.com? We can ship caps, shirts, and autographed copies of "J.R.'s Cookbook" any where in the world. Plus I write a few blogs each week and have a lot of fun with our Q&A section.

Did you know #2....my pal and fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler met the most recent love of his life while we were commentating on a live Monday Night Raw event a few years ago in Providence. BTW I'll take the "over" that the King wears a black T shirt on Sunday's PPV broadcast. Any takers?? That's from a guy who you know will be wearing a black, cowboy hat.  

You remember Monday Night Raw....it used to be WWE's #1 broadcast until Todd Grisham came to Friday Night Smackdown. 

Really competitive bout Thursday night as Edge defeated the talented Kofi Kingston in the main event of WWE Superstars on WGN America. Edge had those "Betty Davis Eyes" going for him while there is no doubt in my Okie mind that Kofi won't be a huge star in WWE Sooner than later.

Thanks for stopping by and be well. See you back here soon.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.