Whew....what a week! Some nice, car rides throughout southern Louisiana and into Mississippi, a plane ride late Tuesday night on WWE's corporate jet arriving at my Stamford hotel at 4 a.m. and then a 13 hour NYC to OKC trip on Thursday. Perhaps I should change my name to "Rand McNally." 

As I posted early this week on www.jrsbarbq.com, overall I enjoyed Extreme Rules Sunday in New Orleans but particularly thought the Ladder Match and the IC Title bouts stole the show. That could be my Smackdown bias talking but I think few will argue too strongly on that opinion.

Please tell me that no one who reads this blog is one of those people "goofier than a pet coon" and who thinks that wrestlers "know how to fall on a ladder" as Edge and Jeff Hardy were barely able to walk this week after their "Battle of New Orleans." 

I wonder if the bar has been raised too high to please a seemingly insatiable audience when it comes to these Ladder Matches that obviously take matches away from those who participate in them. 

If and when Edge and/or Jeff Hardy ever decide to call it a day and take their wrestling boots and go home we can all thank Ladder Matches for at least a portion of the reason.

I fully expect Edge and Jeff Hardy to somehow be in the mix Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina for the special, 3 hour addition of Monday Night Raw that starts one hour early at 8/7 Central. If so, Jeff will have a big time, home field advantage as the Carolina native is loved by his home state even more than elsewhere in the WWE Universe.

C.M. Punk does some commentary this week on Friday Night Smackdown and the new World Heavyweight Champion is surprisingly good at it. Punk seems to be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't as many fans have jumped off Punk's bandwagon after he cashed in his Money in the Bank Contract, specifically when he beat a battered and physically decimated Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules. I hated to see Jeff lose as well but I do admire Punk's timing and game planning. What better time to cash in a MIB contract than after a body ravishing Ladder Match. Yes, I expect Punk to hear it from many WWE fans, which is the fan's prerogative, but I wonder if it is 100% deserved?

Chris Jericho brings a lightning rod presence to the Intercontinental Title plus what seems to be a great , extended rivalry with former champ Rey Mysterio. I fully expect to see this rivalry add another log to its fire this Monday night in Charlotte during the marathon Raw. Jericho and Mysterio have great chemistry ala Flair/Steamboat from back in the day. These two men help make Friday Night Smackdown fun to watch. 

Speaking of that, I make a fair amount of jokes on this blog and even more biting ones on www.jrsbarbq.comabout Friday Night Smackdown being WWE's top TV show. Mostly I am just having fun so for those that take my flippant remarks too seriously may I suggest that you, "Lighten Up Francis." This biz is an entertainment entity and I'm "attempting" to be entertaining. However, I do honestly feel that Friday Night Smackdown is a fun show to watch and features More in ring content that any other WWE program of the week. Does that make me a bad guy because I express an opinion on the show on which I work?

We are selling a ton of "J.R.'s Original BBQ Sauce" by the CASE if you can believe that. A case has 12, 18oz, plastic bottles and WE pay for the shipping to many areas. Individual bottles sell for $3.99 but one saves a ton of money on shipping by purchasing more than a single bottle at a time. All the info is at www.jrsbarbq.com.

John Morrison is "this close" to elevating to the next level, as is said in the biz, and Morison's performance Thursday night on WGN America's WWE Superstars against IC Champion Chris Jericho certainly proved that statement. 

Morrison has HBK-like tendencies with many of his in ring actions and one can only hope that the "Shaman" can reach the Hall of Fame level that Shawn Michaels has attained. I expect 2009 to be a big year for Morrison and I fully expect Morrison to be in a key role come Wrestlemania 26 out in Arizona. 

Dolph Ziggler is another young star on Smackdown who has a great future no matter his success rate against the freak of nature, the Great Khali. If Ziggler is a stock, then I am buying. The Kent State grad is too smart, too athletic, and has too many amateur wrestling skills to not be successful. Plus the guy has marketable albeit pain in the arse verbal skills.

When is Michelle McCool going to finally get her shot at Melina Perez for the WWE Women's Title? This will be a helluva bout with plenty of physicality from two women who are athletic and not afraid to mix it up. Divas who are leery of breaking a nail don't make it long in WWE but I personally would like to see the athletic, young women get more time on Friday Night Smackdown.

I received a cool email from Bret "Hitman" Hart this week with a photo of him wearing our "Got Sauce" T shirt from our BBQ website. Bret is a regular consumer of our products and we are honored the WWE Hall of Famer considers our sauces so highly. 

Speaking of Bret, the Legends Roundtable panel talked about patriotism and nationalism on a recent WWE 24/7 On Demand discussion and I brought up the atmosphere in Calgary during the Stampede when WWE produced a PPV there featuring a 10 man tag that elicited the most amazing atmospheres one could imagine. An expanded Hart Foundation took on a team lead by Stone Cold Steve Austin in one helluva moment. If you haven't seen this bout I urge you to check it out. This was a nationalistic issue featuring Canada vs. USA which I still feel would be effective today if promoted properly.

Have you checked out WWEClassics.com? You really should unless you're 14 with a bad complexion and spend most of your time in your room writing scathing emails to wrestling websites while hiding behind fauxscreen names. Some of the greatest moments in Wrenstling history are a finger tip away fromyou on WWEClassics.com which can be found elsewhere on WWE.com's site.

Yours truly will be writing the backs of the new WWE/Topps trading card series. I have been a card collector for years including having a 1951 Bowman, Mickey Mantle rookie card in my collection.  The deadline for all this work will be lateJune so I assume the collection will be available later this year.

I wonder why the three WWE brands never enact trades ala MLB, NFL, etc? I love the brand separation simply because it gives more wrestlers the chance to gain exposure and experience which is essential in developing new, main event level stars. However, it just seems like an occasional trade would add some occasional spice to the proceedings.

The WWE Title scenario is upside down but my guess is that when all the dust clears that Randy Orton will emerge victorious. With no G.M. on Raw and the WWE Title situation so murky, one has to assume this Monday's 3 hour Raw will be loaded with new info and surprises.

Todd Grisham will be in Charlotte and he will likely be wearing a new suit. Todd and I were on three TV shows this past week and were on camera a total of less than 30 seconds for the week if you're a family member or care about those things. I told Todd that he was a victim of working with me and not to take it personally. Perhaps we could do an occasional on camera and I could be digitized like the old, scratch logo or we could simply put up a warning so as to not scare women and children. I enjoy working with Todd and I hope that I am able to help make him an even better announcer before all is said and done.

Mrs. J.R. and I are attending the annual Toby Keith Fundraiser for Kids with Cancer Friday night. Toby is a good friend and fellow Okie and does many good deeds helping families whose children are undergoing treatment for cancer. I count my blessings every day that my wife, daughters and granddaughters are healthy. After my own colon cancer scare a few years ago, I look at my health as my most valuable asset. (Yes, we will DVR Friday Night Smackdown.) 

So it will be a Mid Atlantic Wrestling tour for me this week, first of all stopping in Charlotte Monday night and then driving on to Roanoke, Virginia for Tuesday night for the Smackdown taping. I wish my old pal Wahoo McDaniel was still alive so he could make this trip with us and perhaps provide young Todd an occasional "knife edge chop" just for the fun of it. I know I received my share of them while driving "the Chief" which would wake up the dead if one started getting a little drowsy while driving.

I hope that you will check out www.jrsbarbq.com and that you have a wonderful weekend.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.