Greetings from under the black hat from WWE’s resident Okie – who’s barbecue-fueled with “My JR’S BBQ Sauce” – and ready to head to the Pacific Northwest for Sunday’s “No Mercy” pay-per-view and Tuesday’s Friday Night SmackDown taping in Spokane, Wash., which will be our second broadcast on MyNetwork TV.

We are celebrating the move to MyNetwork TV in style in Oklahoma City with a watch party of Friday Night SmackDown, starring Tazz and a cast of thousands, at J.R.’s Family BBQ Restaurant in Moore, Okla., and at our Norman J.R.’s as well, in association with our local MyNetwork TV affiliate KAUT Channel 43.

Friday Night SmackDown was a major production emanating from Green Bay Tuesday night, and was one of the faster-paced, in-ring friendly events I can recall in a long time on any WWE broadcast. The broadcast starts huge with an All-Star Eight-Man Tag that went three segments. And the maiden voyage on the new network finishes equally as strong with a Champion of Champions Triple Threat bout featuring champions Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Matt Hardy.

There is no better time to check your local listings than now to locate the MyNetwork TV affiliate in your area. Don’t wait until five minutes before the perceived show time to do your homework. This is a Friday Night SmackDown you don’t want to miss, especially if you enjoy color commentators splendidly attired in orange … which isn’t yours truly’s favorite color but as Tony Soprano told wife Carmella, “Poor me!”

Random Thoughts:

I may or may not have gotten a quasi, Joe E. Styles motivated “CAT FIGHT” in on Friday night’s show during the first-ever Divas Champion vs. Women’s Champion bout that saw Diva Lumberjacks surround the ring in, believe it or not, party attire. If my old broadcast partner Jerry “The King” Lawler had been announcing, there is no doubt in my mind he would have experienced a rise … in his blood pressure and his mental focus for this attraction.

Speaking of Lawler, word on the street has it that he has volunteered to fly to the west coast to be at Heather Locklear’s side during her recent meltdown – until King found out that she was “getting a little long in the tooth.” He thought she was still young as in her “T.J. Hooker” days.

No word on SmackDown G.M. Vickie Guerrero’s condition after she was Tombstoned by Undertaker last week, which could make Friday Night SmackDown a “rudderless ship” this week. If “The Fink” wasn’t so busy mentoring Dr. Joe E. Styles here on WWE.com, there is no one who could right this egregious wrong better than “Uncle Howard,” who was all over the home page of WWE.com the last time I looked. 

Poor Howard … allegedly he shed a few tears when Shea Stadium saw its last-ever Mets game last week and, again, the Mets soiled the sheets and let their loyal fans down, by unfortunately choking just like last year. That’s just not right folks, and is worse than the heartbreak of psoriasis. Or an Oklahoma loss this Saturday to the Baylor Bears. 

Look for those Santino Marella unibrows to begin selling any day now on WWE Shop, where you can also purchase our J.R.’s products, as nothing says humor like a well-groomed unibrow. I would love to see Santino join the rather homely redhead on the cashew commercials we see about every 15 minutes on TV. That would be a riotous, comedic masterpiece. 

Wait until you see the meeting of the General Managers’ minds Friday night on SmackDown as both Mike Adamle, who seemed somewhat addled but I am told that is his natural demeanor, and Theodore R. Long, whose great looking suit was right out of the Billy D. Williams collection, were present for SmackDown to offer support after their cohort Vickie Guerrero found her self on the wrong end of the Undertaker’s Tombstone last week, as previously mentioned.

Hey kids, don’t you just love the Honk-A-Meter? I keep expecting the legendary IC Champion, the Greatest IC Champion of all Time, the Honky Tonk Man to show up at any time and Shemp-slap Santino, but alas, it wasn’t on Monday night in the IC Champ’s :47 second loss to Batista on Monday Night Raw.

Did You Know? That over 50 WWE Superstars and every recognized WWE Champion is in attendance Friday night on SmackDown?

Did You Know? That the WWE’s top rated broadcast team, that would be Tazz and his sidekick J.R., are broadcasting two entire bouts at the No Mercy pay per view on Sunday?

Seems to me that Primo Colon is one of the most promising young Superstars we have seen in a while in the WWE, and he already may be on par or perhaps even better than his slightly older brother Carlito. But Carlito still has the edge in the follicle department.

Now, which one is Hawkins and which one is Ryder?

I just bought one of those Gillette Fusion razors that we see so often on TV. Nice shave, except I seem to want to hit my wife with a steel chair when I use the razor of the future. Not really … I jest of course of the steel chair usage. My lovely wife Jan has better developed arms than Madonna, who looks like she had her last square meal around the time Mr. McMahon was wearing canary yellow sport coats … BROTHER!

O.K., let’s clear this up right now…my pal Michael Cole does NOT get his hair cut at the McAllen, Texas, Barber College.

Dream match for your consideration … Jillian Hall vs. Kathy Griffin, the sassy, redheaded comedian, to be held in a Winnebago while traveling coast-to-coast with Tazz driving and J.R. riding “shotgun.” The under card would feature an Intergender bout between The Fink and Lilian Garcia, both wearing Speedo’s, with Sir Anthony Chimel and Justin Roberts barred from the vehicle. Now that, my friends, is a dot com extravaganza!

Yours truly is going to head to Waco, Texas, no not to tour the Branch Davidian Church, but to attend the OU-Baylor game that will be televised at 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning on Fox Sports. Then – this is where it gets good – I will rush back to Dallas and catch a flight to Portland Saturday night for Sunday’s No Mercy pay-per-view.

Don’t forget to check out our ever-growing Web site, www.jrsbarbq.com, for my blogs and for the section that we answer your questions also known as Q&A’s. We also have autographed, J.R.’s Cookbooks holiday priced at $9.99, along with our “Got Sauce” T-shirts and a variety of delicious, Oklahoma-grown J.R.’s Bar Nuts among many other items. We have a load of items priced at under $10 on our site waiting to be shipped to you today. Remember, “Baby needs new shoes.” Finally there is a video of a restaurant review of our place that you might find of interest and it can be accessed for free at www.jrsbarbq.com.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.       

Your resident Okie has been as busy as a fruit merchant this week working on a variety of WWE projects including ECW, SmackDown, WWE 24/7, WWE Home Video, and WWE.com.

But alas all is well in Oklahoma as the business at J.R.’s Family BBQ Restaurants is good plus the No. 2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners have a huge, home game this Saturday night against the nationally-ranked TCU Horned Frogs. 

For those of you that may be scratching your head on just what in the heck the meaning of “busy as a fruit merchant” is, please allow me to elaborate. When I was a kid growing up in eastern Oklahoma, fruit merchants would set up shop along varying intersections and sell fresh fruits and vegetables out of the back of their pickup trucks. If business wasn’t good in a particular locale, then they moved quickly to another. Reason being is that they sold perishable goods which had short shelf lives and these merchants were constantly moving to find the most traffic and the best locations to sell their good. Hence, “busy as a fruit merchant.” 

Random thoughts from under the black hat:

Congrats to all involved on Monday Night Raw for their 800th episode, which was conveniently reminded to us viewers exactly 800 times in the two-hour broadcast. 

Perhaps someday Monday Night Raw will once again regain their status as being the “A” show in the WWE from Friday Night SmackDown. 

Impressive night Monday for Lance Cade taking a fall on the great Shawn Michaels, but does this strapping, young, talented superstar Cade go to the Ray Charles Barber College to get his hair cut?

Chris Jericho is on an Edge-like roll on Raw much as the Rated-R Superstar was on before he took an extended, all expenses paid vacation by Undertaker to Hell. 

Jericho is definitely an individual, but there are influences of other greats in his game, in my view, including The Rock and Ric Flair. Many of the WWE’s top Superstars have been influenced by some of the greats of the mat. 

Hopefully, the young men coming into WWE today will adopt these same principles, but to do so they need to put down their video games and “Crackberrys.”  

Charlie Haas’ newly-minted impressions of wrestling personalities, etc. may provide the Seton Hall grad — they must be so proud of Chuck — the biggest career comeback since the pending Britney Spears rebound.

Dolph Ziggler. Now that is one cool name. What’s his dad’s name, Zig? And what might Mr. Ziggler’s claim to fame be? This one might even “Stump the Fink.” 

Do Raw fans love to hate Randy Orton or do they hate to love him? 

For the record, my beloved SmackDown broadcast partner Tazz hates everyone, but somehow tolerates the choke friendly New York Mets and the struggling New York Jets who I hope actually do well this season … but were as embarrassed as a fat man being caught naked swimming when the water was cold Monday night.

For the American citizens reading this, aren’t you proud of our Federal Government these days? Bail out “this” you collective group of buffoons. 

ECW’s Matt Striker is one of the brightest young broadcasters to come along in WWE in years. For those of you that caught ECW Tuesday night I hope you enjoyed the proceedings. Striker is well prepared and uses some timely albeit at times obscure references during his commentary. Good stuff from where I was sitting. I would enjoy working with Striker any time but let’s get one thing straight, Striker ain’t no Tazz. 

I had the urge to shriek “CAT FIGHT” Tuesday night during the Michelle McCool (that is her real name) and Maryse (who was born without a last name, poor girl) but out of my deep, unabiding respect for the esteemed and eternal “Voice of ECW” and current WWE.com guru the good Dr. Joe E. Styles, I refrained. No one could scream “CAT FIGHT” like my man Joe who makes a fashion statement every time he dons another of his custom made, black designer suits with the hidden, built-in pocket protector.  

Actually, Joe’s trendy, black attire reminds me of how some of WWE’s old road agents back in the day would travel on a two-week, international tour. They generally took one, SMALL bag that included one pair of BLACK pants and, perhaps, two BLACK shirts along with a quart-sized bottle of roll on deodorant.  

Can you say “gamey” boys and girls?

I love the ECW format whereas they are going to feature the WWE’s youngest competitors who are seeking fame and fortune. Some of these folks may last only for a few weeks or they may establish themselves as future WrestleMania main-eventers.

Remember that ECW starts one hour earlier beginning next Tuesday night on Sci Fi at 9/8 p.m. CT. 

Just curious, but why does ECW General Manager Teddy Long need an assistant? Don’t get me wrong, as Tiffany is easy on the eyes, but she never seems to carry a notebook or even a Blackberry with her. Does Tiffany even know short-hand or how to take dictation? Nonetheless ‘Ol Theodore has fine taste in his support staff. 

WrestleMania tickets go on sale on Nov. 8, which is an important date for all of us in WWE. Reliant Stadium is a showplace, or it will be again once Ike’s damage is repaired, and will be a magnificent venue for WM25. Yours truly attended a Big 12 Championship game there one year between Oklahoma and Colorado and was thoroughly impressed with the facility. 

Friday Night SmackDown moves to MyNetworkTV on Friday Oct.3, on a broadcast that will be taped this coming Tuesday in Green Bay, Wisc. Word on the street is that all the broadcast teams might be asked to attend and work the premiere on the new network. If that happens, I can’t be held responsible for what my partner, who invented the T-Bone Suplex, might do to his peers. The “Human Suplex Machine” even scares me, and I’m his partner. It better be a decaf day for Tazz or there could be problems. 

Plus, Tazz has “people.”

The final Friday Night SmackDown on The CW Network is this Friday night and is headlined by an awesome first bout of the night featuring WWE Champion Triple H and his  No. 1 contender Jeff Hardy teaming to face the duo of MVP and THE Brian Kendrick. This main event starts the evening, so do not be late when joining us Friday night. We need these ratings to continue to build as “baby needs new shoes” and I need to enhance my job security as I don’t have enough years for the gold retirement watch all announcers clamor for.  

Our popular Q&A section of our Web site at www.jrsbarbq.com is rocking, as has our traffic, over the past several weeks. Plus, ever since Chuck Haas impersonated yours truly on Raw our site has been doing great business in our online store, which never closes, and features many items for less than 10 bucks. I want to think all the wonderful WWE fans for your support and business. 

However, for those of you who don’t check us out or are not customers, I wish upon you a long car trip with Tazz or to play Out-Think the Fink for 24 hours straight sitting in the Fink’s cubicle at the Styles Center in Stamford,Conn.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R

Random Thoughts From Under the Black Hat…..

Can you believe that WWE’s No Mercy pay-per-view is only a couple of weeks away? These extravaganzas seem to come more frequently than the media’s insults regarding Gov. Sarah Palin.

Did You Know?? ... Www.jrsbarbq.com had one of its biggest days after Charlie Haas’ parody of yours truly Monday night on WWE’s former No. 1 program? I just wish I could wear a “J.R.’S BBQ” shirt on Friday Night SmackDown so I could merely approach the amount of gratuitous promotional mentions that JBL’s Mamajuana receives.

No, Dirt Lovers, I’m not knocking JBL, but I am a little envious. Baby needs new shoes.

Speaking of babies … how’s that for a sound byte segue ... Haas and his wife, the former Diva known as the lovely Jackie Gayda, had another healthy daughter this week. Charlie really out-punted his coverage when he married his bride. Congrats to the couple and, Charlie, please feel free to spoof me any time as long as you get in the BBQ Sauce and Beef Jerky mentions.

Where would many of the lovely, hair-slinging WWE Divas be these days without hair extensions? I keep telling my angry broadcast partner that being folliclely challenged isn’t necessary, but the inventor of the T-Bone Suplex refuses to listen.

Speaking of the lovely and talented Tazz, who knew he would be so light on his feet while Texas Two-Stepping in Nashville? Plus, he was the first person to board his flight Wednesday morning out of Nashville, which did not make the flight crew happy, as they had to wait on the jet bridge.

Don’t spread this around, but sources say that the wrestling tights that French Canadian lass Maryse wears this Friday night on SmackDown were painted on. That couldn’t happen on a PG-rated show, could it?

The question of the week is, how much bubble wrap did it take to adequately package Kenny “Don’t Call Me Lenny” Dykstra’s nose last week on SmackDown? Sad but true … Kenny is only 22 years old and he’s already in storage. 

Does anyone have a copy of R-Truth’s entrance rap on an 8-track? Never mind, I’m sure The Fink, who is a closet rap aficionado, can help a brother out. 

Yours truly is doing a ton of media this week at radio and TV stations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa for Friday Night SmackDown’s upcoming move to MyNetwork TV on Oct. 3. My various radio interviews will give dirt mongers the opportunity to misquote me on the wrestling Internet. That will not be the case here on WWE.com, where my esteemed colleague, and he of the fabulous fade, Dr. Joe E. Styles, rules his domain with a keen eye.

Rumor has it that Sir Elton John himself presented The Brian Kendrick with the ring jacket he wears. Does that mean that the jacket came out of Sir Elton’s closet?

Speaking of the talented Kendrick, doesn’t his man “Zeke” know that one never wears white after Labor Day?

Hey, didn’t you used to be the Tag Team Champs? Oh, that’s right you still are … for now.

Did You Know??... Ranjin Singh gets his robust sideburns imported from a small shop in Bombay?

The Great Khali is tall.

The Mets are tanking.

Joe Biden has an impressive comb over.

Jets fans will turn on future HOF’er Brett Favre. 

As an old school wrestling fan, the FNSD main event this week between Triple H vs. MVP was a really enjoyable wrestling match. I love watching strategies unfold in the ring as opposed to seeing a dozen hurancaranas, six planchas and three topes all in the span of about how long it takes Gary Coleman to P.O. his fan.

Have you had your daily reminder that Vladimir Kozlov is Russian and that he is undefeated? Well, now you have.

BTW Kozlov is also one legit, bad dude.

I enjoyed meeting many Friday Night SmackDown fans in Seattle last weekend where I attended the Oklahoma vs. Washington college football primetime broadcast on ESPN. A few days later, someone mentioned to me that they saw my black hat on the Sooner sideline on the broadcast, but I guess I missed that photo op. Dammit, and I was wearing a “J.R.’S BBQ” shirt, too.

Yours truly is writing the foreword for a new book on the life and times of the great Danny Hodge who was the greatest pure wrestler that I ever saw in person. Yes, that includes great amateurs of the modern era like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle. For my money, Dan Hodge is the greatest living wrestler on earth.

My sincere thanks to all of you for checking out our Web site and for those of you that are e-mailing us your questions. We post several blogs per week and do the predicted “shilling” of our many products including T-shirts, caps, sauces, nuts, beef jerky, and autographed cookbooks. Please keep us in mind as the holiday season approaches.

Take care and watch out for flying chairs!
Boomer Sooner!
J.R.  

Yours truly feels "Unforgiven," "Raw," and like I have been "Smacked Down" after three lovely days of travel from Norman, Okla., to Cleveland to Milwaukee to Chicago and back to Norman. At least I get to hang around the house until I leave for Seattle Friday to attend the Oklahoma vs. Washington college football game Saturday evening that will be televised live on ESPN HD. 

Lots of folks along the beloved, Internet trail have chimed in on the inaugural "Scramble" bouts that WWE launched this past Sunday in Cleveland. Some liked it and a few folks didn't. Personally, I like new things and even though I wouldn't mind seeing an occasional, old school 2-out-of-3 Falls Match on Friday Night SmackDown, I applaud WWE for trying something new and innovative in the Championship Scramble. 

Did this past Sunday's Scramble bouts have flaws? Of course, what new concept doesn't? For example, why did some of the competitors who were the "current champion" still attempt to go for pinfalls? I don't have the answer for that one except that it was most likely just natural instincts. That's what they are trained to do.

Point being in this filibuster, if you will, is that once all the "experts" have finished dissecting the Scramble as typical Monday morning quarterbacks, I would encourage WWE to try this concept again and "tweak" what they feel needs to be tweaked. It will never be as bad as watching multiple airings of The Devil Wears Prada.

I can assure you that the Superstars will be much more comfortable the second time around in this unique format.

Who would have thought that Chris Jericho would have left Unforgiven Sunday as the World Heavyweight Champion, especially after he got his hat handed to him by HBK ... who seemed to have some sort of out of body experience during the unsanctioned bout?

Jericho loses the battle but essentially wins the war on Sunday. Nonetheless, I don't think the HBK-Jericho issue is over, far from it. BTW, Jericho vs. Punk inside a steel cage for the World Heavyweight Championship will be an anticipated main event next week on Raw from Memphis, Tenn.

Tazz, "The World's Angriest Announcer," and I were both surprised that Big Show sucker punched Undertaker on Sunday, and it will be interesting to hear the reason why, hopefully in detail this Friday night. Big Show has the "World's Most Dangerous Hand' which I wanted to document here so that line wasn't "borrowed" by other WWE TV broadcasters.  

SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero certainly seems to have re-gained firm control of WWE's fastest growing broadcast, and one could make the assumption that interesting days lie ahead. Is Vickie the Gov. Palin of  WWE?

BTW, is Ms. Vickie still married, or has that train wreck of a relationship been annulled? Who's the justice of the peace in hell, allegedly where Edge, is healing? It might be a former attorney of mine but I can't be sure.   

Friday night will have its share of interesting moments this week if for nothing else that my broadcast partner will be more edgy than normal. Tazz was stuck on the tarmac of LaGuardia Airport Tuesday for six hours WITHOUT FOOD. Finally the plane pulled back to the terminal, allowed the passengers to deplane at which time Tazz got in line at Dunkin' Donuts for what he said was going to be a ham and egg sandwich on a bagel. (Don't folks in the northeast like biscuits?) After standing in line for approximately 30 minutes, no doubt seething, and being within five people of ordering his "breakfast bagel" or a sack full of donuts the gate agent called for immediate boarding of Tazz's plane. So much for the lovely breakfast bagel, and my sources say that the former Human Suplex Machine was "this close" to erupting. I asked Tazz if he went to the lavatory, changed into his orange singlet, and put a towel over his head for the flight but he didn't think that was overly comical.

Remember folks, Tazz boards first on every flight on which he is booked and the elderly, the afflicted and small children, among other passengers, are immediately put in harm's way. Just ask "Slash" of Guns and Roses fame.

The Brian Kendrick had a most memorable Sunday in Cleveland and elevated his game to yet another level. Kendrick's performance may have been the biggest surprise of the entire Unforgiven event.

Afa The Wild Samoan's son Manu was introduced Sunday, and I hope that this second-generation competitor, who was a highly recruited high school defensive lineman, can live up to his family's legacy within the business.

Personally, I would not relish a trip to Afa's woodshed.

The more second-and third-generation wrestlers WWE can sign the better in my opinion, which means less than the salad tosser in catering.

As a matter of fact, I hear through the grapevine (The Fink) that WWE is already looking closely at the son of WWE.com's "Tony Soprano," Dr. Joe E. Styles' son who is reportedly a chip off the old block and wears nothing but black clothes to school. Ah, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? I hear that the handsome young lad even wears his dad's trademark "fade" haircut.

Isn't tradition great?

Speaking of tradition, did any one else hear Matt Striker, (BTW did this guy name himself after watching the classic film Airplane?) use yours truly's "Bowling Shoe Ugly" line on Sunday? Striker, don't make me sic Tazz on you as you are already at the top of his "bad list" and never forget that Tazz has "people."

The King was distressed Sunday after watching the first half of his Browns' loss to the Dallas Cowboys before actually coming to work. But just as I predicted the Hall of Famer did get a truckload of free Browns' swag and offered to share it with no one. Thanks, Jerome.

BTW, this Monday in Memphis could The King meet some sort of cruel twist of fate when he does his thing in his hometown? There is a precedent about working in one's hometown you know. At least, I haven't had good luck in OKC. What if Jerry had to join the Mae Young Kiss my Lips Club? Now that's a DVD extra.  

I don't know if I am sold on Divas trying to use submissions as much as some do in their bouts. Does this mean that I am really "old school?"

Have you checked out our new "Got Sauce?" Hanes Tee's starting at only $9.99 available now in our online store at www.jrsbarbq.com?

The closest thing to the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson in WWE is Shelton Benjamin. I met Peterson when he was only 18, arrived on the Oklahoma campus, and also helped recruit Benjamin to WWE and let me assure you that both these young men are athletic freaks of nature.

Congrats to Matt Hardy for winning the ECW Title Sunday. No one is a bigger student/fan of the game than Matt, and I'm sure that some fans were surprised that Matt won a major title before younger brother Jeff. Hopefully Matt won't get euphoric over his victory and start dating any more WWE Divas.

Wish that all of you could have seen Freebird Michael Hayes' attire on Sunday, which is something many of us eagerly anticipate ...what P.S. wears on PPV game day. This week it was a royal blue suit with a bright yellow shirt that someone told me reminded them of a giant Easter egg or out of the Sir Elton John collection. I thought Michael was rather dapper myself in sort of a Cedric the Entertainer kind of way.

Poor Michael Cole still gets booed, and for no reason, when he is introduced at PPV's and on Monday night. There is no reason to disrespect Cole, but I must say that his most recent haircut looked as if it had been styled on death row.

I've got no room to talk because my "hat hair" after a long PPV isn't so appealing either.  

Mother Nature has postponed the on sale of WrestleMania 25 tickets until October 11, which is the day of the Oklahoma vs. Texas Red River Rivalry in the newly expanded Cotton Bowl in Dallas and the day before my 15th wedding anniversary to the real J.R., my wife Jan. In case any of you are interested in buying us gifts to commemorate this occasion, don't, as we were going to register at Super Wal-Mart but I would prefer to consider accepting cash instead.  

That's a joke folks, perhaps not a good one, but a joke nonetheless. With my employment track record, a stand up career could be next as one never knows. I could be opening for Larry the Cable Guy at any time now.

Did You Know? You can purchase original J.R.'s products from the land of BBQ and the world's greatest beef jerky, 97 percent fat-free and LOW in carbs, on WWE Shop right here on WWE.com? Plus, WWE ships products everywhere.

We try to write several blogs each week at www.jrsbarbq.com plus we are continually updating our Q&A section of our site. If you have any questions or comments send them to us and if they aren't obscene or overly insane I will answer or address them.

Be sure to check out SmackDown this week, which emanates from Milwaukee in the heart of cheese country where they still love to talk about former Packers' now Jets QB Brett Favre. Perhaps not as much as the ESPN broadcast team did Monday Night ad nauseam during the Packers-Vikings game, but close.

If you bump into me in Seattle over the weekend decked out in my OU gear, be sure and say hello and please don't blame me for your NBA team relocating to OKC. I had nothing to do with it.

Remember, SmackDown has one of the best main events of the entire week this Friday night. I hope that you will check it out. That's saying a great deal because the Mysterio/Bourne vs. Miz/Morrison tag bout Monday night on Raw was a "stem winder." Evan "Air" Bourne is a keeper and his shooting star press is the best I have seen. Let's see if the SmackDown men and women and equally deliver on Friday night. See you there!

 Boomer Sooner!

J.R.         

Random thoughts from under the custom-made, black hat from WWE's resident BBQ lovin' Okie, who is Cleveland-bound this Sunday - right after I watch the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners play the talented Cincinnati Bearcats on ABC from the Sooner sideline.

WWE suffered another injury blow to one of its biggest stars when Shawn Michaels tore his triceps Monday night on Raw in an altercation with Chris Jericho and the Michaels-trained Lance Cade. Yours truly communicated with HBK this week and Shawn said he fully intends to "finish what I started," regarding his issue with Jericho. So that tells me that Michaels, even with a bad wing, definitely will fight Jericho this Sunday in Cleveland at Unforgiven. Even with only one good arm, Michaels is still better than most, but I don't like the future Hall of Famer's chances come Sunday. Jericho is too good and too motivated, and we all know the egocentric Jericho couldn't look himself in the mirror if he were to lose to a man with a torn triceps. The pain may be with Michaels, but the pressure to win this match has slapped Jericho right in the face since the doctor's diagnosis was made public late Monday night.

I would love to broadcast the HBK vs. Jericho battle, but that honor will go to Michael Cole & The King. All is not lost though, as The Tazz and I get to broadcast the Divas Title Bout, among others.

Former WWE Champ Brock Lesnar has signed to meet veteran UFC star Randy Couture in November for the UFC Heavyweight Title. The fight gives Lesnar the chance to enter the history books again: A NCAA Title, a WWE Title and now perhaps a UFC Title for the former University of Minnesota All-American who once headlined WrestleMania.

SmackDown this week is a solid final broadcast prior to Sunday's pay-per-view in Cleveland, where the Browns will play the Dallas Cowboys at 4 p.m. ET. If you watch the Browns game, keep an eye out for Jerry "The King" Lawler, who is a huge Browns fan. The King plans on attending the first quarter of the Dallas game with Browns' G.M. Phil Savage, who's nothing like Mike Adamle, before coming to the arena to broadcast Unforgiven. You can also take the over when wagering if The King will bring back ample amounts of Brown "swag" that he will not share with even his old broadcast partner.

Oh well, one can't grieve forever.

Hey, how about those exciting political conventions?! Have you been glued to your TV sets this week keeping up with all the people talking out of both sides of their mouth just as was the rule in Denver? However, I do like McCain's running mate. She seems like a far cry from a professional politician who seems to have the country's best interests at heart and not her own personal gain. Nonetheless, I am still thinking of whom I am going to vote for in November but I am going to Smackdown My Vote!

There is absolutely NO TRUTH to the vicious rumor that there is a nude, Howard Finkel action figure available in the underground marketplace. However, there is truth in that there is a normally dressed, Howard Finkel action figure now available. Congrats to "The Fink," who has become an inspirational mentor to dot com guru, Dr. Joseph E. Styles, who actually calls Fink "Uncle Howard." Now that's team building, unless "The Fink" decides to cut his hair in the Style-ized fade - then it would be just downright wrong.

Just wondering, but if Bam Neely gets on a roll as an in-ring wrestler, will he earn the distinction of getting another Bam added to his name?

Tazz is so close nowadays with R-Truth that Tazz simply calls the newcomer "R." I embellish somewhat because my congenial broadcast partner isn't "close" with anyone, except occasionally with his immediate family upon such occasion such as the holidays, etc.

Did You Know that Tazz will run over old ladies and handicapped people to be the first to board every airplane on which he is ticketed? No one boards ahead of the former "Human Suplex Machine." No one, dammit!

With the odds 80 percent in favor of the opposition to unseat a champion this Sunday in the Scramble title bouts, my observation is that the most susceptible athlete to not retain his title is one of my favorites, CM Punk. Punk could be as likely to retain his title as Tazz is to join the "Welcome Wagon" group in his upscale, Long Island community. That's too bad too, about Punk not Tazz, as Punk's popularity is growing significantly even though he doesn't fit the "mold" of many World Champs. So what's so wrong with that?

Don't be overwhelmed to see some major surprises at Sunday's Unforgiven because of the unique nature of the Scramble bouts.

Something has to give come Sunday at Unforgiven in the pending confrontation between SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero and Undertaker. Vickie is demanding an apology and the Demon of Death Valley is demanding her soul. As the late, Strother Martin said in the classic film Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." It's hard to see Vickie winning this argument, but if she does, at what price will it be?

Off the record, the lovely French Canadian diva Maryse (sorry, no last name's please) drives many men bananas.

Jeff Hardy vs. The Brian Kendrick this Friday night is worth the wait and merits room on your DVR or TiVo.

Tazz wears no socks during PPV's. Where else but here do you get that kind of info? That's right, nowhere pal.

Triple H has a memorable night on SmackDown this week. Tune in and you will see what I mean.

I don't want to say that Edge is still licking his wounds at his condo in Hell, but we just shipped a case of J.R.'s BBQ Sauce to his rumored address "down South."

You are invited to join us at www.jrsbarbq.com and especially check out our blogs which are updated several times weekly and our Q&A section. I actually read and answer most, not all, of the e-mails I receive.

Check out the upcoming Mr. Perfect DVD as it is really good and is definitely a keeper. Perfect was classic and was called "Dennis the Menace" by Chief Jay Strongbow back in the day as Perfect was perceived as being a tad mischievous. Perfect was perhaps second only to Owen Hart as a world class practical joker. Some of my voiceover sessions with Perfect when we would lay down the audio track for WWE bouts were classic. I also did a two-hour special that only aired in South Africa once upon a time with Owen, who was damn good as a color analyst. Perhaps WWE 24/7 can find that lost gem and get it on the air someday.

If you watch ABC this Saturday afternoon and see a jovial guy wearing a black hat and perspiring profusely it will likely be Good ‘Ol J.R. patrolling the Oklahoma Sooner sideline.

See you on PPV this Sunday and in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. I will be in Milwaukee on Monday, so if anyone knows where a fellow can get a good Brat in the downtown area please let me know. I know asking for good BBQ in Wisconsin might be too much to ask for in all due respect.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.