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.

Greetings from college football crazed Oklahoma, from your BBQ selling, SmackDown talking, Unforgiven prepping, resident Okie – who is ready for Friday Night SmackDown – and for the kickoff of the college football season in Norman Saturday night.

Random thoughts from hither and yon….

Friday Night SmackDown arguably offers the best in-ring wrestling of the week on WWE TV, headlined by a Champion vs. Champion bout between WWE Kingpin Triple H and United States Champion Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin has shown flashes of brilliance in recent weeks and it will be exciting to see him pair up with The Game in a WWE Championship Scramble preview. No one in the WWE is more athletic than Benjamin, and I mean no one, which has been serving Shelton well in recent weeks.

I have said many times that Triple H reminds me of WWE Hall Of Famer Harley Race. Interfacing the physical with the mental part of the game was one of Race’s greatest traits, in addition to being able to recuperate faster than most athletes from injuries. Triple H has demonstrated many of those same qualities over his illustrious career. The 12-time WWE Champion may be an underdog at Unforgiven, but what reigning champion isn’t in those unpredictable Scrambles?

We announcers have driven that point home relentlessly, haven’t we?

Great to visit with John Cena Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, just a few hours after his surgery. As you know from reading WWE.com, Cena’s surgery was successful and John “might” be back in action down the road.

It seems like it has been so long since we all last saw Edge inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam, that I expect his face to show up on a milk carton at any time. I hope he is still enjoying his condo in Hell, but seriously, friends and neighbors, I hope Edge is back on Friday Night SmackDown Sooner than later. The newly battered and fried Canadian is one of the most talented Superstars on any WWE roster. Somehow though, I don’t think we will be seeing the Rated-R Superstar any time soon.

What if Edge’s estranged wife, Vickie, still Smackdown General Manager, offers up Edge for a trade? One has to assume that the multi-time champion would bring a heck of a bounty. Personally, I hope that doesn’t happen.

Undertaker doesn’t apparently have pleasant thoughts for Vickie Guerrero and one has to wonder what would the Demon of Death Valley do to extract retribution from the G.M.?

I assure you that Friday Night SmackDown will be more exciting Friday night than will any political convention you might stumble onto on TV.  But wait…there’s more. There’s another political convention next week with MORE professional politicos making empty promises without promising to balance America’s checkbook.

R-Truth makes his debut Friday night vs. Kenny (Don’t call me Lenny) Dykstra, who thinks that he is being grossly overlooked. R-Truth, not to be confused with R Kelly, is a talented and athletic young man who has served time in prison, but is looking to make a fresh start for himself on Friday nights. I say more power to Truth as every one deserves a second chance.

Well, almost every one.

We have autographed copies of “J.R.’S Cookbook” which is packed with easy to prepare “man food” items, grilling and BBQ tips, and a ton of wrestling content as well, on sale for only $9.99 at www.jrsbarbq.com.

WWE.com did a really nice job of staying on top of the Cena surgery story with timely information before it was reported anywhere else. John told me that they used a small piece of bone from a cadaver to fuse his neck. John is lucky in many ways: young, single, big star, wealthy, and now healthy, which is the most important of all those matters. John is also fortunate to have the vision to recognize that his body was telling him something and that it needed to be fixed immediately.

My body tells me things from time to time as well but this isn’t the forum to discuss such “Blazing Saddles” type issues.

Does Friday Night SmackDown and the WWE in general have too many beautiful blondes? What a minute…I just had “a moment” and lost my sense of reasoning. Anyway, Maryse thinks so. She’s French Canadian you know. OH MY GAWD…I just had this incredible urge to shriek CATFIGHT!! I must be channeling my inner Dr. Joe E. Styles of my youth. I do have all the dot com guru’s trading cards that go nicely with my Mickey Mantle collection.

By the way, “Stone Cold” called me recently to check up on John Cena and Steve has probably caught up with Cena by now. If anyone knows about serious neck issues, it is “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Get a load of the Jeff Hardy, or Harvey if you choose, bout Friday night against MVP. It’s a big time match, without question, between two men who are rapidly establishing their places in main event land.

Having new athletes in the main event mix on any brand is a good thing. Wrestling fans like any one else like “new”.

With that said, who all wants to see The Fink vs. Harvey Whippleman at Wrestlemania 25 wrestling in only socks and jocks with a Speedo on the pole? You don’t have to make your decision right now but ponder the visual. On second thought, never mind.

Tazz is allegedly angry that MVP is the highest paid man on SmackDown. Apparently Tazz feels he is on MVP’s level in many levels of sports- entertainment. Wait, this just in: Tazz is not just angry at MVP but Tazz is angry at….everyone. I’m sure glad we cleared that one up.

You should get a load of Tazz giving ECW’s Matt Striker “pointers” from time-to-time on Tuesdays. All they need is to be sitting in a woodshed.

Personally speaking, Striker and Todd Grisham are doing an excellent job of broadcasting ECW every Tuesday night on Sci Fi as their youth, matinee idol /SportsCenter anchor good looks, and witty repartee bodes well for them. 

Big Show, who looks amazingly like Captain Insano, told me in Pittsburgh that he hasn’t had an overabundance of title opportunities since Vickie Guerrero took over for Teddy Long as Smackdown G.M. If I were Mrs. Edge (how could that be?) I would suggest that she make some sort of amends with Show as she really doesn’t want to have to deal with both Undertaker and Big Show at one time. A peace treaty needs to be reached by the G.M. soon or Friday night’s could get a little chaotic.

Perhaps Vickie can enlist the help of Vice President Cheney who will be looking for work this fall.

We have a new batch of answered questions from fans up on our Q&A section of www.jrsbarbq.com.

It would be great to see a half a dozen or so hot tag teams challenging Hawkins and Ryder for the WWE Tag Titles. Who’s the better young team, Hawkins and Ryder or Raw’s Rhodes and DiBiase?

Will the potential WWE Title changes in the WWE Championship Scramble be entered into the record books, or just the final pin or submission prior to the 20 minute time limit expiring?

HBK’s deeply personal issue with Chris Jericho in the eyes of many continues to be the most compelling matter currently being featured in the WWE. These two will have a classic fist fight at Unforgiven that will likely steal the show whether they intend to or not. These are the types of matches that broadcast teams live for. 

Just so you will know where I stand, air travel sucks pond water, unless of course one is lucky enough to fly most of their miles on a private air craft as many of my friends in Oklahoma’s oil business do. Crowded planes with unseasoned travelers and crying children, and those who are unable to turn off their cell phones when asked, are tough even for veteran travelers such as yours truly. For my own sanity thank goodness I finally learned how to download music in my iPod.

No iPod oriented wise cracks please.

Yours truly is headed to St. Louis EARLY this Sunday morning to tape Friday Night SmackDown on Sunday night, which will also  see Monday Night Raw taped prior to SD. The fans in attendance in St. Louis, home of “Wrestling at the Chase” at one time, will see two, WWE broadcasts taped in one sitting. The city of St. Louis has a magnificent wrestling heritage as it was the city that Lou Thesz hailed from when he debuted in the wrestling biz.

Be well everybody and have a save holiday weekend for those of you that are going to be celebrating Labor Day. 

BOOMER SOONER!
J.R.

Greetings from under the custom made, black hat from your resident Okie coming off another Summerslam pay per view while preparing for Unforgiven in about three weeks in Cleveland.

BBQ’ed thoughts from hither and yon….

Great wrestling matches start with the combatant’s in ring effort and for there to be a clearly defined reason for competing with one another. With that said, the Hell in a Cell match at Summerslam delivered the goods. I loved the physicality and the pacing of the contest. The Undertaker is as dominate as ever and an argument can certainly be made that The Undertaker is the greatest WWE Superstar of all time based on productive longevity. Edge is allegedly recuperating in his fireside condo in Hell but more info on the status of the “R Rated Superstar” will be provided on Friday Night Smackdown.

I read where some “blue suit wearing executive” of this fine organization declared that Monday Night Raw was the top TV program in the WWE and not Friday Night Smackdown. An interesting observation that won’t endear this fellow to Tazz, not that any one I know has endeared themselves to my broadcast colleague outside of his immediate family.  This executive must have gotten his info from Mike Adamle, Raw General Manager who took numerous shots to the head in his illustrious NFL career.

Friday Night Smackdown emanates this week from the Quad Cities an area still recovering from the unbelievable floods of earlier this year.  Hopefully the

WWE was able to bring some needed entertainment to the area on Tuesday night. But I did not get to make it to the John Deere Steakhouse as I had planned but others did and raved about it. I dropped a few bucks in a Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament while in town and had to watch my spending.

Unlike Raw, who simply named their entrants to the “Championship Scramble” to be held at Unforgiven, the 4 challengers to HHH’s WWE Title in this format will be determined by competition in the ring. All 4 contenders will be determined on this week’s Friday Night Smackdown broadcast.

Did you know that with balladeer Johnny Cash now deceased that WWE Dot Com guru, Dr. Joe E. Styles, is now the leading candidate to be named by a popular periodical the most famous person in the world who wears black attire on a daily basis? 

Chris Jericho may be on the cusp of replacing fellow native Canadian Edge as the most disliked Superstar in the WWE after Jericho inadvertently struck HBK’s lovely wife Rebecca Sunday at Summerslam. I think both Jericho and Michaels should be traded to Friday Night Smackdown and commence to settling this issue in the ring. What about a former wedding planner and a wrestler to be named later? Plus, a case of J.R.’s BBQ Sauce! And 97% fat free beef jerky! This could be bigger than the Jets signing QB Brett Favre!  

Yours truly spoke with Stone Cold Steve Austin recently and Steve is still working out as diligently as ever but 3:16 fans don’t get your hopes of a “one more match” scenario for Austin. That is likely to never occur even though I would love to see it. However would WM25 in Houston, Texas be a good time and place for Steve to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? It seems as if there is no demand for out of shape action adventure, film stars which pretty much eliminates that vocation for yours truly’s post WWE life. 

Speaking of the WWE Hall of Fame, I would like to see WWE.com and its visitors to be involved in the voting for the Hall of Fame to some degree.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker, if that is his real name, is doing a really nice job of broadcasting ECW. It always takes time for new partners to mesh and when one adds in the added element of both being new in these particular roles I think that both these young guys are doing a “darned” good job. (PG13).

I can’t believe that my beloved United States Women’s Softball team lost the Olympic Gold Medal to Japan. This isn’t a shot at the Japanese as I didn’t think any team in the world could beat the USA in women’s softball. With that said, just wait until I see Funaki in catering next week in Pittsburgh!

Is it me or does it seem like grapplers such as U.S. Champion Shelton Benjamin, “The” Brian Kendrick, MVP, Vladimir Kozlov, Kenny Dykstra, Festus, and, of course, Jeff Hardy have taken clearly defined steps to raise their respective games in recent weeks on your favorite Friday night TV program? I say, give ‘em the ball coach and let’s see who can “get ‘er done.”

There is no fact to the rumor that the legendary ring announcer and WWE wrestling savant Howard Finkel and SD newcomer Scotty Goldman are cousins.

Keep an eye on raw boned and aggressive Ryan Braddock who makes his 2nd SD appearance this Friday night. In time, I think Braddock will turn heads.

Did you know that you can purchase autographed copies of “J.R.’s Cookbook” for only $9.99 when you visit our online store at www.jrsbarbq.com?

Is it just me and my nearsighted and totally biased opinion but is the United States Title getting more popular than the long standing Intercontinental Title?

If so, we can always “Blame it on Rio.” Come on…do your home work…its a little funny.

WWE Champion HHH joins “The Tazz” and me on some commentary this week on Friday Night Smackdown which I think you will enjoy.

“Got Sauce?” We do on our website in the form of high quality T shirts with the catchy phrase of “Got Sauce?” and our BBQ logo on the front. This new item sells for $9.99 each. Hey, we are approaching the gift giving season aren’t we?

R Truth is slated to debut very soon on Friday Night Smackdown and it seems as if there is an anticipation of such. What will call this young man, R Truth or once we get to know him can he be simply called “R”?

The King, who I got to visit with in Indianapolis Sunday, is very excited about Unforgiven being held in one of his all time favorite cities, Cleveland. The Browns are at home earlier the day of the PPV and King has indicated he would like to attend some of his beloved Browns game before broadcasting the Raw portion of Unforgiven. Maybe Jerry will invite yours truly to tag along. Browns General Manager Phil Savage is a long time wrestling fan and a friend of both Lawler and mine.

Our Q & A section of our www.jrsbarbq.com site is rolling along and you are invited to check it out and ask your questions. We get some beauty’s let me tell you. Take care and thanks for your support of Friday Night Smackdown.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.