It’s a travel day for yours truly, as I am preparing to head to Phoenix for Monday Night Raw before another sellout crowd, which is always exciting and raises any one who has a pulse’s game or at least it damn well should. That is specially true, as we are getting closer to Wrestlemania 23, and apparently many slots on the card are still up for grabs.

The Hall of Fame Ceremony sold out Saturday, virtually immediately, as all the tickets were processed in less than 30 minutes, so I am told. This is without a doubt one of my favorite events of the year, as I sincerely believe the rich heritage of the business should be coveted and those that have made significant contributions be recognized. When the WWE first started the HOF, it was essentially for former WWWF and WWE stars, but now the HOF has expanded to include deserving athletes and performers who may not have earned their stripes in the WWE. I think that is why we will continue to see a diverse list of inductees in the future, which I personally applaud. I get SO many questions as to when a particular individual or team is going to be inducted and honestly folks I do NOT know. I can’t answer those questions, simply because I don’t have the info. I also believe that someday the WWE will have a beautiful facility to house the WWE Hall of Fame, but I, again, am not privy to any time table or location. This is just my gut feeling. What locales would make a great home for the WWE Hall of Fame?

When people ask me the “glory period” of the wrestling business, I always scratch my head. For me, it was either the 80s or the Attitude Era of the WWE. The Attitude Era made more people rich and made many wrestlers millionaires, and there was more talent depth and better wrestlers from top to bottom in the 80s, but most never made the cash the wrestlers made during the Attitude Era. The reason for the great talents of the 80s was that most were by-products of successful tenures in a variety of wrestling territories where each individual was paid on “productivity,” or in other words how many tickets they sold to a live event. PPV money was either not available or just getting started. The competition for top spots in the territories was fierce, unless some pet coon goofy promoter had his favorites and many did and held other talents back for whatever asinine reasons. Competition helps everyone involved, as many of us strive on that type of motivation. Even in my role as a play by play/commentator I want to be the best in my field and relish when we do multi branded PPVs, as it raises my game, or at least I think it does, because I want to out perform my peers.

I am still doing Free FM in Detroit on Thursday but we will be off this week due to the on air guys taking a vacation day. I have had a lot of fun being on Detroit radio every Thursday at noon for the past several weeks. Detroit has a rich wrestling history headlined by the late Sheik, Sabu’s uncle, Bobo Brazil, one of my all time favorites, Dick The Bruiser, famous bad guy with the eyebrows that looked like brush piles, Wild Bull Curry and Bull’s son Flying Fred Curry. Wrestling really must have been something back in the day in the Motor City in the old Cobo Hall.

With Mick Foley’s new book “Hardcore Diaries” out now, I have thought recently of the series of interviews I did with “Mankind” upon his arrival in the WWE. Those were some of the best and most effective interviews I have ever been a part of and I truly think it helped get Mankind noticed by WWE fans and launched the right way. I know that Mick and I still talk about those days and visited about them recently in Stamford where I interviewed Mick about his new book and those interviews will be airing on WWE.com soon.

Seems like we get lots of feedback on the Spinner Championship Title belt of John Cena and that many fans don’t like it. I have to admit I wasn’t crazy about it at first but it wasn’t a hill I was going to die on. I have honestly got used to it and rarely notice the spinner aspect of it any longer. Bottom line of this matter is what the belt represents or at least it is to me. At the end of the day, I don’t feel it is a big deal whatsoever.

I assume Lance Russell is not inducting The King into the 2007 HOF. Too bad, as I was looking forward to visiting with Lance who, along with his wife Audrey, are wonderful folks. Lance anchored the Memphis wrestling TV show forever and was arguably the second most popular person on the show next to the King himself. Who knows for sure who will induct Jerry as it might be Lance after all.

Apparently, most readers don’t read our entire blogs or the archived ones that answer tons of the same questions we get here weekly. Again, Michael Cole is NOT replacing me on Raw. Who ever started that rumor is either downright stupid or simply overthinking this announcing deal WAY too much. I still say Cole is a damn good announcer, but he is the voice of Smackdown and the WWE is not going to have the same announcer doing two of their primary broadcasts, especially on different networks. Plus, I feel I have many productive years ahead of me and fully expect to do my best work on the air between now and the time I hang it up or get relieved of my post….again.

Chris Masters - When do I think Masters will elevate to the main event level? Not sure. If I were Masters, I would watch all the Mr. Wonderful tapes I could get my hands on, as Paul Orndorff was an awesome hand and Masters reminds some folks physically of P.O. Masters is really just beginning his journey and where it ends is anyone’s guess, but Masters himself can have more to say about his eventual destination than anyone.

As a “Sopranos” freak I fully expect Tony to get whacked in the final episode. I don’t see a happy ending for Tony on this classic program, I am going to miss dearly. I hope the money gets right and the producers continue the show or at least do a full length movie that ties up all the loose ends. Tony Soprano, much like Al Swearingen of Deadwood, is one of my all time favorite TV characters. The Mrs. and I have collected a fair amount of Soprano’s memorabilia over the years too.

Nice comment reminding me of USC beating my Sooners 55-19 in the Orange Bowl. That was an ass whippin’ to say the least. I had not forgotten it and was in attendance, for the record. The Trojans, nice name for a condom (that’s a little joke), dominated my Sooners, but I still say that Jason White, a native Oklahoman from a small, one horse town, who won the Heisman Trophy is my favorite OU QB. Jason is on a list that includes Jack Mildren, Jamelle Holloway, Thomas Lott, and J.C. Watts. Hey, no doubt USC whipped us that evening in Miami and they deserve all the credit. USC played very well and OU didn’t. OU still has 7 National Titles so it isn’t all gloom and doom in Norman for us football fans. Maybe we will get another crack at pretty Pete Carroll’s squad in the BCS Championship game someday soon(er).

Who out drew who? Who had the biggest year ever for a wrestler in the WWE? We get this question a great deal. Steve Austin had by far the biggest single year ever and had several huge money making years to go along with that one. Hogan may have had more years on top as he was in a main event position longer than Austin, but no one in WWE history ever surpassed Steve’s single season earnings record. For the good of the business, I hope someone does some day.

When will MVP become a champion? Beats me, but he won’t be perceived seriously, in my humble opinion, until he gets some main event level ring attire. I will say I like the upside of MVP and thought he had a great outing Friday night on Smackdown. He is a fine, young athlete. Just as in life, being a champion or being the best in one’s field largely depends on how hard an individual is willing to work. However, for wrestlers, not referring to MVP whatsoever, who aren’t there yet or aren’t going to get there, we often hear that the reason they are not in main events is always politics or someone doesn’t like me. Boo hoo…grow up and turn heads. The lack of depth in today’s marketplace is scary and highly motivated and skilled wrestlers cannot be ignored forever, I assure you. Steer the course and continue to get better. To improve as a wrestler it is a 7 day a week commitment. Period. Bottom line.

I have developed this strange enjoyment of watching Poker on TV which makes the Mrs. SO happy. I would love to play in a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament some day and to attend the World Series of Poker. Perhaps my next career will be as a poker commentator. I really love the strategy of the game.
Jonathan Coachman entered a big Hold ‘Em Tournament in Vegas a year or two ago and lasted about 30 minutes which is longer than some of my relationships, when I was a young buck.

I am happy to say that to the best of my knowledge, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan is doing great. I speak with Bobby from time to time plus we email each other. I look forward to seeing Bobby at this year’s Hall of Fame festivities in Detroit.

Why is old school Bar-B-Q better than some of today’s “Q”? That’s simple…the best Bar-B-Q is smoked over low heat over several hours. Many of today’s Bar-B-Q places speed up the process to reduce labor costs, etc. Slow, smoked Bar-B-Q is never over direct heat, unless you want to throw them on the grill for a couple of minutes to add some grill marks at the end of the process.

To Dan the OU fan, our place in Norman is at I-35 and Main where the Krispy Kreme used to reside and right in front of the Super Wal-Mart. We hope to open in May. Come see us!

Mr. McMahon did not hire Sable back in 2003, that would have been yours truly. The reason she was brought back was because the creative arm of the company had plans for her and my job was to make her available to them. I had zero issues about her previously filed lawsuit, which died a natural death by the way, as that was simply a part of history. We had no issues negotiating a deal and she was essentially no problem for me during her last tenure. I do think she became burned out on all the travel that goes along with the job, but that is not a sin as many of us don’t relish traveling 51 weeks a year. Today’s airline travel is a crap shoot more often than not.

For the gentleman from South Carolina, I promise you that Shelton Benjamin does NOT have a bad attitude. Shelton is a fine young man. I do think that Shelton doesn’t fully realize how great he can be and what it is going to take on a 7 day a week basis to get there. Physically, Shelton Benjamin is a freak and I would sign him all over again. Shelton is not a rare case, as I have known many wrestlers who stayed in the middle of the card until the “light went on” and then they “got it” and did just great. I am a Shelton Benjamin fan, as it relates to his athleticism.

Did I look at the Mr. McMahon line about people wearing cowboy hats being stupid or looking stupid as a personal cheap shot? Hell, no. We were in Dallas, where lots of folks were hats and The Chairman was riling up the crowd and as they say if the hat fits…..

Did I see “One Night in China?” You mean the documentary? Was it on the History Channel?!

Nikita Koloff is doing some church work as I understand it. Nikita speaks at churches throughout the U.S. primarily in the Southeast, I believe. I remember his best of 7 series with Magnum T.A. well.

I don’t think Las Vegas is up for Wrestlemania 24, but I assume the site for 2008 will be made official at Wrestlemania 23, which seems to be customary. I have no issues with hanging out in Vegas for several days if it is selected, I assure you.

Who do I think is the best Oakland Raider QB of all time? Not sure who it is by the #s, but I loved Kenny Stabler, the southpaw from the University of Alabama who played for one of my heroes, the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant. Plus, The Snake also enjoyed a cold beverage from time to time, which I can relate to. But remember kids, no underage drinking and for everyone, no drinking and driving. I mean it you knuckleheads.

Look for more, new creative features that we are going to be adding to our site. Check back every day as we are getting more aggressive as it relates to adding new content. Also, our Beef Jerky is about a week away from debuting. I am really excited about that venture as the tastings have been great. I am so old school my dad used to make homemade beef jerky and we took it with us on hunting trips. I am also interested in your T-shirt and cap ideas, so send them our way. Plus, our shipping of our 4 sauces domestically has increased greatly and we are getting a ton of repeat business, which must mean folks are liking our products. That makes me feel absolutely great!

Finally, don’t forget to check out Dr. Death’s book which is available now. I highly encourage you to buy this one, as it is a compelling read and will help the good Doctor who has been cancer free now two years. Doc’s book is available wherever books are sold…the normal places in other words.

The Mrs. and I went to see “Bad Company” last night with many of the OU Football coaches and friends, just down the road from Norman at the beautiful new Riverwind Casino. What a great facility, but beware that lead singer Paul Rogers is no longer with “Bad Company,” which did not do the band any favors. We had a great time nonetheless.

It’s hard to believe that my “teaching debut” is just around the corner at M.I.T. Wow, there must be some real scholars who are rolling over in their graves over this one! I promise it will be fun and informative.

Got to go to the lovely Will Rogers International Airport and head to the desert. As John Wayne used to say, “we’re burning daylight.” Be well and let’s hope Raw keeps on rocking!!

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.