It has been brought to my attention that the reason I did not handle the play by play of the Royal Rumble match this past Sunday was because of a decision made by my friend and fellow Oklahoma Sooner football fan WWE Executive Producer/Executive Vice President Kevin Dunn. This is categorically false. I am not blaming any internet sites for reporting this as I am sure their “sources” provided them the info but the “sources” are wrong on this one. Imagine that.

It is actually much to do about nothing, even though I find it flattering that some fans would have liked for me to have called the match. I do sincerely appreciate that I can assure you. I was fine with the decision when I was told a few days before the Rumble, I was fine with it on Sunday and I am fine with it today. At the end of the day I felt Michael Cole, The King, and JBL handled the match well and certainly got the job done.

Another misconception is that I am close to “hanging it up”. As ESPN’s Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend.” I have not physically felt this good in years and I feel there is still ample fuel left in my tank for several more years of being productive. I will say that I don’t want to over stay my welcome on the air and embarrass myself by doing bad work but I don’t feel I am at that level. Obviously, however, some day in the future that time will come. Until then, I will remain as competitive as hell as it relates to my role and will prepare to do every Monday Night Raw and pay per view as I always have, thoroughly, seriously and with respect for the fans. I am still having a blast going to work even though hitting the road 51 weeks a year isn’t a day at the beach. However, after all these years one gets somewhat used to the travel and when the red light goes on and the show starts I have long forgotten the slow, security lines at the airports, another Ford Taurus rental car, and the more often than not fair at best room service. Thank goodness for cable TV in the hotels! Not to mention sitting next to a businessman on a plane who “doesn’t watch wrestling” but knows every storyline on Raw and who asks seemingly endless questions of yours truly “for my son.”

I attended a birthday party for a friend last night here in Norman with the Mrs. and with OU Football Coach Bob Stoops who is excited about this year’s small but talented recruiting class the Sooners expect to sign next Wednesday. Bob had only 7 seniors that played much for OU this past season and the expectations will be high for the Sooners, especially as the QB situation takes shape. Bob loves living in Norman, as does Mrs. J.R. and I by the way, and has no interest and never had any interest in coaching for the Dallas Cowboys. Bob has turned down several NFL jobs over the years to stay at the University of Oklahoma. Bob is a great friend and I hope he stays at OU long enough to win a few more National Championships.

Occasionally, I get the morbid questions as to why many wrestlers die young. There are many reasons for these tragedies and some day if I write a book I will most likely elaborate on my thoughts on this subject. I will say this, many wrestlers who passed away abnormally young made bad personal decisions on a frequent basis with the thought that they were bullet proof. I have had dozens of talks with wrestlers about these decisions and their lifestyles over the years. These were face-to-face, one-on-one conversations many of which are ingrained in my mind and will be ingrained there forever. Obviously, blame can be spread around and it has often times with the company the wrestler worked for getting as much if not more blame for the tragedy than the individual. I have a tough time with that one especially from my personal perspective of talking to wrestlers who were in denial of having any issues. These conversations were often times very frustrating. However, I do feel good about being able to help several individuals overcome their issues. I am also extremely pleased that positive steps have been taken with some organizations to detect issues wrestlers may have. This is certainly not just a “wrestling problem” but an issue that our society must deal with in every walk of life. Again, it comes back to making good, sound personal decisions. I know I have made my fair share of bonehead decisions in my life time but we must learn from these mistakes and to study history, not repeat it.

We are often asked here about the WWE having pay per view events in the UK and in Australia. Both these territories are extremely vibrant and important and I would bet a case of Bar-B-Q Sauce that each region has PPVs in the future. Does that mean in 2007? I don’t know, as I have not seen a complete 2007 calendar, but I do know the WWE is touring internationally a great deal in the month of April and again later in 2007. Point being is that both the UK and Australia have great facilities that would make awesome PPV sites and I hope I am fortunate enough to be around to be a part of these historic events.
J.R.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 12:11 pm and is filed under Wrestling, Personal.