Johno- I have not heard a firm date as to when HHH is returning to in ring action. I was happy to see the vignettes on him on Monday’s Raw and as far as I know he is still a month and maybe more away from being released from medical care.

Lydia Mae-will let you pass along to Bret Hart how “gorgeous” he looks. That’s just not my style, but I will join you in wishing Bret a happy belated birthday.

Lara- Randy Orton has the ability to be whatever he chooses to be in the WWE.

Mark T.- I totally agree that Chris Jericho is a class act who is sorely missed in the WWE and I hope on a personal level he is once again a part of the WWE Family some day in the future. Chris is like family to Mrs. J.R. and yours truly.

Dan W.- Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton is awesome! I would gladly pay to see him fight anywhere at any time. He is rapidly becoming my favorite boxer and I would love to see him fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Vincent- I think the valet “Dark Journey” who first appeared in Mid South Wrestling with Dick Slater has been out of the biz for years. Last I heard, and that was years ago, she lived in the Southern California area.

BD- “fat looking better brown than white” is simply a Southernism that means fat, Caucasian men generally look better with a tan than looking like a bottle of milk.

Irvin- The WWE doesn’t play Madison Square Garden 10 times a year. The global schedule of events makes it tough for the WWE to play many markets as much as many of us would like. My town of Oklahoma City isn’t on the schedule at all this year. So it goes.

Brian- I am a major supporter of the Cauliflower Alley Club, even though I have to admit I should be more active and do more for them. They are a super organization that all fans should support including me!

Philip- The WWE mat covers are changed and more importantly CLEANED much more than in previous generations. These gritty, old mat covers were like working on sand paper in the old days and I can’t tell you how much skin I left on them back in the day. I don’t know the life expectancy but the actual canvas themselves are pretty long lasting.

Andrew- Lilian Garcia is “gutting it out” after her ACL surgery. Nice to see her back Monday night in Dallas.

Dark Mark- It seems that our Original and our Chipotle Jerky are the most popular. I know many of the WWE superstars who love ‘em! Thanks for your order!

Veronica- Steve Austin feels as many of us do that the tragedies of a week or so ago were senseless and inexplicable. What more can be said about a situation that most likely will never be conclusively answered. But, of course, the “news media” will continue to beat it to death until their ratings peak and then it will be on to something else. When is the last time you heard anything about the Natalie Holloway murder that was on every channel every night for weeks?

Steven- former wrestling personalities “all pathetically entrenched in irrelevance” is on the money as it relates to many news show appearances by those that are clamoring for 15 more minutes of exposure for “the good of the business”.

Andrew- holding wrestling events at major league baseball stadiums has been done (Shea comes to mind) but they are challenging. Not impossible to pull off but challenging. I must admit that broadcasting from Fenway would be cool nonetheless.

Katie- I am working on the details to do an autograph/meet ‘n’ greet appearance the night before SummerSlam in New Jersey. As soon as the details are finalized I will let everyone know. I rarely do these appearances, but love meeting and interacting with the greatest fans in the world.

Matthew- We had a great time as always in Houston, a city rich in wrestling heritage thanks in a large part by the late promoter Paul Boesch. I spend many a Friday night at the old Sam Houston Coliseum where the beer was cold, the fans were hot, and the parties at the old Ramada Inn at Hobby Airport were memorable.

Mile High Mark- Our security system at our soon to open Bar-B-Q eatery (July 11) is state of the art. I won’t provide any more details other than that as it relates to our memorabilia but we are covered as it relates to security.

Alex- I hope the WWE returns to the Ford Center in 2008 as I don’t think a 2007 date is in the plan. For the record, my personal track record for Oklahoma based WWE events isn’t so sterling.

Ben- I look forward to seeing you are our Bar-B-Q place and I do plan on being there a great deal.

Rob- You are the first person that has ever told me that I remind them of “Hank Hill” on King of the Hill. Not quite sure how to take that one but I do love the show and think that a “J.R.” character would fit in with the rest of the good, old boys perfectly. Hint. Hint.

Alan- Dominoe’s nose is big time broken. No rumor, just the facts a la Joe Friday.

Mike- My voice is deeper probably for several reasons, namely getting older and calling thousands of matches at a high intensity level. Plus, having an occasional cigar and a cocktail might add to my lower octave as well, to be bluntly honest.

Joe- I don’t know where you heard that the WWE “fired” Roddy Piper, as he returns on a reoccurring role on TV from time to time, much to the delight of all his fans. I’m one of those fans, for the record.

Paul- Steve’s Austin’s DVD will be out in February as I understand it, while “The Condemned” will be out on DVD in September. I am definitely going to purchase the DVD.

RVD Fan- Even though RVD is no longer in the WWE, I am sure that those of us who love to watch him wrestle haven’t seen the last of Rob. I love Rob’s uniqueness and feel he still has plenty of fuel left in his tank. I truly enjoyed working with him.

Humpty- If you ask Ric Flair who were the two toughest men he ever faced, I would bet money “Naitch” would say Harley Race and Wahoo McDaniel.

I-Man- The general news business covers wrestling when they usually can bask in the negative. Period. I have seen it for over 3 decades. Yes, Wrestlemania gets some media stretch if a Trump or Tyson is involved, but not so much when it is simply the wrestlers themselves. The mainstream media has never covered our business fairly and I will believe that until the day I die. Your opinion is valued here but I don’t agree with it. Sports pages cover wrestling usually when there is a tragedy and the entertainment pages don’t think wrestling is good entertainment, in their tainted eyes, even though Monday Night Raw’s ratings are big time, essentially every week.

C.R.- The schedule for a wrestler is tough. However, they do NOT travel 52 weeks a year. Secondly, having been there, unlike you, I have granted dozens of wrestlers time off and they did not lose “their spot”. Every athlete needs to recharge their batteries. Wrestlers that are on weekly checks, which many are, do not lose their monies when they are off. We even paid athletes who were in rehab. Your analogy that no one wants to ask for time off because of “repercussions” is ludicrous. Does the schedule, these men and women work, need to be evaluated? In my personal opinion, yes, but it is much more manageable than at any other time in the history of the business, especially if the individuals themselves act like adults and professionals.

Vanilla Gorilla- I don’t need you or anyone else reminding me of who Chris Benoit was and I am sorry your Calgary date has been postponed, not cancelled, but postponed. During horrific events of recent weeks neither you nor anyone else needs to remind me of what kind of man Chris was until the last few hours of his life. No one has “forgotten Alberta” so please get over it and celebrate your blessings and enjoy the WWE, or not, when the next event is in your area.

Pops- I thought Bill DeMott’s passion on his recent TV news appearances were moving. Everyone is looking for an answer, that most likely will never be known.

Mick- I have as much fun doing the “Legends Roundtable” discussions as virtually anything I do in the WWE. I love WWE 24/7 and watch it religiously. I am sincerely happy you like it too.

Alan- We are all happy to have Lilian back, especially JBL.

Tessa- There is NO TRUTH to the rumor that either The Undertaker OR HBK are retiring this year. If either of them called it quits anytime soon, I would be absolutely SHOCKED.

Joe- I too enjoyed Raw from Dallas and it was great getting back to having fun. The Raw roster is going to be exciting to watch evolve and there are some super potential matchups on the horizon. Plus, next week I return to my roots in Louisiana as Raw returns to lovely Lafayette, where the alligators grow so mean and the food is DE-licious!

We are on target to open our Bar-B-Q Restaurant on Wednesday, July 11 at 11 a.m. so circle the date on your calendar. I can’t tell you how excited the Mrs. and I am about this and I hope you will come see us if you ever get the chance. In the meantime our Jerky business is great and we can easily ship it to you. Do some shopping and know your business is greatly appreciated.

BOOMER SOONER!
J.R.