Showing posts with label jerry lawler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jerry lawler. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Jerry Lawler News
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler continues to recover in a hospital in Montreal, Canada, after suffering a heart attack during Monday’s Raw broadcast.
Lawler’s family members are with him, including son and former WWE performer Brian Christopher Lawler, who released a statement Tuesday evening concerning his father’s condition. Though stable, the concern now is whether he suffered brain damage following the heart attack.
His message reads: “Ok, here’s the latest real update. Lauren and I are here at the hospital in Montreal. He does not look good at all. He is responsive to questions that he is asked which is very good. His sedation and breathing support are being lowered slowly right now. He was shocked a total of 7 times at the arena and underwent a balloon stint to open up a clogged artery when he arrived at hospital. Everyone out there needs to say a special prayer for his brain at this point, please. Tests on his brain will not be available until the morning. One of us two will keep all you guys informed as we know more.”
Stacy Carter, Lawler’s former wife, remains optimistic on “The King.” She tweeted late Tuesday night, “Gonna try to get some sleep. Been a long 24 plus hours. I just know there will be some good news about @jerrylawler ‘s condition tomorrow!!!”
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Jerry Lawler discusses Andy Kaufman feud
Jerry Lawler recently discussed his legendary feud with Andy Kaufman on WWE's Website. Here are some highlights.
WWE CLASSICS: Out of all the great rivalries in wrestling and all the great pop culture moments, what is it about this one incident that 30 years later people are still so fascinated by?
LAWLER: It was the first time something like that had happened. I don’t know if I should tell this or not, but one night I was flying back on the plane with Vince McMahon. And he said, “You know, King, I’ve never told you this before, but I was so jealous when you got Andy Kaufman and did all that stuff with him down there in Memphis. Because he was from New York, and I thought we could have done all that stuff up here.” But he also said, “But I’ll be honest with you. There’s no way on Earth we could have done it as well as you guys did it.”
WWE CLASSICS: Wow. It would have been a totally different dynamic.
LAWLER: Yes, but it would have been a first. Vince loves firsts. To this day, you hear on Monday Night Raw that you’re going to see something for the first time ever. That’s big. And this was the first time any big deal Hollywood star was involved to that extent in wrestling. Vince realized, everybody realized, because it got so much national exposure. Everything back then was still regionalized. Cable TV hadn’t hit yet. The country was divided up into wrestling territories because of TV coverage. Once Vince saw you could use a Hollywood star to get that nationwide exposure, here comes Cyndi Lauper with Captain Lou and Wendi Richter, and then Mr. T gets brought in. The ball got rolling, and it hasn’t stopped to this day. Just in the past year, Hugh Jackman was in there punching Dolph Ziggler.
WWE CLASSICS: Yeah, you really could argue that Andy Kaufman is responsible for all of that.
LAWLER: I really feel, in my heart of hearts, that he was responsible for that. I certainly believe that Andy Kaufman deserves a spot in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. Without a doubt, we would not be where we are today without his involvement. I really feel that way. Even at Raw 1,000, we had Charlie Sheen challenging Daniel Bryan to a match. It’s Andy Kaufman revisited as recently as last night.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
DVD Review - Extreme Rules 2011
WWE DVD Review – Extreme Rules 2011
By Phil Allely
Extreme Rules 2011 may have seemed like your usual run of the mill stipulation heavy pay-per-view event, but it was an awful lot more than that. This was the event where we were guaranteed a new World Heavyweight Champion (after Edge’s sudden retirement due to injury), the newly vacated belt being fought for under ladder match rules between Christian and Alberto Del Rio.
This was a historic night in other areas too, whilst Del Rio and Christian battled for their respective brands gold using steel ladders, John Cena, John Morrison and The Miz took their three-way scrap for the WWE Championship into the confines of a steel cage. Elsewhere Randy Orton and CM Punk took their war to new levels with a brutal Last Man Standing encounter that bettered their WrestleMania effort.
These three match-ups are well worth watching for their innovative, exciting and hard-hitting action, but they are in good company too. Kofi Kingston versus Sheamus for the United States Championship proved to be a thoroughly decent Tables bout. The Country Whipping Match between the teams of Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler/Jim Ross and Michael Cole/Jack Swagger lived up to expectations (just). Rey Mysterio’s Falls Count Anywhere brawl with Cody Rhodes proved to be far better than expected, considering Mysterio’s collective injuries this was indeed impressive. The Layla and Michelle McCool Loser Leaves WWE match was well planned, short and worked to meet its ends. The only shortcoming being the Kane/Big Show versus Wade Barrett/Ezekiel Jackson Lumberjack Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, this could have been good if given enough time to build.
Extreme Rules was a well above average PPV event, the stipulations worked well in the whole, the Del Rio and Christian match gave the fans just what they wished for, the Lawler/Ross & Cole/Swagger bout rounded that feud off to a degree and the LayCool Diva scrap saw us bid farewell to one of the WWE’s most recent female success stories.
This DVD fully showcases Extreme Rules as the success it was, there were some decent matches, storylines continued and some feuds ended in style. The crowning of a new champion (or two)and some surprises to boot.
On the extras front we have an interview the new World Heavyweight Champion.
WWE Extreme Rules is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.
Available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats, RRP £17.99 (single disc DVD) & £24.99 (double disc Blu-ray).
By Phil Allely
Extreme Rules 2011 may have seemed like your usual run of the mill stipulation heavy pay-per-view event, but it was an awful lot more than that. This was the event where we were guaranteed a new World Heavyweight Champion (after Edge’s sudden retirement due to injury), the newly vacated belt being fought for under ladder match rules between Christian and Alberto Del Rio.
This was a historic night in other areas too, whilst Del Rio and Christian battled for their respective brands gold using steel ladders, John Cena, John Morrison and The Miz took their three-way scrap for the WWE Championship into the confines of a steel cage. Elsewhere Randy Orton and CM Punk took their war to new levels with a brutal Last Man Standing encounter that bettered their WrestleMania effort.
These three match-ups are well worth watching for their innovative, exciting and hard-hitting action, but they are in good company too. Kofi Kingston versus Sheamus for the United States Championship proved to be a thoroughly decent Tables bout. The Country Whipping Match between the teams of Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler/Jim Ross and Michael Cole/Jack Swagger lived up to expectations (just). Rey Mysterio’s Falls Count Anywhere brawl with Cody Rhodes proved to be far better than expected, considering Mysterio’s collective injuries this was indeed impressive. The Layla and Michelle McCool Loser Leaves WWE match was well planned, short and worked to meet its ends. The only shortcoming being the Kane/Big Show versus Wade Barrett/Ezekiel Jackson Lumberjack Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, this could have been good if given enough time to build.
Extreme Rules was a well above average PPV event, the stipulations worked well in the whole, the Del Rio and Christian match gave the fans just what they wished for, the Lawler/Ross & Cole/Swagger bout rounded that feud off to a degree and the LayCool Diva scrap saw us bid farewell to one of the WWE’s most recent female success stories.
This DVD fully showcases Extreme Rules as the success it was, there were some decent matches, storylines continued and some feuds ended in style. The crowning of a new champion (or two)and some surprises to boot.
On the extras front we have an interview the new World Heavyweight Champion.
WWE Extreme Rules is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.
Available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats, RRP £17.99 (single disc DVD) & £24.99 (double disc Blu-ray).
Monday, 16 May 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Jerry Lawler Interview Highlights
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler spoke with IGN this week to promote his WrestleMania 27 match with Michael Cole. Here are some highlights:
You're facing off against Michael Cole at WrestleMania. Since this is your first WrestleMania match ever, would you have preferred it be against an actual wrestler?
Would I have preferred for it to be a wrestler? Maybe at first. But now, looking back on the way this has all unfolded and the way it's going to be now, I couldn't have had a better opponent. Especially now that it's so reminiscent of the actual Andy Kaufman feud. I mean here, just like Andy, I'm going in the ring against a guy who's never competed. Not only at WrestleMania, but anywhere. So the curiosity factor of what will be going through Michael Cole's mind, other than my fist, makes this the perfect match up here. The people want to see Michael Cole get completely destroyed. They know without the help of Jack Swagger he's going to be helpless and they know that with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin being in the match as the referee, they know he's not going to put up with interference and foolishness. So it'll just come down to me and Cole once that bell rings. So, to me, that's perfect. Because if I can't put a major league whooping on Michael Cole, after all the years I've been in the business, then something's wrong.
Do you think Cole has a better chance of getting a piledriver or a stunner at WrestleMania?
Well, I would say probably a stunner. Without a doubt. It's in his future somewhere along the line. Maybe once the match is over. But you know what? The WWE has become so health conscious about concussions. It's been in the news, what with football players not allowed to have helmet to helmet contact anymore. So they've actually banned piledrivers. You know, the piledriver move consists of turning your opponent upside head and dropping them on the top of their head. Which is what I used as my career finishing move for so many years. So I'm not going to be able to give Cole a piledriver. But if you remember, it was always illegal. Even back in Tennessee when I gave Andy Kaufman the two piledrivers, it actually cost me the victory. Andy was actually awarded the match and the victory because I used the piledrivers, but I just wanted to prove a point and I felt like I wanted to hurt Andy just to let him know what the business was really like. And even though I do feel the same way, I feel like I have to hurt Michael Cole. I feel like if I let a guy who's never been in a match before go into the biggest match of my career and come out unscathed, it's going to make everything I've ever done look like a joke. So I plan on making Michael Cole's next stop, after he gets to the Georgia Dome, be the hospital.
Many feel nowadays that The Undertaker's streak, and any match where his streak is on the line, is more of a marquee event than title matches at WrestleMania. Do you agree?
You know what? I do. And simply because, with what we talked about a minute ago with me and Michael Cole, I think that becomes personal. Because you know it's a huge personal thing for The Undertaker that he's gone 18 years without losing at WrestleMania. So that streak of his is a tremendous accomplishment and he's got to take it as a major personal threat or affront when someone challenges him. And with Triple H, who's been best friends with Shawn Michael for years and Shawn Michaels having gone out in a blaze of glory last year not being able to break Undertaker's streak… You know it's got to be personal for Triple H. And it means everything to him to try and do something his best friend couldn't do. And maybe he's doing it for his best friend. And maybe it's that little bit of emotion where he's saying "Look at this Shawn. I'm going to do something you couldn't do." But who knows? You know it's a personal thing for Triple H to win this match. Yes, you can sometimes have match that, to the fans, have that little extra bit of significance. More so than just – and I don't want to say just a title match – but we see a lot of title matches. The champion has to defend the title on a regular basis. But you don't always see matches that have personal issues riding on it.
You're facing off against Michael Cole at WrestleMania. Since this is your first WrestleMania match ever, would you have preferred it be against an actual wrestler?
Would I have preferred for it to be a wrestler? Maybe at first. But now, looking back on the way this has all unfolded and the way it's going to be now, I couldn't have had a better opponent. Especially now that it's so reminiscent of the actual Andy Kaufman feud. I mean here, just like Andy, I'm going in the ring against a guy who's never competed. Not only at WrestleMania, but anywhere. So the curiosity factor of what will be going through Michael Cole's mind, other than my fist, makes this the perfect match up here. The people want to see Michael Cole get completely destroyed. They know without the help of Jack Swagger he's going to be helpless and they know that with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin being in the match as the referee, they know he's not going to put up with interference and foolishness. So it'll just come down to me and Cole once that bell rings. So, to me, that's perfect. Because if I can't put a major league whooping on Michael Cole, after all the years I've been in the business, then something's wrong.
Do you think Cole has a better chance of getting a piledriver or a stunner at WrestleMania?
Well, I would say probably a stunner. Without a doubt. It's in his future somewhere along the line. Maybe once the match is over. But you know what? The WWE has become so health conscious about concussions. It's been in the news, what with football players not allowed to have helmet to helmet contact anymore. So they've actually banned piledrivers. You know, the piledriver move consists of turning your opponent upside head and dropping them on the top of their head. Which is what I used as my career finishing move for so many years. So I'm not going to be able to give Cole a piledriver. But if you remember, it was always illegal. Even back in Tennessee when I gave Andy Kaufman the two piledrivers, it actually cost me the victory. Andy was actually awarded the match and the victory because I used the piledrivers, but I just wanted to prove a point and I felt like I wanted to hurt Andy just to let him know what the business was really like. And even though I do feel the same way, I feel like I have to hurt Michael Cole. I feel like if I let a guy who's never been in a match before go into the biggest match of my career and come out unscathed, it's going to make everything I've ever done look like a joke. So I plan on making Michael Cole's next stop, after he gets to the Georgia Dome, be the hospital.
Many feel nowadays that The Undertaker's streak, and any match where his streak is on the line, is more of a marquee event than title matches at WrestleMania. Do you agree?
You know what? I do. And simply because, with what we talked about a minute ago with me and Michael Cole, I think that becomes personal. Because you know it's a huge personal thing for The Undertaker that he's gone 18 years without losing at WrestleMania. So that streak of his is a tremendous accomplishment and he's got to take it as a major personal threat or affront when someone challenges him. And with Triple H, who's been best friends with Shawn Michael for years and Shawn Michaels having gone out in a blaze of glory last year not being able to break Undertaker's streak… You know it's got to be personal for Triple H. And it means everything to him to try and do something his best friend couldn't do. And maybe he's doing it for his best friend. And maybe it's that little bit of emotion where he's saying "Look at this Shawn. I'm going to do something you couldn't do." But who knows? You know it's a personal thing for Triple H to win this match. Yes, you can sometimes have match that, to the fans, have that little extra bit of significance. More so than just – and I don't want to say just a title match – but we see a lot of title matches. The champion has to defend the title on a regular basis. But you don't always see matches that have personal issues riding on it.
Friday, 25 March 2011
JR's New Blog Highlights
Several fans sent me a Tweet @JRsBBQ of the first match that Jerry Lawler and I ever announced together which was in 1983. Jerry was with his business partner at the time Jerry Jarrett and they were visiting Bill Watts on a TV night for Mid South Wrestling. Soon after this meeting, Watts and the two Jerry's made a talent trade that brought the Rock 'n Roll Express and Midnight Express (Condrey, Eaton, & Cornette) to Mid South. Both territories were able to freshen up their talent rosters via this timely trade.
The King sat in with me only on one match, as I recall, a tag match pitting Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart vs. Lanny Poffo and Iceman king Parsons. Who knew that a decade later that the two of us would form one of the longer lasting broadcast partnerships in TV wrestling history? To see it on You Tube try http://deck.ly/~xOLxT.
I missed out on the OU Football play by play position but the University made an excellent hire with 37 year old Toby Rowland. I'm disappointed that I didn't get a shot at my childhood 'dream job' but I'm happy for Toby and know that he will do a great job of underscoring the 'theater of the mind,' better known as radio, to the Sooner faithful.
Some of my friends feel that my long time association and name identity within pro wrestling over the years did not work in my favor. I'm not sure that I agree with that analogy but the bottom line is that it wasn't meant to be and as I said all along I felt that I was a long shot at best.
Look for Brock Lesnar to pop up on ESPN over the next few days, perhaps with Jonathan Coachman, for a 'unique' feature on the former WWE, UFC and NCAA Champion. Brock next fights June 11, at this time in Vancouver, against Junior Dos Santos. Of course Lesnar is one of the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter which debuts soon not to mention that Brock's book, co-written with Paul Heyman, will be in stores in a few weeks. I'm anxious to read Brock's book and hope that you check it out as well.
Speaking of UFC, they have a youthful fighter in Jon Jones who can perhaps headline three PPV's over a 12 month period if Bones can avoid injuries. The athletically gifted Jones, the youngest UFC Champion ever, is an extraordinarily unique fighter and, at 23 years of age, will recover from fights quicker than older competitors. The licensing and marketing potential for 'Bones' Jones is unlimited. To potentially be able to get 3 main events on PPV from Bones over a 12-14 month period of time is like printing money.
The Jones-Rashard Evans story over the UFC light Heavyweight Title is such a simple story to tell and to sell. Teacher vs. Pupil. Training camp partners. Jones wins 'Evans fight' vs Rua for the title, etc. I don't expect to hear amped up trash talking between the two men but I do expect that their naturally, competitive nature will be exploited as it should.
I got invited by the Celtics to attend their game in Atlanta on Friday night of WM27 week but the game conflicts with an appearance I will be on at the THQ location at WM Axxess. I'm actually going to play against The King in the new, WWE All Stars video game. I predict that Jerry will defeat me just as he will Cole in the Georgia Dome.
I might have actually been able to do some play by play while in Atlanta on Celtics radio with my pal and Celts voice Sean Grande.
For those attending Axxess, Lawler and I will also be at the WWE HOF booth signing autographs on Saturday morning from 10 am- noon. Plus, our JR's products will be on sale at the WWE merchandise stand throughout Axxess as well. Remember, no shipping charges at Axxess.
@joeystyles is lighting it up on Twitter. The artist also known as 'Stocky Balboa' is one of the more outspoken individuals in WWE and expresses himself freely on Twitter. Some day Joey and I may get to broadcast some lost classics for WWEClassics.com or WWE On Demand. Time will tell.
Have any of you checked out the Cauliflower Alley Club website at http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org? I'm looking forward to attending their April banquet in Las Vegas along with several other WWE HOF'ers. Hope to see many old friends and fans there.
We'll all miss Sir Oliver Humperdink at CAC this year as 'Hump' passed away a few days ago at the age of 62 after suffering from bladder cancer. Humpy had those bulging eyes and when he, shall we say, partook of smokable herb, those saucer sized eyes became very, very red.
Or so I heard.
The man born as John Sutton will be missed by us all and will always be one of the all time great managers in the business but likely will also always be underrated just as will his amazing team of the Hollywood Blonds, Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts.
Great managers knew exactly when to be seen and when to interject themselves and, above all else, knew how to enhance their talent's skills. Hump 'got it' and his Hollywood Blond duo had tag team skills that would easily work well today if tag team wrestling was being featured at all on a national level. The 'Blonds' utilized classic, timeless tag team strategy that I can still vividly recall from matches that they had in the 70's.
BTW and before I forget...if you want an autograph on this site, I do not sell them. I will sign for free but you have to include what you want signed and a self addressed stamped envelope or it won't get done. Send requests to: JR's BBQ, PO Box 721294, Norman, Oklahoma 73070.
In my four plus decades in the wrestling biz, I can't name anyone who stood their ground against a variety of power brokers and stayed loyal to their in ring persona more than new WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Abdullah the Butcher. Abby perfected his game plan decades ago and never deviated from it to any significant degree. He stayed independent in his thinking and managed his own career while becoming a financially secure, Global, main event performer. 'Butch' as the late, great Gary Hart used to call him, is also very astute. If someone pulled the wool over Abdullah's eyes, they only did it once. He gave me some great advice as a young man who was just getting into corporate management within this wacky business.
Abdullah the Butcher is a superb selection for the WWE Hall of Fame as he has stood the test of time and made the term 'Hardcore' fashionable. Who was more 'Hardcore' for more years than Abby? Seems to me that the Butcher was the true innovator of the hardcore style of wrestling featuring blood and weapons.
Remember, we do not ship outside the USA but http://www.wweshop.com does and they do a really good job. If you check out their site, you can find some outstanding deals on products and on shipping especially to the UK, Canada, and Germany.
@JRsBBQ on Twitter has over 114,000 followers and grows daily. Thanks.
We're getting very excited about WM27 in my old stomping grounds of Atlanta. The Mrs. and I enjoyed living in Atlanta so much back in the day. We were homeowners there and still have many, many friends who reside in the Peach State. Being able to announce wrestling from the old TBS studios on Techwood Drive ala Gordon Solie in his heyday was a thrill for me and was a 'boyhood dream' that I was able to experience.
Ah, the 'good old days' when broadcasters actually did play by play during pro wrestling matches....and when a tank of gasoline and a sack of groceries didn't bruise the bank account.
Thanks for stocking up with JR's products from our on line store as it seems as if many of you are planning on WM27 parties and tailgates. We appreciate the biz and you've still got time to get your orders delivered before the event if you hustle.
Boomer Sooner!
JR
The King sat in with me only on one match, as I recall, a tag match pitting Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart vs. Lanny Poffo and Iceman king Parsons. Who knew that a decade later that the two of us would form one of the longer lasting broadcast partnerships in TV wrestling history? To see it on You Tube try http://deck.ly/~xOLxT.
I missed out on the OU Football play by play position but the University made an excellent hire with 37 year old Toby Rowland. I'm disappointed that I didn't get a shot at my childhood 'dream job' but I'm happy for Toby and know that he will do a great job of underscoring the 'theater of the mind,' better known as radio, to the Sooner faithful.
Some of my friends feel that my long time association and name identity within pro wrestling over the years did not work in my favor. I'm not sure that I agree with that analogy but the bottom line is that it wasn't meant to be and as I said all along I felt that I was a long shot at best.
Look for Brock Lesnar to pop up on ESPN over the next few days, perhaps with Jonathan Coachman, for a 'unique' feature on the former WWE, UFC and NCAA Champion. Brock next fights June 11, at this time in Vancouver, against Junior Dos Santos. Of course Lesnar is one of the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter which debuts soon not to mention that Brock's book, co-written with Paul Heyman, will be in stores in a few weeks. I'm anxious to read Brock's book and hope that you check it out as well.
Speaking of UFC, they have a youthful fighter in Jon Jones who can perhaps headline three PPV's over a 12 month period if Bones can avoid injuries. The athletically gifted Jones, the youngest UFC Champion ever, is an extraordinarily unique fighter and, at 23 years of age, will recover from fights quicker than older competitors. The licensing and marketing potential for 'Bones' Jones is unlimited. To potentially be able to get 3 main events on PPV from Bones over a 12-14 month period of time is like printing money.
The Jones-Rashard Evans story over the UFC light Heavyweight Title is such a simple story to tell and to sell. Teacher vs. Pupil. Training camp partners. Jones wins 'Evans fight' vs Rua for the title, etc. I don't expect to hear amped up trash talking between the two men but I do expect that their naturally, competitive nature will be exploited as it should.
I got invited by the Celtics to attend their game in Atlanta on Friday night of WM27 week but the game conflicts with an appearance I will be on at the THQ location at WM Axxess. I'm actually going to play against The King in the new, WWE All Stars video game. I predict that Jerry will defeat me just as he will Cole in the Georgia Dome.
I might have actually been able to do some play by play while in Atlanta on Celtics radio with my pal and Celts voice Sean Grande.
For those attending Axxess, Lawler and I will also be at the WWE HOF booth signing autographs on Saturday morning from 10 am- noon. Plus, our JR's products will be on sale at the WWE merchandise stand throughout Axxess as well. Remember, no shipping charges at Axxess.
@joeystyles is lighting it up on Twitter. The artist also known as 'Stocky Balboa' is one of the more outspoken individuals in WWE and expresses himself freely on Twitter. Some day Joey and I may get to broadcast some lost classics for WWEClassics.com or WWE On Demand. Time will tell.
Have any of you checked out the Cauliflower Alley Club website at http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org? I'm looking forward to attending their April banquet in Las Vegas along with several other WWE HOF'ers. Hope to see many old friends and fans there.
We'll all miss Sir Oliver Humperdink at CAC this year as 'Hump' passed away a few days ago at the age of 62 after suffering from bladder cancer. Humpy had those bulging eyes and when he, shall we say, partook of smokable herb, those saucer sized eyes became very, very red.
Or so I heard.
The man born as John Sutton will be missed by us all and will always be one of the all time great managers in the business but likely will also always be underrated just as will his amazing team of the Hollywood Blonds, Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts.
Great managers knew exactly when to be seen and when to interject themselves and, above all else, knew how to enhance their talent's skills. Hump 'got it' and his Hollywood Blond duo had tag team skills that would easily work well today if tag team wrestling was being featured at all on a national level. The 'Blonds' utilized classic, timeless tag team strategy that I can still vividly recall from matches that they had in the 70's.
BTW and before I forget...if you want an autograph on this site, I do not sell them. I will sign for free but you have to include what you want signed and a self addressed stamped envelope or it won't get done. Send requests to: JR's BBQ, PO Box 721294, Norman, Oklahoma 73070.
In my four plus decades in the wrestling biz, I can't name anyone who stood their ground against a variety of power brokers and stayed loyal to their in ring persona more than new WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Abdullah the Butcher. Abby perfected his game plan decades ago and never deviated from it to any significant degree. He stayed independent in his thinking and managed his own career while becoming a financially secure, Global, main event performer. 'Butch' as the late, great Gary Hart used to call him, is also very astute. If someone pulled the wool over Abdullah's eyes, they only did it once. He gave me some great advice as a young man who was just getting into corporate management within this wacky business.
Abdullah the Butcher is a superb selection for the WWE Hall of Fame as he has stood the test of time and made the term 'Hardcore' fashionable. Who was more 'Hardcore' for more years than Abby? Seems to me that the Butcher was the true innovator of the hardcore style of wrestling featuring blood and weapons.
Remember, we do not ship outside the USA but http://www.wweshop.com does and they do a really good job. If you check out their site, you can find some outstanding deals on products and on shipping especially to the UK, Canada, and Germany.
@JRsBBQ on Twitter has over 114,000 followers and grows daily. Thanks.
We're getting very excited about WM27 in my old stomping grounds of Atlanta. The Mrs. and I enjoyed living in Atlanta so much back in the day. We were homeowners there and still have many, many friends who reside in the Peach State. Being able to announce wrestling from the old TBS studios on Techwood Drive ala Gordon Solie in his heyday was a thrill for me and was a 'boyhood dream' that I was able to experience.
Ah, the 'good old days' when broadcasters actually did play by play during pro wrestling matches....and when a tank of gasoline and a sack of groceries didn't bruise the bank account.
Thanks for stocking up with JR's products from our on line store as it seems as if many of you are planning on WM27 parties and tailgates. We appreciate the biz and you've still got time to get your orders delivered before the event if you hustle.
Boomer Sooner!
JR
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Bret Hart Tweets
After going on a scathing tirade against Hulk Hogan last week on Twitter, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart is back with another batch of fan Q&A. Here are some highlights of what Bret said about:
Lawler vs. Cole at WrestleMania: "I hope Lawler rag, bags, and shags (that's british slang) him royally at WM."
Shawn Michaels and Sunny In The Same Hall of Fame Class: "It's kind of ironic. We're all enjoying sunny days again. haha ;)"
Whether He Watched Laycool's Parody Of Him A Few Weeks Ago: "Yes, I did. They did a good job. Michelle McCool is such a pro. Despite her beauty, she can stay heel which is difficult"
His Favorite WWE PPV: "The SummerSlam PPV has always been a favorite. Almost always had a good match at that event."
Least Favorite WWE PPV: "Survivor Series. The initial concept was lame."
Vince Russo's Involvement In His Canada/USA WWE Storyline (1997): "Zero input from Russo for Canada/USA storyline. He wasn't much more than a pencil holder till I left."
Five TNA Originals Who Would Be Good in WWE: "AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Kazarian, Jeremy Borash"
Lawler vs. Cole at WrestleMania: "I hope Lawler rag, bags, and shags (that's british slang) him royally at WM."
Shawn Michaels and Sunny In The Same Hall of Fame Class: "It's kind of ironic. We're all enjoying sunny days again. haha ;)"
Whether He Watched Laycool's Parody Of Him A Few Weeks Ago: "Yes, I did. They did a good job. Michelle McCool is such a pro. Despite her beauty, she can stay heel which is difficult"
His Favorite WWE PPV: "The SummerSlam PPV has always been a favorite. Almost always had a good match at that event."
Least Favorite WWE PPV: "Survivor Series. The initial concept was lame."
Vince Russo's Involvement In His Canada/USA WWE Storyline (1997): "Zero input from Russo for Canada/USA storyline. He wasn't much more than a pencil holder till I left."
Five TNA Originals Who Would Be Good in WWE: "AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Kazarian, Jeremy Borash"
Saturday, 26 February 2011
WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 PPV Review
WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Pay-Per-View Review
By Phil Allely
The Elimination Chamber is one of the WWE’s best gimmick matches and one that harks back to the glory days of the cage match, where feuds ended inside the steel confines of the cage and old scores were settled with a lot of violence and hefty dose of blood. These days of course the WWE is PG rated and blood is something they try their best not to show on screen if they can. That however doesn’t stop cage and gimmick matches being intensely enjoyable and great live entertainment.
Following hot on the heels of the Royal Rumble Elimination Chamber 2011 was another step along the road to Wrestlemania for many involved and made for very good viewing too, as storylines continued, title chases built and some surprises kept us all on our toes.
Things kicked off nicely with Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio facing off against Intercontinetal Champion Kofi Kingston. The action was crisp, Del Rio and Kingston blending well together to make a nice opener for the PPV. The rising star that is Del Rio finally winning with his arm breaker finisher to out the non-title match to bed and progress with momentum onto this years Mania.
Next up was the first Elimination Chamber bout, this one was the Smackdown brands chance to shine as Drew McIntyre, Kane, Rey Mysterio and Big Show (replacing the fired Dolph Ziggler) all went on the attack within the steel structure to wrestle the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge.
There were some pretty decent exchanges as each man entered the fray and the fight began to pick up speed. Edge held his own form the start and even as the bodies began being pounded, battered and flung onto as much exposed steel as possible it always looked as if he could achieve the impossible and leave the match as champion. As the eliminations started to reduce opponents it was Edge who was able to outsmart Mysterio to retain his gold.
His celebrations were short lived though, as Del Rio ran in to began to assault him, luckily Edge’s (storyline brother) Christian made his timely return to the WWE and chased off Del Rio.
Booker T then made his way to the ring to introduce another perosn who will join him as trainer on the upcoming Stone Cold Steve Austin hosted series of WWE Tough Enough, it was none other than former Women’s Champion Trish Stratus. Booker and Trish had some fun in the ring to the enjoyement of all in attendance before the action started again.
The unlikely and yet amazingly ‘over’ tag team of Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella were defending their gold against members of new faction The Corre (Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel), with Ezekiel Jackson in their corner too, things were one-side for the defending champs in this one. Kozlov and Marella did have their moments, but this was all Corre, Gabriel was able ti pull off the win and net the belts after a nice 450 splash on Kozlov.
A fun segment then saw Vickie Guerrero face off against Teddy Long over the firing of her beau Dolph Ziggler, Kelly Kelly made her return to the company. LayCool made a run-in to attack Kelly, fortunately Trish Stratus made the save and unleashed a beautiful double bulldog on the pair to round off a fun return by two of the fans favourite Divas.
Up next was the match many of us have been waiting for decades to see, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler in a WWE Title match on PPV and this time he just may have a chance to raise the one title that has eluded him over the years. Lawler’s feud with WWE Titlist The Miz and colour commentator Michael Cole had already hit fever pitch by their point and the crowd were as pumped up as 61 one year old Lawler was.
The match itself was very good considering The King’s age and Miz’s relative newness to this level of bout. Both men traded the advantage, Lawler hit some nice moves for near falls and of course Cole and Miz’s second Alex Riley got themselves into the mix at times too. All of which set up nicely the finishing sequence, after missing a piledriver Lawler was hit by a big kick and then a ‘Skull Crunching Finale to see his dreams of WWE gold slip through his fingers one more time (although his now planned match with Cole at Wrestlemania will see him achieve that dream of appearing on the biggest event in the WWE year).
The main event was of course the Raw Elimination Chamber, there was no title belt on the lien this time, just the small matter of being able to go to Wrestlemania and take on the champ for the gold. With a prize such as that on offer hopes were high indeed for this one.
Shaemus and John Morrison started things off and got the pace going for the others. They were soon joined by Randy Orton, CM Punk, R Truth and eventually John Cena. A malfunctioning pod saw Punk get eliminated and re-instated (by the ever present RAW GM computer), this let everyone have a fair shot at the match it seemed and all went for it with gusto. The final three remaining were Morrison, Punk and Cena, after some nice sequences Punk eliminated Morrison and felt the force of an Attitude Adjustment from Cena on the steel for his trouble. Cena was then easily able to pin Punk and win his spot on the Wrestlemania card.
Elimination Chamber 2011 was a fun and interesting event, the build up to Mania was well paced and the return of Trish and Kelly were nice to see. The addition of Booker T to the commentating roster and the tag Title change are fresh and welcomed ones too. Miz not laying down for Lawler was a disappointment to many, the king fully deserves a title run, even a short one for his dedication to the sprt, but perhaps he himself is happy enough to be in a title match and to know that he will make it to Wrestlemania at long last.
By Phil Allely
The Elimination Chamber is one of the WWE’s best gimmick matches and one that harks back to the glory days of the cage match, where feuds ended inside the steel confines of the cage and old scores were settled with a lot of violence and hefty dose of blood. These days of course the WWE is PG rated and blood is something they try their best not to show on screen if they can. That however doesn’t stop cage and gimmick matches being intensely enjoyable and great live entertainment.
Following hot on the heels of the Royal Rumble Elimination Chamber 2011 was another step along the road to Wrestlemania for many involved and made for very good viewing too, as storylines continued, title chases built and some surprises kept us all on our toes.
Things kicked off nicely with Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio facing off against Intercontinetal Champion Kofi Kingston. The action was crisp, Del Rio and Kingston blending well together to make a nice opener for the PPV. The rising star that is Del Rio finally winning with his arm breaker finisher to out the non-title match to bed and progress with momentum onto this years Mania.
Next up was the first Elimination Chamber bout, this one was the Smackdown brands chance to shine as Drew McIntyre, Kane, Rey Mysterio and Big Show (replacing the fired Dolph Ziggler) all went on the attack within the steel structure to wrestle the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge.
There were some pretty decent exchanges as each man entered the fray and the fight began to pick up speed. Edge held his own form the start and even as the bodies began being pounded, battered and flung onto as much exposed steel as possible it always looked as if he could achieve the impossible and leave the match as champion. As the eliminations started to reduce opponents it was Edge who was able to outsmart Mysterio to retain his gold.
His celebrations were short lived though, as Del Rio ran in to began to assault him, luckily Edge’s (storyline brother) Christian made his timely return to the WWE and chased off Del Rio.
Booker T then made his way to the ring to introduce another perosn who will join him as trainer on the upcoming Stone Cold Steve Austin hosted series of WWE Tough Enough, it was none other than former Women’s Champion Trish Stratus. Booker and Trish had some fun in the ring to the enjoyement of all in attendance before the action started again.
The unlikely and yet amazingly ‘over’ tag team of Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella were defending their gold against members of new faction The Corre (Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel), with Ezekiel Jackson in their corner too, things were one-side for the defending champs in this one. Kozlov and Marella did have their moments, but this was all Corre, Gabriel was able ti pull off the win and net the belts after a nice 450 splash on Kozlov.
A fun segment then saw Vickie Guerrero face off against Teddy Long over the firing of her beau Dolph Ziggler, Kelly Kelly made her return to the company. LayCool made a run-in to attack Kelly, fortunately Trish Stratus made the save and unleashed a beautiful double bulldog on the pair to round off a fun return by two of the fans favourite Divas.
Up next was the match many of us have been waiting for decades to see, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler in a WWE Title match on PPV and this time he just may have a chance to raise the one title that has eluded him over the years. Lawler’s feud with WWE Titlist The Miz and colour commentator Michael Cole had already hit fever pitch by their point and the crowd were as pumped up as 61 one year old Lawler was.
The match itself was very good considering The King’s age and Miz’s relative newness to this level of bout. Both men traded the advantage, Lawler hit some nice moves for near falls and of course Cole and Miz’s second Alex Riley got themselves into the mix at times too. All of which set up nicely the finishing sequence, after missing a piledriver Lawler was hit by a big kick and then a ‘Skull Crunching Finale to see his dreams of WWE gold slip through his fingers one more time (although his now planned match with Cole at Wrestlemania will see him achieve that dream of appearing on the biggest event in the WWE year).
The main event was of course the Raw Elimination Chamber, there was no title belt on the lien this time, just the small matter of being able to go to Wrestlemania and take on the champ for the gold. With a prize such as that on offer hopes were high indeed for this one.
Shaemus and John Morrison started things off and got the pace going for the others. They were soon joined by Randy Orton, CM Punk, R Truth and eventually John Cena. A malfunctioning pod saw Punk get eliminated and re-instated (by the ever present RAW GM computer), this let everyone have a fair shot at the match it seemed and all went for it with gusto. The final three remaining were Morrison, Punk and Cena, after some nice sequences Punk eliminated Morrison and felt the force of an Attitude Adjustment from Cena on the steel for his trouble. Cena was then easily able to pin Punk and win his spot on the Wrestlemania card.
Elimination Chamber 2011 was a fun and interesting event, the build up to Mania was well paced and the return of Trish and Kelly were nice to see. The addition of Booker T to the commentating roster and the tag Title change are fresh and welcomed ones too. Miz not laying down for Lawler was a disappointment to many, the king fully deserves a title run, even a short one for his dedication to the sprt, but perhaps he himself is happy enough to be in a title match and to know that he will make it to Wrestlemania at long last.
Friday, 25 February 2011
Jerry Lawler Interview Highlights
Jim Ross' future with WWE:
"JR and I had some tremendous chemistry, but I don't think you've seen the last of that. I think JR will be back on the air in some capacity. He's too good not to utilise. A lot of people don't realise what the situation is with him. He had a couple — I guess three now — real serious bouts of Bell's Palsy, which is very similar in effects to a stroke.
They don't really know, but they think the attacks are brought on by stress. Nobody takes their job more seriously than good old JR. The reason Vince has kept him off TV all this time is because he's concerned with his health. He's worried that if he puts him back out there regularly, he'll have another Bell's Palsy attack."
His feud with The Miz:
"I thought the matches, especially the TLC match with The Miz, were good. I know that after the match was over, when I came back to the Gorilla Position, everybody standing there gave me a standing ovation. Vince came over and hugged me and said: 'Man-oh-man, what a great match!'"
Wrestling at WrestleMania:
"I've been with WWE for 17 years and that's something I've never achieved. I remember in 2007, when Vince came to me and said they were going to induct me into the Hall of Fame, I said that I didn't want to. He said: 'What do you mean, you don't want to?' I replied: 'Most people feel like your career is over when you go into the Hall of Fame, like in baseball or football or something. Also, I've never done that much here, Vince. I've never won a title, I've never even wrestled on a WrestleMania.' He said: 'What? You've never wrestled on a Wrestlemania in all the years you've been here? That's a tragedy. We've got to fix that next year.'
That was his mindset then, but things get put on the backburner. First 2008 came and I didn't get a match, then 2009 came and I didn't get a match, then 2010. But I must say that there's never really been a point in time in those years when I've been involved as much as I have been as of late. So if there ever was a time for it to happen, I think this would be the most advantageous.
And would I love to have a WrestleMania match? Oh boy, yes. Other than getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, that would maybe be the highlight of my career to finally get to perform there."
"JR and I had some tremendous chemistry, but I don't think you've seen the last of that. I think JR will be back on the air in some capacity. He's too good not to utilise. A lot of people don't realise what the situation is with him. He had a couple — I guess three now — real serious bouts of Bell's Palsy, which is very similar in effects to a stroke.
They don't really know, but they think the attacks are brought on by stress. Nobody takes their job more seriously than good old JR. The reason Vince has kept him off TV all this time is because he's concerned with his health. He's worried that if he puts him back out there regularly, he'll have another Bell's Palsy attack."
His feud with The Miz:
"I thought the matches, especially the TLC match with The Miz, were good. I know that after the match was over, when I came back to the Gorilla Position, everybody standing there gave me a standing ovation. Vince came over and hugged me and said: 'Man-oh-man, what a great match!'"
Wrestling at WrestleMania:
"I've been with WWE for 17 years and that's something I've never achieved. I remember in 2007, when Vince came to me and said they were going to induct me into the Hall of Fame, I said that I didn't want to. He said: 'What do you mean, you don't want to?' I replied: 'Most people feel like your career is over when you go into the Hall of Fame, like in baseball or football or something. Also, I've never done that much here, Vince. I've never won a title, I've never even wrestled on a WrestleMania.' He said: 'What? You've never wrestled on a Wrestlemania in all the years you've been here? That's a tragedy. We've got to fix that next year.'
That was his mindset then, but things get put on the backburner. First 2008 came and I didn't get a match, then 2009 came and I didn't get a match, then 2010. But I must say that there's never really been a point in time in those years when I've been involved as much as I have been as of late. So if there ever was a time for it to happen, I think this would be the most advantageous.
And would I love to have a WrestleMania match? Oh boy, yes. Other than getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, that would maybe be the highlight of my career to finally get to perform there."
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
WWE All Stars Video Game - Roster News
Randy Savage has been revealed for WWE's All Stars video game which comes out on March 29th for the Xbox360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, PSP and Wii.
Below is the updated confirmed roster for the game:
Announcers
* Jim Ross - commentary
* Jerry Lawler - commentary
* Howard Finkel - ring announcer
Legends
* Bret Hart
* The Rock
* Steve Austin
* Randy Savage
* Andre The Giant
* Ricky Steamboat
Superstars
* John Cena
* Sheamus
* Triple H
* Big Show
* Rey Mysterio
* John Morrison
* Kofi Kingston
Below is the updated confirmed roster for the game:
Announcers
* Jim Ross - commentary
* Jerry Lawler - commentary
* Howard Finkel - ring announcer
Legends
* Bret Hart
* The Rock
* Steve Austin
* Randy Savage
* Andre The Giant
* Ricky Steamboat
Superstars
* John Cena
* Sheamus
* Triple H
* Big Show
* Rey Mysterio
* John Morrison
* Kofi Kingston
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
MVP news and more
MVP wrestled his first match since leaving WWE at a Northeast Wrestling event in Poughkeepsie, New York, defeating his former rival from WWE in the main event, Matt Hardy.
MVP cut a promo earlier in the night and mentioned how he saw only wrestlers backstage, no sports entertainers. During the match, MVP did the three german suplexes followed by the cutthroat gesture that Chris Benoit did and then pointed up at the sky in an apparent tribute to Benoit. After the match, Hardy and MVP congratulated each other and posed for the fans.
It's worth noting that Hardy was not sporting the new hairstyle that he debuted for TNA recently.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler also worked the card, defeating his former rival Tommy Dreamer in a steel cage match. The finish saw Lawler spit a fireball at Dreamer for the win. Lawler cut a promo before the match, mentioning The Miz and Michael Cole but said he truly hates Dreamer.
Other names on the show included Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter, former TNA Knockout Roxxi, Sabu and Shane Helms.
MVP cut a promo earlier in the night and mentioned how he saw only wrestlers backstage, no sports entertainers. During the match, MVP did the three german suplexes followed by the cutthroat gesture that Chris Benoit did and then pointed up at the sky in an apparent tribute to Benoit. After the match, Hardy and MVP congratulated each other and posed for the fans.
It's worth noting that Hardy was not sporting the new hairstyle that he debuted for TNA recently.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler also worked the card, defeating his former rival Tommy Dreamer in a steel cage match. The finish saw Lawler spit a fireball at Dreamer for the win. Lawler cut a promo before the match, mentioning The Miz and Michael Cole but said he truly hates Dreamer.
Other names on the show included Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter, former TNA Knockout Roxxi, Sabu and Shane Helms.
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Lawler makes TV moments list
Jerry Lawler's slap on Andy Kaufman has been named the 30th Greatest Moment in Television history according to the David Letterman segment in the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter. The moment was featured higher than the likes of the OJ Simpson chase, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Elvis Presley's debut on the Ed Sullivan show.
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