Greetings from under the black, 200X Resistol hat from your BBQ loving Okie who is busier than a fruit merchant these days as we continue to get closer and closer to WrestleMania. Next stop on the Road to WrestleMania: Indianapolis!

This week’s Raw Superstar of the Week is third-generation WWE Superstar Randy Orton, who earns the honor this week for qualifying to compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 23.

Random Raw thoughts:

HBK and Cena played more cards from their hands last week than I had anticipated. At least they won’t be teaming this Monday from the home of the Super Bowl Champions, as each are booked in some unique one on one matches: Cena vs. Benoit and HBK vs. JBL. For some reason, I smell a rat.

What is Ric Flair and Carlito’s status for WrestleMania now? How many more WrestleManias does the “Naitch” have left in the tank?

If anyone is actually able to do so, I would love to see someone finally break the Master Lock so that we can see Masters actually wrestle and not have to listen to his endless self- promotion of the seemingly unbreakable hold.

He’s Super. He’s Crazy. But he ain’t a Bumblebee.

Edge not wrestling because as a human, he detests the team nickname of the NFL’s Washington Redskins? Please. What’s really up Edge? 

It was awesome to have The Rock back on Raw Monday night, even if it was via videotape. “The Great One” will always be just that.

If none of the three tag teams featured on Raw Monday night could defeat HBK & Cena in D.C., don’t you think it will be extremely hard for ANY team to beat the World Tag Champions in a regular tag match? It seems that for Cena and Michaels to lose they will have to self-destruct and implode.

I did not know Donald Trump used hair spray! Wow. The Donald is also a bigger man than I had perceived.

The Great Khali has the finesse of a wrecking ball and the hands to match.

Watch your belongings as Mr. Fuji is going to be back in town for his well-deserved induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. I have a feeling some unsuspecting soul will be “ribbed” by one of the best “ribbers” of all time. For you kids out there, take a look at Fuji in his prime as a wrestler. He was highly underrated and part of a great tag team with Toru Tanaka. Congrats, Fuji Vice san.

Ashley sure seems to have had a pleasant experience getting nude for Playboy. Not that there is any thing wrong with that. I may be a “veteran” but I am far from dead. Yes, I bought the magazine, so there.

Is Melina really in someone’s doghouse? Do the other Divas not like Melina? Is what Mick Foley surprisingly says about Melina in his new book Hardcore Diaries really true?  Is Melina really a “Barracuda?” Could Johnny Nitro be getting set up for heartbreak when the Women’s Champ dumps him for an upgrade someday? These and more probing questions will be answered as you continue to tune in to “As Melina Turns” a.k.a. Monday Night Raw, the most watched cable television show in the world.

The insatiable thirst for “dirt” and “gossip” is endless in sports-entertainment, just as it is in entertainment and pro sports in general. We get some dandy questions from fans at www.jrsbarbq.com that often times make me shake my head.  Oh well, that’s the world we live in I guess, so I suppose I should not be surprised. We just launched our new line of four flavors of beef jerky on our site; there’s my “Mick Foley Gratuitous Plug” of the week.

Raw has been hot lately to say the least and I expect this Monday to be no different. It’s always fun to visit Conseco Fieldhouse, which is one of the premier arenas in the country. After Raw, I travel to Boston on Tuesday to prepare for my two days at MIT on Wednesday and Thursday interacting with students about sports-entertainment and how it has evolved over the past 100 years or so. I am looking forward to the MIT experience on their Cambridge campus. That’s a LONG way from the hills of eastern Oklahoma, let me tell you.

Be well and Boomer Sooner!

J.R.