J.R.'s Superstar of the Week - Mickie James

J.R.'s Superstar of the Week - Mickie James

Greetings from the "Barbecue State" of Oklahoma from under the black hat after arriving safe and sound back at home after a quick but eventful trip to London. Next stop … Greenville, S.C., and the special three-hour Monday Night Raw that will see a new King of the Ring crowned.

There were 17,363 fans that sold out the O2 Arena for Monday Night Raw in London with ticket sales topping $1.2 million, which is amazing data. The fans of the U.K. are tremendously supportive of the efforts of the WWE Superstars, which is why every wrestler I know loves to be a part of the tours to the U.K. I love reading the signs of the fans and one was especially funny -- "J.R. ate my horse" -- but I wish it had been a little more creative and had said "J.R. BBQ'ed my horse".

Oh, well.

This week's Raw Superstar of the Week is really a no-brainer. After winning the WWE Women's Title, Mickie James has to be this week's recipient of the coveted and beloved Raw Superstar of the Week honor. Mickie's wrestling skill is a ray of sunshine in the Diva landscape and her pending rematch with The Glamazon should be interesting.

It seems as if Mickie is one of WWE's most popular Divas, as we get a ton of inquiries about the sexy and talented young woman from Virginia on our Web site at www.jrsbarbq.com. Congratulations, Mickie, and good luck in holding on to the championship! Perhaps next year, if Mickie James' fans have their wish, we'll see Ms. James posing in Playboy wearing nothing but a smile and the WWE Women's Title.

Hey, just because a guy is on a diet, it doesn't mean he can't look at the menu!

Shawn Michaels came "this close" to unhinging Chris Jericho's jaw Monday night in one of the most entertaining starts to Monday Night Raw in a while.

At least it was entertaining to us fans, although Y2J might not have been enamored with it. Nonetheless, the momentum continues to build for the pending HBK-Batista showdown at Backlash, which has many folks talking. As a fan, I would love to know where Ric Flair stands on this issue, as it is the "Naitch" who is smack-dab in the middle of this controversy between two of WWE's most popular Superstars.

It is nice to see some TV time invested in the Raw tag team scene that is highlighted now with Carlito and Santino being the new No. 1 contenders to Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes' tag titles. It wouldn't surprise me to see new champs crowned in the near future as it doesn't feel like the World Tag Team Champions are on any kind of a roll these days.

Tragedy might be the No. 1 contenders' winning the tag titles and then Santino getting laryngitis. But perhaps success would beget better haircuts for the duo whose team chemistry is built around the fact that each of their names ends in a vowel.  

Speaking of tag team wrestling, it has been brought to my attention that former tag team great with the Midnight Express, Beautiful Bobby Eaton, has been hospitalized in rough shape, suffering from a heart ailment. Here's hoping the Huntsville, Ala., native "kicks out" of this predicament sooner than later. Eaton was, by far, one of the very best tag team wrestlers I ever saw in my entire career.

Was JTG somewhat lucky in defeating Trevor Murdoch Monday night? "Yeah … Yeah." However, Lance Cade did not appear to be pleased and as we reported here a week or so ago, there seems to be "trouble in the trailer park" between the former three-time tag champs, Cade & Murdoch.

I would have enjoyed watching William Regal wrestle Randy Orton even longer Monday night, but Orton ended that wrestling experience with his sudden RKO out of nowhere. Orton is lucky to have walked out of London after being aggressively suplexed on his head by Regal during the non-title contest. Also, most GMs would have made their own match with the WWE Champion for the title, but not Regal which -- in hindsight -- seems to have been the honorable thing to do. Cheers, William … he of the handsome head of hair.

It was good actually seeing the Intercontinental Title being defended on Raw Monday night. It's one of those out-of-sight, out-of-mind deals. The Jericho-Umaga bout was physical and Jericho had to be extremely resourceful in retaining his championship in a somewhat surprising outcome, considering Y2J had been the recipient of Sweet Chin Music earlier in the evening.

Brit Paul Burchill made a surprise appearance on Raw Monday night, and was particularly aggressive in defeating veteran Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Burchill is lucky to have crossed paths with the Jim Duggan of 2008 and not the Jim Duggan of 20 years ago -- who was one of the game's best brawlers and ranks up there with Bruiser Brody and Mick Foley as "Brawlers of Note" (notwithstanding the Brooklyn Brawler a.k.a. Steve Lombardi and his erstwhile sidekick, Harvey "Don't call me Bruno Lauer" Whippleman who, for the record, was a former WWE Women's Champion). Please don't ask me to explain. I seem to have lost my train of thought.

JBL must have had an extra shot of his Mamajuana Energy Drink Monday night, as the tough talking Texan emerged as the "King of the Mountain," so to speak, after leaving Triple H and Randy Orton laying in a heap as Raw drew to a close. John Cena wasn't in London, but I expect to see Cena Monday night in Greenville, S.C., for the big super-sized, three-hour Monday Night Raw that starts at 8/7 CT on USA Network. Yours truly will be adequately BBQ-sauced prior to this event which should be an excellent broadcast with plenty of surprises.

As Raw reached its crescendo Monday night, JBL's actions certainly illustrated that it will be every man for himself in the Fatal Four Way WWE Title bout at Backlash in Baltimore where yours truly plans on assaulting some crab cakes the night before the big extravaganza. Hey, a man's got to eat, brother!

If Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's advisers are really bright, they will make sure that their presidential candidates have a presence, even if it is taped or via satellite, on Monday's Raw. Most politicians are considered by many "regular Americans" to be elitists and by coming on Monday Night Raw, both candidates would at least appear to be regular people.

My best wishes and a hearty "Boomer Sooner" to Joey Styles as he begins a new phase of his journey in the biz by joining the staff at WWE.com, where I know Joe will contribute mightily. This Web site is lucky to get a talented individual like Joey Styles on the team, even though Joey's many fans, of which I am one, will miss Joey's broadcasting of ECW.
 
See you Monday night on Raw or before then at J.R.'s Family BBQ Restaurant in Norman, Okla. Take care.

Boomer Sooner!
J.R.

WWE Shows Latest Results

View all Shows