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JR's Blog: J.R. the Sailor Man...Friday Night Smackdown Thoughts

Posted: Oct 30th 2008 By: mikeiles

Well....yours truly finally made the front page of WWE.com and I didn't even have to have a cancer scare. People will see Ol J. R. and the "World's Angriest Announcer", Tazz, in a much different light than ever before this Friday Night on Smackdown.

After arriving at the San Diego Sports Arena, boy do they need a new facility in that beautiful city, Tazz and I were told that we would be in costume for the Smackdown that airs Friday night which is Halloween. We weren't given any advance warning other than that and our costumes were already provided for us, as two Navy men. Tazz's costume "might" have fit Hornswoggle as Tazz wears a size 56 coat and a 3X top. My Navy whites had to be altered significantly as well but we made it work. Tazz had to go with plan "B" in camouflage fatigues and reminded me of Sgt. Hulka from the classic film "Stripes."

The bottom line is that we made it work. We were asked to go along with the Halloween theme, look somewhat ridiculous and do our best to create an entertaining atmosphere for the night.

On that goal we kicked ass.

I think after you watch the show you will agree.. Quite honestly it might have been one of the more entertaining and funny broadcasts Tazz and I have done as a team even though we got serious when needed and called the non comedic action just as we should have.

Actually this was a helluva Smackdown when it comes to some really nice wrestling especially the 6 man tag featuring the Hardy Brothers and Rey Mysterio, dressed in San /Diego Charger blue and gold, vs. Kane, Mark Henry and the snake bit MVP. This might have been the best match on WWE TV all week and I would like to think that the announcing helped enhance it somewhat as well.

Primo and Carlito, Primo is making Carlito better let me tell you, vs. Miz and Morrison was fast paced and "DX oriented" as it was a non title bout but worth watching closely.

The Masked Magician makes a cameo and he might want to consider looking for a day job but then again.....

"John Wayne" Yang vs. The Brian Kendrick rocked the house in the time they had to do it in and it certainly proved to me that I would like to see more of these two wrestle. Yang is grossly underrated and arguably underutilized.

Vladimir Kozlov has really been progressing nicely in all phases of his game and it seems inevitable that the athletic Russian will meet HHH for the WWE Sooner than later as this has been brewing for a while. I really like Kozlov's upside and pairing him with HHH will help the Russian's development.

The first ever official Casket Match on Friday Night Smackdown is this Friday night even though the casket itself has made cameos in the past.

The great vignette about John Cena's youth and college years airs this Friday night and is one of the best pieces of business I have seen in a good while. Oklahoma has a strength coach who coached Cena at Springfield College and has told me personally that as a young college kid Cena demonstrated amazing strength and an overwhelming drive to be the best offensive lineman on the team. If Cena was ever "missing", he was usually in the gym lifting weights. That's not hard to believe is it? O-Linemen have a unique work ethic and often times toll in obscurity down in the trenches. That takes an unselfish, blue collar work ethic which Cena has whether you, as a fan, like the man or not. Too bad many of you "haters" can't get to know John as I have over the years because if you did you couldn't "hate" him. I knew the first time I scouted John at Rick Bassman's wrestling school in Southern California that Cena was a keeper and told Vince McMahon upon returning to the WWE HQ after red-eyeing it back to Connecticut that I felt like I had signed a future main eventer for Wrestlemania.

On that one, I was right.

So in the spirit of Halloween, plus being a team player and not taking one's self too seriously, both Tazz and J.R. fall a little out of "character" this week on Smackdown and attempt to entertain you as you have never experienced in the past from our team. We actually had fun, were allowed to take our broadcast for a unique ride, and had a relaxing, enjoyable night at the ringside announce table.

It sort of reminded me of a WCW Halloween Havoc PPV that I once broadcast with Jim Cornette, who was great in the role by the way, and I dressed as a gangster while JC dressed as a Confederate Army Colonel. That was a night where the commentary over shadowed much of the in ring action I can promise you. I think I just broke my arm patting myself on the back. (Thanks, Gorilla for that one.)

Check out my silly looking photo which is being displayed on www.wwe.com on the home page and see what a BBQ loving, Oklahoma Sooner supporting, WWE Hall of Fame announcer looks like in a make shift sailor's suit. If you listen closely to the commentary I think you will be surprised as some of the things we say that actually make air as I finished voice overs at 3 a.m. Thursday morning for the show. Some of it, for the wrestling world, is actually funny and some suits might even call it "entertainment."

Once again, Friday Night Smackdown kicks Raw's ass but that isn't new news and we had fun doing it. Just ask Sgt. Hulka.... because that's a fact Jack!

Yours truly is going to be on the Oklahoma sideline this Saturday night when the Sooners face old rival Nebraska on the prime time game on ESPN. If you see a black hat, not white Navy head gear (not that there is any thing wrong with that), it might be your favorite BBQ pitchman.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R.