Greetings from under the black Resistol hat from an authentic
Oklahoman who has his calendar circled in red for the opening of the
Oklahoma Sooners football season and who is preparing for Sunday's
King of the Ring in Columbus, Ohio, while wondering where the next
surprise will originate within World Wrestling Entertainment.
Random thoughts and opinions ...

I have not spoken to Steve Austin since his departure from WWE on
June 10 but expect to within the next few days if all goes well.
Even
though no one here at WWE expects Austin back anytime soon -- and
most would say "never" -- I would like to bring some closure to this
issue on a personal level between the two of us. I still consider
Steve a friend and, even though he made the single biggest mistake
of
his professional life by walking out on his commitments, I was
raised
that friends do not walk away from friends when the going gets
tough.
Our relationship will probably never be the same, but this matter
does deserve some degree of closure, if nothing else for my own
peace
of mind (no jokes, please).

Vince Russo has returned to WWE in a writing capacity, which has
made
a few headlines within the Internet community. It is no secret that
I
personally lost a great deal of respect for Russo because of the way
he left our company and for his lame creation of the "Oklahoma"
character in the old WCW, but that was then and this is now. I
laughed out loud when I read on the Internet that I have lost
my "biggest political ally" in Austin and that Russo's return is
seemingly putting my future in jeopardy in WWE. I would like to
think
that I retain my job not because of Mickey Mouse politics, but
because of job performance, as we all should, but maybe outsiders in
the Internet world know more about my job/personal situation than I
do. All of us that earn a living through this company should have
one
goal and one goal only every day we come to work -- how do we make
things better for WWE? Within our various areas of responsibility,
how do we increase business and profitability for our company?
Office
politics exist in virtually every workplace, including sports
entertainment, but no one should allow it to adversely affect jobs
and productivity. Those that create their own agendas and put their
personal issues before business should not be here and, I believe,
will not be here long term.

Hopefully, Russo will be able to contribute creatively for the
company as we all continue to work diligently to turn things around.
That's the only agenda anyone should have from where I sit,
including
yours truly.
I was saddened with the passing of Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack
Buck, who died this week in St. Louis. I met Mr. Buck twice while I
was broadcasting Atlanta Falcons football on the radio and he was
doing the same for Monday Night Football. In 1992, the Falcons had
two Monday night games in the inaugural season of the Georgia Dome
and our booth was next door to the booth occupied by Buck and Hank
Stram. I interviewed both on my pregame show, and the discussion
eventually turned to wrestling (imagine that). Stram loved talking
about Ernie Ladd, who played for Stram in Kansas City, and Buck had
a
ton of stories from St. Louis and his friendship with the late Sam
Muchnick, who promoted St. Louis for years. I remember that Jack
really respected St. Louis native Lou Thesz. My old friend Harry
White, who now lives somewhere deep in the heart of Texas (sorry,
Harry) obtained Jack Buck's autograph for me a few years ago, which
I
have prominently displayed in my office. As a boy growing up in
rural, eastern Oklahoma, I spent many evening hours listening to
radio station KMOX out of St. Louis on my transistor radio enjoying
Jack Buck and Harry Caray's colorful descriptions of Cardinal
baseball. I feel that both these men influenced me greatly and
motivated me to become a broadcaster. As I have said on many
occasions, I would love to be the radio voice of the Oklahoma
Sooners
before I hang it up, largely because of my fond memories of men like
Jack Buck, whose vivid descriptions of St. Louis Cardinal baseball
are still fresh in my memory 40 years later.

Triple H was recently booked to appear in Providence AND Madison
Square Garden on the same night. He was going to make both events
via
the use of a helicopter that would take him from Rhode Island
straight in to Manhattan for the Garden event next weekend. Due to
Triple H's elbow problems, those plans have been changed. Another
case solved for the Internet police, allowing us all to be able to
sleep just a little better tonight.

Great to see The Rock return to RAW last Monday night, and it will
be
very interesting to see what activities the "Great One" gets
involved
with this Sunday at the King of the Ring. For many reasons, Sunday's
KOTR should be most interesting and unpredictable.

The live event in Columbus is almost sold out as we speak and will
no
doubt be packed come Sunday night. Much like our fans, I,
personally,
have no idea what to expect on Pay-Per-View this weekend.
I would think that the Undertaker vs. Triple H WWE Undisputed
Championship Match will more closely resemble an old-school contest
that anything on the card. I feel certain that these two veterans
will tell a compelling and physically intense story.

Not too sure what to expect from the Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. Kurt
Angle contest other than to suggest that the veteran icon lace his
boots tightly, as Kurt does not have too many deliberate gears. This
match is a stark contrast in styles which, sometimes, can be a
positive thing.

I like the Ric Flair/Eddie Guerrero contest, even though there was
little time to build it up to our fans. Both these men are amazing
performers, especially the 53-year-old "Nature Boy."

Molly Holly's recent creative direction is getting her noticed and
certainly enhancing her antagonist positioning. Her match Sunday
with
Trish Stratus will be more than "just another match with the girls"
from my point of view. Both these young women always work hard and
always want to entertain our fans thoroughly.

Jamie Noble's challenge to The Hurricane and the Cruiserweight
Championship presents an excellent opportunity for both these young
athletes. Even though this storyline has not had the time to be
fully
developed, I feel that these two, along with Nidia, will provide our
fans will a fast-paced contest that should be fun to watch. I am a
major proponent of the cruiserweights, as many of you know, and
continue to believe that with the proper creative this group of
athletes can contribute in a significant way to our overall product.

Several of our young developmental talents -- including Prototype,
Shelton Benjamin, Rob Conway (who has a match on Velocity this
Saturday night), Sean O'Haire (who still has room for significant
improvement but has improved noticeably since going to Ohio Valley
Wrestling) and Victoria --- have impressed many within the company
over the last few weeks. Johnny The Bull will take on Lance Cade
Saturday night at our WWE event in Cincinnati, which our agents are
anxious to observe. Christopher Nowinski, our young Harvard graduate
and Tough Enough I runner-up, has also done very well recently and
will be getting more valuable experience on the road over the next
several weeks.

I believe William Regal has really been a positive influence for
Christopher.
Rey Mysterio Jr.'s ovation for his unadvertised dark match at our
SmackDown! taping Tuesday night in Sacramento was amazing, and his
contest with Funaki was simply off the page. Rey can ignite the
cruiserweights, but I also feel he can "go" with virtually anyone on
our roster. Rey's official debut, I assume, will be very soon. Rey
has the ability to be a real player for WWE.

King of the Ring Tournament matches -- Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho
and Brock Lesnar vs. Test -- could both be very good which, I
suppose, might surprise some critics. RVD and Y2J pits two of our
very best young talents (I know neither is 25 but anybody under 35
is "young" to me) who I really enjoy watching perform, and Brock and
Test are two more "youngsters" we have great expectations for as our
company moves forward.

I like the fact that the winner of the KOTR Tournament will face the
WWE Undisputed Champion at SummerSlam, which will be help on Aug. 25
from the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

I will take part in the Tough Enough III casting scheduled for July
10-12 in Los Angeles.

I seem to be getting a ton of e-mails regarding the status of WWE
signing Goldberg. This is not as complicated a matter as some want
to
believe. This basic non-newsworthy item is simple: Goldberg and his
representatives know we would like to meet with Bill and discuss the
possibility of the Oklahoma native performing in WWE; however, they
have not scheduled this meeting for whatever reasons. We cannot
discuss a contract until we can meet with the talent and the talent
and his "people" have not afforded us that opportunity as of yet. Of
course, now that Russo has returned to this company, the story of
Russo and Goldberg not getting along will be discussed until most of
us are ill. Whatever.

My thanks to those of you that have checked out our cookbook, "Can
You Take the Heat?", which is now available in paperback wherever
books are sold. (What an interesting title, in hindsight, for a book
penned by yours truly, especially during these overanalyzed days "at
the office." As Michael Cole so often says, "Stop the pain!") I will
be spending a portion of the summer away from my office to write our
next cookbook, which will also include several stories from
throughout my career that I hope our fans will find interesting.
This
book will be released in May 2003 along with, hopefully, our line of
BBQ Sauces.

This week's injury report is as follows:

Edge will work a little at the house shows over the next few weeks
to
test his shoulder.

Goldust has some discs that are compressed but not herniated. He has
degenerative disc disease and has been given exercises to help
strengthen the back but will probably continue to have some back
pain
from time to time. He has been scheduled for a follow-up with the
doctors in six weeks, and will continue to work through any pain he
may have.

Raven has been having some foot pain and had X-rays this week to
rule
out a stress fracture, which came back negative.

Billy Gunn pulled his groin last weekend but has continued to work
through the pain.

Tim White had his surgery on his shoulder Wednesday and the damage
was fairly extensive. He will probably only get 75 to 80 percent
movement back in his shoulder when it heals. He is expected to be
out
three to four months while rehabbing.

Tazz will be having the lump on his side removed next Thursday and
will need to stay out of physical activity for six to seven weeks
while the wound heals.

Eric Angle, who has been has been working out with weights, visited
the doctor last week. The doctor wants to see him again on July 24,
when it's expected that he'll be able to begin to get back into the
ring.

All other injured competitors are healing on schedule with no new
updates this week.

Have a great weekend and I hope you check out the King of the Ring
this Sunday on Pay-Per-View!

Count your blessings ...

J.R. (Boomer Sooner)