TALE OF TWO CONVENTIONS
- 09/28/2008 (2:06:54 am)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
Two reports….
Georgie,
I just thought I'd send a report for the two conventions I attended today.
First off, there was Signamania III, presented by George's Cards and Collectibles. I definitely liked the new venue, to start off. It wasn't as stuffy or claustrophobic as the old school was. In particular, the locale you chose for the Flair signing was surprisingly pleasing. Waiting there wasn't as grueling as I thought it'd be, due to the roomy nature of that hallway. Sure, there was still a wait, but I expected that because this was the Nature Boy we were dealing with. Of course there'd be a crowd. I met a lot of great people during my time in that hallway and enjoyed every minute talking with them... and getting my Black Scorpion mask signed, as well. I don't think Naitch really knew what to do think of the mask, but he was very personable. Special thanks to you for the ticket, as my fiancee was the big combo winner in your drawing a few days ago. Talk about a huge surprise when she told me the news.
Roddy Piper was a delight to meet, as well. Granted, by the time we got to him, he was in a hurry because of his schedule, but that didn't keep him from taking time to chat with us and comment on our items. Pretzels was especially excited with the sleeperhold picture he took with the Rowdy One. I wouldn't mind seeing him at a future Signamania or, heck, even a signing at George's. He's one of those guys you never tire of seeing. I'm sure a lot of you will agree with me on this.
The vendor guests I visited were awesome, too, at least for the most part. 3BWrestling did a bang-up job with their first convention appearance. I can't thank Dan enough for everything he did for me today. Molly was awesome and I finally got a decent photo op with her. Madusa was down home and very personable, too. I couldn't help but wonder why she doesn't do more convention appearances.
Hats off to Wrestling Ink most of all, though. They practically made the entire convention for me, with their great prices, excellent staff and wonderful stars. I would have to rank Cherry as one of my top five favorite experiences at a wrestling convention. She got a kick out of the skates and was very chatty with every fan that came her way.
Of course, there's no such thing as a perfect convention. I'm sure everybody who purchased a GA ticket encountered at least one star they never got to meet due to time and crowds. Harley Race skipped out before I could get him to sign my NWA World Title, but there's no doubt I will get a refund. Ditto for the Godfather. I guess the GA crowd proved to be too much for the staff at hand.
And I will mention two blind items that really grinded my gears and keep them blind because 1) they involved vendor guests and 2) I feel they involved matters that were beyond the vendors in question's control. One involved a not-so-angelic, not-as-lovely-as-they-seemed star openly blurting out that he/she "couldn't wait to get the f*** out of here" as I waited for my photo op. The other dealt with a gorgeous, able-bodied star who seemingly felt they were too good to stand for photo ops with fans. You had to lean behind this person and, sadly, at least in the case of my photo op, it didn't come out looking good. To put it bluntly, I look like I'm pinching a loaf in the picture. Not exactly what I paid for, but I let it ride because I just couldn't see this vendor chastising this person for remaining seated, as he/she did it with practically every fan who came to the table.
I'm looking forward to seeing Signamania IV develop. I hope this new venue is used again and PLEASE, 3BWrestling and Wrestling Ink, return as vendors for the next convention, as I will always have cash in my stash for you guys. As far as regular guests go, I don't know how George can ever top himself now. Flair and Piper on the same bill was just mind-blowingly awesome.
Onto Turnbuckle Promotions's show at the Bucks County Sheraton... simply put, Jason Blaustein left me eating crow. Your readers know about my issues with his first convention over a year ago and I was wary about attending this convention for those reasons. However, from the looks of it, Jason learned from his mistakes. Pretzels, Tin Can and I were all thrilled with our experiences at the show. While the lineup wasn't as lengthy as Signamania, the atmosphere was more relaxed. You could get all of the guests in attendance in a matter of minutes, as the lines were handled in a swift and orderly manner. Jeff Jarrett and Tommy Rich were my two favorites of the night. Both seemed to get a kick out of signing my real NWA World Title. As the crew and I told Jason before leaving, we won't think twice about purchasing tickets if he plans another show in the area in the future. He impressed us big time tonight.
Take care,
Rob (aka the Captain)
I heard about 800 or so fans attended Signamania and about 100 fans attended the other one.
* * * * * * * * *
Hello Georgie,
I went to the wrestling convention by Turnbuckle Productions and I would like to say it was hectic for a while. It was stated on their website that it was supposed to start at 3pm. We got the area where it was at and there were only 2 vendors set up with magazines and figures and a bit of odds and ends. We stood at the door to go in and they had a guy looking through papers that were pre-ordered tickets and we asked him where it was at or how it was gonna go and he just said to wait in the room where the sessions will be going on.
We walked in the door at 3:15pm and there was a line waiting , maybe 30 or so people ahead of us and we just stood there. Most of the wrestlers were already at their tables, sitting there waiting but yet we still waited in line. At 4pm, a guy asked for all the VIP ticket holders to come forward and stand next to him, so about 12 or so moved ahead and stood next to him. He told them to start to his right and work their way around the room that way, then he announced if you didn't have a VIP ticket, you could just go anywhere you wanted and of course with that, mobs of people where all over and people were going every which way.
The wrestlers were all cordial and cool when asked to have their pictures taken and questions asked of them. I went mainly to see Tommy Rich and he very cool when i asked him about his feud with Buzz Sawyer. As you walked around the room, it seemed that some of the wrestlers didn't want to be there or it was like they were bored.
There was no coordination at the tables with who was getting what signed and how much they were charging. I saw a few times people just walk up to tables step in front of others and ask for free autographs or photos with the wrestlers or at times i would go up to a table and tell the person there what i wanted, they would look at me like i had a third eye but yet be looking for my money without telling me what they were charging.
The way the room was set up first is they had tables in an L shape in the middle with then tables on the outer part of the room. At 3:40pm, they decided to move the middle tables to the outer walls and it was like an upside down U but the problem with that was is that Goldbergs table was in the left corner and when he arrived, people lined up to get him but then blocked all the others who had tables on the left side. The same thing happened when Lashley came in, his table was set up on the left side and when people were in line waiting for him, it blocked the other wrestlers tables too. There was another half of the room that wasn't being used. The only time it was used was when we were waiting for that 45min.
The prices were good and overall the wrestlers were all great but next time it seems that there should be a bit more coordination in the setup of the room or managing the tables or even a start time to start when they say they should. If this is any indication on how his shows are run, i can see why other ones he ran in the past has annoyed quite a few people.
Hope this gives you an idea of how things ran today.
Take care.
Mike
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