With Mean Gene and Jimmy Hart…

Hello!

 

I also attended the Mad Monster Party in Charlotte, NC.  I agree with the guy that said it was slightly disorganized, but I still had a great time.  He was off base on saying that they "put the Hogan/Piper photo op ahead of the other photo ops at the last minute".  It was indicated on their Facebook page that Hogan/Piper would be first and also was on the schedule they passed out.  It only made sense to do it that way so Piper could get back to his table.  All in all, the Hogan/Piper photo ops took about 10-15 minutes, so it was not worth the complaining, though the Hulkamania package holders did pay quite a premium.  But, I had the Hogan/Piper photo op and I KNEW it was first, so that info was out there. 

 

As far as how the photo op went, it was very assembly line in nature.  I only had about 5 seconds before and after the quick snapshot.  I think the professional photo ops look artiificial and personally would prefer a cell phone pic, but this is what they offered.  And to have both together is pretty rare!  They were both very nice.

 

After that I got in line for the Hogan autograph, though Hogan still had to do his other photo ops.  Jimmy Hart was a late addition so I bought a his autograph while in line (he was beside Hogan).  There was much misinformation coming from the volunteers as they came up the line saying NO PICTURES WHATSOEVER of Hogan signing and that we couldn't even have our phones out.  By the time we got up to him, they said, "Okay, you can take pictures of him signing."  I think the line went quicker than they anticipated, but I feel bad if those before us got screwed. 

 

In the brief time I had with Hogan he acknowledged my Hogan shirt and I told him I was a Hulkamaniac for 30 years and he said, "awesome brother" and then I told him to thank Mr. T as my fandom of the A-Team led to to the WWE and he said "wow."  I then told him I was glad he got his boot back and he thanked me.  I looked over at Jimmy Hart and that made him laugh.  

 

I then moved a foot to the right to meet Jimmy and, wow, he was wonderful.  He said he would sign as many things as I wanted.  I had grabbed an 8x10 that I was entitled to, but was only having him sign my WWE Encyclopedia until he said that.  I told him that a co-worker of my wife thinks I look like him, but I didn't feel I was nearly that good looking, haha.  He was very kind and thankful.  My wife was video taping, but Jimmy leaned in to me for a pic so she switched to camera mood and got a great shot.  

 

Later on, I met Mean Gene in the lobby as we were leaving.  He was waiting to do an interview and was graciously signing and taking pics with anyone who came up.  Took me awhile to find his entry in the Encyclopedia as I was looking for "Mean Gene" rather than just "Gene".  He didn't get impatient with me though.  Such a great guy and when I called him a "true legend" he seemed genuinely touched.  

 

Other highlights:

 

- Met Ox Baker and had him sign an 8x10 and my WWE Encyclopedia.  It was the first edition of the book, so Ox didn't have an entry so I had him sign one of the back pages.  Very cool guy.

 

- Met Elvira, which is relevant because I had her sign the Wrestlemania 2 section of the book.  She said she had only signed it once before and that it was a great time being at that Wrestlemania.  I brought her down a bit by mentioning I was 8 1/2 during 'mania 2.

 

- I also attended most of the Hogan v. Piper panel before getting in line for the photo ops.  Very interesting and fun.  Piper telling the story of the Wendy Richter screwjob at MSG stands out.  He still really dislikes Mr. T.  Hogan also mentioned it was a great worry before 'mania that Piper and Orndorff might legitimately hurt Mr. T.

 

- Saw former TNA star and Survivor contestant Jonny Fairplay after the panel.  He's a superfan and I know a former assistant to Piper, but he was there just as a fan I believe.  He posted pics on Instagram and Twitter from the show as well.  I yelled "Fairplay!" and he gave me a head nod (he was on the phone so I didn't bug him further), but I didn't see him again.

 

So, all in all it was a great time, despite being a bit of a clusterfudge trying to navigate the hallways.  I'm attaching pics if you're interested!  Unfortunately I didn't take pics yet of the actual autographs and didn't scan my Hogan/Piper pic yet, so it's just a pic of the picture.

 

Thanks,

Gary

Tags: