FAN REPORTS FROM NEW ENGLAND FANFEST & HOF
  • 06/24/2013 (12:10:42 pm)
  • Bob Mulrenin

I had the honor and privelage of attending the NEPWHOF Fanfest on Saturday June 22,2013 in Fairhaven Ma at the Seaport Inn! I was there from start to finish and every minute of the day was AWESOME! With Rich Palladino and Howard Finkle announcing the stars it made it seem like I was at a live wrestling card! Each and every star made the fans seem like they were the stars! Local Indie stars and the more well known stars that I grew up watching signed autographs and took photos with their fans!
 
The merchandise tables were amazing! You could find anything you wanted...from belts,to action figures to photos to old event posters...you name it it was there! The Q and A session was very informative! In attendance for it was all of Men on a Mission,,Gangrel,,Danny Davis, Taeler Hendrix, Jamison, Jimmy Valiant, Adam Bomb, Max Moon and Howard Finkle was the MC!
 
Later on Jamison did his comedy act! He was funny but I think a few people in attendance may have been offended by some of his material!
 
The Hall of Fame Induction was truly a special time! Many of the New England indies were inducted as well as Mel Simons! Tammy Sytch, Men on a Mission,The Powers of Pain and Bostons own Kevin Sullivan were all inducted! I myself made a special presentation to the one guy that made the entire day possible...Joe Bruen (see attatched photo)
 
The day was GREAT all around and I as well as many that attended look forward to the next NEPWHOF event!
 
Thank you...Jay DeChellis Weymouth Ma.
 
 
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I went to the new england fanfest on june 22,2013 i had a blast i met wrestlers like duggan all the way to million dollar man and i met rvd d lo brown and chris masters to paul orndoff to diva jillian met powers of pain and all time and former wwe tag team champions ax and smash man i cant wait to next year good job joe awsome turn out from fanfest fan mike delsanto.
 
 
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Hello,
 
I was a vendor at this great event and wanted to tell you aboutmy experience. I had the pleasure of working with Bobby Lashley. The crowd was electric and everyone was on their game. I am and will remain a fan first so for me to meet the likes of Bobby Heenan, Jake the Snake, NIkoli Volkoff, RVD and many others was a complete and absolute thrill. Joe Bruen really put on a class event it was well organized and ran smooth. As a vendor the setup was made easy and everyone helped out and worked together. As a fan the mood was upbeat and totally fun and exciting.
 
Renee Baghdad
Fan For Life Wrestling, LLC
 
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Fun. Nostalgia. Interaction. Three words that describe The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest weekend that took place on June 22, 2013 at The Seaport Inn in Fairhaven, MA.
 
 "Hardcore" Joe Bruen,  a Ring Announcer who established the Hall of Fame in 2008, had a few of these annual events in a much smaller venue in East Providence, Rhode Island. He inducted wrestlers with local roots such as Ox Baker and Justin Credible as well as stars such as Tito Santana, Larry Zybszko and Jimmy Snuka who wrestled often in New England. Bruen's event eventually outgrew the original venue, and after a year long sabbatical in 2012, the NEHOF with the expanded Fan Fest came back strong this year.
 
The full day offered fans a smorgasbord of vendors, events, and of course, interaction and autographs with Pro Wrestling Legends.  This year's activities took place in a very large and comfortable event room and an adjoining nearby smaller room. The Seaport Inn staff was respectful and accommodating and for the most part, the convention and its small staff took care of itself.  The different aspects of the day's programming could be purchased separately (mostly in the $25 range ) or as part of a "Super Ticket" package for $150.
 
I personally stayed in the hotel the Friday night before, hoping to get a few "behind the scenes stories" that make Pro Wrestling so much fun for fans. I was not disappointed, as I somehow ended up eating two slices of  pizza ordered by Tony "Mr. USA" Atlas in the parking lot of the hotel restaurant. I also witnessed former WWE Diva Jillian Hall, who is much prettier in person, hold off potential suitors on the dance floor. She literally gave one local gentleman "the hand", as in the raised palm to the face of rejection. Meanwhile, ladies wrestling legend Princess Victoria shared stories about her career in the hotel parking lot with an attentive audience, Dennis Knight was especially cordial and humorous with his fans,  and Marty Jannetty entertained the hotel staff. What hi-jinks!
 
The next morning I arose early for the free hotel breakfast. The "Pancakes in about a Minute" machine was a big hit with some of the wrestlers, except Tony Atlas who willingly shared that he prefers healthier food. It should be stated that Altas looks terrific! I brought copies of photographs of the wrestlers I took as a kid, and was able to give one to Nikolai Volkoff who was appreciative. I tried the same routine with Gangrel, however, I mistakenly  confused him with The Terminator (Road Warrior Animal and Johnny Ace's younger brother). Gangrel politely informed me that he was, not in fact, The Terminator at any point in his career. At that point, Atlas chimed in once again with some good natured, yet off-color, humor. I looked up and suddenly I was sharing a breakfast table with iconic crooked referee Danny Davis, who was quite polite. Meanwhile, Kevin Sullivan sat with The Warlord, who somehow looks better now than he ever did. Warlord also spoke, which somehow shocked me, because I don't remember him ever speaking on TV. Overall, my "breakfast with the wrestlers" was just plain odd and fun...and the pancakes were tasty. It was quite a morning!
 
There was a massive meet and greet and autograph signing starting at 8:30am (!) that featured a wide variety of stars such as "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant ,Rob Van Dam,  The Godfather, special guest Boxing legend Vinny "Paz" Pazienza, Vader,  Barbarian, Demolition, Jillian Hall, and about 40 other established stars. I personally was not able to meet everyone, but among those I spoke with, The Godfather and Valiant were especially pleasant. Of course, additional autographs and memorabilia were available at additional prices. The usual good natured negotiations between fans and merchandise vendors could be expected.

At 12:30pm, none other than WWF ring announcing icon Howard Finkel lead a Q and A session for about fifty fans with "Mideon" Dennis Knight, Gangrel, Men On A Mission (Mabel, Mo, even Oscar!), TNA Knockouts newcomer  Taeler Hendrix, Valiant, Adam Bomb, surprise guest Paul Diamond, and referee Davis. Finkel's handling of this event  was entertaining in itself, as The Fink's ire was raised a few times by inconvenient openings and closings of the door to the room, that allowed for bit of noise.  No great wrestling revelations really came from the Q and A, but that was mostly due to the nature of the questions asked by the respectful audience.
 
At the end of the Q and A, a mass quantity of pizza was delivered into the room, likely intended for just the wrestlers, but hungry fans helped themselves too.  This type of casual-ness lent itself well to the entire event.
 
Then, a surprising highlight took place as Jameson Winger (of early 90's Bushwackers skit fame) performed a 25 minute comedy routine, that was very "blue" in nature, sharing a variety of "old school" dirty jokes about Nuns and other usual targets. I was never a Jameson fan before, however, this performance and my subsequent conversation at the bar with Jameson about acting, truly made me a Jameson fan. He was quite hilarious and a great guy, distributing fans free autographed 8 by 10s.
 
The Hall of Fame ceremony itself got started at 6:30pm. Native New England wrestling personalities were inducted such as promoter Michael Lombardi, trainer Mike Hollow,  wrestlers Brittany Brown, Marcus O'Middleton,  Silvano Sousa, Alex Payne and Kurt Adonis, referees Jack Savage and Peter B, and announcer Mel Simons . Local co-workers, friends and family members inducted these talents and most had wonderful self-deprecating humor and short road stories to share. .
 
When the attention turned fully to the  "national talents", The Fink took the mic as Master of Ceremonies, and delivered the goods once again. Bill Curry, Sunny, The Powers of Pain, Men on a Mission, Nikolai Volkoff and Kevin Sullivan were all inducted. The Warlord said that he and his partner The Barbarian have never raised a voice at each other over their whole time as a team. Warlord also said his partner was one of Wrestling's "best big men", very respectful in that The Warlord himself is a bit bigger than The Barbarian.
 
Sunny made a humorous reference to a "restraining order" and was genuinely pleased and honored to be at the event. We were treated to Volkoff singing the Russian National Anthem, complete with Finkel introduction as well as a spontaneous acceptance rap from Men on a Mission's Oscar. An Icon award was presented to Larry Bonoff, owner of The Warwick Musical Theater, an outdoor venue that hosted many WWF events during the years it was in business. Sullivan was especially insightful when he thanked all of the local New England talent, some of which have served to put "over" touring national talent over the years, for helping to further the career of "jerks like me".
 
On my way out of the event, I was able to discuss my own wrestling-related movie projects Chris and the Coffee Girl  with Oscar, who politely confirmed that "we need a good wrestling movie." That was a nice way for me to end my weekend. 
 
Overall, a highly successful event, considering the scope of the talent involved and the fist time location of Fairhaven, Massachussetts.  
 
Bruen confirmed the event will take place again in 2014. 
 
Mike Messier
 
 
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My co-host, Ed Whittier, myself and his sons Ryan and Erik who served as our video camera crew, were invited to the New England Pro Wrestling Fan Fest, held on June 22nd, in Fairhaven, MA.  The experience was nothing short of amazing! Promoter Joseph Bruen really put together a spectacular Who’s Who of wrestling stars both past and present; from Bobby Lashley to Bobby Heenan, from Marty Jannetty to Rob Van Damm, plus every conceivable type of vendor could be found selling action figures, books, t-shirts, trading cards, and other pro wrestling memorabilia.

We got great interviews and stories from Butcher Paul Vachon, The Million-Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase and Jake the Snake Roberts, Ax from Demolition, Kevin Sullivan and so many more in a jam-packed, but laid back atmosphere that was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

All of these interviews will eventually be seen on Wrestling Talk on our YouTube channel (leonardaaron) . A link to that channel will also soon be found on our website, stayinthering.com (or wrestlingtalk87.com)

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Hello, I took my two sons to the New England Wrestling Fall Of Fame Fanfest this past Saturday and I have never seen a show like this before! So many wrestling legends were present and I was quite surprised there were very few no shows! We were VIP Super Ticket holders and we got our money's worth! A few observations...there was only one single vendor who would negotiate prices, when you have 3 family members getting autographs and/or pictures your funds dry up fast! I wish the vendors would deal more!

 

The hotel was beautiful, the only thing was the fan fest barely fit in the banquet hall, in fact several vendors and stars had to locate around the hallways outside the hall. There were so many people i was pretty sure I heard Fairhaven Police mention overcrowding! There was a lot of people this year, a ton more than Joe's last Fanfest in 2011! The only downer ofthe day was meeting Bobby Heenan. I felt so bad with how he looked. My sons and I wanted to have our picture taken with him but I just didn't have the heart to do it. Sunny was there and she looked gorgeous!


All in all the family and I had a great time! New England loves pro wresting and it definitely showed! We need more of these wrestling conventions in this area!

Will Bernier

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