- 06/04/2007 (1:24:54 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
……
You're probably swamped with e-mails from this weekends show in carteret, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents because I was one of the people stuck outside.
First of all, I e-mailed Mambo and thanked him for even putting on a show. Thanks to him, I've met many of my childhood heros growing up.
I arrived around Noon, stood outside for about 45 minutes, then the police came and told everyone outside to go home. I knew better so I just waited in the parking lot for about 1/2 hour. The hall cleared out a little and Mambo was letting people in for free which was very good of him.
Most of the main draws had already left. I was disappointed that I did not get to meet my all time favorite wrestler, Mil Mascaras, but what can you do.
All the women there were drop dead gorgeous.
The venue was too small, hindsight is great, but promoters should plan for the best.
One guy who came from Long Island with his 2 kids was upset when he couldn't get in, but I told him to e-mail Mambo after the show, explain the situation, and see if he could purchase some signed 8x10's at a discount. He agreed it was a good idea but eventually, he got into the show also and was happy to get a few autographs.
Not everybody can show up early and due to the fire code restrictions, even if they all showed up at the crack of dawn, the building just couldn't fit everyone.
All in all, I had fun, got some fresh air, got a few autographs, and even got a few freebies in the parking lot
I would say about 50 people got turned away. thats $500 out of Mambo's pocket, and each person would have averaged spending about $100. I'm sure Mambo was not happy to turn away roughly $5000 or more in revenue so you can't get too mad at him.
There was one really loud mouth obnoxious guy, but for the most part, everyone took it in stride.
Thank you for your time. Tom
Thanks Tom for your email. I'm so glad you understand. Mambo was NOT prepared for the turnout he received. He works VERY hard to advertise his events, going to Indy shows and putting out flyers, etc. They were just overwhelmed with the attendance. They did NOT expect the crowd that attended. I believe the ad in the Daily News brought in the extra fans.
Last year only 600 or so fans attended. Many fans don't understand to get a larger venue would be more of an expense. So most promoters go with a venue they feel will be suitable for the crowd. No promoter wants to turn away fans, and lose revenue, you are correct there.
The promoters running these events take a big chance booking so much talent, at great expense. Many don't make back their large investments. Many just about break even.
Mambo and staff did the best they could, and wants to thank all the fans for coming.
Hi Georgie, I attended the Wrestling Reunion show on Saturday, and have to say I left with mixed emotions. First off, the promoter did a great job of bringing loads of top talent. There was also a large number of vendors there so if you wanted something, chances are you could find it. All the wrestlers were very friendly and accommodating. The venue was way too small, but I consider that just one of those lessons learned for the next time.
I was extremely disappointed in the way the show was organized. I arrived at 9:30 am, and did not get into the building until 10:45. We stood outside in the blazing heat. The reason it took so long was that they only had two individuals working together at the door selling general admission, and autograph tickets. The line moved at a snails pace. Once in the building, I walked around for maybe 10 minutes before getting in line for the autographs. I did not get up to the autograph tables until 1:00 pm. Was it because I was so far back in line? No, the line was moving extremely slow. The reason is that the most popular wrestlers were DDP, and Angle therefore security would wait until the lines for those two individuals went down before letting people into the autograph area. I stood at the front of the line for 10 minutes waiting to get in. While I stood in line, I looked at Mil Mascaras, Don Caras, Haku, Tama, Madusa, and Sid literally just sitting there idle. I couldn't believe it. There was a staging area in the back that was empty. Since the venue was too small, why couldn't they also use that area for wrestlers to sit and sign? That would have spaced things out and allowed the lines to move.
Furthermore, if you bought a VIP ticket, you received priority in regards to getting into the autograph area. However, the sound system was so bad, that few could hear the announcements. Therefore, there were VIP ticket holders that didn't hear the announcement. When they inquired later in the show about their priority placement in line, they were told that three announcements were made, you had your chance, you must now get in the back of the line. I didn't have a VIP ticket, but I couldn't believe that they were treated like that. Especially considering how awful the sound system was.
In addition, they cut the line off at the door to get into the building because they couldn't guarantee that those fans could get through the line and get autographs. Why couldn't they at least let them buy a general admission, and come into the building and visit the vendor tables? Not to mention there were more wrestlers signing autographs at the vendor tables than were part of the show. Those wrestlers were also sitting idle for long periods of time. If I were a vendor paying a wrestler to be there, and knew there were fans not being allowed into the building, I would be livid.
Like I said, I have mixed feelings about the show. The promoter put an awesome show together, and should be very proud of that. Logistically, it was a mess. Hopefully there are a lot of lessons learned for the next time. As a fan I was very frustrated. Also, I'm confident that even more money would have been made by the promoter and vendors if the logistics were better.
Dan (Pittsburgh, PA.)
