WRESTLEMANIA REPORT FROM KRIS OF UK
- 04/04/2008 (3:49:59 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
……
What a week in Orlando - where do you begin?
We stayed at the WWE roster hotel from Monday until Thursday (and had the option of staying until lockdown began on Friday, but left early as we wanted to enjoy the Orlando attractions too).
Arriving on Monday night, there was no real sign the roster would be staying there - a slightly frosty atmosphere was the only hint.
However, it became clear when we went for a walk on Tuesday morning to get our bearings. Standing outside was Hillbilly Jim, who posed for pics and gave all three of us a signed promo flyer for his online radio show - he was a true gent.
In terms of meeting stars, that was the only thing of note to report until Wednesday evening.
This is because we were told that Johnny Ace had told the hired security goons to eject anyone who tried to speak to (or approach) anyone. He had heard that there was an incident on Tuesday evening and wanted to lay down the law.
This was basically nonsense because at this stage there was a maximum of six (yes just six!) fans at the hotel (which was a well-kept secret...just the way Vince wanted it!
The senior WWE security guys knew that the allegations were BS and said that if the hired goons gave us any trouble, that we should seek them out to smooth things over.
The real issue here was two lines of communication in my view. The hired amateurs were taking instructions from Johnny Ace, and not the from the WWE's main secuity guys who know us and crack jokes with us all the time.
We get on really well with them and had fun talking about the shoddy toaster in the hotel restaurant that took about 10 minutes to slightly cook a piece of toast for instance :)
Things plodded along but for some reason on Wednesday evening people started geting pics and signatures free of hassle.
During these two days of inactivity, we decide to catch some rays by the hotel pool and witnessed the quite frankly bizarre sight of some of the roster members splashing around - Charlie Hass, Jackie Gayda, Robbie (Mr TNA) McAllister, Tommy Dreamer, Beulah, Stephanie McMahon, Linda McMahon and Umaga were amongst those to stop by the pool area (no approaches out of respect/threat of ejection).
Once the thaw occured, we were able to meet quite a few roster members.
In general, they weren't really big names, but in many cases were first-time meetings or pic opps for us.
Those we met included:
Rocky Johnson, Cherry, Ashley, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Striker, Kofi Kingston, Todd Grisham (as cool as ever and always happy to chat about soccer), Test, Kelly Kelly and Layla (always a true sweetheart).
But I must make special mentions for two: Elijah Burke and The Man - Nature Boy Ric Flair.
Elijah played a piano in the lobby for a good ten minutes to a very high standard before receiving an ovation from the fans. He then posed and signed for everyone and exhibited a brilliant attitude. I've seen him at hotels in the UK before and he has been virtually unapproachable, so my respect for him has increased immensely.
And Ric? What a gent! Like Elijah, in the past (both in the USA and UK) we have found him virtually unobtainable.
However on this occasion he was freely signing until he got to my friend, at which point he said he was going to the bar with his family.
This was fine as we thought we would get him after, and when he came out, he signed a few more things before looking me square in the eye and saying he needed to go to dinner with his family but would take some pics later.
We realistically thought this wouldn't happen, but sure enough, he returned at 11.30pm and when I asked him if I could get a pic, he said it would be his pleasure!
At last - my ambition of meeting Ric was fulfilled! His wife told my friend to get in shot and she would get a pic of both of us (how cool is that?)
I then asked Ric to sign a promo, and told him I had travelled 4,500 miles to meet him, which prompted him to say he was honoured.
Wanting a pic of my own with him, I asked if he would be willing to pose again - and he did! We both raised the four fingers and I have a pic I will cherish forever!
Could it get any better? Of course it could! The Natich carried on his night out at the hotel bar.
About ten fans and twenty staff/crew/roster members carried the party on into the early hours of the morning.
When Ric let out whoos, we all joined in! Those present included Snitsky (who got a pic with Ric like a fan), Mickie James, Victoria, Torrie, Colin Delaney, Jimmy Wang Yang, Kevin Dunn, Jesse and Mark Henry.
As I said, we had pretty much done all we could, so then checked out and did some touristy stuff, but also took in the Thursday and Friday TNA shows.
We were on the VIP list, but the organisation was quite frankly a shambolic mess. The bottom line is that the VIPd too many fans.
Putting that to one side, the shows were VERY entertaining and the lively crowds must have been a bit like those ECW had back in the day.
At the end of the Thursday show, roster members came ringside to sign and pose for pics. I managed to get pics with Dixie Carter (pre show), ODB (I'm now a big fan), Peyton Banks, Earl Hebner, Traci Brooks, Salinas, Gail Kim, Hercules Hernandez, Terry Taylor and the one and only Ralphus!
I had to shout across to him as I couldn't believe it was Ralphus! But sure enough it was...and he was happy to pose! If someone had told me prior to leaving England that I would meet Ralphus, I'd have told them they were mad!
Carrying on the adventure after the Thursday and Friday shows, we went to a local bar used by the TNA roster. While there we met ODB again and Samoa Joe.
Oh, and I almost forgot - while lining up for the Friday show, who should walk past but none other than Funaki??? He was simply a visitor to the park but was happy to pose for pics!
As we purchased a WWE travel package to assure us of decent seats to HOF and WM, I decided to go along to the Midday Madness session - the queues were terribly long, and based on past experience, these events can be rushed and less than satisfying.
That was the case this time. Instead of setting up rooms for Platinum, Gold and Silver packagers (with suitable stars accordingly) people were herded into rooms one, two or three at random.
I got room one (where the pic opp was Matt Hardy and Maria). The other room pic opps were Edge/Chavo and Big Show/Mark Henry.
In my room, the stars signing were Mr Kennedy, Maryse and John Morrison.
All stars were happy to pose, but as I was at the end of the line, as it got close to the end, it became signatures only. Given the amateur level of organisation, I walked out in disgust.
At this point it is also worth noting the Travel Package hotel was of poor quality. Many staff members had attitude problems (maybe thinking they could look down at WWE fans), and the restaurant was awful.
It is also rather annoying that a registration for the weekend, at which you get your tickets, WWE were handing out flyers for the WM25 packages.
This quite frankly sucks - surely they should let the fans enjoy the weekend before trying to grab yet more hard earned money off us? I for one will never use the Travel Package again (even if it means that I can't get good tickets).
Anyway, Hall of Fame was excellent - I am amazed Flair was allowed to speak for so long and am sure his reference to Chris Benoit will have not gone down well.
Considering some of the inductees not looking the most interesting on paper, the show told a very good story.
And as for WM24 - what an amazing spectacle! The pics and footage I have seen of the show sum up the magnitude of the night.
Ok, the booking was some of the most poorly thought out and screwy of all time, but the bottom line is that WWE filled the arena (even if some were comped).
Finlay being swatted with the tray by JBL and Morrison's ladder-sault were true Mania Moments.
Ric's match was emotional and was a great way to bow out. Just a shame that he didn't agree for his match to main event. His loss killed the crowd to the point you could have heard a pin drop during Edge-Taker at certain points.
The bizarre moment was meeting Graham Cole, who plays PC Tony Stamp in UK Cop drama The Bill. He was there as a paying spectator and seemed to really like Ric, Edge and Taker!
That essentially rounded up the week - we were wrestled out by this point and watched Raw after enjoying a BBQ that we had at the villa we had hired near Disney as a back up for Mania week (good job we got the roster hotel earlier in the week though!)
In summary, an amazing week and I urge anyone who can, to attend a Wrestlemania at some point in their lives.
Kris of England
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