Shelton Benjamin Autograph Signing Report (05/19/2024)

Thank you! He really was!

Here’s another report.

Rikishi, John Morrison, Chris Masters, and Colt Cabana were in Toronto yesterday for the Reena Rumble.



This was an annual charity wrestling show hosted by Magen Boys Entertainment which was returning after a two-year hiatus due to covid. I have attended shows hosted by this promoter several times and they are always very nice and approachable. Some of you might remember my backstage meet and greet with Godfather/Papa Shango a couple of years ago. This is the same promoter.

As they were announcing guests headlining the show, I ordered my meet and greet ticket, which usually includes an autograph and photo with each headliner. However, to no one’s surprise, I wanted extra autographs. I reached out to one of the Magen Boys who I had previously been in contact with in past years for their past events and I got quoted a price. It was their typical rate for extra autographs, but compared to other settings, such as conventions, this was a really good deal and given that it was for charity, I wanted to support.

Doors were to open at 4:45 so I get there at 4:15. Ryan arrives shortly after me. Registration opens slightly after 4:45 where they look for my name on a list and see I paid for a VIP meet and greet ticket. I get my wristband and the event poster that was included with the price. I tell the person at the registration desk that I spoke to one of the promoters regarding getting extra autographs at the meet and greet. She tells me that he will likely be hanging around inside (i.e., inside the main room of the venue where the wrestling and meet and greet will be). I thank her and join the line for the meet and greet. We were about 15 people deep. The meet and greet was supposed to start at 5 but began about 15 minutes late.

The line for the meet and greet was in a hallway that connected to the main room. The meet and greet starts, but oddly, it is only Rikishi out signing. They would let people in in batches to allow for crowd control. Once we are let in, there are still about 7-10 people ahead of us. While in line, I spot the promoter I was conversing with via email regarding the extra autographs. We haven’t met in person before, so I wanted to meet him such that he knows who I am so there’s no trouble when the volunteers see I am getting so many autographs, and such that I can pay him and thank him for helping me. I introduce myself and he tells me “I know you are!”, which I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Yes, I make my rounds (that’s an understatement lol), but we’ve never met. He tells me that Masters and Morrison haven’t arrived yet and told me that I could get all my Rikishi stuff done here at this moment. This was great. I hop back into the line with Ryan and wait until it is our turn.

It is now almost 5:30 and my turn to meet Rikishi. We start off with a handshake and i tell him it is nice to meet him. He replies “likewise!”. I then tell him that I spoke to Page about getting several autographs and that I paid for them, to which he said “ok!”

The first items I have him sign are two figures that I have. One Jakks WWF TTL figure in blue, and one of his elites in yellow, both personalized. Before he signed, he would go over the item with his finger as if he was trying to find the perfect spot for the personalization and autograph. He takes his time with these which is great. As he signs these, I ask “do you collect your figures as well?”. The music in the venue was blasting so he couldn’t hear me and asked me to repeat myself a few times. He said that he did and he gets them before anyone else does.



Given how loud the music was, I figured it would be hard to have a conversation so it was just the autographs from this point on. After the figures, he signed a WWE program and a magazine.



Then, I have him sign all of his entries in the encyclopedia. During this, one of the volunteers starts to get annoyed and says “one or two more at the most”. In response, I politely say “I paid for these”, and Rikishi says “exactly!”



Once he was done with the encyclopedia, I go behind the table and we take a picture together. Rikishi was very cool. One of the volunteers reiterated to him “try to keep autographs to one or two at a maximum”, and Rikishi just shrugged lol. Rikishi was awesome.

Ryan then goes to meet Rikishi, and once he does, we go find seats. John Morrison and Chris Masters were not out signing as we expected them to. Turns out, they were not included in the VIP meet and greet. I wasn’t too concerned about this because the promoter knows who I am and what I wanted.

The show started at almost 6:30, during which Colt Cabana defeated Chris Masters.



John Morrison wrestled in a tag team match.



Rikishi gave a stinkface.




After the show ended, I approached the promoter I previously spoke to and before I could say anything, he said “you need to get your stuff signed, right?” I tell him “yes, please” and he tells us to follow him. This was a charity show with lots of kids so he had some kids following him as well. Turns out, Ryan and I are going backstage to get our stuff signed.

Chris Masters was busy signing posters for some of the kids. Morrison was doing this same while also trying to pack up. A few minutes later, Masters was done with the kids so I approach him and ask “do you mind signing please?”. He responds, angrily (but jokingly) “NO!”. I smile, tell him I paid extra, and he replied “just kidding! What do you got?”. He signs the three programs I brought for him to sign.



As a joke, he also defaces Carlito (shares the same page as him) and says “he [Carlito] always had a blue goatee!”. We both laugh, and I tell him that he improved it. We then pose for a picture.



I was waiting for Morrison to be free as I didn’t want to jump in while he was busy fixing his gear and busy with the kids. While waiting, the promoter asks if I’m okay and I tell him I just need John. Once Morrison is available, I tell him that I paid extra to meet him and ask him to sign my stuff. I start off with the items I wanted done in yellow paint. He signs my Survivor Series elite, a DVD cover, and a poster. Before he signed anything, he stopped to make sure I wanted yellow on all of these items and which items I wanted my name on. When he signed the DVD cover, he took a good look at it and said “man, it’s been a while since I’ve signed this!”. When he signed the poster, he added “Johnny Drip Drip” without me even asking. As he signs these items, I tell him that I’ve met him several times before and that it is always a pleasure. He thanks me for that.



Then, we move onto the items I wanted done in blue paint: a couple of Mattel Rumblers sets, as well as a trading card. Before he signed the first Rumblers set, he asked if I wanted it on the card or the bubble. I ask for the bubble and he signs. As he signs, I tell him “I was really excited when they [WWE] brought you back. I was really hoping they’d put the world championship on you this time around”. He replies, “yeah, they really messed that up!”. I ask, “do you think it would be different if Triple H was in charge when you were there?”. He nods and says “yeah, I think so!”



I then move onto the items I wanted done in white, a Mattel Battle Pack and an elite. He also confirms with me about personalizations again.



Lastly, we do the items I wanted done in regular blue sharpie. First was the Superstar Yearbook magazine from 2008 that I have a bunch of autographs in. When I opened the page, he immediately laughed at the photo, and said “oh man, Colin Delaney”. He gave a lot of thought as to where to sign before he did so. I then ask him to sign a Smackdown magazine as Johnny Nitro, which he was cool with.



After this, we take a picture and thank each other. I thank him for his time and says "this was a fun show!". I’ve met Morrison several times and he never disappoints.

At this point, I got everything I needed signed, so I wait just outside the backstage area to gather my stuff and let Ryan finish up. As I wait, Rikishi walks into the backstage area. I had already met him but the photo-op during the meet and greet was a bit awkward as he was sitting, so you needed to crouch down a bit. I thought this would be a good chance to get a proper standing photo. Some talent and volunteers take pictures with him, and not too long after, I do as well. I thank him, shake his hand, and he replies “you got it, uce!”.

Overall, a very successful day. Huge shoutout to the promoters for always being so cool and to Ryan for being my photographer.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks! More than happy as to how things turned out!

Awesome stuff man! Jimmy Harts on my list of one of those 80’s era performers I would love to meet. Hopefully one day, and next time he finds his way across the pond I’ll try and see him. Sounds like a great man to meet as well!

Trish Stratus, Sabu, Sandman, Godfather, Rikishi, D-Von Dudley, and Rhyno were in Livonia, MI this past weekend for the Astronomicon.





I don’t have a need for Rhyno or Rikishi. I do have a need for D-Von; however, he will be at an indy show near me where I expect his rate to be cheaper. I did have a need for the other guests though. With josecalderon /Ryan needing some guests as well, he and I made the trip together.

Our original plan was to attend the con on the Saturday, but I ended up getting a ticket to the WWE show, so we moved our plan to attend on the Sunday. This ended up being a good call because there was a snowstorm Friday night into Saturday which would have caused a messy Saturday morning commute.

After 90 minutes of sleep Saturday night, I met up with Ryan and we made the trip to Michigan. The convention was to start at 11 but we made good time and got there around 10. We did a bit of figure hunting before going to the convention itself at just past 11.

Once we were in, we went straight to Trish’s table, who was not there yet. Her line quickly grew. It wasn’t until almost 11:45 until she came out. Another half an hour later, it was our turn to meet her.

Me: Nice to meet you again!
Trish: Again? Where have we met?
Me: So many times… we’re actually from Toronto
Trish: How long was the drive? 3.5 hours, right?
Me: Yeah, it wasn’t bad. We were supposed to be here yesterday but then the Toronto house show was last night.
Trish: Yeah! Did you go?
Me: I did!

Trish and Ryan then talk about the particulars of the region in which they live.

Me: “yeah, so if you wanted we can carpool on the way back”
Trish: “Ooh, when are we doing this?” We later realize she misheard me.
Me: “we’re making the trip back tonight”
Trish: “oh okay”, with a tone that indicated she was a little confused
Ryan: “yeah, you can carpool with us”
Trish “OH! Carpool! I thought you said parkour!”

The three of us laugh.

Trish: “I was gonna say uhh.. I don’t know how.. and that sounds a bit dangerous.”

We laugh some more.

She then signs my elite, personalized to me. She also signs my Battle Pack with Chyna. I ask her to inscribe the figure with the event they had their match. Once she did that, she took a good look at it for a few seconds and said “I like it when these [autographs] are thought out!”



I thank her and she thanks me as well. She also notices my Toronto 3:16 shirt which was partially covered by my jacket which she adjusted to get a better look.

Once we were done with Trish, we find a place to pack up our Trish stuff. Ryan goes back to the car to drop off the item he got done by Trish while I waited. At around 12:30 we go back to the guests and I meet the next person I had a need for: Sandman. This was a first time meet for me so I was particularly excited to meet him. I pay the handler for three autographs and a photo.

Handler: “He’s got three autographs and a photo”
Sandman, annoyed: “I’m only doing two out of the three!”
Me, laughing: “We came from Toronto to meet you”
Sandman: “I hate Toronto! I tried to get there twice and they wouldn’t let me in”
Me: “well, we’re huge fans there!”

He first signs my encyclopedia. Unfortunately, the marker he was using was dying out, so before he signs my second item, he grabs a new marker and aggressively throws the marker into the garbage can right next to him. He then signs my Rise and Fall of ECW DVD cover.



Lastly, he signs my ECW Belt. I had to pull it out of my bag and as I did, he looks at it and goes “Jesus Christ!”, again sounding annoyed. He gave me a nice big signature on the belt which I’m really happy about.



After that, he came out from behind his table, with a kendo stick in hand to pose for the photo. Once the photo was taken, we shake hands, he smiles at me, then pats me on the back. Though not obvious, this gesture made me feel like the antics above were just him playing around. He was definitely fun to meet. As I put the belt back in my back, the handler takes a good look at it and is impressed. Sandman speaks up.

Sandman: “where did you get it from?”
Me: “WWE Shop” (this isn’t true, I blanked out lol)
Sandman: “How much did you pay”
Me: “Like, $200”
Sandman: “That’s it?!”
Me: “Yeah, it’s just the plastic (commemorative) type. Not the metal replica”

The handlers, even more impressed, say that they couldn’t even tell by just looking at it.

Right next to Sandman was Sabu, who was another guest I needed. I pay the handler for one autograph, then shake Sabu’s hand. I tell him that I met him before in Toronto to which he nods and says “oh okay!”. I know he doesn’t speak much at signings so that’s all I expected. After he signed, he shook my hand and thanked me. Ryan met Sabu after me.



Once Ryan was done, we leave the room where the guests are to make sure our stuff is dry. I asked Ryan if he could watch our stuff while I quickly go get Godfather. Godfather had no line so I went straight up to him and paid the handler for one autograph. We exchange pleasantries and he sees my post-it note with my name and confirms if I wanted it personalized, which I did.



When he finished signing, D-Von Dudley came to him and talked for a few minutes. Godfather had my marker in hand so I waited for them to finish talking. Once Dudley walked away, Godfather realized why I was still there.

Godfather: “Oh sorry! You want your pen back. I didn’t mean to hold you up”
Me: “No worries! Thank you! To be honest this is the third time within a year I am meeting you”
Godfather: “Well it's nice to meet you again!”
Me: “We were here [at Astronomicon] last year, then you were at the Hamilton Comic Con in Ontario-- I’m from Toronto”
Godfather: “I was!”, responding to the Hamilton comment
Me: “And now I’m meeting you here again. You always treat me so well so every time you come around, I want to make sure I support you”
Godfather, offering a handshake: “Oh, thank you very much! I really do appreciate that”
Me: “Likewise, nice seeing you again”
Godfather: “Are you Alex?”
Me: “Yeah that’s me”
Godfather reaching out for another handshake: “thank you very much, Alex!”

I thank him again and leave his table.

As I was walking back to meet Ryan, I notice Dudley has no line. I don’t have anything for him as I am planning to meet him next week; however, I approach his table.

Me: “How are you D-Von?”
D-Von: “I’m good, how are you?”
Me: “I’m good too! I’m from Toronto and I’ll be seeing you at Destiny Wrestling next weekend”
D-Von: “Oh yes! Destiny Wrestling”
Me: “Yeah I’ll see you there! Take care”
D-Von: “You too!”


At that point, Ryan and I had knocked out our wrestling guests. Ryan needed a few actors so I accompanied him for that. I ended up getting a photo with Ari Lehman because Ryan needed two autographs and photo-ops were free with the purchase of an autograph. Lehman was super friendly and took his time with everyone.


And that’s the report! As hinted above, look out for one next week. Thanks for reading!

Wait. Blothar from GWAR & Jon Lovitz in the same building? Hell yes!

Great report. I always enjoy reading these.

Can't say I know for sure, but I imagine there should be! Thanks for reading!




Thanks for always reading!

So Seven signed 7 cards for $20 total? Great deal. That's nice of him.

Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona was at a local comic book store called Silver Snail today.



He is also at the GCW Toronto show tonight. I was planning to get a ticket to that show to meet Ryder; however, tickets sold out before I was able to. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as I don’t have to pay admission at Silver Snail. Better yet, autographs were decently priced. At Silver Snail, it was a $40 combo, and you could add up to three additional items signed for $10 each. A few days ago, I preordered two combos, plus six additional items. Preordering two combos would be the only way I’d be able to get all the items I wanted signed.

As seen in the poster above, he was slated to be signing between 2:30 and 4:30. I felt no need to get to the signing early because it’s downtown so it's easy to get to for me, and I did not expect him to have a line the entire two hours. My plan was to arrive about an hour after the signing started in hopes that the initial line had already died down.

I arrived at Silver Snail a few minutes before 3:15 to see Ryan standing outside the store. He had already met Ryder so I asked him how it went, if there were any issues, etc. He tells me that everything went well and that I should have no problems. I then go inside to get my stuff done and Ryan comes with me to take pictures. There was one other person meeting Ryder by the time I was at his table. While that person was meeting Ryder, I showed the handler my tickets and he recognized my name given that I had bought two tickets at separate times. He tells me “I saw your name come through twice. I was wondering if it was because you were bringing a second person or if you had a lot of stuff”. It didn’t matter, but he politely said that out of curiosity, to which I told him it was the latter.

Once the fan in front of me is done with Ryder, Ryder looks at me and asks “What’s up man?”. I then approach his table and shake his hand.

Me: “it’s nice to see you again! I saw you at Summerslam”
Ryder: “2019!”
Me: “I have 8 items!”
Ryder: “8 ITEMS?! I gotta film this! What do you got?”

He pulls out his phone and starts recording me and my items. He comments on them as I pull them out. I tell him that I also have his headband from 2010 but I can't find where it is in my collection. He says that its hard to get now. Once he is done recording, he starts signing the items I wanted done in paint: a basic figure, the Edgeheads elite, and a Rumblers set. Before he signed, he tested my paint pens. As he did, I tell him “they should be ready.. I’m not always ready, but I’m usually ready”, which he laughs at. After he signed these, he tells me to make sure they dry.



He then signs a DVD cover and a program.



He then signs three more programs. He comments on a couple of these. As he signs the program with the Hype Bros, he asks: “can I draw an X over Mojo?”. I reply: “you can if you want to!”. He says, “I do!”. When I flip to the 2007 program where he and Hawkins are still the Major Brothers, he was really surprised to see it, saying “wow!” before signing it as Brett Major.



After he signing these programs. he grabs his phone to take a picture of the 2007 one. The issue was that I had a post-it note saying “Brett Major” stuck to the program. He wants to remove it to take a proper picture, but he asks “you don’t need this, right?”. I say, “I don’t. It’s just to remind you, in case you sign as Zack by accident.” (I have seen Ryder sign Cardona items as Ryder or vice versa.) He laughs at that comment, which is the picture above.

Once he took the picture, he asked if I wanted an 8x10 which is what the store would provide if you didn’t have an item. Technically, I didn’t pay for it but he was cool signing one for me. I ask him to personalize it to me. We then take a picture together.



Once the picture was taken, I put my stuff away. As there was no one else in line, Ryan and I talk with Ryder for a few minutes. We talk about the local indies we would love him to appear at. I tell him if they ever bring him in, we’ll be there to support. He asks if there are any vintage toy stores and we mention the one he went to a few years ago nearby. We talked about his collection and him getting autographs. He talks about the rules he has for getting stuff signed, and I joke saying that at least he has self control, which is something I tend to lack (if it wasn’t already obvious with this thread lol). He says he has self control with the autographs, but with everything else, he doesn’t. He talks about his lack of space and the fact that his figure rooms are so small. He wants a bigger space that he can grow into. At that point, another fan had arrived, so we end the conversation so as to let the next fan meet Ryder.

Ryan and I talk to a few other fans that are still in the store. As we leave, I realize that I had made a rookie mistake and put my 8x10 photo into my bag before it had dried. I go back to the handler asking if I could get a new one, which he was more than happy to do. Once I got the green light, I showed Ryder my photo and asked for a new one. He jokes, “rookie mistake!”. I remind him my name and I tell him I appreciate it. He replies with “no problem buddy!”



I converse a bit more with him.

Me: “I wanted to go to the show tonight just to see you but tickets had sold out before I was able to get one”
Handler, appearing to be a wrestling fan, echos the comment
Ryder: “I heard they sold out pretty quick”
Me: “yeah they sold out even before they announced matches”
Handler chimes in a bit more
Me: “that’s why I’m glad they got you here. Thank you again!” I shake his hand.
Ryder: “thanks for bringing all that stuff!”
Me: “For sure, enjoy your stay!”

I chat with Ryan for a bit more before calling it a day. Silver Snail/the handler was awesome. Ryder was awesome. A very smooth signing.

Thanks for reading!