JBL and Aliyah Autograph Signing Report (11/03/2024)

Man, that is a powerful and special experience you had with Lex. It is really nice that the church was able to provide the fans with such an experience (and free, right?). Something like that is worth a lot of money, IMO and yet very priceless.
I feel Lex deserved his success (and more) during his wrestling career and now, if he is happy with his life (and he should be) I feel he deserves all the best of life.
People can go through life changing experiences after time and time of being down and out and doing things that bring you down but when the time comes for a change, if they can see it through like Lex did, life can be very positive.
PS thank you for the write up! I feel like I was there. I got some chills and got a little watery eyed.

Great stuff man I was a huge Luger fan when I first started watching WCW.

This was an unexpected report. Steve Lombardi (aka The Brooklyn Brawler, aka Kim Chee, aka Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz) was in Vaughan, ON today for Destiny.



Destiny usually hosts shows at Santino’s gym. However, in addition to that, for the summer, they host smaller shows at festivals. This particular festival was the Vaughan Pizza Fest. You had to pay $10 admission to get into this festival with had booths of mostly food vendors, along with some local businesses. James Ellsworth was supposed to be at this event, but with WWE’s rehiring of him, they needed to bring in a replacement. That replacement was the Brooklyn Brawler and Destiny’s announcement of this was posted just three days ago. Had Ellsworth been the main draw, I would not have attended because I don’t need his autograph on anything, but I needed Brawler, so this was a welcome change.

Destiny advertised that the show would be at 3; however, this morning, I take a look at the festival’s schedule and they advertised 3:30. I had planned to get there around 2, but when I looked at the schedule, there was a listing for the Jersey Boys performing. Even if it’s a knock-off version of the Jersey Boys, I wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to hear some Frankie Valli lol. Their performance was scheduled for 1:50, and so I aim to get there by 1:30.

I do get there by 1:30, walk around and look at the vendors, and scope out the ring area to see if I can see Brawler. I wanted to be early in case I could get him right away and leave. I don’t see him, so I walk around the festival a bit more. There was no Jersey Boys performance by the time they were scheduled to be out came, but at about 2:15 an announcement is made to gather around the main stage for the pizza eating competition. This main stage was right next to the wrestling ring, so along with everyone else, I grab a seat (ringside, too!) by the ring and watch the competition. Joey “Chestnut” Jaws, a famous competitive eater, was one of the participants and came in second place with eating 17 pizzas in 10 minutes. First place ate 19.25 pizzas in the same time frame. Vincent Pastore from The Sopranos was there to hold the winner’s hand up. Shortly after, Pastore hosts a quick Q&A session before grabbing a seat for the wrestling show which finally started at 3:30. It was WAY too hot to be doing all of this, so at this point, I’m glad the wrestling is underway. The guy running the show mentions that we’d be able to meet Santino after the show (not directly mentioning Brawler will be signing) and that Brawler will be wrestling. Brawler had the third match on the show, before which josecalderon arrives, who is always nice to see. After Brawler’s match, I leave my seat and talk to josecalderon for a bit.



Right before the co-main event was to start, I notice that Santino grabs a seat at a table underneath the tent that hosted Destiny’s people/the backstage area. Turns out that that table would be where you could get autographs/photos. I then notice that Brawler, wiping his head, was near Santino, so I had the impression he might be signing too. I tell josecalderon that I’m going to check out what’s going on. I notice that another fan had asked him to sign some stuff and he did, therefore, I signal over to josecalderon that we can probably meet them. I quickly go around the barricade and get my stuff ready. As I do, the ring announcer (also the guy who runs the show) says that people can come up and get free autographs/photos with Santino and Brawler. What was cool was that Santino had 8x10s printed out, and those were free as well! My main focus was on Brawler, however. As I was about third in line, it didn’t take me too long to get to Brawler. I hand him my Jakks Classic with a post-it note that had my name on it. He asks: “To Alex”? and I say “yes, please” and that it’s nice to meet him. I wanted to talk to him more, but the line was building up and with such limited time, I couldn’t say much. The near 40-degree Celsius heat wasn’t helping either.



I then open up the encyclopedia. I ask him if he can change markers, and he tells me that he thinks that the marker he has might work better (it was the light blue paint), I tell him that it might smudge if he uses that, and have him switch to a regular blue sharpie. He signs his Kim Chee and Heenan Family entries.



As he signs, he tells me: “I’m in this book four times!”. I tell him yeah and that I have the pages marked. He then signs his Brooklyn Brawler and Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz entries.



Once he signs those, we pose for a picture (lighting was terrible) and we thank each other. I move onto the side to fix my stuff. This is when I realize that I brought along a couple of trading cards that I forgot to get signed. I join the line again and within a few minutes, I get Brawler to sign my trading cards.



And that’s it for this report. Though I couldn’t speak to him much, Brawler seemed nice and what made it even better was that autographs were free. Thanks again for reading and thanks for all the great comments on the Lex Luger report.

It was HOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!! I was self showering today. Nice get on the Jakks Classic auto! Wished he brought some photos. Nice little show and good seeing you again today.

He looks in great shape.

Wait- 17 pizzas in 10 minutes, or 17 slices in 10 minutes?

Pizzas! I’m not sure how big they were but they said that one pizza is enough for a person’s lunch.

Brilliant report. I always look forward to reading your posts.

Just a question, for people who get figure or pops signed, are the oil based paint pens best? Thanks

Toronto hosted Impact’s Slammiversary this past Sunday night, as well as two nights of tapings Monday night and tonight.



Before I start this report, I want to briefly mention how great Slammiversary was. It was really enjoyable from start to finish, and I recommend everyone to check it out. A lot of people like to crap on Impact, but they really deserve more credit. I, myself, didn’t expect too much out of it (haven’t followed Impact in like 8+ years), but loved the show. Pictures of this show are on my Instagram. Pictures from the first night of tapings are on there as well. I’ll upload pictures from the second night of tapings Wednesday afternoon.

I tried to get autographs before Slammiversary at the venue and arrived 4 hours before the doors were to open, and it was already too late. Talent had already arrived. I also tried getting autographs after Monday night’s tapings. Waited around a bit and didn’t see much potential, so I left empty handed. Tonight, however, I decided to wait around longer because this was the last night of tapings. My patience paid off. I don’t remember the exact order of the wrestlers I met, but this is the gist of it.

First, I was able to meet Matt Sydal, who was leaving with a few other Impact wrestlers. Of the group he was with, Matt was the only one I wanted to meet. As I approach him, I politely ask him to sign and said “sorry to bother you!”. In response, he said “no sweat, man” and signed the Slammiversary program I had bought two nights before. As he signed the program he said “damn. I wish they gave these programs out to family and friends.” I then had him sign a 4x6 photo of the two of us from a prior meet and greet. He saw the photo and said “wow!”, to which I replied that it was at a Smash show. I told him that I enjoyed his matches these past few nights, and he thanked me for that. Once he finished signing he told me “thank you for supporting!”. I, unfortunately, screw up Sydal’s autograph. I kept the program open for at least three minutes and the white paint pen still hadn’t tried, so it smudged. I had this issue several times with this program. Paint pens took forever to dry on whatever type of paper they used.



Eddie Edwards was the one I got next (I think). I wasn’t going to approach him because as he was leaving, he was on the phone. However, he saw a friend, hung up the phone and spoke to him for literally a few seconds. Thankfully, it was enough time for me to ask for a signature. Another signature added to the program.



After I got Edwards, camera crew started to come out of the venue to film a segment with LAX and the OGz. Hernandez soon came out after, whom I wanted to get in an older TNA program which I have a bunch of signatures in already. He said he can’t right now, which I understood because they had something to do. Konnan came out thirty seconds later, who was part of the same segment, but stopped and signed for me. Quiet guy. I said a thank you to him and he smiled slightly. Honestly, Konnan was the name I most wanted to get tonight, so anything else was just a bonus. I wanted a selfie, but didn’t bother asking considering that he had to go. I had him sign the WCW Ultimate Guide book.



Not too long after, I hear a fan say, “oh it’s Tommy Dreamer!”. I didn’t expect Tommy to be at this show, but brought along a program and photo, just in case. He had his luggage, as well as three takeout containers for food. I ask if he can sign, and he was more than willing to do so. I’ve met Tommy numerous times before, and he’s always pretty quiet, but nice. I have him sign a 2007 WWE program, and a 4x6 photo of the two of us. A little later in the night, I see Tommy pull out of the parking lot, start idling on the side of the road, and get out of his car to open the trunk. Turns out, he was waiting for a couple of wrestlers (I forget who). While he was waiting for his colleagues, I yell out: “thank you!” and wave to him. In response, he yells back “you’re welcome!”.



Soon after, I was able to get Katarina, formerly known as Katie Lea Burchill in the WWE. I ask her to sign a program from 2010, as well as a 4x6 photo of the two of us. When she signs my program, she accidently signs as “Winter”, which was her previous TNA name. Once she signs, she realizes that she signed the wrong name and says: “oh Chocolate Shark, I signed the wrong one. Let me sign it again”, and signs her Katie Lea autograph. Once she signs the program, she also signs the photo, which she seemed surprised to see. She was all smiles and very friendly. As she waited for her Uber, she smoked a cigarette, which was interesting to see lol.



Callihan then left with a few other impact wrestlers. I approach him and ask him to sign the Slammiversary program. I also apologize for bothering him (seemed like he really wanted to leave), but he said that it was no problem.



About 5 minutes later, Allie and Tessa Blanchard come out; not together, but close enough in terms of time. Of the two, Allie was the first one to come out. She signed the Slammiversary program for me. She was extremely friendly and happy to sign. Allie asked if I enjoyed the show. I told her that I did and that I was here all three nights. I also tell her that I’ve seen her wrestle several times at Smash. She seemed to really appreciate that. I then wished her a good night. Blanchard was interesting because she came out with fellow Impact wrestler Kiera Hogan (never heard of her until these tapings) and they were talking about how Blanchard is allowed to do certain things because she’s a heel. I approach Blanchard and ask her to sign. She didn’t say much to me, but smiled as she signed. I got the vibe that part of her wanted to play the heel role, while wanting to break kayfabe and be friendly. She signed, nonetheless, so in either case, I was happy. She then started speaking to other fans, and she seemed nice. I just wanted the autograph.



Blanchard and Hogan were waiting around for their Uber. Turns out, Johnny Impact/Morrison/Nitro/Mundo, Rich Swann, and Brian Cage would be taking to same Uber. Those three names came out at the same time. I first get Morrison and have him sign the Slammiversary program and a 4x6 photo. I planned on bringing a figure for him, but didn’t think I’d be able to get him so I left it at home. Oh well. Not complaining though as I’m happy with what I got. As he signed I tell him that I’m looking forward to his season of Survivor. He says: “me too!”.



I was afraid that I would miss getting Swann and Cage. Luckily, since they all had luggage, they needed some time to put them in their Uber. One of the wrestlers even joked, “it’s like a game of Tetris!”. That bought me some time. I approach the Uber and ask “Mr. Swann, would you mind signing for me please?”. He says: “of course”, and signs the most recent WWE program that I have. As he signs, I tell him: “I was at the last show at Battle Arts, and you came out from the back to sign my action figure. I really appreciated that”. In response, he says that it was no problem. I also ask for a selfie (my only selfie of the night), and he was more than willing to take one. Swann is literally one of the humblest wrestlers you will ever meet. Such a nice guy and definitely appreciates his fans. He even wrote “thank you” after signing.



I then get my Slammiversary program back out and ask Brian Cage to sign it. He was about to get into the Uber, but I ask and he quickly signs before heading into the van.



I go back to the side and put my stuff away. At this point it starts to rain, so I begin to leave. As I leave, the Swann crew are still packing up their stuff. With where I had to walk, I pass by the Uber they had, and therefore, was within earshot of Swann, so I thank him again. In response, he says something along the lines of that it was no problem. 

Pretty successful night. My main wants were Konnan, Katie Lea, and Swann (in that order). I was able to get those three, among a bunch of others. Thanks for reading!