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Post by HHH316 on Sept 19, 2021 20:38:38 GMT -5
I forgot how much I enjoyed reading these!
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Sept 21, 2021 12:29:19 GMT -5
This report is a sweet blessing to see! It's been like almost two years since I remember reading one.
Hopefully it's a sign for better days to come for our lives..... here's hoping at least!
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Post by A-Rob on Sept 23, 2021 0:47:58 GMT -5
Look who's back hitting up signings. With travel restriction easing up there should be more here soon. Great stuff!
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Post by cordless2016 on Sept 23, 2021 18:48:34 GMT -5
Great story and glad you’re back at it!
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Post by TKO Propagandist on Sept 23, 2021 19:12:05 GMT -5
Storm knows best
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Post by TheChamp617 on Sept 27, 2021 22:19:18 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! Here's to hoping more signings start springing up more often now!
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Post by TheChamp617 on Oct 10, 2021 1:26:20 GMT -5
Two reports in one post tonight. James Storm - Oct. 8, 2021First, James Storm was in Toronto on Friday night for the international premiere of his movie The Reenactment at the Toronto Indie Horror Fest. Tickets to attend were $10 and once I heard that James Storm would be attending the screening, I jumped at the opportunity as I had a magazine with him on the cover that I wanted signed. The venue was Eyesore Cinema, which is a horror DVD rental store (I honestly didn’t realize DVD rentals were still a thing) which had a small “theatre” in the back. I have “theatre” in quotes because all it is is a really small room with a projector. I arrive there around 8:30 hoping that Storm would be there already. I honestly do not care too much for movies (I usually fall asleep in them), so I was hoping I would get him to sign my stuff and then leave. However, he was not there yet. We are let in about 15 minutes before 9 and I find a seat in the very back row. I chose to sit in the back row such that I could see when Storm arrives and where he sits. About 20-25 people was at the screening in total. A third of those people were involved in the movie itself as well as the short the was presented before the movie. A minute before 9, Storm arrives along with two of the directors of his movie. Storm walks in, laughs and says “better late than never”. The trio order their popcorn and soda. The popcorn was still being popped so they sat down as they waited. They looked around the room to find a good spot to sit and ended up choosing to sit in the row I was in. Storm entered my row first, noticed my Impact Wrestling shirt, and greeted me by asking how I am. I told him that I was doing good and returned the question to him. He sits down with a two-seat gap between us to reserve the spots for the directors. I continue “I have a magazine with you on the cover. I would appreciate it if you could sign it after the movie. I’m a huge fan”. He said yeah and that it would be no problem. Although I wanted to get him to sign my stuff then leave, the fact that he and the directors were sitting right next to me led me to not ask him to sign yet. This is because I felt that if I got my stuff signed and then left right away, it would have been rude given that they’re literally sitting right beside me. Anyways, The popcorn finishes popping and Storm gets back up to get his popcorn. He returns to his seat and sits down kinda abruptly to the point where some of his popcorn fell out of his bag. His directors start laughing at him while Storm jokes “you’re the worst best friend I ever had”. Storm clearly was in a good mood. A few minutes later, he gets back up and asks the popcorn guy as to if there is an outlet anywhere such that he could use to charge his phone. There is an outlet behind my seat which the popcorn guys alludes to, and Storm jokes with me: “you’ve been keeping this for yourself?!”. I laugh and joke back, saying I was hiding it from him. He plugs in his phone and then rests it on the empty seat next to my right. He asks if I can cover his phone with my bag such that if the phone goes off, it won’t cause a distraction. Around 9:30, the screening actually starts. First, Storm and the directors are called up to the front and talk a bit about the movie. They thank everyone for coming out and Storm shares a story. He talks about a scene where he had to throw someone through drywall. He told the production crew to make sure to score the walls such that its easier to break so it won’t hurt as much. During the filming, he apparently whispered to the guy he was going to throw through the wall “this is only going to hurt a little”. The guy was supposedly terrified. There were a few other scenes that contained violence and because of Storm’s wrestling background, he was able to make his scenes look so realistic to the point where the directors would yell “cut” to ask if the person Storm was fighting is okay. Storm would say “yes he’s okay! I’ve been on TV for 23 years pretending to hurt people! I was made for this!”. He laughed and said that he had a good time doing the movie. The movie starts and it was good for what it was. Again, I’m not a big movie guy. The crowd seemed to love it as once the movie ended, people were complimenting the directors as they were leaving. Once the movie ended, I got my markers out as well as the items I wanted signed. Without having to ask, Storm comes to me and I hand Storm a blue paint marker, which he gladly takes and signs a magazine for me. As he signed the magazine, I told him “I met you at a TNA show here about ten years ago”. As I said that, he paused to stop signing so as to give me eye contact while I was talking. I continue “I had to be around 14 at the time so its nice to be able to meet you again.” He says “well, thank you for making me feel old” and laughs. I then have him sign an 8x10 I had previously printed out. Since there is no WWE-related Storm merch, I printed out a photo from his NXT run that lasted a few seconds. As he signed I said “I was surprised you didn’t sign with WWE at the time”. He replies “yeah, I had family stuff going on.. family always comes first, especially before this wrestling stuff”. I agree with him and thank him for signing the two items. I have him switch to a regular blue sharpie and have him sign a program. As he signs I ask how long he’ll be in the city for. He tells me that he’ll be here until Sunday and that I reply by saying I hope he has a good time while he is here. After, we take a photo together. Storm takes his mask off briefly for the photo, so I do as well. Once we take the photo, I thank Storm for this and that I appreciated it. He thanks me as well and I call it a night. Storm was very friendly. Bushwhacker Luke - Oct. 9, 2021On Saturday, Bushwhacker Luke appeared in Woodbridge, ON at a Thanksgiving event. This weekend is Canada’s Thanksgiving and an organization was giving out free turkeys. They had Bushwhacker Luke as part of this and a few days before the signing, I reach out to the organizer and ask if there is a cost to meet Luke. The reply I get was that there is no cost. A free signing sounds a little too good to be true. I speak with josecalderon and learn that he received the same information as well. I doubted the validity of the information but prepared for the signing with the assumption that the information was accurate. As you will see, I’m definitely glad I did that. Luke was supposed to be signing between noon and 2pm. Not wanting to wait in any lines, I planned to get there around 12:30. I was running late and ended up getting there at around 1:30. There were a bunch of people there, but it was more for the Thanksgiving festivities rather than to meet Luke. He was standing under a tent to protect himself from the rain. There was one fan there getting autographs so I waited a few minutes before I could meet him. I approach Luke, shake his hand, and tell him it is nice to meet him again. Luke replies “oh yeah, you were just here”. I wasn’t, so I told him that and so did one of the organizers. I reply “that wasn’t me, but I did meet you years ago at the El Mocambo”. He said “oh I remember that event”. I tell him I’m a big fan and pull my stuff out. I start with the Mattel Battle Pack. My intention was for him to sign over himself, and then inscribe “WWE Hall of Fame 2015” over Butch. I wanted him to do that because I thought I might not ever get Butch and so I would want the set to look complete. I figured that if Butch does end up doing an appearance, I could easily remove the inscription. He tells me: “This is actually Butch’s side [telling me that I got them mixed up in the set, even though I don’t think I did] and he’s coming here, so I don’t want to sign over him”. I say “he’s coming? I didn’t know”. He replies that Butch will be coming but is not sure when. He then signs the Battle Pack. Although I believe Luke is on the left side, he believed otherwise and signed the right side. I think he signed it incorrectly, but whatever, Luke was realy cool and asked what colour I wanted because I had a blue and a yellow on me. As he signed, he did inscribe WWE HOF 2015 and mentioned to me that he’s got the ring on right now. Once he signed that, I pull out a cardboard sheet with four trading cards and a flattened VHS tape cover/sleeve. I ask him to sign using my blue paint marker, which he does. As he signs, one of the organizers ask how i found the event. I tell him that I found this through Instagram. I then tell Luke “thank you for doing this”, and Luke jokes “you got me at the right time because I’m doing this for free. Down the road, autographs are extra”. I tell him “well whenever you do come back down the road, I’ll be sure to meet you again”. He then talks more about the show at El Mocambo. He talks about how different the value is now and asks “did you know that Chris Mysterion runs those shows”. I tell him that I do, and then turns around, points to a guy, and says “that’s his uncle”. The uncle replies “I do not claim nor deny that” and laughs. Luke then signs a book with him on the cover. I then pull out another sheet of cardboard, this time with an 8x10 on it. I figured that I have a bunch of Bushwhackers autograph and that it would be nice to at least get a Sheepherders autograph. I got this photo printed along with that Storm photo in the previous report. He sees the picture and he says “ah, the Sheepherders. He tells me ‘did you know were were inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020 as the Sheepherders?’” I did not, but I pretended like I did. Also on that sheet of cardboard was another trading card that would not fit on the other sheet. He says “Bushwhackers on this one!” then signs. Lastly, I had him sign two photo-ops with him from our previous encounters. He takes a few seconds to look at them. I point to the one at the El Mocambo and tell him that’s where that was from. I then point to the second photo and tell him that that was at another indy show he did east of Toronto. Then, we pose for a photo. I kept my mask on for the photo but then I realized that since we’re outside, I ask if I can take it off. Luke was cool about it and said that he was tested and will be tested again when he gets back. After the photo is taken, I thank Luke and the organizers before calling it a day. Really smooth and easy signing. Luke was great to meet. Thanks for reading! Three signings in since the pandemic and all three have been solid (and very cost-friendly!). Let's hope this trend continues.
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TWJT
Superstar
Joined on: Aug 7, 2021 19:07:25 GMT -5
Posts: 556
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Post by TWJT on Oct 10, 2021 1:30:33 GMT -5
Dude Luke would be awesome to meet, he’s literally been wrestling for 60 years.
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Ohtimate Wahriah
Main Eventer
WF 10 Year Member
Joined on: Jul 1, 2008 12:35:07 GMT -5
Posts: 2,624
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Post by Ohtimate Wahriah on Oct 10, 2021 4:20:56 GMT -5
Love reading your detailed experiences man, you really paint a picture and for somebody like me that never goes to autograph signings, I enjoy the hell out of reading and visualizing them. Awesome stuff, glad to see you back doing this!
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Post by The Brain on Oct 10, 2021 4:26:24 GMT -5
Love the signed Coliseum Video!
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Oct 10, 2021 7:15:25 GMT -5
Is Luke's beard real? It looks painted on. Great read. I'm really enjoying these.
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Post by TheChamp617 on Oct 12, 2021 21:31:14 GMT -5
Is Luke's beard real? It looks painted on. Great read. I'm really enjoying these. Seemed real to me lol. Perhaps he dyed it which caused it to appear painted on. Glad you guys are enjoying these!
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Post by TheChamp617 on Nov 14, 2021 12:49:50 GMT -5
Very quick report today. Bret Hart was in Mississauga, ON yesterday for the Sports Card & Memorabilia Expo I've met Bret six times before; however, I wanted to meet him again as I have several items I'd like him to sign. For this particular meet, I chose four items - three of which I've been wanting him to sign for a while. A few weeks ago, I preordered my tickets to secure my spot for the signing. The expo was to start at 10am, with Bret signing at 11am. My plan was to get there at 9:30 to be able to get in the expo when it starts, have a look around at the vendors for a bit, and then line up for Bret shortly after. However, I was running late and get there just past 10. Once inside, you line up for the COVID screening, and then you go to another line to redeem your admission tickets. I asked the person who took my admission ticket as to where I can redeem my autograph preorders. There was a small booth set up. I go to the booth and they give me an envelope with my name on it that contained my tickets. As I ran late, I went straight to the Bret line, which had already been capped. I was told to come back after 11 as the signing would have started by then and there would be more room for the line. I see ARUN join the VIP line, so to kill a few minutes, I went to greet him. I then went back to the regular line and was spotted by josecalderon /Ryan who gave me a spot in line with him. We chat until Bret comes arrives at 11:05. To get to his table, he has to walk through the crowd. As he passed me, I said "Good morning, how are you?", to which he nodded and said good morning back. At noon, it is Ryan and I's turn to meet Bret. The handlers were quite efficient to make sure that we got what we wanted signed and how we wanted it signed. I hand my tickets to the first guy, who then tells the second guy what I ordered (i.e., four items). I give the second guy my markers and tell him I wanted black on two magazines, and then yellow on a third magazine and my chair. He asked if I wanted to use Bret's pink marker on the Simpsons magazine instead of the yellow I wanted. I told him that I wanted the yellow to fit with the theme of the Simpsons, which he thought was a good idea. This second guy then tells a third guy as to the items/colours I wanted who then relays the information to Bret. The first items I had Bret sign were these two magazines below. I was especially excited to get these done as these were previously signed by the other superstars on the cover: Then, the handler switches markers with Bret and Bret signs a third magazine in yellow: Lastly, he signs my Survivor Series 1997 chair, also in yellow. I was really excited to get this signed as its such a cool item and lots of people were asking about it at the expo. Once he signed the chair, I thank him. After the items get signed, a fourth person would take your items and transfer them to another table to let them dry. This table would also allow you to get authentication should you want it. The authenticator asked me if I wanted the company's hologram sticker on any of my items. I declined as I feel that the sticker take away from the items. I grabbed my stuff and chat more with Ryan as our stuff dried. Once everything was dry I put them back in my bag, found Arun again to catch up. Great seeing you guys! And that's it! Thanks everyone!
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Post by The Brain on Nov 14, 2021 13:06:54 GMT -5
Bret has one of the best sigs. Got some stuff signed by em last month myself in a private signing.
Thanks for sharing brother!
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Post by casanova on Nov 15, 2021 3:17:31 GMT -5
Wow! That Hitman stuff is amazing!
I’ve met Bret once. Totally by accident. WWF was touring through Germany and they must have checked in in our small town hotel (it is perfect for Hamburg travel). Long story short we met in the forest while jogging. No long conversation but a lifetime memory. Anyway don’t want to derail your thread.
Once again congrats for meeting the Legend.
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Post by A-Rob on Nov 15, 2021 5:29:55 GMT -5
Another great report Champ! love the yellow paint pen on the magazine.
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Nov 15, 2021 15:54:14 GMT -5
If every fan was as organized as you, I think the wrestlers wouldn't mind doing these signings. Great report!
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Post by Deep Figure Value on Nov 15, 2021 16:17:35 GMT -5
That chair is fire. What an item to have signed by Bret. Do you have any plans or hopes to get Shawn to sign it as well?
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Post by Scott! on Nov 15, 2021 16:18:22 GMT -5
The Bart and Bret magazine looks incredible in the yellow, you definitely chose right with the colour. Sounds like the signing was really well organised, with having the table for the autographs to dry. That's a really nice touch from the people running it. Glad you had a good time!
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X-27
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jan 28, 2019 22:28:39 GMT -5
Posts: 2,159
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Post by X-27 on Nov 15, 2021 21:09:26 GMT -5
Badass
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