Chris Jericho and One Man Gang Signing Report (06/08/2024)

Nice Trish signature!

She was on raw last night. You just didn't watch 😀

Another great signing man

Alright… here’s a 6-day report as WWE invaded Toronto for Summerslam. Most of these were written on the same day as the actual signing occurred.


Thursday, August 8, 2019

Kevin Owens and Ricochet Autograph Signing Report

Early this morning, I found out that Kevin Owens and Ricochet would be doing media rounds to promote WWE being in town. With just a few hours of sleep, I wake up at 6am, get ready, and take a half hour walk to one of the places they’d be making a stop at and arrive at 6:50am to see just one another fan waiting. I usually have some idea as to what time they’d arrive, but this time, I wasn’t sure. With some crazy luck, just five minutes later, a black SUV with them inside pulls up. However, they miss the front entrance, and go to the back. It seemed like the driver wasn’t sure as to where to drop them off. Two minutes later, they circle around and return to the front entrance. Security from the TV studio come out of the building, while the driver comes out of the car. Kevin Owens pops out of the car first, and I politely ask, “Hey Kevin, do you mind signing please?”. He saw that I had two figures, and asked: “which one?”, to which I pointed to the Basic figure, personalized and thanked him. I also told him that I saw the t-shirt he posted on Twitter and intend to buy it, to which he said, “right on, man!”. After Kevin signed for me, he signed for the other fan. Kevin then makes his way inside the TV studio, but as he does, I tell him “thanks again!”, and he replies “yeah, man!”.



Meanwhile, Ricochet was standing off to the side waiting for Kevin. Kevin saw that the other fan had a photo for Ricochet to sign, and as he makes his way inside, he tells Ricochet “he’s got something for you to sign”. Ricochet then comes up to the other fan and signs the photo without hesitation. I also wanted a Ricochet autograph. I was going to get a program signed (assuming he’s in one) but didn’t want to juggle the Kevin Owens figure and flipping to a page in a program with paint, so I wanted to get an 8x10 photo printed… however, I couldn’t get that done either. I asked Ricochet to sign a blank page of photo paper, personalized, and he did so. I then ask for a selfie, which he was more than willing to do.


An awesome start to Summerslam week! Upon arrival, I only had to wait a few minutes until Kevin Owens and Ricochet showed up, and both were awesome to meet!


Rhyno Autograph Signing Report

Rhyno was in Toronto for Greektown Wrestling this evening.



I’ve met him a couple of times before, but this was before he made his recent WWE return, during which I bought his Elite when it came out. I thought this would be a perfect chance to get it signed.

The preshow meet and greet was to start at 7; I get there at 6:50 to see a line of about 20 people. Not all of them would be doing the meet and greet though. Things don’t get under way until almost 7:20, when preshow meet and greet ticketholders are let in. They brought us into a smaller room than the room normally used for the wrestling – I guess there was a small turnout for this show. Meet and greet ticketholders were put in a line upon getting into the venue. After about 10 minutes, it was my turn to meet Rhyno. Rhyno was quiet and seemed really tired but was nice enough and thanked fans for coming. Having met him several times before, I didn’t have anything to say to him. I simply got my elite signed, then took a photo with him.







Friday, August 9, 2019

Elias Autograph Signing Report

Elias did a signing at the Real Sports Apparel store inside the Scotiabank Arena.



Wristband distribution was to begin when the store opens at 9am for his 11am signing. I get there ten minutes before 9 and see a small line of people, including ARUN . The store doesn’t open until almost 9:30 and we head to the WWE booth within the store. To access the signing, you needed to buy a WWE item to get a wristband. About 15 minutes later, I purchase a shirt and get my wristband. Here’s the thing... Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are doing a signing at 2pm at the Summerslam Superstore with wristband distribution beginning at 11am. Elias' signing was at 11am. Our plan was to get our Elias wristband, jet over to get the Club wristband, then jet back to Elias. The venues were a ten-minute walk away from each other, so that helped. Therefore, once we got our Elias wristband, we went over to the Summerslam Superstore to get our Club wristband. However, when 11 comes, wristbands are not being distributed. We were getting worried that we would miss Elias, so at 11:15, we walk back to the Real Sports Apparel, and meet Elias by 11:30.

When I go up to Elias, I shake his hand and give him my paint marker. He starts shaking it and tells me politely tells me that someone brought a paint marker that splashed onto his arm as he shook it. I first have him sign the elite, personalized. Then, he signs my Entrance Greats. I ask if he can put “can you put ‘Alex walks with Elias’?”, and he gladly says, “I can!”. I then tell him that the figure was a prize from Zack Ryder’s podcast and he replies, “oh yeah? That’s cool!” When then pose for a picture.



We then walk back over to the Summerslam Superstore and get a wristband by noon and wait until the 2pm Club signing. There was about 30 people in front of us and at some point, A-Rob joined us in line.


The Club Autograph Signing Report

Doors to the superstore opened about a few minutes after 2. Our bags were checked, and we went through metal detectors before being let in. Once in, the Club started signing after a few minutes, and within 20 minutes, it is my turn to meet them. I had both of their elites and their battle pack, and the handler tells me that it is only one autograph per wrestler. I tell him “that’s fine, I’ll just do the elites”, and pretend like I have nowhere to put the battle pack. When I go up to the Club, I hand them white paint pens and have them sign my elites, personalized. I tell them that I’m a big fan and that I was really excited to hear they’d be signing, which they thanked me for.



I then asked them “would you guys mind doing this one too?” and handed them the battle pack. They had no problem signing an extra.



After that, we posed for a picture to end the signing. It was a really quick meet, but they were really friendly.


Summerslam Axxess Session #1 Report

(I’m writing this portion of the report after the end of this really long day. I figured that I would forget some things if I postponed writing this, so I thought, despite being exhausted, that I should get this report written. For those who haven't been to these types of meet and greets or Axxess, these sessions are 4 hours long. A particular set of wrestlers sign during the first two hours, and then a new set of wrestlers sign during the last two hours. I purchased some VIP tickets to get a guaranteed autograph and photo with the bigger superstars throughout the multiple sessions.)



After The Club signing, I roam around the Summerslam Superstore, which was small in size and only had a few things that I wanted. I didn’t want to make a purchase right away, so at about 2:30, I leave and make my may home to have lunch and grab my figures to get signed at Axxess. At about 4:20, I arrive back at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre where Axxess is held. I walk up to the line where staff scans my ticket and give me a Drew McIntyre VIP wristband. I then join the VIP line and find ARUN again. Then, at 5, VIP ticketholders are let in. Arun and I part ways as I have different wants than he does. I look around at the booths to see who is signing, and where. I wanted to get a GA name out of the way before redeeming my Drew VIP. The first line I decide to join is the Iiconics, who had about 15 people in line. They arrive at just past 5:15 and the line moves slowly because of how personable they were with everyone. More than 20 minutes later, it is my turn to meet them. I had a “Toronto 3:16” shirt on, and as I approach the table, Peyton Royce says “Toronto 3:16 says I just….” And wanted me to finish the sentence. Because this strays from the traditional “Austin 3:16”, I joked, “Hmmm… you tell me!”. (I was hoping she’d say “We The North” lol), and jokes back with a disappointed look, then says “I just whooped your ass!”. I have them sign a program then pose for a photo. Both were really nice to everyone they met, and their photo-ops were awesome.



At this point, I noticed that Drew McIntyre only had a dozen people left in his VIP line, so I decided to get him out of the way. It was 5:45 at this point, and it only took me less than 15 minutes to get to him. When I approach the table, we shake hands and I tell him “nice to meet you again!”. He asks, “where was the last time we met?”. I tell him, “before the NXT show at Maple Leaf Gardens some time ago!”. He says, “oh! Was that where I faced Bobby Roode?”. I reply back, “yeah, I believe so!”. He continues, “yeah, someone was asking me about that match today!”. I have him sign my basic figure, personalized. We also pose for a picture. Drew was another really friendly guy.



After Drew, I go over to Mojo Rawley’s line who had about 10 people. 6 o’clock just struck at this time and it took me another 15 minutes to get the front. Mojo was super talkative with everyone. When I went up to him, he asked how I was and shook my hand. I have him sign his basic figure, which he seemed enthused to see. I ask him to personalize it, and he was more than willing to. After he signed it, he even asked “Can I put ‘Stay Hyped’ on it?”, to which I say, “that would be great!”. After he signs the figure, he then asks, “do you want one of these [autograph mats] too?”, to which I reply, “I’d appreciate that!”. He signs an autograph mat for me, then takes a photo. Again, another super friendly superstar. As I leave the booth, he tells me, "thanks for bringing the figure!".



I then join the line for Titus O’Neil. Although he was smiling for photos, it seemed like he’d rather be elsewhere. He left a fan standing for a few seconds waiting for a photo-op because he was occupied with texting someone on his phone. Titus didn’t seem that happy; perhaps he was having a bad day. However, my experience with him was pleasant enough. It took me another 15 minutes to get to the front of his line. I have him sign a figure, personalized. I tell him “I can’t wait to read your new book that’s coming out”, which he thanks me for. I continue, “I’ve been a fan for a while!”, and he says, “thank you for the support!”. We then take a photo, then WWE staff ushers him away and have him sign elsewhere. I was the last one to get him at this booth. He was nice enough to me.



It is now 6:40, nearing the two-hour mark at which wrestlers switch. There is no one I saw that I’d be able to get within that twenty minutes, except for EC3, who had a short line. It took me 25 minutes to meet him, despite the short line. While waiting for him, he sees what appears to be a John Cena cosplayer meeting R-Truth. EC3 stops signing, and asks, “what’s going on there?”. A few minutes later EC3 sells the surprise: “that’s not John Cena! And that’s a referee!”. Turns out, it is actually Drake Maverick, who was doing a 24/7 title bit with R-Truth. R-Truth retained, and as a way to leave his autograph booth, he ran from Drake. Anyways, after the commotion had ended and when it was my turn to meet EC3, he shakes my hand, and asks me how I am and for my name. I tell my name and “I’m a big fan! You should be world champion already!”. He makes the autograph out to me and after he signs he replies, “thank you, Alex. One day.” EC3 was really cool to meet.



At this point, the wrestlers were beginning to swap. I kept an eye out for anyone I really wanted. Mandy Rose is seen but has a huge line. However, I then see a bunch of people running to a particular booth. Andrade had come out and started signing, with no Zelina, unfortunately. It turns out that Zelina Vega was somehow delayed because about 15 minutes later, she joins Andrade for autographs. This was great because I was close to the front. Another 10 minutes later, it is finally my turn. I come up to them and tell them that it is nice to meet them, who return the thought back. I hand Andrade a yellow paint marker and his NXT Takeover basic. Zelina sees it and says “oh! Mine [action figure] isn’t out yet! It’s coming out in October!”. I tell her that I saw a picture of it and thought it was cool, to whch she thanks me for. Before signing, Andrade asks me where I want the signature: on the card or on the bubble. I point to the bubble, and he starts signing. He puts “To A”, then pauses. I feel like that, on instinct, his almost signed his name rather than putting my name first, considering that we both start with A. He pauses for a second before continuing the signature. Meanwhile, I open up a program to have Zelina sign. She comments on her outfit in the program to Andrade: “remember these sequins”. Again, both were really nice to meet.



It is now 7:35, and I join the Apollo Crews line because I brought his Elite. His line wasn’t too long but took 20 minutes to get through because of how talkative he was. When it was my turn to meet him, he shakes my hand, and I then hand him my figure, to which he says, “I got you!”. I tell him that I’m a big fan of his, and he thanks me for that. He then asks: “are you from the area?”. I tell him “yeah, I could literally walk from home if I wanted to!” He says “wow”! as I continue, “I didn’t walk here, but I could if I wanted to!”. He then says, “I went to the gym today. Google maps said it would take me 16 minutes, but it felt longer!”. I tell him, “yeah, that’s probably because of how busy it is here!”. He continues, “yeah! To get back, I felt lazy and took an Uber!”. We laugh, then thank each other.



It is nearing 8 o’clock, and Mandy Rose’s line is getting shorter. She appeared to be doing photo-ops only, which made for a faster line. I noticed that she did sign for some people that asked, so while I would be happy with just a photo-op, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. It took me about 20 minutes to get to the front. I first hand her the figure and marker, and she signs the figure for me, which I thank her for. We then pose for a photo. Not much of a story here because of how quick this meet was.



Lastly, I join Sonya Deville’s line. Sonya did a signing at a TRU yesterday, but I couldn’t make it. Thankfully, I was able to get her here. While in line, another fan sees my figure with a ‘To Alex’ note on it, and asks me if I’m the one that posts on the wrestling figure forums. I tell him that that is me and we strike up a conversation. I’m sure you’re reading this, so thank you for reading my posts and for saying hello! Really nice meeting you! It takes almost half an hour to get through Sonya’s line as she had a decent amount of people. When it was my turn to meet her, I hand her my figure and explain “I was supposed to go to Toys R Us and meet you yesterday, but I couldn’t make it so I’m really glad you’re here!”. In response, she said something along the lines of that she’s glad I made it tonight. I noticed that she didn’t personalize the figure, so I ask her politely, and she had no problem doing it. When then pose for a photo and thank each other. Sonya was really friendly.



And that wraps up the first Axxess session! I’m already exhausted. I’m writing this at almost 1am and I have to be at the Convention Centre early in the morning for the next session.


Saturday, August 10, 2019

Summerslam Axxess Session #2 Report



After a tiring Friday, I wake up on Saturday at 6 to get ready for Axxess. I end up getting there at almost 7:30am for the 8am start time and the line wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. Right at 8, the doors opened, and I walk around the convention looking at the signs to see who is signing and where. I find Nikki Cross’ booth and join the already-forming line. At about 8:15, Nikki, smiling, arrives at her table with a cloth case carrying her championship and introduces herself to the photographer. She then teases the fans: “should we take pictures with the belt?”, as she excitedly removes the belt from its carrying case with pride. Nikki was very friendly, and it took me half an hour to get to her. I hand her my white paint marker and her elite to sign. I then congratulate her on her title victory, which she thanks me for. When she signed my figure, it appears that she pressed the point too hard and paint leaked a bit when she made the personalization She even asked “is this pen okay? It seems like it’s going to leak”. I tell her that it should be fine, and despite the slight marker (marker-user?) malfunction, the autograph looks great. After the autograph, we pose for a photo then shake hands.



Akira Tozawa’s booth was nearby and had a small line of about 15 people. I decide to join the line as I brought his basic figure. It only took me 10 minutes to get to him. There was a slight language barrier, but he made sure to shake your hand, ask how you are, and thank you.



I then notice that No Way José’s line is dwindling, and so I join it. He was conversing with everyone that went up to him, so the line moved slower. It took half an hour to get to the front of the line. When it was my turn to meet him, I hand him his NXT Elite and a red paint marker. He sees the figure and says, “there it is!”. I tell him, “I got this figure in Florida when I was on vacation; this didn’t come out here!”. He replies, “yeah, a lot of people have been telling me its hard to find!”. He continues, “when I first saw it, I looked at the hair and asked myself ‘is my hair really that nappy’? I guess it is!”. We then laugh and take a photo together.



At this point, it is 9:30. Superstars were to change at 10, and I had noticed that the rest of the lines would take more than a half hour, so I decide to wait for the second block of superstars. At just past 10, Ricochet comes out and there is a stampede to his booth. Thankfully, I didn’t need him, but notice Ember Moon was out signing, so I join her line. Her line wasn’t as long as I expected, but that’s probably because everyone ran over to Ricochet. Despite being personable, it only took me 20 minutes to meet Ember. She signed her NXT elite figure for me. I tell her that the action figure is one of my favorites. She thanks me, then says that the part she likes the most about the figure is that the packaging includes the date.



After Ember, I look at the Big E and Xavier Woods line because I have a VIP ticket to meet them; however, it was still long so I decided to look at who else was out. Everyone had either too long of a line up, or I wasn’t interested in. The Singh Brothers had a super short line, so I joined it to get my program signed. It didn’t take too long for me to get through the line; I give the handlers my bags of figures to take care of while I met the Singh Brothers. Sunil Singh asks: “Where are the Singh Brothers action figures?”. I reply, “I left them at home because I didn’t know you guys would be here!”. (I actually don’t have them lol). They smile and sign my program and ask for my name. I tell them my name and say, “I saw you guys wrestle years ago in Brampton, Ontario at Tigerfest along with Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Ali Singh.” They appeared enthused to hear that and Sunil says: “that had to be about 5 years ago”. I tell him, “yeah, and it’s really cool to see you guys here in this environment”. Sunil replies, “thank you, Alex!” and we pose for the picture. After the picture we thank each other. Samir was the quieter of the two but was polite. Overall, both were friendly guys to meet.



Finally, I join the Big E and Xavier Woods line. Because of how personable they were, the line took forever. It took me about an hour to get to them. I had Big E sign his first elite, while Xavier signed the New Day pops. I’m not too big on pops, but I didn’t have anything better for Xavier to sign. I tell them that it is nice to meet them and remind Xavier “I met you at ConBravo a few years ago and you signed liked a dozen things for me, which I really appreciated”. He replies, “oh no problem, man!”. We then move over to take the photo, at which point Big E notices I’m wearing a Randy Orton shirt. He says, “oh, I don’t know, Randy Orton shirt? I wish I could take back that autograph.” I sarcastically say, “I wish you could!”. He laughs, “I’m just joking!”, and we pose for the picture. They let me hold their belts, which were HEAVY.



That ends this session. It was about noon at this point. The next session was to start at 1pm. Within the hour gap between the sessions, I subway home, drop of my autographs from the morning session, grab my figures for the afternoon session, and go back to the convention centre.


Summerslam Axxess Session #3 Report

There was a bunch of good names at this session I wanted to get, however, I arrived 5 minutes late and so most people were already let in, implying that lines for the better names would be long.



I needed to be cautious with my time because I had VIP tickets for the same hour and needed to make sure that I didn’t miss out on them. I notice that Cedric Alexander had the shortest line, so I join it. It took about half an hour to get to him and I have him sign his Elite. He appeared to be excited to see I had it and even showed it to the crowed and said, “everyone should have one of these! Buy it wherever these are sold!”. I say, “Walmart!”, and Cedric laughs. After he signs, we pose for the photo.



None of the lines were dwindling and if I were to join any of them, I might have missed my VIP, so I went straight to one of my VIPs: Samoa Joe. It took me another half hour to get to him. When I meet him, I tell him “I met you before you signed with WWE at a Smash wrestling indy show. Its really cool to be able to meet you here too!”. He replies, “Yeah, I get around!”. I tell him, “yeah I do too!”. We then pose for our photo.



I considered looking for other General Admission wrestlers to meet; however, with the length of the lines and with it starting to get close to the time they switch, I decide to just go for my Randy Orton VIP. The line took FOREVER because Randy Orton was taking his time with everyone. It took me 90 minutes to get to him. I did not expect him to be so nice, especially after hearing stories about him online. The meet starts with a handshake. He asks me how I am, and we take the photo. After the photo, we go to the table where he signs my figure, personalized.
I tell him “I’m a huge fan!”, and he replies “I appreciate that, Alex, thank you!”.
I continue, “I gotta admit though… when I was a kid, I hated you!”.
He says, “well, I think that was the plan!”.
I reply, “yeah, you’re good at what you do!”.
He replies, “I’m still trying to get people to hate me so when you see me pretend you don’t like me!”
I say, “okay, so next time I meet you, I’ll act like I hate you!”
He replies, “actually, if you see me on TV, just boo me!”.
I reply, “But I can’t not like you! You’re too nice to me!”
He replies, “that’s because I’m a nice guy! Don’t believe what you read on the internet!”.
We laugh, shake hands, then thank each other to end the meet.



Lines were still too long for other wrestlers, so I decided to call it a day and simply cash in my last VIP of the session: Asuka and Kairi Sane, who had a decent line. Paige was supposed to join the duo, but cancelled. It took about an hour to be able to get to them, and while that may seem like a long time, the amount of people they got through in that hour was high. The language barrier appeared to prevent conversation. When it was my turn to meet them, I shake their hands and they tell me that it is nice to meet me. Asuka signs my figure, while Kairi signs the 8x10 photo that they would provide if you didn’t have anything to get signed. Despite it supposed to be only one autograph per person, Asuka signs the photo too. We then take a picture.



It is now 4:30 and all lines are capped because the session ends at 5. I realize that ending early is a good thing because… that meant, I actually have time to eat! I go home and have lunch for less than a half hour, then leave for NXT Takeover Toronto.



My Saturday doesn’t end at NXT. Dolph Ziggler hosted a comedy show after NXT at the Rec Room.


Dolph Ziggler Autograph Report



This venue was a ten-minute walk from the Scotiabank Arena where NXT was.

The show was to start at 10:30, according to the ticket, but they started at around 11. Before Dolph came out, they had a few comics do some standup and Finn Balor and Pat Patterson even came out as special guests. Later, Dolph Ziggler takes the stage. Some highlights from the show:
- Dolph talked about being similar to Brock Lesnar: loving free Jimmy Johns sandwiches, both being collegiate wrestlers, and material being untested
- Dolph says that he sees wrestling fans everywhere: at operas, at museums… but mostly at Walmart.
- Someone recognized Dolph at a Walmart but wasn’t sure who he actually was. He asked Dolph, “are you famous?”, and Dolph replied, “WWE”. The guy question Dolph replies, “you still watch that stuff?!”
- At one point, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins come out and made fun of Dolph. Curt Hawkins even superkicks Dolph Ziggler.
- At the end of their bit, Ziggler asks the crowd “how should we end the show? They [Hawkins and Ryder] don’t know, they’ve never been in the main event before”.
- Pat Patterson sang My Way.
- There was a Q&A session. A question that was asked was “Which will be longer tomorrow: your entrance, or your match with Goldberg?”.



The show ends at around 12:30 and we are told to stay in our seats until the meet and greet is announced. I had a hunch as to where the meet and greet was, so I waited in the vicinity until the meet and greet went underway, which began after just a few minutes. 20 minutes later, it is my turn to meet Dolph Ziggler. Dolph greets me and says, “nice shirt!” when he sees that I’m wearing one of his shirts. I told him that it is nice to meet him again and remind him of the time I met him at Walmart a few years ago. He returns the thought back to me, and I tell him, that when I heard he was doing a show here, I was excited; however, when I found out it conflicts with NXT, I was disappointed. He replies by saying that a lot pf people were complaining about the time, so he changed it such that it is held after NXT. I tell him that I appreciated that and that I love how it was walking distance from the arena. He replies, “that was the idea!”. He signed three figures for me and we posed for a photo. Ziggler was another really nice guy to meet.





I leave the Dolph venue at around 1:30am and make it home at 2am. I have my dinner, then prepare for Sunday’s 8am Axxess session.


Sunday, August 11, 2019

Summerslam Axxess Session #4 Report



After just two hours of sleep, I wake up at 6 and make it to the Convention Centre around 7:20 for Sunday’s only Axxess session, which was at 8am. While waiting in line, A-Rob joins me and we chat, so the wait wasn’t bad. Once in, we separate as we have different wants. I look around the venue for names of who I want and can’t find anyone I’m too interested in. The last booth I see is the one I am most interested in: Kurt Angle, who had a line that was building up. At about 8:10, Kurt comes out and starts signing. It takes me an hour to get to him, and because of how large the line was, it was capped. Also, personalizations were no longer allowed. I had Kurt sign my Jakks figure and simply tell him it is nice to meet him again. He returns the thought and we pose for a photo.



The other names appearing during the first half of Axxess were names I didn’t have figures for, but Jack Gallagher had a short line, so I joined it to have my program signed. The line takes about 15 minutes to get through. When I meet him, I tell him, “I have your action figure but didn’t bring it because I didn’t know you were going to be here!”. He smiles and says, “oh! I only found out last week!”. I tell him, “next time I meet you, I’ll bring the figure to get signed”. He replies, “thank you for supporting 205 Live!”. We then pose for the photo.




The other lines were too long and it was nearing the time for the wrestlers to switch. Therefore, I decide to go for the next shortest line, which was Mustafa Ali. He was great; joking with everyone and very personable. It takes about 25 minutes to get to him. This meet was relatively quick as I didn’t have much to say to him. We exchanged pleasantries as he signed my program before taking the picture.



It was 10 o’clock at this point, which meant that the wrestlers would be switching. Velveteen Dream comes out, and while I wanted to meet him, I wanted to meet Ryder and Hawkins more. Also, when Dream came out, a huge stampede ran over to his line. The wrestlers gradually start switching. I keep an eye out for the signs they had up in order to see who was signing. No Hawkins or Ryder yet. Most of the booths were already accounted for, except for the one Ali was at. I thought that because the other booths already had their switch, Ryder and Hawkins were likely to be replacing Ali, which was right. Ryder and Hawkins were amazing. They took their time with everyone, signed multiple autograph per person, and I believe Zack Ryder was also vlogging. Their line wasn’t too long but because of that, it took me about an hour to get to them. The fan that said hello to me on Friday night was also there, who was nice to see again. My meet with them starts off with handshakes. First, Curt signs his Elite figure, while Zack signs his Elite and Basic. I tell Curt, “I met you a few years ago in Hamilton, Ontario for Alpha-1 Wrestling”. Curt replies, “oh, I love wrestling there! Ethan Page!”.



I then open up the encyclopedia and have Zack Ryder sign it. Before he does, Curt glances at the book and says “oh, I’m in it already!”. Zack then signs it, then puts an X over Shad’s face in the Cryme Tyme entry. I laugh and Curt says, “I’m surprised I didn’t do that already!”. We then pose for the photo.



Because of how long Ryder and Hawkins took (which is not a complaint because of how great they are), I had no time to join any other line except for my VIP meet and greet with Rey Mysterio, which took another hour to get through. When it is my turn to meet him, I shake his hand and tell him it is nice to meet him again. He thanks me for that then signs my encyclopedia. Then, without being asked, he signs an 8x10 for me. I thought this was great because it was supposed to be only one autograph per person. Before he finishes signing, I ask him to personalize it. We then take the picture together to end the session.



After this session, I went home and took a nice nap before heading to Summerslam.




Monday, August 12, 2019

Sami Zayn Autograph Signing Report

Sami Zayn did a signing at the same place Elias was last Friday: the Real Sports Apparel store.



I had a doctor’s appointment at 2pm, while the Sami Zayn signing was to start at 1pm. Because of how tight the times were, I wanted to make sure I got to the signing early such that I could be one of the first in line so that I had enough time to commute to my appointment in time. I got out of bed this morning at 7:30, left my place at 8, and got to the signing before 8:30. There was only three other people in line with the line slowly and gradually building. At a few minutes past 10, the store opens. I make my required purchase to get a wristband to access the signing.

At two minutes past one, Tony Chimel comes out and introduces Sami Zayn to the crowd. Sami walks out of the store where we are waiting, waves to the line, then walks back in to his table and the signing starts. Because I was fourth in line, it took only a few minutes to get to Sami. Right off the bat, Sami was super talkative. When it was my turn to meet him, we start off with a handshake and I tell him that it is nice to meet him.
I then ask him, “can you make these out to Alex?”
He replies, “I can. Both of them?”
I say, “yes, please. I’m a big fan!”
He replies, “so you must be Alex!”
I reply, “yeah, that’s me! You’ve done indy shows here many times, but I never got the chance to meet you, so I’m glad you’re here today!”
He replies, "yeah I did do a lot of indy shows in the area!"
After I say that, he has finished signing both figures and we take a picture.



I then say, “thank you; nice meeting you!”
He replies, “thank you for waiting in line!”
I reply, “I’ve been here since 8:30!”
He says, “I appreciate that!”

And that ends the only meet and greet on Monday. I go home for a bit before attending Monday Night Raw.



Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Kevin Owens Autograph Signing Report

Kevin Owens did an autograph signing at the same place and time today as Sami Zayn did yesterday.



Having met him several times before (including just a few days ago), I did not have a sense of urgency to get to the signing early. Also, I wanted more sleep lol. I intended to set my alarm for 9:30, leave at 10, then get to the signing by 10:30. However, I ended up waking up 10 minutes before my alarm, despite being so tired, so I was ahead of schedule.

Just as I arrive at the store, the power goes out. The store is then closed because none of the cash registers are operable. Anyone who wanted a wristband would need to wait outside the store until things got sorted out. However, because I was already in the store, I was able to make a purchase at the WWE booth (where no cash registers are used) and get a wristband. There was only about 20 people in line and the wait until 1pm begins. Just a few minutes past 1, the line starts moving. This time, there was no Tony Chimel; the signing simply started. It took me about 15 minutes to get to Kevin Owens, who was talkative and friendly, as always. The meet starts off with a handshake and I tell him that it is nice to meet him again. I tell him, “I gotta say thank you again. On Thursday morning, I was the fan at Breakfast Television that asked for an autograph”. He replies, “oh no problem man!” and signs my Retro figure, then the Festival of Friendship set.



He then signs a PWI magazine for me.



We then pose for a picture to end the last meet and greet of the week. After the signing, I went home and rested before heading to Smackdown. My seat for smackdown was up high in the 300 level; however, there were some empty seats towards the 100 level. Therefore, when I got my ticket scanned to enter the arena, I was immediately told that I was being relocated to a lower seat which was a great surprise.



And that's Summerslam week in Toronto!

I hope you guys enjoyed this report! Great seeing members of the forums at these events. This week was exhausting, expensive... but most importantly, a lot of fun! 
Thanks for reading!

Great stuff Alex. All the autos came out great! Good seeing you

Alex you made the MWFP vlog! I saw your post it notes looks like your secret identity is no longer secret!

Always great seeing you! Thanks for everything throughout the week!



Ha! Good catch. Saw that when they first posted it. If you ever see me in person and want an autograph from me, I won't say no



Doing a Wrestlemania week is on my bucket list! This week was tons of fun.

Looks like you got to meet a lot of awesome stars bro

That's awesome!