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Post by A-Rob on Jun 4, 2018 17:09:58 GMT -5
Sucks you didn't get to meet Joey Mercury, totally forgot he was going to be at Smash on sunday. Love how the Rich Swann autograph turned out!
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Post by finnbalor1 on Jun 5, 2018 0:39:22 GMT -5
Seemed like a pretty good Impact card with most of their top stars being there. Madison is looking good and great report man I really enjoy reading these it sucks you couldnt get Joey and Matthews just rushed through it but seem like you still had a good time.
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Post by TheChamp617 on Jun 5, 2018 0:58:48 GMT -5
Seemed like a pretty good Impact card with most of their top stars being there. Madison is looking good and great report man I really enjoy reading these it sucks you couldnt get Joey and Matthews just rushed through it but seem like you still had a good time. Thanks! Glad you enjoy reading these, and yeah, I had a great time despite the hiccups. I understand that things can't always go the way I want them to, and I'm fortunate to have these opportunities, so I'm happy. I did meet Madison Rayne and Josh Mathews again this morning, as well as Gail Kim and Austin Aries. I'll upload the report within a day or two. I'm trying to not have too many reports all at once such that they don't get lost in the shuffle with the constant updates.
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Post by finnbalor1 on Jun 5, 2018 2:28:27 GMT -5
Seemed like a pretty good Impact card with most of their top stars being there. Madison is looking good and great report man I really enjoy reading these it sucks you couldnt get Joey and Matthews just rushed through it but seem like you still had a good time. Thanks! Glad you enjoy reading these, and yeah, I had a great time despite the hiccups. I understand that things can't always go the way I want them to, and I'm fortunate to have these opportunities, so I'm happy. I did meet Madison Rayne and Josh Mathews again this morning, as well as Gail Kim and Austin Aries. I'll upload the report within a day or two. I'm trying to not have too many reports all at once such that they don't get lost in the shuffle with the constant updates. Looking forward to it
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Post by TheChamp617 on Jun 5, 2018 21:14:57 GMT -5
This report was written on Monday, June 4. Former WWE talent Austin Aries and Gail Kim were in Toronto for a Press Conference to promote Impact’s Slammiversary, which will be held in Toronto in July. My plan was to try and get Austin Aries and Gail Kim’s autograph, as well as more Madison Rayne and Josh Mathews' autographs. With the press conference starting at 10, I planned to get there for 9:45. After a short 20-minute commute, I did and found a line of about 10 people waiting for the doors to open outside the venue, the Real Sports Bar & Grill. Before joining the line, I quickly go to the washroom and after a few minutes, I come back to the bar and find that doors have opened since. I walked in a found myself a seat. Only about 25 people showed up to this. This taking place on a Monday morning probably was the reason behind that. A lot of people might say that it’s because of the company that’s running it, but I’ve been to the Destiny/Impact collaborations and they’re always packed with people. The press conference itself started at about 10 minutes past 10 and was being streamed on Facebook live. To start, Josh Mathews was brought in, who then introduced the executives. Next, Gail Kim came out to talk about women’s wrestling as a catalyst into promoting the women’s match at Slammiversary, which is when Madison Rayne came out. Austin Aries and Moose then came out to talk about their match, and lastly, a Q&A session took place. A minute before 11am, Josh Mathews ended the press conference by announcing that the wrestlers would be available for photo opportunities. I then got my stuff ready to get signed. Gail Kim and Madison Rayne made their way over to the bar area to use as tables. Austin Aries, however, remained on stage. Austin Aries was my priority, so I tried to get him first; however, before I could ask him to sign, a reporter began to interview him. Because of that, I joined the short line for Madison Rayne and Gail Kim. Just five minutes later, I am able to meet Rayne and get her to sign a TNA program from 2010. She looks at it and says: “Oh my gosh!”, as if she’s surprised to see the program. She signs it, we thank each other, then I move over to Gail Kim. Gail Kim went back on stage, but was close enough to the table where Madison Rayne was. I open up my programs and set them on the table, but she asks me to come to her on stage to sign them. She signs two of my WWE programs. I tell her that it is nice to meet her again and bring up meeting her at Smash back in December. She replies: “oh yeah! That was fun!”. I thank her and move over to the side to put my stuff away. Once I do, I go back to Gail and ask for a picture with her, which she was happy to do. I then try to get Austin, but he is still occupied with interviewers, so I try if I can get Josh Mathews. Just like yesterday, it seemed like he seemed like he was in a rush such that the fan interaction was minimal. Still, he was nice enough to sign for me. I flip open a program and hand him a marker. He signs the first program then asks: “is there anything else?”. I tell him that I have two more program, which he signs. After I ask for a selfie, which again, he was happy to do. While he was nice, I got the vibe that he’s not a fan of interacting with fans considering how fast he wanted everything to be. To his credit, however, my phone camera froze for a few seconds, which I apologized for. He said that it’s okay, and once the camera started working we took a selfie. Once it was taken he asks, “did you get it?”, to make sure that the photo worked. I got the same vibe as yesterday; however, Josh was nice enough. Finally, I go back to the stage area and see that Austin Aries was free. Two people in front of me were also trying to get Austin’s autograph, and they each had multiple items. He tells them that he can only do one each. When I go up to him, he tells me the same thing. I have him sign my magazine, and once he signs, I thank him and tell him that I appreciated it. In response, he says: “you got it!”. After he signed mine, he quickly left. He didn’t sign many. At this point, I had gotten everything I needed signed. The best part - everything was free. Some people had Gail Kim and Madison Rayne sign like 7 or 8 things, and they were cool with it. By 11:15, I was out of there. Before I leave, I run into Josh Mathews and thank him again. In response, he says “thank you buddy. Appreciate it!”. Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning, if you ask me. Thanks for reading!
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 2, 2024 7:23:30 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2018 6:39:16 GMT -5
Nice stuff champ! Are you going to slammiversary?
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Post by TheChamp617 on Jun 6, 2018 10:47:57 GMT -5
Nice stuff champ! Are you going to slammiversary? Thanks! I plan on going! Going to get the cheapest seats though.
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Post by finnbalor1 on Jun 7, 2018 0:11:25 GMT -5
Great stuff again man, glad everything went better for you this time.
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Post by King Silva on Jun 7, 2018 23:23:29 GMT -5
I'm jealous of you meeting Gail. I missed out on meeting her last year. I met Lita before but would love to meet her again. She looks great. Congrats on all the recent autos you got though.
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Post by TheChamp617 on Jun 8, 2018 0:15:43 GMT -5
Thanks guys! Next report should be this Sunday! King Silva - I’ve met Gail twice now, and she was great both times so definitely meet her next time you have the opportunity to do so.
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Mr Wrestling Jr.
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 6, 2010 7:07:35 GMT -5
Posts: 3,410
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Post by Mr Wrestling Jr. on Jun 8, 2018 5:37:40 GMT -5
Wait WWE used that stupid photo of Matthews THREE times in programs? Wow
At least Gail and Madison were friendly enough.
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Post by TheChamp617 on Jun 10, 2018 23:07:45 GMT -5
One report for two events today. It was initially supposed to be three events because Shannon Moore and Teddy Long were scheduled to be a little North of Toronto today. Their appearances, however, were cancelled. The first event had doors scheduled to open at 5, with a 6pm start time. The second event had doors scheduled to open at 6, with a 7pm start time. With the times being close together, I knew I had a slight challenge. Luckily, they were both in downtown Toronto. The first event was the Demand Lucha indy show with Quebecer Pierre and Justin Gabriel. My priority for this show was Pierre. I’ve met Gabriel before, but I do have some programs for him to sign, so I brought them along in case I am able to get him to sign. However, as long as I got Pierre, I’d be happy. As mentioned, doors for this show were to open at 5, so I leave my place at 4:15 to walk to the venue, which was a concert/bar-type venue. I get there just a few minutes before 5. A few minutes after 5, the doors open. Once I get in, I look at the merch area hoping that Pierre would be out and signing (Demand Lucha’s twitter page said that a meet and greet would take place when the doors open); however, he was not. I figured I’d have to wait until intermission. The short started right on time, and Pierre (now going by “PCO”), wrestled in an extreme rules style match. The dude was amazing; he did flips, went through a table, wrestled at the bar, and more. The guy is 50-years-old, which isn’t exactly old, but definitely isn’t young, especially for an athlete. PCO, however, worked like he was still in his prime. If I knew nothing about wrestling, I’d assume PCO was a young, up and coming wrestler. Anyways, come 8pm, intermission is announced. (Note that I said 8pm - I had already missed an hour second event I had intended to go to). Pierre is not signing, but Joel Gertner is. Joel Gertner was around for the original ECW days, and though I do not know much about him, I figured that for $10, I’d add his autograph to my collection. This guy goes above and beyond for the people who come to meet him. Total class act. The lighting in the venue isn’t good for pictures. The fan before me wanted a picture with him, but the picture didn’t turn out well, so Gertner suggested an area in the venue where there was slightly better lighting, however, it still was not good enough. So what does he do? He takes the fan that wanted a photo-op outside the venue. Because the sun is still out, lighting was guaranteed to be good and a proper photo could be taken. He went out of his way to make sure that the fan was happy with the photo. When it was my turn, I pay him $10 for an 8x10, and in addition, he signed his picture in an ECW magazine I brought along at no extra charge. He asks for my name, confirms the spelling, and signs my 8x10 personalized. As he signs my magazine, I try to take a picture of him signing it, but am too late. He notices that I take the photo late, so he bends down again and poses as if he is still signing it. I thank him and he thanks me sincerely and says: “enjoy the rest of the show!”, and we shake hands. I leave the merch area because Pierre is not out yet. It turns out that Pierre was being interviewed by a local blogger. Literally a minute before intermission ends, I notice him walking into the venue from outside. Pierre is quickly stopped by a fan who wants a photo. Pierre does the photo. As Pierre takes the photo with the fan, I get my encyclopedia ready. Once he is done with the first fan, I tell him that his match was great, which he smiles and thanks me for. I then ask if he can sign my book. In response, he says “I’ll sign over here” and motions towards a bar table. I have him sign The Quebecers entry and his Jean Pierre Lafitte entry. Once he signs, he asks “do you want a picture?”. I say “yes, please”, and we pose for a picture. We thank each other and I begin to put my encyclopedia away. Because he wasn’t formally signing autographs (as mentioned, we are getting him as he walked in), he didn’t have a marker to use for the other fans. I let him use my blue sharpie for the time being. As he signed for the other fans, I was still beside him as I was fixing my stuff. The fans weren’t talking to him, so I decided to talk to Pierre a bit more. I simply told him: “the only reason I came here today was to meet you”. He seemed to appreciate that and thanked me again. One other fan had Pierre sign 5 8x10 photos, which Pierre was happy to do. The best part was that he signed everything and took photos for free. By then, it was about 8:20 and I leave for the second event. I didn’t get Gabriel, but I was happy enough to get Pierre. The second event of the day was a show featuring Ken Shamrock, where he told stories about his career: The venue for this show was the Rec Room, which is basically an upscale adult-version of Chuck E. Cheese. I get there at 8:46, and the show was to end at 9. I pretty much miss the entire show. I fully intended to attend the entire show because these shows are really interesting. The same company that brought in Ricky Steamboat and Ted DiBiase in my older reports was the same company running this show. When I arrive, he is in the middle of his last story. I wasn’t able to get the context because of my late arrival, but he was talking about Dan Severn low blowing him, but ultimately hurt himself because Shamrock was wearing a steel cup (Hey, AJ Styles, take notes). To end the show, Shamrock says that he loves doing these shows because he loves talking to the fans and that these shows give him an opportunity to say a thank-you to everyone for their support over the years. The show ends at 9, and the host tells us where the meet and greet will be held. Luckily, I wasn’t too far from that area, so quickly go over there and was 10th in line. 10 minutes later, it is my turn to meet Shamrock. I pay the handler $80 for two autographs in my book, an autograph for my elite, and a photo-op. Once I pay, I go to Shamrock and shake his hand. I also tell him that it is nice to meet him again. I first have him sign my encyclopedia in The Corporation entry, then in The Union entry. When I open up to the Union, he is unsure where to sign, but I point out the entry and he instantly realizes. Next, I have him sign my elite. I ask him to personalize it To Alex (and I had the post-it note), but he doesn’t. He signs his name in yellow paint, and was about to give the figure back to me without the personalization, however, the handler reminds Shamrock. Shamrock personalizes the figure, then adds “God Bless” to it. After, we pose for a picture. I then shake his hand and thank him. In response, he thanks me and says “great to meet you!”. I tell him that it is great to meet him as well, and call it a night. Overall, Shamrock was a nice guy. I didn’t talk to him much, but he seemed personable.
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Post by ARUN on Jun 10, 2018 23:27:19 GMT -5
Great stuff champ!
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jun 11, 2018 0:04:53 GMT -5
I believe PCO stands for Pierre Carl Ouellet.
Cool that you got to meet him though, the Quebecers were one of my favourite tag teams back in the mid 90s.
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Post by TheChamp617 on Jun 11, 2018 0:10:42 GMT -5
I believe PCO stands for Pierre Carl Ouellet. Cool that you got to meet him though, the Quebecers were one of my favourite tag teams back in the mid 90s. Thanks! And yep, that's right. PCO is what he usually gets referred to as nowadays. They only once briefly mentioned his WWF stint at the show.
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Post by A-Rob on Jun 11, 2018 15:26:59 GMT -5
Good stuff Champ!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 16:12:04 GMT -5
I've been keepin up with PCOs twitter since his awesome match with Austrian big dude WALTER at Joey Janela's Spring Break 2, and the man is actually crazy, his work out regimen videos are just INSANE, stepping on nails whilst doing bicep curls.. just the craziest crap..
Also cool autograph.
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Jun 12, 2018 10:19:42 GMT -5
I really enjoy reading your experiences.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2018 10:35:56 GMT -5
I've been keepin up with PCOs twitter since his awesome match with Austrian big dude WALTER at Joey Janela's Spring Break 2, and the man is actually crazy, his work out regimen videos are just INSANE, stepping on nails whilst doing bicep curls.. just the craziest crap.. Also cool autograph. Wow he seems to be badass now, imagine how he was in 1995? Thats when Shawn Michaels(who is far from a legit badass) was messing with PCO for not wanting to lose to Diesel in Montreal.
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Post by vampiroporvida on Jun 12, 2018 15:34:05 GMT -5
TheChamp617I am ecstatic to see Gertner in your adventures. Would love to meet him one day. Did he do any one liners?
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