“Cowboy” Bob Orton, Kelly Kelly, Rob Van Dam, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and The Brooklyn Brawler are in Hamilton, ON today and tomorrow for the Hamilton Comic Con.
Torrie Wilson was also supposed to appear at the con but cancelled a week or so ago. Of the names still confirmed, I needed everyone except for Brawler. The con was to start at 10, but I didn’t get there until 10:45. Once I made my way to the celebrity area, I found the wrestlers, and they barely had any lines. There were, at most, two or three in line per wrestler. This was great because this meant I’d be able to get my autographs done rather quickly. The first wrestler I went to was my biggest want of the con: “Cowboy” Bob Orton. We often get the same legends appearing here over and over, so to get a fresh name was great. I approach the table then ask and pay for four autographs and a photo. The handler then turned to Bob to tell him what I paid for and said, “he’s got a bunch of items!”. I then shake Bob’s hand, tell him that it is nice to meet him, then hand a regular blue sharpie to him. I first have him sign the LJN poster. Before he signed, he pointed at the area on the poster in which he intended to sign and asked if I was okay with it. I told him that it would be perfect to signed where he intended, and he did so.
Next, I had him sign the encyclopedia in both of his entries. Again, before he signed, he confirmed with me where he would sign to make sure I was okay with it. As he signed, I told him that of all the guests at the convention, I’m most excited to meet him. He instantly smiled, looked up at me, and said “I appreciate that. Thank you for coming!”
Lastly, I had him sign the Mattel Flashback basic figure in white paint pen. Before he signed, he asked if I wanted to autograph on the card or on the bubble, to which I replied the bubble. He also personalized it to me.
Once he signed, I thank him again, shake his hand, and move over to the side to gather my stuff and get ready for the next wrestler. Jake had gone on a short break, while RVD had 5-6 people in line, therefore, I opted to get Kelly Kelly out of the way while she had only one person in line. That one person, however, took forever because he wanted ten million different poses for his photo-op. Can’t complain though – there was no line (except for me), and Kelly was more than happy to do the photos. When it was my turn, I ask for three autographs and a photo. Because Kelly was still standing up due to taking photos with the fan before me, the handler suggested doing the photo while she was still up, which we did. After the photo, she sits back down and I then open up the encyclopedia to the Extreme Exposé entry, and then her individual entry. As she signed, I tell her that I missed her Niagara Falls appearance a few years ago, so when I heard that she was going to be back in the area, I knew I had to come meet her. She thanked me for that and asked me where I’m from. I tell her that I’m from Toronto, so not too far away.
She also signed one of her basic figures for me.
We then thank each other and shake hands, before I go over to the side to fix my stuff again. As I do so, I see
marklud . Great seeing and talking to him again – apologies for having to cut the conversation short; lunch wasn’t too far away so I was afraid RVD and Jake might leave. Once I put way my Kelly merch, I join RVD’s line, which only had one other person in front of me. As I waited, I notice
ARUN in the distance out of the corner of my eye. He sees me, so we wave at each other. We eventually ran into each other later in the con again and spoke for a bit. Great seeing Arun as well. A few minutes later, it is my turn to meet RVD. I pay for a combo plus an extra autograph. The first autograph being on my ECW belt. RVD’s handler was GREAT. He went the extra mile to take photos for you and make sure everything went well. The handler asked me if I wanted silver on the belt, to which I responded, “yes please”. RVD begins signing my belt and noticed Steve Corino’s autograph which had his nickname “King of Old School” written with it. RVD laughed at said: “that’s Kiefer Sutherland’s autograph!” I reply: “that’s actually Steve Corino, but yeah, that does look like Kiefer Sutherland’s autograph!”. (Who’s Keifer Sutherland?)
I then open up my encyclopedia and he switches to a blue marker. As he signed the book and my belt, the handler was taking photos of RVD signing my stuff at different angles. Again, really great.
After the signatures, we do the photo. The handler tells me that he’s going to take a bunch of shots – both landscape and portrait. He also told me where to stand such that the background with RVD’s name is best seen. He further asks if I want to pose with the belt. We then take several pictures. During the poses, RVD whispers his name as he points to himself with his thumbs lol. Once the photos were taken, RVD and I shake hands and thank each other. RVD also tells me “enjoy the convention!”, which I tell him “you as well!”. While I didn’t have much to say to RVD, he and his hander were really friendly. They went the extra mile to make sure everything went well.
Lastly, I went to meet Jake Roberts. Having met him several times before, I didn’t have much to say to Jake, but he joked around with me. I first paid the handler for three autographs.
Jake then tells me: “I’m selling shirts too!”,
Me: “I’m on a budget, sir!”
Jake: “me too!”
I first have him sign a WWF Program in blue sharpie.
Next, I have him use a red paint pen for the Monsters figure (seen above) and a yellow paint pen for the HOF figure, both personalized to myself.
As he signs, Jake asks: “are you Alex?”
Me: “yes, that’s me”
Jake: “Just making sure. You must really like Alex!”
Me: “Yeah I do, but I think I like you more”
Jake: *laughs* “I guess so; I haven’t seen any ‘Alex’ dolls, oh, sorry, I mean
action figures around!”
Me: “that’s because they wouldn’t sell!”
Jake: *laughs more* “oh they would! We can start a GoFundMe page to get it started!”
At that point, he had signed both action figures. We both laugh, and I thank him, telling him it was nice to meet him again. We shake hands and he tells me to make sure to let the autographs dry.
That was it for the autographs – I was able to get all of it done within forty minutes, which was great. I later met up with
josecalderon for a trade and to catch up for a bit. Great seeing him and thanks for Honky!
And that’s the report. Everyone was really nice to meet. They were talkative and stood up for proper photo-ops. Thanks for reading!
