Wrestlecon Detroit takes place this weekend.
This was my first Wrestlecon, which Ryan and I would be tag teaming again. After just one hour of sleep, I met up with Ryan at almost 3:30AM. We made good time and the border office already knew what Wrestlecon was when we told him we were attending. It was around 7AM by the time we got to Detroit which was a little too early to start lining up for the 9AM opening. To kill time, we hit up a Walmart to check out the figures but turned up empty handed. We then headed to the venue to see about 15 people lining up. At this point, it was just over an hour until the doors were to open.
Doors opened right on time at 9AM. Most of the people in front of us went straight for Sting’s line as he was only appearing today. My priority was getting the Hardys as I have never met them before and I’m a huge fan of theirs. Hearing they had a long line yesterday, Ryan and I went straight to their table. This meant that Ryan and I were third and fourth in the Hardys line. Their handler tells us that they should be arriving at around 9:15AM. Matt arrives at 9:10 and Jeff is nowhere. Matt did not seem to know Jeff’s whereabouts and just stood at their table until Jeff finally arrived around 9:30AM. The two fans in front of us meet them and then it was my turn.
I tell the handler that I need two pairs of autographs and a photo. He gives me the price, I pay, then start to put my stuff on their table. As I was doing so, Matt says “nice shirt!” when he sees I am wearing one of his shirts. I thank him and tell him I’m a huge fan. Jeff looks at me and asks “what’s up man?” and fistbumps me. I ask him to sign my Survivor Series Elite in magenta. Meanwhile, I ask Matt to sign my Summerslam Elite. Both did a great job with the autographs. Jeff even colouring the eye in his autograph green.
I then have them sign the encyclopedia in their Hardy Boyz entry. As they did, I simply thank them for all they’ve done for wrestling. They thanked me for the comment.
After they signed my book, I went behind their table for a photo-op. As I’m a huge fan of theirs, if they were the only guys I met, I would have been satisfied. Ryan meets them after me, and once he is done, we find a place to let our autographs dry.
I needed multiple IRS autographs but Ryan did not need any. Meanwhile, Ryan’s friend just wanted an IRS photo-op. Together, we split a combo where I do an autograph and he does the photo. I also needed my own combo so that I could get a photo myself along with a second autograph. Together, we go to Money Inc.’s booth. I ask the handler as to how much it would be for IRS to sign his elite. Turns out, he was up-charging for figures. The standard price was already so high, so I passed on getting the figure signed and chose two entries in the encyclopedia. DiBiase hears that we only want IRS. He jokes, “what? Do you got something against me?”. I say, “oh no! We’re from Toronto where we’ve met you so many times there!”. DiBiase smiles. “I’m just playing with ya!”. IRS was nice but quiet, thanking us for coming to meet him.
After he signed my book, I went behind his table for a photo-op.
We then moved onto Nailz, who had no line. This was a rare name given that he does not do conventions. Better yet, he was in his gimmick with a backdrop for photo-ops. Ryan meets him first. As he did, Sting finally shows up and greets Nash and Nailz before signing
Nailz was extremely personable and seemed to appreciate those that came to meet him. He spoke to us for several minutes as there was no line for him. He talked about things such as hockey and wrestlers he still keeps in contact with. I had him sign my encyclopedia, which he asked about. He asked about the various versions there are of the book. I told him that every few years they publish a new edition in order to update the names and the stats. I tell him that this book is the first edition and I’ve been collecting autographs in this for a long time. The particular page he is on has several autographs already, so he says “I can see that”. He looks at the Nation of Domination entry, pointing at the Rock, asking if that is indeed the Rock. I tell him that is, but it is not signed. Nailz tells me “yeah I don’t see him doing events like this”, as he signs. He typically signs “Nailz 902714”. After he signed his name and went to proceed with writing the numbers, he accidentally wrote an ‘N’ instead. He pauses and says, “I guess I’m signing it twice”. Although an error, I think it makes it unique.
We then pose for a photo together and he tells me “thank you for your business” then shakes my hand. Nailz was awesome to speak with. Based on the time stamps in my photos, we were with him for 12 minutes.
After Nailz, we went for Kevin Nash, who had a few people in line. Once it was our turn, Nash greeted us by shaking our hands and exchanging pleasantries. Nash was wearing sunglasses indoors which led us to believe he was probably high lol. The way he spoke also led us to believe this was true, but he was cool nonetheless. He talked to us about not liking the Toronto airport because of customs. Although weed is legal in Canada, he was flagged by border officers after their dog had noticed a scent on him. He also talked about where he would live if he were to live in Canada, which is a city called London. He prefaced this by saying it would be cool to live in London. I initially think he is referring to England, but then he continues “London is perfect. It’s two hours away from Toronto, two hours away from Windsor. I’ve done some signings and events there before” and talks about how much he likes it there. I realize he is referring to London ONTARIO and not England. I, for one, have never heard someone say that they want to live in London, Ontario, but to each their own lol. Nash was cool as always.
We then moved onto Jake Roberts who had one other person in line. Once that person was done, I pay the handler for one autograph on my Coliseum Collection. Jake was polite but looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep. I go up to him, shake his hand, and ask him to sign my figure. I tell him that we drove from Canada to see him and he responds by saying “I appreciate that!”. I continue and say that we miss him up there and that he should come back, which he thanks me for.
After Roberts, Ryan and I’s want lists no longer lined up. Ryan wanted different guests that what I wanted; however, I go with him to meet Honky Tonk Man so I can help him take proper photos. Honky chatted with us for at least five minutes, talking about various promoters he’s worked with, pricing at conventions vs. local shops, and more importantly, his intention to not come to Canada for signings. He explains that he has a Canadian wife; however, her family that lives in Canada has passed on and so there’s no reason for him to come visit. Also, he explains having tax issues in Canada that took a while to get resolved. After all of that, he does not intend to visit Canada. He was very cool when talking about this. He spent a good amount of time with us to the point where his handler had to pull him away.
At this point, Ryan and I go our separate ways at the convention to finish our own wantlists. I first go for the Boogeyman who is in his total gimmick. I shake his hand, tell him it is nice to meet him, and that I'm a huge fan. He thanks me for the comment then signs my elite and encyclopedia.
We then pose for a photo and he is very particular about it. He hands me his clock and asks me to hold it. I do so in my left but he asks me to use my right. He then asks me to stand in a very specific spot. To his credit, the photo turned out very well. As we were taking the photo, Boogeyman does his signature creepy laugh. After the photo was taken, we thank each other again. I tell him that I came from Canada to see him and that he should make the trip some day. He responds by saying that he will soon as he signed a contract but did not specify what. Another cool guy.
I then move onto Zach Gowen. I approach his table and he is all smiles.
Zach: “I’m Zach, how are you?”.
Me: “I’m Alex! Nice to meet you”
Zach: “thanks Alex”
I pay for a combo then rest my book on his table. Zach picks it up and tries to find his page. I refer to the tab I used to mark the page and we open it up. He signs super quick so I am unable to get a photo of him signing it. All cool though. I tell him that I often watch America Ninja Warrior and when I saw him appear on it years ago, I recognized him and was excited to see him doing well. He tells me that America Ninja Warrior is like wrestling. It’s a platform people can use to inspire others, which is what I try to do. We then pose for a photo.
After the photo was taken, he asks me where I’m from and I tell him Toronto. He plugs an indy show he is running in the area where he booked Bret, telling me that although its quite a drive, he would appreciate it if I attend. He gave me a printout of the event poster which I told him I would hold on to. We thank each other again and I move onto Summer Rae.
I approach Summer Rae’s table and she is conversing with her handler. She stops the conversation immediately to attend to me by saying an enthusiastic “Hi!”. I shake her hand and tell her that it is nice to meet her.
Me: “I would like a combo, please”
Handler, joking: “a combo is 400”
Me: “Oooff”
Hander: “What? Is she not worth 400?”
Me: “Well, I was gonna ask for two in that case”
Summer lets out a huge laugh in response.
I pay the actual price for the combo and she asks as to which 8x10 I want. I tell her I brought my figure and have her sign it.
Me: “I came from Canada to see you”
Summer: “Yeah there’s a lot of Canadians here. I think he [the handler] told me that on the highway, just one more exit would have led to Canada. I didn’t realize Detroit was so far up North and that Canada reached this far south”
Me: “Canadians are supposed to be polite so I hope they treated you well.”
Summer: “Oh definitely. I actually filmed the Marine with the Miz in Vancouver”
Me: “Oh I have that on DVD!”
We then pose for a photo. She comes out from behind her table. I give the handler my phone so he can take the photo. Summer requests to have the flash on, so she tweaks that setting herself before taking the photo. Once the photo was taken, we take a look to make sure it looks good, which it did. She then made sure to hand me back my figure and marker. I tell her that I was always a huge fan of her work, especially with Fandango. She said that Fandango was always great to work with.
After Summer, I went for my last want which was Enzo. As I approach his table, there was a couple trying to get a photo with him but no one to take it. Enzo politely asks I could take the photo, which I do. Once this couple was done, I shake Enzo’s hand and ask him how he is. In true Enzo fashion, he says “I’m doing amazing! How you doin?”
Me: “It’s nice to finally meet you! This is my third attempt at trying to do so. The first time, you did a signing at a Toys R Us outside of Toronto”
Enzo: “Oh that was many years ago!”
Me: “Yeah, it was for the first 300 people in line. I was like 305”
Enzo: “Oh that’s messed up!”
Me: “Yeah I hung around to try and get you guys as you were leaving, I got Cass but couldn’t reach you. Then, the second time a few years later, you were supposed to be at Mississauga, Ontario for Destiny Wrestling, but your flight got canceled, so its nice to finally met you”
Enzo: “nice to meet you too”.
I then ask for a combo and an extra autograph. With his prices, this would have been 80 total, which I had in my hand and was giving it to him. He says “let’s just do 60”, which I really appreciated. I first have him sign the Battle Pack which Cass signed as mentioned above. He sees it and says “you did get Cass and you’ve kept this all these years!” I tell him that this is never leaving my collection. He then signs my Elite. All inscriptions were done without me prompting him to.
We then pose for a photo before thanking each other again. After Enzo, I find Ryan and his friend. Throughout the morning, Ryan needs changed as a result of pricing upcharges. Because he passed on certain names, he had freed up funds for Sgt. Slaughter, who he brought a figure for in case a situation like this arose. His Slaghter figure was in the car so the three of us went to get it. On our way, an old man walks by us. I think it is Bill Apter but am not confident enough to say that. Ryan’s friend recognized him, which validated my thought, and we turn around to approach him. We talk to him about the PWI magazine and he says that’s all people talk about with him. It’s like a singer who only has one song that everyone knows and then you go to a concert just to hear that one song. He was saying this all in good fun, then takes photos with all of us. He then asks the three of us to stand side-by-side, then slaps all of our faces in one swinging motion which we all laugh at. Apter was a surprise meet.
Once we got Ryan’s figure, we return to the con and line up for Slaughter. His handler remembered us from Nickel City, specifying that we came from Canada even before we could say it.
Slaughter was the last guest we needed, and so we called it a day. It was about 12:15 by the time we were done. I was happy with how efficient and stress-free the experience was.
Thanks for reading!
