machofan396
Jobber
Joined on: Jan 30, 2016 18:34:23 GMT -5
Posts: 30
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Post by machofan396 on Jun 21, 2019 5:00:11 GMT -5
Forgive me. this story is going to be long winded. I've been keeping this in for a few weeks and I have no one in my life to talk/vent to about my action figure love so I have to do it to you internet strangers (even though I did meet someone from this forum at this event, what are the odds?!) I saw Jake the Snake at his dirty details tour comedy thing a few weeks ago in Irvine, California. I'm just a figure collector, never met a legend, never got anything autographed, never have done any kind of meet and greet so I figured if ever there was a time to kill two epic birds with one stone this was it. I heard nothing but good things about this tour of his, EVERYONE I spoke to on line said he was so personable and funny and charming it was unreal so I was excited. So I ponied up over $100 for two VIP tickets for me and my girlfriend who knows nothing about wrestling and Jake except for the Rogan interview I made her watch.
I'm extremely neurotic, I love my Hasbros probably way more than soon to be middle aged man should, the thought of getting a messy autograph due to an old sharpie haunted me for weeks. I came here, did some research about pens/paint pens and bought a brand new green paint pen at Michael's before the show. The time finally came, THANKFULLY my neuroses took over and we showed up extra early. There was no way to contact anyone about this show directly. I called the venue to see if the VIP meet and greet was done before or after the show, they said they THINK after. A few people people I talked to said it's before, some said after. Of course it was happening before even though the venue said it was after.
The time had come. I looked like a giant 6 year old happily holding my Zoloworld case protected Hasbro while wearing my Macho Man shirt and hat. Probably looking like the definition of a man-child to normal people.I was expected a ton of people to just be mobbed around Jake since the Improv in Irvine is a pretty nice place. I was stunned when I walked into the completely empty lobby where he was standing at a table by himself with his daughter 5 feet away acting as his handler.
A wave of star struck nervousness came over me like I've never experienced. I was actually embarrassed that at 33 years old I was this star struck and nearly frozen. So we go up to his handler/daughter and she says 'hey guys want a picture!?' I stammer yes and nod my head, then she goes 'want that figure autographed? It's just 30 dollars extra" At that point I was like uhhhh we got VIP, I raise my wrist to show her the wrist bands so she lets us approach Jake.
Immediately my child like glee-bubble deflated. He looked EXHAUSTED and like he just rolled out of bed. Anyone could tell he didn't want to be there. No small talk, no charm. Just awkward silence. I was so crestfallen I totally forgot about the fresh new pen I brought for him. I tried to break the silence by saying 'so Jake, how many grown men in their 30s have you met holding toys today?' He just grumbled something I couldn't understand. Got an awkward picture, my gf got an awkward picture and that was it, the whole "meet and greet" took literally less than 2 minutes in a COMPLETELY EMPTY LOBBY. We went to our seats then I got up to go to the bathroom. It was empty then Jake walked into the handicapped stall and made weird gagging/clicking noises the whole time.
We found out why he was so tired when the show started. The opener said he was at a comic con all morning and to please not bother him if we see him outside the venue, just let him leave. Another nitpick is in my frozen starstruck state I forgot the VIP ticket gets you an autographed 8x10 if you don't have an item to sign. My girlfriend had no idea and didn't get one even though his daughter clearly saw we had the special wrist bands and were the only people in the lobby with them, would have been nice of her to offer the obviously paying customer what they paid for.
This whole experience sure wasn't worth $120. As a collector, I really regret having my minty Hasbro signed, as a piece I think it looks better clean. I obviously should have just got a Mattel or Pop signed. I was just hoping after hearing all these great stories people had of meeting him that having him sign my favorite childhood figure would have been some dumb cool full circle moment. It wasn't.
Welp. Lesson learned, never done any kind of meet and greet/autograph experience in my life and this definitely soured me on it. Aside from the money, as lame as it sounds, the dumb 6 year old super fan kid in me was left kinda hurt.
Thanks to anyone who read this insane rambling, including some pictures just cuz
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bige
Superstar
show ya macho man collections
Joined on: Apr 22, 2014 3:51:21 GMT -5
Posts: 555
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Post by bige on Jun 21, 2019 5:47:00 GMT -5
Some times it’s best not to meet our heroes
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machofan396
Jobber
Joined on: Jan 30, 2016 18:34:23 GMT -5
Posts: 30
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Post by machofan396 on Jun 21, 2019 6:03:12 GMT -5
Some times it’s best not to meet our heroes That's a bingo.
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Post by CookPassBabtridge on Jun 21, 2019 6:14:54 GMT -5
I don't think you should be too downbeat; the autograph looks decent to me. Jake's just an old bloke trying to make some cash after his wrestling career finished, can't blame him for that. Man's gotta eat, right? He's tired, got a hard schedule for his age. I'm sure he would've liked to shoot the breeze with you for a bit but like all of us we can't always be on all the time.
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Hasbromaniac
Main Eventer
Joined on: Nov 17, 2004 16:13:30 GMT -5
Posts: 3,589
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Post by Hasbromaniac on Jun 21, 2019 6:41:58 GMT -5
Cool story, auto does look nice.
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rcgdodge
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Aug 3, 2007 15:14:19 GMT -5
Posts: 86
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Post by rcgdodge on Jun 21, 2019 8:25:40 GMT -5
Yeah, the auto does look good. I'd be happy with that.
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Post by CM Poor: DeepFigureValue on Jun 21, 2019 9:11:28 GMT -5
I think the figure looks great with the autograph. I'd love to meet Jake one day. I think it's such fortunate circumstance that in 2019, he's still around to tour, perform in some capacity, and maintain a relationship with his daughter. He's had an exponential amount of opportunities to have passed over the years. I wouldn't be too deflated over a circumstantial off day.
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Billy the Kid
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 5, 2004 19:43:31 GMT -5
Posts: 1,302
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Post by Billy the Kid on Jun 21, 2019 10:40:31 GMT -5
Your feelings on getting the figure signed are just that, your feelings. Nothing anyone can say or do can change that. I am sorry this happened to you, it sucks to have feelings of regret after the fact.
I will attempt to convince you otherwise about meet and greets. Just have to remember that these performers we see and have seen on TV are people also. I used to work in the wrestling business (and still do to an extent) and have been around countless performers. Sometimes they're on and sometimes they're not. I was running the convention and we had Ric Flair involved. I wanted to make sure he was with happy, comfortable, satisfied, etc. He was extremely rude and impolite to me, having been exhausted from travel, other shows, etc. Later in the day, he saw me again and apologized to me profusely. He simply had a bad day.
It happens and it sucks that had to happen during your first time with someone you considered a hero. Some guys are very personable and talkative and others are not. In my experience, I've only dealt with Jake in the early-mid 2000s and he was an absolutely nightmare. But this was before his "rebirth" so to speak. I would highly suggest to give yourself another chance at meeting someone, somewhere, somehow and you won't regret it.
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Post by Decky on Jun 21, 2019 10:54:07 GMT -5
The autograph looks great here! Don't regret getting it signed.
I've met a few rasslers. Favourite was easily Roddy Piper. He was fantastic. I also bumped into JBL on the street in Vegas and he was awesome believe it or not!
I met Mick Foley though and although I know it was nothing personal, he was an absolute D!CK and I hate to say that. A few people that day would definitely agree with me. He's considered the nicest guy in wrestling and meeting him actually put me off him a wee bit. Be careful meeting your heroes!
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mrassbillygunn
Main Eventer
WF 10+ Year Member
Joined on: Jul 23, 2011 19:35:48 GMT -5
Posts: 4,233
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Post by mrassbillygunn on Jun 21, 2019 12:05:24 GMT -5
As much as I love wrestling, ive never idolized anyone to the point where I want to meet them and get autographs. Its just not my thing and stories like this really sour me on it as well. Anyhow, the autograph looks nice and its just a pitty you didnt have a better time.
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Boon
Main Eventer
Joined on: Nov 21, 2011 8:09:33 GMT -5
Posts: 1,409
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Post by Boon on Jun 21, 2019 12:26:38 GMT -5
well you got a story for life now.
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marklud
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 5, 2009 21:10:30 GMT -5
Posts: 1,726
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Post by marklud on Jun 21, 2019 12:31:51 GMT -5
It looks amazing. I collect autographed Hasbros. Sounds like you just didn't want to get it signed in the first place. Flip it and buy another unsigned Jake if that's the case. These guys have bad days like any other human being. I've met Jake twice, one time he was quiet, the other time he couldn't have been friendlier. I wouldn't hold it against him.
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Post by MKSavage on Jun 21, 2019 12:49:26 GMT -5
Wow, sorry you had a bad time. Though, that figure looks great. The Hasbro Jake was the first wrestling figure I ever owned.
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Post by The Brain on Jun 21, 2019 19:11:22 GMT -5
Sorry you had a bad experience brother.
Don't let it get you down. The autograph itself looks great. Showcase that gem with pride!
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Post by Nivro™ on Jun 21, 2019 23:11:02 GMT -5
I dont think Jake drinks any more but I do think hes still in pain and is taking pain pills. I met him a month or so back and he was just kinda "there". I think just overall he's done so much harm to his body that he just hurts all the time.
I will say dont let 1 bad experience ruin them all for you. There's some wrestlers that are kinda short & will even ignore you and some that are super super nice. First time I met Ric Flair he was really nice, very next day he ignored me as he signed. Ricky Steamboat is probably the nicest guy alive so its hit or miss.
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Post by Old School Collector on Jun 22, 2019 2:12:59 GMT -5
I want to meet Jake ...
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Deleted
Joined on: Mar 28, 2024 19:15:10 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2019 13:14:24 GMT -5
I think the figure looks great with the autograph. I'd love to meet Jake one day. I think it's such fortunate circumstance that in 2019, he's still around to tour, perform in some capacity, and maintain a relationship with his daughter.He's had an exponential amount of opportunities to have passed over the years. I wouldn't be too deflated over a circumstantial off day. This. I met Jake last month. He signed my Elite Flashback figure in the same kind of marker too. I had the same the experience as the OP. In the pictures I took with him, he looked tired and didn't say much to me either. CookPassBabtridge hit the nail on the head: he's an old guy just trying to make some money but don't let this experience ruin it for you. Meet and greets can be amazing when done right and the performer is on point that day. In my experience, it's best to not get your hopes up at meet-and-greets because if you do, you'll be disappointed.
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Post by CookPassBabtridge on Jun 22, 2019 14:15:50 GMT -5
I've been to two meet & greets, and I felt like such a mark. But so glad i didn't chicken out, looking back. I saw Bret, and although I would've liked it if we became best mates and went off drinking together, I accepted that I was just a dude who paid to see him and get some stuff signed.
Last year I met Minoru Suzuki, and I wore a custom Suzuki-Gun shirt. He snarled at me, and said "YOU MAKE?!". I said "yeah, i make" and he agreed to sign it. Then after Zack Sabre Jr walks past me, clocks the t-shirt and says "has he (Suzuki) seen that?" i said he had, then he saw that it was signed and signed it himself. Really nice bloke.
So overall, it was worth it, even though I felt like a total mark, and for a second I thought Suzuki was gonna murder me. I think you'll look back one day and be glad you did it, even though you're initially disappointed.
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TheRockers
Superstar
Joined on: Mar 21, 2006 11:20:31 GMT -5
Posts: 702
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Post by TheRockers on Jun 22, 2019 16:24:26 GMT -5
Auto looks cool bro. And believe me you are 1 of many 30+ year old men who love Hasbros figs. This fan base is massive.
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,308
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 23, 2019 8:35:46 GMT -5
Sorry you had a poor experience. As many have noted, the autograph is very nice and looks great.
I would chalk it up to him being tired from doing the comic con. With Jake's new found life and fame he is more in demand and he's always been one to take and make every booking (even when on drugs) so he's probably spreading himself too thin.
I would also say the lack of crowd would be another reason he was quiet. He seems to be the type of person to thrive on big crowds.
He is definitely a changed man since his rehabilitation a few years ago. As Billy the kid said, pre-rehab Jake was a nightmare. He did the bare minimum at autograph shows and was just miserable to even want to approach, even if you were paying him. You can tell by his twitter, where fans post pictures of meeting him, that he is a much nicer man. It's a shame you didn't get to see it but don't let it get you down and appreciate your cool signed Hasbro and also the fact that Jake is alive to have been able to sign it, has reconciled with his daughter and also been clean for the longest period in his life in the last 30 years or so.
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