Post by Dan Michaels on Jan 5, 2006 10:12:26 GMT -5
The last time that Dave and I were in Wilkes-Barre, PA was for a Triple H book signing at The Holiday Inn/TGIFriday’s. A trip that would have normally taken slightly over 2 ½ hours was severely extended due to the fact that a MAJOR snow/ice storm had moved into the area. It didn’t help that the signing didn’t begin until AFTER the RAW show at the Wachovia Arena. Needless to say, coming back home was extremely fun.
I had made a silent vow to myself that I would never travel back to Wilkes-Barre in the winter for any reason. Yeah ok, I really stuck to that…NOT! After I posted about the “Filling Station Meet & Greet,” Todd (Dave and I knew Todd from different Penn. shows) posted that he had inside info as to where the wrestlers stay, work out, and eat. I emailed Todd and told him that Dave and I would come up on Tuesday (Smackdown taping), as soon as we got out of work.
So, I picked up Dave and we headed to Wilkes-Barre, PA. The drive went by rather quickly as we laughed of our past trip in the snow and ice and thought of how stupid we were for even thinking that we would get anything as far as autographs/pictures. Oh well, we could be selling drugs or any number of other, more negative activities but we enjoy the unknown world of autograph (wrestling) hunting. When we arrived in Wilkes-Barre, we stopped at the TGIFriday’s. It was close to 7:30pm at this time. I called Todd and he informed me that he had just passed by where we were but that he would meet us in a few minutes. He told me that he had already met Melina and VINCE MCMAHON!! Can you believe that? Vince McMahon! Geez…he is one guy that I would truly enjoy meeting. You win some, you lose some.
About 20 minutes later, we were greeted by Todd. All three of us sat and talked for a while about successes and failures. Who is usually nice and who is hardly ever pleasant. Who signs and who doesn’t. At about 9:30, we decided to go to the hotel where Todd had said MOST of the guys were staying. When we arrived at the hotel, we saw a car full of people waiting for the same thing that we were. I must admit, I do find this extremely funny. There are some wrestlers who I have enjoyed or would enjoy meeting, but for the most part, I go for Dave because he really gets a kick out of this. Don’t get me wrong, when I see the wrestlers, I am one of the first wanting an autograph/picture. That said, I didn’t realize that the wrestling autograph seekers is its own little community. At about 10:30, the event (held at the Wachovia Arena) let out. While waiting outside of our cars, we began to talk to a gentleman in the other car. Todd saw a car pull up and the passengers were identified as Bobby Lashley, The Boogie Man, and Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Kennedy. We waited in front of the door and when they walked up, someone asked for their autographs and Ken said “sure guys, why don’t you come on in here (hotel lobby).”
We went in with them and I was able to get Bobby Lashley’s autograph and a picture with him. Same with Ken Kennedy. I must say that Ken was EXTREMELY nice. I had heard that he was, but I was very impressed. Bobby was also nice but not too talkative. Did you know that Vince makes the Boogie Man walk around with a shroud over his face? Yup, I kid you not…you could not see his face. He wasted no time in getting on the elevator and going to his room. While we were in the lobby getting our stuff, about 4-5 more autograph seekers arrived. As we exited the lobby, they came out and we were pleased to make their acquaintance. We waited for about 10 minutes and decided that the best bet would be to hit up the restaurants. We exchanged phone numbers and went on our way. On our way to TGIF, we got a call from our friends that Ricky Steamboat, Dean Malenko, and Steve Keirn were all there eating.
The restaurant scene was a pure waiting game. Out of respect for the wrestlers, we do not bother them while they are eating. We wait for them to come outside and then see what we can get. I won’t bore you with the details of going from this restaurant to that restaurant, etc. I will say that we were very blessed with our results. Myself, Dave, and Todd were able to get a mixture of autographs/pictures from Ken Kennedy, Bobby Lashley, Juventud Guerrera, Jillian Hall (without the “Beauty Mark”), Sylvan, Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio (He has the same deal as Boogie Man. NO pictures when he is not wearing the mask.), one of “The Dicks”, Jamie Noble, Snitsky (A surprise…he was visiting friends that he doesn’t normally see. He lives in the area.), Chris Benoit, and last but certainly not least, Batista. Batista is a true class-act. He signed anything for anyone.
I was very moved when (as he was leaving the restaurant) a young lady asked if he could come over to her section and meet her friend who was disabled. I looked over and there was a young man confined to a wheelchair. Batista had no hesitation and went over to the boy and talked with him for a few minutes, posed for pictures, and signed autographs. To see this boy’s face light up when meeting one of his heroes was priceless. It is at times like those, I realize how truly blessed I am. It was very moving. What was also moving was that during that time, everyone kept their distance and respectfully allowed him his time alone with this special fan. Kudos to everyone there.
We were successful with all of the aforementioned. We were snubbed by Dean Malenko, Steve Keirn (he seemed to disappear), and Randy Orton.
All told, it was a VERY successful night. My thanks to Todd for sharing his “secrets” and company. I hope that we can do this again, soon!
The award for most fan-friendly goes to…Ken Kennedy!!!
Photos coming Monday.
GB and have a GREAT weekend!
Dan
I had made a silent vow to myself that I would never travel back to Wilkes-Barre in the winter for any reason. Yeah ok, I really stuck to that…NOT! After I posted about the “Filling Station Meet & Greet,” Todd (Dave and I knew Todd from different Penn. shows) posted that he had inside info as to where the wrestlers stay, work out, and eat. I emailed Todd and told him that Dave and I would come up on Tuesday (Smackdown taping), as soon as we got out of work.
So, I picked up Dave and we headed to Wilkes-Barre, PA. The drive went by rather quickly as we laughed of our past trip in the snow and ice and thought of how stupid we were for even thinking that we would get anything as far as autographs/pictures. Oh well, we could be selling drugs or any number of other, more negative activities but we enjoy the unknown world of autograph (wrestling) hunting. When we arrived in Wilkes-Barre, we stopped at the TGIFriday’s. It was close to 7:30pm at this time. I called Todd and he informed me that he had just passed by where we were but that he would meet us in a few minutes. He told me that he had already met Melina and VINCE MCMAHON!! Can you believe that? Vince McMahon! Geez…he is one guy that I would truly enjoy meeting. You win some, you lose some.
About 20 minutes later, we were greeted by Todd. All three of us sat and talked for a while about successes and failures. Who is usually nice and who is hardly ever pleasant. Who signs and who doesn’t. At about 9:30, we decided to go to the hotel where Todd had said MOST of the guys were staying. When we arrived at the hotel, we saw a car full of people waiting for the same thing that we were. I must admit, I do find this extremely funny. There are some wrestlers who I have enjoyed or would enjoy meeting, but for the most part, I go for Dave because he really gets a kick out of this. Don’t get me wrong, when I see the wrestlers, I am one of the first wanting an autograph/picture. That said, I didn’t realize that the wrestling autograph seekers is its own little community. At about 10:30, the event (held at the Wachovia Arena) let out. While waiting outside of our cars, we began to talk to a gentleman in the other car. Todd saw a car pull up and the passengers were identified as Bobby Lashley, The Boogie Man, and Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Kennedy. We waited in front of the door and when they walked up, someone asked for their autographs and Ken said “sure guys, why don’t you come on in here (hotel lobby).”
We went in with them and I was able to get Bobby Lashley’s autograph and a picture with him. Same with Ken Kennedy. I must say that Ken was EXTREMELY nice. I had heard that he was, but I was very impressed. Bobby was also nice but not too talkative. Did you know that Vince makes the Boogie Man walk around with a shroud over his face? Yup, I kid you not…you could not see his face. He wasted no time in getting on the elevator and going to his room. While we were in the lobby getting our stuff, about 4-5 more autograph seekers arrived. As we exited the lobby, they came out and we were pleased to make their acquaintance. We waited for about 10 minutes and decided that the best bet would be to hit up the restaurants. We exchanged phone numbers and went on our way. On our way to TGIF, we got a call from our friends that Ricky Steamboat, Dean Malenko, and Steve Keirn were all there eating.
The restaurant scene was a pure waiting game. Out of respect for the wrestlers, we do not bother them while they are eating. We wait for them to come outside and then see what we can get. I won’t bore you with the details of going from this restaurant to that restaurant, etc. I will say that we were very blessed with our results. Myself, Dave, and Todd were able to get a mixture of autographs/pictures from Ken Kennedy, Bobby Lashley, Juventud Guerrera, Jillian Hall (without the “Beauty Mark”), Sylvan, Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio (He has the same deal as Boogie Man. NO pictures when he is not wearing the mask.), one of “The Dicks”, Jamie Noble, Snitsky (A surprise…he was visiting friends that he doesn’t normally see. He lives in the area.), Chris Benoit, and last but certainly not least, Batista. Batista is a true class-act. He signed anything for anyone.
I was very moved when (as he was leaving the restaurant) a young lady asked if he could come over to her section and meet her friend who was disabled. I looked over and there was a young man confined to a wheelchair. Batista had no hesitation and went over to the boy and talked with him for a few minutes, posed for pictures, and signed autographs. To see this boy’s face light up when meeting one of his heroes was priceless. It is at times like those, I realize how truly blessed I am. It was very moving. What was also moving was that during that time, everyone kept their distance and respectfully allowed him his time alone with this special fan. Kudos to everyone there.
We were successful with all of the aforementioned. We were snubbed by Dean Malenko, Steve Keirn (he seemed to disappear), and Randy Orton.
All told, it was a VERY successful night. My thanks to Todd for sharing his “secrets” and company. I hope that we can do this again, soon!
The award for most fan-friendly goes to…Ken Kennedy!!!
Photos coming Monday.
GB and have a GREAT weekend!
Dan
talk to you soon.