Post by Dan Michaels on Feb 21, 2006 10:44:17 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
I hope you had a restful, extended (for those of you who had Monday off) weekend. I'll get right to it:
I would like to tell you that on Saturday night in Baltimore I was able to meet a ton of Smackdown wrestlers and get a ton of autographs. I would also like to tell you that on Sunday night and Monday morning in Newark, NJ I was able to get autographs and pictures from Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Steve Keirn, and Fit Finlay. I would LIKE to tell you that, unfortunately I can't. Here is what I CAN tell you...
Saturday morning at work, I began making the phone calls, finding out information about myself and Dave’s impending adventure that would last until early Monday evening. My good friend Jeff's friend Tammy called me on the hotline and asked if Jeff could meet Dave and I in York, PA. and ride with us to Baltimore. Of course this was fine with us. The more the merrier!
Saturday night, MNM was scheduled to make an "appearance" at the Baja Beach Club in the Inner Harbor. We arrived in Baltimore at around 6:15pm. We walked around a little bit and I made some inquisitive looks at hotels and restaurants. All to no avail. We decided that it would be next to impossible to find any superstars in that mess on a Saturday night and went back to the car to get out of the cold. At 8:45pm we went to the Beach Club. MNM was scheduled from 9-10. I had called the club ahead of time and inquired about a cover charge. I was told that there was no cover for the event. I also asked if MNM would be signing autographs. I was told "yeah, they're here for the fans and are going to make themselves available to the fans."
They arrived at 8:55pm. and were immediately escorted to the back area (off-limits area) of the club. The DJ was announcing off and on that female volunteers were needed for a Jello Wrestling contest. Later, he announced that MNM would be judging the contest. Well, right then the red flags went off for Dave, Jeff, and myself. We KNEW that they were going to come out at the last minute, "judge" the contest (which was for four front row tickets to No Way Out), and get out as quick as they arrived. Unfortunately, we were correct. They came out at 9:45pm, judged the Jello wrestling, and then headed straight to the back area of the club once again. As they were heading back to the room, someone had something for Johnny Nitro to sign. Johnny's response was "h*** no, I'm not signing a f'ing thing!"
The crowd of about 25-30 people waited directly outside of where they were, still under the impression that they were going to come out and mingle with the fans. I sat with Dave and Jeff across the room and watched, knowing what was going to happen. My exact words were, "you watch, they're gonna stay back there for about 10 minutes and then they'll bee line for the door and never give any mind to the fans." Sure enough, that's what happened. So, Saturday night was a waste as far as autographs/pictures. However, I wouldn't have traded hanging out with Dave and Jeff for all the autographs in the world. On a side note, we were told by Chris and Stacy (thanks for reading the board!) that earlier in the day at the Orlando Jordan/Teddy Long "appearance" at the ESPN Zone, they would not sign ANYTHING. You were only allowed to get pictures with them. Pardon me, but what a crock of crap!
On the way home Saturday night, Dave and I had tossed around the idea of coming back down on Sunday to try for autographs. We decided to skip that idea and come down to Lutherville, MD (about 20 min. North of B'more) to see "Superstar" Billy Graham at his book signing instead. Billy was (as he was when we met him in Fayetteville, NC.) a TRUE PROFESSIONAL. He signed whatever was put in front of him and was VERY cordial to the crowd of about 75 people. It is rather sad to see that only that small amount of people come to see such a legend.
Remember me telling you about that boy at the Torrie Wilson/Booker T. signing in B'more that was selling his stuff while in line? He was at the Billy Graham signing doing the EXACT SAME THING! He even had a list this time as well! This guy needs to be horse whipped! Like I've said before...it's bad enough that he is going to sell whatever he gets signed, does he REALLY need to sell other stuff while in line? Next time I see him, I will say something. By the way, apparently he was also at the Orlando/Teddy appearance doing the same thing the day before.
With the Billy signing out of the way, Dave and I headed to Newark, NJ. We had a room booked for the night at a hotel where we knew Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair would be staying. We arrived at the hotel at about 9:30pm. We were greeted by Ray R. and Todd. We all walked into the lobby and found two other autograph seekers. About 30 minutes later, in walked Flair and Michaels. They stood at the front desk and began to walk toward the elevators (Dean Malenko was around as well). I approached Ric with my Big Red Book and asked if he would sign it. His reply was "guys, we just need a little bit of privacy. We're both on the same page (I assume he was trying to convey to me not to even bother asking Shawn for his autograph), we just need a little bit of privacy."
So, after about 10 minutes, we decided to try some of the other locations that had proven successful in the past. The night ended with myself, Dave, Todd, and Ray eating at the Skyline Diner. No autographs, but good times with good friends. By the way, I need to thank Ray for the extra dollar bills! Thanks man! Anyone who knows about the Skyline Diner knows what I'm talking about.
Now, onto Monday. We got up at around 8:00am. We knew that Michaels and Flair would have to leave in time to be in Trenton by 2pm. We waited in the lobby. We saw Michaels, Malenko, Arn Anderson, and Fit Finlay coming and going from the hotel's health club. We didn't bother them at this time. Then they started filtering out of the elevators. First was Shawn. Todd went up to him as he walked outside and he told him that he would come back in to sign his photo. Shawn came back in and went to the Restaurant to get some quick food. He went back out to the car and pulled it up front. He then went over to Todd and said "oh for God's sake, I'll sign it now so you'll stop bothering me!" I didn't hear that remark as I was walking out to where they were at the time. I held my "New Pictorial History of Wrestling" book up and asked Shawn to sign it. He gladly did so. All of the agents then came out. Steve Keirn, Fit Finlay (who flat out told Todd "No" when he was asked to pose with him for a picture), Ricky Steamboat, and Arn Anderson. Ricky was nice enough to sign both myself and Todd's Big Red Book. Ricky is a true professional.
Now it was time for Flair, once again, he walked right by us and never stopped. His response was "thanks guys, thanks guys, I'm in a hurry." A response we knew was expected.
So, at around 1:00pm, we decided to call it a day and headed back home. We thought it would be a good idea to stop by Carson's Pro Wrestling World and visit with Bud. We did, and had a GREAT time! The experience of going to Bud's helped to anchor what was, for the most part, a wash of a weekend (except for Billy Graham and possibly Michaels).
Unfortunately, with this hobby there are no guarantees. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes you can escape the hold, and other times you just have to tap out. This weekend...I tapped out!
This coming weekend it's The Iron Sheik at Bud's on Saturday (everyone should come!) and "Superstar" Billy Graham on Sunday in Monroeville, PA.
Photos with Billy Graham and his lovely wife, Valerie can be found in the "Miscellaneous" album, on the second page.
www.danswrestlingphotos.myphotoalbum.com
GB,
Dan
I hope you had a restful, extended (for those of you who had Monday off) weekend. I'll get right to it:
I would like to tell you that on Saturday night in Baltimore I was able to meet a ton of Smackdown wrestlers and get a ton of autographs. I would also like to tell you that on Sunday night and Monday morning in Newark, NJ I was able to get autographs and pictures from Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Steve Keirn, and Fit Finlay. I would LIKE to tell you that, unfortunately I can't. Here is what I CAN tell you...
Saturday morning at work, I began making the phone calls, finding out information about myself and Dave’s impending adventure that would last until early Monday evening. My good friend Jeff's friend Tammy called me on the hotline and asked if Jeff could meet Dave and I in York, PA. and ride with us to Baltimore. Of course this was fine with us. The more the merrier!
Saturday night, MNM was scheduled to make an "appearance" at the Baja Beach Club in the Inner Harbor. We arrived in Baltimore at around 6:15pm. We walked around a little bit and I made some inquisitive looks at hotels and restaurants. All to no avail. We decided that it would be next to impossible to find any superstars in that mess on a Saturday night and went back to the car to get out of the cold. At 8:45pm we went to the Beach Club. MNM was scheduled from 9-10. I had called the club ahead of time and inquired about a cover charge. I was told that there was no cover for the event. I also asked if MNM would be signing autographs. I was told "yeah, they're here for the fans and are going to make themselves available to the fans."
They arrived at 8:55pm. and were immediately escorted to the back area (off-limits area) of the club. The DJ was announcing off and on that female volunteers were needed for a Jello Wrestling contest. Later, he announced that MNM would be judging the contest. Well, right then the red flags went off for Dave, Jeff, and myself. We KNEW that they were going to come out at the last minute, "judge" the contest (which was for four front row tickets to No Way Out), and get out as quick as they arrived. Unfortunately, we were correct. They came out at 9:45pm, judged the Jello wrestling, and then headed straight to the back area of the club once again. As they were heading back to the room, someone had something for Johnny Nitro to sign. Johnny's response was "h*** no, I'm not signing a f'ing thing!"
The crowd of about 25-30 people waited directly outside of where they were, still under the impression that they were going to come out and mingle with the fans. I sat with Dave and Jeff across the room and watched, knowing what was going to happen. My exact words were, "you watch, they're gonna stay back there for about 10 minutes and then they'll bee line for the door and never give any mind to the fans." Sure enough, that's what happened. So, Saturday night was a waste as far as autographs/pictures. However, I wouldn't have traded hanging out with Dave and Jeff for all the autographs in the world. On a side note, we were told by Chris and Stacy (thanks for reading the board!) that earlier in the day at the Orlando Jordan/Teddy Long "appearance" at the ESPN Zone, they would not sign ANYTHING. You were only allowed to get pictures with them. Pardon me, but what a crock of crap!
On the way home Saturday night, Dave and I had tossed around the idea of coming back down on Sunday to try for autographs. We decided to skip that idea and come down to Lutherville, MD (about 20 min. North of B'more) to see "Superstar" Billy Graham at his book signing instead. Billy was (as he was when we met him in Fayetteville, NC.) a TRUE PROFESSIONAL. He signed whatever was put in front of him and was VERY cordial to the crowd of about 75 people. It is rather sad to see that only that small amount of people come to see such a legend.
Remember me telling you about that boy at the Torrie Wilson/Booker T. signing in B'more that was selling his stuff while in line? He was at the Billy Graham signing doing the EXACT SAME THING! He even had a list this time as well! This guy needs to be horse whipped! Like I've said before...it's bad enough that he is going to sell whatever he gets signed, does he REALLY need to sell other stuff while in line? Next time I see him, I will say something. By the way, apparently he was also at the Orlando/Teddy appearance doing the same thing the day before.
With the Billy signing out of the way, Dave and I headed to Newark, NJ. We had a room booked for the night at a hotel where we knew Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair would be staying. We arrived at the hotel at about 9:30pm. We were greeted by Ray R. and Todd. We all walked into the lobby and found two other autograph seekers. About 30 minutes later, in walked Flair and Michaels. They stood at the front desk and began to walk toward the elevators (Dean Malenko was around as well). I approached Ric with my Big Red Book and asked if he would sign it. His reply was "guys, we just need a little bit of privacy. We're both on the same page (I assume he was trying to convey to me not to even bother asking Shawn for his autograph), we just need a little bit of privacy."
So, after about 10 minutes, we decided to try some of the other locations that had proven successful in the past. The night ended with myself, Dave, Todd, and Ray eating at the Skyline Diner. No autographs, but good times with good friends. By the way, I need to thank Ray for the extra dollar bills! Thanks man! Anyone who knows about the Skyline Diner knows what I'm talking about.
Now, onto Monday. We got up at around 8:00am. We knew that Michaels and Flair would have to leave in time to be in Trenton by 2pm. We waited in the lobby. We saw Michaels, Malenko, Arn Anderson, and Fit Finlay coming and going from the hotel's health club. We didn't bother them at this time. Then they started filtering out of the elevators. First was Shawn. Todd went up to him as he walked outside and he told him that he would come back in to sign his photo. Shawn came back in and went to the Restaurant to get some quick food. He went back out to the car and pulled it up front. He then went over to Todd and said "oh for God's sake, I'll sign it now so you'll stop bothering me!" I didn't hear that remark as I was walking out to where they were at the time. I held my "New Pictorial History of Wrestling" book up and asked Shawn to sign it. He gladly did so. All of the agents then came out. Steve Keirn, Fit Finlay (who flat out told Todd "No" when he was asked to pose with him for a picture), Ricky Steamboat, and Arn Anderson. Ricky was nice enough to sign both myself and Todd's Big Red Book. Ricky is a true professional.
Now it was time for Flair, once again, he walked right by us and never stopped. His response was "thanks guys, thanks guys, I'm in a hurry." A response we knew was expected.
So, at around 1:00pm, we decided to call it a day and headed back home. We thought it would be a good idea to stop by Carson's Pro Wrestling World and visit with Bud. We did, and had a GREAT time! The experience of going to Bud's helped to anchor what was, for the most part, a wash of a weekend (except for Billy Graham and possibly Michaels).
Unfortunately, with this hobby there are no guarantees. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes you can escape the hold, and other times you just have to tap out. This weekend...I tapped out!
This coming weekend it's The Iron Sheik at Bud's on Saturday (everyone should come!) and "Superstar" Billy Graham on Sunday in Monroeville, PA.
Photos with Billy Graham and his lovely wife, Valerie can be found in the "Miscellaneous" album, on the second page.
www.danswrestlingphotos.myphotoalbum.com
GB,
Dan
