Miss Jackie, I met twice. She was a gentlewoman, especially since both times she was with someone else. I forget who the first time, the 2nd time was with RVD. She knew she wasn't the top bill, and yet she remained professional. No issues..
RVD, I met twice as well. First time out with no issues. The second time was recently after his bust, and I think he was bothered by it. He didn't show as much emotion and desire as the past time, but there was nothing that stood out negatively.
Christy Hemme, a sweetheart. Nothing bad can be said about her. Not one thing.
Shawn Michaels was very cool. At the time, my son had gotten pelted with a metal sign, so the store owner gave us a free polaroid. Michaels didn't seem to mind, and he had every reason to. He had just recently eaten a chair to the throat from Kane.
Shelton Benjamin. I told him at the time I loved how he redecorated Snitsky's face with a steel chair on Raw. The smile on his face, the blank-eatin' grin was memorable. He was appreciative.
Chris Benoit. Don't talk to me about the present. With Benoit, it was amazing. He sat there for five minutes asking my young child who he beat for the World title he was signing. He then signed it "CHRIS BENOIT RAW 04" What can be said, except a true memory I don't intend on losing anytime soon.
John Cena. We've met him close to 10 times. When it came down to it, one of the last times out when we went to the table, he smiled and said something to the effect of, "Everytime I come here, these guys are always here, and close to first on line." When you can almost call the backbone of WWE a friend, well, what can you say about that? Nothing negative, that's for sure.
Rey Mysterio. He had the patience to personalize an autograph to my son at the time when he was very sick and in the hospital. With the amount of autographs these guys sign on a monthly basis, any extra effort is always appreciated.
VIctoria. She asked me if we had met before the time I was fortunate enough to meet the Vicious Vixxen. She was a pleasure, through and through. I wish I could've answered her what I was thinking about at the time, but my wife was standing right next to me.
Kurt Angle. He took to the story of my son in the hospital wing walking around raising his arms and singing "You suck" very nicely. He was gentle with my kids. Not much more I can ask.
Dawn Marie. With getting to the store late due to traffic, and having to literally run to the bathroom before signing, she'd have every reason to be nasty. Any time in New York traffic would make you nasty. She wasn't. She was pleasant and respectful.
Lilian Garcia. A pro's pro.
Randy Orton. I've read some of these antics. From my money, he was OK. Not terrific. Very quiet, and not very emotional in any facet. However, he wasn't nasty, or showing any negativity. It wasn't the most memorable, but not the worst experience I've had.
Shane "Gregory Hurricane" Helms. He loved the costumes my kids wore for the Hurricane back in the day. He recognized the effort, and that's a plus no questions asked.
Edge. See Orton. Virtually the same reaction to Orton I had with Edge.
Sandman. I met Sandman at UXW. He SCARED ME TO DEATH. I thought he would kill me. I didn't have the heart to ask for a polaroid. Not because he was nasty, not at all. Because HE JUST SCARED ME TO DEATH. And I'm 6'3" and over 3 bills.
Matt Hardy. This one was bothersome. We were rushed out by security and I had to make a stink to get recognized by Matt at the time. Once we did, we got the recognition I wanted and I thought my kids deserved. Not one of the better ones, but more from a surroundings aspect than anything else.
Goldberg. Two instances here. One, I emailed Goldberg, told him about my son, and received SEVEN WWE promo pictures autographed back in the mail, 4 of them personalized to me, my son, and his doctors. Classy. Second, at the WM 20 press conference, Goldberg saw my son and my wife, and took almost half a dozen pictures with them, UNSOLICITED.
Ken Kennedy. Very poised and respectful during his session here.
Mick Foley. I met him at ROH for a Make-A-Wish fundraiser session. I had just returned from a wish trip recently for my son, and had a good time talking with Mick about it. A true gentleman.
Candice Michelle. Very pleasant, very amiable, and hot as can be.
Batista. The worst. Not from a standpoint of getting what I wanted, I got what I wanted, but he just gave off the impression that he had zero desire to be on site at the time. Maybe it was a bad day, who knows. But, all in all, he was the worst experience I've ever had.
Triple H & Ric Flair - Met the Evolution top dogs before Wrestlemania 20. They were a pleasure, with Flair shaking my youngest son's hand. (That pic made Raw Magazine). What was nicest was, when Trips saw my wife and son at the WM 20 press conference the next day, he remembered them from the day before, and commented on how they were there at the TRU session. Nice to make an impression.
Paul London - Not the best in the world. What bothered me the most with him was his autograph was his initials. Sign your damn name, please. (I'm knitpicking, I know.)
Chris Masters. He surprised me. HE ASKED for my name, and personalized the autograph. I found that surprising and very nice to see. Especially for someone who's been through the burners of WWE in more ways than one.
Maria. A class act.
Carlito. Not the best, but nothing truly negative to say. He was quieter than most.
Ashley. The best thing here was my son saying as she walked in, "she needs to put some clothes on." Fortunately, he didn't tell her that directly. She was fun to meet.
Jerry Lawler. Also personalized the pic. He was an absolute class act. He seemed geniunely interested in meeting the fans at Ringside Fest 06. Not like his counterpart at the time, Bret Hart, who seemed like he was being put through a cheese grater.
Trish Stratus. It bothered me when she took so much time out of her way to see a family who was behind us in the line, but perhaps she knew them or something. I don't know. For the experience, there was nothing bad that I could truly say.
Torrie Wilson. Fun. Very amiable and friendly.
Michelle McCool. Nothing negative to say. Very personable, especially at the time with John Cena, and any Cena autograph session is a madhouse.
Jillian Hall. She was pleasant, much more so than I had anticipated. And television does not do her justice. She's hot!
Lashley. Lashley's a big boy. TV doesn't do him justice either. He was cool. Soft spoken, but definitely recognized where his meal ticket is.
Hilbilly Jim. I met Jim outside TRU before going in to see Naitch and the Game. I had an old Jim figure that he was shocked to see. He was one of the nicest guys. No question about it.
Nunzio, Tommy Dreamer, and Crash Holly - Met them at WWE New York. Dreamer looked like he hadn't slept in days. Nunzio was OK, not terrific but OK. Crash took my son bumping in to him with stride, and laughed it off. It was one of the first times I had met anyone from WWE, and it was enough to keep me interested, although Dreamer should've backed off. He looked horrible that day. He was still a pro though, he didn't take out his tiredness on us.
Stone Cold & Eddie Guerrero - My wife and child met them at the WM 20 press conference. Both took pics with Jonathan, and Eddie let Jon hold the WWE title. I'm still jealous of that pic, almost 5 years later.
Stacy Keibler & Eric Bischoff - My wife spoke with them briefly at the press conference. They were personable, but in a rush.
That's my list.
Now I'm not going to sit here and tell anyone that these talents don't have a responsibility to be "professional" to the people that pay their salaries, the fans buying the tix and the merch. They do. But, they're human, and they're allowed feelings and everything else. If someone has a one shot deal to meet a star, and that star shuts them down, and the fan was PROFESSIONAL themselves, then its the star's fault, and in the end, it always come back. But, a lot of these sessions and promotions are pure bred chaos, and when you're in that element, your emotions are going to go nuts. Anyone would when you have 900 to 1000 screaming mimi's trying to get a piece of your hide.
With all due respect, before you go condemning the talent of World Wrestling Entertainment, remember this. Right now, the company and its talent are in the toughest battle in their lives, and its got to affect them, one way or another. Show a little compassion and professionalism toward them, and I believe in my heart of hearts, it will be shown back to you the same way.
If I'm wrong, well, so be it. But that's the way I feel about it
Thanks for taking the time
1 comment:
Hey, Mike, nice synopsis. The whole blog is a good read. I had to give a little giggle when you mentioned Paul, though, because I have an autograph that actually IS his full name! LOL. But it's all right to knitpick...keep up the great work!
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