Brushes With Greatness Sent To Me More Than A Month Ago
Brushes With Greatness Sent To Me More Than A Month Ago

John M.: I was about ten or eleven and I had just came in from school when my mother called. She worked at a tire dealership in our town. She told me to ride my bike up there because there was some wrestler there. I have been a fan since I was very young,4 or 5, and my great-grandmother used to make me sit down, shut up, and watch NWA rasslin with her and my great-grandfather. I guess its in the genes. Of course as soon as I hung up I left.
I got there and there was a huge limo sitting in the garage. My first thought was Horsemen, but it ended up being Hacksaw Jim Duggan and some big Indian guy who I had never heard of. This was when Hacksaw was in the WWF,'86-'87, and was quite popular so I knew right away who he was. It seems they had gotten a flat tire on I-20, the only thing in my hometown of Bishopville, SC. Hacksaw gave me his autograph and so did the Indian (Native American), then Jim took me outside to show me the limo and he talked to me for about 15 minutes. I was suprised because I was just a kid, but I guess he didn't have much else to do being he was stuck there.
I asked him why he was not cross-eyed like on TV and he told me in a very frank way that he "spent enough time being cross-eyed and playing a dumbass on TV." He was very nice the whole time even though he cursed a lot but I wasn't a stupid kid and used most of the language myself. When they got finished with his car they left and he told me to watch for him and his "dumbass self" on TV. That's the first time I realized that wrestlers were different than on TV. That's my brush with greatness.
Katie P.: Alrighty, my first story to tell about the two latest wrestlers I got to meet. On July 8th, after a rather boring Thunder in Birmingham, my friend and I made the usual after-show trip to the hotel where the guys were staying. When we got there, we spotted Steve McMichael right away. I asked him for a picture and my friend and I both got a picture taken with him. He asked us how old we were and without thinking, truthfully told him 18. His reply was, "Aw, you can't drink." @#$%^&*!
About 15 minutes later, I spot a legend.... Arn Anderson. Now I go over to where he was sitting and I just stood there for a while listening to him tell stories. Just listening to the man talk was one of my coolest experiences ever. Eventually, one of the guys sitting with him (security I think) asked Arn if he'd take a picture with me and my friend. He politely obliged, wrapping up a GREAT day and one I will never forget.
Bela L.: I'm not sure if you can call this a brush with greatness, but I had the fortune to meet Brian Knobbs of the Nasty Boys. I met him in the Columbus International Airport. I asked him where he had been the past year and a half. He replied his partner quote, "f***ed up his neck", and that they will be back soon. So look out for new tag team champions soon.
Coryn C.: Last night I went to Raw is War and I saw Jason Sensation standing in the back near our seats. He's the guy who played Owen Hart when DX made fun of the Nation and I went up to him and got his autograph. He's really nice and I talked to him for a minute. He's a great guy.
D.R.: I'm from a small town in the middle of Connecticut. One year we got a new female gym teacher named Corky Backlund. Of course, it never once crossed my mind that the world of wrestling would be so close to my high-school, so-called life.
A few weeks later at a basketball game, I saw Mrs. Backlund before the game, and she mentioned that her husband was here. I said, "Who's that?" and she replied "Bob Backlund".
After mentally reprimanding myself, I went over and met Bob. He had these business cards for his drywall company with him as the World Champion on the back. He signed it for me, but I think I washed it. Kinda small (5'8"?) but very, very strong. Somehow, I don't think I really comprehended what was going on.....
Sundeep Singh from The Ultimate Wrestling Page: I don't remember the exact date, but it was around 1987 or 1988. I was 7 or 8 years old. Me and my parents were at a grocery store doing some shopping, and my dad looks at a guy and points. He says "Is that Akbar?!" I look and say it is. We go up to him and lo and behold! It is General Skandor Akbar.
We shake hands with him and say we see him on TV every week. He was very nice and out of character. I noticed that in his shopping cart were just a few items. I only remember a can of beans. Right when I got home, I called my best friend who also happened to like wrestling, and told him who I'd met.
For those who don't know, Akbar was a great heel manager in World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980's in Dallas. He was one of the most hated managers I can ever remember and his stable of wrestlers were also monster heels.
Russell G.: This one goes back a few years, but I was in Chicago O'Hare Airport on a layover travelling back to Toronto. I was looking up at a departure screen to determine which gate my flight was leaving out of, when from behind me two large men approached. As I turned I saw two mammoth men looking up at the screen. They were Jake 'The Snake' Roberts and the Ultimate Warrior. The funniest thing was that the Warrior was wearing his wrestling boots in the airport along with a leather jacket with his painted face on the back. They were both easily 6' 6".
Chris C. at University of Indiana: Here's my brush with a wrestling legend (unfortunately, only just a brush). Back when I was in high school, a bunch of us in the Science Club went on a trip down to Orlando for Disneyworld and the like. On the flight down, we had an hour layover in the Atlanta airport. We walked around for a while, then suddenly one of my friends goes into an absolute spasm. He starts pointing towards Wendy's and we look over. Sure enough, sitting in a booth are Hulk Hogan and Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, merrily chomping away at burgers. We circle a couple of times, just kind of standing open-mouthed.
Finally, somebody I knew approached him. According to my friend, he seemed pretty nice, but kind of wanted to be left alone. Our flight left shortly thereafter, so we didn't get any autographs, but it was still the talk of the trip.
Brent G.: July 4, 1998: Today, I met three members of Degeneration X at a TicketMaster outlet in Calgary they were here promoting a WWF house show on September 11th. I suprised when I read there was going to be an autograph session in this mornings newspaper, knowing that WWF was in Vancouver that night. It was a great oppurtunity since the last time any Wrestling superstars other then the Harts came to Calgary was In Your House July 16, 1997.
Anyways, I met X-Pac and he signed my poster by his WCW name and dx-pac, then I talked to the HUGE Chyna and she is very nice and she signed my Triple H shirt, DX poster and Chyna Poster from WWF Magazine and there was also Road Dog who is very humble, I was disapointed he didn't have his WWF Tag Team Belt (I wanted to hold it).
Jacob C.: Kevin Greene frequents the grocery store I work at in Birmingham, AL (since it is just down the road from his house). He was in this past Tuesday night talking with some of the employees about his Nitro appearence. He showed the hand print that the Giant left on his chest. It was huge and still very much red. He said the Giant was one big guy. Just thought I'd pass that along.
Josh: I'm a VERY sarcastic person, and admittedly, sometimes I don't think before I speak. This has given me a few good Brush with Greatness stories, but also nearly gotten my ass kicked a few times.
A few years ago when the WWF was here in town, they had an autograph session for contest winners. I was walking past the line-up, and saw a friend in line. I stopped to talk to him, and next thing, I'm in line in front of Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie, with some guy from the WWF shoving a magazine in my hand and telling me to keep the line moving. The Roadie signed the picture, then passed the magazine to Jarrett, who took a while signing. I asked him, "Why do you have the JJ on your hat and wristbands? In case you forget your name?" The Roadie cracked up laughing, and Jarrett gave me a really dirty look and muttered "Smart-ass".
The other Brush I had was the last time the WWF came to town, last summer. It was right after the Nation had broken up, and Savio and Crush formed their own groups. I was standing by the staircase out to the back parking lot, and suddenly up came Savio, Miguel, Skull and 8-ball, Chainz, and the Headbangers. I screamed out (in A VERY sarcastic tone), "Oh, my God! It's the Undertaker! No, it's the Bulldozer, no, it's Rick Rude's masked man....." Brian Lee gave me a dirty look and threw me the finger, while Mosh started cracking up and yelled "No, those were last year's gimmicks! You gotta keep up!"
Granted, now that I re-read this letter, neither of these were that funny, but they were my Brushes with Greatness.
John L: A few weeks ago, a friend and I were walking through the Universal Studios back lot after some TV tapings and we came upon "The Man" himself, Bill Goldberg. At this time he was about 77-0, and he had wrestled three matches (well, squashes) that day, all of which we had seen.
My friend and I along with a few other people came up to him and talked, he signed an autograph for me and answered a few questions, not breaking kayfabe. He talked about possible matches with the Giant and Nash in the future, but he wasn't sure where he was going from there. (This was before the US Belt.) He was extremely nice, well versed and down to earth.
Terry C. of New Iberia, LA: While in the Army in 1986, at FT. Campbell, KY, I frequented the matches in Nashville, TN. On more than one occasion we would go out after the matches and run into several wrestlers at a nightclub. The wrestlers were always nice and would socialize with us. Some of the wrestlers were Jeff Jarrett, Tracey Smothers, Pat Tanaka and Candi Divine. At a recent ECW show in Baton Rouge, LA, I talked with Tracey Smothers (now F.B.I.) he remembered vaguely our meetings in Nashville. He is a really down to earth guy, and says playing a "bad guy" is much more fun than a "good guy".
One night in the early 80's we were outside the Municipal Auditorium in N.O. for the Mid-South matches. We would get autographs of the wrestlers as they entered the arena. Without question they were all polite and signed. Wrestlers including; The Freebirds, Hacksaw Duggan, Ted Dibiase, Jake Roberts. Well, one night some idiot forgot that the matches hadn't started yet, and began heckling (and seriously cursing) Ted DiBiase. Ted nicely moved me aside (I was getting a picture) and proceeded to smash the fool upside the head. Don't know what resulted from it, but the licks were well deserved.
** Warning to idiots, wait until you have a barricade between you before you get brave.
Dave: I met Brian Pillman several, and I mean several years back at a local store here in Cincinnati. Brian was doing an autograph signing to promote the grand opening of the store. I was like 9 or 10 at the time, I think it was around 1989, so I totally marked out when I got to meet Pillman. I had him sign an old University Of Cincinnati football program from where they played Brian's alma mater, Miami of Ohio, which had Brian's picture in it. Brian was very, very nice, and I also recieved a signed photo of him hitting a splash on Japanese garbage wrestling star, Jason the Terrible, a.k.a Roberto Rodriguez, or Tracy Smothers, depending on when the photo was taken.
My more recent brushes with greatness have been mixed. I'm 18 years old now, and I suppose wrestlers don't think 18 year old guys should be attending a lot of shows, either that, or they just don't like punk rock skater kids. The first or my more recent brushes happened at the Brian Pillman Memorial here in Cincinnati. They had a picture session beforehand with all the big name wrestlers. I had my picture taken with Chris Candido, whom at the time was not nice at all, Chris Jericho, whom was also very un-cordial, and Sunny. Sunny was the nicest out of the bunch at the time, she took the time to shake hands and ask me how I was doing, and commented that I looked very wet, I was, after standing out in the rain for two hours waiting to get inside. That kind of put me in a funk for the show.
After the show, I headed to Denny's with my friend to grab a cup of coffee and something to eat. We were sitting there eating, and in walks Chris Candido, Sunny, Al Snow, and his wife. They told the waitress that a lot more would be coming, but they never showed. After they had ordered, I hopped up, and walked over to their table. As soon as I appeared Sunny recognized me, and said to Chris, "Hey, it's the guy with the Strung Out shirt that was all wet". Chris apologized to me for not being very friendly during pictures, and he said, that things didn't go too well backstage before the show, and before picture sessions. I explained to them who/what Strung Out is (an excellent punk band from Simi Valley, CA), and they said they'd check them out.
All the while Al Snow sat there, gazing around...and I felt kind of bad for neglecting him. I asked him to hold on, and I ran out to my car, and grabbed my head, which was thrown to/at me by Chris Candido after he lost his match with Al, and had Al sign it. I told them both, that they had a great match that night and that they really should come to Cincinnati. They both seemed really apperciative that I liked their match, and they both said that they'd look into getting ECW around the Cincy area.. (BTW Heatwave 98 is now being held about 35 miles north of cincy in Dayton, OH.)
My most recent brush was a couple of weeks ago at a card held here at a club called Bogart's. The show was put on by Les Thatcher's HWA. Before the show, as I was waiting out in front, I saw a brand new white Corvette with Tennessee plates roll up to a stop sign. The man behind the wheel was none other than Prime Time Brian Lee.. He wasn't scheduled to be on the card, which kinda' made me wonder. Turns out, Brian and local indy wrestler the Bounty Hunter replaced the Headbangers who were scheduled to wrestle the Pitbulls. After the show, I headed out back behind Bogart's where the performers usually exit, and where I always park in the adjacent lot, which is not a coincidence :-). A few of the indy wrestlers came out, and no one paid attention to them. The Pitbulls were the first to walk out, and I yelled at Pitbull #2, who was drinking a Foster's 32 oz beer, "Hey Anthony! Nice Beer choice!" He replied with a "That's all they had you f***ing d***head." I'm anti-Pitbull now, after that little incident. Next of the big names to walk out was Brian Lee. I asked Brian if we would ever see him in ECW again. He replied very sarcastically with "I dunno. Maybe. Maybe next week." He then got in his Corvette and sped off. Next out was none other than Cactus Jack. Cactus is a class act, all around. He took time to take a picture with me, sign my ticket stub, and answer some questions. While this was going on, Road Dog Jesse James sneaked out, ran through some fans, and left, but not before I could yell "Hey Jesse.. phat dreads!" He replied with a "Thanks man, back at ya!" and he left. Cactus got a kick out of this. The last of the big names to exit was Al Snow. Al carries the head in a duffel bag, BTW. Al was also a VERY nice guy. He remembered me from after the Pillman show, noticed that I now had dreadlocks, and told me to quit smoking, that it would stunt my growth. Al joked around with a few fans before leaving. That's all from me.
Toddzilla from Bowling Green, KY: This was in the mid-eighties, and the CWA (which became the USWA), and I was about 12. There was a card in my town at the local high school, so my friends and I went. Great show, and afterwards, we hung around behind the gym. To our surprise, Norvell Austin and Koko Ware (no "B" then) came out to their car with all of their gear. They were a heel team at the time called the PYT's (Pretty Young Things). We'd given them hell all night and they recognized us and asked "Ya'll think you gonna do something to us?" We were terrified until they laughed and started cutting up with us. We got autographs and helped them put their bags in their car. They clowned around with us for about another 10 minutes before they left. We felt like kings.
Also, my cousin got to know the former NWA champ Pat O'Conner, which thrilled my aunt, as my cousin is her son. Cuz has never liked wrestling, aunt LOVES it. Anyway, Pat would come over to Cuz's house all the time, and he looked like hell. Cut-off jeans, cowboy hat and a vest --- no shirt; wore flip flops, too. He'd always bring his guitar over. Eventually, my aunt visited her son and got to meet him. They went to the show that night in St Louis, and there came Pat as the ring announcer. Aunt didn't recognize him. The man who usually looked like a bum looked SHARP and professional. He was really one hell of a nice guy.
James M.: It's been quite a while, I think it was the early 80's and still the NWA (before the WCW). It was a Sunday afternoon with a show that night in the Savannah, GA civic center. I was near the airport and stopped at a convenience store for a drink when Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat get out of a cab and came in. They bought cokes and honey buns (I guess I expected them to eat healthier), we exchanged small talk, and went our separate ways. The funny part was that the two of them were supposed to be enemies that night. Not a big story, but I've been a Flair fan since before he beat Harley Race.
Whoooooo!
Will D.: I remember when Stampede Wrestling came to my hometown. It was about 10 years ago, maybe more. Anyways, because our hockey team had sponsored the show we got to help set up the ring. We were working on it when the Angel of Death came in. He came over and talked to us about how our tean was doing and other small talk.
Later during the actual show, I was the guy who brought the guys coffee back in the dressing room. One of the guys was the Cuban Assassin. He told me what a great little town we had and he really liked the area. Later in the show, he came on and ran the whole town down calling a dirty, stinky little hovel of peasants. Just after he did this he saw sitting in the crowd and winked. I thought it was pretty funny.
ruckus: Hello I just thought I'd send in my little brushes with greatness. I went across the border on June 11 to watch live Thunder in Buffalo. It was a good show and on the way back we were talking about how cool it would be to meet a wrestler (I've been to house shows and seen them driving away but that's not the same.) But with our luck nothing happened.
The next day, Friday, a friend and I went for lunch at a Niagara Falls restaurant. We were standing inside the door talking to the door man when the Giant came walking in. We went crazy (this coming from 20 years old must have looked funny), he shook our hands and chatted for a bit before he went to sit down. BTW: he's not really that tall (7'4") or at least didn't seem to be that tall, but he is massive...
Jon in NC: My brush with greatness happenend in New Jersey. It was at a fair. My dad and I were walking around. Who do we see? Bam Bam Bigelow. This was before ECW and before he went back to the WWF. He said hi to me and signed an autograph for me. He was there with his family. He took his kid's stroller with the kid in it and he swung it around.
Anonymous: My friend almost met Vader and Harley Race one time back in '93 or '94. He and his dad went to a WCW house show, and then went through the drive through at McDonald's afterwards. In front of them in the drive through were Vader and Race. He recognized them because they got out of the car and got something from the trunk right in front of them.
Gino: I saw Shawn Micheals in Boston. I was on my lunchbreak from work, and eating at the Au Bou Pain in New England Medical center, it is one block from where I work. This was the day of WrestleMania '98, I remember waiting to go home and watch it. Anyway the FleetCenter is two miles away, and NEMC is one the best hospitals around. My friend and I (who also is a big fan) see Shawn Michaels walking in. He walked in with a friend, he was in a suit, and I knew it was him. I go outside and ask the limo driver who is waiting for, he told me he couldn't say. Anyway, that night the commentators mention that Earl Hebner was in the hospital, so Micheals must have been there to visit, or get his back checked out before his match vs. Austin.
Jody P: I had just watched another awesome Monday Night rasslin' card at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, SC. I stopped at a gas station just two miles down the road. I went inside while my buddy filled up his car with gas. In walks Jimmy "Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant and Chief Wahoo McDaniel. I told them what a great show it was and got their autographs. They were both very nice.
Steve A.: My wife and I were flying out of DC to Florida for our honeymoon. As we were waiting for the early flight, I looked to my left and saw Lex Luger reading a magazine by himself.
I told my wife and, she being a BIG Lex fan looked across me and almost ripped my arm off. "It's him!" I suggested she go over and talk to him. She said no, but if she saw him on the plane she would. So, when Lex walked into First Class, I prompted her again. She chickened out and said if she saw him after we landed in Atlanta, she'd talk to him.
We landed, left the plane and no Lex. As we were both coming out of the bathroom, who should my wife physically bump into, but Mr. Luger. The guy was HUGE! She was so flustered that she introduced herself using her maiden name. Our joke for the rest of the honeymoon was that she better not yell out Lex's name in passion.
Z: This brush came at Adventure Island, a water park in Tampa. I was standing in line with my wife to get a slice of pizza. I looked behind me and standing there in line was Eddy Guerrero. I introduced myself told him I was a fan, and told him that I saw him wrestle Dean Malenko when they were with ECW at the fairgrounds here in Tampa. This caught him off guard and I believe impressed him a little bit. He introduced me to his son and his father who were in line with him. We talked about his time in AAA. He said he hated wrestling in Mexico. He said that he realy liked wrestling for New Japan. I asked him what the difference between ECW and WCW was. He said that ECW is just a lot more laid back but that he was enjoying WCW. He was surprisingly kind to me when he didn't have to be on his day off with the family.
Z: My brush came at the Sundome Arena in Tampa after a WWF house show. When the card was over, my friend had locked his keys in the car so we had to wait for his father to come and bring a new key. As we were waiting we wandered around the dome and noticed a few of the wrestlers coming out and getting in their cars. Luckily, the security had left at this point and there was not a mob of fans, so we were able to walk right down the ramp to the doors the wrestlers were exiting from. We first saw Hacksaw Duggan walk by us, then we saw the late Dino Bravo and Earthquake bring out their bags. We asked Bravo if that was his family with him (he had his wife and daughter there) he smiled and said yes. Then Tugboat came out (a.k.a Typhoon). I think that Tugboat is from the Tampa area, because there was a ton of family members waiting for him outside. We couldn't get real close to him because he was greeting all of his family. Then an elderly lady came up to us and asked if we would like to meet Tugboat. This was Tugboat's mother, she was a sweet old lady and seemed very proud that there were a few kids that wanted to meet her boy. Tugboat was friendly we talked about Brutis Beefcake's health. This was shortly after his parasailing accident. Tugboat's mom then took a picture of us with her boy.
Zen: As you probably know, both Chris Candido and Bam Bam Bigelow live on the Jersey shore, near Asbury Park. What you probably DON'T know is that there is a major university right near there, Monmouth University.
I'm a student at Monmouth, as well as a producer and promotions associate at the student radio station, WMCX. Bam Bam's wife also goes to Monmouth, and right before Living Dangerously 1998, she helped arrange an appearance for Bam Bam and Chris, as well as "Wild" Bill Wild and Balls Mahoney to appear on WMCX to help hype the show.
Needless to say, it was a fun time had by all, and I found Chris and Bam Bam to be great people. Chris had brought his black book with him, and we ended up calling Francine, Shane Douglas, and Al Snow. Al did this great bit where he told us he wanted to be a stuntman before the head started to "yell" at him.
After the show was done, Chris and Bam Bam stuck around for a while and took pictures. I found Chris and Bam Bam to be genuine and funny, and although they were a bit guarded when I found out I was a smark, they broke down...hey, I even spoke to Chris about his significant other...which was kind of funny.
I have the tape, and once I'll get the time, I'll encode the whole show to Real Audio so everyone can hear it.
Hotchy K.: About a month ago, I was working as a bouncer at a bar here in Tempe, AZ and I got moved up to the front door after about an hour at the back. As I was sitting there checking IDs, I noticed a man who looked really familiar sitting at a patio table with three other people. He was turned in his chair so I had a hard time recognizing him until he turned my way. I saw that it was Eric Bischoff. (Man, is he a little tubby) I was kind of star struck because I have never seen the guy in person.
Anyway, I waited until they were on their way out of the bar and I walked up to him and told him how much I liked watching WCW. He shook my hand and asked me if I was a student and what my major was. I told him that I was an English major and that I write a lot. He jokingly replied that I should apply as a writer to WCW when I graduate. I laughed and said thanks and he went on his way.
Later, I was talking to his waitress and she said that he got kind of miffed when he found out that we didn't carry the kind of wheat beer he wanted but after he got his drink he was nice to her.
Scott T.: I worked at a grocery store in Tennessee as a manager. One day, while I was in the office doing paperwork, I get a page from one of the registers. It was my friend Dave, a rather stocky fellow in his own right. Well, Dave pages me, and I ask him what he wanted. He asked me to look down at the register he was on and guess who that was at his register (still in line mind you) wearing a WWF t-shirt. I look down at the register and say to him, "Oh yeah thats Unibomb."
"Unibomb? I thought he was Kain?"
"Yeah I went by that name once," Glenn Jacobs said.
"Well, I'm Super Dave, nice to meet you Kain"
Dave is the kinda guy who just oozes charisma, but he was put into his place by the site of such a huge man. He seemed like a pretty cool guy from what Dave could gather and not a stuck up snob like you hear about sometimes.
Craig (Stone Cold's Number One Fan): This might not seem so great to anyone else, but my sister and I got really fired up. On May 2nd at a show at the US Airways Arena, we almost had a car wreck with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
We were driving down the interstate and there are two different exits to the arena. We decided to take exit 17A and at exit 15A, this big Maroon Mercury cut in front of us and I said look at that cracker jack driver as I almost slammed into him. The traffic had slowed, my sister looked over and then she started screaming "Oh my God, it's Stone Cold". I looked over and sure enough there he was his bald head right across from us we started waving like crazy he just kinda smiled and waved as he drove down the exit ramp.
Dean B.: Back in 1995, my dad saw Ted DiBiase in a restaurant, hanging out with someone my dad met earlier in the week through his business. Since he knew very well that I have been obsessed with wrestling since I was six, and a big fan of DiBiase since his start in the Mid-South, he approached him. He asked if he could sign an autograph on a paper napkin or something when he was done eating. But listen to this. Ted DiBiase stopped eating, went out to his car and got a picture and signed it with a personalized autograph. My dad then told him that I saw the Tatanka turn from a mile away. I got a real hoot out of that! Then about a month later, at a Sunshine Foundation fundraiser, he saw Ted DiBiase again. Mr. DiBiase signed another autograph for me. This was right when he started to manage Steve Austin, under the "Ring Master" moniker. He signed the picture with a "John 3:16". My dad said he was huge in person and one of the nicest guys he has EVER met.
And I have another one...
My cousin went to a Razor Ramon autograph session at a local "Caldor" in New Jersey back in late '94. He waited in the line to have Razor sign his copy of my dirt sheet that I was writing at the time. When he finally got to the front of the line, he touched the Intercontinental belt that was displayed on the table, and got the autographs. Then he sat down next to Razor. He posed for a picture with him. And he gave him "bunny ears"! It was hilarious. I still have the picture next to my computer. Afterwards he was approached by security and they said something to the extent of, "If you are going to do that, at least say something to him." I was one of funniest things I have ever seen in my entire life.
Kevin J.: My friend and I were in a sunglasses store in Las Vegas the same weekend they were doing a Nitro show. I saw this pumped up bald guy come in and thought, "Hey, that guy looks just like Goldberg." As I got closer it was obvious it didn't just look like Goldberg, it WAS Goldberg. I said, "I know this'll sound kind of dorky, but can I get a picture?" He said, "That's not dorky at all, I'm just afraid you'll make me look small." (He's 6'3", I'm 6'7") I looked at him and told him, "NO ONE can make you look small." He was really friendly.
Ray L.: I was working at a country radio station in Burbank, CA in 1994. I had to put in gas at a local Cheveron to get me home at the end of the day. As I was going into the store, here walks up Superstar Billy Graham!
I was well aware of the trouble he was having walking, so he kind of wobbled to his car to put in gas. I wanted to offer to pump his gas, but I didn't want to insult him. I told him "Superstar! It's an honor to meet you!" and he said something like "Hey, nice to meet you, partner! You take care of yourself!" I shook his hand and I'll never forget that it felt like leather from years of heavy lifting. He was totally nice and very friendly.
Dan T.: I've got a couple "brushes with greatness" stories to relay to you...
The first one happened in 1993 when I was a senior in college. The WWF came to our campus (the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) for a house show to raise some money for the athletic department. Well, I worked in the athletic department, so I pulled some strings and got front row seats for my roommate and me. The card, as I remember it, was incredible for a house show...Bret Hart, Diesel (Kevin Nash), the 1-2-3 Kid (now X-Pac), Bam Bam Bigelow were a few I can remember. To make a long story short, we headed out to a restaurant near campus for a few cocktails and found many of the stars, including Hart, the Kid and Diesel were there as well. There's nothing like seeing a 7-footer in Diesel (give or take a few inches) in a small college hangout. I had the chance to speak with the 1-2-3 Kid for a few minutes. He seemed very cool and told of the long hours on the road, traveling from place to place. He also told me he was just coming off a couple serious injuries, namely a broken nose and a screwed up knee. It was interesting.
The second "brush with greatness" occured just this year at a signing with Cactus Jack. I do some part-time, free stuff for a local radio station. Because of that, we were able to meet with Cactus on a more personal level. This happened as the WWF was erasing the Cactus Jack character and going to Mankind. But, he was in town to wrestle in a small federation for that championship the next day...a belt that he won. Cactus came off as an extremely intelligent, well-spoken man. Of course, he has absolutely tons of wrestling experience and has seen it all. That made for a lot of interesting talk over a three-hour period. He didn't disappoint the next day with his match, even though it was a very small federation. He is the consummate professional.
Deke S.: It was the early 90s, and towards the end of Hulkamania. I was about 8 (I'm 14 now), and my mother and I were picking my father up at the Nashville Airport. We had just gotten back from my first house show, and I was dressed in all my Hulk garb, torn tank top and all. I was walking through the terminal, when I spotted Vince McMahon in the back of one of those Tram things. I screamed at the top of my lungs "LOOK MOM!!! IT'S VINCE MCMAHON!!!." Surprisingly, this garnered a reaction from him, and he turned around and smiled. I happened to be standing at the gate where the wrestlers where flying to Mobile, AL. Vince got off, and I went over to the guy driving the Tram. He told me Hulk Hogan was on the plane, and he could get me on it. I didn't (and I still don't) understand why they let me do this, as it violated every security law I've ever heard of, but I freaked out!!! A flight attendant came out, took me by the hand, and guided me onto the plane. Near the front, in first class, Hulk was sitting next to Virgil. It was kept to about two minutes, Hulk asked my name, gave me some encouragment on life, and I shook hands with both of them (as most everyone who recalls an experience with a wrestler will tell you, all these guys, even McMahon, are huge!!!). Hulk was very nice, and not the egomaniac some would have you believe. I was surprised as his voice was quite different as it was on television, and he came across as a pretty soft-spoken guy, albeit calling me "brother" once or twice. All in all, it was the best experience of my short life at that time, and I was totally in awe for the next week, only talking about wrestling.
Jason S.: I was in Tallahassee for the FSU/UF game in 1996. Some may know that Ric Flair is a Bull-Gator (Booster that gives over $100K/year to the University).
It was in the first quarter and we were hanging out at a convienance store right next to the stadium which my friend owns. He allows us to park there for games, as parking is very, very tight for the game. Ric Flair pulls up with two other people and asks us if he can park there (we rope off part of the parking lot for parking for our friends). We said sure, and he got out, took several pictures putting us in headlocks, doing elbows to the head, etc.
He was running late for the game and the parking lot that he was supposed to park in as a booster was full and the State Trooper who was in charge of it was on a power kick and wouldn't let him park. The story of Flair being refused parking made the Tallahassee Democrat (local paper).
He was very cool and appreciative.
Mike F.: I was in the Atlanta Airport, flying in for the E3 show and saw Dok Hendrix/Michael P.S. Hayes at the baggage claim. I considered approaching him, but he did not look very happy (crowded airport, late at night, etc.), so I decided to leave him alone. The next day I saw HHH and Chyna at the show hamming it up for the cameras and promoting Acclaims WWF Warzone game.
John B.: After an In Your House in Louisville 2 years ago, my grandpa and I went to a Taco Bell north of Louisville. I walk in and in line in front of us was none other than "The King" Jerry Lawler. What a complete opposite of his obnoxious ring character. He seemed shy and quiet as he ordered his taco salad. I think he wanted to be kind of incognito seeing as how big a legend he is there.
I also met Kama earlier this year when the WWF was in Indianapolis. I was interning with the Pacers at the time and I went up to the arena level and there was Kama as nice as could be asking if the wrestlers could use the Pacers workout facility. Unfortunately they couldn't, but Kama couldn't have been more polite. The man is huge! Speaking of huge, I saw Paul Bearer roaming the halls too and he is just disgustingly fat. It's amazing.
Robert G.: I started watching WWF wrestling in 1987. I carried all my WWF magazines with me on trips if my mother ever went out of town and I was with her. On one certain trip to New York we were waiting at Kennedy at 10:00pm. The airport was deserted in our section and I look up and see Jake "The Snake" Roberts sitting with his wife. I crouched down beside my little brother and said "There's Jake Roberts." With my brother at my side, I confidently strode up to him and had him sign a WWF magazine I had with him on the cover. I wanted to say to him that I was upset that he didn't win the title at Wrestlemania IV but I was too nervous.
J.D.: A couple of years ago I was hanging out on the UOP Campus about four hours before there was a wrestling event. Well, as we are leaving to go home a brown Caddilac pulled up beside us and asked us to show them where the arena was. It was Sid Eudy driving with Shawn Michaels and Glenn Jacobs. We showed them and then they pulled us over again and thanked us and asked where the nearest gym was. He helped them again and they were on there way. Of course I didn't mark out, I just sat there calmly.
Ronnie C.: Four friends and myself went to a Nitro at the Knoxville Coliseum in Knoxville, TN on Dec 30 (I think 1995). Before the show, we got a room at the Hyatt across the street from the arena. After the show we went back to the Hyatt and the lobby was full of young people ( some kind of convention with live band and dancing). Myself and two other guys were walking around the lobby and notice a bar so we decided we wanted a beer. Standing at the door was Kevin Sullivan. We talked to him for several minutes and finally walked in the bar. Standing at the end of the bar was "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. We stayed in the bar till around 3 in the moring partying with the Horsemen, Mongo, Benoit, Double A, and Woman. Also The Harlem Heat, Chris Jerricho, Dean Maleko, Eric Bischoff, JJ Dillion, Ted DiBiase, Scott Norton, Jimmy Hart, 3 minis, and the one and only "Mene" Gene Okerlund. I also played pool with Double A.
Jason D.: I attended the Monday Night RAW broadcast on June 1st at the Rosemont Horizon. My cousin and I got to the arena about two hours before showtime. We never had went so early, and we were eager to see some wrestlers. Our wishes were granted. The first guy we saw was Paul Bearer. He was just standing there, leaning over the entrance ramp to the arena. Immediately to his left was Dan "The Beast" Severn. Before we had a chance to talk to the wrestlers, security told us to vacate the premises. As we were walking to the other side of the entrance ramp, a car pulled up right beside us. Out came "Road Dog" Jesse Jammes and X-Pac. They immediately walked right by us and walked to the entrance ramp. X-Pac immediately struck up a conversation with Paul Bearer. They must have chatted for about half an hour. As we stood there, security roped off the entrance area.
After a while, more wrestlers came out, including Edge and Val Venis. They were accompanied by the two most gourgeous ladies. Val came over and signed some autographs. He was very quiet and soft-spoken. Later on Thrasher of the Headbangers came out to sign autographs. He is a very cool guy. He talked to us for about a half-hour while signing autographs. He was very funny as well. He cracked jokes about the LOD and Mark Henry. He made fun of some of the other guys. He was totally cool and was very fan friendly.
The next night, I went to the RAW tapings in Rockford, IL. I got my picture taken with the Jackyll. By far, the nicest guy was Terry Funk. He answered a ton of questions. The most humorous response was when somebody asked him about Ric Flair. Terry answers "Ric Flair? Didn't you guys hear he died?" Everybody starts chuckling. Terry then adds "Yeah, he was shot dead while he was trying to rob a 7-11. He tried to get away with a six-pack but they got him." Terry was totally cool and gracious. He was totally bragging about the fact that the WWF won the ratings war for the previous day. All in all, it was one of the greatest two-day periods of my life.
Jay A.: On June 5th, 1998, three friends and I went to a WWF house show at MSG. Before the match, we went to a bar right near MSG and sat down next to CAPTAIN LOU ALBANO! He was really cool. We spoke for about 35 minutes. Here are some of the key excerpts: An overall great guy!
Noir: This comes from a few months ago when Thunder was in Tallahassee, FL.
I didn't go to the show but when I saw Arn come out, I ran downstairs and to my car. I got to the arena at the end of the show and sat outside. I talked to Chris Jericho briefly. Also, I talked to Konnan briefly. I asked him about some of the luchas, but he didn't say much. He was cool, posed for a picture with my roomate, and drove off playing some west coast rap. It was really cool.
B.M.: My "Brush with Greatness" happened two years ago in Seneca, SC. I was working at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, when a co-worker ran up to me yelling Arn Anderson was in the store. I got kind of excited and made my way over to where he was, which just happened to be in my department. Well it wasn't Arn, my friend was not a big wresling fan, but it was Ole Anderson. I went over to ask him if he needed any help and then I introduced myself, told him I recognized who he was and that I was a big fan. We started talking and he seemed real bitter. He had nothing good to say about wrestling. He finally said he could care less about wrestling as a whole and then proceeded to bitch me out because we didn't carry the chainsaw blade he needed. I was a little disappointed, so I left him there fuming on the chainsaw aisle.
rjsm: This was during Summerslam at Caeser's Palace. I was only 13 then and got the chance to see Razor Ramon, way before he was Scot Hall. He looked really big to me back then. It was really cool seeing him walk by as he was about to get into a limo in gym clothes, probably to work out. Later on that day I also saw the Beverly Brothers and Mr. Perfect, but they looked like they didn't want to be disturbed. I think that day was the best moment of my young life.
Blitzhawk from McAllen, TX: It was around 1991 or 1992 and I was a freshman in high school at the time. My brother was in his first year of college and he was on lunch break and decided to get me out of school early so we can hang out. We go into this restaurant and who walks into the door but "Gentleman" Chris Adams. We'd been tremendous fans of wrestling since as far back as we could remember, and Chris Adams was a wrestler we followed back during his World Class Championship Wrestling Days.
We waited till he was done eating, and he was sitting with his wife so we were cautious about not disturbing him, but he saw us looking at him and he gave a wave. We got up and asked him for an autograph and he took a look at my brother who is 6'6 350lbs. and urged him to attend his wrestling school (He wrote the number under the autograph). Adams was really cool, we talked for a few minutes about the Von Erichs and the passing of his partner Gino Hernandez. He seemed impressed with our knowledge of his wrestling past and seemed grateful that we followed his career. He then left in a limo (The limo driver was as hot as his wife) and waved us goodbye. He seemed like a very nice guy.
Elizabeth: I had just started working at a gym near Reunion Arena when the WWF came to town. I was really excited, because for my 18th birthday, my dad had bought me tickets to the show - front row! Anyway, my friend Brian & I were chatting about the event & how we could get the wrestlers to say various lines, when he said, "I want Shawn to say, 'Shawn is gay? Shawn is not gay..why don't ya go & ask your momma if Shawn is gay.'" As he said that, I turned towards the counter & HBK WAS STANDING THERE WITH HHH!
HBK smiled at me & asked me if I was a fan. I said, "Yeah, but I think you're getting to be like Hogan now." He turned bright red & glared at me as HHH asked if we were going to the show. We told him yes & he told me about this party they were having at the hotel. I told him that he could take his party & shove it up his rear, cause I wasn't a groupie. He laughed & HBK, who was still upset with me, said, "You're a b*tch." I was stunned that I was sitting here experiencing such abuse from a wrestler, but totally dying, cause I wanted to laugh at the pathetic man in front of me. I rolled my eyes & said, "Why don't ya kiss my butt?" He & HHH walked off & went to the weights section.
Later on at the show, HBK walked right by me & I waved & smiled, cause he was such a p***k. He raised an eyebrow, then walked up the stairs. HHH did the typical male nod thingie & went up to the ring as well. When they were done ranting & raving, HBK stopped by me & just stared at me. I said, "Hey, babe, why don't ya take a picture? You can drool over that a lot longer than the actual me." He glared at me & started to say something, but HHH nodded back towards the backstage area & they left. That was my "Brush with Greatness"..however, I don't know if ya can call HBK great. :o)
Anonymous: I went to a WWF house show Mat 17th. My friend has won backstage passes and he was nice enough to let me tag along with him. When we got there, Hillbilly Jim was walking around acting like an idiot. But he was nice enough to give me a picture and autograph. The Legion Of Doom where there signing autographs. Animal stole one of the cookies from my plate!
We had to go, but we saw the Jackyll talking on the phone, and Blackman and the Rock talking. Paul Bearer and Kane were standing there and when I asked for a picture, Paul went "Get the hell away, kid!" It was a pretty interesting night.
Ari: I was was at SuperBrawl in February, and I was at a concession stand waiting in line for a hot dog, when I see Elizabeth and the Macho Man eating nachos and talking to people. So I walked over (my knees were shaking) and said hello and all that stuff, and Elizabeth asked me if I was nWo and I said yeah, and then he said he had to go and I wished him good luck in his fight with Luger.
Peter R.: On May 24, the WWF had a house show at the Halifax Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was a great show, and afterwards, a number of the wrestlers went to a local hotspot known as the Palace. All went well, until a friend of a friend went up to the Undertaker, and offered to buy him a drink. The result was D-Lo Brown shoving my friend's friend away, and telling him to quote "Get lost, Punk!"
Jerry M.: I was in the Navy Reserves in 1983, and had just finished my 2 weeks' "summer camp" at the Navy Hospital in Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. A small contingent of my Reserve unit had been sent there for training. We were in San Juan, waiting for our plane back to Florida when our CO suggested taking us all out to lunch. After we had finished our meal, we walked outside and ran into Pedro Morales, former WWF World Champ.
I was the only wrestling fan in the group and stopped to say hello. He was very polite, shook my hand, and we talked briefly about my having seen him at a match in Orlando a few years previous. I had to go, he wished me luck and thanked me for being a fan. I was quite happy with having had the opportunity to meet him. This outranks my meeting with Pete Rose and Johnny Bench a hundredfold.
Amber K.: My father had a brush with greatness a while ago, I don't know what year. He was in a Las Vegas casino when he spotted a tall, large man with long hair sitting at a table. The person was familiar to him, but he couldn't place his face because he wasn't wearing all his makeup.
Then my dad realized it was the Undertaker. I asked my dad why he didn't ask for an autograph and he said he wasn't really into wrestling at the time.
Terry: My brush with greatness involved one of the greatest of hardcore wrestlers....Cactus Jack! I was in a local convienience store after a WCW television taping quite some years ago (Jim Cornette was still employed with them! ha ha ha). I walked in to get a Pepsi because after running my mouth all night at the show, I was rather thirsty. I walked to the back of the store and there was Cactus Jack! My jaw dropped to the floor and could not think of what to say! I grabbed my friend's arm and said "LOOK!!! CACTUS JACK!" We walked up to him and told him he had a fantastic match that night and he thanked us and talked small talk (weather, favorite wrestlers) then paid for his drink and left. The one thing we didn't notice until he was leaving was the wrestler who came in with him...Shane Douglas!
Patman: In 1991, two of my buddies and I went to Chicago for a comic book convention at the O'Hare Ramada. As we were waiting for the doors to open for the Sunday show, two rough-looking guys were checking out. One of my buddies recognized them immediately: it was the Bushwhackers!
At the time, they were my favorite tag team, so I rushed up to them. Luke was obviously not interested in talking, but Butch spoke for a couple minutes. He started out in character. When I asked for an autograph, he just wrote "The Bushwhackers, Luke and Butch." He said Luke didn't know how to write.
I mentioned that I thought the whole head-licking schtick was gross. Luke cracked a smile, and Butch said, "you do what you gotta to get the fans goin'."
They had just completed a show at the Rosemont Horizon the night before, and Butch said they were going home for a few days rest. When asked, he admitted they weren't from New Zealand. (I don't know whether that's true. I assume so.)
The most surprising thing about my brush with the Bushwhackers: they're really short! Most of the wrestlers I've seen have been over 6' 3". I stand 6' 1" and I was looking down at Butch.
Thomas H.: I met some WWF wrestlers on May 8th at a gym in Fort Mitchell, KY, which is not far from the Cincinnati Gardens where the matches were being held that night. Owen Hart was the first to arrive at the gym around 4:00. About 30 minutes later, DX members Road Dog and Bad Ass Billy Gunn arrived followed a few minutes later by 'The Rock' and D-Lo Brown. I have to say that Owen Hart was the nicest of the group. I approached him about an autograph and he said no problem.
I apologized for interrupting his work out and told him that I would wait until he was done working out to get the autograph. He replied that I was not bothering him and he would gladly sign for me whenever I wanted. Everyone in the gym was impressed with his personality, not to mention his strength. The DX members signed for me and walked on without saying anything. Then, Rocky Maivia and D-Lo walked in and they signed for me immediately.
I mentioned to Rocky that I used to watch his dad wrestle as Sweet Ebony Diamond, who I also met years ago. Rocky seemed impressed that I rememebered Sweet Ebony Diamond before he became Rocky Johnson. I also argued jokingly that his beloved Hurricanes would lose to the University of Cincinnati where my brother plays. He then got into character and started ranting about kicking my brothers' butt. In all, the whole experience was great. Owen Hart is awesome in my opinion.
Roderick W.: I used to go to the wrestling matches with Dad and Mom in San Antonio, TX (circa 1972-1974) and San Diego, CA (1975-1977). So I had ample opportunity to see the Von Erichs, Greg Valentine, The Guerreros, a young Roddy Piper. I got to shake hands Andre the Giant...me with my 12 year old hand and him with his Giant hand. I was impressed for such a young age. Hard to remember them all. But I remember yelling myself hoarse.
N.B.: It was 1994. I was attending a WCW house show in Shreveport, LA. It was an OK card and afterwards my friend and I went to eat at a Denny's.
Halfway through the meal my friend says that Big Van Vader is coming in. I turn and he says "Made you look". I fell for it. About 5 minutes later, I see throught the window The Nature Boy Ric Flair (our personal fave) walking toward the resurant. I say "Hey, man, Ric Flair is coming in" and my friend does not believe me but sure enough he walks in and sits across from us with Doug Dillenger (WCW Security guy).
My friend and I eat and go and wait in my car for him to finish eating. We did not want to disturb him while he was eating. When he was done we approached him and asked him for his autograph. he signed our copies of our programs. At the time he was a face fighting Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman. We told him that we like him better when he was a bad guy. He smiled and said "Really?". We left and as we were getting in the car he let out a "Whooooooo" that filled the parking lot and we laughed and he waved goodbye. Two weeks later he turned on Sting at a Pay-per-View and reformed the Four Hoursmen with Anderson and Pillman. We like to think that we had a very small part to do with that.
Jodie J.: I was at a house show in Toronto at the Skydome in February, '98. My buddy and I were walking out from the underground parking lot when he says "Look, there's Taka." Sure enough there was Taka Michinoku getting driven in the main garage doors, in a shitbox car, with some other huge guy.
Anyway, they get out and I ran up and asked for a picture, the big guy (I believe it was Glen Jacobs) said I could have one with Taka, because I guess Taka doesn't speak very good English. He was very cooperative, I wished him good luck and he said thank you and away he went. It was pretty neat.
Tammy F.: This has been awhile back, but my mother-in-law is a huge wrestling fan. We had a wrestling show come to a nearby town and my husband knew some of the local radio talents. They arranged for his mom to meet her favorite wrestler backstage without her knowing. That wrestler was STING! He was awesome!! She thought she was going backstage to help set up something for the show not to meet Sting. She said he was very polite and talkative. Imagine that!! She also met Ric Flair and Sid Vicious. She said they were both very nice as well.
Steve M. from the University of Lethbridge: I've been sitting on this one for a while, but I did meet Andre the Giant back in 1990. The WWF did a rare card in Lethbridge, AB. The main event was Andre and Haku, who were the tag champs then, vs. Demolition. One of my friends was the security guard at the time and we got a chance to head back into the dressing rooms to see the wrestlers. No matter what they look like on TV, every one of them is huge. I met Tito Santana, Iron Mike Sharpe and Andre, all of whom were great guys. I didn't think to get an autograph then though... Oh, well.
Tom K.: I was in the St. Louis airport on a Tuesday night, and I had missed my flight. I went to the TWA desk to book for the next flight, and Chris Benoit was there trying to book a flight to Atlanta. I mentioned what a big fan I was of WCW, and I asked him to sign an autograph for my students. He obliged, and I apologized for butting in to his private life. He said it was no problem, and that he is one of the wrestlers who realized that the fans sign their paychecks. I got my ticket, and I was about to walk off, and he asked me if I had time to sit and get a beer.
Chris Benoit and I sat in the bar and talked for about an hour. He said that he doesn't care about getting the belt. He just wants to go out and wrestle with the best every night. He said that contrary to popular Internet belief, most of the wrestlers are very happy.
Chris Benoit was one of the nicest celebrities I have ever met. It was so great for him to take out of his private time to talk to me. By the way, Raven came up later, and he was a jerk. Anyway, long live Benoit!!!!!
Jake B.: I went to the Thunder in Terre Haute, Indiana back in March...not to see the show (which was actually terrible) but to get some autographs. Security was great at the start and even WCW security said that the fans could hang out by the parking lot. There is a Hulman Center street between the center and parking lot, so it was accessible for fans. Prince Iaukea, High Voltage (who said they were going to face Hall and Nash but if you watched the show, the match never took place and High Voltage didn't appear), Benoit, Eddy, Schiavone, Nick Patrick, Lodi, Hammer, Heenan, Tenay, Marshall, Darshow, Kendall Windham, Kevin Sullivan, and Terry Taylor all signed and were great. Then Raven came. They had the road blocked off whith wooden horses and when wrestlers arrived, security would move the horses so they could enter. Well, all of a sudden, we saw a mini van drive over one of the horses! We weren't suprised when we saw it was Raven driving. He was dressed in the same outfit he wears on TV (leather jacket, etc.) and was with Saturn and Riggs. He told security to tell us "absolutely no autographs". So, when they passed the group there, people started screaming and yelling at them. After that, the local security got orders from WCW to keep everyone back. It was tough getting autographs after that because security tightened up, but I managed to get a few more. Goldberg arrived early then went to the gym. He came back and told security to tell all of us to come back after the show, that he'll sign then. The nicest were Tenay, Benoit, and Eddy. Hennig, Rick Steiner, and Rick Rude all arrived together but were actually driven into the facility.
We probably could've gotten more autographs if the fans hadn't started screaming at Raven. This is the second WCW event I have gone to for autographs where several rowdy, screaming people have caused security to essentially kick everyone out. So if you go to a WCW show and want to get autographs "DON'T YELL AT THE WRESTLERS!" A five second comment can ruin your chances of meeting the wrestlers!
Adam B. from Tiffin, Iowa: My friend Jesse and I were at the Thunder taping on 2/26/98 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I had never been to a wrestling event before and was understandably excited. Jesse and I got to the arena/hotel about 1:00 pm or so, and we waited in the hotel elevator-way for some of the wrestlers to come in. About 1:30 or so, the elevator doors opened and out came a blond Scott Steiner with Buff Bagwell. There were about six of us (including Jesse and me) in that hallway. Scott walked past everybody and acted like we weren't even there, and continued on outside and down the street not acknowledging anybody. But Buff stopped and signed for us, but he said he was late getting to the gym so he was in a hurry. He was really polite and signed for all of us, and even posed for a photo with me. He then went outside and on to the gym.
So all of us waited again, and about 2:00 pm, up pulled a rental car, and out got Bill Goldberg with DDP. A mob went after Goldberg, but a fortunate few (including Jesse and me) stayed with DDP rather than pursue Goldberg. Page was very polite, answering all questions, signing all autographs, and posing for all photos (including my own request to have me put in the Diamond Cutter). He was polite the entire time. I walked with him to the elevator and mentioned that he and Benoit would be the Main Event. I asked him if Kimberly had made the trip up, and he said, "No, she had to stay in Atlanta." I told him to give her my best, and he said, "Will do," before grinning.
The show was great, and we were treated to a great main event, as well as Buff imitating Michael Buffer, and Kevin Nash getting arrested for Jacknifing Lodi. After the show, Jesse and I went down the street from the arena to a steakhouse. We ordered our appetizers and were finishing them up when I noticed Brian Adams and Kevin Nash walking in the door. I got out my items and both men walked up towards us. I tried to flag them down. Adams walked around the room looking for a good table, but Nash stopped and signed for us, understandably miffed (probably because Jesse and I were disturbing him from private time). I asked Nash if, when they arrest him, if they just cuff him then uncuff him when they get to the back and let him go from there, and he just snorted, "Yeah" before going to Adams. We heard them say that they better not sit behind us because it would be too hard to get out. So they took a booth about 20 feet from us to the right. A mob of kids came in and got autographs from both men, and both men were pretty snippity.
A few minutes later, in came Buff and Scott Steiner. Scott walked all the way around the room to ignore everybody in the restaurant, but Buff walked past us to go to the table. On the way, he noticed us and remembered us from earlier and said hi. About this time, Nash is brought a bottle of wine and he is pouring it for all four men. Jesse and I pay our tab, and we walk over to the entryway of their section. We got their attention and thanked them for a great show and wished them luck. All four either smiled and/or nodded. What a way to cap off my first WCW/nWo show!!!!
Tim K.: In the early '80s I was between my sophomore and junior years of college when I went to a wrestling show in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to see the original Shiek wrestle Luis Martinez, two guys I watched as a kid.
After the show I saw the guy who was the Shiek's manager at the time and told him I was an aspiring journalist and volunteered my services to the wrestling business. He took my name and number and invited me to dinner. So I'm at the restaurant with the Shiek and a bunch of local wrestlers no one has ever heard of before or since. We ended up talking about the old days at Detroit's Cobo Arena and all the old favorites: Tex McKenzie, Pampero Firpo, the Stomper, Fred and Wild Bull Curry, Lord Layton, Mark Lewin, etc.
A few days later I get a call from the manager who asks if I was interested in taking a weekend trip with he and the Shiek. Of course, I said.
So away the three of us went to a series of shows in southern Ontario. He talked about wrestling in Japan and in Toronto and all the great venues of the world. I once asked about the "authenticity" of the sport and he threatened to put me in the trunk.
During the trip we had a BBQ at the Canadian Wildman's cottage, a very nice place with a lot of memorabilia and old wrestling magazines. While paging through one issue with a story of how nasty the Shiek was, he walked by and I told him he wasn't all that mean. He said not as long as we're friends, then asked if I wanted that status changed. I said the status quo was just fine, thank you very much.
The shows I saw that weekend were exciting -- I met Martinez, Chris Tolos, Al Costello of the Fabulous Kangaroos and a few more of the guys I grew up watching -- but sad since the venues were not much more than high school gyms. These guys were bona fide legends, hall of famers by anyone's measuring stick and they were relegated to these small indy shows.
But I spent quality time with my favorite wrestler of all time, the original Shiek. And much to my surprise, he was a very nice guy. What a thrill!!
Kurt K.: I had a brush with greatness in 1994 that may have been better than I thought at the time. My friend and I had attended a WCW card in Milwaukee and Johnny B. Badd fought The Honky Tonk Man in the opening match. My friend and I gave Johnny B. a few rude gestures as he shot off his glitter gun and when he and Honky fought by us outside the ring (we were in the second row).
Well, at the end of the show we saw that the people still in the arena were swarming over by someone in the corner. It was Mr. Mero himself, and I got him to autograph my program, while wondering if he had noticed me earlier in the show, showing that I thought he was "number one". But the best part of this is that my friend and I were talking about this the other day and he reminded me that Mero was with a really beautiful woman while signing autographs. Could I have been mere feet away from Sable too? I was also dissed by Bob Uecker at a Milwaukee Brewer game once, but that's another story...
Nicci N.: I was at the WCW World Wide tapings at Universal Studios on April 3-5. I was in the audience on the first day for the first 3 shows. I had a sign that said.."Kidman, I love u" and David Penzer pointed it out to Kidman. So, he asked the people working there if I could be moved closer to where he could see me, so they did. Then after the 3rd show, I got backstage and met Kidman, Saturn, Raven, etc... They were all real cool and real nice guys. Kidman told me where they were going to be at that night and asked me to go, so I did and hung out with them. I ended up hanging out with them for the next two days they were here. They are all very nice and very funny, I had really enjoyed myself.
Brian M. and Paul R.: We were at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, MN playing blackjack. The dealer at our table pointed out the man at the ATM was Curt Hennig! We finished our hand and realized that we were right behind Curt and his wife. My roommate Paul yelled out "Curt Hennig!". Curt spun around and looked pissed, saying only "WHAT?". Paul said "Can I just shake your hand?" We explained that we were very big fans and he was a really friendly guy. He even followed us into the high stakes black jack area. He played on the same table as us! After a few hands, he moved to his own table. We lost some money tonight, but it was all worth it.
Shawn C.: I was in Panama City Beach for Spring Break in 1997 and during that time WCW had their first Spring Break Out. They had a lot of the wrestlers at Club LeVela promoting Nitro for several days before the event, and a lot of the wrestlers stayed in town a few days after Nitro. After Nitro, a lot of the wrestlers were hanging out and partying. Ric Flair was at the bar in a suit and was always surronded by young ladies and was in full character, with his "Whoos" and strutting around. He signed autographs for everyone and acted just like he does on TV. Buff Bagwell was by the far the coolest and we talked to him for a while about working out. He said the laziest person he ever trained with was Ron Simmons, and one of the most dedicated was Lex Luger. Whenever Scotty Riggs came too close, he said he had to move to a different location because he shouldn't be seen near him, since they were feuding. Ted DiBiase was also hanging around, but refused to sign any autographs. Other wrestlers that were present were Scott Norton (who was also very cool), Kevin Nash (who seemed like he had a little bit to drink!), Jeff Jarrett, Dean Malenko (who wasn't very talkative but did sign an autograph), Scotty Riggs, Jim Powers, David Taylor, Alex Wright (who said the most he ever bench pressed was 315), Joe Gomez, and Terry Taylor (who was hanging out with Arn Anderson and Ted DiBiase). Jim Duggan was in a techno room dancing, which was a sight to see, and every now and then would yell out a "Hoooo"! Chris Jericho was around and very friendly. The next day we saw Chris and Joe Gomez walking the beach and talked to them. They said they had a few days off so they stayed in town.
A few days later, MTV filmed Fame Or Shame, and Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Syxx were judges. During breaks in filming, the crowd was really giving the Wolf Pac a lot of heat, and some people started throwing stuff. Something hit Nash and he jumped into the crowd and threw some kid around in the sand before security escorted the kid out of there. The Wolf Pac was really baiting the crowd and MTV crew seemed a little nervous! If you watched Fame Or Shame, you'll notice at the end of the show, The Wolf Pac aren't even shown because they had them leave a little early.
A year later, I was in Panama City again for Nitro, and ran into Buff again. He had a leg injury and showed us his massive bruise on his quad. Somebody else asked him what he thought of Stone Cold Steve Austin and he said that he thinks he great and does great interviews. By the way, he has a really hot looking girlfriend! Buff, Scotty Riggs, Lodi, Sickboy and some others laid out around the pool at Club Lavela during the Bikini and Wet-T shirt contests. Also walking around was Bill Goldberg, Dusty Rhodes (who was talking to Arn Anderson), and Jimmy Hart. After Nitro, WCW had a special party for some VIPs, and most of the Flock was there, as well as Disco Inferno, Glacier, and Diamond Dallas Page and Kimberly. DDP and Raven were at the bar together laughing and having a good time, and these two guys are suppose to be feuding. DDP had what looked like an icebag taped to his shoulder. Lodi went out to the dance floor and danced in a cage for a while, while the rest of them gathered around a TV and watched the Nirto replay. Raven and Saturn were with their girlfriends and were totally out of character. Raven was laughing during the Lodi vs. Goldberg match. The area most of them were in was closed to the public, but you could easily see what was going on since the walls were basically made of glass. The rest of WCW had left right after the show, so it wasn't as cool as the year before where everyone was around. I'll let you know what happens at next year's Spring Break Out!
TAZ 316: On Sat. April 18th,1998, my wife, my brother in law, his wife and I went to a bagel store in Seaford, Long Island. I was sitting in the car waiting for my brother to come out and I saw this guy come out of the bagel store and he was huge. I did not recognize him at first, but it was Taz from ECW. I did not want to bother him, but my wife didn't care and ran over to his car and said "Are you Taz from ECW?" He started laughing and said yes. She asked if he minded giving her husband an autograph as he is a big wrestling fan, and Taz said not at all. My wife waved me over.
I was looking for a pen and a piece of paper, of course I could not find anything, but I finally found a pen no paper. All I had was a brochure from the boat store where my brother just bought his new boat. So I took that. He started looking through the brochure at the boats. He did have any paper on him so he waited while we into the the store to get some he did not want to write on the boat brochure.
He said he was in town because he just had a house built in Massapequa. He was on his way to Philly for a card that night. When he was signing my autograph, my wife asked him if he got this a lot, where people come up to him for autographs. He said yes but he does not mind, he said you have to support the fans, he said if it was not for the fans he would not have a job. I thought that was really cool. I asked him if he was staying in ECW. He said his contract just ended but he re-signed. Taz had a long ride ahead of him to Philly but he did not rush us at all, he was very nice and polite, when my wife said to him "You guys do some sick shit there in ECW", he laughed It's nice to see a athlete spend some time and laughs with the fans because he wants to, not because he has to. My hat's off to a great guy.
Razor Russ: I went to a WWF event at the Nassau Colisseum in 1987. It was right after Wrestlemania III, with mostly "return" matches. Anyway, we got to the event early and all the kids (I was about 13) were invited to jump around in the ring and talk to the announcers and the crew. Howard Finkel was kind of pompous.
Once the show started, the wrestlers, when coming down the aisle to the ring, weren't in a good mood (I had a seat next to the railing by the entrance aisle about four rows back from ringside). Upon the Fabulous Moolah's entrance, a fan three rows behind me yanked at her breast. She jumped over the railing and started to brawl with the guy! King Kong Bundy wrestled in the next match and upon leaving, we all reached out to touch him as he was leaving (he really is enormous). Someone apparently "touched" him a little too hard and he wound up swinging for the fences like Moolah at some fan. Needless to say, it's too bad the WWF didn't have good 'ol Doug Dillenger to handle the crowd.
Rick: WCW was in Memphis a couple of months back for Thunder and a local club was hyping a visit by the wrestlers. I decided to go down and check the guys out with no intention of really bothering any of them. I get there and they have a "VIP" section roped off for them.
Eventually, a group of the guys come in. Initially it is Kidman, Jericho, Malenko, Guerrero, Riggs. Then as the night went on I later saw Nash, Hall, Disco Inferno, Goldberg (at a distance), Raven. I mean a lot, if not most, of the guys were there. I go to the men's room and there is Terry Taylor and Arn on they're way out the door. Arn is really a big guy (couple of inches taller than me....5'10") but BIG. I later spotted DDP at the bar (looks tall and big, but definitely has a "working man" look).
Later on, I'm at the bar and Disco Inferno and Hall are watching their match from Thunder on the monitor which was replaying the show. They looked to be critiquing their performance when a girl walked up and was talking to them. She actually asked them if what they were watching was "live" with them standing there before her.
The guys looked pretty buffed with only a few exceptions. Saturn looked pretty stacked and Raven looked like someone you would call the cops on if you saw him in your neighborhood. The noticeable no-shows that were in town that night were: Benoit, Savage, Hogan, Bischoff, Luger, Sting and Giant.
Jeff S. from Key Largo, FL: In the neighborhood where I grew up, we had this little park with a sandy beach. When I was in the fifth or sixth grade (1986 or so), a few friends and I were swimming and building sand structures.
An enormous man (to us) walks up with a blonde girl in a bikini. He had long, blonde hair and a nasty look on his face. It was Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. We were scared to bother him, but my friend Melissa walked up and asked him for his autograph. Then we all went up and asked. We didn't have anything to write on at all. Oh well. He talked with us for a while until his girlfriend said they had to go. He was great.
Chris T.: One of the things about Huntsville, Alabama is that there are only three gyms in town and one of them is Golds. The good thing is that the WCW usually makes it way up here about once every 4-5 months. August of 1997 there was a house show at the local Civic Center on Saturday. Sunday, I go to the gym at 2:30pm and as I walk into the door I am standing in front of Scott "Flash" Norton and Buff Bagwell who were thanking the owner of the gym for the workout. Buff was wearing an nWo shirt and Scott had some regular gym clothes on. It didn't click in my head who they were.
I head into the gym and directly for the restroom where I put my gear on. As I am walking the the restroom there is this guy staring at me with a "What the Hell are you looking at" expression on his face which I just ignored. Turn out, it was Scott Steiner. He was training arms (what else?). I got my gear on and headed into the center of the gym and looked around to see if I knew anyone. The lineup was Ric Flair (who was training shoulders), AA - Arn Anderson (who was working on chest and abs), Jeff Jarrett (leg day) and Scott Steiner.
All were very nice guys. Somehow I got the impression that Scott was often mobbed by fans (being a face and all) because he was very reserved when talking. I was waiting for a machine that AA was on so in between his sets I asked him how the neck was doing (he "retired" 2 weeks later). He said everything was fine except he couldn't feel his left hand. He also said that whatever I do, never have a neck operation. I found it interesting he did 315 bench for 15 reps without even blinking. They all looked to be around 235-240 in size except for Jarrett who I can swear is not past 220.
Flair was occasionally talking with Jarrett (I imagine about who was driving to the next town). They were feuding at the time. Jarrett had wire-rimmed glasses on (reported before in the "Brushes with Greatness"). Flair was working on shoulders next to a machine I was on. I saw Flair shaking people's hands in the gym. I asked him how he was doing and his reply was "Fine, my man".
AA then approached me and asked me about directions to the next town. He called me "sir" which I thought was funny. Being new to town, I had no idea but volunteered to find out for him. He said it was OK, and he would get a map and figure it out.
Scott was walking around the gym wrapping up the workout and looked lost so I asked him "What are you looking for big man?" to which he replied "Ab machines". I pointed out all of the machines in the place for him and he said "Thanks".
As I left, Flair and AA were outside looking at a map. It turns out that Kevin Nash, The Giant, Sean Waltman (Syxx), and Scott Hall were all at the gym training in the morning.
My other brush with greatness was Thunder came to our town a couple months ago. I was training at the gym (packed house of about 100 people) and as I was walking around I noticed this big guy doing legs. Turns out it was Rick Martel. No one noticed him (he had only been on TV for a few shows). I remembered him from the WWF. He was walking by me and I said "Welcome back, it's good to see you in the ring again". To which he said "Thank you, I really appreciate it" and he shook my hand.
After my workout I approached him and told him that I was a fan of his from way back when and if he didn't mind had a question for him. I asked him why they always arm drag from the left (don't ask why...it was a question that had bothered me for awhile). He said he didn't know but the Mexicans always did it on the right. I wished him best of luck against Booker T for the TV title that was coming up at the PPV. He said it was going to be a good match (he lost it).
The next day on Thunder, Martel was tossed through a door at the Civic Center by Saturn.
That Friday, after the show had left town, I found out that Terry Taylor and Kevin Sullivan were there in the morning.
Paul B.: My wife and I were meeting friends at a Cracker Barrell on I-4 near the Tampa area (Seffner if anyone lives around there). Our friends were late, and the wait for the restaurant was an hour, so I stepped outside to call family to explain that we would be late. Annie shopped inside the store.
I walked in, and made eye contact with a 6'2" - 6'4" person with a blond mustache, a bandanna, black sweats. When I saw this person, the children around him were cheering as they finally called their table (I suspect they waited an hour also.)
He rounded up the kids, and I asked my wife, "Does that guy look familiar?"
She put on her glasses and said, "NO...that's not?"
I assured her it was Hulk Hogan. He wore his nWo shirt, and most of the people in the restaurant really didn't know who the guy was, because why would HE be in CRACKER BARRELL?! He graciously took pictures, as his wife rounded up the group. His lawyer/agent (he made an appearance on Nitro, or Thunder when Nash put a perfomance bond on the Giant) was also there, and Hogan "choked" the host (he was about 14).
We left him alone since he was doing other stuff that normal people do, and not in character. I spoke with the host that he "choked" and it turned out they knew each other. Hogan worked out at his sister's gym in Clearwater. Hogan sponsors a youth hockey league, and the week after the Nitro at the Pensacola night club, his team played a tournament, and were on their way back to Clearwater. Our waitress said, "If you get a large meal and/or a large bill...it was a mistake. It should have gone to Hogan's party."
I replied, "Send him our check and see what he does..."
She never did...
Willie D.: I recently attended a conference in Cleveland, OH. At the airport, my friend picked me up and said that he had just saw a wrestler in the airport but that he did not know who he was. All he could say was that he was HUGE. We walked around looking for this wrestler and my friend points the guy out. It's the Giant and he is in VICTORIA SECRET.
Of course, I felt very funny approaching a man in such a delicate situation. I wanted a picture but I don't think that that was the appropriate time or place. I introduce myself and shook his hand. I am only 5" 10', 205, I felt like I was five years old again holding hands with my dad. He gave me a sheepish look, so I quickly exited stage left. He was still cordial to me, given the awkward circumstances.
Ryan M.: I've met a ton of wrestlers. They were all out of character which was the cool thing. I've met all the big names like Flair, Sting, etc. but the nicest guys I met were Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden. I met them in Savannah,GA outside the arena and they gave me autographs and posed for pictures. One great moment was when I saw Del Wilkes (The Patriot) with his mask off. He was wearing a WCW Crew t-shirt and thought he could get away with it...he was wrong. I went over to him and said,"Hey Patriot, can I get your autograph?" He looked around to check for other fans and said, "Sure!". Of course this happened before he took off the mask in the WWF.
A.D.: I recently attended TV Tapings for WCW Worldwide (I live half an hour from Universal). I had the opportunity to meet WCW stars such as Vincent (he looks bigger in person), Horace Boulder, and Norman Smiley, among others.
Before the show my friend and I got to see Nick Patrick. When asked by a young fan about his future in wrestling, Nick replied "I only wrestle with my conscience."
Probably the biggest thrill was meeting Bill Goldberg. While walking from the Worldwide arena to the parking lot, he was mobbed by fans and signed every autograph and took pictures upon demand. My friend and I managed to get a photo-op with Goldberg. The most interesting thing was when he was asked who the biggest dork in WCW was. Goldberg nonchalantly replied, "Disco Inferno."
Unfortuantely, there were some jerks. Curt Hennig and Brian Adams briskly walked past the crowd at the parking lot while we were with Goldberg. Mostly everyone ignored the two and Henning said something to Goldberg, in which he replied to Hennig, "Someone's got to do it." Curt was probably ticked at Goldberg for schmoozing with the fans.
All in all, my Worldwide experience was a fun one, and I recommend anyone who can get to Universal to go to a taping, which usually runs for a Fri-Sun weekend every three months or so. While the matches may suck (We were treated to Johnny Swinger vs. Evan Courageous), you learn more about how the shows are made.
Braves Fan: I went down to the Worldwide tapings in Orlando this past weekend. After watching three shows, I decided to go to the parking lot with my brothers. All the wrestlers were walking around out there. Most of them waved and said hi. All of Raven's Flock walked by. Very, very nice expect for Raven. Ultimo then walked by maskless. Meanwhile, Scotty Riggs and Jericho are playing poker with each other. They both said hi. I had to go get my other brother who was bying a t-shirt. When I came back Disco and Buff were there talking to my Mom, who absolutely hates wrestling. I got my picture with them. Extremely nice. Buff was great. Then Doug Dellinger came over and told us to leave. I started chanting "Attica" as he showed us out. Generally great guys.
T.B.: I just had to drop you a line and let you know that I and a couple of my nephews went to the granddaddy of them all up in Boston this past weekend, Wrestlemania WIV. This was the first time I had any ever attended any sort of wrestling event.
The seats were pretty decent, we were six rows off the floor in the far corner of the arena. Immediately to my right was what amounted to an extra entrance onto the floor. At various times throughout the night, I would look over and see various personalities, for instance I saw either Skull or Eight-Ball standing there watching a match. But funnier still, I saw Michael Cole, the one that replaced Todd Pettingill on at least two occasions on a cell phone just going off on someone. It just seemed kind of funny because the only role that I saw that he had at the event was getting turned down for an interview by DX.
Chris Lattier: It was about 1992 in Lawerenceville, Georgia (this is where Jake really lives, not in Stone Mountain), and I was in a local drugstore called "Big B Drugs". It was Valentines day and I was shopping when BAMM!!! this huge guy walked by me. I am serious, this guy really is about 6' 5" maybe even 6'6" and bone thin. This is when Jake was still in wrestling, a little bit after the blindfold match with Martel at WrestleMania 7. But anyways he was wearing a cheap windbreaker jogging suit. And his hair looked like rats had chewed it off, like usual. I saw him walk up to the counter and buy something. I never got the courage to say anything. I was only like in 5th grade.
Then about two years later when Jake had retired for a while I saw him at a Winn-Dixie store. Here is a juicy tidbit that not many people know - his hair was all shaved off. But it was him. I was pretty outspoken when I saw the 6'5" tall man wearing another cheap windbreaker jogging suit. I walked up to him and talked to him actually. I asked him when he was going to come back to wrestling and he said; "I don't know. Probably never!". But I saw him and talked with him for a while. I was sad to see that poorly put together gimmick that they gave him when he came back. But I saw him and talked to him. So that's that.
In about 1994 when Lex Luger was in WWF, I saw him in a Toys R' Us toys store buying his son a WCW wrestling buddy of Ric Flair. He was pretty big and muscular. I walked up and asked him, "How's it shakin'?". He simply replied "Fine". And that was the end of that. I went outside and spotted the supposed Chi-Town Native's (he really lives in the Atlanta area) car, or at least I thought I spotted it. It had spike on the tires and the car was just 2 Sweeeeetttt!!! But it ended up being some Japanese guys car!!!
Barry: On March 17th, after Diamond Dallas Page and Raven were on MTV Live, I was waiting outside to see if they would come out. So it's about 20 minutes after the show ends, and I'm ready to go home, when I see Raven waiting in the lobby. He sees me with my Raven t-shirt on, and motions for me to come in. So I do, and I get to talking to him. I get him to sign my shirt, and I ask him him if I can join the Flock. He laughs, and begins to say something, when DDP comes over to us and greets me. I get his autograph as well, and talk with them until they say they have to go. DDP gets into a Jeep, while Raven gets into some sort of minivan.
Scott at George Mason University: Hey, I'm a law student at GMU in Arlington, and was working out at a gym near there. At about 12:30 pm, everyone (which was about 15 people) turned around to stare at the entrance, so I did too. In walked a guy that looked like Hulk Hogan, only smaller. It turned out it WAS Hulk Hogan. Behind him was the Macho Man and Ed 'Disciple' Leslie. You have no idea how strange this was, because Hogan and Savage were in full uniform. Two 45-year-old men dressed like cartoon characters. Hogan was wearingblack spandex pants, that belt, an 'nWo' shirt, wrestling boots, and that idiotic bandana.
Savage was dressed just like Hogan, only he wasn't wearing an 'nWo' shirt (some cut-off from a gym I've never heard of), and sunglasses. I kid you not, Savage actually worked out while wearing sunglasses. Leslie, I guess, is operating on a more limited budget; he was wearing baggy sweat pants and a sweat shirt. Leslie's weight lifting belt was a hold-over from his Titan days...on the back of the belt it said 'Barber'.
None of the people at the gym bothered the wrestlers -- they were amused, but that was about it. Hogan walked by me and I said, "How are you doing?" Hollywood replied, "Not bad, brother!" Hogan isn't that big in person; I'm about 6 feet and 180, and I figure Hogan is about 6 ft 4 (tops) and about 230. Macho looked the oldest in the group (his upper-arms were really beginning to sag).
At one point, Hogan and Leslie were talking, and Savage was sitting by the benchpress, so I asked him if he needed a spot. Savage looked at me and said. "No thank you, my brothers have me covered, but thanks anyway. Oh, yeah!" In full character, and using that goofy voice. It was kind of cool, though, to watch him perform in front of you.
The wrestlers weren't going all out; I guess they didn't want to be too drained before 'Thunder'. They benched about 150 pounds in free weights, and then just used machines, so you couldn't tell how much they were lifting. By the way, Hogan's dark-colored beard is real and not painted on -- that's authentic stubble.
Andrew: I went to SuperBrawl Vll and I had front row seats. My friends and I decided to look around during the Juventud/Jericho match. We made it as far as the entrance to the ring thanks to a nice secruity guard. From there we watched the rest of Superbrawl. And we got autographs from everyone who fought that night. I have to say Sting and the Outsiders are the nicest guys I've ever met.
Stephen W.: Way back in 1988, I used to wait tables. One night around closing, Kerry Von Erich and three of his friends came in to eat. He was very nice. We were having a football game against a rival restaurant and I asked him to play. He had to decline because he was heading up to New York. Another time he came in the restaurant and spent a good 30 minutes in the ladies room with his shirt off signing autographs.
John Poppe: I have been lucky enough to have had two brushes with greatness. First, back on May 3rd, 1997, my friend Eric and I were walking down a hotel hallway in Chicago. There must have been a local WWF show because as we were walking, we saw about five wrestlers. As we turned a corner, I bumped into none other than the Undertaker himself. He had a sleeveless black tee-shirt on and a pair of sunglasses. He looked down at me and said "sorry". My friend and I were in awe. Then he started to talk to us. He sounded like a very intelligent guy. After about five minutes he said he had to leave. We got pictures with him and autographs. It was awesome.
That same day, we were on our way to a martial arts expo at the Rosemont Horizon. My friend's dad was the announcer so we got to meet all of the celebs. At an intermission, he even introduced us to none other than Chuck Norris himself. I even got him to sign my tee-shirt. I don't know what that has to do with wrestling, but a few years ago I remember him when he was at Wrestlemania.
Dan M.: This may not count, but I go to Georgia Tech and there is this sports bar right up the road from us where we go to watch Sunday football. Well, anyway, we go up there every Sunday and you won't believe who else is up there every Sunday, but Disco Inferno. He is in some kind of football fantasy leaque cause he is always keeping score and is apparantly pretty good friends with the owner. The reason I say that it may not count is that I don't really want to bother him while he is watching football since I am sure he gets swarmed enough on working days. I don't know, though, after watching him and Goldberg seeing the kids at Duke maybe I will go talk to him.
Joe D.: It was around 1987 and I was 5 years old when I went to see Saturday Night's Main Event at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. There was a really boring match on and I wanted something to eat so I had my mom take me to the concession stand. On our way back my mom shouted "Look, there's the Macho Man". At that time he wore a big royal blue glittering robe and was accompanied by Miss Elizabeth.
So I ran up to him as he was getting into an elevator and got in with him. He put his hand on my head and said,"How's it going, little man?".
Another thing that happened to me was when I recently went to a RAW is WAR taping at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Hunter Hearst Helmsley had just beaten up a jobber and was leaving the ring when Mankind attacked by being in disguise as a cameraman. They battled into the crowd as the camera's followed. When they came past me, I was on the television.
Terry W.: I had the good fortune of having stayed at the same hotel as all of the WCW wrestlers, the Nitro Girls and the rest of Ted Turner's WCW staff this past Saturday night in Mobile, AL. I had no idea that the pay per view was broadcasting from down there - I just happened to be attending a meeting at the Adams Mark Hotel. Anyway, my first clue was when I rode down on the elevator with Scott Hull. Minutes later I was encassed in another elevator with two of the Nitro Girls and several "stage hands."
Later that evening I briefly spoke with Macho Man and the Stinger who were lounging in the hotel lobby along with an assortment of other wrestlers including, Eddie Guerrero, The Giant, Booker T and others who I didn't recognize. Sting and Macho Man were very cool accomodating an autograph request as well as those of just about everyone who figured out who they were.
Casey D.: My brush with greatness happened a few years back. Chris Adams lived in my hometown and I ran into him quite often. He actually lived a few streets over and I used to mow his lawn. My other story is Del Wilkes, The Patriot, lived across the street from me. I mowed his lawn, too. This was when Global was "the" federation in Dallas. My father used to work out with David and Kerry Von Erich when they were big in Texas.
Ken: This isn't that great, but I went to a WWF House Show in Detroit on 3/7. I got Dave Hebner's autograph, and Tom Brandi's as well. Tom might be a crappy wrestler (for now), but he's really nice. He was even wearing a t-shirt that said "U-M: National Champions 1998". He said to look for an angle about him and DX coming up later in the year. Also, Henry Godwin yelled at me and called me an a-hole, and the Rock gave me the finger.
Kerry H.: I went to Wheeling, WV, on March 3rd. They were having a RAW is WAR taping, so I figured I'd try to get some pics and autographs. I wound up greating some great ones. Pat Patterson, Tony Garea, Jerry Brisco, etc. When I saw Kevin Kelly get out of his car, I figure what the heck. So I ask him, and he says "You were here last year, weren't you?" I said yeah, then he said "You had those two pictures of Mr. Perfect." Then he went to describe exactly the pictures I had!! Me and his friends mouth dropped open that he remembered over a year ago.
Then the best part of the day was Owen Hart, Cactus Jack & Steve Blackman were headed towards their car. I said "hi" to Owen and said I had something to show him. He told me to get in the back. I thought I misunderstood him, until he said it again!! So I got in and showed him this old record cover from Germany, when he worked for Otto Wanz, that he was on. His mouth dropped and he showed Cactus Jack. Then Owen asked if I wanted to tag along while they go to the gym and work out. I said thanks, I took up enough of your time. And he said next time to bring the pictures of my collection. It was a totally cool day.
Pat C. from Newport, RI: I go to almost every ECW show in the Boston area, and most of the time, we lurk around after the show to say hello to the boys.Some of them actually remember us from show to show and stop and chat for a minute or two, say what's up, and so on.
Anyhow, after a show last October, Axl Rotten was hanging around in the lobby and I walked over and started talking to him about a few things we both enjoy, like the Japanese "garbage" stuff and his recent participation in Ian Rotten's "King Of The Death Matches" tournament in Indiana (both Axl and Balls Mahoney actually showed me their fresh scars. COOL!). I asked him about the "Bonebreakers Wrestling Training Center" shirt he was wearing, how I could get one, etc. He said that he didn't have any more with him, but that he would have some with him at the next show, which was in December.
Well, lo and behold, six weeks go by, the next show comes along, and of course we go and have a great time as usual. After the show ends, I'm just wandering around the food court, and there's someone tapping me on the shoulder: "Hey buddy, wait right here for a second. I've got something for you." It was Axl. About a minute later, he comes back with the t-shirt he had promised earlier. HE REFUSED TO TAKE ANY MONEY FOR IT!
I don't know, I just thought that that was really cool of him to do that. I guess I'm an Axl mark for life now, and it's a pretty safe bet that he's got a tape coming his way next time I see him.
Ed D.: On March 3rd, 1998, a few friends and I went to RAW taping in Wheeling, WV. We had heard previously that a lot of wrestlers go to the Denny's that just outside of Wheeling after ever show. We got there, and lo and behold, there were a few wrestlers there. Skull/8-Ball/Road Dog/Gunn/Shamrock were the first that I saw. Both DOA members left quite early, while the others stayed. A few youngsters were asking for autographs from Gunn/Shamrock/Armstrong. Armstrong was having serious arm problems, and didn't look to feel too well. I told he and Gunn that they put on a good show, and then they left.
Shamrock was snubbing a lot of people the last five minutes or so. A friend of mine next to me told me that Matt Hardy was at a different table. I walked over and saw that Jeff Hardy/Venom/Paul Diamond were also there with Matt. I talked to all four of them for about 10 minutes. They were all very sociable, and polite. The main topic of conversation was about independents and how they are trying to make it in the WWF. It was really cool because they weren't in character. Just shows to prove, that the guys who haven't made it huge don't have as much of an ego as wrestlers that have made it big.
Joe S.: I work at a toy store in Marietta, GA, where Buff is from and I even went to Sprayberry High School. But, I had a brush with him last year about Christmas time and shook his hand and got his autograph. He was real friendly. I even got him to go through my register to check out and, guess what he was buying, a WCW vs. NWO: World Tour guide book for N64. That was funny.
Joey R.: I was standing in the line I was gonna get some nachos when I told told me Prince Iaukea was standing not too far away. He is absolutely huge, with massive arms and a massive chest. So, I just stood there for a couple minutes looking at him and when I said "h"i and shook his hand he asked me where I got my Hart Foundation shirt. He said it was nice and he really liked my HF hat so we talked and I had pictures taken with him.
I talked to him for an hour and missed the second half of Thunder but I didn't care. He was really nice and a good guy we talked about him being discovered by Joe and Dean Malenko and being trained there. Kevin Sullivan gave him his name and he said Hacksaw was a really nice guy.
So, he said he enjoyed talking to me and he loved to come to Columbus, OH. I hope he does again 'cause I wanna talk to him some more. It was a great night.
Nick V.: I went to the January 4th Extreme Championship Wrestling show in Indianapolis, Indiana. There I bought Beulah's, Tommy Dreamer's, and Sandman's t-shirt since they were only $15 each. All of them were signing autographs and I got each of their shirts signed. Also the same night I met Ballz Mahoney and he was cool. Sandman was really drunk, but what else is new?
The Saint: This last weekend WCW was doing some sort of promotion by doing wrestling shows to smaller towns (not that Kearney's a small town with over 30,000). Anyway my friend and my nephew got to see the "King of All Jobbers" Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Hector Guerrero, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts in person.
She says all were VERY nice and tried to talk with "serious marks" while they were there for input on what people wanted.
Justin: This isn't a much, compared to other stories. But I decided to send it in anyway. Ok...it was on the Groton, CT Submarine Base (I'm a military kid). A local promotion, the New England Pro Wrestling Federation, (I think), was putting on a show at the Gym called "Brawl at the Base."
Anyway, my friends and I won tickets off a radio station and went to the event. The card was full of names I never heard of....except this big guy called "The Ox." (He turned out to be injured.) There was also a "Mystery Wrestler" on the card. It turned out to be Doink the Clown. I could tell it was the ex-WWF one, because of the way he wrestled.
After the show he was signing a few autographs and I approached him in the ring. I got to test out the ropes and climb the turnbuckles and stuff. Then I asked him to bodyslam me. It was pretty cool. I got his autograph, along with "The Ox." Like I said before, It's not much, but it was very cool at the time.
David R.: In August of 1996, I was in the Minneapolis, MN airport and I ran into (literally) none other that Kevin Nash. I do not know how I did not see him coming but I didn't. He was with Scott Hall and Booker T in an airport bar awaiting their respective flight. I believe they were on the way to "Road Wild". I talked to the three of them and the reception I received was great. They all talked about what was going on what was coming up for them.
After they graciously sign autographs for me, I returned to my gate amazed at the size of Kevin Nash, and the politeness of Scott and Booker.
Gary K.: I was working in Cedar Rapids, IA, for the months before and after Souled Out. It just so happened that the PPV event was held in the arena that is attached to the hotel that I lived in for 6 months. I got to meet such wrestlers as: The Outsiders, the Nasty boys, Syxx, Hall, Nash, The Giant, Mongo (and Debra), Miss Elizabeth, Bischoff, Scott Norton, Vincent, DiBiase, and others. I must say that Liz and Debra are two of the nicest celebs I ever met. One piece of advice: Don't tell Vincent and Scott Norton that the Boston Celtics' basketball court looks stupid!
The coolest part of the whole thing was when I noticed Debra McMichael sitting alone in the lounge as Mongo was B.S.ing with the other wrestlers. I walked over to Debra and asked for an autograph (which she very nicely obliged) and was talking to her for a moment explaining to her that I was from Chicago and was a big Mongo fan for years. Next thing I know, Mongo has me in a headlock and says: "You know what this is? It's a headlock!" I think Debra thought he was really pissed because she started yelling, "Steven, he's from Chicago!" Mongo let up and went back to his buddies.
Jeff: This isn't really much but I thought I would send it anyway, I live in the Atlanta area in a fairly wealthy neighborhood. One day me and my friend were finishing a game of golf when who do we see pull up but Lex Luger!! You never actually grasp how big these guys are until you see them. Anyway, we figured he gets sick of annoying fan, so we just walked by and said "hi" to him like a normal person. Even though we didn't really get talk to him, it was worth it......who would have thought he played golf!?!
Jennifer C. from Richmond, VA: In 1990, there was a federation called the Virginia Wrestling Assocation. They used to have a cable call in show on the local network of the Comcast Cable system. One night they had Sam Houston and Baby Doll on to promote their upcoming card. I think Sam was the Heavyweight champion at the time.
They had a trivia question - what was the first title Sam ever won? First correct caller got two tickets to the show. I called in and won the tickets. I spoke with Baby Doll while she was doing an autograph session and introduced myself. She was really, really nice. When she found out I was the one who won the tickets, she made sure I met Sam after his match. I got both of their autographs and a picture taken with him. When he smiles, you can tell that he related to Jake.
Steven S.: Way back in the days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, my aunt Bonnie worked at a convenience store near the local high school where the NWA was having a show. After the card, around 9:30, a mobile home pulls up with Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, and couple of other guys (can't remember the names). Ric and Sarge are stocking for the drive to the next town and Ric bought a six pack and a couple of tins of sardines with some saltines. Sarge just turns around to him and says, "Ric if my old lady smells those sardines she's gonna kick both of our a**es!"
Paula: I was at a Charleston, WV event in 1996. I went to the pool and saw a referree (I think Randy Anderson) right after I left the looby where the Outsiders were signing into the hotel. I got their autograph. About an hour later, The Nasty Boys signed an autograph for me. I was suprised everyone was real nice.
Uncle Jesy: I was at the Nitro in Macon just before Christmas with some friends, and I after we left, we were all in a line of traffic when I look out the window and see Kevin Nash. He is kind of hard to miss; he was standing next to a van with La Parka, Juventud Guerrera, and a few other mexican wrestlers, all out of costume. The van was for the lucha libre wrestlers, but they had locked their keys in the car. They were standing in a circle arguing, and La Parka was off a few feet away swinging on a tree branch (the luchadores wear masks because they are ugly as sin, not because of tradition).
Nash was just standing there, next to his rental car, which had a bunch of girls sitting on it; maybe he is sort of a ladies man, I don't know. Anyway, the luchadores were trying to get into their van, when Konnan came strolling up out of knowhere and whipped a coat hanger out from under his shirt. He offerred to get the Mexicans into their van, which they agreed to, and after a while, he managed to get the door unlocked. I felt kind of sorry for the luchadores, because four of them have to share one car, while Nash got one to himself, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I also got Juventud's aughtograph.
Logorrhea7: I had two "brushes with greatness" in the last five days.
One day I was down on South Street in Philadelphia and I went into a store. While I was at the counter I looked over and there was Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGuillicuddy. My jaw dropped and I pointed them out to my girlfriend. She knows how much I love Beulah so she told me to go over to get an autograph. So I went over and asked her for the autograph. Tommy said "Everyone wants Beulah's autograph"...he asked me if I wanted him to sign any thing and I just said "If you want".
My second brush with greatness was at a local mall. I was standing with my sister in line at Wendy's and in front of us was Stevie Richards. I wanted to say hi or something to him, but I couldn't. There was a mall security guard harrassing him about Raven and Stevie was obviously extremely pissed about that. The security guard actually called in backup when Stevie told him to get out of his face.
Alex W.: After the Thursday Thunder show here in Oklahoma City, my friend and I went to the Marriott to meet the wrestlers. Ric Flair was buying everyone drinks and ran up a tab of 160 bucks. My friend and I said "whooo" and Flair tried doing his strut but almost fell over in the process. We met Sting, Buff, Mortis, Raven and his Flock, Mongo, DDP, you name it we saw them and got autographs.
I have to say Duff was the coolest out of them all. He was very friendly my friend and I chatted with him for about half an hour.
Anonymous: My Dad and I were at Rummage-o-Ramma waiting for an autogragh and at the end the Undertaker walked over to me and said, "Let me autogragh that figure for you" and he signed it. He bought me a soda, too.
Steve W.: WCW is in my town (Beaumont, TX) for Thunder tonight (2/5/98). I am a member of the local World Gym and was there working out this morning as usual, when who do I see but Kevin Sullivan. He may be short, but his legs are huge. He was very nice to talk to, though I seemed to hit a sore spot when I said that I heard on the net that he was back booking. This is what he said about the net, and the dirt sheets : "About 20% of what you read is true. You can read those things and right away know who gave them the information. It's these guys who haven't been in the business long, who haven't traveled for years on the road and paid their dues. If you give them information you're a good guy, but if you don't you're a bad guy." Very insightful stuff. Anyway, we shook hands and I went back to my workout. Ten minutes later who walks in but Bill Goldberg ! Let me tell you, he is huge. We spoke briefly about his career, and his on-going training. He said "you haven't seen anything yet" when I asked him about new moves he was working on. He was very approachable, and extremely polite. As I was leaving, I saw Lodi and Sick Boy heading into the gym, but didn't get a chance to speak with them.
Mike R.: I know this story is a few years old, but I'm new to the 'net, and I thought someone might find it interesting now.
It was after a WCW Battlebowl PPV in Pensacola, FL. I had taken my 5 yr old brother to the show, and we walked over to the hotel lobby across the street in hopes of meeting some of the wrestlers. Well, they were ALL there, and they were all nice and all autographed my brother's poster. His poster said "Sid Rules", and it later turned out that this was the weekend after the Arn Anderson stabbing incident, so this must have raised a few eyebrows but they signed it anyway. I remember Vader was literally sitting on two bar stools, he was so huge. He then picked my brother up by his head and said, "How's it going, little dude?" or something like that; freaked him out and thrilled him all at the same time!
The thing I most remember was talking to Sting. After he signed an autograph for my brother, I offered to buy him a beer. He seemed taken aback and politely declined, and then said something like "I can't believe how nice people are down here."
I replied, "Well, it's just Southern hospitality. You guys are based in Atlanta; don't you get this all the time?"
"No," Sting said, "Usually they want to pick a fight with me."
I guess that's why the wrestlers tend to hang out all together---in case someone starts trouble. It made me kind of sad that these guys drive around the country night after night, busting their butts to put on a good show for the people, and can't feel comfortable enough to stop somewhere for a drink without looking over their shoulder.
That memory really stuck with me, and gave me a new appreciation for those who live this sort of life. How they still manage to be so polite and free with autographs in spite of such treatment makes them all the more admirable, heels and faces alike.
Well, I know this was kind of a long story, but I always found it to be an enlightening experience.
Al from Sewickley, PA: I grew up a big wrestling fan and during the summer of 1997, I finally went to my first wrestling show, RAW Is War, at the Civic Arena.
I didn't get a chance to meet the wrestlers but I saw them get in their rental cars. First, I saw Brian Christopher and his boys. Since Brian is a big Steeler fan, he had a nice Steeler jacket on and did his annoying laugh and went off.
Next, I believe it was Golddust (who isn't popular) and Luna speeding off. Next was Stone Cold, who did his usual fists in the air on his trunk and left. And last was Rocky Maivia and D-Lo Brown in a cadillac. And Rocky was his usually cocky self. I tried to see DX, but they left in a limo.
WESP: While sitting in the Yucatan Liquor Stand in Tampa, FL in 1994, and enjoying a particularly good daquari, I realize that I am sitting next to none other than his Madness, Randy Poffo, aka Macho Man Randy Savage.
I started talking to him as a person and not a fan, and found him very receptive, respectable, and thoroughly good humored. All in all, this chance meeting reenforced my support of this entertainment.
Stone Cold: I've had two brushes with greatness. First was at a local restaurant after a show in Southern Indiana. The place was empty and my family and I sat down and ordered a pizza when who should walk in but The Junk Yard Dog!! I got really excited and asked if he'd eat with us. He said sure and sat down we talked and ate for about half an hour until he said he had to go. I got a picture of my brother and me with him.
My second was at a USWA show when I was really young (probably 5 or 6). I sat in the first row and had a little championship belt. In the last match, my two favorite wrestlers at the time Jeff Jarrett and Jerry "the King" Lawler came by. Jeff stopped and asked if he could use my belt I said sure so he took it to the ring with him. At the end of the match, he smacked his opponent (don't remember who it was) in the head with it. Yeah it was corny but it was awsome at the time. When he gave it back, part of the belt was ripped but it was signed by both of them. I still have it to this day.
Larry Evans at Georgia Tech: I was at the January 5th Monday Nitro at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Five friends and myself arrived about an hour early and hung out in the parking lot chatting with various rednecks and having a good time. One of my friends pointed out James Vandenburg, who was walking to a car in the parking lot. Just before he got away clean with no one noticing him, we all yelled "JAMES!" like a bunch of drunk hicks. He smiled and got in the car and read a newspaper for about twenty minutes until we went in. When we walked past his car we were ragging on him for having to park in the public parking lot and asked him where Mortis and Wrath were.
Anonymous: I sent in a story about Lex Luger recently. I work part time as a freelance wrestling photographer. Here's another story that I thought some of your readers might enjoy.
Several years ago I was working the old Continental Wrestling Federation territory. Yokozuna was in the area at the time but he wrestled as Kokina. One night after the matches in Knoxville we all went out to a local country and western bar. We sat around talking about the show and different company business. Lora, the ring girl at the time, motioned for me to look at the dance floor. Yoko, then Kokina, was line dancing!! He didn't know the steps but was having a blast!! Whenever I see anyone line dancing I can't help but think of the night Rodney brought the house down in Knoxville!!!
Mike in Boston: I was flying home for Christmas break from college. I arrived at Logan International Airport (Boston) early and got in line to check baggage. I looked over into the short line of First Class ticketholders and saw BOBBY "The Brain" HEENAN. He was wearing normal clothes and had a Hard Rock Cafe (NY) jacket on. He also had his glasses on. Nobody in line knew him but me. I greeted him and wished him a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. He did the same. Very cool. He checked in and waved as he headed into the USAirways Gold Club and that was that. Airports are probably the best places to spot any kind of celebrity.
Matthew M.: When WCW was in Knoxville, TN for an August (I don't remember the date) house show, me, my brother Brent, my friend Andrew, and my dad were driving to the arena. We had just got of James White Parkway when we stopped at a red light and we saw the Steiner Brothers. We yelled over at them and they said "hi". It wasn't much, but it was cool.
Dan R.: My friend Clint and I went to the January Second ECW Detroit show. After we got tickets, we stuck around talking to one of the guys who helped promote the old Sabu/Cactus Jack Matches in the NWA. After talking to him for a minute, who do we see walking out of a motor home, but the Human Highlight Reel, Sabu!! I tried to say hi, but in keeping with his gimmick, he just nodded and kept on walking.
After they opened the doors, some of the ECW Wrestlers were signing autographs and pictures. I walked up to The Sandman, and he looked at a piece of paper I gave him and said, "What the hell is this?" I told him it was my Driver's Ed Certificate. He says, "I ain't giving you a beer tonight."
Later, I caught up with Chris Candido. He signed my program and actually apoligized for the terrible show and was sorry they couldn't do their best because of all the injuries the guys had. He is a genuinely nice person. The line of the night from a fan during the Rob Van Dam/Doug Furnas match, "Hey Doug, if you lose, you have to drive home with Sid!" Even after all the wrestler injuries, it was a great show.
Anonymous: I've been fortunate enough to work as a freelance photographer in the wrestling business for over ten years now. I've had the opportunity to meet some really nice wrestlers and some really "not so nice" ones. I have to say that Lex Luger is one of the nicest guys I've met. A lot of people say that he isn't very nice at all but he has always been nice to me. One of my favorite Lex stories - Knoxville, TN, early 90's when Lex was World Champion. Lex was wrestling Barry Windham. I was shooting photos ringside. Lex is choking Windham on the ropes and I took the photo. Lex looks at me and says, " Was it a good one?" I just shook my head. Lex gave me great photos that night. As I was leaving he came out the door and said bye and told my friend and I to have a safe trip. He's been nice everytime he sees me.
Charlie of Chan and Charlie: I have yet another brush that I cannot believe I forgot to send you. Last February, the WWF did a house show in Knoxville, TN. The first in about eight years.
Anyway, I wasn't going to go, but I decided to enter my name in a contest being run by Hooters. If your name was drawn, you got free tickets, but if you were the grand prize winner, you got front row tickets and a backstage pass to meet Sunny. Matt, Chan, our friend Jennifer, and myself all entered our names into the drawing.
About two weeks later Chan and Jennifer found messages on their answering machines informing them that their names had been drawn for free tickets. On my machine there was a message informing me that I won the GRAND PRIZE!!!! WhooHoo! (as Homer Simpson would say).
We get to the show and I chose Matt to go backstage with me. We get backstage in time to see Golddust, Marlena, and Ron Simmons. But out came my favorite duo, Sunny. She autographed a picture for me (To Charlie, Stay Cool, Love $unny). She shook Matt's hand and then mine, and let's just say that our hands weren't the only things shaking. She asked if I had a camera, but Dooh! I left it in the car. What a woman. That's my report, I'll be back for another after WCW rolls through Knoxville in the future.
Jak: This past June, I attended a WWF house show at the Nassau Coliseum with a friend of mine. After the show, we went over to the Marriott next door, to get a few drinks and what not. So, while we were at the bar, we see this big guy go behind and get a beer. Lo and behold, it was Vader. So my friend goes over to him and they engage in this long conversation.
Meanwhile, Dustin Rhodes had come into the lobby, and started giving out autographs. When he sat down at the bar, I managed to get the stool next to him, and talked with him for a good 10 minutes, about the people in the bar. He was looking around the bar at what looked to me to be the ladies. When I asked him what about Terri, he responded with "I can look, but I know I go home to the best damm woman around".
We talked a little about wrestling, about how he had to make Golddust into a believable face, which was difficult sometimes, and just talked in general. I also met the Godwinns, who were pretty cool, Ken Shamrock, who seemed as dorky in person as his whole "IN the zone" character, and Billy Gunn, who didnt say much but signed an autograph. I still have the menu signed by all those guys.
Lars: I don't know how great this is, but my sister got an autograph of Nick Bockwinkel (former AWA champion) for me as a Christmas present. In the summers, my sister works at a golf course in Minnesota. Nick was there at a tournament and she says, "I'm sorry to bother you, but my brother was a big fan..." He says, "No problem, if it wasn't for fans I wouldn't be here." He asked her questions about me and she told him we used to wrestle quite a bit as kids and that I wrestle with my two young daughters. (My 5 year old has perfected the elbow smash!)
Anyway, here's what the autograph says, "Steve, don't make the girls wrestle, Nick Bockwinkel." I don't know what he's doing now but he's a real nice guy.
Kris: I live in Calgary, home of the Hart family, so I've been able to see most of the top wrestlers today, before they were anybody. If you live in Calgary, chances are you've seen a major wrestler on the streets at one time or another. They like a few of the local restaurants when they're in town, and a couple of the local gyms.
Anyway, I was at the local Blockbuster, looking for something to rent, and who should walk in...Bret Hart! I didn't want to be the typical fan and lose it, so I cruise over to where he's looking at videos, and I just start looking there too. I reach out and grab Wrestlemania X, hand it to him and say, "you should get this, it's pretty cool". He shook his head and laughed, said no thanks, he'd already seen that one. He liked that one, and told me so. That's pretty much it.
Well, it might not really count as greatness, but I did have Bruce Hart for a substitute gym teacher in Jr. High. Just like another teacher, telling you what to do.
Steve: This brush isn't about me but my mother of all people, the one who always bitched about my brother and me always beating the hell out of each other after watching some wrestling show. It happened back on the early 80's at the Kansas City airport.
My mom and stepdad were on their way to Las Vegas for a little vacation and were standing in line at the X-ray machine. While they were waiting for their bags to come through, they hear a loud alarm go off. She turns to look and it is none other than Ric Flair who had made the alarm go off. It was his World Heavyweight belt! He made a big thing of taking the belt out and holding it high, all to the delight and cheers of those around him.
Once on the plane, it just so happens that who is sitting next to my mom than none other than the Nature Boy himself. He started making small talk with her about her trip and all and the next thing my mom knew, Ric was asking her if she would like a personal tour of Vegas since this was her first time.
Now my step-dad was going bat shit, telling her to go and all...basically just marking out big time, but she politely told Ric no, that her husband probably wouldn't understand once he calmed down. She said he got a big laugh out of this. She told me they talked the rest of the way there and that he was really nice, but rather arrogant. I got a kick outta that.
Steve T. at Texas Tech: I have several brushes with wrestlers. As a kid my parents took me to wrestling events in Lubbock, TX, so I was a huge fan of the Funks and Andre The Giant. Well, one time when I was very small (I want to say about 5 or 6), my dad and I went to the rest room during one of the matches. I finished first and stepped out of the rest room and saw this HUGE man in the corner of the Civic Center warming up. When my dad came out we went by there and it was Andre. He took time to talk to us and even lifted me up above his head! I was amazed.
Another time, some of the World Class Championship Wrestling people put on a show in my home town of Lamesa, TX. As we were leaving the show, the door to the locker room opened and my dad and I talked to Kevin and Kerry Von Erich for a few minutes. Both of them were very nice to us.
Anyway, my final brush with greatness was later in life right after graduating from college. I moved to Hereford, TX which is close to Amarillo. I was in Amarillo doing some Christmas shopping when I stopped to get a bite to eat. I don't remember the name of the place I went to, but I noticed a lot of people at the next table. They noticed I was alone and asked me to join them. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it was Dory Funk, Jr., his wife, Terry Funk, and some of their friends. I had a wonderful time talking to all of them.
DB: A friend and I used to attend the wrestling cards at the Buffalo Auditorium in the early 80's. Security was a little lax back then and we were able to get to the parking garage where the wrestlers cars were. We saw Bob Backlund (current Champion at the time), Jay and Jules Strongbow, and Salvatore Bellomo. We didn't speak to any of them but the last guy out was Superstar Billy Graham. He came over when we greeted him and talked for a few minutes. Very nice guy.
Another time, a few years later, I was working as a Lifeguard at Playland in Westchester County, N.Y. when I noticed this huge guy in the water. I saw him from the back and my first thought was, 'Please don't let me have to go in after this guy. He's enormous'. When he turned around I realized it was Tony Atlas. He was appearing at a local match that weekend. I didn't get to talk to him, though. When he came out of the water other people recognized him also and he was soon surrounded by kids. He signed some autographs and talked to them for a while and left soon after.
Anonymous at SUNY Binghamton: About two months ago the WWF made an appearance at the Broome County Arena in Binghamton, NY. Although I hadn't planned on attending the card, something changed my mind. I was in the Binghamton Gold's Gym the day before the card, working out as usual, and noticed two BIG long-haired men doing squats in the corner. I brought this to the attention of my friend and we both realized who it was: HBK and HHH!
They were dressed like normal people (well, HBK kind of looked like a reject from a Motley Crue reunion) and were racking an ENORMOUS amounts of weight. We didn't want to bother them during their workout, but after they were done we went over and shot the breeze for a couple of minutes. Both of them were very polite, regardless of what you may have heard over the Net, and when we told them that we were not planning on going to the card the next night, HBK provided us with four tickets. The next night we went to the arena and found our seats to be RIGHT on the floor! When HHH came out for his match against SCSA he shot a crotch chop right at us! I still can't stand the DX angle, or much of what's going on in the WWF, but that was cool.
Tyler McMurchy: This summer I was working in a hotel beer store on a Saturday afternoon. The WWF was putting on a house show in my town later that night and I had tickets in row 5. It was a slow day, so I spent the shift making cheap cardboard signs to take to the show. I was planning on seriously marking out. And, as a coincidence, the wrestlers were staying in the hotel across the street, and an old WWF truck was parked out front. The WWF used to stay at my hotel, I'm told, but it was all booked up that weekend.
Later in the shift, I was serving a customer, a guy walked into the store and out the other side into the hotel. I thought nothing of it until my manager, told me that it was OWEN HART!!!!!!!!!!! I freaked, as he is my absolute favourite (I was a serious Foundation mark). I took off to the lobby, where Owen had stopped to talk to my assistant manager, who was apparently telling him about the wrestling nut who works in the beer store. When he saw me burst into the lobby, my assistant manager says to Owen "There he is." I exclaimed "Owen!" and, in what was the biggest wrestling thrill of my life (next to Pillman's claiming to be Dakota Runnel's dad) Owen goes "Tyler!"
I continue to freak out. "You're the best!" totally making an ass of myself as my beer store is unattended. I make Owen promise to wait there as I go to get something for him to autograph. I run back and serve the three customers who had been waiting since I left. I serve them, practically throwing their change at them as I grab one of the cheap signs I made and race back to the hotel lobby.
I get there and Owen is standing next to the large stairway in the lobby that leads to the restaurant on the second floor of the hotel. And who is coming down the staircase but DAVEY BOY SMITH and BRIAN F'N PILLMAN!! I almost lose control of my bodily functions as I shake their hands and beg shamelessly for them to sign autographs as well, fully aware in the back of my head that customers could be robbing the beer store blind.
Before the Bulldog and Pillman get to sign, I yell at the bellhop to bring the sign back to me when they are done signing and sprint back to the beer store. So I go back to work, with a huge sh#%-eating grin on my face for the rest of the day, and week for that matter.
I later found out that Brakkus was with them, but I didn't see him, and didn't really care as I now had four of the Foundation's autographs (I had Bret's from a couple years back). Less than two months later, Brian Pillman passed away, and it made me wish that I didn't have to take off without sharing less than a dozen words with him.
Quick story of the Bret Hart autograph. It was at an autograph signing. I brought my PWI 500, which was the second one in a row in which he was rated #1. Just him and Hogan (#2) were on the cover. When I got to him, he asked me if it was the latest one, and started to leaf through it, even though there were hundreds of kids in line behind me. I mentioned that it was sort of a travesty that he had to share the cover with Hogan, who only wrestled one match. He snickered and said something like "Old guys who don't know when to hang it up."
Jeezus. I'm 21 and I get this friggin' excited over wrestling. I'm such a mark.
Matt W. at Northwestern University: While on a cross-country moving trip in the summer of 1995, I stopped my U-Haul at a gas station on the Georgia/Tennesse border. I went in to pay for my gas and noticed two guys in warm-ups and weight lifting pants leaving. I made some sort of comment to my travelling companion about the "steroid jumpers" and the clerk asked us if we were talking about those two guys. He had been talking to them and they had told him they were pro wrestlers. A month later I was watching the {Pro} and it turns out that they were Rage and Kaos from High Voltage.
Also, my ex-wife grew up with Kane/Isaac E. Yankem/Unabomb. They were friends in grade school. He was a real hyperactive child and apparently strange. She told me that he used to sit in the middle of the road for hours on end, not doing anything. Just sitting there.
Xersa: I didn't really have a brush with greatness. It was by boyfriend. He lives in Charleston, WV. And one night after a wrestling event took place he was in one of the hotel bars that he frequents, in came Kevin Nash, Lex Luger and the Macho Man. He told me they were huge and figured they were wrestlers. I asked why he didn't get an autograph, he said people swamped them. Even though I personally didn't see them it was still awsome.
Matt Trolio of Cooperstown, NY: In November of 1996, My friend Chris and I went to see a WWF show in Utica, NY. Marc Mero and his wife were signing autographs in a local mall, so we decided to stop by. We had hoped at best to get the autograph, and to shake hands. What we got was an hour long conversation!! We talked to Marc about the then recent departure of Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig. He told us flat out that Curt was gone from the company, but that he was a great guy and he would miss him. He talked to us about the differences in working for Vince and Eric, and he talked to us about the whole nWo thing. He talked to us about his matches with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who was his main opponent at house shows at the time. He even said that he didn't mind losing that much as long as the matches with HHH were good.
He looked through some of the magazines we brought as he said that he never got a chance to read them because of the travel schedule. He even autographed another picture for me free in the magazine! His wife Rena, asked where we lived, and how many shows we went to, and that kind of thing. She was very polite and extremely happy to be talking to wrestling fans! They asked how to get to the arena, and said they'd be looking for us there. We told them how to get there, and then went to the show. We made a sign stating "Marc and Sable Mero: The 'Perfect' team!" When they came out, they gave us a big thumbs up! Marc and Rena Mero had to be two of the most down to earth, nice people we had ever met, and truly made a wrestling dream come true!
Brad: A person I know used to frequent a bar called "Skippy's Mistake" in Arlington, Texas, many years ago. One night he got drunk and decided to get in the nearly-seven-foot bouncer's face. The red-haired bouncer picked him up by his hair at arm's length and tossed him out the door. The guy went back to the bar recently and talked to the owner for a while. The owner told him the bouncer was none other than The Undertaker.
Brian Marette of Richfield, MN: About a year and a half ago, my uncle took over a local grocery store/meat market. After about a month or so of working in the meat department, I came out to help a customer, and it turned out to be Nailz.
I talked to him for about a half hour. Turns out that he and my uncle are really good friends. Nailz still comes in like twice a week, and we always talk wrestling. He's doing a lot of local stuff right now, but will go big time next month when he joins WCW on their Thursday Thunder show. He will be doing the Nailz gimmick again.
David A. of Freeport, IL: Myself and four buddies went to the Nitro in Milwaukee. Before the show, we were walking around downtown looking for a bathroom. We wandered into The John Deere building, and did our business. When we went to leave, we went across a sky tunnel to cross the street, and we then went down a ramp that led to the Civic Center, but it was like an hour before the show so we couldn't go in yet. When we came out of the doors to the outside, we were behind the security gates at the entrance for the wrestlers.
On the right was a limo and we were walking right behind Booker T and referee Nick Patrick. I yelled "Booker T." and he nicely raised his hand with a wave. I couldn't think of Patrick's name, and there were fans yelling "Who are those guys?" as we flexed with our nWo shirts on. Security was dumbfounded on how we got in there. It was so funny.
Anonymous: I was on vacation with my family a few years ago. We were en route to Disney World and were stopped for the night in some town in the middle of nowhere in Georgia. In the morning, we stopped into the restaurant for a little breakfast buffet action. Sure enough, who did I see just MOWING down the chow?... The Warlord, Mr. Fuji, and some other guy I didn't recognize. The Warlord was immense. He and Fuji must have made about five or six trips to the buffet and just PILED on the grub. I didn't want to disturb them, but I stood next to Fuji when we cashed out, so I said "Kinichiwa, Mr. Fuji." (the only Japanese word I know... I don't even know if he IS Japanese) and he said "Ahhh... " and went into character about beating up on Demolition.
Another wrestler brush was at the Detroit Metro Airport, where I bumped into Bam Bam Bigelow and Sir Oliver Humperdink.
My most recent, and latest, brush was with Mortis at WW3. He didn't have on his mask and was hanging out with some females before the show. He was about a row in front of us and my friend screams "MORTIS!" because he somehow thought that was him. You should have seen our surprise when he looked around, shocked. Shocked that we recognized him and that someone screamed at the top of their lungs from about 5 feet away from him. I got his autograph and told him he sells moves great. When he came out for his WW3 battle royal he pointed at the chicks, then my friend, then myself. He did the same thing on his way back after he was eliminated. What a classy guy. I always heard he was cool and he is. Very friendly.
Jeremy at Oklahoma State University: Last night (Dec 5), I delivered a pizza to none other than "Cowboy" Bill Watts. He lives in Bixby, Oklahoma which is a small suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was really cool and he tipped well. His house is very nice by the way. I don't remember ever seeing him on TV, but he is really fat now. I didn't ask him about his son, Erik, either ;-)
I am not sure why this is the case, but Bixby, OK is a wrestling hot-bed. Jim Ross' daughter lives there. I have also heard that the Brisco brothers are from Bixby.
Anonymous at Missouri Western State College: I used to go to wrestling events when I was very young in a small town named Archie, MO. They were usually benefit fund raisers so there was usually just one or two big names. I would always go with my friend Dusty, who had two older brothers.
After the event was over, we were walking around the gym to the exit doors which took us right by the locker rooms. One of the older brothers was notorious for bothering his mother by tapping on her shoulder or trying to get her attention. It was pretty packed, as this was the main event of the year for this town. Dusty and I were in front of his mother.
Apparently, she felt someone tapping on her shoulder and, having put up with it all night, slapped who she thought was her son. However, she was quite surprised to see her red hand print on Harley Race's face. He was just trying to get through to the locker room. (It wasn't a very good setup.) She apologized all over herself but he was very cool about it.
Marsall L. McKellar: I was eating at the Western Sizzler in my home town when I noticed this guy staring at me. I was with my wife and she mentioned that this guy is looking at me like he know me. I've been a wrestling fan since the 60's and I pretty much keep up with whats going on in the business, so you would think that I would notice/recognize a popular wrestler.
I got up and went to the salad bar and at the same time this guy gets up and goes to another one of the food bars every so often I look up and he's staring at me like he knows me. I finally came to my senses and realized it was Pycho Sid. I'm a fairly big guy 6'-6", and I weigh about 340 so I suppose he thought he knew me or something. He had on jeans and a big sweatshirt but I could tell he was huge.
I've met several wrestlers before and a lot of them are not nearly as tall/big as they say, but Sid was at least two inches taller than me so I was impressed. Anyhow, he was real nice. I found out he lives in West Memphis, Arkansas and was on his way home from Dallas. I believe this is about the time he was working in the USWA which I believe is based in Memphis.
I was a Sid fan before and still am...because he's the "MAN" the "MASTER" the "RULER OF THE WORLD".
John Wise from Crofton, MD: Several years ago, the WWF was doing a house show in Baltimore, MD. I work near BWI Airport and used to frequent some of the hotel bars nearby. I was sitting in the BWI Holiday Inn Lounge when a lady friend I was with said to me "Look at the size of that guy". I turned to look at the bar and there was the Undertaker, Mr. Fuji and some guy I didn't recognize.
I decided to ask for autographs and they all were cordial. They were drinking shots of something and chasing them with beer. The third guy said his name was "Hillbilly" something or other, but it was NOT Hillbilly Jim. I never quite figured out why even though I'm well over 30, Fuji went into character. Callaway almost did but just kind of grumbled in a low voice. I'm born and raised in Maryland and when I was walking up to them, Mr. Fuji had no more of an accent than I did. I would think that would save that for the kids. The one thing I can say...The Undertaker was HUGE!!
Joe Sauber, St. Cloud State University (Minnesota): I have a few brushes with greatness. They happened years ago, but I'd like to share them anyway.
My first one was about 10-11 years ago. I was hangin' out in a Roseville, MN bar with a couple buddies and I saw the Road Warriors. Man, they were HUGE! So my buddies and I are staring at them and they turn around. Hawk says, "What the hell are you lookin' at?" He looked really mean and so did Animal. At first we were all pretty intimidated but they walked over and said that they were just messin' with us. So we bs'ed over a beer, got their autographs. Unbelieveable. Then, I find out just recently that my cousins grew up with both of them in Columbia Heights, MN. I guess Animal was a real bad ass even back in his high school days too.
Anyways, my second brush with greatness was just a few years back. My grandfather introduces me to Rick Rude's father, who owns a bar in Robbinsdale, MN. And just as I expected, I also got to meet Rick Rude himself. He's not a really big guy up close, and he is a real nice guy, far cry from they way he is in the wrestling world.
But I got an unexpected surprise later that day when I saw Ravishing Rick and Curt Hennig in a Minneapolis bar, having a few brews together. Rude recognized me, and I went over and met Hennig, and shot the breeze with them for a bit. Hennig's also really cordial, unlike his ring personality. My last brush ended that day when I got the guys' autographs as well. It was awesome.
John Wise from Crofton, MD: Several years ago, the WWF was doing a house show in Baltimore, MD. I work near BWI Airport and used to frequent some of the hotel bars nearby. I was sitting in the BWI Holiday Inn Lounge when a lady friend I was with said to me "Look at the size of that guy". I turned to look at the bar and there was the Undertaker, Mr. Fuji and some guy I didn't recognize.
I decided to ask for autographs and they all were cordial. They were drinking shots of something and chasing them with beer. The third guy said his name was "Hillbilly" something or other, but it was NOT Hillbilly Jim. I never quite figured out why even though I'm well over 30, Fuji went into character. Callaway almost did but just kind of grumbled in a low voice. I'm born and raised in Maryland and when I was walking up to them, Mr. Fuji had no more of an accent than I did. I would think that would save that for the kids. The one thing I can say...The Undertaker was HUGE!!
A. Furr hailing from Albemarle, NC, making his Fall residence at North Carolina State University: My brushes with greatness both include trips to Charlotte Douglas Airport. As a kid, I grew up watching wrestling and I always pulled for the Rock n' Roll Express. While in the airport I saw the late Andre the Giant. I went up to ask for an autograph and he was very rude and said "No, go away".
The other brush with greatness was Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin came walking through on a different trip, he had his lady with him but I do not remember her name.
As I was typing I remembered other brushes with greatness. My father owns a Texaco station in a small town in North Carolina called Albemarle. While working one day after Andre the Giant's death, a limo pulled in with Hulk and Brutus Beefcake, I believe this could be true because I had heard that Andre lived in Montgomery County which is adjacent to Albemarle. My father said that Hulk looked stoned and that Brutus was the only one to get out to use the bathroom but they were all dressed up like they had been to a funeral.
One night in 1996, I was working at my father's station and an old car pulled up and it was no other than Ricky Morton of the Rock n' Roll Express, he was looking for directions to our local National Guard armory because he said he had a match. I was in such shock that I didn't get a chance to talk with him.
Albemarle is 45 minutes away from Charlotte so my friends and I always go to Charlotte when WCW is there. We are all Horseman fans and plan on going to Nitro on Dec 15. After Nitro, we are going to South End Brewery because I have heard that Ric Flair owns it and I hope to see him there, so hopefully I will get to write back to you in December.
Anonymous: I work as a sportswriter for the Associated Press in Detroit, and was covering the Detroit Pistons-Atlanta Hawks game at the Palace the night before WW3. About five minutes into the game, the Pistons PR staff came out and set up a bunch of folding chairs behind press row. This is a common practice for when VIPs are attending the game, so I didn't think anything about it until I glanced over my shoulder and was looking at Konnan from about two feet away. I quickly glanced up and down the row and realized that most of the WCW luchadores (and Norman Smiley) were sitting behind us. Unfortunately, other than Konnan, Silver King and Damien, I wasn't sure who was who since they didn't wear their masks to the game. *grin*
I was pretty sure that Rey, Jr wasn't there, since none of them was small enough, but I resigned myself to being stumped. I chatted with Konnan and Norman Smiley briefly, and was very impressed at how much Konnan knows about the NBA. By the way, his strong Hispanic accent is a fraud. He really speaks English with almost no accent at all. I also talked a bit with the guy sitting behind them, who had very long hair and a very nice leather Harley jacket, but his English was pretty limited, so we didn't get far. I did find it amusing that they were cheering for the Pistons instead of their "hometown" Hawks.
Things got even more amusing after the game. I was in the lockerroom, interviewing Grant Hill, when Pistons assistant Alvin Gentry came in. Alvin is a *huge* wrestling fan, and he had arranged for the luchadors to come in and meet some of the Pistons. And since they wanted to get their pictures taken with Grant and Rick Mahorn, they had put their masks on! So I found out that the guy I had been trying to talk to was none other than La Parka! The Villanos were also there, as was Ciclope and a guy in a pretty basic red-and-blue mask who I didn't see at WW3. I have the feeling it might have been Juventud Guerrera, who couldn't carry his mask around in a jacket pocket like the other guys, but that's just a guess.
Steve Raymond: I was watching WWIII tonight with the same group of guys that I always watch it with, and we were talking about some of the wrestlers that live in this area. One of the guys was telling me that one of his friends cuts Jim Duggan's lawn, and he had a birthday coming up, and he told Hacksaw that for his birthday he wanted to be bodyslammed by him. Well, when his birthday came up, he got to stay backstage with the WCW wrestlers during {Pro} and Worldwide tapings, and at the end, he got slammed in the ring between matches. What a corny present. Oh, and I found out that besides having a gym in town, Hacksaw also owns a shop called "Hacksaw's Beef Jerky". I knew it was in town, but the other day was the first time I ever saw it. Would you want any jerky from this guy when he openly sticks his hands down his sweaty trunks on TV?
Kerry H.: Well, I've met about 50 wrestlers so far, but my favorite time was when I was in Wheeling, WV, to see RAW live. I waited outside, and met a lot of them that night.
The first one I met was Mr. Perfect. I asked for an autograph, and handed him an old B&W photo, he the saw the one I had of him as IC champ. He laughed and said "This isn't the same guy!" and showed the three suits with him the pictures. They were all amazed at the B&W photo. He was cool and signed both of them.
The other one that stands out to me is the Iron Sheik. He rode with Clarence Mason, and Farooq. There were two kids asking for Farooq, and he just yawned and said he was busy. Clarence signed, then the mother asked the Sheik. He said he would pose with them, because he was before their time, and it would be a better souveneir. I had a great backstage photo of him, and he was shocked. Asked if I had another copy and I said no, so he said to get another copy and the next time they were in town to tell security to let me in to give it to him. I thought "Yeah right, like I'd get in." But he was really nice.
Baba: I entered the Wrestlemania VI 5K a few years ago that took place the day before the big event. Although a wrestling fan, I was there primarily to just run a race so was pleasantly surprised to run into a few personalities there.
Along with actor Al Waxman, Tito Santana and Hillbilly Jim milled around the starting line chatting and waving to people, and one of them eventually fired the starting pistol. I remember that both had really atrocious fashion sense, and that doesn't mean that they were wearing a matador outfit and overalls respectively.
Jim seemed to be really enjoying himself, though. The finish line was right outside the location the next day's card, Skydome. I got quite a laugh here. After finishing, I waited for a friend of mine to cross the finish line. Directly before him, came the Bushwhackers, dressed in their full camaflouge and combat boots, walking that walk that they do and whoopin' it up. Obviously they just entered the race a couple of hundred meters before the finish line, but my friend who was kind of new to the running game was embarrassed nonetheless. "I just got whacked by the Bushwhackers!" he cried. We occasionally still taunt him about that.
Chris S. from Tallahassee: I have two brushes, both happened in Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport.
I was walking to my gate when I saw Steve McMichael sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. I immediately sat down and pulled out an index card for him to sign.
He must have been very sick because he was sniffing and kept fidgeting around in his chair. I asked him for his autograph and he said "Yeah" and signed it. He was not overly nice, but considering he was sick, I understood. It was neat seeing him there because he had his black 76 jacket sitting on the chair beside him.
About a month later, I was in line getting a ticket and I see this guy with the biggest arms I have ever seen walk by me (Scotty Steiner). I stared at him hoping he would not go far so I could get his autograph when his brother Rick walked by. I asked him if he could sign an index card for me. He said yes and waited patiently as I fumbled through my bag. He signed it and shook my hand, without me even asking. He is a really class guy.
Jason K. at University of Southern Florida: I have three stories to share.
One day in 1987, I was in my seventh grade Hebrew class when the school's secretary came to my classroom to tell me that my dad (a doctor whose office was, at the time, across the street from the school) was waiting outside for me. I had no idea what this was about so I headed outside. When I got there, my dad told me that Hulk Hogan was at the hospital across the street getting some X-rays done. I got into the car and he drove me over there. I met and talked to Hulk Hogan. I got a photo taken with him which he autographed. Because it was such a short trip, I was able to get back to class before it ended.
Here's the funny part. When my mom came to pick my brother and me up at the end of the day, she asked, "So what happened in school today?" My brother (not a wrestling fan) said, "Jason met Hulk Hogan." My mom: "Come on...I want to know what really happened." My brother: "No, Jason really did meet Hulk Hogan." I showed her the photograph and everything.
Once in 1989, my family was flying home to Tampa after a trip to New York. On the plane was Randy "Macho Man" Savage. I went up and asked him for an autograph. He was very polite.
I don't know if this counts, but the late grandfather of a family friend used to be a referee. I was able to get a lot of great pictures from him. His name was Barney Solomon.
Jason M. in Korea: I have three. The first one was the day after 1996's Hog Wild in Sturgis, SD. My wife, her parents, and I were visiting Mt. Rushmore. I looked to my left, and to my surprise, there were Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko. I told my father-in-law who they were and he said that he thought the two of us could take them. Chris and Dean had their shirts off, and although they are cut, they are very short. I weigh 200 lbs, and I bet I outweigh Benoit by 30 lbs. I didn't say anything because my wife would not let me.
Next, was in Regina, Canada. We were in a club when I saw Bret Hart. I asked him for an autograph for my little brother. He gave it to me. He was not rude or anything, but he wasn't exactly friendly. Maybe because I am American. :)
Finally, the day before Road Wild this year, I saw the Steiners and Curt Hennig walking down the main drag. I grabbed my wife and told her that was Mr. Perfect! I told her to get the camcorder and film me shaking his hand. I asked him and he said sure, but to hurry up because the Steiners were leaving and he needed a beer. The three of them were pretty big, especially Scott Steiner.
Brandon B.: I attended the Ohio University house show back in May with a couple of my buddies. We got the tickets early in the day and then hit the bars. We saw a lot of nWo shirts downtown so we figured that the Convo would be packed. The show itself was alright.
During intermission we went looking for a friend that was working security. As we looked down we saw a tall dude with long oily hair. We thought it was Syxx so I started screaming. He turned around and it was Mortis no mask on or nothing. He acknowledged me and then waved.
Later on that night we are at one of the bars and in line we see one of the Public Enemy. We get into the bar and see DDP, Steve Regal, Glacier, Dean Malenko, Mortis, and of all people, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff. We went around talking to all of them. We saw DDP for about five minutes and he left. Glacier and Mortis were together and talking to everyone. Mortis talks like Daffy Duck but he is huge. We saw Regal smoking a cigarette. We asked him what he was doing and he replied,"100% of non-smokers die, too." I almost pissed myself.
They all left one by one. To finish it up we saw DDP walking at about 3 in the morning with about three pieces of pizza in his hand and about 6 hot girls walking with him.
Nick V.: My first Brush With Greatness was in 1989 at a WWF Saturday Night's Main Event Taping. I was walking in the parking lot, and I was a huge Demolition fan then, and I had a sign that said "Demoltion Rules" and when I turned around to talk to my freind, there's AX and Smash walking up, and they signed my sign.
My second was in 1997 where Sting was signing autographs at a Car and Boat Show, and I had a Blade Runners picture from a magazine. I put it down on the table, he looked up at me like he was mad and signed it quickly. My last was in Indianapolis, Indiana and I had a sign that said "Benoit Rules" (Benoit is my favorite wrestler) and he looked right at up me (but the other two were better, since I didn't get to meet Benoit.)
Robert S.: After a house show in Moline, IL, my friend Pay and I went to one of our fave nighttime hangouts. At the event I purchased a WCW hat. The bouncer informed me that hats weren't allowed at the club. I quickly took the hat to my car and returned.
Once inside, I saw a bunch of guys that I recognized. Arn Anderson and Dustin Rhodes were downstairs next to the dance floor. I quickly ran back to the car to get the hat for autographs. After I got Arn's and Dustin's, Dustin mentioned that there were more wrestlers upstairs.
I dashed up the steps, and to my amazement there stood The Guardian Angel (aka Big Bossman, Big Bubba, and Ray Traylor), and Jean Paul Levesque (now Hunter Hearst Helmsley). I got their autographs quickly, and ran back downstairs to see what was going on.
I must have spent half an hour talking to both Dustin and Arn. It was an absolutely great time! Just in caes they, or somebody who knows them reads this, that kind of thing goes a long way, and it's something I'll remember for a lifetime.
Fast Eddie: My brother and I attended an ECW show in Queens in July of 1997. While we were at a red light a block away from the building, Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie walked right in front of our car to go into a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I didn't recognize them at first because they seemed smaller in person (and looked almost normal). While we were waiting outside to get in, we got to take pictures with Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and Todd Gordon. They were all very nice and made sure every fan who wanted pictures or autographs got them. Sandman even brought out a beer, chugged it down in front of the screaming fans, and smashed it over his head. Then, New Jack came out to get his wrestling boots from a car. We had attended a show a month before where New Jack had laid Bubba Ray Dudley out on a table, climbed up to the balcony of the building, and had dropped down on Bubba Ray! When I asked New Jack if he would do this again, he said, "Nah, man. I'm afraid of heights."
Inside, we sat in the reserved section, which is elevated and has a door leading to the dressing room. We therefore got to meet all the ECW stars - Sabu, Rob Van Damm, the Eliminators, Joey Styles,and Paul Heyman. They came out to watch the other guys wrestle when they themselves were not going to go on. They were all very friendly and I was impressed that they were truly enthusiaitic about watching their fellow wrestlers work.
J.D. Server: When I was about six years old, my grandmother was coming to visit my family in New York City. My father knew the car ride was going to be long, so he brought some of my WWF Superstars figures. You know, the big ones that were always locked in the same position. Jimmy Snuka, Bruno Sammartino, Brutus Beefcake and Randy Savage were among them. Still have the ENTIRE collection to this day!
But I'm getting off topic. When we arrived at the airport, we had to wait awhile for the grandmother's plane to come. I brought a pair of my wrestling toys to pass the time. To my surprise standing in a crowd of people was "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan! He was signing autographs for all of his little Hulkamaniacs, but unfortunately, he leaving just before we got to meet him.
Minutes before we had to pick up my grandmother, we started to make our way to the gates. Up a short stairway...again there was Hogan, making his way down the stairs. He was clad in sunglasses, blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt with a black jacket. As soon as he saw me with my WWF figures, he said "How are ya doin', my little Hulkamaniac?" He extended his huge hand and let me give him "five". Now that I think about it, it was very surprising there was nbobody else near him. It WAS the 80's, the height of the Immortal One's pouplarity...way before his "Hollywood" gimmick, yearly title defenses and run-ins by the nWo everytime he had one.
My dad took two pictures of him and me, one with me on his massive shoulders and the other with him holding me up. He also asked me who was going to win the match between him and some other guy, (I suppose he thought I was going to a WWF event) and I blurted out, "You are, Hulkster!" He was a very friendly guy, and it's pretty unbelievable someone who was as probably as strapped for time as he was (looked like he was in a bit of a hurry) would do all of that.
I didn't ask for an autograph (I didn't even know what one was at the time) but at least I still have both pictures. As he left, he shouted, "See ya later, alligator!" but not before telling me to eat my vitamins, say my prayers, and shoot up on my anabolic steroids. :-)
Mack B.: I hit the October 24th ECW show in Waltham, MA after hearing the rumor that it would be the last show at the IBEW Hall if they didn't sell the place out. They always put on a great show there, so I told as many people as I could to go. Anyway, around halfway through, I bought a tee shirt and saw Paul Heyman standing quietly in a corner near an exit. He looked like he's dropped about thirty pounds and had this wicked grin on his face. I asked him to sign a card for me, and he kindly did so without hesitation. He told me they sold the place out and all seats were Standing Room Only. An interesting note: I guess all ECW wrestlers are signing things as (name) 1997 - ECW.
Also, an indy wrestler named Big Jed works out at the gym I go to. He's a six foot plus monster who is also very friendly and knows a lot about fitness. Nice guy!
Jay R.: About a year and a half ago, my friend Bruce and I decided to take in an entire run of WWF tapings: In Your House: Beware of Dog on Sunday, Raw on Monday and Superstars on Tuesday. (Of course, Superstars became Beware of Dog 2, but that's another story.)
After the Raw taping in Fayetteville, NC, we stopped at a Denny's to get something to eat. We were seated, and as we walked to our table, we noticed that Sable was sitting at the next table. I was just about to get up the nerve to say something when Marc Mero came around the corner.So we both spoke to him, and had a great conversation about that night's card and working in general (he said the traveling was hard sometimes, but having his wife along helped that a lot). He offered us tickets to the next night's show, but we told him not to worry because we already had some. Sable (Rena is her real name) never said a word through the whole conversation until Marc introduced her, and she shook both our hands. She is very quiet and (believe it or not) seemed shy, but was very nice.
So they got up and left, and Bruce and I were recovering when I looked and saw Chris Candido walk through the door. As I was kicking Bruce under the table, Tammy (Sunny) came in as well. We said "good work tonight, y'all" as they passed, and they seemed genuinely touched that we recognized them. The next words out of Tammy's mouth were "We're not supposed to be together...shh, don't tell anyone!" And we said "kayfabe" at the same time. That broke the ice. We talked for a long time about SMW (we had been to several cards; we brought up some of the great old angles) and that night's matches (Chris' arm was in a harness; he said his shoulder had been wrenched that night because, in his words, "I guess the Wildman got a little too wild."). Chris was genuinely interested in what we thought of his match (not in a self-centered way, just in a "you really liked that match, eh?" way), and Tammy was exactly as flirtatious as you'd expect (she got on my case, obviously sensing I marked out for her, because I hadn't bought one of her T-shirts).
They left after while. We waited to see if anyone else would show up, but alas, no. We've talked since that we probably got incredibly lucky with WHO we met, considering some stories you hear about other workers. But it was quite a night.
Lucretia: Last year I won a trip thru WCW to Charlotte, N.C. for Slamboree. Being a fan of Roddy Piper, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of him there. After we checked into the hotel, (where luckily most of the wrestlers also were) we took a walk around and saw Rod's assistant, Craig St.John, wandering around looking lost like us so we chatted with him for a bit, very nice guy. We ran into him several times that weekend, he told us he and Rod were going to Flair's bar,the South End Brewery that night.
The afternoon before the event, I despaired of ever seeing the Hot Scot in person, so my sister just called him up in his room and asked him if he'd take a picture with us! He was very sweet (sounded like a business man on the phone and his voice is very different from his ring voice) and met us outside the hotel before he left for the event. He was in a hurry and still took the time to stop for us, he's taller than he looks on TV, and when I put my arms around him for the shot, he smelled really good! (that's for the female Piper fans reading this!!)
Looks good in plain old tight blue jeans too instead of that kilt!
T.G. Livingston: Back in late 1993 at a show for the USWA in Memphis (my second attended card *ever*), I had the privilege of meeting Jerry Lawler, the King himself, after the show had ended and everyone was milling around the parking area. I was only 14 at the time and marked wildly for anything, so I jumped at the chance to go up to him when my dad pointed out that Jerry Lawler was over by the entrance talking to some people.
He was a VERY nice guy (rather large!). I didn't get his autograph because, for some odd reason, neither of us brought it up, but we talked for a good five minutes about the USWA, something he was very proud of, and the WWF's show the previous year in Little Rock (where I'm from). He truly cared about the USWA fans and looked pretty pleased that the card that night got a pretty big turnout. He's also just as funny outside the ring as he is on WWF programming. I think that's why to this day I still mark for Lawler's broadcasting.
The Dean: Back in July 1996, I went to a WWF house show here in Spokane, WA. It was right after In Your House: International Incident and that RAW.
Intercontinental champion Ahmed Johnson was supposed to wrestle Goldust on the show, but he missed it due to his kidney injury caused by Faarooq, so Sycho Sid took his place. I had brought some signs to the show, one of which was "Sid Rules The World" (I'm a Sid mark, so sue me. :) Sid ended up beating Goldust in about a minute after a chokeslam and a powerbomb, and I went to ringside and held up by sign. Sid was at ringside, and he turned and caught a glimpse of my sign. He walked over to my area and asked for the sign, and like a good mark :) I gave it to him. Sid held it up to a HUGE pop, then gave it back to me and highfived me. I still have that sign Sid used.
Also, later on, Mankind and The Undertaker ended up in the crowd and fought literally right next to me, about three feet away. I stood up to get a good pic and ended up having to duck a stray punch by Mankind.
Doug T.: I have two brushes with greatness with Sting. The first occurred in the late '80's when WCW came to Lubbock. I couldn't make it because I had a test the next day. My friend, who was a waitress, was working the night of the show. She noticed Sting in the restaurant and remembered that I was a big fan. She asked for his autograph and he gladly obliged.
A year or two later I was on a plane from Dallas to Atlanta. I got on the plane and took my seat. Moments later, a gentleman walked down the aisle and sat next to me (across the aisle). I looked at this guy several times to verify my suspicions. It was Sting. He had his spiked blonde hair and was wearing a wedding ring. I didn't say a thing to him, because I believed in honoring people's privacy. When we went to the baggage pick-up, Sting was there wearing the long, black, leather coat that he wears today in his Crow gimmick. He was huge. I can't imagine how big the Giant is after seeing Sting in person. I've changed a little since then and today would probably ask him a couple of questions if we were on the same plane.
Jim T. from Pittsburgh, PA: My college roomate, Tom, and I were supposed to attend a WCW show at The War Memorial in Johnstown, PA this past summer. Long story short, I could not make it, but Tom brought back a great story and pictures to prove it.
Just outside the building there is a parking lot where all the wrestlers arrive and enter the building. You could imagine the number of people who assemble there. It really cleared out about 5 minutes before the start of the show, but my roommate stuck around a little longer because he knew a couple wrestlers who were on the card had not yet arrived. Just then, a white Blazer rolled up with Lex Luger driving. He went right up to the car and to his surprise Macho Man Randy Savage and DDP both got out too. They all immediately started joking and laughing about how they were late He said they were really great guys and still managed to take a couple of minutes to get in a picture with Tom.
Savage is a lot shorter then I thought. According to Tom, DDP was the nicest of the crew and stayed out the longest to talk. He also produced the best picture: Tom in the arms of DDP ready to drop him in a Diamond Cutter!!! I have never lived it down to this day that I was not there.
Scott C.: I grew up in a small town in NC. Once a year, a card would be held at our local Recreation Center. It was the highlight of the year for my friends and me. We'd be worked up for a month and on the day of the match we were nearly uncontrollable. When I was 11, I broke my leg just prior to the match and was uncertain my father would take me because my mother was worried that I would get hurt by unruly fans. My dad won the argument and we went.
The promoter saw us at the ticket booth and sat us in the front row by the ring. The card was great but, even better, following the match I was taken to the locker room and my cast was signed by the good guy stars. As I was leaving, the main heel at the time, Black Jack Mulligan, called over to my father and he too signed my leg. I was scared to death because he was the "bad guy" but he was very nice and talked to me for quite a while. It was a special night and I became one of his biggest fans afterwards. I miss him.
Another one...
A friend of mine started wrestling locally when I was in college and we went to a card in a small town to see a friend of his wrestle. After the card, we went to the locker room and met Buddy Landell. This was during his downslide in the mid 80's. While we were talking to him, a teenager came up and asked what he should do to get started in the business. Buddy suggested to him that he join the wrestling team at school to learn the skills and work hard in school on his vocabulary and his public speaking. I was shocked at the response and the earnestness in which it was given. It is a shame Buddy fell out of the limelight like he did, he was a great guy.
Brian W.: I have two. One outside the ring and one back in the locker room area.
The first one is in Newark airport at least 8 years ago. I was waiting in line at a fast food restaurant and all of a sudden this HUGE guy walks up behind me. It was the One Man Gang. Damn, that boy is large! He must have ordered at least 5 cheeseburgers. Anyway, I asked him for his autograph and the jerk turned me down! It was not even done politely. It was "No". That's it.
Sadly, I moved on to our gate. At the gate though, there was a slew of other (and friendlier) wrestlers! I got autographs from Sir Oliver Humperdink, Bam Bam Bigelow, Brutus Beefcake and George Steele. They were all very nice and said they would give the OMG a hard time for being rude to me. I asked about the business and they all said they were having a great time in the WWF.
My second brush occurred in the locker room of a Saturday Night's Main Event taping at the Meadowlands. It was Uncle Elmer's wedding and Hulk Hogan vs. Nikolai Volkoff in the main event. My father knew the ring physician so he got us into the locker room for during the card and for the post-show "wedding reception". I spoke extensively to the Iron Shiek. He dedicated his camel clutch to the group I was with that night. He pointed at our seats so I know he did it. I also met Andre the Giant. Very nice. I told King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd that they had a good match and they thanked me. I didn't get to meet Hulk Hogan or Roddy Piper personally but they were there and gave me autographs. One of the funniest things I saw was Barry Windham fumbling to get the patch back on his eye (he was supposedly burnt by a cigar a week earlier). We were hysterical! He gave up eventually and just laughed it off with us. He told us to take it easy.
At the after-party, I got a glass of champagne for the toast and was able to see the wrestlers boozing it up. It was funny! I got a couple of strange looks but for the most part I was treated like an "insider".
Arnold Schwarzenegger was even there and I met him backstage. Nice guy, too! Well, those are my brushes with greatness. I will never forget them!
It was a great experience, and one I wouldn't trade for the world.
Brian Sullivan: I found myself in San Antonio ,TX the weekend of this year's (1997) Royal Rumble, visiting my brother in law, who's graduating from boot camp. It's our last night in Texas, my wife and mother in law are going to crash early, so I hop in the rental and drive to the Alamodome, watch the card, go back and crash.
Because of some screwed up travel arrangements, my wife had a flight 3 hours earlier than mine. So I'm in my terminal, waiting in line at a snack bar, to get a cup of coffee, and I'm looking at the back of a huge man. He get's a bagel and a coffee, and as he turns, I realize that I'm standing behind Hunter Hearst Helmsley. I run back to my bag, and grab my Royal Rumble program, and ask him to sign it. He happily obliges, and tells me that the rest of the guys are coming soon. We chat for a minute or so, about his early days wrestling for Killer Kowalski.
Feeling jazzed from my first brush, I see Ahmed Johnson coming in. It's funny, when he's talking normally, he's not THAT hard to understand. I proceeded to get the autographs of a few of the AAA stars, as well as D-Lo of the NOD.
The Godwinns were really nice, especially Phineas. We talked about their days as Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce, and they said they don't mind the whole gimmick of being hog farmers. I asked Phineas if he didn't mind playing dumb, since he was obviously not, and he said it so easy that he liked it.
George Steele was a jerk, and the only one who wouldn't sign an autograph for me. He may have just been having a bad day, or it might be that I, at age 24, was the only one who recognized him, but he sat quietly in a corner ignoring everbody.
I felt bad for Shawn Michaels who was mobbed the second he became visible, and was obviously still suffering from the flu.
Owen Hart was sitting at these chairs with TVs attached, apparently looking for loose change. I made the joke that I'd buy his autograph for a quarter, and he laughed. He looked incredibly tired, but was still very gracious. He said he hates this part of it, because everybody risks breaking kayfabe in front of the little kids. He didn't mind it with guys like me, but the kids still believe in it, and a lot of the younger guys ruin it.
Dustin Rhodes was there with his family, and still I barged in and got a quick autograph. They were sitting right next to Chris Candido and Sunny, and both of them were very nice. I talked with Chris about what he was doing in ECW, (he was still kind of new there), and me going to see him up at Waltham, Massachusetts. He was really surprised, and Sunny commented that I'd come a long way just to see wrestling. She said, "If I'd known yesterday, I'd have got you backstage". DOH!
I talked with Rick Bogner, who kept slipping in and out of his Razor persona. He was very sociable, and I can only hope he went into the terminal's bar for some coffee.
I talked with the Iron Sheik for a couple minutes, and he uttered the best line of the day. We were talking about how he was involved with the beggining of Hulkamania, and he said something to the effect of, "if I knew that champs could refuse to lose, I'd still be champ today." I laughed at that.
I have to say though, that contrary to other 'net reports, the nicest guy there was Rocky Miavia. I ran into him, (almost literaly), coming back from a cigarette break. He smiled as he signed the autograph, and we chatted about growing up on wrestling, and how his Miami Hurricane's team kept doing a job on my beloved Boston College Eagles.
It was a great experiance, and one I wouldn't trade for the world.
Charlie of Chan and Charlie: Hey big Bill, this isn't my brush, but a friend of mine's. Joe used to live across the street from Kevin Sullivan (who lives in Knoxville by the way). He said that Kevin would always take Joe, and Kevin's two kids swimming, and to movies and stuff. At WCW's last Nitro broadcast in K-ville (12/30/96) Joe went and he met up with Kevin at the Hyatt. Kev introduced him to all the wrestlers and he had drinks w/Flair and Benoit and had the honor to (Bill you'll appreciate this) have a beer and shoot pool with Arn Anderson.
He said that they are all pretty cool guys and that Benoit is now legitimately dating woman. I tried to tell Joe about Kevin's antics in putting it over on the other wrestlers when he said that Benoit and Woman were all over each other that night, but he swears that they are legitimately dating.
S.Y. from Michigan State University: While working at a local pet store at home in Stamford, CT this summer, I saw Brian Pillman come in one day with this big fat guy. The fat guy bought a mouse to feed his snake, and Pillman just looked around. I said "What's up Brian?" to him, and he said "Nothing man, how 'bout you?" in that raspy voice of his. I pretty much left him alone, but he shook my hand and thanked me for watching wrestling. He also asked if we sold dogs (which we don't).
Pillman was huge from the waist up, despite those seemingly scrawny legs. They got into a car parked out in front and peeled out into heavy traffic doing about 90 in a 35. I guess the whole "Loose Cannon" thing was as accurate as he made it seem to be in-ring.
James T. from Morehead State University: A few years ago my roommate and I attended a local wrestling match at our high school, Bluegrass Championship Wrestling. We were sitting in the bleachers having the time of our lives, heckling every wrestler who came out to fight. Suddenly, from behind I heard a voice exclaim "Hey, why don't you kids give these guys a break." we turned and saw a man who was probably pushing forty, balding and probably weighed 215-225 lbs. I asked him if he was a wrestler and he said he is retired from the sport now. His name was "Mr. Success" and he claims to have worked for all three major promotions in the eighties. He said he's taken on all the stars, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Rick Martel, etc. he wouldn't comment on his win/loss record, so he was probably a jobber, although he was quick to mention that he "pinned Nature Boy Buddy Landell on two separate occassions!"
He went on to tell us how to become a wrestler and told us how he used to blade. Later, a local wrestler named "The Koko Warrior" delivered a DDT to his opponent on the floor and after the match asked Mr. Success what he thought of the maneuver and he just scoffed at him. He was very polite and gave us autographs.
Scot B. from the University of Richmond: My Brush with Greatness came just after Thanksgiving, 1996, in LaGuardia airport. My brother and I are both big wrestling fans, and we were sitting waiting for our plane. We looked over and both noticed a guy wearing a Monday Night Raw shirt. As we looked up at his face, to our surprise, it was Jerry "the King" Lawler!!!
I was a little nervous at first, but decided to go over and ask for an autograph. He was extremely polite and we talked about his early feuds with Andy Kaufman. He is a lot bigger in person than on TV. It was a pleasure both meeting and talking to the King.
Anonymous: I got to meet one half of the WWF tag team champions today. And, of all places, at my church. Henry Godwinn and his wife live in Seveirville, TN. He was really nice. We talked a few minutes before he went on to sunday school and so did I. My best friend Chris says he comes in the Walmart a lot also. Boy, is he big. I'm 5' 9" and I didn't even come up to his shoulder.
Jason W. Massey from Jacksonville, AR: Late this summer, I flew to Tampa, FL to visit some friends of my mother. At the airport in Tampa, I saw Jimmy Hart (he is small guy). The husband of the couple I visited is a Course Marshall on Saddlebrook Golf Resort. He has played golf with many of wrestling's superstars: Sgt. Slaughter, Lex Luger, the Undertaker, Pat Patterson, etc. He took me over to Pat Patterson's spacious home. We sat around a screened in pool and had a beer (I am 22) with Pat Paterson and Sgt. Slaugther. They are very nice guys. Both signed autographed pictures and had pictures taken with me.
Slaughter said his favorite wrestler was Stone Cold Steve Austin. He likes Stone Cold's style but he says he wishes Austin would not use profanity because of the kids who watch the program. Slaughter and I talked about his appointment as commissioner, his time with G.I. Joe (that is where I remember him the most; I grew up when G.I. Joe was BIG), and old wrestling matches. He said his hardest match was with Pat Patterson -- it was so bloody the fight was not aired on TV. I had a really good time. They want me to come back when WWF RAW is in Tampa and they will take me backstage.
Christopher T.: I come from Portland, Oregon, which is a big wrestling town. There has always been a lot of big names comin' from here to run into, but this one instance stands out. One day, during my senior year of high school in 1993, a bunch of my friends and I skipped school and went off wandering. A couple of the guys were still wasted from the previous night's party (at 9:30 in the AM) and decided they were stepping into a business to use the bathroom. What business was it?? Piper's Pit Stop Transmissions.
Roddy Piper came from Portland and bought this little transmission place (which he since sold). Anyway, so the drunk guys start bangin' on the door asking for Rod to let 'em go to the bathroom...and the mechanincs aren't doin' nothin. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later after my friends sneak around back to go behind the building, Piper shows and talks to us for a minute and told us we should be in school. He still took the time to give me an autograph on the promise I wouldn't miss school anymore. I got the autograph and just didn't walk that street when we skipped anytime during the rest of the year.
Erin: Well, my brush with greatness was VERY unexpected...it was last year when the WWF had the July In Your House in Vancouver BC, Canada. We went to this really cool restaurant called the Spaghetti Factory after the show. We were sitting waiting for a table to clear up when this guy walked in and whispered something to one of the waitresses. Then he walked back out and came right back in with OWEN HART! Owen was with this kid about 12. I think I know it wasn't his kid so maybe it was Dallas, Bret's kid, I don't know. Anyways, I was sitting there with my older sister, her husband, my other older sister and my younger bro. He walked by and all I could do was stare I was so SHOCKED! I was all decked out in my Shawn Michaels gear, me and my sister and he just sorta passed us by as we gawked.
Anyways we figured he would sit somewhere where there weren't a lot of people. But lo and behold when we got our table Owen Hart was seated right next to us. And I swear that Owen was GLARING at us, me and my sis, the whole time even though people say the man is a nice guy. Maybe he thought we would jump him or something cause we are Shawn fans. Anyways, my bro wanted to get his autograph but was too scared. But after this one kid got his autograph, my bro got up enough courage to get up and have Owen sign his napkin. I guess from what my bro said Owen was very courteous and a nice guy even asking if we wanted his autograph. Maybe I should have gotten it...if I had had the guts. Maybe next time I have a brush with greatness I won't be so shy.
Jerry H. from The Mayo Clinic: This is quite old but was truly a great time. Back in July, 1991, the WCW came to LaCrosse, Wisconsin where I live. On the card that night included "Stunning" Steve Austin, Barry Windham, Tommy Angel, Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin, and Oz (Kevin Nash) to name a few. After the matches, my wife and I were in a local bar called Bentley's, in walked Austin, Windham, Angel, and Randy Anderson who was the referee that night. I walked over and starting talking with them and all were very cordial, my wife had the camera and snapped at least a dozen pictures of us clowning around and drinking beers. Steve Austin, my wife and I went to a few other bars and then stopped for something to eat. We hung out for about three hours before the others showed up and they went back to their hotel. As a side note, in 1996, the WWF did a taping here in LaCrosse. I went to the back of the Civic Center where the WWF was setting up and found Steve Austin. I showed him some of the pictures and he laughed and remembered some of the things we did. He recalled the only reason he did remember this was the shirt he was wearing that night six years ago in LaCrosse was the shirt Kerry Von Erich had given to him and it was one of the last times he had worn it.
Anonymous: I was in Atlanta on business last week and went to CNN Center at lunchtime. One of my coworkers, "The Deacon", was in the Braves Clubhouse Store while and another coworker and I, "HBK", were admiring the painting of the "technicolor" Sting on the wall. In walks Eric Bischoff. He makes a bee line for the escalator. He was carrying a motorcycle helmet, so he must have been out on his Hog (either that or he carries it in case Sting drops from the ceiling). He was gone before we could give him the Four Horseman sign or yell out "Bite Me".
Matt Burnett from James Madison University: On May 11, 1997, I got to go backstage at the WWF In Your House in Richmond, VA. I got there at 5:00 P.M. I got to see many of the wrestlers as they were arriving. The Honky Tonk Man walked by me as soon as I got back there. I also saw Sunny (she is even more beauitful in person) and the Headbangers.
As I got back to the dressing room I see Farooq and Ahmed Johnson talking to each other. They seem to be good friends. I found this funny because they were going to fight that night. After them, I see Steve Austin talking to Vince McMahon. They were discussing the match with Austin and the Undertaker so I didn't stay there long. I stopped to tie my shoe, and I look up and Jerry Lawler is coming towards me. I said his name as he walked by me. He stopped, shook my hand, and asked me how I was doing. The conversation lasted about two minutes and he was very nice and cordial. He might not look it on T.V. but, Lawler is a big guy.
The next guy I see is Vader. He was not friendly at all. The fireworks guy said Vader is like that all the time. As I continued to walk down the hallway, I see Chyna at a makeup table. Not to take anything away from her but, T.V. makes her look bigger. However, Hunter Hearst Helmsley is a beast. I went back out to the main arena where the wrestlers were hanging out. I saw the Legion of Doom without their facepaint. OOPS!!!!
I then saw the Hart Foundation, sans Bret, coming in the building. Owen gave me a friendly hello and went on about his business. The last person I saw before the show started was Ken Shamrock. The man is only about 5' 8" but he was as wide as two guys.
It was a good show. Ahmed Johnson was coughing up blood backstage after the match (legit). Sunny came out again to work the crowd. I felt sorry for her because all these old, drunk, rednecks were yelling various obscene comments to her. Chris Candido was sitting about five feet from it and was taking it all in. He got mad when a fan called him by his real name. I turned about and bumped into this massive chest. I look up and there's Crush. He was nice and said hi and back to the dressing room. That was a great way to start my summer.
Tom P. from Penn State University: I come from a smaller town Northwest of Pittsburgh. I graduated high school in 1994. I feel cool to say that none other than ECW's Shane Douglas was a teacher at my high school for awhile. My classmates and I really enjoyed him. He got along with mostly everybody. He quit because he signed a contract with WWF though later he became much more famous with ECW. He grew up a few miles away from the high school. Whenever ECW comes to town, everyone is proud to see our local hero, Shane Douglas.
Sam G.: Back in 1987, I along with a friend went to a TV taping in Macon, GA. Since we were buying tickets at the gate, we got there very early. We got inside the arena about an hour and a half before the matches started and found our seats and then went to the concession stand. It was while we were in line for the concession stand that Ric Flair came up and got into the line behind us. We talked with him while standing in line. He bought two hot dogs and a beer and successfully defended his world title against Lex Luger later that night. I also see Chief Jay Strongbow almost everytime I go to play golf. I also saw the original Sheik at Hooters in Atlanta back in 1992. He was a really nice guy.
David B.: Sometime in the early eighties, World Class Championship Wrestling was doing a house show at Grand Prairie High School, about two weeks after the death of David Von Erich. The main event was Kerry vs Michael Hayes. I was seated in the second row and was heckling Von Erich. A kid in the first row started yelling "Hey, Kerry! Where's David?" and throwing ice at Von Erich's head.
At one point, Kerry stopped wrestling and pointed at the kid in the first row. I told the kid he should leave because Von Erich was REALLY PISSED, but the kid stated he wasn't scared of Kerry. As soon as Kerry pinned Hayes, he bolted out of the ring coming towards us with fire in his eyes. At this point, everyone in the first five rows are scrambling for cover. Before I knew it, Kerry had me in the second row by the shirt shouting "Where is the little son of a bitch??!!". Panicked, I started scanning the crowd and there was this stupid kid sitting there acting like nothing had happened. I said, "That's him, sir" and pointed. Kerry pushed me down in the seat and snatched the kid off his feet by the hair and slapped him with all his force which pulled the hair from his head. Von Erich then threw him back in his seat.
Seeing half of Grand Prairie's finest running towards us, I decided to head for the exit. I almost made it out when two Grand Prairie police officers handcuffed me and brought me back to ringside. Thank God Von Erich told the police I was only yelling and having a good time. The police took the cuffs off and Von Erich apologizes for grabbing me stating that he snapped when the kid kept making comments about David. We shook hands and I went home with my story of almost gettting my ass kicked by Kerry Von Erich.
Jacob B. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: On July 27th of this year, I attended a WWF show in Indianapolis, Indiana. We got there early and were waiting to get a few autographs when the wrestlers arrived. First, the Blackjacks pulled up, and they were really nice, signing a note card for me. After they went inside, Hunter and Chyna drove by but didn't park. A few minutes later, they drove by again, and this time Bradshaw came out and started for his car.
Hunter & Chyna drove by him, then backed up, and Chyna rolled down the window and shouted, "Hey, Bradshaw!". As he turned around, Bradshaw replied, "Yes sir!", then when he saw who it was, corrected himself by saying, "I mean, Ma'am". It was really funny and we all were laughing as they talked at the car. I don't think this was an act because there were only seven people back there watching them arrive. Nonetheless, it was really funny and totally unexpected.
Anonymous: In 1985, I was working at a bar in Ft. Lauderdale. There was a match going on in Miami that evening and I couldn't go because I had to work (I was very upset). About 11:00 that night, I saw two guys that I really recognized, it was ANIMAL and HAWK (then known as the Road Warriors not LOD). After about 15 minutes on the phone with everyone I knew, I decided to make myself known. They were just sitting there drinking a beverage (or 10) when I decided to ask them some questions about wrestling and about them. We talked for a little while and then went into the restaurant part for something to eat. They chowed down about 5 pounds of crab each and polished off a whole cheesecake by themselves .We talked for hours that night and I learned a lot about wrestling that I probably shouldn't know but my lips are sealed. I've met alot of people in my day, but this ranks among the top 3.
Marcie D.: In 1985 or so, I was working as a pharmacy clerk at the Thrift Drug store in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, close to the Greater Pittsburgh Airport. A nice, great looking gentleman came up to the counter to get some medicine for a nasty cold he had. Man, he was sick and as he paid for his medicine I told him he should go home, get some good food in him and get into a nice warm bed.
Meanwhile the pharmacists and the other clerk behind me where giggling and talking and when Roddy left and I turned around, they looked at me in disbelief! "Didn't you know who that was?" "No." "That WAS RODDY PIPER, you dummy! And you told him to go home and get into a nice warm bed!"
Well, I hope he did!
My slow on the uptake habits came home to haunt me, because Roddy was and is regular TV fare in our home.
We now live in a community that regularly has famous movie stars here to live and work. Seeing them does not compare to that evening in 1985. Good people, Roddy is!
Rob F.: I was at the Pittsburgh airport ready to get on a flight to Tennesse for Nitro. As I was getting on the plane, I looked to where I was supposed to sit and Chris Benoit was sitting next to me! It was awesome, we talked about wrestling a lot and he told about what great wrestlers and hard workers the Hart's are. Chris told me that training in the dungeon was very difficult. Later at Nitro I saw him and he gave me a backstage pass. I met the Horsemen, Luger, Hogan, Nash...it was truly awesome.
Chris M.: My brush with greatness isn't much different than everyone else who was fortunate enough to meet the man, Ric Flair. I was around 14 when the NWA came to the Municipal Auditorium in Columbus, GA, where we were usually treated to nothing more than World Wide and NWA Pro TV tapings, but this night, we had a great show: Flair vs Dusty, Tully vs Magnum, and Arn fought Sam Houston.
Anyway, after the show, me and my friends headed to the back of the auditorium to try and meet some of the wrestlers. The first wrestler to come out was Dusty who basically just blew us off and got his rental car and took off. Others who blew us off included Tully, The Road Warriors, Nikita and Ivan Koloff, and long time NWA jobber Tony Zane. (In the wrestler's defense, they were polite about it. Maybe they had to get out of town in a hurry.) I was lucky enough to get Magnum, Sam Houston, AA, Barry Windham, and Paul Jones' autograph. But the best part was when Ric Flair came out. There were at least a dozen kids back there and he smiled, let out a" Whooooooo!" and said "Ha ha. My public." He then set down on the concrete steps and signed all of our autographs before he left. Flair IS the man.
Jim B.: Both of my brushes with greatness involve autograph sessions. The first was before an old NWA match at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Sting, Hawk, Animal, Shane Douglas, and another guy who was Shane’s partner at the time were there. The time period is just after the Road Warriors attacked Sting and had him up on the ‘Doomsday Device’ they used for their finishing move. Anyway, there was a gentleman with his kid in front of my buddy and I. This gentleman starts in on Hawk (Sting happen to be sitting between Hawk and Animal at the table) on how wrestling is fake, and how could he be sitting next to Sting after attacking him, etc....Hawk is starting to get a little upset, and the guy keeps going on. Hawk finally stands up and kicks his chair out from under him causing it to bang against some bleachers making even more noise. The gentleman finally went on his way and Hawk calmed down, then it was my turn for his autograph. I (making sure I didn’t say anything that would put him over the edge) said something along the lines of the guy just not getting it. Hawk answered back, "You don’t see me making fun of what he does for a living". I said "That’s right" and quickly moved on. The other guys were great and Hawk was pretty cool after that.
My next brush was with Kerry Von Erich who was signing at some big appliance store sale. I had picked up a new wrestling magazine with a great picture of him after a match. In line waiting for him to sign it, I was behind another guy with his kid. Kerry started arm wrestling with the kid, letting him win, acting like his arm was hurt. The kid ate it up. Next, I put the magazine down open to the picture. He picks it up and starts looking at it. He asks a guy with him if he had seen it before, and starts flipping through it. He then signs it and picks it up and gives it back. The only bad part was he smudged part of his signature. But he was very pleasant and shook hands with everyone.
Harold L.: This probably doesn't qualify for a brush with greatness, but I thought it was pretty funny...
I was at Burnsville Center (a shopping mall south of Minneapolis) in the late 70's. Bobby Heenan walked briskly past me, looking annoyed. Apparently, Mr. Heenan was trying to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done. Immediately behind Mr. Heenan was a group of 8-10 young teenage kids pointing at Mr. Heenan and shouting "Weasel, Weasel, Weasel!!!!!"
Poor guy couldn't even get his Christmas shopping done in peace!
Jeremy H. Tampa, FL: I was driving back to Tampa from Orlando one day last summer. On the interstate, I ended up behind a black Jaguar with a license plate that said "MALENKO". Curious, I sped up and passed the car, and damned if the Iceman himself, Dean Malenko, wasn't sitting behind the wheel, as stone-faced as ever. I briefly considered honking my horn to get his attention, but common sense prevailed. I didn't want to go down in history as the man who got Dean Malenko killed by distracting him on a busy interstate.
Andrew V.: Back in the fall of '92 (or was it '93?) my high school was having a WCW show as a fundraiser. Since my parents were working in the concession stand, we got there about an hour early (my brother even got to help assemble the ring). About 45 minutes before the show began, all the wrestlers began to show up. The show was to take place at our high school gym, and I was in the gym shootin' hoops by myself. Suddenly, I hear, "Hey man, let me get a shot in." I turned around, looked up, and there was Booker T. and Stevie Ray, along with Ice Train. We played a short game, then they went back to the locker room. (Later that night, Harlem Heat was wrestling against Ice Train and 2 Cold Scorpio).
Chad V.: One night about two years ago, a buddy of mine and I were sitting in a Friendly's restaurant eating. I looked up to see none other than King Kong Bundy. My friend, not a wrestling fan, couldn't care less. Some of my other friends had met him, but I never had the chance. I was too nervous to go up and say anything to him. My waitress noticed me staring at him, "Why don't you go say hi to him? He comes in here all the time." I was still too chicken. In the end, I just ended up yelling to him from my table, to this day I still wish I had the guts to just walk up to him.
He lives around me somewhere, so every once in awhile he drives past me on the road. When I meet him again I think I'll say "hello".
Brian C., Oak Lawn, IL: I had a brush with greatness at a recent Chicago Nitro. I had some seats that were rather high up. When DDP came out in the crowd to call down to Savage, my friend (quite ironically, Tristan J. (see the next one down) was him) and I went as quickly as we could to find DDP. He was only about 15 seats down the aisle, so we rushed over there, only to find that security guards were storming the place. So I, being the more intelligent of the two, said we should go behind where DDP was. After all, he had to come back out sometime.
So after he was through yelling at Savage, he came back out into the halls of the United Center. Me and my friend were the only two people there, so it was awesome. Of course, that lasted for about a minute, as storms of fans rushed down towards him. I didn't get to talk to him, but I had the honor of having my foot stepped on by him. I also patted him and Kimberly on the back. Man, his boots were heavy, because, I was wearing sandals. My foot had a huge cut in it from were he stepped on it. I guess people are right when they say all good things come at a heavy price.
Also, I had several other brushes with greatness. I was with Tristan J. when he went to both the Flair and UT autograph sessions. Of course, he was quite mistaken. It was I that asked Flair to say "Whoo!". He said it softly, but I whispered to myself "Loser" and he must of heard it because then he said it loudly. As for the question about the Bulls, it was another one of our friends, Ken, who asked it. Tristan J. didn't have the guts to do nothin'.
And when I met UT, I about pissed in my pants. Turd and Mancow were there too, and they were giving out WM13 tickets. Ironically, the man who won it was, in the words of Turd, "mini Goldust". There were my brushes with greatness, and hopefully I'll have another when I meet Tully Blanchard Sept. 13 at a church.
Tristan J., Oak Lawn, IL: My brush with greatness happened after a recent "Saturday Night's Main Event" card at the Rosemont Horizon, in suburban Chicago. After the card, a friend and I were walking down a side street to catch a bus. The Undertaker was driving by slowly in a small red car (I don't know what kind) I had a sign that said "Tombstone Me" on it so I held it up for him to see. He looked at it, pointed, and laughed. It was the first time I have ever seen the Undertaker laugh.
(Here are a couple more not-so-close touches with greatness) At the same card, I was walking out of the lot and we passed by the back door. Their was a limo waiting and Chyna, Helmsley, and Shawn Micheals all came out and got into the same limo! This was very strange because they were breaking character by being "friends". I was very suprised because there was only a few people there. So I patted all of them on the back, but that must have pissed Helmsley off because he pushed me away (softly) tying to get to his limo. When they were all in, the alarm went off from the people standing by the limo.
(next story) I also saw at this card Dude Love drive by me in some kind of truck and, when I snuck down to the underground parking lot (where the wrestlers park), none other than the Iron Shiek was the man "directing traffic". Geez, Vince making him pull double duty. One of the cars was Sunny who was in the back seat, she was driven by someone other than her fiance Chris Candito.
At an autograph signing with the Undertaker he used his normal voice when handing me the picture he said "Here you go".
At an autograph signing with Ric Flair, he was trying to stay in character, which was funny when I asked him if he went to the Bulls game last night (being a Chicago fan and knowing he was one, too). He said "No, brother, couldn't make it out of Charlotte in time". I then asked him to give me a "real loud Whoo!" He then went very softly "whoo", I said "A little louder?", then he let out a big "WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!", which made the whole line repond with a "whooo" of their own.
At a church that is only a block away from my house, Tully Blanchard is coming in a week. I'm looking forward to meeting him and hope to have a good talk. If anything interesting happens, I'll write back.
Jess S.: Back in '89, I worked at my college radio station in Denton, TX. Bill Mercer, the local wrestling promoter, taught at the college, and he also worked at the station. One of the assignments I was given when I worked in the news department was to interview some local wrestlers who were putting on a charity show for a local frat house. I met several World Class wrestlers, including the late Kerry Von Erich and one of his daughters. He was very rude, but that could've been my fault, I was an obnoxious reporter back then.
The most fun I had was meeting the heels. They actually turned out to be the nicest of all. Iceman King Parsons talked with me for about 10 minutes and then gave me a baseball cap. Michael Hayes autographed his album (which I still have). Bill Irwin gave me a few pointers in the weight room.
The best of all tho were the Samoan Swat Team (Samu & Fatu). They always acted like they had just climbed down out of the trees, but they were actually very intelligent and extremely nice.
I got to spend about an hour and a half backstage (thanks to Bill Mercer and co-promoter Frank Dusek). That was the most memorable interview in my 2 1/2 years on the air.
John B.: Bobby "The Brain" Heenan was in Indianapolis two weeks ago to promote a WCW house show at Market Square Arena. This was a big deal because WCW had never done a show at MSA, being forced previously to use the "cow barn" at the fairgrounds on previous shows. He was appearing at Karma Records in Greenwood from 10 to noon, coinciding with the tickets going on sale. I am friends with the owner so he let me come down and work security/crowd control.
The Brain arrived about 5 minutes early with a lovely woman (wife?). He was extremely nice while setting up for autographs, joking with the staff about being home. The crowd started filing in 5 at a time to buy tickets and meet The Brain. There were about 250 - 300 people waiting. The line moved quickly, but Bobby took as much time with the fans as possible, signing photos, answering questions, getting photos taken. He was quick witted, but not in character. I asked him about Arn, and he told me he was through, 4 discs removed from his neck. He mentioned his previous neck injury, I shared my story about my lower back (1 disc removed). I stayed behind his table the entire time, just watching him interact with the fans, he was truly the nicest "famous" person I have ever met.
Jeffrey K. from Southwest Texas State University: In October, 1992, I was in the San Juan, Puerto Rico airport (coming home from my honeymoon) when I saw a face that only a true wrestling fan could love: The Iron Sheik!!! I was impressed! Although not as tall as my 6'4", he was very thick. His chest and shoulders were huge!!! Not knowing how he would take it, I approached him and began to shoot the bull. I asked what he was doing in Puerto Rico (good one, huh?) and he replied that he was working for the local federation there. As we were talking, my wife and friends were taping and taking pictures.
When our flight was called, I saw him in the very rear of the aircraft, scrunched in a tiny seat. After we were airborne, I bought him a drink and had the stewardess deliver it. The Iron Sheik came forward with an autographed picture and said "Thanks for the drink". Then the trouble started. Other fans onboard began buying him drinks, hoping to get a pic and pretty soon he was BLITZED!
One of the stewardesses jokingly said I should be thrown off the plane with him in Atlanta. She said he had finally fallen asleep and no one was filing charges. Thank God! The tape and pics are still held in high esteem and are in the middle of the photo album from the honeymoon, proudly displayed.
Shortly before I left the Army, I made friends with a former wrestler who maintains close ties with both of the premier organizations in wrestling. He allowed me and a few other soldiers (you had to be a serious fan) to accompany him to matches in Baltimore and Philadelphia. We got to watch for free, help with a cage (if there was one), carry items to the locker room, and (most important) drink with the wrestlers. Thanks to this good friend, I was crushed by a collision between Sting and Vader, knocked down by Madusa, had my hands stomped numerous times by various people (including Rick Rude, Ron Simmons, Dustin to name just a few). The times I remember best were at the bars. The guys were usually out of character, relaxed, and being themselves. Vader (now that is one LARGE human being) is a lot quieter than he appears, Hercules is a man with a sense of humor as big as he is, Dustin is just a good ol' boy, and Madusa does posess the finest legs in wrestling.
I wont tell about the guys who were not socially acceptable because for all I know they were just in a bad mood. By the way, thanks to Pat, I met my boyhood idol, Dusty Rhodes. Thanks for everything, Pat, you are a good friend.
Claudia R.: Here is something for your Brushes with Greatness Section from the Cruise Lady Herself!
On Sunday August 17th, I attended the ECW PPV in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Good show....Heck of a crowd. On Monday, August 18th, I flew to New York City from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to visit my parents. I got to the airport two hours before flight time. While waiting at my gate, I saw Rick Rude waiting at my gate! I spoke with him for a few minutes and he was as nice as could be, a gentlemen!! A few minutes later, I went to get something to drink and who stops me, but Sunny and Jerry "The King Lawler!" Sunny recognized me from the WWF Wrestle Vessel and we spoke for a few minutes only as their plane was boarding....Jerry Lawler was so nice, he asked me questions about the cruise....Jerry Lawler and Sunny were heading to Atlantic City for the WWF RAW Is War, and when they started to board, Rick Rude went on that flight as well...he was just sitting at another gate.
I got on my plane which was going to Newark, N.J., I was sitting in first class, and who was one of the last to board, CHRIS CANDIDO!!!!! He saw me and immediately said hello to me by my name as he also remembered me from the Wrestle Vessel! I hung out with Sunny AND Chris, and Marc Mero And Sable on the cruise, so he did remember me. Chris Candido sat in coach so I said I would see him later...Well, the plane ended up being delayed an hour after we boarded, so most people got off, I stayed with Chris and we talked, and when we left the plane to wait in the Terminal, who was there, a few more of the ECW crew, Francine, Shane Douglas, Perry Saturn, Sabu, Kronus, some of the Dudley's, Sandman, and we all talked for a while until Chris and I had to get back on the plane.
We reboarded, I was in front, Chris sat in back.....When we landed in Newark, Chris and I went to the baggage claim together and talked some more and by that time my parents found me, I introduced them to Chris and they talked for a while until the bags came, my dad said shaking Chris's hand was like shaking a vice machine, strong!!! Chris candido was so nice to my parents and spoke with them as if he knew them forever....Chris told my parents what a good time we had on the cruise and it was funny we were both on the same plane.....Chris did not have to be at the Raw Is War taping until later in the day, that is why Sunny took the direct flight as she had to be at the tapings very early for promos, so Chris went home to their house in New Jersey to pick their car up and was going to meet Sunny later in the day in Atlantic City...What a day to remember it was for me that I will never forget, and Chris told me that ECW will be back in Ft. Lauderdale in September and he looks forward to meeting with me again as he asked for my phone number where he could reach me so I could possibly pick him and Sunny up at the Airport! How nice! WHAT A DAY!!
Michael J.: On July 22, 1997 I had the oppurtunity of a wrestling fan's lifetime. I actually got to go to the home of Ted Dibiase. A friend of mine does editing for commercials and he was doing a shoot at Ted's house and asked me if I wanted to go. I said YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT, BROTHER!!!!!
So we headed out to his house in Mississippi with the people he works with. He met us at the Wendy's in town and we followed him to his house. Nice house. We get inside and start setting up for the shoot at his kitchen table. We didn't have any prop money so he asked his wife to go to the bank and get $2,000 in $100 bills for prop money. My jaw dropped.
I learned that the "Million Dollar Man" is on of the nicest guys and one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. The shoot took 6 hours to do and he didn't complain once. It was 100 degrees and he was in a full suit and tie. The best thing is he put me in the Million Dollar Dream AND IT'S ON FILM!!!!! Incredibly cool. When we left and stopped at a restaurant to eat, guess who show's up? Ted and his whole family and some of his youngest son's friends. He came to our table and remarked that we "just couldn't seem to get away from him." The man is pure class. He made sure our food was good and we were enjoying ourselves.
From all that and just asking him stuff from what was it like working for Vince McMahon and with Hulk Hogan it was an incredible day. The best thing is he's coming to Ft. Walton Beach (which is where I reside) to preach Aug. 31 and Nitro is the next night in Pensacola. It will be very cool!!
Oh! By the way, he has a little bitty dog named Buttercup!!! And he tried to tell me that his "son" named the dog!! Yeah, right!
Dave H.: The day before the last Wrestlemania (1997) in Chicago, I was working out at a health club where many of the wrestlers were working out. In the locker room, I ran into Ken Shamrock. Ken was extremely cordial and willing to sign an autograph. In addition, he talked with me for 10 minutes mostly about his UFC days and how he disliked Tank Abbott and felt Royce Gracie knew his time was up. He is absolutely the largest person I have ever seen.
I also ran into the Iron Sheik who is a nice guy and Crush (fake tattoo on forehead).
Robert R., Jr.: I just returned from a grand opening of Ric Flair's Gold's Gym in Durham, NC (8/19/97). Scheduled at the grand opening was Ric Flair so I took my Pictorial History of Wrestling Book and an issue of Pro Wrestling magazine with Ric Flair on the cover. As soon as I got off from work, I headed to the grand opening. Ric Flair was scheduled to sign from 3PM to 9PM. I arrived around 5:30PM and the line was huge. I had almost given up on the fact that I was going to get an autograph and say a few words to the Nature Boy.
I went to eat and decided I would come back later. When I came back the line was a little shorter so I went up to see where Flair was. To my suprise, Arn Anderson (the best worker in the business) was there signing also. Both were outside under a canopy. I took a few pictures of Flair and Anderson and then I immediately got in line. Before I got to Arn, he seemed as if he wasn't feeling good (probably due to a combination of signing hundreds of autographs, the heat outside and his recent surgery) so Flair told him to walk around a little bit. But being the worker and company man he is Arn said "No, I'm OK" and continued to sign.
When I got to Arn I asked him about his health and I told him that I missed seeing him compete in the squared circle. He said he missed competing, also. I think he was glad I asked about his health cause it seemed to me that most of the people there were not "marks" like some of us and didn't know Arn is recovering from surgery. I think some of the people didn't know who Arn Anderson was (I know one lady in line didn't)! I thought about mentioning your Arn Anderson web page but when I got to him I asked about his health and the workers for the gym were trying to keep the line moving. Ric was nice also and signed everything I asked him to. He responded to everything I asked or requested with a "yes, sir" and he was smiling the whole time. He seemed especially fond of signing autographs and speaking to the little children that were in the line. I told Flair I would see him at Fall Brawl and he said "Thank you sir" and I left with autographs of the two best wrestlers in history in my hands. What a wonderful day!
Dave A.: Last Wednesday (8/13/97), DDP and Kimberly were in Salt Lake City promoting ticket sales for the Sept. 22 Nitro. Three of my friends and I went to meet them. It took about 20 minutes to get through the line.
My friend was the first to meet him. He went up and held his hand out and when DDP went to slap it, my friend gave him a "Self High-Five." DDP laughed and said that was pretty good and held his hand out, and when my friend went to hit it, he pulled back and yelled "none for you."
He made everyone give him a "BANG!" to get an autograph, and he told my friend to give him "one hell of a bang." I was next and I asked him why he dosen't do the Self High-Five anymore. He told me it really wasn't fitting with what he was doing right now, he'll still pull it out occasionally, but it just isn't his style now. I gave him a "Bang!" and got his and Kim's autograph. Kim seemed real nice, but quiet. My next friend was too much of a wuss to ask him anything, just took his pictures and said "Bang!". My last friend noticed the scar on his forehead and asked if he got that at Road Wild, DDP said yes. My friend gave him a "Bang!", but DDP thought it was wimpy and made him do another one. When they were leaving, I told him I'd see him tomorrow (he was doing another promo the next day) and he said "Oh, I'll be there." It was awesome.
Jeff: I was at the show in Shreveport that Scott Hall and one of the Nasty Boys had a shoot. It was during a triangle tag match and as Nash was jack-knifing one of the Faces of Fear, if I recall correctly, the other four wrestlers were on the floor tangling. My attention was mainly on the ring, but soon after the match was over, Hall darted into the ring and stood next to Nash. The Nasties were yelling into the ring, and the Faces of Fear seemed to look bewildered and made a hasty exit.
Well, after the card my friends and I wandered around back to where the wrestlers were. DDP and the Giant left together, and were cordial. Then Nash, Hall, and Syxx came out and got into their limo (I swear, they really do ride around in this limo). Nash looked upset. Then, some drunk guy jumps on the hood of the limo and Nash shoots out of the limo, and he is ticked off!!! It took a crapload of cops to hold him off of this idiot. We decided that this wasn't the best time to meet these guys, so we went down the road to Taco Bell to eat before we went to our homes an hour away. While we're in there, Syxx (no kidding) walks in with a guy that I assume was there chauffer and makes an order. Me and one of my friends went over and spoke with him, and commented on what we had seen. He politely explained that there had been an altercation (he didn't go into any details) and that they were a little worked up and actually apologized (although if somebody jumped on my limo, I'd be upset, too). He was more than cool about it. Then he got the order and left. By the way, he is also one of the few that look bigger in life than they do on TV. The only other two that come to mind immediately are DDP and Hall.
Dave Barichello, Pampa, TX: About four years ago the WWF came to Thunder Bay, Ontario (my home town). After seeing the event my friends and I went to a local bar to see if any wrestlers would show up. Sure enough HBK, Razor Ramon (Hall), Jarrett, Henry Godwin and a couple of others were there.
I talked to a couple of them and a few things stand out in my mind. For the life of me I couldn't get Hall to drop the accent. Shawn would sign any autographs. He was a heel at the time, but he could have been a bit nicer. Razor and Shawn were making fun of each other across the bar. They opposed each other in the main event. All in all it was quite funny.
Two years ago, I was in the Minneapolis airport coming to Texas when Bob Backlund walked by me. I turned around and caught up to him and talked to him for a few minutes (hoping to God he would be in character and yell and scream at me about morality). He was very soft spoken and polite, a nice guy.
Last year on a flight from Minneapolis to Memphis I was sitting on the plane with my wife when she saw a guy walk past our seats and sit two rows behind us. She woke me up and said that she thinks a wrestler just walked by. I looked back and there was a guy that looked a little like Syxx. After the flight landed and we got up to leave I asked him if he was Sean Waltman. He smiled and said yes. He said he was going to Pensicola, FL for a Monday Nitro. After departing the plane we had to run to catch another flight. We didn't make it and we were sitting on a bench when he walked by and told me to have a good flight home. A genuinely nice guy despite the recent crap in the ring.
Alan B. Prater: I work for KGNC, The talk radio station here in Amarillo, Texas. On August 14th, I interviewed Dan Severn on our Thursday night sports show. He was a great and easy guy to talk to. He also brought his UFC and NWA belts. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera. He did autograph a picture and I have the show on tape.
Floyd W.: I don't remember exactly when this was, but definitely in the mid-70's when I was about 8 or 9 years old. This was back when Texas Championship Wrestling was big in Dallas and Oklahoma. They would come up to Lawton, Oklahoma a lot to wrestle at the fairgrounds, and the Von Erichs would always be there. Unfortunately, I never attended the matches, but God I wish I did. Look at all the greats I missed: Bruiser Brody, the Freebirds, Tim Brooks, Wild Bill Irwin, the Great Kabuki.
Anyway, one day way back then I was with my parents at a Gibson's department store that was right across from the fairgrounds. I was off by myself wandering around the store while they shopped. As I was standing in an aisle, who should walk around the corner and stand next to me but Kevin and Kerry Von Erich. I almost wet my pants! They were with some girls that may have been their girlfriends at the time, but I don't know. Anyway, I looked at them both, just staring for a good minute. Kerry was taller, and at that time steroid free, so he looked sort of lanky. Kevin looked puny and I was amazed as to how short he was. They sort of ignored me and I eventually turned around and walked away, but man! To meet two of the Von Erichs! I will never forget that day.
John W.: Back in 1985, I'd heard various people tell me that Billy Jack Haynes had moved in down the street in my hometown of Charlotte, NC. So two days after watching Starrcade on closed circuit TV at the old colosseum (Independence Arena), myself and a friend knocked on his door. A lady who I assume was his wife answered. We asked if we could have BJH's autograph like a couple of dumb 13 year olds that we were. She invited us to come in and said she'd be right back. He came into the room and he was huge. We handed him our tickets from Starrcade and asked if he would sign them. He said he could do better than that and came back with two posters of he and Wahoo McDaniel (they were U.S. tag champs) and signed them. He talked to us for about 10 minutes and said that was the first match he and Wahoo had lost as a team (they lost to Ole and Arn Anderson). That day I will always remember!
Don B. of Black Mountain, NC: About four years ago (I think it was 1993), my fiancee and I stopped into a Subway in Swanannoa, NC on a cold Sunday afternoon. Swanannoa is a very small town, actually it isn't much more than two red lights off of I-40. It was around 2:30 or 3:00, during the slow period at Subway.
As soon as I walked in I noticed someone who looked very familiar at the drink machine. Sure enough, it was Ricky Morton from the Rock and Roll Express. He is just as tiny in person as he looks on TV. At first I doubted if it was really him, but then I looked over to my left, I saw "brother" Robert Gibson finishing up at the table. With him was Tracy Smothers. I started to try and initiate a conversation, but Morton gave me this evil look like, "Don't even think about it!"
I must have been acting strange at this point, because my fiancee' asked what was wrong with me. I told her nothing and we went on to order our food. Robert Gibson went out to warm up their Grand Am (it looked pretty cluttered - I guess they were traveling). Morton said "Let's go." to Tracy Smothers, and with that they left.
Later, when I told my fiancee' who they were, she said that I should have gotten them to sign a napkin or something. I said that I didn't really want to mark out for the Rock and Roll Express since they were has-beens anyway. I have read that some people say they are nice guys, but they did not give me that impression. Since then, my fiancee' and I got married, and last year we were watching WCW Monday Nitro, and saw an attempted comeback by the Rock and Roll Express, which confirmed my statement that they are has-beens. I pointed them out to my wife, but said she really did not remember them or what they looked like (she is not a big fan of wrestling). Anyway, they looked tired, old and grumpy - not at all like the team that had such monster feuds with the Midnight Express so long ago.
The War Eagle from Birmingham, AL: Tonight (6/11/97), was a WCW Saturday night taping, so my friend and I decided to skip work and head downtown to the auditorium. Well, we found an open door and watched workers set up the ring for about an hour, then we decided to walk around to find some wrestlers. After about an hour we saw Wall Street walk in, he said "Hi, guys." And then we saw Glacier, I asked him to Cryonic kick me, but he didn't. He's a real nice guy. Then we saw Chris Jericho. He and I chatted for a few minutes, he's one cool individual. From a distance we heard "Hey do you guys know what time it is?" It was Jimmy Hart. We said no, and then J.J. Dillion walked passed us. My friend got to meet the Giant (while he was eating dinner) he got his autograph and shook his hand. Well, we walked outside and we saw Mongo McMichael and Deborah getting out of their rental car. He walked toward us, I shot up the Four Horsemen sign, he said "Hi guys, coming to the show tonight?" Whoa, this guy was cool. We talked for a few minutes and he signed an autograph and then we got tossed by Doug Dillinger, WCW's head of security.
Matt Johnson: Back about 4-6 years ago when the Steiners and Rockers where in the WWF, I went to Hersheypark before going to the show. As I was getting in line for a roller coaster ride, I saw two big guys, one was unbelievebly huge, so I went over and lo and behold it was Scott Steiner and Marty Janetty. I couldn't believe it, they both seemed very nice and they shook hands with me and chatted for a little while. From this day on, Scott Steiner has been one of my favorite wrestlers, I still can't believe how huge he is.
Dalton Mayo at The Ringside Seat: During a summer session my junior year at UNC, I was in a sports card store on the back side of Franklin St. A guy walked in the store and asked who that blonde wrestler who was always champ was. The guy behind the counter and I both responded, "Ric Flair!" The guy responded that he was down on Franklin St. right now. Needless to say, I took off to try and catch him. When I got back out on the street side, Flair was easy to spot. He was carrying on a conversation with around 4 or 5 people around him and one woman who I assume was his wife. I just walked up and kinda' joined the crowd not wanting to interrupt him. Flair was extremely nice and was working his way around the circle of people. He'd shake hands with each of us and say hello and answer a question or two. He was in and out of character. If someone would ask a serious question, he'd give a quiet low-key answer. But if someone passing by would yell out, "Slick Ric!" or "The Nature Boy!," he'd jump back with a "And don't you forget it brother! Whooo!" Of course we were all loving it!
When he got to me, he shook my hand and I didn't have a clue what to ask. Finally I just asked him what brought him to Chapel Hill today. He looked at me and said, (I'll never forget it!) "Brother, Spring is in the air in Chapel Hill! And so are all the ladies! Whoooo!" We all busted out laughing and the lady with Flair just slapped him on the shoulder. He kinda gave a look like he was busted, but he didn't care. All I can say is that the Nature Boy was truly a nice guy and was kind enough to share some time with all of us gathered there and I was really impressed.
Chad L.: I have two great brush stories, both of which occurred in Charleston, West Virginia after Nitro tapings.
The first story occurred in early 1996 at a bar near the Charleston Civic Center named "Joey's." Flair ALWAYS refers to Joey's when speaking of Charleston, as he did on the July 28 Nitro interview with Mean Gene. He and Joey are very good friends. Anyway, I went over to Joey's for a cold one after the show with my friends Scott and Phil. When we arrived, there was Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Alex Wright sitting at a big table in the back. We went up to say hello and talked to PE for a good ten minutes - the nicest guys in the world! Malenko and Guerrero said hello, but weren't very friendly.
Just when we thought that was about as cool as it gets for a rasslin' fan, in walks the 13 time world heavyweight champ, wearing slacks and a dress shirt. We approached him as he walked back to the other wreslters and he stopped, shook our hands and chatted for a minute - he was very nice. We let him pass through and then realized a few minutes later that we didn't get an autograph. I went over to where he was sitting and asked. He told me that he needed a little down time, which I respected, and said that he would sign in a little while.True to his word, he stood up in about a half an hour and signed autographs for everyone who wanted. I still have my signed ticket stub, although Scott learned that laminating machines and tickets don't work well together....
Second, just a few weeks ago in Charleston, Nitro came back to town. I was staying in the Holiday Inn as I was taking the Bar Exam the next day. For a "mind break" I had tix to the show, which was just across the street. After the show, Scot, Phil, and I went to my hotel before going over to Joey's for a brew and who was checking in but Kimberly and the Nitro girls! I went over and asked for a picture with Kim and she was so nice about it! I got a great pic - she is about 6" in person and hot as hell. I then rode the elevator up to my room with the Nitro girls, who were staying one floor up. They were all very nice and were going out to party that night. They promised to keep it down when they got in so that I could study!!!
J.C.:On, Wednesday, 8/6/97, I was in attendance at a great wrestling independent show at the VA-KY Fair held at the Wise County fair grounds. I got to see some great action. But, I had the most fun AFTER the show, when I got to meet a heap-load of the wrestlers. One unmistakable wrestler was Disco Inferno. He is truly a great guy. Now, I know he was not in character because he was actually standing still, and not doing the hustle. *shrug*
He had a great match before that, against a WCW Power Plant wrestler by the name of Big Sexy. Big Sexy reminded me of Sweet Stan Lane, but had a much better physique. Disco and I talked for about 5 minutes, then I met probably the coolest wrestler I have ever met. His wrestling name is Madd Maxx, and I do not remember his real name. He looked EXACTLY like Sting, even the same face-paint. But, during the time I met him, he had no face-paint, and is really a kind of a laid-back dude. He and his partner, Rising Sun, faced Death & Destruction (if you ever go into the WBS room, you will know Sweet Scotty Ace, a manager who manages them from time to time), and the match came down to a 30-minute draw. That was the match of the night.
Other people I met were Foxy Lady, Brandi Wine (a cool girl, even though a heel), Ax and the REAL Ragin Bull Manny Fernandez. Ax left a little to be desired, and Manny, well, we only talked for a moment of two because he was going to another show. This weekend I am going to another show, and hope to meet up with some more of the wrestlers, I will get back to you if I do.
Ted W.: I used to travel all over the US as a service person for a large computer company. While waiting in the Atlanta airport for a flight to Jackson, MS, in the waiting area were several wrestling stars waiting for the same flight. I remember Kevin Sullivan, Woman and Jimmy Hart. There were others but I can't remember who. I remember thinking a couple of these folks are enemies in the ring--but they were all laughing it up and all looked like friends to me. This would have been around 1987-88. Around the same time I ran into Buzz Sawyer at the Tampa airport. I had a nice conversation with him and he was more interested in talking to me about my work with computers than anything else. He impressed me as a pretty nice guy.
Sarah Jo from Bourbonnais, IL: My friend Sarah just got back from visiting cousins in Cinncinati, OH and she said while she was in the hot tub at the hotel, this huge guy came up with this lady. He asked my friend if she thought he looked familiar. She said sort of. He asked if he could pass for a wrestler. She said probably. Well, it turns out that the guy was a wrestler and is none other than Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. We think the lady was wife.
ZCW pat: Back in 1957, my grandfather was coming out of the local YMCA and he saw two large men wrestling on a mat. One got very tired, and said "I've had enough!" So.......the other one exclaimed "Who will give me some good practice??!" My grandpa, then in great shape, rose his hand and stepped on the mat. He hopped, and jumped around, making the man look bad. The crowd that quickly formed starrted yelling and cheering, and the man exclaimed "Hey kid, you're making me look bad!" He then proceeded to flip my grandfather over. After that, he told him that he was a popular pro wrestler on his way to an event that evening. TRUE STORY!!!!
Fred World Order: Anyway, I'm not sure if this is a brush with greatness or not - for more reasons than one. My grandmother recently died and we went to Youngstown (near Cleveland) Ohio for her funeral. My brother was flying in since he lived in Texas. So anyway, two of my cousins went to pick him up so this is a second-hand story.
They all claim that when they were in Pittsburgh airport they all hear a familiar gravelly voice. They looked and saw none other than Randy "Macho Man" Savage walking through the airport. The punchline here is that he was wearing the exact same clothes as he wears on TV -- black, tassels, the whole nine yards!! I forgot to ask if he had on black sunglasses with white "teeth" on them, but oh well. He was walking with someone that my brother and one cousin didn't recognize, but my other cousin thought he was Mr. Perfect -- if this is true, does this mean (putting on Mark Helmet) that the rumors of Hennig in the nWo are true????? WOW!!!
A.I.R.: Back in March of '95, I spotted Jimmy Hart in the Atlanta airport. He was wearing the SAME clothes he wears for the WCW events. He was talking on the telephone to God knows who. Strangely enough he seemed to be in a very intense and attentive demeanor. I guess he was negotiating some contract.
Anyway I followed him around a bit, but I gave up because I had a plane to catch.
db: A couple of months ago, at a club in my hometown was Curt Hennig. I walked up to him and told him that he was a wrestler that I admired and I really was a big fan. He dismissed me with a very short "Thanks." The next night, a friend of mine saw him in the same bar and asked for an autograph (for me)...he quickly signed a piece of paper "WWF Mr. Perfect". Real nice, however, I had already read that he was going to the WCW...maybe he was still under contract or something...even though he did talk about it.
H.W.: I was in my second semester of college at Texas A&M when the great news that WCW would be holding a Clash of Champions in my hometown of Corpus Christi filtered it's way up to College Station ( I didn't have a TV and not many people in the dorms wanted to watch pro wrestling).
Anyway, I managed to convince my grandfather to buy me and a friend of mine tickets and we somehow ended up with fifth row seats right where the cameras would be facing. (This was the infamous Clash where Flair and the Horsemen booted Sting out and where Sting injured his knee).
I made it down to Corpus the night before the matches and my friend and I decided to see if we could run into any of the wrestlers at the Radisson which was the nicest hotel closest to the Coliseum. We walked around for awhile and were about to give up not having seen anyone when I decided to take a chance.
I picked up one of the hotel courtesy phones and asked the hotel operator to please connect me to Ric Flair's room. To my utter shock, the phone began ringing and about five seconds later the unmistakable voice of Ric Flair. I almost choked without saying anything but then I managed to spit out "I can't believe I'm talking to Ric Flair. I can't believe they connected me." Ric and I exchanged pleasantries and he said that he admired my ingenuity for just calling the hotel and asking to be connected to his room. ( It didn't seem to ingenious to me but what the heck). After a few minutes, he asked if I would be going to the matches and when I confirmed that he told me that he hoped I would enjoy the show.
My friend and I decided that we should take off and not press our luck any further so we decided to leave. As we were leaving, the worst kept secret in pro wrestling was confirmed for me one night early as we passed Ron Simmons and Butch Reed (Doom) who were coming in sans luggage from what I presumed was a night checking out the clublife in Corpus (I can assure you that if this was the case they came back disappointed).
F.W.: I was in Las Vegas in 1995 when the WCW had a PPV show at Ceasars Palace. (Can't remember which one it was). Anyway, my wife and I were eating at Planet Hollywood in the hotel. The place was packed. I was really hoping to see a few wrestlers that night and low and behold, I did. As I was eating my nasty $8.00 burger, I looked over and saw non other than Arn Anderson going to the restroom. I had to go see him close up so I decided it was time for me to go to the restroom as well. As I waited with the others in the john to get to a urinal I saw him at the sink washing up. He was quiet, polite and pretty normal looking. I also didn't realize how short he is. He walked right by me and said hello. I said hi, and that was it. But that was probably the greatest moment of my life. Coming face to face with Arn Anderson.
I was actually amazed that I was larger in size and height than him, but he did have that "presence" about him. After I got back to the table I looked over and saw him walk out with Meng and Col. Parker and some unknown lady. Meng and Parker are tall, but not much bigger. I thought Meng would have been huge. This must have been when Anderson was aligned with Parker and and the like.
On another note, I saw a WWF show in Oklahoma City and was watching the locker room area from where I sat. (I got free tickets). I saw Steve Austin playing around in a wheelchair with I think Bob Holly and Leif Cassidy. Also, during the match after the Undertaker's, I saw him leave the locker room in regular clothes and noticed that he didn't have ANY tattoos on his arms. Weird. Are they real or just really good fakes? Ahmed is HUGE in person.
But bottom line, Arn is a legend, and I will always remember the restroom at Planet Hollywood.
John from Myrtle Beach, SC: A few years ago when I was a little Stinger, I went to see a show and at the end Sting and the Road Warriors came out and got in to a Lincoln Towncar that Sting was driving. He almost ran over some of the fans he snubbed. But earlier that night before the card I met JYD who was a real nice guy we talked for a few minutes. Then I met Terry Taylor who was also a real nice guy.
I also had a chance to meet when I was in 3rd grade the Rock n' Roll Express after a match when they were World Tag Team Champions and they spent about an hour or so signing autographs and talking with fans after the matches were over when they were headed out the car.
Ethan M: I should've posted this about 6 months ago, but I just found this page. I'm from the Charlotte N.C. area, and quite a few wrestlers live around here (Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard). I work at an athletic footwear and apparel store in a mall just outside of Charlotte. Over this past Christmas season, a guy called and asked if he had left a bag in our store. There indeed was a bag behind our counter, so he said he would come in tomorrow. I glanced in the bag -- it was just a pair of jeans.
Anyways, who comes walking up to the counter the next day but Arn Anderson with a boy I assume was his son. I handed him the bag, and he shook all of our hands and he said that we had restored his faith in mankind. HaHa. All in all, he was a really nice guy. For what it's worth, Sgt. Slaughter frequents the same mall, though he's never come into our store.
Bman: Diamond Dallas Page is my uncle so I get to meet a lot of wrestlers. The Giant, Hulk Hogan, and Sting are the nicest down to earth people you could ever meet. Everyone (besides the wrestlers) I talk to thinks that DDP is a jerk. I just wanted to tell everybody that he really appreciates his fans. He's worked really hard to get where he is in wrestling.
He brought me to Bash at The Beach last week. I got to meet about all the wrestlers. Rodman is really cool. He is soft spoken. Also, Ric Flair and Chris Benoit are huge, much bigger than you would think they are. Eric Bischoff is a lot nicer than he appears to be on TV. And, yes, Kim and DDP are married.
Richard D.: I was living in Augusta GA in 1989, and I went to the small airport to pick up my wife from a business trip. There I was, holding a dozen roses, waiting for the passengers to disembark, when Dusty Rhodes comes ambling out. My jaw dropped. Then Hillybilly Jim, Rick Martel, and some other wrestlers who I remembered then. Of course, I received grief from my wife because all I wanted to talk about was what the wrestlers did on the plane and not her trip. She was good natured about the whole thing. Rick Martel did make me laugh because he commented "Those roses aren't for me, are they?"
Charles from Cleveland, OH: My friend's family owned a bakery and above the bakery was a gym. Whenever the WWF was in town, the wrestlers would always come and work out there. Then they come down for some treats. One day, in walks the man himself, Hulk Hogan. It being the late eighties, Hulk was riding high. So he grabs a drink from the cooler and saunters over to the counter to the check-out person. She was cute, so he says "I bet you want my autograph!" She played it great and asked "Who are you?" He went into his whole Hulk-a-mania spiel; but she didn't care. You could tell he was mad.
The Honky Tonk Man was a total jerk. Greg Valentine worked legs with me. Dino Bravo (God rest his soul) worked back. The Bushwhackers were nice but weak. Nikolai Volkoff worked out with us for about fifteen minutes but he wouldn't shut up so we left. I also met Jerry Lawler at a card at the old Front Row Theatre. That guy is terrific. He had has doubling over. He knocked out Kamala with a fireball that night.
Sarah Jo from Bourbonnais, IL: About 7 or 8 years ago, my cousin went to a wrestling show out in Tacoma, WA. The guy he went with was Sting's brother. After the show, Sting's brother took my cousin backstage and my cousin got to meet Lex Luger and Sting. I have always envied him for it because they are my two most favorite wrestlers.
ICE: I was at the June 30th Nitro and after the match, a guy I had just met (Hi, Frank!!) and I went down to the bar to mark out.
I was on the floor when every time another wrestler showed up at the bar and Mongo tried to 'bite their ear off' as this was the Monday after the infamous Tyson incident.
Also, Eric Bischoff was there, and he was getting (playfully) roughed up by DDP and Mongo, right before he left.
All in all, everyone was very cool. I was surprised that even the 'Brain' was very cool, patiently signing autographs for kids.
John B.: In 1979, we went to a show in Enterprise, OR to see André wrestle. It wasn't that memorable of a show but afterwards when we went to Albertson's for beer for the trip home and who should be in the store but André. Seeing that we were all on the beer aisle we started talking to him. After he loaded his cart up we asked if he was having a party (hoping to get invited) and he said that this would be just enough to get him to the next show. Talk about impressive. We still talk about all the beer and wine in his cart.
Neill B.: I attend Clemson FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meetings, and one night Tully Blanchard came by and spoke to us. He talked mostly about his life before and during his Horseman tenure. Even about how he was going to leave the WWF for WCW before being fired for drugs. I talked to him before the meeting and he was nice person.
Robert S. of Humboldt, TN: Last night we went to the taping in Jackson, TN of a Saturday Night WCW. When the event was over, we were leaving and were parked very near the rental cars of some of the stars, so we hung around to see who we could see. Eddie Guerrero came out and we were standing right by his car. He was very nice and let my son Kris have a picture with him. He left with Scott Norton and Chris Jericho. As they were about to leave, Scott Norton said to fans on the parking lot (under his breath) "F#$% you". I didn't think that was too kind to his loyal fans who pay his way.
Then Psychosis came out carrying his wig and got into a van. He acted like he was the only person alive on earth. He sat there a while and we didn't pay any attention to him. We thought he drove off but when we got ready to get into our car he was parked right next to it. Then some of the other Mexican masked wrestlers came and got into the van with him. My wife just casually shook hands with a couple of them and said that she enjoyed the show and that she would not take their picture since they didn't have their masks on. We got in the car and as we drove off, I saw Psychosis shooting us the bird. What a Mexican nerd. I just had to get this off my chest in that I had no idea how some of the wrestlers evidentally hate their fans.
Creed: My two roommates and I just got back from Las Vegas, and the Monday Nitro taping in the MGM Grand. I had to share our encounters from the night before, as the only brush I'd ever had was giving Rick Martel directions to the Orange Show Arena for a house show in San Bernadino. Anyway, we got there a day early, checked in, and went to scout out the MGM Grand to find the arena inside. As we walked around, I spotted Randy Savage. I raced off to get a camera and waited what seemed like forever as the slowest cashier in the world waited on the customers ahead of me. While I was waiting, I saw Masa Hiro Chono walking around the gift shop, but he didn't seem interested in talking.
Finally, I hurried back, hoping he hadn't left. Not only was he still there, but Lisa pointed out the person sitting next to him. The Giant. After a couple nervous moments, I approached them. We were all wearing our black trenchcoats (we're a strange lot), and when we got close, Giant thought we were German soldiers. Then he asked if we were Sting fans. I said, "Ya think...?"
He had been through several beers, and was very mellow, very talkative, very friendly. When asked if he had trouble getting into cars and the like, he said, "I have trouble getting into anything..." Savage came closer, the Giant said, "This guy's got so much money, they should call him Randy Knox. Only guy I know who buys a Testerossa, drives it around, and decides he doesen't like because there's no place to put his gym bag...Car is so small, it'd be a condom for me." We all got a picture with the Giant, who was almost as tall as my 5' 3" roommate while sitting down. Macho, while not very interested in talking to us, let me get a picture with him. Soon, Sonny Ono joined them and they were having a great time. Giant did a good Macho Man impression, followed by a fantastic Hogan impersonation. Curt Henning walked up (hmm, I wonder if he was going to be the impact player...). I said hi, but he gave me a look that said, "Why are you speaking to me?"
Now, roommate Jarrod is a martial arts instructor, and he flipped when Glacier walked by. So we talked to him for quite some time, he is a very nice guy. Talking shop, Jarrod discussed various moves, as well as trying to integrate true martial arts into the professional wrestling forum. We got a picture with him as well. But Jarrod's jaw dropped when Ernest Miller came by. He got a picture with him, which Jarrod is eagerly awaiting to put up at the school he teaches at. We finally left to get something to eat, and saw Regal and James Vandenberg coming in.
Walking around the next day, before the show started, I saw Hogan enter the building, as well as Bischoff. Neither one wanted any part of the fans, having security escort them to the elevator. I also saw Konnan walking around the casino, but no one seemed to recognize him. But the biggest thrill of all was when I hung out at the entrance when the wrestlers were due to check in. I saw Eddie Guerrero, then Vincent (Virgil, whatever). I was just about to leave, when I saw him. My jaw dropped, and I think my heart skipped a beat.
Walking with Raven and his wife, here came "Diamond" Dallas Page! I managed to stay calm, and when I said 'Hi," he paused to shake hands and ask my name. "Walk and talk," he said. Raven took off, and we talked briefly about his old days as a manager in AWA. He treated the fans so well, signing autographs and posing for pictures. Oh, and earlier when the Giant was talking about being around all the older guys, he pegged DDP as being 41, so now you know for sure. (Kimberly's 27, I know some of you care about that sort of thing...) Anyway, as he signed one last autograph, he mentioned that he knows better than to stand still for too long. I said, "You probably stand a better chance of ducking an nWo beating then getting out of a crowd of fans..." He said he was surprised about being over with the nWo fans. I didn't think to get a picture, but then I'd take a conversation over a snapshot any day.
Unfortunately, we had to leave right after the show, so I didn't get the opportunity to meet any more of them, but then we're headed back to Vegas for Halloween Havoc, so look for another one of these come October...
Zack B.: While I was waiting in line to get in at the May 26 Nitro in Nashville, I looked over to my left and saw Nick Patrick standing there on the sidewalk smoking a cigarette being a real nice and real cool guy to everyone that came up to him. In the arena, however, when he came out, he was acting like a real jerk and yelling insults at the fans.
Michael P.: I live in the Seattle area and for about 6 or 7 years running would attend all the WWF shows in the area. Got either front row seats or right next to the locker room area. Got to the point that if nothing else, the referees would remember me and talk to me on the way to the ring for a few minutes before they had to get in the ring to do their thing.
Anyway, one time, a friend and I drove to the Tacoma Dome back in the mid 80's (can't remember the exact year. Think it was 85 or 86.) and decided to take a side road to it. We were running a few minutes late and would make it just barely in time. We pulled to a stop sign on the back side of the Dome and another car drove up really fast beside us. I wasn't driving so I casually looked over and noticed none other than the "Macho Man" Randy Savage driving with Elizabeth on the passenger side. I got real excited and pointed it out to my friend. Savage was in his rulebreaking days with the WWF. Right around Wrestlemania V (The Megapowers Explode!) or something like that. Savage was all hunched over his steering wheel like he was almost glued to it and, I don't know if they did this as part of character or not, Elizabeth looked like she was scared out of her ever-loving mind like Savage was yelling at her or something. It was kind of obvious that Savage was running late since the start time was only like 5 minutes off and I think the wrestler should be there in plenty of time to go over last minute stuff. They were driving like a Gremlin or a car like that. I always thought the bigger names could afford a little better than that.
My friend and I couldn't stop laughing at the car he drove. When Savage came to the ring that night, we started laughing at him and made comments to him about the car. All he did was stare at us like death and finally told us to shut the hell up. Which of course made us laugh more at him!!
Anonymous: During the June 20th Waltham ECW card, I noticed Axl Rotten standing near the video tape section, watching a show on the little TV. It must have been an match of his, because he was laughing his ass off, explaining what really hurt and what didn't. I bought a tee shirt and had him sign it for me. He was more than happy to autograph the shirt, and seemed like a very friendly, cool guy. Nice intro music, too!
Joel M.: I'm originally from Stilwell, OK, which happens to be the area where Jim Ross is from.
He was doing commentary for Mid-South back when I began watching wrestling. I remember watching the Mid-South program once while at my grandparents, and my grandfather, who didn't follow wrestling, was surprised to see "the Ross boy". My mother tells me that there once was a possibility of her dating JR, but it never panned out.
As far as I know, he hasn't maintained any ties with the area...I assume his family is still here, but he pretty much had left his hometown behind even way back in the Mid South days....
Michael F.: I was at Six Flags of Georgia this past weekend and Friday while waiting in line for the Scream Machine, Marcus "Buff" Bagwell was waiting in line also. He had on his nWo tank top. We talked for a little bit. He wouldn't give me much info, but he said him and Riggs are really friends. He seemed like a really nice guy. And he really is buff. I don't think many people realized who he was.
Ray H.: I live in South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame) and I went to the arena for a WWF House show 2 years ago. Mabel was in one of the matches and I was in the front row so I could get high-5's. When Mabel came I touched his stomach and he was not pleased, Mabel told me that if I ever did that again, he was going outside with me and we'd see what happens. I was laughing my head off!
Juan R. from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio: When I lived in the Dallas area, I used to watch World Class Championship Wrestling religiously. I would go to all the tapings on the weekends in hopes of meeting some of the big wrestling stars at the time, which included the Von Erich family, "Gentleman" Chris Adams, the Fabulous Freebirds, etc.
Anyway, I found out that on Sundays, the wrestlers would visit a flea market in Grand Prairie (a suburb of Dallas) and meet fans. This didn't really interest me too much because I thought the wrestlers would be in character and following the kayfabe. Out of curiosity, I decided to go when "Freebird" Buddy Roberts was signing autographs one weekend. I went up to him with a picture in my hand, hoping he wouldn't turn me down. I was surprised to discover that this man was really nice and down to earth, unlike his character. We talked for a little while ( I was 11 at the time, and it was pretty surprising that a big star like Roberts would spend time chatting with a semi-mark of a fan like myself). He told me that the following weekend he would be back. Only this time, he would be in a dunking tank for charity! Naturally, I went back the next week. He remembered me when he saw me from the tank and gave me a sarcastic smile while blurting out the words,"You can't dunk me!" Due to the fact that I didn't want his remarks to embarass me in front of the crowd, I aimed right at the target and, sure enough, I sank him!! Afterward we talked some more, but then I left and we never crossed paths again.
Some of the other wrestlers I have had the privilege of meeting are: Chris Adams (a true gentleman), Kerry Von Erich (another really nice guy), Eric Embry (he was more than happy to sign autographs for the fans), Percy Pringle (this man has gained a LOT of weight since going to the WWF), "Maniac" Matt Borne (I was surprised to find out that he really wasn't as maniacal as he seemed), Jimmy Jack Funk (aka Jesse Barr, definitely a class act - this was when he was managed by Skandor Akbar), and Jeff Jarrett, who, unlike many accusations saying he is a complete jerk, was a very generous and personable wrestler (by the way, I met these wrestlers outside the WCCW dressing rooms). These have been my experiences so far. There is a WWF house show coming up in two weeks, so I'll probably be back here soon.
Edward Nelson: My brother knew where the wrestlers were staying during a show in Ontario, and took me up to meet some of them. At the bar in the hotel, there were a few, including the Undertaker, Tugboat Thomas, and Virgil. It got late, and the Undertaker had ordered a bottle of champagne which he couldn't finish before closing time, so he shook it up and sprayed the entire bar, as a joke. And who's going to get mad at him; he's the Undertaker, after all.
I wasn't there, mind you, but the next day my brother took Tugboat to a buffet for lunch. He also got the Bushwhackers to sign a birthday card for me.
J.C.B.: I was at a WWF card in my town. About halfway through, Tito Santana and Owen Hart came out and stood behind our section. A few people were trying to get autographs, but they were talking and didn't like being interrupted.
When Owen left, Koko B. Ware came out and started to talk to Tito. Tito signed some autographs and Koko was really nice and signed until Tito left and they both went back to the dressing room. I think Tito was tired from his match and didn't want to be bothered. Owen was, too, but Koko was friendly. This was when they were High Energy.
Adam S.: Back in 1990 or 1991, I went with a friend of mine to a wrestling memorabilia show out on Long Island. We were really excited, as a few big stars were supposed to show up (Rick Rude, Tito Santana, etc). Well, not too surprisingly in retrospect, the only guys there were S.D. Jones, the "Brooklyn Brawler" and some dude named Pit Bull who broke cinder blocks over his head(!). The MC made apologies for Rude, as he had JUST signed with WCW and was unable to show up.
On the way out, my friend handed a WWF Magazine to the Brawler for an autogrraph...it had an article in it on his feud with Terry Taylor (as the Red Rooster). The Brawler showed it to S.D. Jones, saying "Remember this?". Jones smiled wistfully and said "Yeah, the good days".
Really pathetic, come to think of it.
Scott B.: The WWF used to come to my hometown of Flint MI. for a card every three or four months. Since the I.M.A. Sports Arena is a small venue, there was no secure area for wrestlers to enter through, so they used a small parking area along a side road. Those of us who knew about the area would meet there two or three hours before the card to hang out and get autographs. Some of the better people were: Some of the not-so-greats to meet were: Terry Taylor, Andre the Giant, Bobby Heenan, Honky Tonk Man, Randy Savage, and Koko B. Ware.
mike-b of Mike-B's Pro Wrestling Page: I have recently had the chance to do some stuff with Bill Brown, owner and promoter of Sunshine Wrestling Federation. The SWF is one of the larger independent promotions in the South. I have spent several hours with Luna Vachon (WCW) and her husband the Vampire Warrior. Both are very nice people. I have also spent a good deal of time with former ECW workers Hack Meyers, and Snot Dudley (aka Anthony Michaels from Smokey Mountain Wrestling). Anthony was one of the original Dudley brothers. He lost his place in ECW after being involved in a Jet Ski accident that kept him sidelined for nearly a year. I hope to be setting up a place on my page to have interviews with these folks. I already have had about 45 minutes with Luna and Vampire Warrior. We hope to finish the interview this month.
Roz: Back in 1994, a couple of friends and I went to a card at our old high school football stadium which is now used for mainly tractor pulls. After the card we went down to the ring and saw S.D. Jones, the jobber who holds the record for fastest loss in WrestleMania history. We chatted with him and he invited us to a card where he was to fight against The Illinois State Patrolman I (You see, we are from Wisconsin and we don't like people from Illonis.) We also saw GWF legend Jerry Lynn and we had a drink with him and he talked about his famous GWF match with The Lightning Kid (WCW's Syxx) and he talked about his experience in Japan.
Marcus A.: When I attended the ECW house show on Long Island, I decided to purchase a Sandman T-Shirt at the end of the card from the concession stand. They only had an X-Large size which I felt might be too big. So I decided to hold it up to myself to check the size. While I was doing this I heard someone yell "Hang on a sec, and I will autograph that for you." I looked up and it was The Sandman. He is a really cool guy. He signed the shirt and let me hold the Championship belt. During this time, Tommy Dreamer also came out and said hello to me.
The one problem with this brush with greatness is that I DID NOT bring my camera that night. I asked The Sandman how many beers he had that night and he said that he had 22 pints over the course of the day. THAT'S A LOT OF BEER!. I also asked him how much he made for his little 2 minute appearence in the ring that night and he said about $1000.
Shanna S.: YEARS ago, at a show in my tiny hometown basketball gym, the headliners of the night were Sgt. Slaughter, who of course was a pretty big name back then, and a young Mike Rotunda. As a 10 year old, I thought Slaughter's camouflage limo was pretty cool. During the matches, my friend and I went to get Cokes and saw Slaughter and Rotunda in the back. Very patiently, they autographed our ticket stubs, but I couldn't get Mike to put my friend in the Airplane Spin.
Brad H.: One night, I decided to take my best friend's brother to WCW Wrestling at Freedom Hall in Lousiville. I went in the middle of the day to get tickets and ran into Dean Malenko. We sat and talked for about a half hour about the things to do in my town and about the theme park next door where we would have gone with me if the show wasn't in two hours.
When we got to the show, Stephen and I went down to the rail where the wrestlers walked in next to ringside and watched the whole show. We stayed there the whole night. During the night, Rick Steiner and Stephen got into a barking contest in the middle of the match. Then the main event started which was Hall and Nash vs. The Giant. Hall and Nash came to the ring to the Fugee's song Ready Or Not and Stephen got Hall to pose with him doing the "4 life" sign and I got Nash to pose with me doing the Wolfpack sign. After it was all over, we waited outside for the wrestlers to go to thier cars and I saw Malenko again and he said if they ever came back in town we were going to hit up the amusement park if i could get a hold of him the morning before the show.
Then we were leaving and we saw Hall, Nash, and Luger leaving in a new Taurus and we caught up with them at Super America across the street and we talked with Hall and Nash for 20 minutes and they are the two coolest and funniest people we've ever met. Nash was saying how he could look like Luger if he didn't enjoy his little friend with the pop top. Then we left as they drove off to the airport.
Ken M.: Found out that Scott Hall and Syxx were at Marketplace Mall signing autographs from 4 to 5 pm. Drove about 90 mph from Raleigh to try to get there in time. To my surprise, Nash was also there, and they were surrounded by at least a thousand people in a 2 hr long line.
Needless to say, I didn't think I'd get that autograph, so me and my boy just tried to film with the vidcam what we could. Got some good footage of these guys, Hall and Syxx especially. Nash acted like he was on something. These guys look much larger in person than on TV, including Syxx. When the security guard spotted us with the camera, he let us get up to the table. Then my boy Everett called out "Syxx!", and Syxx turned, gave the Wolfpack and then the Westside symbols and laughed. We tripped on that one. When he called out "Hall", he gave us the West Side sign also. These guys listen to too much rap. Then Nash looked our way and said, "What UP!!".
I figured out that they would probably leave through the service entrance out back, so sure enough when we drove back, their white limo was out there, just like on Nitro. Waited 30 minutes, then they came out with no security or fans, Nash and Syxx went straight in the limo, but we cornered Hall and got him to pose with us. He said, "Hurry up or they're gonna leave me!" Then Hall and Syxx started screaming out "Hurry up, Biiiiiatccch!" More rap. He got in the limo and they pulled off.
My observations of this episode is that these guys are just a cool off the camera as they are on camera. They could easily have bumrushed us for invading their privacy and delaying them from making the coliseum, but they were real cool and patient. Makes me like them even more.
Tyler T.: I was at the Nitro on June 2nd. After the show, I headed over to the hotel where WCW stayed. After hanging around the lobby for a while, I went into the bar. EVERYONE was there! Flair, Syxx, Madusa, Liz, Debra, Paul Orndorff, Glacier, Wrath, EVERYONE!
I talked to all of them, and they all took a picture with me. I even got a pic with me, Liz, Deb and Madusa together!! As I was leaving, Savage was coming in. I got a pic with him as well.
D. McCarthy: Three of my friends went to the house show in Knoxville on 5/25. They had rooms at the Hyatt. Before the matches that night, my friends met Rey Misterio, Jr. on the elevator. He was wearing an Outsider t-shirt!
They also met the Outsiders and even got the Outsiders' room receipt autographed by them. My friends said all three guys were very friendly.
Bullzdog: About three years ago in Florida, my family and I went to a Mexican restaurant and none other than "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan was there. He was sitting, laughing and enjoying beers with a few friends. My friends and I approached him and he willingly gave us autographs.
Anonymous: About 4 years ago, I met Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake (The Booty Man) at a resturant in Syracuse. He was too funny, there were a bunch of bikers there and he had his pruning shears with him. It was too funny. He is very nice, too. At a Nitro, a few weeks back, I met the nWo. Syxx, Hall, and Hogan were especially nice. The Giant is a down-to-earth kinda guy.
Rob F.: When I attended the house show in Pittsburgh, I decided to head over to the Hyatt Hotel. There I saw Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell playing Cards at the bar with Dean Malenko and Steven Regal! It looked like they were playing hearts. Anyways, I went up to them and talked to them about their careers! Luger is absolutely massive. I got an autograph from all them and wished them good luck down the road! Then as I was getting into the elevator I saw DDP who is like my idol! He was real cool and he told me that he will be going after a belt soon.
Robert B.: I attended Slamboree and got there a few hours early. I saw Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson drive up together in a Ford Minivan. The group of fans outside was kept at a distance by the Charlotte Police but I saw Meng, Flair, Syxx, Harlem Heat, Dean Malenko, Misterio, Jr (without the mask-shaved head) just to name a few.
We were moved away about 200 yards by the Charlotte police and I had my binoculars. Two interesting things happened. Dean Malenko and Misterio, Jr were playing on a disc that was hanging on a cable from the side/top of Independence Arena. Misterio and Dean were swinging back and forth on this contraption having a good time. I think Dean looked toward our direction and saw some of us with binoculars. I think he told Misterio some of us had binoculars and I think Misterio hid behind the TV Satellite uplink trucks so we wouldn't see his face. We didn't see Misterio again.
Also, Syxx was outside sitting in a chair and it looked as though he was taking plenty of puffs on a cigarette. We all yelled "Syxx, What's up?" and he gave us the NWO hand signal (the one with pinkie finger and thumb raised upward). Talk about doing you pre-match warmups!
Tom: During the weekend of Halloween Havoc last year in Vegas, Meng, the Barbarian, and Col. Robert Parker all came into the casino coffee shop that I was working in.They were HUGE! Parker must not have great eyesight...he came in later after Meng and Barbarian and he asked if I had seen them. I pointed to the table right next to me!
Anyway, they were pretty nice guys and could eat their weight in food. As nice as they were, they were cheap. A $130 bill, and all they left was $1.45 as a tip!
Terry: One day, my brother came home from his job at McDonald's and told me that Ted DiBiase had come in there for lunch. (Kind of extravagant for the Million Dollar Man, don't you think?) Ted told my brother he had come to see his nephew play in a soccer tournament in our hometown of Gautier, Mississippi.
I had just gotten back from church and was still decked out in my Sunday best. When my brother told me the Million Dollar Man was in town, I immediately hopped into my car and raced toward the soccer field. Upon arriving at the soccer field, it wasn't long before I spotted DiBiase. I approached him and he gladly gave me his autograph. He made a dollar sign and cited a scripture passage. Then, we talked for a few minutes about his days in the Mid-South and his feud with the Junkyard Dog. He's a very nice guy.
Don M.: OK, I'm going to try to tell this story as best I can remember. In 1990, my uncle owned a batting cage on Long Island. To drum up business, he decided to have a professional wrestler at the place to sign autographs. He contacted the WWF. They were willing to send him Jake Roberts or The Rockers but they didn't want him to charge any money for the autographs. No good. Eventually, my uncle contacted the late Big John Studd who agreed to do the show. My uncle knew what a big fan I was of wrestling and invited me to come along. I was 13 at the time, so I was pretty excited. When the limo pulled up in front of my house, I was pumped.
Our first order of business was to pick Studd up from the airport. Now, the whole way there, my cousin, who was also with us, was complaining of stomach pains. We told him to ignore them and that he was probably just nervous. We got to the airport and waited for Studd's flight to come in. I recognized him immediately because not everyone stands at 6' 10". He was with his 7 year old son, John Jr. We got in the limo and I was real excited because there was a TV in the limo and it was nearing the time when WWF Wrestling Challenge came on. I thought I would have a chance to actually watch wrestling with a wrestler. My dream was shattered when Studd said, "Turn off that TV." So, we talked the whole way to the place. He told me that he could whip Hogan's butt any day. Sitting across from me, I wasn't going to disagree with him. He told me the SummerSlam line-up for that year before the card was even announced. All the matches he said would happen happened.
Now, my cousin, who had the stomach problems, was sitting facing the rear-view window. Bad move. All of a sudden, he looks at my uncle and says, "Dad, I think you better have the guy pull over." Before we had time to react, he threw up at the feet of Big John Studd who tried to escape but still managed to have puke all over his shoes. I'll never forget what he said,"I'll never forget this day as long as I live."
Steve R.: Okay, I know this is bending the rules a little here and my memory is fading on me (even though I'm a 20 year old snapper) but, back when "Hot Rod" Roddy Pipper was still a youngish turk in the WWF he had a full entorange of a bagpipe band come out and escort him to the ring. Anyway, my father being a "honorary cop" in the New York City Police Department (he knows some people and he used to work for the Justice Department) was at that time (and still is to this day) circa '85-'86 a memeber of the Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Band of the NYCPD (come to think of it, here's this Canadian, playing an Scot, and having an Irish band be his entourange. Okey-dokey) Anyway, the band gets invited to be Piper's entourange at Madison Square Garden this night (I don't think my dad or I have any recollection of the card). So he gets to meet a lot of the WWF wrestlers that were there that night. He even got some photos done of him and Andre The Giant and I think the Iron Shiek as well. Now that I'm remembering this it's a shame I didn't go with him that night (probably was a school night or something).
S.C.: Four friends and I went to see the Dec 30, 1996 Monday Nitro from Knoxville,TN (Piper/Giant mauled by nWo the day after Starrcade). After the event we went to the Hyatt hoping to meet some of the wrestlers. Charlie, Joyce, and Chan stayed in the lobby watching as they came in. Arriving in a limo were Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Lee "The Manatee" Marshall. The first person we met was Kevin Sullivan who even though he was in a hurry, did not deny us autographs. Chris Jerricho was the next one we saw and he signed autographs to anyone who asked. Eric Bischoff came in all decked out in his nWo shirt and black leather jacket and he was more than willing to give autographs. Dean Malenko and Greg Valentine were the only ones who I did not see give out autographs. No one approached Malenko, but when kids approached Valentine he denied them the autograph.
All of a sudden we noticed the elevator making its way to the floor and Sean said "Oh my gosh, that looks like Woman's butt!" I doubted him, but it turned out to be Woman and Benoit. I was in shock as she signed my magazine and I said "Th-th-th-thank you". She grinned and said "You're welcome" and Benoit just kind of grinned at Sean and me. I asked him how he was doing and he said "Pretty good, see ya' later." Our next run-in was with none other than the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. This man is huge, not to mention his hair is killer. He sat at the bar and signed autographs for everyone who approached.
Chan and Josh told me that they went and got into an elevator and noticed that they were in it with Mike Tenay and Harlem Heat. According to Chan, Booker T. said "What's wrong with you, Tenay?" Tenay replied "I am very tired." Booker T. said "Fool! You work one night a week and we work five, how can you be tired?" Pretty funny if you ask me. The whole night was a blast and it will be one that we will never forget.
FP: My father sold some furniture to Hulk Hogan in Minneapolis when the Hulk wrestled in the AWA. He recognized him from my watching TV. He brought me home an autograph, and said Hulk was very polite and soft spoken. The autograph ironically stated, "To Dave, Train like SAVAGE for your future, Hulk Hogan" This was years before the whole WWF/Savage relationship.
I've personally had three brushes. The first was at Minneapolis International Airport. Jesse "The Body" was at the ticket counter and started to leave before I had the chance to approach him, but BlackJack Lanza, Mulligan, and Bobby Heenan were also there. I wasn't much interested in the Old BlackJacks so I asked Heenan for an autograph. I was about 13 or 14, and he told me to, "get the fu** away from me kid." The funny thing is I wasn't really upset. I didn't expect him to be nice in the first place. I laugh about it now.
I also ran into Kevin Sullivan in a restroom in a Greektown restaurant in Detroit. I asked for an autograph (I was around 20) like a fool without any paper or pen. He went and got both for me and gave me an autograph which I gave to the little kid I had brought to the matches. He was very nice.
A few months later at the same restaurant Flair, Anderson, Windham, Sullivan, and Zbyszko were eating dinner. I asked the waiter if I could buy Flair's dinner. He said no, I had to buy the entire table's or none. I wasn't about to pay for all five, so I went up to the table specifically to Flair (my favorite) and said to keep up the good work, you guys always put on a good show, blah, blah, blah and Flair turned to me and shook my hand (still haven't washed it to this day) and said, "Thank you, sir, that's always nice to hear." I was floored that HE called ME sir. I was 20 and this man called me "sir". So that's my story.
Rob: Some years ago I went to an NWA show at the Forum in LA. It was when the NWA/UWF were just getting together. We got there early and went to where the wrestlers were entering. Sting pulled in with Tim Horner, Brad Armstrong, and Michael Hayes. We talked to them for a bit but we forgot to ask for autographs. They were real nice. The thing that struck me was how low-key Hayes was compared to his in the ring personality. Sting parked the car (probably a rental) outside the arena, so my friend and I walked over to it. My friend was fooling around and opened the door (which was unlocked). He tried to find something cool to take but luckily he didn't.
Later on Steve "Dr. Death" Williams came in. This was before his Starrcade match with Barry Windham. We asked him if he was going to win and he said, "I'm gonna kick Barry's ass." He was pretty cool but he was in a rush and couldn't sign for us. The highlight of the night was when the stretch limo showed up and all 4 Horseman came out (at the time it was Flair, Luger, Anderson, and Blanchard). Tully was being a punk but the others were nice. I got a group picture with all of them (except Tully Blanchard) but it was cool cuz the picture made it look like I was the fourth horseman!
W.C.V. III: On Friday the 13th of September, WCW had a house show in Knoxville, TN. After the show, Joyce, Matt and I went to the Hyatt hoping to meet some of the wrestlers. As we arrived we saw the Giant getting into the elevator. A few minutes later Randy Savage came in. The man is pathetically puny. His voice on television is not exaggerated, yes that really is his voice. Next to appear was Marcus (pretty boy redneck) "Buff" Bagwell. The man may be short, but he is freakin' huge. Apparently he was rooming with Lex Luger because when Luger arrived, Bagwell complained about the amount of luggage that Luger was carrying.
The only autograph that the three of us cared to get was that of Luger. He signed autographs for about 15 kids, and then began to head to his room. A couple more kids tried to get his autograph and he told them that he had to hit the showers, but when Joyce (a very attractive chick) approached him, he dropped his luggage and said "Well, yeah!" After that Matt and I ran up to Joyce and asked what was going on and Lex was more than willing to give us autographs, too. Bagwell just laughed at the whole incident.
My dad and I attended a WCW house show in Knoxville, TN 1993. Before they opened the doors, my dad and I were standing outside the coliseum next to a local radio broadcasting van when they decided to do a last minute hype of the show by bringing out Cactus Jack for an interview. I stood right next to the man, and couldn't remember what he said but I do remember him doing his Bang-Bang routine to me and my dad and then he headed back into the coliseum. After his match while still standing in the ring, he coughed up a loogey and spit it about 15 feet straight up in the air. He balanced himself under it and caught it in his mouth. He must of remembered me because he came towards the guardrail and Bang-Banged my dad and me again (verbally, that is).
Dave: I arrived about an hour early for the ECW show in Waltham, MA. Both Eliminators were too busy putting mustard on their hot dogs to do any signing, but they were nice enough to talk to any fans who said hi. I FINALLY got to meet my favorite ECW underdog - Mikey Whipwreck - while he was helping the staff memebers sell tickets near the entrance. I asked for a picture with him and he was more than happy to have one taken with me. I shook his hand and he thanked me for the kind words. Super guy! Tommy Dreamer also came out and didn't mind singing anything that the fans handed him. He also honored my request for a picture, and I really can't express how fan friendly "The Innovator of Violence" is. Paul (E. Dangersouly) Heyman drifted out shortly after Dreamer left, and I shook his hand and told him well he was running the promotion. He seemed genuinely thankful for my comments and told me so (Note: it seems that I may have been the only on fortunate enought to speak with Paul. After I walked away, a massive security guy ushered kept everyone close to him at bay). I was in "Mark Heaven" after that, only to realize that the guy watching the matches standing next to me was none other than Rick Martel! He was with another guy (didn't look familiar..could have been Tom Zenk) and I asked Martel if he was thinking about signing on (for the ECW). He laughed and said "We'll see what happens." Paul then noticed him standing there and both men exited the area. You could see where Vince came up with the "Model" gimmick - Martel was one sharp dressed man!
Chris J.: I recently (October '96?) went to Columbus, Ohio for a house show. The show was great. When the Outsiders came out they came through the crowd. All I remember is going to the aisle to see if I could get a better look. All of a sudden security came running by and told us to clear the aisle. I thought nothing of it and turned to go to my seat, I turned and ran right into Kevin Nash. Being only 5'9", he scared the crap right out of me.
Before the show I ran into a WCW employee who was recruiting guys to help take down the ring. Since I was by myself I volunteered. After we finished, the other guys and I saw the nWo outside. We went out and saw Syxx, Hall, and Nash. I remember a little boy asking Scott for his autograph. He replied "Yeah, for a dollar." He was kidding, of course.
I also saw Flair, Luger, Savage, and Guerrero. It was awesome.
Ty and Steven: A few months ago, a friend of my brother dropped by to visit, and told us that Glacier had visited his middle school that day! I'm sure the kids were thrilled (sarcasm). Anyway, he was telling them that he used to teach PhysEd there and he was coming back to visit. (I thought he might have been looking for his old job back.)
My younger brother went to that same school. Simpson Middle School in Marietta, Georgia. We dug up his old yearbook, and sure enough...on page 7... "Faculty and Staff"... GLACIER was staring back at us!
Of course, at THAT time, he was Ray Lloyd... PE Teacher.
(I'm not sure if this was before or after his quest through the heart of Asia fighting in martial-arts death matches for his mystic helm. I think maybe he was hiding from his arch-nemeses Mortis and Adam Bomb, who sought to steal the mystic helm and use it for their own evil purposes.)
So... he's human after all...
Kyle B.: Back in the late and mid 80s and the WWF was in its prime, I was a huge fan. When WrestleMania was in Atlantic City, a friend of mine and myself ran into a ton of wrestlers a few days before the card. Gene Okerlund was the first person we saw and he scurried past us and said "Get the fuck out of my face" when asked for an autograph! This is no joke, he was a total asshole. Savage was a totally cool guy even though he was drunk as hell and was obsessed with my friend's Bugs Bunny tattoo. Hogan was nice but tried to ignore me and the same with Andre the Giant. The One Man Gang was there and he was tanked!!!! I never saw someone eat so much pizza in my life!! Slick was hilarious! I think he was stoned or something. He kept leaving and coming back all sweaty and red-eyed. All in all, it was a pretty interesting night.
Atvar: OK, this one isn't very great, but it is a brush. About a year ago I met Rocky Miavia in Memphis. I worked at a video store and one of my managers (she also knows Ahmed Johnson) brought him in. At the time he was wrestling in Memphis in the USWA I assume. His name was Flex. He seemed to be an okay guy. He was friendly and answered all our questions. He's very new to wrestling because he told us that he hadn't been wrestling professionally very long (about a year or two I think) but that he thought he would move up fast (and he did). The only thing bad about him was that he checked out a VCR on my manager's account and then didn't bring it back for a month. I've been thinking that Rocky looked familiar, but I couldn't place his face until a few days ago.
Toto: For the 4/14 Nitro, I got there early and saw DiBiase get out of a limo and he ignored us. Then Scott Norton, Teddy Long , Zybysko and Heenan drove in together and also ignored us. We then saw Nash and Syzz and Nash slapped our hands as we were waiting. Sherri came and I said "hi" and she said "hi" . I then asked if Harlem Heat was there she said "I hope so". Really neat. Johnny Grunge came and then left to pick up some older man. We then saw Sonny Ono and he waved.
SIS: In 1986, I think, I was (and still am) living on Maui. UWF, I think, was very popular in Hawaii. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams came for a vacation, and stayed in the condo where we lived. My brother was visiting us, he was thirteen and a HEAVY fan. After about three days of nodding to each other in the elevator, he finally got up the nerve to go down to the second floor and knock on the door, Dr. Death answered and very graciously gave an autograph. I don't believe there was much talking, though, my bro was way too starstruck. I don't remember the league name for sure, I think it was UWF.
Hyper: My two friends and I were attending the Strike One ECW show in Burlington, MA back in October of 1996. It was the first Boston area show, so the fans up here were really excited about finally getting to see Extreme live and in person. While we were waiting in line outside the arena, New Jack (of the Ganstas) came out to sign autographs and generally keep the crowd happy while we waited in the October chill.
Later in the night, I drifted over to the concession stand to pick up an EC F'N W tee shirt only to run into my favorite Extreme wrestler - Tommy Dreamer - sitting at the table. He was a very friendly, soft spoken gentleman who didn't mind signing not only my ticket stub, but also two pictures that I quickly bought for the occasion. One was for my son Shawn (named after the Heart Break Kid), and he gave me a hearty grin when I told him who he was singing it for. I wished him luck with his match and shook his hand. Super nice guy!
Also, I was at the ECW show in Waltham recently, and I decided to hit the men's room before the Sabu / Rob Van Dam vs The Emiminators match began. The hall itself was sort of old, so I guess the wrestlers were sort of out of place. Anyway, I drift into the bathroom to find Rob Van Dam in full (and cool looking) ring attire hunched over the sink whetting down his hair. I stood behind him, waiting for him to finish. After checking his "do" for the last time, I tap him on the shoulder and he spins around and looks at me. I stick out my hand and wished him good luck. He smiled a wide grin and said "Right on!" Then he performed a neat handshake in that famous Van Dam style and took off. It's funny, because I was more jazzed about meeting him, than paying $5.00 for a Polaroid with the Sandman about an hour before the show started.
Blake: I'm stationed in Seoul, South Korea, and a short time ago at a popular nightclub who did I see but Abdullah the Butcher! I thought my eyes were deceiving me (I was kinda tipsy), but I got a closer look and it was him! It was the scar tissue on the forehead that gave it away.
He appeared pretty surly, and no one approached him that I could see. He left shortly after, and a girl at the bar said he was over here involved in some film.
Jody Y.: I personally have never met any wrestling personalities that I can remember, but I know a few people who have. A friend of mine who went to a local house show stopped to get gas at a convenience mart after the match. He was not very old at the time, and while they were stopped, he happened to look out the window and see Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart pumping gas while Bret Hart was inside getting some plain label beer for Jim, himself and two women with them, presumebly their wives. I guess the WWF just didn't pay well those days.
I also have another friend who I have been friends with all my life, who never misses a Nitro or RAW, tell me that at a local show a few years back, his father's employers were sponsoring the RAW taping so he got to go backstage. He tells me that he got to meet with Lex Luger and talk with him for a minute and get his autograph, like it had slipped his mind! He also got to meet with the Smoking Gunns and got their autographs.
I also have an uncle who told me that he had the pleasure/displeasure of meeting Jim Duggan when he was on the road as a trucker. Duggan talk to my uncle about the business and was really forthright and down to earth. He had lunch with him in a local diner and afterwards, both went on their way.
Dalton M.: I wrote because a buddy of mine and I were talking about Ricky Steamboat the other night. Steamboat was the first wrestler either one of us had ever met and it happened during the old WWF Savage/Steamboat feud. At that point we were still young marks and when we saw Savage crush Steamboat's trachea with the bell about a week before a scheduled Steamboat autograph signing here in Greenville, NC, we thought he might not make it. The day before the signing we saw the clips of Steamboat laid up in the hospital with tubes, bandages, the whole nine yards and we were devastated because we knew the signing would be cancelled. When we arrived and saw Steamboat with no scars, bandages or anything, we were thoroughly confused. After we left, my friend's dad explained wrestling to us. It's kind of like when you find out about Santa Claus. You always wondered, but you didn't wanna know the truth. Anyway, we just both thought your mention of the Steamboat/Savage feud was ironic because we had just been talking about a day or two before your report.
Tyler T.: My most recent brush with greatness was at a WWF TV taping a few months ago. I arrived at the arena around 2 in the afternoon, and waited around the back of the building. The first car to pull up had Sid, Bob Holly, and the Grimm Twins in it. I talked with Sid for a little while and got a picture with him. He was very kind and soft spoken. Then came "Stone Cold", HHH, and Aldo Montoya. Austin was very cool, we spoke about his feud with Chris Adams, and I got a pic with him also. HHH was one of the most personable guys I've ever met, he was joking around and was just in a great mood. Then came Barry Horowitz, Bob Backlund, and a jobber. Backlund was in total character, and had me laughing with his schtick. One thing about him, though, is he won't sign an autograph or anything if you can't name all the Presidents in order. [Editor's Note: This is definitely true and consistent. I've heard this from a number of people.] Davey Boy and Crush then pulled up. I asked Crush for a pic, and he turned and looked at me for a few seconds before letting me get the pic. He was pretty cool also. Then the really big names came, like HBK, UT, and Goldust. HBK drove around to the back and totally ignored me, same with Goldy...UT nodded in my direction, but seemed rushed.
Then came, for me, the highlight. I found an open door to the arena (the doors hadn't opened yet) and I went in. I saw Marlena and asked for a picture just as she went behind the dressing room curtain. I was kind of upset, but then she came back out and put her arms around me, rubbed my chest, and let me get the pic! I was astounded by how nice she was (and also how short..only about 5').
I also talked to Sunny, Chris Candito, Mr. Perfect (he was a total jerk..when I asked for a pic, he said he was too busy, that he had to work for a living). He was with HHH, and HHH remembered me, waved and then shrugged his shoulders kind of apologetically).
I've also met The Giant (a total class act), Luger, Eddy Guerrero (another great guy), Dean Malenko, Disco Inferno, Knobbs of the Nasty Boys, Alex Wright, Terry Taylor, Scott and Rick Steiner, Marcus Bagwell, Public Enemy (VERY cool guys, esp. Rocco), and got my pic taken with the 'Nature Boy" himself. Flair was kinda cool, and took time for the pic and to answer a few questions. Bobby Heenan was also very cool.
Anonymous: There was a train strike on the day of a WWF tour in 1994, so me and my friends had to stay over in London after a show. We got into a bed & breakfast about a 1 minute walk away from the Holiday Inn the WWF were using. We went to the hotel to see the wrestlers return to the hotel.
Madusa had returned from Planet Hollywood, and was very pleasant, chatted about things, even gave us a dignified answer when we asked where Greg Valentine (her boyfriend at the time) was. Then I spotted Kevin Nash in the lobby. Everyone was shouting, "Diesel! Diesel!" so I yelled "Hey, Kevin, how about an autograph?" to which he peered through the revolving doors and replied "Yeah hold on, I'm just waiting for my balls to drop!" We all cracked up. He then signed my autograph, before singing, "Hey, hey, hey, get Double J! Hey, Double J, Double J, Double J! We're going cluuuuuuuuubbing! We're going cluuubbing!" I looked at what he was drinking: mineral water!!! He then got in a taxi with Razor, Shawn, and the 1-2-3 Kid. Double J never got there.....
Next morning, we never went to sleep, and got to the hotel at 6am, when the wrestlers were checking out. Jarrett was silent and ignored everyone. Luna Vachon came out, stood at the top of the steps, screamed an in-character scream, and posed for pics whilst virtually assaulting/molesting us all in the process! At 6am! She was a total nutcase, but such a great laugh! Met Bull Nakano - she looked really different without her makeup, quite pretty too. Very quiet. Got her autograph (in Japanese, but with "BULL" written underneath). Chatted with Bret Hart - really nice guy. Davey Boy Smith was not the world's most intelligent guy. Doink didn't know what we meant by "face" and "heel". Yokozuna had to enter the coach through the emergency exit at the back! He was enormous! Talking of huge people, Paul Bearer was really pleasant too. Hall and Nash were just like their characters in WCW nowadays. Really funny. Sean Waltman was off this planet - got his baggage caught in the revolving doors and nearly fell headfirst down the steps! You know, that train strike was a blessing in disguise!
One other thing that I've remembered: on another WWF tour, this time in my hometown in a much smaller arena. I got front row seats right by the aisle, as my friend lived two minutes' walk away from the venue and was first in the queue at the box office!
For a laugh, we took along a packet of biscuits (Ginger Nuts, I think they were) and decided that we would offer one to every wrestler as they left the ring after their match. Most people ignored us, but one stood out: Rick Steiner was the only guy to acknowledge our biscuits, and looked at them, waved his hand away from them and said, "No thanks, buddy!" What a guy.....
Also, on a previous tour to my hometown, we waited outside after the show to see all the wrestlers get on the tour bus (they all get on coaches on UK tours, no-one drives themselves, although having said that, on a WCW tour once, Steve Regal and Steve Austin arrived separately in a taxi, as Regal had taken Austin to see Blackpool Football Club play that afternoon). Anyway, the Iron Sheik, then Col. Mustafa, got on the coach. He was wearing a blue woollen Minnesota Vikings hat. He was sitting by the window and kept mugging to the fans. He grabbed a can of beer, offered it to everyone, but then "realized" that they were on the other side of the window and couldn't get to it....then he pulled a comb out of his pocket, gave a "what am I going to do with this" look to us all, removed his hat, and started combing his moustache in an exaggerated manner. He was a really good laugh. Shame no-one had invented the Macarena at the time, really....
James S.: This happened back in '87 in Charlotte. I was going to school in Charlotte at the time, and had gone to the nightclub Plum Crazy's one evening. As I was walking past the bar, I looked up and who did I see but Arn Anderson and Lex Luger! This was back when they were both in the Four Horsemen, so naturally I flashed them the Four Horsemen sign. They both smiled and kind of nodded their heads. I walked past them several times that night, as they didn't move around that much prefering to stay in one place and let the people come to them. Before I left for the evening I checked them out one last time and found them still at the bar with one very well endowed woman between them, and it looked like both of them were giving her their best lines! I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall at that bar, that's for sure!!
Steve P. from Duluth, GA: This is a rather intresting story. Back in in the 80's the N.W.A. (now W.C.W. for those who didn't know) used to tape the Sat. and Sun. shows at the Turner Mansion in Atlanta, giving you a "upclose" and personal view of wrestling (I got to pee next to the Boogie Woogie man, but that's another story). But to get to the point, this was around 1987 and I was 10 years old. During the intermission, I was walking through the halls, with a friend, talking about the Midnight Express when we passed Sting. He said, and I quote, "Bobby Eaton is a piece of sh**, and you're a piece of sh** too for not knowing what the hell you're talking about, kid". I got very nervous and returned to my seat, not saying a word!!
Bill B.: 25+ years ago, I was a pre-teen in south Alabama who thought Saturday afternoon wrestling on Channel 4 in Dothan was an event of world significance. Dick Dunn was AL state champion at the time, and the regional library got him to let them put his name on a kids' summer reading program. The kickoff event was a rally at the library with Dunn there--we took 2 school buses from about 15 miles away and the organizers had to pack us in like sardines (SRO, 3 or 4 to a seat) to get us all over there. We all got autographed pictures and Dunn got us all in a group and showed us how he held his hands when he put a headlock on somebody (of course every kid there had another kid to let them put a headlock on them before he got home). Anyway, it was a nice way for all the kids to have a good time--some of us even read some books that summer, too. My mom (who kinda laughed at the whole thing) talked to Dunn awhile and came away talking about what a nice young man he seemed to be. Dick Dunn died a year or so ago, but I have good memories of that day.
"Dangerous" Dallas Garvin: I'm a pro wrestler in training with World Class in the Dallas area...currently working with James Beard. I've met a lot of essential Texas nobodies since I began my training...biggest name I've met so far was Johnny Hawk. Had a workout, in November of last year, up at the Sportatorium in downtown (Dallas, of course)...John was in town, good friend of Mr. Beard's (James played an important part in Hawk's WWF gig)...figured he'd hang with us for a while. Let no one doubt that this man is a stiff worker, TX brawler personified, and a guaranteed powerhouse. His lariats were truly slobber-knockers, he could make a simple headlock take-over as rough as a powerbomb. We talked for a while...he discussed the road schedule in the WWF, the work he'd done in Canada...and his teaming with Barry Windham at workouts and dark matches previous to the forming of the new Blackjacks. He is truly a good ol' boy...as we say around these parts...and I wish him the best in "The Major Leagues". [Editor's Note: To hear more from Dallas Garvin, click here.]
Brick Wall: The Honky Tonk Man was a high school football coach. He coached at Munford, TN. My aunt and uncle had him over for supper all the time and knew him quite well. He coached my cousin when he played. They said the whole town was disappointed when he went into wrestling.
Kay P.: In 1991, a couple friends of mine went to a WCW house show at the Brown County Arena in Green Bay. Among the highlights of the show was a complete role reversal during the Freebirds-Young Pistols match. The Pistols, who were not over with the G.B. fans became heels in mid match, with Tracy even flipping off the fans as they did the Georgia jawjacker. Anyhow, after the show, we went out back where the wrestlers were coming out, and tried to get various autographs. Luger managed to avoid the crowds by leaving through some other exit, so we settled for talking to a few wrestlers who were sitting in a car parked nearby. In the car was Black Bart, Brad Armstrong, and Oz, who would soon become Diesel. We talked to Bart and Brad, who turned out to be two of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
Two of the funniest things that happened: in the course of asking Bart about Vince McMahon, the WWF, and if he thought Vince took part in an alternative lifestyle, the response, "He's AC/DC all right."
Then in perhaps one of the funniest moments ever, we saw Tom Zenk stumble out to the car with a Bud Light in his hand. He fumbled with his keys and attempted to get his duffel bag in the trunk. After a little profanity and more fumbling (all while a group of horrified pre teens were watching) he gave a blank look to Nash and asked him if he was driving. Too funny. We wished Bart and Brad well, and were impressed that they took 15 minutes of their time to cut the kayfabe and talk to us.
R.R. at IBM: A friend of mine who works in an independent wrestling organization once told me he found Mike Foley's telephone number and left a message on his answering machine. He said that within a few hours, Mr. Foley called him back (at Mr. Foley's expense) and my friend said they talked about wrestling for about 2 hours!!! While attending these events, I've talked with Jimmy Valiant (real skinny now and lots of tattoos), got a picture taken with Greg Valentine (real nice, didn't talk much though), and I talked with Johnny Gunn (now Salvatore Sincere) for a little bit.
I had a long conversation with a mid-level veteran named Rick Link. He was a heel managed by Jimmy Hart in the Mid-South/Memphis area in the early 80's and used the name of Man Mountain Link. He held the heavyweight title in that area for a little while when he defeated Memphis icon Jerry "The King" Lawler. I told him I remembered him when I visited the area when I was younger and he thought that was neat. Anyway, Mr. Link pulled out a picture of himself and Jimmy Hart from his gym bag and immediately signed it for me. A trademark of Man Mountain Link was Jimmy Hart feeding him a raw chicken before each match! I asked him did he ever get sick and he said he didn't. We talked about how wrestling on the independent scene was totally different that what goes on in WCW/WWF. He said he was in Puerto Rico the night Bruiser Brody was murdered and how devastating that was. He mentioned that the "Macho Man" Randy Savage was a nice guy.
Mike G.: I attended what may have been the first WCW Halloween Havoc in Jacksonville, FL in 1992 or 1993. This was the show where the main event was the Halloween Havoc cage match. I forget all of the participants, but Rick Rude was inside the cage and The Horesmen (Flair and Arn) were locked out. This was the covered cage with all of the skulls and stuff hanging off of it (it was made of chain link fence). At some point in the match, Madusa got on top of the cage with keys given to her by Arn Anderson...etc etc.. anyway, that's how I remember this particular "brush with greatness". After the show, my son and I were standing in the back of the building across the street watching all of the wrestlers get into their cars and leave. After a little while we decided to do the same and started heading up the street towards our car. We got to the corner a block away and were about to cross when a little blue Datsun pulled up along side us. Inside the car was none other than Mike Foley (Cactus Jack; Mankind). My son started pointing and yelling hello to him and he rolled down his window and said "Hey, little man, how ya' doin'?" We stood there and talked to him for a couple minutes and got autographs and everything. I also noticed in the back seat of the car was a children's carseat. Imagine Mankind as your dad!!!!! This guy was very nice to us that night when nobody was watching, so he didn't have to be nice if he didn't want to. If the guys who are supposed to be the stars of today were as nice as Mr. Foley, wrestling would be ten times more popular than it is today!
Steve W.: I met Luna Vachon a few years back when she was working for the WWF (the bit where she came to the ring painted up and screamed through the whole match) at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA. She was very nice and talked to me for a minute as we were standing in line for a ride. She is really quite pretty without her costume, and in good shape too.
Mike N.: Back maybe 10 years ago (although it could have been more) the WWF had a spot show scheduled for the Boys Club in my hometown. However, the Board of Education had an election scheduled for the same day, and since the Boys Club was a polling place, the wrestling card had to be cancelled.
The night of the election I went to vote, and as I was leaving I spotted Bulldog Brower wandering around outside the Boys Club. I went to say hello to him, and he asked me where the Boys Club he was supposed to wrestle at was. Then he asked me to go inside and tell them that Dick Brower was there, and ask where he was supposed to go. It was pretty sad...here was a guy who had wrestled main events at the Garden, and now they cancelled a spot show and didn't even tell him.
"The Gentleman" Chris Adams:I was a huge wrestling fan when I was a kid and I've just recently gotten back into the loop, but I remember a few brushes from when I was going to smaller venues as a kid. I went to a show at a high school near my home in New Jersey and the crowd was so small that it got cancelled, but as we were leaving we ran in to some of the wrestlers. I can't remember much, but I vividly remember shaking Pistol Pez Whatley's hand as he was leaving. He was polite, but he seemed like he wanted to leave.
In another instance my brother and I went to see a card in which the headlining match was Doom vs. the Steiners. Before the show we were waiting to get in and we saw Rick Steiner in a phone booth nearby. He was in full dog face gremlin regalia and he barely fit in the phone booth, this was when Rick was bigger. Little sightings meant a lot and I'll always remember those days.
[Editor's Note: The author of this is not the famous wrestler, it's just a guy blessed with the same name.]
The Blue World Ag: I have two interesting stories, so I'll be brief with each one. As a kid, I attended several Southwest Championship Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling house shows at the Beaumont (TX) Civic Center (where I would always cheer for the heels just to hack off the marks, of whom there were many). While heading for the parking lot after one show during the summer of 1983, a particularly inebriated mark (whose family tree, I suspect, might have been a telephone pole) ran past me on the sidewalk toward a white Lincoln Town Car. He reached through the open driver's window, a brazenly stupid act once we found out the car contained "Nature Boy" Buddy Landell, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Ray "Hercules" Hernandez! The trio proceeded to stomp a mudhole in our tipsy friend, drawing blood from his head and mouth. Hercules dealt the final blow by bodyslamming the genius on the asphalt. The three wrestlers then jumped back into their smooth ride and sped off. It was the most action we saw all afternoon!
Speaking of rednecks, I saw the Captain of them all, the late Dick Murdoch, in Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport during August of 1987. I had just stepped onto the up escalator when I looked up into the steely blue eyes of one of my childhood heroes (I loved the brainbuster). But the look he gave me back said, "Don't even try it." Even though I was bigger and stronger than the guy at the time, that look scared me. I moved on. (During that same day at Hartsfield, I also saw Ron Simmons and former Freebird Buddy Roberts duck into the gents' room, and I walked within five feet of Mr. James Brown, who had a couple of bodyguards that looked like they could hold their own in the ring.)
Chris C.: Nine years ago, I was in Kansas City, Missouri on vacation with my family. Little did I know that I was staying in the same Howard Johnson hotel as a wrestling legend. As my cousin and I were going to get some ice, we see the one and only Ric Flair coming down the hall. Only being about twelve, we both ran up to him and asked for his autogragh.
Unfortunately, we had nothing for him to sign, so he took us into his room to get some paper and a pen. We sat down for about 15 to 20 minutes talking, but of course we were too nervous to do much talking. He asked us who our favorite wrestler was, which was him. He also told us that he was wrestling Dusty Rhodes that night at the "Worlds of Fun" amusement park. Then he got a call telling him that his limo had arrived. So the three of us walked out to the limo, Ric said good-bye, and we told him good luck, and two happy eleven year olds ran back in to tell their parents.
heenan316@aol.com: My friends and I took a road trip from Missouri to see the recent Starrcade in Nashville. We stayed around a little after the event and asked one of the camera guys where the wrestlers were staying. They were at a hotel down the street, so we waited around outside for awhile. Then Konan comes out with the midgets you saw wrestle on the Nitro after Starrcade. Konan had a nice shirt and glasses on so I didn't get an autograph or anything because I didn't recognize him until he was in the van, but I got a wave.
Then we went inside and we saw Jon Brennan from MTV's the Real World. So we got a picture with him. He is a big wrestling fan and my brother talked to him about wrestling. So then, while we were waiting arounnd, Diamond Dallas Page comes strolling in. I about peed myself because I've loved DDP since he was with the Freebirds. So my friends and I came over and we got autographs and pictures with him putting us in the Diamond Cutter. He is a real quality guy, he didn't leave until after all the autographs and pictures were done. A stupid mark came up and said "If it wasn't for the nWo, you'd be the champ!", to which DDP replied "Yeah, shit happens", I about peed myself again laughing.
So a few of my friends stroll upstairs to the bar and it was WCW heaven. Eric Bischoff was so drunk he could barely walk. My friends and I had on funny shirts, wigs, etc and Eric loved it. My friend and I got a dollar bill signed by him and some pictures. I didn't want to go into the bar and bug the wrestlers so we stayed out of the way and saw if anyone came to us. When we got up there the table where all the wrestlers were at was litterally COVERED with empty bottles. Notables there were Hugh Morrus, Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Eddy Guerrero, Kevin Sullivan, Woman, Chris Benoit, Terry Taylor, Mark Curtis. So while a few of my friends and I were upstairs, the nWo all comes in together. This is where tensions were with the Giant but he was still nWo. My friends said Nash and DiBiase didn't want to sign anything, but Hogan, Hall, Syxx, and the Giant were taking some time out. And Hogan, trying to build an angle with 20 people around said "Where's that no good Giant?" and he was about 5 feet in front of him, it was funny; and the Giant looked back at him like he was a moron.
So then the big man, Roddy Piper comes in with his bodyguard. He got mauled by people and was in a hurry but still signing autographs. This one guy had a 2 foot Piper Doll from a LONG time ago still in the box that he got signed. I tried for an autograph but didn't get it. But Piper saw a little girl asking for an autograph (she was no older than 5), and Piper ignored everyone else and talked to her about his kids and that he loved little kids that cheer for him. It was really nice of him to do that for her, he wanted to sign more but I think he was gonna catch a ride to Knoxville where Nitro was the next day.
So then we're walking back to my van and DDP is strolling down downtown Nashville, I think he was looking for another bar away from the wrestlers. His knee was iced up but he was smoking his cigar. He recognized me and said "Hi"; I said "Hope that heals up!" And he laughed. Overall, I am going to remember that night for a LONG time.
Shannon B.: I grew up in a pitifully small town in the Midwest, and to my best friend and me ,wrestling was all there was in life. So every once and a while several different wrestling federations would come through Joplin, a town about an hour away, and my friend and I would quickly buy tickets and then impatiently wait. The night of the matches finally arrived. My friend and I started to Joplin with my parents and before we got there we had to stop for gas. While my dad pumped gas, a van pulled up and parked alongside the store. Our eyes almost popped out when none other than Ric Flair got out of the van and went inside. Then three other guys got out, one of them was Sting, another was his tag partner at the time, Rock (they were the Blade Runners), and the last one was The Missing Link. I think it was him, it was hard to tell without the makeup.
We ran inside and flooded Ric with every question that we could think of, even though he was "the bad guy" at the time. He answered every question and then some. He then proceeded to sign my shirt, hat and a one dollar bill I was saving for a candy bar. I'm 22 now (I was 11 at the time) and Ric is still the main man because he took the time to be nice to a couple of kids.
[Editor's Note: Rock of the Blade Runners eventually went on to much greater fame as the Ultimate Warrior.]
Mike B.: I am hesitant to mention this one because someone may think that I am telling stories on a dead man, but it is all 100% true. In 1984, I had to fly from Chicago to San Antonio on Air Force biz. Becuase I had more frequent flyer miles than I knew what to do with, I decided to upgrade to first class for the return trip. I sat accross the aisle from Kerry Von Erich. I was fortunate enough to get his autograph, and chat for a while before Kerry became preoccupied with something else. The stewardess! He hounded her, and used every line in the book, and at one point tried to reach up and cop a feel.
When we stopped in St. Louis to let people off and pick people up, Kerry got off. I asked the stewardess if she knew him, she said that he flew San Antonio to St. Louis a lot, and that all of the stewardesses hated him. He was always trying to grab their ass, or get them to go to a hotel with him. It certainly shattered some illusions about faces for me.
Allen Oglesby at Georgia Southen University: I had two encounters with wrestling stars. Both came when I went with my high school (Effingham County H.S.) to the FCA Day Of Champions. In 1995 we went to College Park (Woodward Academy) and we met Jake "The Snake" Roberts. I was playing volleyball and I noticed Jake walking in with a woman and a baby. He told everyone (about 3000 high school students) about his drug problems and other things. I shook his hand after the speech. He came to my hometown a month later (May) to speak at a church, but I missed that. At Day Of Champions 1996 at Lovett School we met "Wildman" Marc Mero, without Sable. He was still Johnny B Badd. It was around March 20. In July, 1993 I shook the hand of Dustin Rhodes (in Savannah).
Steve E. and Todd B.: Two years ago we went to a small promotion show in Franklin, N.C. The headline match was "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant vs. The Assassin. Valiant look horrendous. He was completely covered in tattoos, one on his stomach that said "Come to Papa." The tattoos looked like those of the jailhouse variety. He weighed around 200 lbs on his 6'4" frame and it looked terrible. The Assassin was even more bloated than I remember, he could barely fit his head in his mask. The match was terrible. I felt sorry for both of them as they must be having financial problems to be in such a "federation."
Steve L.: Growing up in Minnesota during the AWA's heydey was a great thrill. My aunt dated announcer Roger Kent and would bring my cousin Dan & I to the T.V. matches on Saturday mornings. When the matches were over, Dan & I would get into the ring and do our best wrestling moves. One day, while we were doing our thing, Mad Dog Vachon came to ringside. Needless to say, we were scared...well you know. Anyway, Mad Dog gets into the ring, talks to us and helps us with our holds. He was a great guy. I'll never forget the day I met my hero, "The Man Who Made Milwaukee Famous", the Crusher. He was very gentle and quiet, like a grandfather. I also had a friend who lived next door to Jumpin' Jim Brunzell, but that's another story so I'll end it here.
D.C. at University of Toledo: I remember back in 1982 or 83 when I walked into a Taco Bell here in Toledo, OH (home of Tony Packo's). At this time, I had never heard of Hulk Hogan. He happened to walk into the restaurant at that time though, and I heard someone shout.."Hey, it's Hulk Hogan!!!" I never got excited, because I never heard of him before. He was with a bunch of people, and he ordered a lot of food. Only later on when I saw him in Rocky III, did I think, hey, this guy is a movie star.
Mark S.: I was in a bar in Atlanta in August of '95 when I noticed a huge guy walk in. I recognized him as Kevin Nash (Diesel). I walked over and shook hands with him and talked for a few minutes. He was very friendly. I asked him what were the chances of him joining WCW. At that time he was still in the WWF. He replied in a sarcastic way, "Why would I want to join a sinking ship?". We talked for a few more minutes and then I went back to my table. A few minutes later, "Diamond" Dallas Page comes in and he and Nash sit together at the bar. It's funny that 9 months after that, Nash shows up in the "sinking ship" WCW. Looks like to me the WWF is the one who is sinking. Overall, Nash was friendly and easy to talk to.
Jamie F.: About 4 or 5 years ago, WCW had a house show in Hazard, KY. My aunt used to work at the Holiday Inn in Hazard, KY, and none other than Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Barry Windham walked in. They got rooms and my Aunt asked them how the show was and politely asked for their autographs. They gave her their autographs, and she said that they were very nice.
Four years ago, I went to a show where The "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant was the headliner. The guy who did the ring announcements was a friend of mine and the guy I was with, so we hung around after the show and talked to him. We talked for about 15 minutes and the only people that were left were the three of us and the wrestlers, and The Boogie Woogie Man walked out of the dressing rooms and was getting ready to leave. I caught him before he walked out the door and asked for his autograph and he gladly gave it to me. I said thanks and he said "No problem, be cool man". I really couldn't believe it. (I was 12 at the time).
Mike: I'm 40 years old and I've been into wrestling all my life. Just after Paul Roma left WCW, I was at the airport in Boston picking up my daughter. I was just in my car waiting, and I see this guy two cars up (actually he had a jeep). So I'm looking at him for about 2 minutes and I said to myself I'll just walk over and get a better look and as soon as I got 10 feet from him I knew it was him (Paul Roma).
I was trying my best to act my age. I asked him if he was gone for good or on vacation? He said his contract ran out and WCW did not renew it. So he was on his way to Europe to try out for another wrestling company. I talked to him for about 5 minutes. I did not ask him about other wresters because he was the first wrestler I ever talked to and he is on my Top 10 list, so we talked about him. So after I get back to my car I realize I did not get his autograph so I grab some paper and pen and went back and he signed his ring name. All I can say is Paul R. was great. He answered everything I asked him. His autograph is in my hobbyroom on the wall as we speak...
Stuart B. at Austin Peay State University: Back sometime in 1977, I moved to Chattanooga, TN. My brother (who lived there) and I had been wrestling fans since we were little kids. Anyway, Tennessee wrestling had two main promotions back then, the one that is still out of Memphis and one run for years by Nick Gulas out of Nashville. Randy Savage's dad and Jeff Jarrett's dad were both part of these promotions. We were in the auditorium at Chattanooga, on the opposite side, way up in the stands, sat this really huge individual. We wondered who he was. During intermission, I saw him in the hall. I asked somebody if they knew who he was. They said it was Haystacks Calhoun. He was one of the most influential wrestlers of my childhood.
I went up to speak to the man and told him about seeing him years ago in Rochester. He was really nice. He was down on his luck, in poor health and was running a tattoo parlor out of a flea market in Georgia. Those SOBs who ran the promotion in Chattanooga made him pay to get in. You would think they would want to give him a seat of honor.
Michelle G.: Well, this week a friend and I were walking downtown and decided to go to a bar. (1:30 pm) To our surprise, Hogan, the Giant and the amazing French-Canadians were having a press conference for an upcoming WCW event in Montreal. Now to the good part. Hogan is not fighting Giant but Jacques Rougeau. And Giant is fighting Carl Ouelette. Now that Hogan was standing face to face with Rougeau, he srated to crack up and blew the gimmick. Giant started a bar room brawl with Ouelette. After, I noticed Giant, Hogan and the AFC having a beer. I went up to them, and asked about what they thought of this WWF/WCW war. They all just said they were getting sick of this whole thing.
Josh Zobel at Georgia Southern University: One day my friends and I were eating dinner at our cafeteria. All of a sudden who do you think appears? Koko B. Ware. There were a lot of people around him, so I didn't have a chance to speak with him. But as I was leaving I yelled out, "It's the bird man!"
T-Bo: My only brush with greatness (no--scratch that--mediocracy) was with Vladimir Koloff in Wal-Mart in Valdosta, Georgia. I didn't get his autograph, but I remember one thing he said. Someone asked him if the Koloffs were as good as they said they were, he responded "You wanna go outside?" [Editor's Note: T-Bo runs a Ric Flair FAQ you may want to check out.]
Justin: It was Spring Break '96. I took a trip down to Atlanta. We stayed at the Omni Hotel, hooked on to CNN center. I was standing and looking around, and up comes Gene Okerlund on the escalators!! He was very, very nice to me. We talked a little, I got his autograph. Later that night, I was standing in the hotel lobby, here comes Gene with Bobby Heenan. Gene remembered me, and where I was from, Bobby gave me a weird look. I didn't mind, he seemed nice. The next day I went and found the WCW office in CNN Center. I stood outside, peeping in. I did notice that the locker room area happened to be a set in the office. The office was not open to the public. Still waiting, I saw Dave Penzer at the desk in the office. I looked around and saw Kevin Sullivan walking toward the office. He was not very friendly. I then went on and walked around CNN Center. I say Arn Anderson walking. I tried to catch him, but he was in the office when I got down the escalators. Later that day, my dream came true! I was standing around watching the show, "Talkback Live," and here comes Ric Flair!!! I said hello, didn't get his autograph, he seemed in a hurry. He was very polite, though.
David N. at University of Memphis: I don't really consider him great, just neat, but anyway. I live in Memphis and on occasion Brian Christopher Lawler will come into my store. I don't think that I have ever actually recognized him fully until right before Christmas last year. He came into the store wearing glasses and a baseball cap. I waited a couple seconds and asked him what his name was. He seemed legitimately stunned that I recognized him, he said that he dresses down for that reason. I asked him how his father was and he responded "Just fine." He was a class act even, simply because he didn't want any attention.
"Hoser": One of my friends is best friends with Bret Hart's son, and he was in the front row at Wrestlemania and went to his house for some time. He even went to a party after Wrestlemania with all of the big namers of the WWF. He has his 1-800 number and everything. I always bother him and make him tell me about Bret.
Skeeter: At a recent house show in Dallas, Sycho Sid, Bret Hart, and HBK were headlining the event. After, I asked an "event staff" if he knew were the wrestlers were going to be after the matches. It turned out the guy I asked worked for Titan Sports, I guess they have their own security and he was a good friend of Sid. He told me they would be at the Holiday Inn in Lewisville. I live in Highland Village where Lewisville is only 5 minutes away. Anyway, he said that Sid would probably be OK with me hanging with him. After the match, I followed the security guy, Mike, back in the locker room where I got a not-so-pleasant glimpse of Bret's you-know-what. They were having a conversation about the match and looking over some of the problems in the match. Shawn was nowhere to be seen. I called my best bud, who gave me a ride, and couldn't go since he had his girlfriend's party to go to. I told him to pick me up when I called him. We waited for Sid to get dressed, (all 5 seconds! kind of reminded me of Tommy Boy when David Spade went to go to change in the airplane) and we were off to the Holiday Inn. Sid was driving, and now I know why they call him Sycho. He was going at least 85, and swerving in and out of traffic. We passed some marks who just came from the match and they stuck their heads out of the window to wave, and Sid casually waved back and REALLY sped up. We were there in about 30 minutes, Sid time.
Once we got to the hotel, Sid called home and asked about his father. (I think his father is hospitalized.) As soon as Sid was done with his phone calls, we chilled for a while, watching T.V. and waiting for Sid to get out of the shower. Mike, the security guy, was really nice, and talked about how he and Sid went back. He met Sid when Sid came in the WWF for the first time. He and Sid have known each other for about 5 years.
When Sid was ready, we all went to the Cracker Barrel we spotted right outside the hotel. Sid craves Chinese but everything was closed. He signed a few autographs for the waiters who reconized him. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel where we ordered room service. I say we, I mean Sid. He ordered another hamburger, and a ham and cheese sandwhich and two orders of french fries. We all had some beer that Mike bought earlier that day. We stayed at the hotel talking mainly about things that were on T.V. I finally left about 1:30. Mike has an e-mail and we have been e-mailing each other back and forth. He is trying to hook me up with backstage passes for IYH. (I am already going)
So that is my brush with greatness. I came away with Hitman's autograph, (I got it when he was decent) and Hog and Pig's autograph. Owen and Bulldog left like right after their match and I talked with Dustin Rhodes (Golddust) and Bob Holly. Bob is really nice and so is Dustin. Dustin and I talked about UT and A&M and stuff like that. Bob was funny, he is the comic in the back. Bret is nice too, but he was in a hurry so I let him go. I got a load of pictures at the event, and a few with me and Sid.
Mike R. in Florida: Having just read your encounters column I thought I might write and let you now about the many, many wrestlers I have encountered over the years. I must start out by telling you that I worked as the in ring announcer in the Buffalo area back in 1971-1972, at the time for the promotion run by Pedro Martinez and his son, Ron. It was quite an experience since I had been a wrestling fan since my grandmother starting watching it in New York back in the black and white days of T.V. At the time, the names of the time were Antonino Rocca, Bruno Sanmartino, the Graham brothers, Mark Lewin and Don Curtis, the Austalian tag team champs, and many more. There was Ricki Starr the ballet dancing wrestler, Iron Mike Sharpe, later on George "The Animal" Steele and even Haystacks Calhoun. Yes, I worked with all of them at one time or another and they were all great guys outside of the ring. I can tell you that the characters in the ring are not the human beings outside. They are family men, intelligent, educated, and at the time non-steroid users. In those days wrestling was really done in the ring, and the only characters were people like Hat Pin Hattie who used to try and stab some of the unpopular wrestlers with a huge hat pin and actually succeeded once or twice. The nicest guy was Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd who always would say hello to my wife and give her a hug. I could go on about more of the guys, but for now I'll let others have some room.
Dave M. at SUNY Oswego: A little less than ten years ago I attended a card at MSG, after Andre the Giant had defeated Bam Bam Bigelow. They were setting up a cage for the Savage-DiBiase cage match. I took a bathroom break and my Uncle ran into the bathroom and dragged me out in time to see Andre waiting for the elevator. Man he was HUGE!!! I attempted to shake his hand and a security guard moved me away. He did however give me a distinct nod.
My cousin who is in the TV business (executive producer of the UFC) met Sgt. Slaughter and, remembering how big a fan I was, he asked the Sarge to fill out a poster for me (I was 9 at the time). So, I recieved a poster with Sgt. Slaughter asking me to become his manager, it is a cherished posession of mine.
I also met the Ultimate Warrior at a signing and spoke to him afterward, he was very polite.
From a Guy Backstage at the Clash of the Champions: The food wrestlers get in backstage is INCREDIBLE. If we ate as well as they did, we would all be 400 lbs. All the wrestlers were together for bits and pieces of the buffet. The Woman/Sullivan/Benoit thing is a complete work, Sullivan and Woman where arm in arm behind the scenes. I got to talk to your man AA. What a great human being. We talked about him not getting a World Championship run. He said as long as Flair is in the ring, Flair will always be the man. I told him that I was glad to meet the greatest worker in the business. He said when you love you job you will do whatever it takes to do it to your best. He also said Flair was a no-show til Saturday. But, I forgot to tell him about your page [Editor's note: :-( ]. I was way too impressed with the people, and they aren't all asses. Some are, but most are like you and me, they just get to be on TV.
Kevin Nash is a large human, I am 6'4' and 245 and he looks huge compared to me. He was interesting to talk to. I asked about Souled Out, and he said that there was no way he was going to leave WCW, he gets too large of pop from the fans. He thinks that Hogan is okay, he also said there is no way NWO will win all the matches, and expect some surprises. I asked World Title change? He said no comment. All the times they "take over" Nitro, it is unscripted with the comments and play by play, he loves that. I asked about world singles title. He said in time, but not now. He said Hogan was going to be at Souled Out the next time you see him.
The dark match was Ice Train against Mark Starr. What a joke! As soon as the cameramen came to ringside the match ended a minute later on a splash. Yawn!
DDP was also yapping it up with Hall and Nash, so that is nothing but a work. He also said he was going to do something at Clash. And, 2 minutes before he Diamond Cuttered Norton, he was stopped in the tunnel and crowd was chanting DDP, DDP ahead of time.
The bathroom where Benoit and Sullivan wrestled in was locked before the Clash. They had everything set up in there ahead of time, including the paper dispenser being loosened up. Plus, if you watch the replay, all the paper in the garbage can was fresh paper which is something you might find interesting. Plus, they blocked off the section to the bathroom when the match started.
I can't really think of anything else, except the fact that 9000 people max were there, and they moved people to stategic locations to make the crowd look full. The crowd was brutal and they made terrible comments. Good thing WCW can blend out the sounds. The chant you didn't hear before the clash was Weasel, Weasel! [Editor's Note: Acutally, you could hear that one at home]. As the Clash started "Mongo is a homo". That was ugly, but they did cover it well.
As soon as the camera stopped with NWO vs. Luger/Steiners they all stopped and left. The heat was off as soon as the cameras were. That was sooooo funny. And security quickly tried to get us out. Too funny.
Barbara C.: 10 years ago, I took my son to Disney World. While we were standing in line at one of the rides, we looked to our right, and there was Capt. Lou Albano just getting into the line. We waved to him (he was wearing shorts, but also had 1 rubber band taped to his cheek), and he waved back. After the ride, my son wanted to wait for him to finish. We did, and Lou could not have been any nicer. He shook his hand, gave him a big hug and posed for a picture with him. Later on in the afternoon, we saw him again. He had about some 25 people all around him. He took his time and talked to everyone. I was really impressed.
Also, many years ago, I was shopping in my local K-Mart. Haystacks Calhoun was there, pushing a shopping cart. He said hello to everyone who passed by. He was ABSOLUTELY HUGE!!!, but with apparantly the same huge personality. I remember hearing that later on that same year he had passed away.
Greg F.: I've lived in Memphis for most of life. When I was at a McDonald's, Jerry Lawler came in and ordered something. I don't know what it was. I was too shy (age 13) to say anything. I didn't know what the correct celebrity etiquette was.
Mark R.: In August 1994, I was in a bar in Richmond VA. My fraternity brothers worked in the bar. A small, younger brother was working the door when the wrestlers came in (Flair,Anderson, Dustin, Bossman, Ricky Morton - wearing fat laces in his shoes). As Anderson walked in my buddy said "AA" and Arn stopped and talked for a few. Arn and Flair were surrounded the entire night (I was preoccuped with the ladies). As closing time approached, I was hanging around outside. Dustin, with arm in cast, was driving a rental car and asked me to go in and get a few guys. He looked tired. Anyway, I talked to Morton. He was nice. Bossman tried to get my sister's friend back to his hotel. The greatest part came after Anderson and Flair were leaving. They had walked to about 4 different bars. (my Delta Chi bros worked at all of them and the free shots were flowing). Anyway, Flair left with 6 girls, the closest one to him was wearing a sash that said "Bride to Be."
Anonymous: During a recent Southern States Wrestling card in Emory, VA, Buddy Landell lost to Brad Armstrong. When Landell was making his way to the locker room I simply said "Good Match". He stopped, turned around and said "Have you got a problem?" I replied with a simple "no!" Outside after the matches, he came up to me and apologized for his rudeness earlier in the evening. He said that they have to give a good show. I treated him to a Big Mac and he treated me to some great stories. He is a real gentleman outside the ring. I will always be a "Nature Boy" fan!
Andrew Beavin: A few years ago, my mom had to go to Austin for a business trip and the whole family accompanied her to the airport. While we were waiting for her plane to let passengers board, I had to go to the men's room. As I walked into the bathroom, I turned the corner and I ran into (literally) this huge guy (I was about eleven and was pretty small at the time). I looked up at his face and it was Bret Hart. I didn't realize who it was at the time and all I could do was look up at him. All he did was look down at me, sidestepped me, grabbed his bag and left. I didn't realize who I'd run into until about 15 minutes later when Owen Hart walked through the airport. That was when it hit me who I'd run into.
Josh J.: This past summer I was staying at a Holiday Inn in LaCrosse, WI of all places. All of the WWF was staying there. Vince, Sunny, HHH, Michaels, Austin, Mankind...anyone and everyone at Titan was there. Somebody told me that they had a TV taping that night (boy, I was pissed that I didn't go). Well, anyways, I bought one of those stupid Funsaver cameras...and got pictures with everyone. I talked to Vince and he was the nicest person in wrestling I ever met. He wanted to know where I was from...why I thought the WWF was cool....(no I didn't act like a mark). JR was also with him at the bar and he was talking to me, too. After that night, I knew I would always be a WWF fan due to how they treated me!
Chris J.: Several years ago (during the AWA's heyday), some friends and I were golfing at a course in Eagan, Minnesota, which is just south of St. Paul. While looking back at the group behind us, we thought a couple of faces looked familiar. It turns out that the foursome were then AWA champ Nick Bockwinkel, his manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, and two women who I assume were their wives. Play was rather slow and so we had the chance to chat with them several times at the teeboxes. As it turned out, they couldn't have been nicer. The other times I've run across Nick B. in the Twin Cities since then, he has always been very pleasant, willing to stop and talk for a few moments.
Jeremy Moran at Hardin Simmons University: I was waiting in the San Antonio airport on my way back home from the '97 Rumble, when who should walk in and sit down but...now FORMER WWF Champion SID VICIOUS! (Mind you, this is at 5:30 in the morning! Who expects ANYONE to be there?!) My friend and I walked over to him and said hey, tough match, yadda yadda yadda, and asked him for an autograph. He was real cool about it (BTW, he didn't look like someone who had a concussion, as opposed to what WWF RAW would have you believe). We sat and talked for a few minutes, then we left him alone. He was in a good mood, and not at all a "Psycho!" Also, I used to work at a fast-food restaurant at the mall where "Iceman" King Parsons worked out. He would come in a lot and was always a great guy, willing to give autographs and talk to people.
J.A.T.: One time the WWF made a rare appearence in New Brunswick, Canada. So, after wrestling in Fredericton they drove down to Saint John. Well, my sister and her friends were at the bar they all decided to enter. At the time, Ric Flair was WWF champ. He ended up talking to my sister for a while and bought her a drink. Well, she looks at him and then the other wrestlers and asks him (she doesn't follow wrestling) if he was the manager of these guys or what. Needless to say, he had a laugh over it. Other noteables of the night were that my buddy's sister got a date with Koko B. Ware and The Undertaker can pretty much hide a bottle of beer in his hand. Mr. Perfect and the Nasty Boys also showed up. My sister also met the Ultimate Warrior in the Halifax airport. She says he wears his pants way too tight.
Elvin W.: Back in 1993 or 1994 my wife and I had dinner with her mother in a Quincy's in Jacksonville, FL when we looked across near the buffet. Harley Race and Big Van Vader were sitting there. When they were through eating, my wife went over and politely apologized for bothering them and asked for a autograph and got one from Mr. Race. Then I went over and asked and got one as well. I asked Vader for one and he politely stated he could not give us one. After that we saw and also received Ricky Steamboat's autograph. All three were very nice.
P.J.: I have met a lot of wrestling personalities over the years and by far the nicest ones were The Giant, Ted Dibiase, and Ricky Steamboat. John "Earthquake" Tenta and Jim Neidhart were complete jerks though, refusing to sign autographs. From what I have read on here and elsewhere about Mean Gene being a jerk, I guess I caught him on a good day. In the bar after a Nitro a couple of months ago was my latest wrestling experience. Gene was in there and he was pretty nice, we talked about the Giant and what a talent he was.
After he left, wrestlers started pouring in, Sullivan and Woman, Liz, Kimberly, Savage, Flair, Public Enemy, Orndorff, Terry Taylor, Steve McMichael and Debra, Duggan, Sting, Luger, and Heenan. Yes they were all together and Liz and Savage were actually hugging the whole time. This was like 3 months ago. They were all there watching the replay of Nitro. Unbelievable story but totally true. I got a bunch of autographs, most I already had from meeting a lot of them in the past, but you can never have too many Flair autographs.
Others I have met are Bagwell, Dusty and Dustin Rhodes (Dusty was a jerk too), Virgil/Vincent, Bret Hart, Eaton, Arn Anderson, Steve Austin (my personal favorite who was with his wife Jeannie and they were also very nice), Road Warriors, Benoit, DDP, Mankind, Ron Simmons, Shane Douglas, Perfect, Barbarian, Bulldog, Nasty Boys, and too many more to mention. So all in all, I have had a lot of brushes with greatness!!
Chris R.: When I was in a Pizza Hut, we were eating and guess who I saw? Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. He was sweating like a MADMAN! And it wasn't even hot! But when I returned from the restroom, he was gone, so I couldn't get an autograph.
Jeff S.: After an indy show, I got a chance to meet Jim Neidhart, who headlined the show. He was very nice and took a picture with my friend and me. He was sweating like a maniac, it was disgusting. I asked how Bret was and he said he was good and also that Davey and Owen were good, if I could believe it. (Editor's note: Jim Neidhart was married to one of Bret Hart's sisters. They have since divorced. All of the Hart boys are wrestlers. All of the girls married wrestlers.)
Kurt N.: Of all the wrestlers I've met over the years -- and there have been many all around the US-- the nicest were Terry Funk (always smiling and friendly), Billy Jack Haynes, Wahoo McDaniel, Big John Studd (had a heart as big as he was) and Greg Valentine (whom I lunched with in 1986 and patiently answered any question I asked). And former referee Tommy young was, and is, an absolute gentleman. The worst was actually a non-wrestler: the uppity Gene Okerlund, whom I met at Slamboree 93.
As a rule I don't bother wrestlers when they choose to be unnoticed. Adrian Adonis slept behind me on a TWA flight (around 1987, looking every bit the "fat woman") and Nick Kiniski sat a few seats ahead. Jimmy Hart and Danny Davis at a table next to me in San Francisco, just prior to Davis's wrestling career. Those are just a few rememberances... and privacy was justly theirs.
Also, at a MSG card around a year ago, Ahmed Johnson and Chris Candito stood right next to me watching the matches. I let them watch, without bothering them, and they really seemed to appreciate it. But soon a mob of kids came over asking for autographs, and they escaped to the dressing rooms.
Steve R.: On a trip in 1994, as I was waiting to board my plane at Stapleton Airport in Denver, CO and who should appear but the Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair. We chatted for a while and afterwards he gave me his autograph. He was enroute to a match in Sioux City, IA. He was very friendly and personable.
Blake: I used to work as a bellhop at the Norfolk Airport Hilton back in 90-91. During that time I saw Sting, Lex Luger, Brian Pillman, Rick Steiner, Grizzly Smith, and one of the Moondogs. I actually talked to Dutch Mantel once, in the hotel lobby. He was quite friendly, and he talked about how he hadn't been to the Norfolk area before. I acted like I didn't know who he was, so he would be more comfortable. He asked about room service, and where the exercise room was. This was during the Persian Gulf conflict, and we talked for a while about that. All in all, a pleasant conversation.
I spoke to Dick Murdoch and Dick Slater also, and while Slater was kind of surly and didn't say much, Murdoch seemed like a real good ol' boy, and was friendly. He asked how to drive to the Scope, and I told him. He said that he was last here in 1988 for Starrcade. I told him that I was there, and I remembered him in the Bunkhouse Stampede. He seemed impressed that I remembered.
Peter M. at Georgia Southern University: About six years ago at a swim meet I had jumped in and swam but when I got out to see what my time was, I realized it was none other then Big John Studd. I was amazed he was the nicest guy in the world. We spoke a bit before the next race. This was when I was still a mark, so I was surprised to see how really nice he was when he was so mean in the ring.
Jeremy Mason at University of Oklahoma: In 1985 (I was 6 years old) my father took my brother and I to see a live WWF show in Hartford, CT at the Civic Center. That night, Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo won the tag belts from Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis. After the show we saw Windham and Rotundo in the parking lot. We congradulated them on their victory. They were both very nice and appreciative. We were able to get their autographs on the program (which, of course, is nowhere to be found. We probably lost it when we moved from CT to OK). We also caught up with a jobber named Charlie Fulton after the show. He had beaten a fellow jobber in the first match of the evening. Being only 6, and unaware of who the jobbers were and were not, I went up to him and told him that he was my favorite wrestler. He too was an extremely nice individual. I also had his autograph on the program. During the ride home my then 12 year old brother ribbed me for geting an autograph from a stiff.
Also, about 5-6 months before Sgt. Slaughter joined the WWF in 1990, I went to see some cheapo inependent card at Danbury High School in Danbury, CT. Slaughter was in the main event against Johnny Rodz. I've since learned that Johnny Rodz was a major stiff. Anyway, Slaughter was very nice to my friends and I. We all came away with an autograph.
Amir: I witnessed Paul Bearer (w/o makeup) down a huge, huge amount of food at a Ryan's Family Steak House in Ft. Worth.
Bill: When I was about seventeen, I went to my first live show at the Poughkeepsie Civic Center. At a diner after the show, Vince McMahon, Gene Okerlund, and a big guy (presumably McMahon's bodyguard) were having dinner. My friends and I left before them and tried to be respectful and waited patiently outside for autographs rather than bothering them while they ate. Vince and bodyguard came out first. The bodyguard did not seem happy we were there but Vince was really friendly. He signed all of our ticket stubs and asked us who had won the battle royale at the end since he left early. (B. Brian Blair ousted "Iron" Mike Sharpe to go to the pay window for $10,000.) He asked us if we'd had a good time at the matches and was a real nice guy. Okerlund came out and was a jerk. He was obviously annoyed to be asked for autographs and grudgingly signed them.
I also saw Mike Rotundo a few years ago at Logan Airport. He doesn't look that big compared to other wrestlers on TV but he's a big guy close up. This was in his Irwin R. Schyster days but I hesitantly said, "Hi, Mike" and he gave me a little smile and said "Hi" back. He went into a bar and sat down by himself at the bar and had a drink. I was really mad at myself for having identified myself as a mark as it would have been a great opportunity to "happen to sit next to him" and engage him in conversation. No one else seemed to recognize him.
Flying through St. Louis around three years ago, a bunch of WCW guys were getting on a flight to Atlanta. From what someone was saying, Sting had just gotten on the plane but "Stunning" Steve Austin was walking around. His upper body was so big that his legs looked like stumps. Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff was talking to some people. He was so huge, he looked like Popeye right after eating a can of spinach. He reached down to scratch his leg and you could see this huge tricep moving up and down underneath his shirt. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was there and, relatively speaking, he blended in with the crowd. He got up to get on the plane and banged his shin on another chair. Spastic is as spastic does.
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