JohnCenaFan28
04-09-2009, 05:55 PM
After last year's epic weekend in Orlando, I was Houston-bound from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport for the silver anniversary of World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania.
For this trip, I took my usual partner in crime, Thomas, and my girlfriend, Ashley, who has become a big fan of pro wrestling this past year. This is a definite plus in our relationship.
We flew on Friday, April 3, which was a good thing considering the stories I heard about plane delays and flight turbulence others experienced the previous day.
When we got to our gate, I quickly looked around to see who else was heading to Texas for 'Mania weekend. I spotted a man with a Chris Jericho Save Us T-shirt and struck a conversation with him. He flew in from the Bahamas and also attended last year's festivities.
Another person noticed my girlfriend's HBK hat and told us if we took an earlier flight, we would have seen Team 3D (The Dudley Boys), who headed to Houston for Booker T.'s charity event.
Considering the horribly uncomfortable experience I had a few months earlier on my trip to Las Vegas with Spirit Airlines, I was pleasantly surprised flying with Continental. It was a smooth ride into Republican country and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
We took the rental car to a La Quinta right near Reliant Park, home of WrestleMania 25 Weekend. I don't know if it was because of other tourists or if it's normally like that, but people were driving worse than in South Florida, which is saying something. The roads took some getting used to because it seemed everywhere you turned only went one way, meaning you had to make a lot of U-turns.
The other thing I also noticed was the lack of advertising for WrestleMania, aside from a small sign outside of the airport. It could be less celebrity involvement or economic times, but I remember last year you couldn't go anywhere without seeing something on the show in Orlando.
Then again you are comparing a tourist-driven city to Houston, home of the Astros, Rockets, Texans and industrial buildings. However, I do have to give credit to Pappadeaux Seafood Restaurant for its clever wrestling phrasing on the outside marquee.
Shortly after putting our stuff in the hotel room, we went to Reliant Center for Axxess. This was the first year in maybe five years they didn't take Hillbilly Jim and the rest of the festivities on the road. I always thought that was a cool concept.
Lines were building since noon, which was six hours before doors opened. Since this year they charged for the event, it was some added revenue for the company. While my friend was enjoying the activities, I was upstairs for a majority of the night doing press for the seventh THQ Superstar Video Game Challenge to coincide with the game company's recently released Legends of WrestleMania video game.
THQ via WWE brought a number of WWE superstars in a room of reporters from around the world to answer questions, including Ted DiBiase, Sgt. Slaughter, Shad Gaspar of Cryme Time, Jimmy Hart, Kofi Kingston and Shelton Benjamin.
I think that experience really gave me an idea of what print media has become on the communication pecking order. It seemed that television outlets had first dibs on talent.
Later in the evening, I went downstairs to walk through the large WWE setup and observe the finals of the video game tournament. There were lines for just about everything and everyone. They even had a large number of fans in line to meet WWE star Vladimir Kozlov.
It was cool hearing Howard Finkel announcing in the ring during the THQ video game tournament. I also enjoyed the family pairings, with Cody Rhodes facing his dad Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase against his Million Dollar Man father and the Bella Twins going against each other.
Joey Styles was at the announce booth, which I'm sure created one-of-a-kind moments for fans who got to do commentary with him. The night concluded with a trip to a local Sonic for some trademark Tater Tots and slush drinks.
We kicked off Saturday, April 4 with a stop at Lupe Tortilla for some authentic Tex-Mex. I thought it was funny that my friend ordered a Chalupa, and we were both examining what it was because it didn't look like the ones we were accustomed to at Taco Bell. We then made our way to Ring of Honor at the George R Brown Convention Center.
Interestingly enough there was a gun show simultaneously in another part of the facility.
As we went to where ROH was taping its pay-per-view, we passed people carrying rifles and other weapons. It was quite an uneasy feeling. If I didn't know any better, I might have thought ROH was going beyond hardcore. We had to travel a few levels to reach the show, situated a humongous warehouse with a wrestling ring and lights. I thought it was a good venue for ROH.
Since I was disappointed about missing Nigel McGuinness dropping the title to Jerry Lynn the prior night, I was happy to attend Saturday. We entered following the Colt Cabana/Ace Steel match.
The show had a few bright spots, starting with an outstanding contest between tag champs Kevin Steen and El Generico, Jay Briscoe and Magno over Sweet & Sour Inc.'s That Young Knockout Kid Chris Hero, Incognito and The American Wolves of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Those two teams worked hard and certainly captured the crowd.
While he displayed a traditional style during his ROH match a few months ago in (South Florida) Coral Springs, I was excited to finally see The Necro Butcher at his Necro Butcherist in a no disqualification match against Jimmy Jacobs.
There were a number of sick spots. The two even did a superplex from inside out, through a table. The unprotected and stiff chair shots on Necro were almost hard to watch. The guy can take an unbelievable amount of punishment. For point of reference, Necro was the one with the staple gun in the movie The Wrestler.
I was also impressed with the Alex Koslov and Roderick Strong bout. Unfortunately, I missed the main event between Tyler Black and KENTA facing Austin Aries and Katsuhiko Nakajima because I had to leave for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
With me already sporting suit pants, I changed shirts, put on my tie and jacket and made the short walk to the Toyota Center.
I finally got to meet my friend Ryan Rider and Ilan The Viz Preisler from Montreal. The two host the Main Event Wrestling Radio show on CJLO 1690 AM and maineventradio.com on Sunday mornings. I have been doing an audio report for their website each week for more than a year but have only communicated to them through e-mail.
At this year's HOF event, there were a lot less people dressed formally, which I think diminishes the level of the event. However, people were a lot more respectful, aside from a few incidents. I guess the warnings posted inside and outside the venue had something to do with it.
I wish they handed out a coin or special memento from the event or even a program like last year. Blame the economy. The time constraints really hurt the show, as it felt like a television taping more than a ceremony honoring those who paved the way for today's superstars.
The passing of the torch between Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena through an alcoholic beverage at the conclusion of Austin's speech was the highlight of the night for me. My girlfriend also met her future husband: Richie Steamboat.
Tired and hungry, my crew ended up at the Aquarium restaurant. A little pricey for what I wanted, but the drinks and food were pretty good. The atmosphere is nice with sea life swimming around as you eat. They also have a few carnival rides and an exhibit with tigers and other animals.
We didn't get to see much since it was late and the place was already closing, but I definitely recommend it for a unique dining experience for the family.
Before heading to Reliant Stadium on Sunday, April 5, we drove to the Houston Westin Galleria. This had to be one of the nicest malls I have ever seen. Now I see why Carlito listed it as a place to go while in Houston during an interview he did in the flight magazine I read on the return home.
There was an ice skating rink in the middle of the food court. Since we only had so much time, we ate and went through one or two stores before leaving. I wish I could have stayed longer to put on some ice skates and really embarrass myself.
We decided to avoid the traffic and walk the mile or so to Reliant Stadium from our hotel. Then I checked in and was ushered into the press box at the tail end of the Mickey Rourke and Ric Flair press conference. I stood next to Joey Styles. This was the second time I missed Flair, with the first being last year before the Hall of Fame.
The incredibly hot Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls answered a few questions. That was her first wrestling event. Not bad. There was media from India, Latin American, China and anywhere else you could think of.
I watched the event with Fumi Saito, a longtime journalist and editor of a Japanese wrestling magazine. I met Saito last year and have looked up to him ever since. He has been covering pro wrestling for decades.
After the show, he pulled out some amazing photos. There was one of himself with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, when the three of them were in their early 20s. Another he showed me was himself and Ric Flair from the 1985 Great American Bash. He even had one with himself and Hulk Hogan during one of the Hulkster's early tours of the Orient. Saito told me has been to about 17 WrestleManias.
Despite being my second of these big shows, the surreal feeling I got the first time sitting in the stadium live was still there. It's hard not to get caught up in the pageantry and excitement, whether you are a wrestling fan or not.
The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels stole the show and made the event something worth remembering. I will never forget the look 'Taker had on his face when Michaels kicked out of the tombstone. It looked like someone had surprised him horribly.
Leaving the stadium, a Shawn Michaels look-a-like was taking photos with fans. He had the trademark shirt and the poses down pat. We didn't stay to mingle long, as it was freezing, and we had a mile walk to the hotel.
The three of us grabbed our jackets and went to the Whataburger around the corner.
In the word of Stone Cold, `What?'
No.
Whataburger.
The place was inundated with wrestling fans. It was an unofficial after party. There were two extremely long lines in the restaurant: one to order and the other to pick up your food. They looked incredibly understaffed and unprepared for the rush of hungry patrons, with one register open. It was a good hour before we got our food, but it was an experience nonetheless.
It reminded me of a hangout spot following a high school or college football game. With work at home, I didn't stay for the Monday Night Raw show at the Toyota Center. I had one more memorable moment before leaving IAH.
I was at a security checkpoint, when I saw Afa the Wild Samoan in the distance. He trained Rourke for his role in the movie The Wrestler. I read he was in town for the festivities, but his identity was further confirmed with the jacket he was wearing, promoting his school.
On the return flight, they were airing an E! biography on Hulk Hogan, a fitting end to a memorable trip.
• For interviews with WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper and Kofi Kingston from WrestleMania 25 Weekend, check out thestranglehold.com with Brian Stully Stull, a knowledgeable, old school wrestling man based in St. Louis.
• WWE SmackDown and WWE's ECW begin 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 14 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
Source: Miami Herald
For this trip, I took my usual partner in crime, Thomas, and my girlfriend, Ashley, who has become a big fan of pro wrestling this past year. This is a definite plus in our relationship.
We flew on Friday, April 3, which was a good thing considering the stories I heard about plane delays and flight turbulence others experienced the previous day.
When we got to our gate, I quickly looked around to see who else was heading to Texas for 'Mania weekend. I spotted a man with a Chris Jericho Save Us T-shirt and struck a conversation with him. He flew in from the Bahamas and also attended last year's festivities.
Another person noticed my girlfriend's HBK hat and told us if we took an earlier flight, we would have seen Team 3D (The Dudley Boys), who headed to Houston for Booker T.'s charity event.
Considering the horribly uncomfortable experience I had a few months earlier on my trip to Las Vegas with Spirit Airlines, I was pleasantly surprised flying with Continental. It was a smooth ride into Republican country and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
We took the rental car to a La Quinta right near Reliant Park, home of WrestleMania 25 Weekend. I don't know if it was because of other tourists or if it's normally like that, but people were driving worse than in South Florida, which is saying something. The roads took some getting used to because it seemed everywhere you turned only went one way, meaning you had to make a lot of U-turns.
The other thing I also noticed was the lack of advertising for WrestleMania, aside from a small sign outside of the airport. It could be less celebrity involvement or economic times, but I remember last year you couldn't go anywhere without seeing something on the show in Orlando.
Then again you are comparing a tourist-driven city to Houston, home of the Astros, Rockets, Texans and industrial buildings. However, I do have to give credit to Pappadeaux Seafood Restaurant for its clever wrestling phrasing on the outside marquee.
Shortly after putting our stuff in the hotel room, we went to Reliant Center for Axxess. This was the first year in maybe five years they didn't take Hillbilly Jim and the rest of the festivities on the road. I always thought that was a cool concept.
Lines were building since noon, which was six hours before doors opened. Since this year they charged for the event, it was some added revenue for the company. While my friend was enjoying the activities, I was upstairs for a majority of the night doing press for the seventh THQ Superstar Video Game Challenge to coincide with the game company's recently released Legends of WrestleMania video game.
THQ via WWE brought a number of WWE superstars in a room of reporters from around the world to answer questions, including Ted DiBiase, Sgt. Slaughter, Shad Gaspar of Cryme Time, Jimmy Hart, Kofi Kingston and Shelton Benjamin.
I think that experience really gave me an idea of what print media has become on the communication pecking order. It seemed that television outlets had first dibs on talent.
Later in the evening, I went downstairs to walk through the large WWE setup and observe the finals of the video game tournament. There were lines for just about everything and everyone. They even had a large number of fans in line to meet WWE star Vladimir Kozlov.
It was cool hearing Howard Finkel announcing in the ring during the THQ video game tournament. I also enjoyed the family pairings, with Cody Rhodes facing his dad Dusty Rhodes, Ted DiBiase against his Million Dollar Man father and the Bella Twins going against each other.
Joey Styles was at the announce booth, which I'm sure created one-of-a-kind moments for fans who got to do commentary with him. The night concluded with a trip to a local Sonic for some trademark Tater Tots and slush drinks.
We kicked off Saturday, April 4 with a stop at Lupe Tortilla for some authentic Tex-Mex. I thought it was funny that my friend ordered a Chalupa, and we were both examining what it was because it didn't look like the ones we were accustomed to at Taco Bell. We then made our way to Ring of Honor at the George R Brown Convention Center.
Interestingly enough there was a gun show simultaneously in another part of the facility.
As we went to where ROH was taping its pay-per-view, we passed people carrying rifles and other weapons. It was quite an uneasy feeling. If I didn't know any better, I might have thought ROH was going beyond hardcore. We had to travel a few levels to reach the show, situated a humongous warehouse with a wrestling ring and lights. I thought it was a good venue for ROH.
Since I was disappointed about missing Nigel McGuinness dropping the title to Jerry Lynn the prior night, I was happy to attend Saturday. We entered following the Colt Cabana/Ace Steel match.
The show had a few bright spots, starting with an outstanding contest between tag champs Kevin Steen and El Generico, Jay Briscoe and Magno over Sweet & Sour Inc.'s That Young Knockout Kid Chris Hero, Incognito and The American Wolves of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Those two teams worked hard and certainly captured the crowd.
While he displayed a traditional style during his ROH match a few months ago in (South Florida) Coral Springs, I was excited to finally see The Necro Butcher at his Necro Butcherist in a no disqualification match against Jimmy Jacobs.
There were a number of sick spots. The two even did a superplex from inside out, through a table. The unprotected and stiff chair shots on Necro were almost hard to watch. The guy can take an unbelievable amount of punishment. For point of reference, Necro was the one with the staple gun in the movie The Wrestler.
I was also impressed with the Alex Koslov and Roderick Strong bout. Unfortunately, I missed the main event between Tyler Black and KENTA facing Austin Aries and Katsuhiko Nakajima because I had to leave for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
With me already sporting suit pants, I changed shirts, put on my tie and jacket and made the short walk to the Toyota Center.
I finally got to meet my friend Ryan Rider and Ilan The Viz Preisler from Montreal. The two host the Main Event Wrestling Radio show on CJLO 1690 AM and maineventradio.com on Sunday mornings. I have been doing an audio report for their website each week for more than a year but have only communicated to them through e-mail.
At this year's HOF event, there were a lot less people dressed formally, which I think diminishes the level of the event. However, people were a lot more respectful, aside from a few incidents. I guess the warnings posted inside and outside the venue had something to do with it.
I wish they handed out a coin or special memento from the event or even a program like last year. Blame the economy. The time constraints really hurt the show, as it felt like a television taping more than a ceremony honoring those who paved the way for today's superstars.
The passing of the torch between Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena through an alcoholic beverage at the conclusion of Austin's speech was the highlight of the night for me. My girlfriend also met her future husband: Richie Steamboat.
Tired and hungry, my crew ended up at the Aquarium restaurant. A little pricey for what I wanted, but the drinks and food were pretty good. The atmosphere is nice with sea life swimming around as you eat. They also have a few carnival rides and an exhibit with tigers and other animals.
We didn't get to see much since it was late and the place was already closing, but I definitely recommend it for a unique dining experience for the family.
Before heading to Reliant Stadium on Sunday, April 5, we drove to the Houston Westin Galleria. This had to be one of the nicest malls I have ever seen. Now I see why Carlito listed it as a place to go while in Houston during an interview he did in the flight magazine I read on the return home.
There was an ice skating rink in the middle of the food court. Since we only had so much time, we ate and went through one or two stores before leaving. I wish I could have stayed longer to put on some ice skates and really embarrass myself.
We decided to avoid the traffic and walk the mile or so to Reliant Stadium from our hotel. Then I checked in and was ushered into the press box at the tail end of the Mickey Rourke and Ric Flair press conference. I stood next to Joey Styles. This was the second time I missed Flair, with the first being last year before the Hall of Fame.
The incredibly hot Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls answered a few questions. That was her first wrestling event. Not bad. There was media from India, Latin American, China and anywhere else you could think of.
I watched the event with Fumi Saito, a longtime journalist and editor of a Japanese wrestling magazine. I met Saito last year and have looked up to him ever since. He has been covering pro wrestling for decades.
After the show, he pulled out some amazing photos. There was one of himself with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, when the three of them were in their early 20s. Another he showed me was himself and Ric Flair from the 1985 Great American Bash. He even had one with himself and Hulk Hogan during one of the Hulkster's early tours of the Orient. Saito told me has been to about 17 WrestleManias.
Despite being my second of these big shows, the surreal feeling I got the first time sitting in the stadium live was still there. It's hard not to get caught up in the pageantry and excitement, whether you are a wrestling fan or not.
The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels stole the show and made the event something worth remembering. I will never forget the look 'Taker had on his face when Michaels kicked out of the tombstone. It looked like someone had surprised him horribly.
Leaving the stadium, a Shawn Michaels look-a-like was taking photos with fans. He had the trademark shirt and the poses down pat. We didn't stay to mingle long, as it was freezing, and we had a mile walk to the hotel.
The three of us grabbed our jackets and went to the Whataburger around the corner.
In the word of Stone Cold, `What?'
No.
Whataburger.
The place was inundated with wrestling fans. It was an unofficial after party. There were two extremely long lines in the restaurant: one to order and the other to pick up your food. They looked incredibly understaffed and unprepared for the rush of hungry patrons, with one register open. It was a good hour before we got our food, but it was an experience nonetheless.
It reminded me of a hangout spot following a high school or college football game. With work at home, I didn't stay for the Monday Night Raw show at the Toyota Center. I had one more memorable moment before leaving IAH.
I was at a security checkpoint, when I saw Afa the Wild Samoan in the distance. He trained Rourke for his role in the movie The Wrestler. I read he was in town for the festivities, but his identity was further confirmed with the jacket he was wearing, promoting his school.
On the return flight, they were airing an E! biography on Hulk Hogan, a fitting end to a memorable trip.
• For interviews with WWE Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper and Kofi Kingston from WrestleMania 25 Weekend, check out thestranglehold.com with Brian Stully Stull, a knowledgeable, old school wrestling man based in St. Louis.
• WWE SmackDown and WWE's ECW begin 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 14 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
Source: Miami Herald