Just Dave Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I've told the story a few times, but I got to be friends w Chris and Nancy Benoit. Close acquaintances is probably more accurate. Peachtree City GA, my hometown, had several WCW wrestlers who at some point or another made the transition to WWE in the early aughts. I got to know Fit Finlay, William Regal, Dave Taylor, and Johnny Grunge a bit. I took bumps at Grunge's gym in PTC for just a bit. His wife was very kind to me, and there were a few of us who tried to help her out for a bit after Grunge's death. It was a very surreal time in my life, and watching Grunge limp around Wal Mart probably had as much to do with me not pursuing wrestling as much as anything. They were all good to me, though. 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I’ve bumped into a few wrestlers. The most I ran into was the hotel I stayed at when I went to Summerslam 99 in Minneapolis. We stayed at a Marriott in Bloomington, basically right across the street from the Mall of America. Never expected any wrestlers to be there and then after getting back from the mall on Friday night I see Big Show in the lobby crossed paths with Bradshaw coming out of the elevator, and rode the elevator up with Ron Simmons. I was basically too scared to say anything except to Bradshaw, “are you Bradshaw?” Really good job there, Craig. I think 2000 or 2001 I almost literally bumped into Matt Hardy. I had started getting into shape at that time and thought my arms were starting to get big, but seeing Matt up close, Jesus, he was huge. On tv you know he looked skinny, but his arms were gigantic. At that same show, which I think was either Backlash or Judgment Day at the AllState Arena, the one with 2 Man Power Trip vs Brothers of Destruction as the main event, we ate at the Steak n Shake right near the arena and there were a bunch of ECW folks there. Saw CM Punk on the blue line/El in Chicago. Just nodded at him and he nodded back. Of fuck. The weirdest one. I just now remembered this. This was like, shit, forever ago. So I go to a friend of a friend’s house to watch the WM where Cena vs Rock was the main event. I think this was the one where Danielson lost in 14 seconds to Sheamus. And fucking Snitsky shows up. I want to say this is maybe around the time he was doing an infomercial for a seafood boil machine. But yeah, that was really random and there’s not much more to say about it than that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Oh, and I interacted with more than a few ROH folks at the Reborn show in Chicago. I remember watching the DVD of it and basically being embarrassed/ashamed of how much I could see myself during that show, not because I was acting like a dork, just because I don’t like seeing myself in pictures or on video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 2 minutes ago, Craig H said: I was basically too scared to say anything except to Bradshaw, “are you Bradshaw?” Really good job there, Craig. I can definitely see him saying "No, I'm not Bradshaw! You dumbass!" and swatting you with his hat. Since this is an AEW thread, has anybody met any, you know, AEW wrestlers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 4 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: I can definitely see him saying "No, I'm not Bradshaw! You dumbass!" and swatting you with his hat. Since this is an AEW thread, has anybody met any, you know, AEW wrestlers? His response was, and I quote, “yeah.” Probably annoyed some 18 year old kid was talking to him. And I haven’t met anyone from AEW, but I’ve also missed out what feels like 6 or 7 different Chicago shows and only made it to the one pre Thanksgiving one last year. OH! We saw HOOK walking out with us. He was headed in the same direction to the parking garage from the Wintrust Arena. He had a security dude with him. That’s what really gave him away, but honestly, the hoody with his anime hair sticking out would have still given himself away. He looks like he’s in character 100% of the time. I think I said and a couple others were like, “what’s up Hook?!” and he threw a hand up for us. Regarding fans showing up at hotels and airports, I wonder how much wrestlers like the Bucks deserve some blame. It’s not their fault that these weirdos go to the airport, but the Bucks and some others always seem to stop for them, sign a bunch of their shit, etc. In a way that seems to encourage that behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Dave Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Met my guy Rick Starks at an indy about five years ago. Could not have been cooler. Lucha Bros were awesome in person. Kris Wolf was amazing. Maybe the kindest human being I've ever met. It's a shame she had to retire so young, but she was teeny teeny tiny. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 24 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: I can definitely see him saying "No, I'm not Bradshaw! You dumbass!" and swatting you with his hat. Since this is an AEW thread, has anybody met any, you know, AEW wrestlers? In pre AEW years, yeah, often in their old gimmicks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Damn, I've never seen a single wrestler in the wild. I saw Axl Rotten around the neighborhood and working at my local video store when I was a kid, but that was before he was a wrestler, so it doesn't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I saw Billy Gunn in an airport like 20 years ago. Absolutely gigantic in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorman Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Craig H said: Oh, and I interacted with more than a few ROH folks at the Reborn show in Chicago. I remember watching the DVD of it and basically being embarrassed/ashamed of how much I could see myself during that show, not because I was acting like a dork, just because I don’t like seeing myself in pictures or on video. I was ring announcer for that show, so it would have been cool to meet you there. Of course, I was also in "take care of the 1-year-old" mode, as I was carrying her in a baby backpack in the locker room before the show. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fighting a man with a perm Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Saw Giant Haystacks in a shopping centre in Navan (small town 30 miles from Dublin) back in the late 80s. I hadn't a clue who he was (the only wrestler I would have recognised then was Big Daddy!) but he was massive! Have bumped into Seamus around Dublin a few times and was at a wedding that Becky Lynch was at (my partner fell ill during the ceremony so I missed my opportunity to say hello), she looked stunning in real life, stood out like a star! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I've told this before, but Marvelous Mitch Ryder painted my living room. I'll tell this part again since it's AEW-related: At the time, my daughter was really into NXT. She was around five-years-old. She HATED Samoa Joe (she loved Shinsuke and they were feuding), so she asked Mitch if he'd ever wrestled him. Mitch, switches right into promo mode and says, "No, darling. I've never rassled him. But if I ever do, I'll whoop him real good for you!" 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldcupfever Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Log said: I've told this before, but Marvelous Mitch Ryder painted my living room. I'll tell this part again since it's AEW-related: At the time, my daughter was really into NXT. She was around five-years-old. She HATED Samoa Joe (she loved Shinsuke and they were feuding), so she asked Mitch if he'd ever wrestled him. Mitch, switches right into promo mode and says, "No, darling. I've never rassled him. But if I ever do, I'll whoop him real good for you!" Amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcel Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 The only time I've seen a wrestler in the wild was late March, 2003. I was in Seattle to watch the US Men's Soccer team take on Venezuela. (Was supposed to be Japan, but SARS happened.) So my friend and I are walking around downtown Seattle before the soccer game and we see signs and realize that Wrestlemania was the next day. Even though we were both lapsed WWE watchers at that point, we kicked ourselves for not staying in town an extra day, getting cheap tickets, and hanging out. At that exact moment, Kevin Nash comes walking down the street. Dude looked like he just spent six hours in the hair salon. Said a quick what's up and kept it moving. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 4 hours ago, Curt McGirt said: Since this is an AEW thread, has anybody met any, you know, AEW wrestlers? I've told the story 100 times but I'll repost to answer your question - we went to a standalone Rampage/Dark taping a few years ago at a casino with the hotel connected, and we met tons of folks just walking around. After the show, we went back to the room to get stoned before gambling, and our elevator doors open to who else but Cool Hand Ang! He was still in gear and no one else was riding with us, so I didn't feel too shitty about bothering him with a quick handshake & thanks for the great show, he says thanks for coming, super polite, super nice guy. On the way back down to gamble, I accidentally bump shoulders with a guy walking next to us - and it's Dante Martin! We ended up doing a quick walk-and-chat because we were heading the same direction; I complimented one specific tope he did during his match and he seemed genuinely touched. Darius was still hurt at the time, so I also passed on some good wishes there. There was also a funny moment where, kinda forgetting he's there (again, walking the same way) my girlfriend asks me if I want some M&Ms, so to bust her chops I go, "Were you gonna offer Dante Martin some M&Ms?" "I didn't think he'd want food from a stranger!!" "He saw you open 'em, he's just being polite. Dante Martin, do you want some M&M's? Be honest." We were all cracking up together and it's a really, really fond memory - super nice kid, and made us Top Flight fans for life. Next up, I'm heading down the escalator when I realize the two guys in front of us are Hook and Anthony Bowens. By this point, people are flooding out of the arena, and they've got their bags with em and their hoods up trying to stay low key and get the hell outta there, so I just gave a real low 'great show fellas' and traded discreet head nods - I like to think they appreciated that. We ended up having to run back to the room for something pretty shortly thereafter, and coming directly at us is p-p-p-p-Powerhouse Hobbs! I didn't intend at all on bothering him, and gave just a quick nod in passing, but my girlfriend, God bless her, goes rogue and fires off without warning (or taking a single pause between words): WILL HOBBS WE HAVEN'T SEEN YOU SINCE GRAND SLAM CAN WE PLEASE, PLEASE HAVE A PICTURE. Hobbs, perhaps sensing that I may have not approached him otherwise, barks "NO!" right in her face, pauses for two beats, and smiles huge "Just kidding, of course I will." Ended up chatting for a couple of minutes post-photo, and is easily - EASILY - one of the nicest guys I've ever met in wrestling, ever. Other than Big Bossman, Hobbs is really one of the only other people to ever go out of the way to make my meeting them an "experience." Really made us massive fans, even more than we already were, and I truly hope I get to be in the house when he becomes World Champion. Just an awesome dude. About an hour later, we were getting ready to head back up to the room for the night, so I headed off in search of more liquor and I catch Sonny Kiss looking a bit lost. Lucky for them, I have spent a frankly appalling amount of time in that building, so I was able to set them in the right direction. We bonded over the fact that it was a Friday night at a casino yet absolutely nothing was open after like, 12:30. We made an agreement: I would tweet them if I could find food, they would tweet me if they could find liquor. Super fun interaction, super sweet human being, and I really hope they get another shot in the bigs at some point, just based on their kindness alone. Also: this one is not necessarily an interaction because I was NOT about to interrupt and stop this from happening, but we also caught Daniel Garcia talking to a group of women outside Margaritaville, showing them the Pure title in his backpack. All I could think was: Godspeed, young soldier. The funny thing is: despite everything I wrote and how great everyone was to us... I do not remember a fucking thing about the actual show (other than the Hobbs return, for obvious reasons). Mox had a match, uhhh Skye Blue was there. AR Fox debuted to some hometown love. Cheap, canned Mai Tais and five hours of Dark will do that, I guess 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I used to hang out a lot with Bryce. He was in a sketch comedy group in Philly when he was also working for a Chikara and a bunch of indies. I did stand-up and performed with his group dozens of times. Hung out a lot socially, too. Bryce is a good dude. We drifted apart and I haven’t seen him in ages. But he’s a really nice guy. Claudio was living in Philly and he and Sara Del Rey used to come to a lot of our shows. I watched the Phillies win the 2008 WS with a whole bunch of Philly comics and Claudio. Really nice guy. It was right before he signed with the WWE. I met a whole bunch of other Chikara dudes from back then because there was a huge crossover with Philly comedy but I can’t remember any specifics. I spent one truly insane night with Larry Sweeney that involved him defending the Texarkana title against a few recent art school graduates at some hipster loft party. I also did a pro wrestling themed comedy show with Bryce. I co-hosted it with Colt Cabana. I forget the exact timeline but at some point in time Colt met by brother (most of you know who my brother is) somehow and they are really close friends. Colt has even met my mom and dad. He’s just absolute aces. I also never met Eddie Kingston but he was on my brother’s old TV show. My brother says he’s a great dude. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewar Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Met Don Callis over 20 years ago. Local bar was hosting a WM screening (Lesnar/Angle), and he was there with Bad News Allen. Used to see him occasionally at Hooters in Winnipeg (he was dating a server at the time, I think). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Saw Captain Lou all the time at St James for mass in Carmel, NY. I wasn't there for this but one time a group of Satanists staged a protest outside of the church and were confronted by Captain Lou. CAPTAIN LOU VS SATANISTS! If anyone who is better at this interwebs thing can find the news article on this (early 90's) I will love you forever. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 I've been lucky to meet alot of wrestlers over the years. Working in the nightclub industry really helped me normalize interactions with celebrities. It helped that alot of the times I was a promoter/host, so I was on the same side of the "velvet rope" as them. A buddy of mine owned a venue and become really close with Randy Orton and Ric Flair. We regularly got comped to Raw and had afterparties at my buddy's club. So in the 00s I got to meet most of the WWE roster at some point. This year was a really good year for me when it came to meeting wrestlers. The FTR show in LA doesn't really count because I paid for a ticket. But later that night I met GiGi Dolin at a karaoke party hosted by Minoru Suzuki. Also met Ernest Miller and RVD that day. My favorite this year though was going to the Jays game with @HarryArchieGusand Rob Viper and hanging with the AEW crew. @Mookieghana introduced me to Tony Schiavone! Got to shoot the shit with Bryce, Orange Cassidy, Angelico and Eddie Kingston during the game. Which lead to one of my favorite group pictures of all time: 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 2 hours ago, Greggulator said: I also did a pro wrestling themed comedy show with Bryce. I co-hosted it with Colt Cabana. You know you have to immediately disclose that if you ever meet Punk, right? I've seen Dreamer and Eddie Kingston at the gym. Whatever joke you're imagining right now -- is accurate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordi the former AEW fan Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 (edited) I have been lucky enough to meet literally dozens of pro wrestlers over here in Japan. Without exception, the interactions have ranged from pleasant to unbelievably wonderful. They have also ranged from quick chats to hanging out to going for dinner to getting drunk together. I was also lucky enough to work with guys like John Tenta, Raven, Tim Flowers, Mauro Ranallo, Buddy Wayne, etc etc in Vancouver All Star in the 1980s, and through the friendships and connections I made then I got to meet people like Asian Cooger and Bryan Danielson, who worked in the Vancouver indies in the 2000s, plus guys like Bad News Allen and Matt Borne when they were brought in as special attractions. And now I am more or less a part of the Osaka indie wrestling scene, warmly greeted by name at shows and parties. It seems odd to me that people would be shy to speak to wrestlers or think it's weird or creepy to want to do so, but at the same time: I get it. There's an EXTREMELY creepy aspect to certain elements of Joshi fandom over here, and I can sadly imagine that every famous person has had to deal with some kind of creeper at some point. Also, I can totally respect the people who bumped into wrestlers but wanted to respect their privacy. My experiences interacting with wrestlers have almost all been along the lines of Zakk's awesome Hobbs and Kiss stories. Really positive interactions with people who legitimately seemed just as happy to meet me as I was them. A very partial list of well-known wrestlers who have been particularly friendly or kind would include John Tenta, Bad News Allen, Superstar Billy Graham, Bryan Danielson, CIMA, TAKA, Dick Togo, Hokuto, Jaguar, Atsushi Onita, Bob Sapp, Fujiwara, Otsuka, Chono, Devitt, Ricky Marvin, Super Crazy, Tajiri, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Suwama, Joe Doering, Abdullah, and... You get the idea. The worst interaction I ever had with a wrestler was The British Bulldogs. They ere DICKS! They cursed out a little kid right in front of me. I have lived kind of a charmed pro wrestling fan life. Some of it is that I am friendly with a lot of pro wrestling "insiders" and if you are introduced by someone inside the circle that gives you a huge amount of benefit of the doubt. Part of it is I am a guy who obviously trains hard but I am generally easy-going and friendly and not aggressive or hostile in the least. For guys like Zeus and Bodyguard and Bob Sapp, even though I am not on their level, being really into training gives us something in common. My big open friendly face probably helps with everyone. Some of it is just that I am lucky. BUT: Here's a story. My wife and I once drove down to Seattle for a vacation. Roddy Piper was performing his one man show at a theatre in a small city in Washington. I got invited to the after-party. At the after-party, Mean Gene Okerund was absolutely besieged by autograph seekers WHILE HE WAS TRYING TO EAT HIS DINNER. He politely but firmly refused. I waited until he was done, then approached and asked if we could take a picture together. He was more than happy to do so. Afterward, a group of people who had been rebuffed approached me ANGRILY. Literally, one of them asked, "What's so fucking special about you?" It absolutely did not seem to occur to any of them that the man might just want to eat his dinner in peace after a hard day's work. Anyway, I think those of you who didn't speak to wrestlers out of basic human consideration were probably correct in so doing, and it was probably appreciated as well. I don't have pics with, for example, Mutoh or Akebono because when we were in the same room together there was never an obvious opportune moment to approach then. Mean Gene came over to shake my hand before he left. Piper, sadly, never showed. In terms of AEW wrestlers, Eddie Kingston and Fire Ant both came over for a Chikara tour of Osaka Pro, but I can't find my pictures from those shows. I also have met Luther, who is friends with my good friend Verne, and through him I once met Jericho, in Calgary. I have pics with a guy who once fought Kingston on AEW TV, a guy from Washington state who is a pretty big name in AEW now, and a pic with Emi Sakura, who looked very different when I met her. Edited January 9 by Gordi the former AEW fan 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 @Gordi the former AEW fanany good Diamond Timothy Flowers stories? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 8 hours ago, Gorman said: I was ring announcer for that show, so it would have been cool to meet you there. Of course, I was also in "take care of the 1-year-old" mode, as I was carrying her in a baby backpack in the locker room before the show. Yeah I remember you mentioning that before so whenever I go back to watch it that’s actually one of the first things I think about it. Small world and all that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 I've met many a wrestler at shows and conventions which have been awesome times. But I only met two in the wild. One was Mojo Rawley who was having fun on Bourbon Street on Wrestlemania weekend. Fun drunk photo but nothing more than that. The other was a McDonald's by the ROH after party they had at some sports bar. Jay Briscoe was there with his family and in the past I hung with him at an after party and also talked to him for a few minutes at a couple shows. So with the place being quiet I had a nice but short chat with him while waiting for my order. His family seemed like chill people and we said byes feeling like I wish I knew them more. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Big AEW vs. NJPW match just announced: Spoiler Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr, 11th February at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka. Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr at AEW WrestleDream 2023 was ***** and my 2023 MOTY. Can't wait for the rematch! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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