November 30, 2024 - Wrestlecade

Before all of the events that happened at Thanksgiving, I had bought tickets and an autograph vouchers for Wrestlecade 2024.  We were scheduled to go the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I wasn't really feeling up to it after losing Grandma, but I thought it would be best that Chris and I get out and get our minds off of things.  I'm glad we went.

I had seen that Ron Si.mons would be at the show, and he was a last-minute decision to meet.  Im so glad I paid to meet him because he was awesome.  I told him that I remembered watching him win the WCW Championship way back in the day.  He told.me he goes back and watches t constantly.  It was impactful to me because at the time, he looked like a 'regular guy' as opposed to the flashy cartoon characters I was used to when watching WWF (WWE). I didn't know own at that time what a bad ass Simmons was as a college football player.  He is a legend at Florida State.  One of only 12 players to have their number retired at Florida State (at the time of his number retirement, he was only one of seven).

He was so awesome to meet.  I told him that I had been wanting to meet him for years. He responded with "I love being met."  He gave me a sweet deal on the photo op, and after the hug he gave us, I asked him if I could trouble him for one more thing; would he say it? He did, "Damn!"

Another cool.meeting was when we met Zilla Fatu.  He is a future member of The Bloodline.  Son of the late Umaga, Zilla is working his way up through the ranks in the independent scene.  A very friendly guy, Zilla hugged Chris and I after the photo op.

We got to see him in action later that evening in a nice independent show that came with our day passes.

The one autograph voucher that I paid for in advance was that of Jim Ross.  He was also super nice and signed the above photo I printed out of Mankind falling off the Hell in a Cell at King of the Ring 1998.  He inscribed the photo "My God, he's broken in half!"

We, then, met Mick Foley, who signed the photo and inscribed it "I was broken in half."

I did a decent job on the photo having recently learned how to use the snippet tool on my computer. I paused the match on YouTube and snipped the scene, printing it out on an 8 x 10.  Not bad.

I also paid to get former NWA wrestler Magnum T. A. on this little card.  I watched him on Friday nights at my cousin Lynn's house when I was little. 

I also got Jake the Snake Roberts on the above Topps Gypsy Queen card.  Of all the guys we met, he was the quietest.  He wasn't rude, he just didn't say much.  All of that being said, we were super happy with everyone we met. I'd definitely go back to Wrestlecade if I got the chance. 

In all, I got the following autographs: Zilla Fatu x 1, Mick Foley x 1, Jim Ross x 1, Ron Simmons x 2, Magnum TA x 1 and Jake the Snake x 1 (7 total autographs).

My First Mad Monster Party

The bucket list took a big hit this past weekend.  I was finally able to meet some of the actors who starred in my favorite movie of all time, Aliens.  I had gotten an autograph TTM from Jenette Goldstein (the actress who played Vasquez) a while back, but thi time, I had the opportunity to meet her.

She signed this custom card for my son, Chris, and remembered that I had sent one to her TTM.  She also is helping me get the other one I had made for the Drake character signed.  She still is in contact with Mark Rolston and took one of the cards I had and is going to try to get him to sign it.

Jenette also commented on my shirt, and we spoke briefly about the loss of Bill Paxton.  She was so friendly and down-to-earth, which made me less nervouse than I was at the outset.  She spoke with me like we had been friends forever, and that really meant a lot to me.  This was such a huge moment for me.

We, then, went to the next table and met Aliens and Terminator actor, Lance Henriksen.  He, too, was super friendly, and spoke with us for a bit.

I had purchased a few cards from the Alien Anthology set to have Henriksen sign.  I settled on this card once I saw his fee ($60).

Luckily, Henriksen was really nice to Chris and told him that there was no way he was going to charge Chris $60 for an autograph, so he let him have this 8x10 and signed it for him.  He also inscribed it "Not bad for a human", which was really awesome.

Then, we met Aliens, and Terminator actor, Michael Biehn.  I got a card signed by him, and clarified the pronunciation of his last name (bean).  He was friendly, but didn't say a whole lot.  When I went back to have him sign a photo that I picked up, I made him laugh.  I told him that my dad was a huge Tombstone fan, and that my dad took us to see it 5 times in theaters.  I said "So, I think I bought your dinner a few times."  This caused him to look up and laugh.  We, then, talked about racing, since I told him how proud I was about my dad being inducted into the Hall of Fame the day prior.  He thought it was really cool.  Biehn was a really cool guy.

After meeting Michael Biehn, I met up with my friend, Nathan, and walked around the show for a bit.  I had planned on meeting WWE legend, Mick Foley, but we couldn't find him.  I was about to leave the event, content to save the rest of my money, but we were able to find him.

I had bought some of his cards as well for Chris and I.  I'm a huge Cactus Jack fan, so I had to make sure the card I had was of Cactus.  He, like Henriksen, told Chris that he didn't want to charge him to sign a card, so he let Chris pick out a photo.

I don't know if I could be any prouder of my son for picking this photo of Foley from his Japanese Death Match.  Yeah, it's gory, but it is a legendary shot, and Chris picked it out.  It turned out great with the gold Sharpie.

I had an amazing time at the Mad Monster Party, and plan to attend if they come back to Charlotte.  The lines were short for all of the actors (and wrestler) that I wanted to meet.  The prices for autos are set by the artists, and they were in line with what I spent at the Walker Stalker last year.

I can't put into words how excited I was to meet these guys, especially Goldstein.  The photos Chris and I got signed are already framed and ready to be put on our walls.