They say a life experience isn’t a life experience until you’ve had time to sit down and reflect on it, and how could I not reflect on my Wrestlemania trip? I hadn’t originally intended to do a write up/video/blog etc but so much happened and this trip was so monumental that I had to put something down in writing; to commemorate the special moments I shared in a special place, with some special buddies, on one of the most wonderful experiences in my life so far.
Truth is I wish I had planned this journal more diligently as I’m working off memory and am prompted by the pictures I’ve taken, but when so much happened in so little time it’s hard to find the words to express every little detail that New Orleans and the WWE had to offer.
Firstly, let’s start where this story begins and ends...Bourbon Street. New Orleans. The Big Easy. The culture and atmosphere during my time there was incredible. The food, the drinks, the locals and sea of wrestling fans you would see, sporting merchandise of their favourite wrestlers, wandering up and down Bourbon Street day and night, with their wrestling chants. You couldn’t go a few minutes without a group of people screaming YES! Many other chants were heard. Despite spending endless hours on the streets I had never seen a single physical altercation. Loud and boisterous? Yes. Angry and physical? No. The combination of tourists and wrestling fans may have been the reason for that. However there were plenty of people out from other areas of the world, there unrelated to the extravaganza that is Wrestlemania.
My trip didn’t get off to the best start – I boarded the plane and fell asleep (YES!), had a great little snooze (YES!), woke up well rested only to realise I was still at Heathrow airport (NO!). Two hours after our scheduled departure time. This caused a little issue in us missing our connecting flight from Washington to New Orleans. United “kindly” arranged for us to travel to Reagan Airport and fly out to New Orleans from there, on a flight that left an hour later. Unfortunately the amount of time they took to arrange this, and having to go through customs (i'm brown!), meant by the time we got to Reagan we had missed that flight as well, which happened to be the last one of the day. Thankfully United put us up in a hotel for the night and booked us on an early flight, which meant a 3am wake up, following a 7am wake up the day before, and still not quite near our destination!
Truth is I wish I had planned this journal more diligently as I’m working off memory and am prompted by the pictures I’ve taken, but when so much happened in so little time it’s hard to find the words to express every little detail that New Orleans and the WWE had to offer.
Firstly, let’s start where this story begins and ends...Bourbon Street. New Orleans. The Big Easy. The culture and atmosphere during my time there was incredible. The food, the drinks, the locals and sea of wrestling fans you would see, sporting merchandise of their favourite wrestlers, wandering up and down Bourbon Street day and night, with their wrestling chants. You couldn’t go a few minutes without a group of people screaming YES! Many other chants were heard. Despite spending endless hours on the streets I had never seen a single physical altercation. Loud and boisterous? Yes. Angry and physical? No. The combination of tourists and wrestling fans may have been the reason for that. However there were plenty of people out from other areas of the world, there unrelated to the extravaganza that is Wrestlemania.
My trip didn’t get off to the best start – I boarded the plane and fell asleep (YES!), had a great little snooze (YES!), woke up well rested only to realise I was still at Heathrow airport (NO!). Two hours after our scheduled departure time. This caused a little issue in us missing our connecting flight from Washington to New Orleans. United “kindly” arranged for us to travel to Reagan Airport and fly out to New Orleans from there, on a flight that left an hour later. Unfortunately the amount of time they took to arrange this, and having to go through customs (i'm brown!), meant by the time we got to Reagan we had missed that flight as well, which happened to be the last one of the day. Thankfully United put us up in a hotel for the night and booked us on an early flight, which meant a 3am wake up, following a 7am wake up the day before, and still not quite near our destination!
Day 1 (Wednesday 2nd April) “New Orleans.....we’re here!”
Despite arranging to be in New Orleans for 6/7pm on Tuesday, we didn’t make it into NO until 9am on Wednesday. But that didn’t stop us! We showered, got changed and ventured out to Bourbon Street, seeing what it had to offer.
My hotel was actually on Bourbon Street. Right in the heart of it all. You could not have found a better place to be situated in N’awlins. Everything was walking distance and most of the nightly hotspots (Cats Meow will forever hold a place in my heart) were a stone’s throw away. We pretty much took in the local area, got a feel for the place, consumed some epic burgers and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Big E walked past our burger place whilst we were eating. First wrestler seen and we hadn't been there 2 hours.
This is when we began to notice the sheer influx of wrestling fans parading the streets, a YES! YES! YES! Chant would flare up every block. Everyone would join in. It was quite a sight. There were so many English people in New Orleans this week, I was quite surprised. You’d hear an English accent more often than an American one at times! We had a bit of an early one as it was the first night and we’d travelled stupid amounts over the past 48 hours.
Despite arranging to be in New Orleans for 6/7pm on Tuesday, we didn’t make it into NO until 9am on Wednesday. But that didn’t stop us! We showered, got changed and ventured out to Bourbon Street, seeing what it had to offer.
My hotel was actually on Bourbon Street. Right in the heart of it all. You could not have found a better place to be situated in N’awlins. Everything was walking distance and most of the nightly hotspots (Cats Meow will forever hold a place in my heart) were a stone’s throw away. We pretty much took in the local area, got a feel for the place, consumed some epic burgers and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Big E walked past our burger place whilst we were eating. First wrestler seen and we hadn't been there 2 hours.
This is when we began to notice the sheer influx of wrestling fans parading the streets, a YES! YES! YES! Chant would flare up every block. Everyone would join in. It was quite a sight. There were so many English people in New Orleans this week, I was quite surprised. You’d hear an English accent more often than an American one at times! We had a bit of an early one as it was the first night and we’d travelled stupid amounts over the past 48 hours.
Day 2 - Thursday 3rd April - WWE Superstore, WWE Axxess and a night out with some familiar faces
First port of call (after a huge breakfast courtesy of McDonalds, whose variety puts the UK one to shame!) was to check out the WWE Superstore. Personally I’ve never been keen on wrestling t-shirts and merchandise, but we had to check it out as it was supposedly huge.
I was a little disappointed by the variety of shirts – a superstore I would have imagined a lot of the older t-shirts would be in stock, however it was primarily just the main superstars and their most recent t-shirt or two. Not much of a megastore, but it was packed! King Booker was signing in the morning (restricted to the first 300 people with wristbands) so I hadn’t got a chance to meet him.
Also visited WWE Axxess for the first session as I’d heard it was going to be good (I did have General Admission for Friday Evening and Sunday Morning, however decided to go on the Thursday instead of the Friday due to other plans).
I was somewhat underwhelmed with Axxess. It’s a great idea and comes across very very well on TV, but I’ve never been too keen to wait in queues for ages to get a signature and a picture with people so my attention was lost pretty quickly. The layout also puzzled me – you’d stand in a queue despite not knowing who would be signing there. Meeting the Superstar of your choice would be up to chance, and if you’re in a line with a Superstar you didn’t care much to meet, or moved to a queue for a Superstar you did want to (in this case, Roman Reigns) you had no chance of seeing them as they’d only be there for 2 hours. I waited ages in Reign’s queue, and got to the last 10 or so people, before they switched.
People joked in the queue about who the replacement would be at the time of switch. “I bet it’ll be someone like 3MB, The Great Khali or even (and this got the biggest laugh) Brad Maddox”
Lo and behold, off goes Reigns, and in comes Maddox. I had never seen a queue clear out so quickly.
The Q and A section/ring that was set up was pretty cool – we saw Triple (surprised he’d be there) who spoke and unveiled the Andre the Giant statue alongside Bruno Sammartino. I saw DDP come out at some point too who I was glad to see, as I’m a fan and have gotten into DDP Yoga. Kane was pretty great at the Q and A also.
As the queues were incredibly small I saw R Truth and Sin Cara. I imagine it isn’t the original Sin Cara as he spoke in an American accent!
Lo and behold, off goes Reigns, and in comes Maddox. I had never seen a queue clear out so quickly.
The Q and A section/ring that was set up was pretty cool – we saw Triple (surprised he’d be there) who spoke and unveiled the Andre the Giant statue alongside Bruno Sammartino. I saw DDP come out at some point too who I was glad to see, as I’m a fan and have gotten into DDP Yoga. Kane was pretty great at the Q and A also.
As the queues were incredibly small I saw R Truth and Sin Cara. I imagine it isn’t the original Sin Cara as he spoke in an American accent!
Once the session finished, things really turned up a gear. Bourbon Street was alive and kicking tonight. More people had flown in for the spectacle that is Mania. The YES cries were louder, more unified, the groups of people more electric. You could sense the excitement building. The first famous person was spotted.....JERRY THE KING LAWLER! They were having a laugh in the middle of the street, and King looked healthy and happy which was good to see.
We hit a few places and ended up bumping into a few wrestlers. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. I much preferred these sort of interactions, you’d get talking to people whether it be strangers, wrestling fans or wrestlers themselves, have a chat etc. It was so much more casual than queuing up for some small talk they’d have engaged in 100 times before you. Everyone was receptive. Random spotting of the night was Randy Orton – who was incredibly drunk, stumbling hand in hand with his Mrs. Why he would be out in the middle of Bourbon Street I’m not too sure.
We hit a few places and ended up bumping into a few wrestlers. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. I much preferred these sort of interactions, you’d get talking to people whether it be strangers, wrestling fans or wrestlers themselves, have a chat etc. It was so much more casual than queuing up for some small talk they’d have engaged in 100 times before you. Everyone was receptive. Random spotting of the night was Randy Orton – who was incredibly drunk, stumbling hand in hand with his Mrs. Why he would be out in the middle of Bourbon Street I’m not too sure.
The NXT guys were definitely looking to make some friends and fans. Bo Dallas was out and about all night, and was probably one of the nicest guys I met. Later on in the night we saw Sawyer Fulton (I admittedly didn’t know who he was) but he was out living his gimmick – with a cigar in hand, letting everyone puff it and made casual comments like “be sure to take a selfie and put it on Twitter”. Social network game strong, even when drunk.
The Cats Meow became one of my favourite hangout spots during this trip – it’s a vibrant karaoke bar, usually packed (there’d be up to an hour wait to get on stage!) and I’d bumped into a few people over the course of the night. The fun to Bourbon Street is going from place to place and soaking in the atmosphere each had to offer. At one point we walked past and heard a familiar voice singing...and then we heard the MC “give it up for Lillian Garcia!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Lillian Garcia was doing karaoke renditions at the Cats Meow on Bourbon Street and the people loved it.
Along the night I’d spoken to Al Snow, Tommy Dreamer (both very sound blokes) as well as Carlito, Chris Masters and Ziggler.
Highlight of the night was two guys doing contrived promos to each other as a crowd formed. This turned into a staged brawl which to be fair, the guy sold the punches well. It led up to a wind up final punch, which was reversed into a back body drop. Onto a pile of horse shit. I kid you not. A “holy shit” chant soon erupted. Only in Nawlins.
The night ended near a quiet bar on Canal Street, where we met Drew McIntyre. We were teaching him asian swear words he could say to Jinder Mahal, but found out Drew had learnt quite a few from Jinder himself which was funny when he tried to pronounce them, then proceeded to ask what they actually meant as he wasn’t aware what he was being taught.
The Cats Meow became one of my favourite hangout spots during this trip – it’s a vibrant karaoke bar, usually packed (there’d be up to an hour wait to get on stage!) and I’d bumped into a few people over the course of the night. The fun to Bourbon Street is going from place to place and soaking in the atmosphere each had to offer. At one point we walked past and heard a familiar voice singing...and then we heard the MC “give it up for Lillian Garcia!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Lillian Garcia was doing karaoke renditions at the Cats Meow on Bourbon Street and the people loved it.
Along the night I’d spoken to Al Snow, Tommy Dreamer (both very sound blokes) as well as Carlito, Chris Masters and Ziggler.
Highlight of the night was two guys doing contrived promos to each other as a crowd formed. This turned into a staged brawl which to be fair, the guy sold the punches well. It led up to a wind up final punch, which was reversed into a back body drop. Onto a pile of horse shit. I kid you not. A “holy shit” chant soon erupted. Only in Nawlins.
The night ended near a quiet bar on Canal Street, where we met Drew McIntyre. We were teaching him asian swear words he could say to Jinder Mahal, but found out Drew had learnt quite a few from Jinder himself which was funny when he tried to pronounce them, then proceeded to ask what they actually meant as he wasn’t aware what he was being taught.
Day 3 – Friday 4th April – Masquerade w/ The Bella Twins and more Bourbon Street shenanigans.
Friday started off with some relaxation by the hotel pool, then led to wanders around New Orleans.
We bumped into William Regal, who mocked the colour/state of my drink assuming it was flat beer.
He had a bit of a limp in his stroll, did our Regal, but was great to meet him.
We bumped into William Regal, who mocked the colour/state of my drink assuming it was flat beer.
He had a bit of a limp in his stroll, did our Regal, but was great to meet him.
This proceeded to by far, the highlight of the trip, and one unfortunately I had no involvement in.
My friends had met Stone Cold Steve Austin in Daisy Dukes! They spent ages with him, and JR was there also. Gutted.
My friends had met Stone Cold Steve Austin in Daisy Dukes! They spent ages with him, and JR was there also. Gutted.
Later that night the Bella Twins did a meet and greet at Masquerade which we went to. Thinking it was strictly smart this was the first time I’d worn trousers, assuming they’d refuse us entry.
I didn’t take into account the vast majority of people there were wrestling fans and were all in t-shirts and trainers. Doh! It was the most formal surroundings I’d been in since being in New Orleans, which was a refreshing change, but we ended up leaving around midnight to go to the place to be – Bourbon Street.
Highlight of the night would be seeing Rob Van Dam at Razoo’s – he was incredibly drunk, doing flips into the crowd, getting back up, jumping back on stage and doing it over and over!
Highlight of the night would be seeing Rob Van Dam at Razoo’s – he was incredibly drunk, doing flips into the crowd, getting back up, jumping back on stage and doing it over and over!
Other people at Razoo’s this night were Fandango, Del Rio, Justin Roberts and I believe one of the Uso’s was on the mic at the DJ booth at one point. I also spoke to a couple guys in Wildkat wrestling t-shirts (their names escape me) they were really sound guys.
Day 5 - Saturday 5th April - Wrestlecon and WWE Hall of Fame
I ventured out to Wrestlecon, primarily to see Goldberg’s Q & A. I hadn’t pre-ordered a ticket because at the time I was too lazy to sign up to Highspots, so thought I’d buy a ticket on the door.
Smartest decision I made. The pre-order line was HUGE. And the tickets on the door were tiny. Despite not planning ahead I ended up in pretty early, and wandered about aimlessly. Didn’t seem too well organised.
After seeing so many wrestlers for free on Bourbon Street I didn’t really intend to pay to meet/see anyone. Big fan of DDP’s though, so met him for a chat and a picture. This was early on so the queue’s were small. By mid day they were huge. I left shortly after the Goldberg Q & A. My respect for Goldberg went up tremendously – genuinely a down to Earth guy and I feel he’s judged unfairly due to his “lack of passion for the business”. Personally if you can get in and get out whilst you can there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s also not to blame for wanting to be a pro football player, trying his hand at wrestling and being successful at it.
Anyways.
I ventured out to Wrestlecon, primarily to see Goldberg’s Q & A. I hadn’t pre-ordered a ticket because at the time I was too lazy to sign up to Highspots, so thought I’d buy a ticket on the door.
Smartest decision I made. The pre-order line was HUGE. And the tickets on the door were tiny. Despite not planning ahead I ended up in pretty early, and wandered about aimlessly. Didn’t seem too well organised.
After seeing so many wrestlers for free on Bourbon Street I didn’t really intend to pay to meet/see anyone. Big fan of DDP’s though, so met him for a chat and a picture. This was early on so the queue’s were small. By mid day they were huge. I left shortly after the Goldberg Q & A. My respect for Goldberg went up tremendously – genuinely a down to Earth guy and I feel he’s judged unfairly due to his “lack of passion for the business”. Personally if you can get in and get out whilst you can there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s also not to blame for wanting to be a pro football player, trying his hand at wrestling and being successful at it.
Anyways.
Some bog standard questions from the crowd but I found his attitude and insight quite endearing. He also seemed genuinely humbled by the support. He shook a lot of peoples hands (including mine) on the way back from his Q and A too.
The evening of WWE’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was upon me. I was very surprised as to how quickly I got into the arena. It took around 5 minutes to get to the door, into the arena and to my seat. Very well organised. With all the basketball games they have they’re very used to it I imagine.
The Hall of Fame was quite an experience. Again, something I've seen loads of times on TV, but I was finally there in person. A part of it. The WWE Universe even (cheese).
I was moved by Jake Robert’s speech and it was great to see him on that stage. His speech was truthful yet haunting. Powerful stuff.
Mr. T’s speech...well I expected it to change at some point but he went on and on and the audience got restless. Probably not the wisest time to belt out that speech. The Kane interruption was funny but felt really bad how T just walked off.
The evening of WWE’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was upon me. I was very surprised as to how quickly I got into the arena. It took around 5 minutes to get to the door, into the arena and to my seat. Very well organised. With all the basketball games they have they’re very used to it I imagine.
The Hall of Fame was quite an experience. Again, something I've seen loads of times on TV, but I was finally there in person. A part of it. The WWE Universe even (cheese).
I was moved by Jake Robert’s speech and it was great to see him on that stage. His speech was truthful yet haunting. Powerful stuff.
Mr. T’s speech...well I expected it to change at some point but he went on and on and the audience got restless. Probably not the wisest time to belt out that speech. The Kane interruption was funny but felt really bad how T just walked off.
Taker’s appearance was something else. The first time I experienced the bell toll in person. It truly is mesmerising. I was still surprised he made an appearance and just made me think how great it would be when he came out at Mania tomorrow!
I was so glad to see Hall in great spirits and I think his speech was perfect – short, sweet and the focal point on him changing his ways and being in a good place. Seeing the whole Kliq was great too.
Warrior’s speech was something I never expected to happen. It was still surreal to see him at a WWE event. He was quite truthful of himself and his history with the WWE, and of course the DVD was going to be discussed and I think it was handled well. A fitting speech that focused on making amends, celebrating the decorated history and hinted at some things to happen in the future.
(I have written this per my thoughts at that moment, and didn’t want to take into account what I know now since being made aware of his passing)
I was so glad to see Hall in great spirits and I think his speech was perfect – short, sweet and the focal point on him changing his ways and being in a good place. Seeing the whole Kliq was great too.
Warrior’s speech was something I never expected to happen. It was still surreal to see him at a WWE event. He was quite truthful of himself and his history with the WWE, and of course the DVD was going to be discussed and I think it was handled well. A fitting speech that focused on making amends, celebrating the decorated history and hinted at some things to happen in the future.
(I have written this per my thoughts at that moment, and didn’t want to take into account what I know now since being made aware of his passing)
Day 5 - Sunday 5th April - Axxess and WRESTLEMANIA!
Finally the day had arrived! All roads led here. Sunday. Wrestlemania 30. The biggest one of them all!!!! (until the next one of cousrse).
I haven’t covered much about my interest in wrestling during his blog so far, so I will now. A childhood fan from Wrestlemania 12 ish, all through the attitude area, and then sporadic up until the last few years. The significance of this trip boils down to roughly this time last year. As I always do around Mania season, the fever kicks in, and deep down I become an 8 year old again. I always get sucked in, and I remember the day after Mania 29, all I wanted to do was get through the work day and be an 8 year old for 4 hours.
Unfortunately this was the day my employer at the time unloaded the bombshell they’d have been haemorrhaging money (due to incompetency at top level) and were forced to make cutbacks.
Truthfully I just wanted to have one day where I could be young again. I work extremely hard, at my job, and through music. I rarely rest or chill out. I just wanted that one day.
It was actually during that Wrestlemania I decided that If I were to leave, taking redundancy, the people within the teams that were affected by the cutbacks would be saved (at least one head count) so I decided to do that. 3 years of hard work came to an end just like that. By the end of the week I had no job and decide I was going to put my time and effort into what made me happy – music.
I was played on all the radio stations (radio 1, 1xtra, etc) I released my EP completely independently and made it into the itunes charts as well as playing at Reading and Leeds Festivals and having songs/performances on tv. I was also doing production work, mixing and mastering, licensing and got myself secure financially. Later on an opportunity came up to work for a big organisation (unrelated to music) which I took. Whether I should have done it and balanced the two or kept at music full time (I was scraping by and this new job has me very comfortable - when you work hard for everything then it becomes a little easier, it's hard not to take) is probably a story for a different blog entirely.
So from quitting my previous job, fast forward a year later and I funded a trip to Wrestlemania. It just happened to be the best and most significant one storyline wise for me. Daniel Bryan – The Yes Movement. The guy who would never make it as a Superstar, was to finally get his chance. The underdog getting his moment. The Big 3-0. Could not think of a better Wrestlemania, or selection of matches for me to experience live.
Finally the day had arrived! All roads led here. Sunday. Wrestlemania 30. The biggest one of them all!!!! (until the next one of cousrse).
I haven’t covered much about my interest in wrestling during his blog so far, so I will now. A childhood fan from Wrestlemania 12 ish, all through the attitude area, and then sporadic up until the last few years. The significance of this trip boils down to roughly this time last year. As I always do around Mania season, the fever kicks in, and deep down I become an 8 year old again. I always get sucked in, and I remember the day after Mania 29, all I wanted to do was get through the work day and be an 8 year old for 4 hours.
Unfortunately this was the day my employer at the time unloaded the bombshell they’d have been haemorrhaging money (due to incompetency at top level) and were forced to make cutbacks.
Truthfully I just wanted to have one day where I could be young again. I work extremely hard, at my job, and through music. I rarely rest or chill out. I just wanted that one day.
It was actually during that Wrestlemania I decided that If I were to leave, taking redundancy, the people within the teams that were affected by the cutbacks would be saved (at least one head count) so I decided to do that. 3 years of hard work came to an end just like that. By the end of the week I had no job and decide I was going to put my time and effort into what made me happy – music.
I was played on all the radio stations (radio 1, 1xtra, etc) I released my EP completely independently and made it into the itunes charts as well as playing at Reading and Leeds Festivals and having songs/performances on tv. I was also doing production work, mixing and mastering, licensing and got myself secure financially. Later on an opportunity came up to work for a big organisation (unrelated to music) which I took. Whether I should have done it and balanced the two or kept at music full time (I was scraping by and this new job has me very comfortable - when you work hard for everything then it becomes a little easier, it's hard not to take) is probably a story for a different blog entirely.
So from quitting my previous job, fast forward a year later and I funded a trip to Wrestlemania. It just happened to be the best and most significant one storyline wise for me. Daniel Bryan – The Yes Movement. The guy who would never make it as a Superstar, was to finally get his chance. The underdog getting his moment. The Big 3-0. Could not think of a better Wrestlemania, or selection of matches for me to experience live.
The day started at Axxess again, I took a few snaps of whoever was at the tables and met AJ Lee as she was at the Scooby Doo tent. I left around a couple hours after, for a pre-mania nap.
Walking down the steps to my seat I just got closer and closer. I was opposite the hard camera, row 15. I pop up quite a few times during the hard cam shots. The view was incredible. My first Wrestlemania. I’ve watched so many, but this time I was to experience the magic in person.
The 4 Way tag kicked things off in form. High energy. Cesaro was so over. The crowd fired up with each spot.
There was such a hush of energy as the cold open video played. Seeing Bourbon Street mixed with WWE wrestlers was surreal. I kept thinking “I’ve been up and down that strip countless times myself!” It’s all happening. It’s really happening. I was in awe.
The pyro hit and the crowd flared up with pleasure. WRESTLE-FUCKING-MANIA!
The opening segment featuring 3 of the biggest stars in sports entertainment was electric. Pop after pop. You don’t pay too much attention to botched promos live. Hogan definitely didn’t seem on the ball, and for a special host, he only appeared a couple of times, but seeing the 3 together sharing a beer was the perfect start to Wrestlemania. It was a nod to the past but was a passing of the torch to the present and future we would see throughout the night.
Walking down the steps to my seat I just got closer and closer. I was opposite the hard camera, row 15. I pop up quite a few times during the hard cam shots. The view was incredible. My first Wrestlemania. I’ve watched so many, but this time I was to experience the magic in person.
The 4 Way tag kicked things off in form. High energy. Cesaro was so over. The crowd fired up with each spot.
There was such a hush of energy as the cold open video played. Seeing Bourbon Street mixed with WWE wrestlers was surreal. I kept thinking “I’ve been up and down that strip countless times myself!” It’s all happening. It’s really happening. I was in awe.
The pyro hit and the crowd flared up with pleasure. WRESTLE-FUCKING-MANIA!
The opening segment featuring 3 of the biggest stars in sports entertainment was electric. Pop after pop. You don’t pay too much attention to botched promos live. Hogan definitely didn’t seem on the ball, and for a special host, he only appeared a couple of times, but seeing the 3 together sharing a beer was the perfect start to Wrestlemania. It was a nod to the past but was a passing of the torch to the present and future we would see throughout the night.
Daniel Bryan vs HHH was a quality outing. I think a lot of people overlooked this as a match, in terms of in-ring quality, solely focusing on the main event and if Bryan would make it. Great match, likely match of the night. D Bryan wins! The crowd scream YES! In unison. So far so good.
I enjoyed The Shield match. Including the length. They shouldn’t be trading moves for 20 minutes with the New Age Outlaws and Kane. They should walk through them. And they did. Some cracking spots, especially the triple double powerbomb. Those masks looked awesome.
I enjoyed The Shield match. Including the length. They shouldn’t be trading moves for 20 minutes with the New Age Outlaws and Kane. They should walk through them. And they did. Some cracking spots, especially the triple double powerbomb. Those masks looked awesome.
The battle royal exceeded all my expectations. The right person won and that last spot was probably the first Wrestlemania Moment of the night. It’s really hard to watch a battle royal live, you never know where to look!
Bray was so over. Putting a heel like that against Cena in front of this crowd (US!) probably wasn’t the wisest. The Wyatts definitely deserve the praise for their quality of work.
I enjoyed the match, it was solid, and had some great moments (with Wyatt crab-bing up before the 5 Knuckle Shuffle being one). I don’t mind the Cena win or the dislike for the choice – Wyatt didn’t really need to win. There was no real focus on “I must beat John Cena at Wrestlemania”. They key in this feud was to break down Cena’s squeaky clean image. That’s why the ending was so great – Wyatt may well have finished him off, had he not took the time to get a chair and goad Cena into hitting him. Cena “rised above it” as he normally does but there was a little bit of doubt. Wyatt trying to get Cena to succumb to his darkside was the reason he lost. Wyatt didn’t lose any steam for the loss, and the feud will likely continue. Which works if you ask me.
Bray was so over. Putting a heel like that against Cena in front of this crowd (US!) probably wasn’t the wisest. The Wyatts definitely deserve the praise for their quality of work.
I enjoyed the match, it was solid, and had some great moments (with Wyatt crab-bing up before the 5 Knuckle Shuffle being one). I don’t mind the Cena win or the dislike for the choice – Wyatt didn’t really need to win. There was no real focus on “I must beat John Cena at Wrestlemania”. They key in this feud was to break down Cena’s squeaky clean image. That’s why the ending was so great – Wyatt may well have finished him off, had he not took the time to get a chair and goad Cena into hitting him. Cena “rised above it” as he normally does but there was a little bit of doubt. Wyatt trying to get Cena to succumb to his darkside was the reason he lost. Wyatt didn’t lose any steam for the loss, and the feud will likely continue. Which works if you ask me.
The Streak ended. WOW. Firstly, as cliché as it may come across, witnessing The Undertaker’s entrance at Wrestlemania really is something to behold. The experience will send a shiver down your spine. The lead up was great too (probably looked better on TV than in person) before the bell toll.
The match wasn’t great for obvious reasons, but this for me was one of the greatest things to ever happen at Mania.
Look at it this way – if he lost to Shawn Michaels, it was understandable. The second time round moreso as it was the main event and Michael’s career was on the line. It was believable if HHH beat him in either of their two encounters. Even Punk as he was one of the current stars at the time. No one believed it would be Lesnar. He rarely wins on the big stage. Regardless of the reasons this came into fruition (Taker being done and this would be his last match) the ending was executed perfectly.
The gasps of air at the time was something I don’t think will ever be re-created. I wasn’t actually paying attention after the F5, I was looking at my phone ready to take a picture. I expected a kick out because Taker always does.
He didn’t. Holy shit. 75,000 thousand lungs had the air pulled out of them at the exact same moment. I just experienced Taker’s first loss at Wrestlemania. The silence, the reaction of Heyman, the crowd shots. It was brilliant. Sadly I think this will overshadow some of the other things that happened at Mania but I think it was perfect. It was sad to see The Streak beaten but the manner it was done was gold. Shocking. When has anyone ever been shocked like that? Big credit to the WWE to be able to create an emotional reaction like that.
The match wasn’t great for obvious reasons, but this for me was one of the greatest things to ever happen at Mania.
Look at it this way – if he lost to Shawn Michaels, it was understandable. The second time round moreso as it was the main event and Michael’s career was on the line. It was believable if HHH beat him in either of their two encounters. Even Punk as he was one of the current stars at the time. No one believed it would be Lesnar. He rarely wins on the big stage. Regardless of the reasons this came into fruition (Taker being done and this would be his last match) the ending was executed perfectly.
The gasps of air at the time was something I don’t think will ever be re-created. I wasn’t actually paying attention after the F5, I was looking at my phone ready to take a picture. I expected a kick out because Taker always does.
He didn’t. Holy shit. 75,000 thousand lungs had the air pulled out of them at the exact same moment. I just experienced Taker’s first loss at Wrestlemania. The silence, the reaction of Heyman, the crowd shots. It was brilliant. Sadly I think this will overshadow some of the other things that happened at Mania but I think it was perfect. It was sad to see The Streak beaten but the manner it was done was gold. Shocking. When has anyone ever been shocked like that? Big credit to the WWE to be able to create an emotional reaction like that.
If Taker was to have one last retirement match I think it’ll be even better as the ending won’t be a foregone conclusion. Let’s say it was Sting next year. Regardless, there’s a lot less pressure to perform on the grandest stage where the Streak is concerned.
Someone wrote on UKFF “The veteran who just doesn’t know when to quit and keeps tempting fate not turning away challenges that he obviously can’t face anymore until he becomes his own worst enemy and eventually gets overwhelmed”. This is perfect. This also kind of runs parallel to Anderson Silva’s reign / legacy. Despite losing twice he’s still one of the greatest of all time, when he returns without the pressure of championships he will have a great last fight before hanging up. Taker’s accolades won’t be tarnished by this. You’ve also just made a huge mega-heel in Lesnar. Pitting him against Bryan, The Beast Incarnate, the Streak breaker, you can buy into that.
The Main event was my favourite match of the night. The chemistry between the 3 was really diverse, with some great spots. That Powerbomb/Neck Breaker was brutal. They threw even more obstacles into Bryan’s way but he prevailed. Alone.
I was so happy when he won, and was honoured to be part of 75,000 people shouting “YES! YES! YES!” As the pyro flew and the Superdome was doused in confetti. Being held down since Summerslam and finally getting his moment, on the biggest stage of them all, was beautiful.
Someone wrote on UKFF “The veteran who just doesn’t know when to quit and keeps tempting fate not turning away challenges that he obviously can’t face anymore until he becomes his own worst enemy and eventually gets overwhelmed”. This is perfect. This also kind of runs parallel to Anderson Silva’s reign / legacy. Despite losing twice he’s still one of the greatest of all time, when he returns without the pressure of championships he will have a great last fight before hanging up. Taker’s accolades won’t be tarnished by this. You’ve also just made a huge mega-heel in Lesnar. Pitting him against Bryan, The Beast Incarnate, the Streak breaker, you can buy into that.
The Main event was my favourite match of the night. The chemistry between the 3 was really diverse, with some great spots. That Powerbomb/Neck Breaker was brutal. They threw even more obstacles into Bryan’s way but he prevailed. Alone.
I was so happy when he won, and was honoured to be part of 75,000 people shouting “YES! YES! YES!” As the pyro flew and the Superdome was doused in confetti. Being held down since Summerslam and finally getting his moment, on the biggest stage of them all, was beautiful.
It’s moments like these that re-inforce why WWE still sucks me in. They do drama better than a lot of TV and movies. The fact this was my first Mania, and it was the most perfect one in terms of wrestling and personal significance will stick with me for the rest of my life.
I expected a sea of YES chants outside the Superdome, but there was still a sense of shock around me. Taker is what everyone was talking about. But when you consider the moments after that match, and the moments after the main event – the sheer contrast, just highlights when Pro Wrestling tell a story, they do it better than anyone else. Mania flew by as well. For 4 hours or so I was there it never dragged, the pacing was perfect, the match layout was on point, and the event itself was phenomenal.
We hit Bourbon Street to celebrate and the atmosphere there was incredibly lively. Everyone was still buzzing from Mania here. Lots of discussions and thoughts about Mania, and what will happen next. You know you’ve spent too much time on Bourbon Street and around wrestlers when you notice people and don’t even bat an eye lid. I saw the Hurricane amongst others but aside from small conversation I couldn’t even be bothered to get the phone out for selfies! There was a moment in the night where a huge crowd formed of primarily British fans, and there were various football chants. This led to having a bit of a divide over the “Bourbon Street Puddle” as I called it (if you were there you know what I mean!) with some banter between the Brits and Americans.
Chants such as “NHS!” (Brits) and “fix your teeth” (Americans) were heard, ah I fucking love this place.
I expected a sea of YES chants outside the Superdome, but there was still a sense of shock around me. Taker is what everyone was talking about. But when you consider the moments after that match, and the moments after the main event – the sheer contrast, just highlights when Pro Wrestling tell a story, they do it better than anyone else. Mania flew by as well. For 4 hours or so I was there it never dragged, the pacing was perfect, the match layout was on point, and the event itself was phenomenal.
We hit Bourbon Street to celebrate and the atmosphere there was incredibly lively. Everyone was still buzzing from Mania here. Lots of discussions and thoughts about Mania, and what will happen next. You know you’ve spent too much time on Bourbon Street and around wrestlers when you notice people and don’t even bat an eye lid. I saw the Hurricane amongst others but aside from small conversation I couldn’t even be bothered to get the phone out for selfies! There was a moment in the night where a huge crowd formed of primarily British fans, and there were various football chants. This led to having a bit of a divide over the “Bourbon Street Puddle” as I called it (if you were there you know what I mean!) with some banter between the Brits and Americans.
Chants such as “NHS!” (Brits) and “fix your teeth” (Americans) were heard, ah I fucking love this place.
Day 6 – 7th April 2014 – WWE Raw and last night in New Orleans
After a long few days, late nights and early mornings, most of Monday was spent relaxing as it was our last full day in New Orleans. Food, relaxation, some pool side chilling was all we really did.
I was worried about Raw as despite having amazing seats for everything else, I had some nosebleed seats for Raw. The view was surprisingly amazing. A great view. In fact it was an easier view than my Row 15, opposite hard camera seat for Mania, purely because no one was jumping up and down in front of me. It was a bit of a smarky crowd who were trying to start stupid chants pretty much all throughout the show.
I loved Raw. It really symbolised a changing of the guard (quote unquote Mike Goldberg) with a high focus on the future and new stars. The Yes Movement leader came out and cut a wonderful heart warming promo, and the crowd were complimentary of his skills. I really don’t think anyone deserved that moment more. I was filled with dread when HHH came out and put himself in a title match. I thought it wouldn’t surprise me if Bryan lost the belt the night after.
Heyman’s promo was fire. That guy really is brilliant. He almost had people cheering the streak was ended. They’ve got gold with the streak breaker here. Whatever happens next will be very interesting.
It was cool to see RVD , but even better to see Wade Barrett. He was at Axxess one of the days I was there, and he was asked whether he’ll wrestle any time soon. He said he was “retired for the moment where that was concerned”. The strong British audience they had made for the loud cheers. A perfect crowd and he went over Rey. Whether this leads to anything else who knows.
After a long few days, late nights and early mornings, most of Monday was spent relaxing as it was our last full day in New Orleans. Food, relaxation, some pool side chilling was all we really did.
I was worried about Raw as despite having amazing seats for everything else, I had some nosebleed seats for Raw. The view was surprisingly amazing. A great view. In fact it was an easier view than my Row 15, opposite hard camera seat for Mania, purely because no one was jumping up and down in front of me. It was a bit of a smarky crowd who were trying to start stupid chants pretty much all throughout the show.
I loved Raw. It really symbolised a changing of the guard (quote unquote Mike Goldberg) with a high focus on the future and new stars. The Yes Movement leader came out and cut a wonderful heart warming promo, and the crowd were complimentary of his skills. I really don’t think anyone deserved that moment more. I was filled with dread when HHH came out and put himself in a title match. I thought it wouldn’t surprise me if Bryan lost the belt the night after.
Heyman’s promo was fire. That guy really is brilliant. He almost had people cheering the streak was ended. They’ve got gold with the streak breaker here. Whatever happens next will be very interesting.
It was cool to see RVD , but even better to see Wade Barrett. He was at Axxess one of the days I was there, and he was asked whether he’ll wrestle any time soon. He said he was “retired for the moment where that was concerned”. The strong British audience they had made for the loud cheers. A perfect crowd and he went over Rey. Whether this leads to anything else who knows.
Was amazing to see The Warrior on Raw. I’d seen him 3 times in 3 days. Who knew that would happen?
Paige was MEGA OVER when she came out. Very odd to come out, thank the champion, say she wasn’t ready then win the belt. Not sure how much that will do for her but the perfect crowd to win the belt in front of.
So glad to see Cesaro with Paul Heyman. It made him seem like a big deal. With the crowd reactions he’s been getting it makes sense for Heyman to get behind him. Whether heel or face I don’t think it matters. Dissapointed I didn’t see the Cesaro Swing from my view but never mind.
I think the Shield interview shouldn’t have been shown. It kind of made the end more obvious. I was conscious of the time left of Raw so I imagined some shenanigans. The roof went off that building when the Shield came out. The final view of The Shield bumping knuckles with Daniel Bryan on the turnbuckle as the crowd chanted YES! With the Authority/Evolution looking from the ramp was the perfect ending.
Paige was MEGA OVER when she came out. Very odd to come out, thank the champion, say she wasn’t ready then win the belt. Not sure how much that will do for her but the perfect crowd to win the belt in front of.
So glad to see Cesaro with Paul Heyman. It made him seem like a big deal. With the crowd reactions he’s been getting it makes sense for Heyman to get behind him. Whether heel or face I don’t think it matters. Dissapointed I didn’t see the Cesaro Swing from my view but never mind.
I think the Shield interview shouldn’t have been shown. It kind of made the end more obvious. I was conscious of the time left of Raw so I imagined some shenanigans. The roof went off that building when the Shield came out. The final view of The Shield bumping knuckles with Daniel Bryan on the turnbuckle as the crowd chanted YES! With the Authority/Evolution looking from the ramp was the perfect ending.
All in all a fantastic post mania Raw. A clear focus on the future. It’s made me very excited as to what’s to come, and I generally tend to stop watching after this, but after being here and being sucked in, I imagine I’ll be following wrestling religiously like I’m 12 again.
The end was a sombre one – the reality that it was my last night in New Orleans was pretty distressing. I didn’t really enjoy being out because I knew I wouldn’t get to do it again. I saw Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater with a group of people around them in Razoo’s, but I didn’t venture out like we usually did every other night, and it came to somewhat an ending due to everyone being bummed out about going home.
We had issues getting home as the flight from United was running late (AGAIN!). Luckily they held the flight as over 60 people on the connecting flight from Houston to London where on the one from New Orleans to Houston. It was only until we landed and people checked their phones we had realised that The Warrior had passed away. It was almost like it was written this way. We’d seen him 3 times in 3 days, the crowd in the palm of his hands, and now he’s gone? It was shocking. The heartwarming segments containing his family from Hall of Fame and Raw become heartbreaking. Haunting. The only consolation is he seemed to have made amends with everyone before he passed. The spirit of The Warrior lives on. It was bad enough that we all were back in England. Hearing that as we landed, was awful.
Overall this was probably one of the best weeks in my life. I learnt a lot about myself too – I think I put this week on the same pedestal as last year, where I did the major festivals, had the excitement and buzz from my music and being constantly aired on Radio 1/1Xtra/BBC Three etc during that time.
I fell in love with New Orleans: So friendly, so vibrant, so much culture. It’s highlighted worse by being in Milton Keynes, which I find soulless.
I always wanted to do Wrestlemania, it was one for the bucket list. I expected to do it once and that was it. However I’m tempted to do it again, and again, and again, as there’s nothing like the experience. I’ll treasure these moments for a lifetime.
I also realised how welcoming wrestling as a culture is. There were so many people that had done this years on end, and they travelled by themselves, knowing they’ll be surrounded by people like them. Looking back I’m not sure if I’ll ever experience anything like this again. The perfect Mania, the perfect American location, the perfect holiday, the perfect week.
The end was a sombre one – the reality that it was my last night in New Orleans was pretty distressing. I didn’t really enjoy being out because I knew I wouldn’t get to do it again. I saw Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater with a group of people around them in Razoo’s, but I didn’t venture out like we usually did every other night, and it came to somewhat an ending due to everyone being bummed out about going home.
We had issues getting home as the flight from United was running late (AGAIN!). Luckily they held the flight as over 60 people on the connecting flight from Houston to London where on the one from New Orleans to Houston. It was only until we landed and people checked their phones we had realised that The Warrior had passed away. It was almost like it was written this way. We’d seen him 3 times in 3 days, the crowd in the palm of his hands, and now he’s gone? It was shocking. The heartwarming segments containing his family from Hall of Fame and Raw become heartbreaking. Haunting. The only consolation is he seemed to have made amends with everyone before he passed. The spirit of The Warrior lives on. It was bad enough that we all were back in England. Hearing that as we landed, was awful.
Overall this was probably one of the best weeks in my life. I learnt a lot about myself too – I think I put this week on the same pedestal as last year, where I did the major festivals, had the excitement and buzz from my music and being constantly aired on Radio 1/1Xtra/BBC Three etc during that time.
I fell in love with New Orleans: So friendly, so vibrant, so much culture. It’s highlighted worse by being in Milton Keynes, which I find soulless.
I always wanted to do Wrestlemania, it was one for the bucket list. I expected to do it once and that was it. However I’m tempted to do it again, and again, and again, as there’s nothing like the experience. I’ll treasure these moments for a lifetime.
I also realised how welcoming wrestling as a culture is. There were so many people that had done this years on end, and they travelled by themselves, knowing they’ll be surrounded by people like them. Looking back I’m not sure if I’ll ever experience anything like this again. The perfect Mania, the perfect American location, the perfect holiday, the perfect week.
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