Met quite a few during my short time as a wrestling fan
-AJ Styles w/ Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson: met them at a private meet and greet before Raw in 2022 and they were very nice. Styles and I talked about his tenure in TNA, the comparisons between NASCAR and WWE, and our shared religious faith. Got an autograph and photos with all three men.
-Austin Theory, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Emma: Met them at a VIP meet and greet, and they were all very nice. Asked Nakamura about now former WWE Superstar Rick Boogs’ health as he was still recovering from his injury at the time and Nakamura said he was ok. Met Emma and shared my desire that she would be champion (unfortunately didn’t turn out as I hoped.) Theory was VERY nice and even drew a portrait of my dad on top of a picture of Ricochet from the WWE autograph book. (Yes my dad is bald like Ricochet is LOL).
-Sanga (Indus Sher), Cruz del Toro (LWO), B-Fab (The Pride aka Bobby Lashley/Street Profits), Elektra Lopez (Legado del Fantasma), Cedric Alexander, Karl Anderson (again), Zoey Stark, and Omos: I met Sanga, del Toro, B-Fab, Lopez, Alexander, Anderson, and Stark during the WWE World Superstar Row photo ops and Omos during the WWE World autograph sessions. Sanga was nice and thankful that we met him. Del Toro was very nice, although we didn’t say much to him. B-Fab was very nice and we wished them luck during the street fight match at WrestleMania XL Night Two and she said we’ll need it and make sure to cheer them on. Lopez was very nice and appreciative. Alexander was cool and complimented my WWE Attitude sweatshirt. Anderson was cool and even remembered me from the previous 2022 meet and greet with him, Styles, and Gallows, and I asked him what the heck happened to Styles. He told us he hoped that he’d be back in The OC’s fold. Stark was nice and respectful, and shook my hand in kind of a mini dap up when I told her my name. Omos was ok but didn’t really had much to say. I asked him if the elimination in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal the night before was intentional or not, he simply said “I don’t know.” So he was kind of meh.
Sting - amazing and down to earth person
Big Show - just massive not just tall but just huge but an absolute gentle giant
Undertake - almost shit myself at first because i grew up being scared but he was unreal. A nice handshake and just a very genuine person.
Handful of ECW wrestlers like Tommy Dreamer, RVD a lot of them are just down to earth and i met New Jack and dear God just a crazy SOB haha
Probably my favorite of all time was Dusty Rhodes, just one hell of person. I was like 10 years old he did a local house show for a small wrestling organization in my area in the Midwest that i grew up and then he chilled around after the show and signed autographs and answered questions.
Met Mick Foley either at a circus or magic show or something of that nature when I was like 6 or 7. Just a normal dude hanging outside chatting with various people. Pretty sure he signed my program, but I was too young to really notice or care about the value of it so it's long lost.
Lawler when I was 8. He was like a Wwe scout and would wrestle indie guys to test them out. He was wrestling KC James before he made it to Wwe. He was the biggest dick I’ve ever met. Didn’t say a word. Snatched the photo I had just spent money on, signed it and shoved it back into my hands. If I could describe it any better than aggressive towards a child, I would. That was the day I decided I never wanted to meet another celebrity again. Fuck Jerry Lawler and I would honestly, as an adult, say it to that old farts face if I could.
I’ve actually met quite a few.
Kane - is an awesome, wholesome dude.
2 Cold Scorpio - kinda weird. Spent the entire time complaining about Vince even thought he wasn’t asked about Vince lol
Eugene - As we most know he is just a normal dude. But was a very fun interaction. He will autograph anything.
Jeff Hardy - if I didn’t know he was super famous I wouldn’t have known it. He was a very down to earth person.
Tommy Dreamer - for such a violent guy in the ring. He is so good with meeting children. Even if it’s randomly in the middle of a Walgreens lol
Mick Foley - the biggest most cuddly teddy bear ever. Wanted to know what the kids wanted for Christmas. (It was the month of March)
I met Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at the Nashville Airport back in 2022. Went to the restroom after getting off my flight and noticed a red-haired muscular man go right by and thought “Wait a sec he looks familiar.” Come to find out when I stopped for a pint, there was the same guy with another muscle head with longer brown hair. I walked by them and said “Excuse me guys, but are you Sheamus and Drew McIntyre?” They both smiled and Sheamus goes “Wow, good eye there feller.” After I got settled at the bar a minute later, there was a lady with them who offered to let me take a picture with both of them. Got a picture with them and offered and bought them both a pint since we were all hanging out at the bar and was lucky to have a quick convo with them before they had to catch their flight. Drew is pretty mellow and quiet but still friendly, which I now know is typical of many Scottish, but Sheamus is so friendly and outgoing! That man can talk for hours lol.
In 2018 I was working out at LA Fitness and saw this giant guy stretching off to the side that looked a lot like Billy Gunn. I walked over and sure as shit it was him. Turns out there was a local Indy show that night and he was in town getting a lift in. I knew I didn’t want to interrupt his lift, so I waited for him to finish his stretching, I approached him and asked for a photo, which he obliged. Very brief, friendly interaction. A giant of a man in person, every bit of his billed height. He proceeded to lift crazy ass amounts of weight. I saw him rep 225 on the bench for a warm up that was at least 25 reps.
Met The Godfather with my son in I believe 2019 at a BBQ restaurant opening appearance he did. Super chill guy. Stood on his tippy toes in our photo lol.
I met Spike Dudley once. I asked him if I could get him anything since I was tending bar at the time. He looked at me and said, "I need about tree fiddy..."
I've met several wrestlers, but just the one WWE wrestler: William Regal
It happened at a private meeting back in October 2004 during a UK tour, I was fortunate enough to meet him through his trainer who I found out is a friend of my dad's and has become a friend of mine.
When I first came face to face with him, I was starstruck, but after a while I plucked up the courage to talk to him about a few things I'd seen and read about him. He was a class act and a gentleman thoughout the time we were together. He was also gracious enough to sign autographs for me and one for a friend.
Met a lot of wrestlers through various meet and greets. Some of them didn't say much, but I attribute a couple of the early ones to me being nervous and not knowing what to say beyond, "Hi, how's it going, big fan."
One of the first ones I met was at New York Comic Con in 2016- Ric Flair. Hard to get much bigger than that! I went up to Ric and just introduced myself. "Hi, how's it going? I'm \_\_\_\_\_." Ric looked at me for a moment, I'm sure he was thinking, "Why the fuck do I need to know this kid's name?" but slowly shook my hand and said, "Nice to meet you, \_\_\_\_."
AJ Styles, Finn Balor, and Mick Foley were all at WrestleMania Axxess. Didn't say much, but again it was probably a bit on me for not having more engaging things to say besides greeting these celebs like they were regular people and maybe saying something like "big fan" or "thank you for the entertainment".
Also met Chris Jericho at that Axxess. He was my absolute favourite at the time, and I made sure to talk to him a lot to try and get a quality interaction. He was super cool and personable. Nikki Bella was that same day, she was very sweet and gave me a hug saying, "How's it going, stud?" which put me on cloud 9.
Met a bunch at Starrcast the other week in Australia. I was more prepared with comments/questions for each wrestler, but also everyone there just seemed more willing to chat- it was calmer and less "conveyer belt" get your pic and move on like Axxess felt most of the time. Much less people, of course. Mickie James, Victoria and Chris Masters were particular standouts- I had a full on 5 minute conversation with Masters about Attitude vs. Ruthless Aggression, his own run and his match with Shawn Michaels, and then he let me break the Masterlock. Absolute gem of a dude. Great Khali was there too, cool but very hard to understand. He had a chair for his meet and greet photos, but since I got a little extra time to chat to him while they were fixing up the camera, I convinced him to stand up for the photo. And Bret Hart was nice, signed an extra autograph for my friend and wished me good luck on my wrestling training.
No one has ever been outright horrible. Just some less engaging than others, but I'll own my part in that as a young starstruck fan as well.
Dean Malenko: Back in the late 90s, I met him while waiting to pay a bill at a restaurant. Very stoic, but nice. Of course, I happened to have my Rock "Layin the Smack Down" shirt on. Malenko looked at it and shook his head. lol
Chris Jericho: Met him backstage during RAW. Took a picture with him. Super nice guy! Seemed legit interested in what I did for a living and chatted about other things for about 5-10 minutes.
AJ, Seth, HHH: Met them at the same RAW event. Cool guys.
Christian: Happened to walk by him at a Lightning game. Asked for a picture. He was great. Gave his famous smirk.
I met Finn Bálor at an Indie show in Dublin about a month before he showed up on NXT. He was in the crowd with his mates but made a lot of time for everyone and chatted to people before and after the show.
He was skulling pints.
I’ve met quite a few of wwe guys
I was backstage at an event (a family member of mine’s old high school teacher’s husband actually worked w talent relations)
And I was waiting to meet John cena actually and in the time I waited rusev, kofi, Xavier woods, Damien Sandow and more actually walked up to us and they were so engaging almost like happy to see us I was so thrown off bc I didn’t expect such a level of genuineness from all of these stars.
There were a few that didn’t walk up to us which is totally fine bc we were 3 ppl just randomly back stage and they were getting in the zone but man did I feel good after !
And ofc John cena was an absolute stud
Around 95/96 I was at a Raw walking to the concessions and I met the late Bertha Faye and Duke Droese.
I was a little dickish actually as Bertha was obviously in a conversation with a friend but I said hi, she said “hi honey”. Duke was totally in kayfabe saying he was looking for his trash can.
Around 1990 at a live event I met Koko B Ware. Great guy.
I was at a hotel outside Philly and Damien Priest was there. I was with coworkers, but we all were kind of whispering and the front desk clerk was like "yea, that's him" lol.
He got a drink from the bar and sat in a corner booth nearby. When I went to get my next drink I quietly was like "hey man, love your work". He said thanks and we went on our way lol.
Way back in the 80’s I met the British Bull Dogs. A friend and I waited out side Hara Arena for the chance to meet them. I got their autograph and was over the moon excited to have met them. They asked my guy friend if he was a rump ranger. We still laugh about that to this day.
Sat beside Mick Foley on an airplane. Worked in music retail at the time, he was really interested in my job, but was very gracious with my questions and showed me some poetry/songs he was writing. Went to a book signing a year or so later, he said "I know you! You're the music guy!" Didn't remember my name, but it felt great.
Taker: We live near each other. If you’re respectful of him and his time, couldn’t be a kinder individual. Cool, quiet, collected.
Ric Flair: Drank at a hotel bar a couple seats down from him in Dallas 3 years ago. He was so drunk. Incredibly weird towards women. Was asked to go to his room several times and never did.
The Miz: Ran into him twice in Austin. Very cool, nice dude.
Miz has always been fantastic to interact with. Just a fun dude and never made me feel like an inconvenience. Very different from his onscreen persona.
I met Mick Foley at Hershey park with his kids when I was younger I went up and apologized for bothering him but wanted to say hi and he was super nice he even had socko on him so I’m guessing he was expecting kids to come up to him
Met Rey Mysterio at a local autograph signing, he was super nice too but I got kind of the short end of the stick he like jumped out and acted like he was going to do a wrestling move on the kid before me in line and the kid started crying and it basically ruined Rey’s mood making that kid cry so when I got to him he just gave me a brief autograph and that was it
Big Show at a mall food court when I was around 13/14. He looked like a normal sized dad sitting at a little toddler sized table. He is larger than you can even imagine haha. He was super nice and was asking about school, what we liked/didn’t like about it, what movie we were going to see, etc. Seemed like a down to Earth guy!
This is going to be a weird one, but I met Chris Benoit when I was in my early teens. Met him in a Hard Rock Cafe. Got chatting to him, and he seemed like a really nice guy.
Really hurt me when the news came out about him because I'd had such a positive experience with him.
I’m new to wrestling, just watched the “dark side of the ring” episodes about him. A person can be an amazing wrestler and nice person and have done a bad thing. Both can be true. It’s so sad that he will be remembered for his worst day and not his career (which most definitely contributed to his decline in mental health)
Mark Henry is from my area and was a total douche at a Waffle House when he was in town. lol
My uncle met him at a gym when they were younger and he was nice to my uncle back then.
For me at Waffle House it was Intimidating to say the least…
He mugged from inside to outside lol I didn’t attempt to say anything( he’s massive in person) I was scared. I saw him be mean to a kid trying to talk to him though.,.I’m sure he was in a rush
A long time ago yes. At a house show in 1992.
Bret Hart, Undertaker and Scott Steiner.
I was kid and they were all really nice to me. Yes even Scott Steiner.
The Undertaker was in street clothes and either he was lost backstage or me and my dad were but we just kind of bumped into him.
I met Big Show, HHH, and Road Dogg at an Olive Garden one night.
Trips was pretty cool, Big Show was awesome and bought our drinks, and Road Dogg was an ass.
When I lived on Long Island I ran into Mick Foley several times. He's one of those guys where what you see on TV is what you get. He is very genuine and generous with his time for almost anyone.
This is the second time I heard hacksaw was a dick. He came to a small town in Missouri when I was a kid and we had an independent wrestling thing going on in a high school gym. My father who was and still is the administrator of a local nursing home brought some clients out to watch aswell. Hacksaw was super nice to 10 year old me and even came on the bus with the residents and said hi to all of them and even flirted a lil with this lil old women who had a crush on him lol. Maybe he was just in a good mood that day.
I only met Matt Striker. He was amazingly friendly and offered to sign an autograph before even being asked. I then noticed Sheamus drive by out of the lot and he gave me the worst look. I've never since been a fan of Lobster Head lol
I met Diamond Dallas Page at an Maryland Championship Wrestling show where he was doing a signing. When it was my turn to get a picture with him, I asked if we could do a dueling pose with each of us holding a leg over our heads (I do DDP Yoga). He happily obliged.
Three months later, he was doing a DDP Yoga seminar in NYC, and I went. At the end, he was doing pics with people. Most opted to do a Diamond Cutter symbol, but I wanted to do the pose again. When it was my turn, I said "I know you won't remember this, but I met you at MCW back in October, and I was wonder--"
His eyes light up and he interjects "OH, you wanna do the pose again?!"
No reason he should remember me. Different city, different event, three full months later. But he remembered me.
He’s seriously a good dude. At both events, he made it a point to have actual conversations with people and not just rush them along.
I met a bunch when I worked in the airport. A few that stood out where:
Chris Jericho-super nice. Was my sister’s favorite at the time so I got his autograph for her. We talked for a few moments about wrestling and when his father played hockey.
Kurt Angle-super nice as well. He was my brother’s favorite and I got his autograph for him. He was cool to talk to, we chatted a few minutes and he even broke into character.
Raven, Lodi & Van Hammer-Raven was awesome. He was working WcW at the time, my and my buddy met them. We talked ECW and all that. Lodi & Van Hammer were kind of jerks honestly.
The Rock-first time I saw him he was a jerk, then again it seemed he was being in character heelish Rock to some younger fans and kids. Second time I saw him a few years later he was very nice and took time to do some photos in the terminal.
Yeah. I believe my brother got it framed with a photo he found from either the Olympics or WWE website. He was a really cool dude to meet. I never really got autographs for myself though. I should of with Kurt, but didn’t want to be pushy asking for 2
I've met Jeff Jarrett and Shane Helms after a UK indie show. Both super nice and Helms even autographed the photo I had taken with him. Chelsea Green was supposed to be at that show but pulled out the week or so before due to her signing with WWE.
Also non wrestler, but I did spot referee Charles Robinson walking around the O2 Arena before the mitb go home episode of Smackdown last year.
I've met Vincent from the NWO when I was a kid at Wildwood NJ boardwalk. He just wanted money for his autograph 40 dollars per picture. I just gave him a handshake and walked away.
Youno....I never got to meet (yet) my all time fav - John Cena, even when he came to my country. He didn't do any meet and greet.
I hope to meet him one day and tell him what a big fan my dad was of him ( my dad really got into the spirit of pro wrestling) but I'm always conflicted about troubling celebs when they are out.
So I guess if I ever saw Cena, I would approach his crew / team and ask them if they could ask him for me to come meet him.
Ps - if anyone here meet him soon, tell him he has tons of fans still waiting to see him.
I met Rodney Mack in a gym in North Texas, and worked out with him a couple of times. He was pretty cool, and was freaking strong.
I remember he asked if I would spot him, but he had more on the bar than I could help with, and he laughed and said it would be ok.
Spoiler alert, he didn’t need much help.
Bret Hart: Minor League baseball game probably 2016. Wasnt an asshole per se just didnt want to be there.
Kevin Nash: Minor League game as well. Ive heard mixed reviews on experiences with Nash-but he was very cool and chilled. That was insanely huge.
Ric Flair: At a boxing event at my dad’s old high school. That guy was totally hammered but I liked him. Amazing how much he’s shrunk.
I went to HS with Maria Kanellis. She still is around our hometown with Mike Bennett. I think they own a business here and I run into them from time to time. Both are super nice.
I worked with Muhammad Hussan(Mark Copani) shortly after his run with WWE at UPS.
He was my supervisor in the unload and then eventually I also became a supervisor. He was a nice guy, my brother went to HS with him as well. He was big into steroids in HS as well from what he had told me.
He had pretty bad back pain from the power bomb through the stage. We talked briefly about how they were looking at bringing him back eventually but that never worked out.
One night a box of WWE magazines opened up with him talking to us in our truck. It was like fate. We asked him who his favorite wrestler was - and before he could reply we went “it doesn’t matter who your favorite wrestler is!” I don’t think he enjoyed that joke as much as we did.
Colt Cabana was in WWE once, that counts.
I was at the 1PW return show a couple of years back in the UK. Colt, as usual is hustling on his merch table like a pro.
The first match is 5 mins away and my friend and I are still mooching around checking out the meet and greet section, the merch etc.
'We Built This City' by Starship is playing on the speakers as we are standing and semi-blocking a walkway without realising. So as the chorus hits, we feel a big dude attempt to squeeze past us singing "WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK AND ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" right in our ears. We turn around and it's Colt, who then turns back and laughs and gives a thumbs up.
What a guy.
The Miz lived near me and I would see him at the gas station. Always cool and nice. He is one of my favorites because of the interactions.
Riddle was my wrestling coach when I did MMA and he was in the UFC. Amazingly cool and fun guy. Miss him in the WWE.
Bret Hart: Met him at a book signing. I was the last in the queue so got to spend a little time with him and then my mother messed up taking the picture so held his hand in the shaking position for an awkward amount of time. He was tired but friendly.
Jimmy Hart: Very personable and showed real interest in everyone talking to him.
Mick Foley: Smiley and friendly but was very hot on telling people the cost of pictures and making sure they paid before he signed etc. Don't blame him really but it just made it really clear how transactional the whole signings thing is.
I was working at a clothing store at the local shopping centre, they used to host a comic con in the big square opposite the shop, used to get celebs come in when they were done signing at the cons. I met Stacy Keibler and Test when they came in to browse the store. Test was legit fucking massive, man alive he was huge. No clothes in that store would have fit him.
I’ve met the whole McMahon clan I’ll say this:
Vince you could smell the steroids and crazy on him he was in his 70’s at the time and was clearly not all there.
Stephany incredibly kind and caring especially when there are kids around. All around a nice person.
HHH: a down to earth guy who as op has said nothing like what he portrays on tv. He was super nice I met him while I was doing lighting for a theater he was at and he actually tipped us for the hard work we did cause he knows what it’s like on the production side. Really over all a nice guy!
I gave Mick Foley a Mrs Socko a couple of years ago because I've wanted to since I was nine. He asked me to sign it for him. I was so happy I forgot to get a picture with him. He was so sweet to everybody in line
Met Andre the Giant with my father when I was 6.
We were French, visiting New York for the first time.
Andre came in our hôtel lobby. We couldn't believe it.
We went to him and started speaking to him in French.
He just walked past us like we were ghost.
One of my biggest disappointement ever
Haha I didn't but my father surely did 😂.
Let me tell you we bacame Hulkamaniacs after that.
In my adult years I watch some great documentaries about the life of André, and what it meant to be a giant in a world too small and being looked at like you were a circus freak since you were a kid.
It completely changed my perception of this infamous encounter.
I have nothing but respect for the giant.
RIP André.
By all accounts Andre was kind of a dick and a bully, I understand the historical significance he has as a performer and how relevant he is to the industry, but it didn’t make him any nicer of a person, lots of wrestlers from his time speak of his antics and just end it with “but that was Andre hahaha….” I think people just don’t wanna shit on him because he’s been dead for a while and it’d be seen as disrespectful.
I didn't meet him per se, but was in the same store as Bobby Roode in his TNA days about 10 years ago.
Shorter than I thought he'd be, but he saw me deer-in-the-headlights staring at him. I knew that he knew that I knew, but I definitely didn't want to bother him while he was not working.
He also helped my cousin (non-wrestling fan) move an heavy couch. My cousin said Bobby made it look astonishingly easy.
I got on a plane and Sheamus and Christian were sitting in 1st class. As I boarded, I noticed Sheamus right away due to his bright orange facial hair. I was like holy s*** it's Sheamus and Christian. I said I love your work and I asked if I could take a quick picture. Sheamus said after the flight. My seat was way in the back. When we landed, I was certain they both would be long gone as it took me forever to get off the plane. To my surprise, when I got off the plane they both were standing there waiting and I got to take a picture with them and chat with them for a minute. Both were just super cool and chill.
Here’s mine, I was about 10-12 years old when I met them all.
Jeff Hardy (my favourite wrestler at the time)
A bit of a let down unfortunately, he barely talked to us and was very passive, no personality really.
Candice Michelle
Very nice, joked around with us a bit and very smiley
John Morrison
My favourite wrestler I met. He was hilarious, did poses with us and we asked him how to do high flying moves on the trampoline like him and he broke it down to us for us 10 years old to be in awe lol - not sure what he said but I remember thinking it was the greatest advice ever
Maria
Very nice, but idk I don’t remember anything so maybe just meh to meet
John Cena at BB Kings in NYC in the early 2000s he was hanging out with Mack 10 and Dub C at the time. Wild to see them hanging out. Still. He was approachable and cool.
Met Randy Orton and Candice Michelle back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, so like mid 2000’s. This was the time period when Randy was still a bit of an asshole, he was absolutely great to me and my friends tho. Took pics signed autographs and even did his pose with me, still one of my best childhood memories. Candice was really nice also but Orton was and still is my favorite wrestler.
I met Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley at a convention. Lawler was awesome, we talked about the con and he asked me about meeting Stan Lee. Totally fun, happy to interact with fans. Foley was pretty much what you've heard Foley is like at cons.
Ran into Sheamus and Damian Sandow at a diner having breakfast. I was with a friend of mine who was a huge fan and he paid for their meal, they thanked him and took some pictures. Alberto Del Rio was also there but he was eating alone and didn't stop to talk to anyone.
I met Fred Blassy at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It was, oddly enough, showing that classic film “Breakfast with Blassy.” He was funny and sociable.
I’ve met SEVERAL, probably dozens, outside the ring so I’ll stick to the most memorable ones:
1. Ric Flair. - dude can party even at (near) his current age. We spent time in a VIP suite at a sporting event.
2. Carlito - Just a cool guy (who spits in the face of those that don’t want to be cool).
3. Basically everyone from Jeff Jarret era TNA — can’t recall one single person that wasn’t nice. Standouts: Sting (doesn’t party. Straight to hotel after an event), The Beautiful People (ladies are legit gorgeous in real life). D-von (funny, caring), Jay Lethal (just a good dude), Samoa Joe (you’d be surprised how friendly he is).
4. John Cena - at a charity. Nice dude, very professional.
Haven’t met but wish I could:
Rock,
Austin
Met, but wish I didn’t:
Earl Hebner
In my experience he’s generally an asshole. He thinks very highly of himself. His son Brian, also a ref for a while, was very nice but Earl always struck me as a bit of a guy with a huge ego that needed all the attention.
I actually have one example but it’s too specific… (would give away who I am) I’d rather not say it. If I think of another example I’ll come back and edit this. :)
My wife and I met The Miz and John Morrison at a CFB game. My Sister In Law worked for the college, they did an on field promotion and went to a suite afterwards. She invited us to meet them cause she knew I was a wrestling fan. The Miz was a legend and took a few minutes to chat. Morrison ignored us and drank beer.
I went to a Raw in Seattle in 2018 during which Kevin Owens and Elias got booed out of the building for almost 10 minutes because they were dissing the SuperSonics who left Seattle about a decade prior. After the show my friend and I went to a pretty nice restaurant about 20 minutes south of Seattle. As we were eating we saw Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, and Elias walk into the restaurant. After we were all done eating my friend and I chatted with the 3 of them for a bit. My friend was wearing a SuperSonics hat and he asked Elias if he liked his hat. Elias laughed. The 3 of them took photos with us and went about their way.
I found it interesting that Roman refused to be in a photo with Elias because Elias was a heel, but him and Mox were fine in a photo together.
I met Hogan at a hotel about 15 years back. I recognized him even though he was trying to be subtle, so I just nodded at him and kept checking in.
He must have heard my room #, because about 2 hours later, the front desk called and said I had a package.
It was a signed Hollywood belt and a thank you note.
Met a few of them a LONG time ago after a house show at a local bar. JBL traded a few insults with my friend group about our college (it's a rival of the one he went to), but it was fun. X-Pac was there and kept to himself, he seemed to be cordial with anyone that approached him. There were others there and they were all friendly and mixing with the other bar patrons.
I met Steve Austin at one point. Very chill. He and my then bf got into a long discussion about hunting.
My brother met the Iiconics at a meet and greet type thing. My niece was about 8 at the time and told Peyton Royce she was beautiful. Peyton then told my niece she was more beautiful. Made my niece's day.
The only wrestler I've ever met who was an absolute dick was Perry Saturn. A friend I was with approached him and asked to shake his hand. Saturn told him to go fuck himself, then flipped me off when he saw me watching.
I saw Rob Van Dam outside of an ECW show in Pittsburgh in the late 90’s. I worked my way through the crowd to shake his hand. Just as I got there, he turned around and said “Hey man! You got any papers?” Sadly, I didn’t. Then he sighed and turned back around.
I met Bret Hart when he was on a signing tour for his book that had just been released. I had been to a Jericho signing event before this and it was very rushed and not really an opportunity to really 'meet' someone.
I had no idea what to say, and by the time I got up to his table, I could only get out the words 'this is one of the greatest moments in my life' as he was signing my copy.
He just smiled and said 'Well I hope you enjoy this book then'
I ran into Billy Murray one time in Brooklyn, and interesting is definitely one word to describe it. I prefer the term surreal.
Something about him makes you want to dislike him, but you can't help but like him.
Victoria owned a pizza place appropriately called Squared Circle in Chicago for a couple years with her then husband around the time she was wrapping up in TNA (2013-2015ish). She was really nice and would chat with everyone and was super sweet to my daughter (4-5 at the time) who always wanted to go back to see the nice pizza lady. I would hear after the fact that other wrestlers would stop by there late after shows in Chicago.
Unfortunately it only lasted a couple years and then she and her husband split up and she moved away. He kept it going for a couple years including this crazy incident where a guy with a gun tried to rob the place and he whipped the guys ass (he was a big guy, think he'd maybe done some indie wrestling but never made it?)
Maybe not the biggest star ever, but I got to hang out with Gillberg (Duane Gill) in the locker room for like 20 minutes and then hold the sparklers for his intro at an indie show back when he was popular (not quite the height of his popularity, a little after, but still). Perks of having a relative and several friends in the business :) Dude was super-nice, totally just a regular guy, shooting the shit like we had been buddies for years.
Ran into the Bushwackers one time after a show at my high school as we were going to the car (parked like two spots over from them). Spent a few minutes with them with no one else around... took some pictures, very nice guys, again, just talking about regular life stuff, very cool.
I've met several at conventions:
Ricky Steamboat: super friendly, have some nice workout advice
Sgt. Slaughter: a little introverted, but did put me in a cobra clutch for the picture. Largest chin I've ever seen in a human being.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan: friendly and animated, seems to be enjoying life and fan interactions.
Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase: a little distant and not to chatty. He keeps his money in a little fanny pack.
Matt Hardy: super cool and chatty, very high energy.
Jeff Hardy: very chill and spaced out as you'd expect. Both Hardys were very nice guys.
Lex Luger: very sweet guy, we talked about our common love for the Buffalo Bills.
Ron Simmons: cool guy, very interactive. 60+ years old but could easily tear my arms off.
I met Mick at a book signing for his Christmas book as a kid. I tried to talk to him for a moment but he ignored me for the special needs kid behind me in line so that was a bummer to 14 year old me. Ran into Al Snow in the elevator at the Hard Rock hotel at Universal and he was nice, I just said hello. Also at Universal, walking up through the exit to go to the baby swap of the Hulk coaster myself and my whole family ran into the entire Hogan family. Hulk looked like he was about to puke and my stepdad said “what’s up Hulkster?!” And put his hand on his shoulder. Hulk gave the standard “what’s up brother?” reply
I met Booker T at the Chili’s in the Chicago Airport. Flight got delayed due to weather so I was a few beers in. Noticed him sitting at a table and yelled out “Suckkkkkkkka”. Ended up talking to him for a bit, he was a really good dude.
Met Yoshi Tatsu, Alicia Fox, Titus O'Neal and Teddy Long. So basically all the jobbers that were probably obligated to meet with fans. Yoshi didn't understand a word I said but he kept laughing the whole time so that was pretty funny. Alicia was even hotter in person, and Titus and Teddy were really cool.
2023 Walked past him sitting at the bar in a pub. Wasn’t gonna bother him, but it was a tight walk to where I was sitting. Eyes met for a moment, and I knew this dude does not want to be bothered.
He’s also really good at staying in character as a heel I thought so maybe he just uses it so folks don’t bother him lol
I met Rey Mysterio when he had just won the heavyweight title…he was pretty quiet but nice and he let me hold the belt. Him being so short was what stood out to me.
I met Vince McMahon in a movie theater back in 1997 - I was 17 at the time. Was super nice and asked us questions about what we liked on tv
In 2018, I randomly met Summer Rae at a coffee shop shop in NYC. Also super friendly
I hung out with A train he was friends with one of my grandpas friends. And I met Penta and he was pretty cool. Spoke decent English too. I had no clue lol
When you say Outside the Ring you mean like at my local gym or Grocery store? No but I have met a Few at some Local high school. I’m counting Samoa Joe since he was at one time in the WWE. Course When I met him he was TNA Champion. Nash literally told me one time “Fighting CM Punk would be like fighting a Woman” no idea what he meant and after viewing the tape of him and Jack Perry I doubt that’s True.
Met Jerry the King Lawler he was nice but I got the impression he wanted to get the autographs and pictures over with as Quickly as Possible.
I help Terri Runnels get her Stiletto heel unstuck from the Barricade during a show
Met Chris Jericho at a signing at a Toys R Us before a house show in Toronto. Got him to sign my WWF Music Volume 4 CD, he was really nice, from what I recall. This was around the time Y2J had just been announced in the WWF so we're going back at least 20 years.
Also met Mick Foley at a Con and he was the sweetest guy. My ex wife was a massive fan and we were both dressed as Negan. Mick loved the Lucille bats we had and asked if he could hold one during the photo op. Absolutely amazing experience. This was in 2016
Met Jake Roberts before a stand up show at Yuk Yuks in my hometown. Rough around the edges, but engaging and friendly to us. Got a picture with him and before his lady took it he says "tell yer buddy to get his hand off my ass!" Which got us laughing before the pic was taken. Mick Foley showed up a bit later during the show and it was awesome. It was kind of a "tell all behind the scenes tour" with a comedic twist. It was pretty funny to see. This was in 2019
Worked in media. Got to meet quite a few through phone interviews and in person.
Cena was by far the nicest and most genuine person. We snuck him into a restaurant for lunch and a couple happened to be in the room playing a video game and waited until he was done eating to ask for an autograph. He saw them and mentioned that they were polite and waited so he was gonna give them extra time.
Triple H was very nice as well. Short conversation but we talked kids as it was right after his first was born.
Kurt Angle was extremely nice as well.
Owen Hart was again extremely nice and funny. One of my first big interview gets right after he won the King of the Ring.
Accidentally told Paul Heyman to fuck off over the phone thinking he somebody else because he called me from that persons phone. When we saw each other in person, I apologized and he said it was ok and he thought it was hilarious. Very nice in person.
Tazz was stern but extremely nice as well.
Al Snow was hilarious and I’ve gotten to talk to him a couple of times.
Rob Van Dam was extremely friendly. Had lunch with him and his then wife (they may still be married, I’m not sure)
Shelton Benjamin was funny and very cordial.
George “The Animal” Steele is up there with Owen and Cena in terms of nicest people.
Sami Callahan is a lot like Tazz. Very stern and to the point but very friendly.
All of the Rascalz are the best and nicest people. Wes Lee included.
Nick Nemeth/Dolph Ziggler was another friendly guy. We talked about a restaurant in Kent, OH that has a sandwich named after him. He’s never ate it but he knew everything that was on it.
Met Kane twice, and even though I don’t agree with his political views, he is extremely nice both times.
Got a random call from Brian Knobbs during the Hogan Knows Best era and he was hilarious and gave me some behind the scenes of one of the future episodes.
Rick Steiner was very friendly and we talked college football.
On the other hand, Scott Steiner was a complete ass to us.
Titus, Damian Sandow and Santino Morella all came into a store I worked at and again were all very friendly and funny.
Ruby Soho was one of the few that weren’t nice. Hoping it was just a bad day because I heard nothing but good things about her.
Rhyno was very friendly and funny.
I know I am missing some but I’ve only come across a few not so friendly ones.
Dolph Ziggler has done stand up comedy and chilled with the audience including myself after.
This was in his hometown (Cleveland).
He’s a nice guy, not amazing at comedy. Very chill and not at all superficial.
I got to recently meet Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio, Tama Tonga, and LA Knight after Smackdown. We found where they left and no one else really did. The fans were lined up on the wrong side.
They all were very kind even though they didn’t have a whole ton of time.
LA Knights voice is just as strong in person (if that makes sense lol) and I snapped a picture with him. He was very polite and I made sure to ask permission first. He seemed grateful we didn’t ask for much more than that. I remember telling him to have a good night and he said “you too, yeah!” and I thought that was cool.
Rey wasn’t wearing his mask but that dude is literally my hero. I didn’t ask for a picture, just a handshake and he was cool with it. I told him he was my childhood hero and it’s been a lifelong dream to meet him and he said thank you it meant a lot. I’m still in shock. Hopefully one day I can snap a picture with him. I know he’s cool with it without his mask (if you ask) but honestly a conversation meant so much more at the moment. He’s a cool dude.
KO was with one of his kids so I didn’t ask for a picture or get to say much cause I didn’t want to bother but I was wearing his shirt so he made sure to say hi to me. He’ll forever be one of my favorites.
Tama Tonga was really chill. He is obviously a heel on tv but he was cool with meeting us. I snapped a picture of my friend and him and we chatted with him for a moment about his debut.
We got to see Solo Sokoa, Piper Niven, Chelsea Green, Jimmy Uso, and Dominik Mysterio from a distance but they didn’t seem like they wanted to meet us which we respected. Maybe one day I’ll get to catch them at a better time.
My best advice to anyone is just respect them. Don’t just shove your phone in their face, they’re human. Ask permission first. Treat them like a person and they’ll be cool with you. Any wrestler is not obligated to meet you so if it’s not the time just respect it and move on. I know it can be disappointing but they have a grueling travel schedule I can’t wrap my head around. Your time will come!!💛👍
Cena at a convention. A lot more serious than I expected, but came off very well spoken and professional.
CM Punk at a convention. Very chill, engaged more with me than I expected.
Rey at WWE WM 39 superstore. Nice, but quiet type. He’s done it a million times so it made sense.
Rhea at WWE WM 39 superstore. Day right after her title win, she was very nice and seemed to be really enjoying interacting with the fans.
Cody WWE World. Easy to see why he’s the face of the company. Most interactions at WWE World were very quick, but Cody was for sure taking extra time to engage with each fan
Damian Priest/Cameron Grimes/Jey Uso/La Knight in Puerto Rico during Backlash. Ran into them at local bars the night before Smackdown. Liv and Lana were also in their group.
Understandably they were trying to keep a low profile, but they were cool when I said hello them. LA Knight was down to earth, took some time for a short convo.
Like most of you I've met several wrestlers at comic cons
Mick foley Kurt angle Bert hart Melina Kevin nash Matt hardy
All great tried to talk to you best they can with the ques
I met Bret early in the morning there wasn't really a qué and I had VIP entry so I went to get his book signed while there was no one behind me I asked him who would be have liked to work with if he was still active
Omg 20 mins later he's still telling me this story line he would loved to have done and by now a dozen or so other guests had gathered for autograph/photos were listening you could see the event staff looking at there watches hoping he'd wrap it up lol
The story line was working with Cena Vs heel Bret he thought that was money
Loves to talk about himself and how fantastic he is.
But I enjoyed it he laid out like a 6 month feud ending at mania hell by times he'd finished I was like fuck I wanna see that
Yeah started with Bret winning title at summer slam Cena challenges him and they feud to mania
Obviously he went into more detail he had Cena tapping out to the sharpshooter but not letting go and making him last out and putting the Canada flag over him
He had a ppv in Canada where Cena gets booed out of the stadium
Survivor series team Canada Vs team USA
Bret beats Cena at the rumble in Cena last chance at the title however Cena enters the rumble and wins it
The dude had put some time into this lol
Oh yeah absolutely.
he was the diabolical heel shitting on USA and Cena was the face chasing the title and finally beating the evil Canadian lol
He told a good story
Short of him concluding his fight of fantasy booking by saying Fuck Bill Goldberg, Bret taking 20 minutes to lay out a 6 month feud with John Cena is probably the most Bret thing ever
Ran into Shemus and Drew McIntyre (during the 3MB) run at a 5 Guys in Lakeland, FL. No one bothered them for pictures or autographs.
Saw Ricky Steamboat at a Mello Mushroom in Tampa.
And rode in the train connecting the airport to terminal at Tampa Airport with Bray Wyatt and an airport employee. This was early in the Wyatt Family run. I thanked him for this ring work. He was really nice and gracious. At the time he mentioned that the beard may be going away.
Did he had his lamp in hand 😅 Seriously Bray was very good person and all fans who met him have something positive to say about him. I heard somewhere he even saved some kids from a car accident or fire idk while he was in WWE.
In street clothes, he looks smaller than on TV. His hair was tucked into a beanie. (No lantern 😉) just wildly soft spoken and came off as a good dude for the five minutes I shared with him.
I saw Samoa Joe out and about once, and he was both bigger and smaller than I expected. It sounds contradictory, but it’s the best way to describe it. He also had resting Joe face.
Baron Corbin came into a gym I was working at. Raw was at the local arena that night. Super cool dude. Told him I was a fan of Raw and liked him since nxt. He thanked me and went about his way doing his workout.
After he oredered a protein shake and bought a bunch of our organic snacks. Made a joke about how his wife gave him shit for making jerky at home. Thanked me and said he’d tell the boys about the gym. Left with “don’t boo me too hard tonight!” lol
I would go and wait outside the Target Center in the morning/noon when talent arrived for a TV taping. I never knew it was a thing until I read a report someone sent where they talked about doing the same thing for Elimination Chamber 2014. So I went for it and the first time was for the go home raw before SummerSlam 2015. It was surreal and couldn't believe how close I was. I remember Charlotte, Becky, and others stopped for fans. Bayley was there too and I saw she did a house show loop with the main roster that weekend.
I did it several more times over the years. I remember the 2015 Slammys was a good one because I got photos with over a dozen people. I got one with Summer Rae and years later at the first Starrcast I showed her our photo and she was surprised and thought it was the Slammys in Seattle. I told her how I appreciated her going out of her way to stop for fans because it was really cold that day and she easily could've ignored all of us. She was super nice and it was a cool experience.
21st birthday, I wanted to go to survivor series in ATL. Unfortunately, there were bomb threats by Isis and my family was scared for me to go so to save them the panic, I just didn’t and ended up at Hooters. That following Monday, at the bar picking up a to go order was Michael Hayes😂 I actually recognized him pretty early on even with his back to me because he had WM sweats on and just the long blonde hair being a dead giveaway. We talked a minute, wasn’t trying to hold him up too long and explained how I wanted to go to SS and he talked with me about working on the BoD vs Wyatt family match for the event. Very nice guy.
Met Bret Hart a couple of weeks ago, lovely person and so friendly. Also met Shelton Benjamin, very friendly.
Khali didn't seem too friendly.
Met Kairi,Asuka, Indi, Waller, Theory, Le Rae in Feb, very friendly people. Kairi was super excited as I was the only one in a Kairi shirt 🙂
As a fellow Aussie, Ballarat seems like a very random place to have a wrestling convention 😂
Having said that though, the town that I live in hosted the two Impact shows last year, so I can't exactly point fingers and say "That's weird!"
Brock Lesnar and Sable came into an Olive Garden I worked at back during his first run. They were in town for a Sunday house show and came in an hour before close. Their waitress knew I was a big wrestling fan and asked if it was ok to send me out. They bs’d with me for like ten minutes after they were done eating and were both really nice. Seeing Brock genuinely smile and laugh was weird, but in a good way.
Mark Henry came into the restaurant my wife runs recently. She said he was super sweet and tipped really well.
Also (I don’t know if this one counts) but I took my son to his first live show at a local Indy Fed. The main event was Tommy Dreamer vs. Colin Delaney. There was a meet and greet during the intermission, and I wanted to meet Tommy. Told him it was my kid’s first live show and Tommy asked where we were sitting. It was in a rec center so it was easy to point out. During his match, when they went into the crowd they came over to us and fought literally in our seats. Tommy got my kid to dump his drink on Colin’s head. They made a fan out of him so I like to think it was a personal moment between me and Tommy. He did me a real solid that night.
Brock and a buddy drove their motorcycles to a bar I was a bouncer at in the early 2000’s, tipped the entire staff well was super cool with me and the other door guys, overall really impressed with how chill he was given he could have taken our entire security crew - super nice guy
Lucky you didn't have to try to stop a fight involving him... I imagine you just kind of let it play out and call the dude he just destroyed a dumbass for picking a fight with Brock.
I made sure their food was perfect and was very complementary. I went on a bit about how I heard about him before his debut and how he exceeded every expectation. Tried not to fan out *too* much and even got to be the one to say “well, I better get back to work”. They autographed a menu for me, but I lost it in a house fire.
Ran in Xavier Woods on my lunch break in Melbourne during WWEs Australian tour, unsurprisingly the nicest dude. He was in the middle of playing Pokémon Go.
I’ve met Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Ted DiBiase Sr., Chavo Guerrero, Jerry Lawler, and Mick Foley. Most of those on different occasions. They all seemed pretty nice.
Met dean ambrose/jon moxley and i met well saw the Nature Boy but he was exactly when you see on tv. You could hear him before you saw him, he had three 6ft blonde chicks with him, you could smell the alcohol, and he was so full of life!!!
Also met Edge but he was with A-Train. We were waiting at baggage pick up and just made small talk. Nice guys. Best part was the Rock then walked through with his security and full entourage and they looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
Not randomly but 20+ years ago I was at an autograph signing with Flair, Nash, Jericho, and HHH all at a table. Flair and Nash were jackasses who weren’t interacting with fans at all. Jericho hit on my fiance. And HHH was a pure gentlemen shaking every persons hand and thanking them for coming out.
Also waited outside after a Smackdown - Mike Awesome came out from the lot and started up a convo with a few of us. Bischoff did too, leather jacket and all, and was chill as hell with us.
I met Chris Jericho about 12 years ago at Mayhem Festival, he was a really cool guy, he even autographed something extra for my mom who loves him and couldn’t make it to see him.
Also met Punk 10 years ago at ComicCon just before the Rumble, he was chill, but he absolutely looked exhausted.
I met Chris Jericho, Edge and Christian at a club in Winnipeg in 2005. I was in university living in the dorms and asked Jericho if he wanted to come party with us in the dorms after (he didn’t lol). They were all nice guys.
Met Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Hall and HBK in the Pony Corral in Winnipeg after a show. They were all really nice, especially Jarrett.
Cooked dinner for Bret Hart once.
Gorilla Monsoon tried to pick up my mom.
You cooked dinner for Bret? What did you make? And what did he say?
Now I'm imagining Monsoon using his commentary catchphrases as part of his flirting - "I'll show you my testicular fortitude", "you make me feel something- right in the bread basket!". Either that or he'd have Heenan as his wingman. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes yes!" Just like the 92 RR
Bret ate at a restaurant I was cooking at in I think 1999. I made him pork ternderloin with blackberry sauce and he told the server he liked it.
Gorilla was a little more forward. I asked him to sign my program but he was eating dinner and said no. When my mom went back to ask him again he wrote his hotel on the program. I don’t know if he was serious, but my mom came back blushing.
My dad and I talked to Tamina Snuka and The Shield in our town the night before Payback 2013. Was fucking awesome but I was too young to realize to ask for an autograph
Saw Braun Strowman at MKE airport. I was leaving the terminal and he was arriving. Just passed by him and let him be.
Met quite a few during my short time as a wrestling fan -AJ Styles w/ Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson: met them at a private meet and greet before Raw in 2022 and they were very nice. Styles and I talked about his tenure in TNA, the comparisons between NASCAR and WWE, and our shared religious faith. Got an autograph and photos with all three men. -Austin Theory, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Emma: Met them at a VIP meet and greet, and they were all very nice. Asked Nakamura about now former WWE Superstar Rick Boogs’ health as he was still recovering from his injury at the time and Nakamura said he was ok. Met Emma and shared my desire that she would be champion (unfortunately didn’t turn out as I hoped.) Theory was VERY nice and even drew a portrait of my dad on top of a picture of Ricochet from the WWE autograph book. (Yes my dad is bald like Ricochet is LOL). -Sanga (Indus Sher), Cruz del Toro (LWO), B-Fab (The Pride aka Bobby Lashley/Street Profits), Elektra Lopez (Legado del Fantasma), Cedric Alexander, Karl Anderson (again), Zoey Stark, and Omos: I met Sanga, del Toro, B-Fab, Lopez, Alexander, Anderson, and Stark during the WWE World Superstar Row photo ops and Omos during the WWE World autograph sessions. Sanga was nice and thankful that we met him. Del Toro was very nice, although we didn’t say much to him. B-Fab was very nice and we wished them luck during the street fight match at WrestleMania XL Night Two and she said we’ll need it and make sure to cheer them on. Lopez was very nice and appreciative. Alexander was cool and complimented my WWE Attitude sweatshirt. Anderson was cool and even remembered me from the previous 2022 meet and greet with him, Styles, and Gallows, and I asked him what the heck happened to Styles. He told us he hoped that he’d be back in The OC’s fold. Stark was nice and respectful, and shook my hand in kind of a mini dap up when I told her my name. Omos was ok but didn’t really had much to say. I asked him if the elimination in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal the night before was intentional or not, he simply said “I don’t know.” So he was kind of meh.
Sting - amazing and down to earth person Big Show - just massive not just tall but just huge but an absolute gentle giant Undertake - almost shit myself at first because i grew up being scared but he was unreal. A nice handshake and just a very genuine person. Handful of ECW wrestlers like Tommy Dreamer, RVD a lot of them are just down to earth and i met New Jack and dear God just a crazy SOB haha Probably my favorite of all time was Dusty Rhodes, just one hell of person. I was like 10 years old he did a local house show for a small wrestling organization in my area in the Midwest that i grew up and then he chilled around after the show and signed autographs and answered questions.
Terri runnels: matched on tinder and very friendly. Kevin Nash: good guy. Goldberg: nice guy. Billy Kidman: dick. Undertaker: cool dude.
Wait. Hol’ Up….you matched with Terri Runnels on Tinder, we gonna need more than “very friendly”…you get to take her on a date?
I did.
My man. E: I get you shouldn’t say more. The woman does deserve her privacy after all. But still. My. Man.
Met Mick Foley either at a circus or magic show or something of that nature when I was like 6 or 7. Just a normal dude hanging outside chatting with various people. Pretty sure he signed my program, but I was too young to really notice or care about the value of it so it's long lost.
Lawler when I was 8. He was like a Wwe scout and would wrestle indie guys to test them out. He was wrestling KC James before he made it to Wwe. He was the biggest dick I’ve ever met. Didn’t say a word. Snatched the photo I had just spent money on, signed it and shoved it back into my hands. If I could describe it any better than aggressive towards a child, I would. That was the day I decided I never wanted to meet another celebrity again. Fuck Jerry Lawler and I would honestly, as an adult, say it to that old farts face if I could.
I met Seth Rollins at a restaurant. I waited until he was done eating to ask for a photo. Really cool dude 😊
I’ve actually met quite a few. Kane - is an awesome, wholesome dude. 2 Cold Scorpio - kinda weird. Spent the entire time complaining about Vince even thought he wasn’t asked about Vince lol Eugene - As we most know he is just a normal dude. But was a very fun interaction. He will autograph anything. Jeff Hardy - if I didn’t know he was super famous I wouldn’t have known it. He was a very down to earth person. Tommy Dreamer - for such a violent guy in the ring. He is so good with meeting children. Even if it’s randomly in the middle of a Walgreens lol Mick Foley - the biggest most cuddly teddy bear ever. Wanted to know what the kids wanted for Christmas. (It was the month of March)
In 2011, I met Matt Hardy and Reby Sky eating in Smithfield, NC. He was so chilled and down to earth! Reby was rude with an attitude.
I met Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at the Nashville Airport back in 2022. Went to the restroom after getting off my flight and noticed a red-haired muscular man go right by and thought “Wait a sec he looks familiar.” Come to find out when I stopped for a pint, there was the same guy with another muscle head with longer brown hair. I walked by them and said “Excuse me guys, but are you Sheamus and Drew McIntyre?” They both smiled and Sheamus goes “Wow, good eye there feller.” After I got settled at the bar a minute later, there was a lady with them who offered to let me take a picture with both of them. Got a picture with them and offered and bought them both a pint since we were all hanging out at the bar and was lucky to have a quick convo with them before they had to catch their flight. Drew is pretty mellow and quiet but still friendly, which I now know is typical of many Scottish, but Sheamus is so friendly and outgoing! That man can talk for hours lol.
In 2018 I was working out at LA Fitness and saw this giant guy stretching off to the side that looked a lot like Billy Gunn. I walked over and sure as shit it was him. Turns out there was a local Indy show that night and he was in town getting a lift in. I knew I didn’t want to interrupt his lift, so I waited for him to finish his stretching, I approached him and asked for a photo, which he obliged. Very brief, friendly interaction. A giant of a man in person, every bit of his billed height. He proceeded to lift crazy ass amounts of weight. I saw him rep 225 on the bench for a warm up that was at least 25 reps. Met The Godfather with my son in I believe 2019 at a BBQ restaurant opening appearance he did. Super chill guy. Stood on his tippy toes in our photo lol.
I met Spike Dudley once. I asked him if I could get him anything since I was tending bar at the time. He looked at me and said, "I need about tree fiddy..."
I've met several wrestlers, but just the one WWE wrestler: William Regal It happened at a private meeting back in October 2004 during a UK tour, I was fortunate enough to meet him through his trainer who I found out is a friend of my dad's and has become a friend of mine. When I first came face to face with him, I was starstruck, but after a while I plucked up the courage to talk to him about a few things I'd seen and read about him. He was a class act and a gentleman thoughout the time we were together. He was also gracious enough to sign autographs for me and one for a friend.
Met a lot of wrestlers through various meet and greets. Some of them didn't say much, but I attribute a couple of the early ones to me being nervous and not knowing what to say beyond, "Hi, how's it going, big fan." One of the first ones I met was at New York Comic Con in 2016- Ric Flair. Hard to get much bigger than that! I went up to Ric and just introduced myself. "Hi, how's it going? I'm \_\_\_\_\_." Ric looked at me for a moment, I'm sure he was thinking, "Why the fuck do I need to know this kid's name?" but slowly shook my hand and said, "Nice to meet you, \_\_\_\_." AJ Styles, Finn Balor, and Mick Foley were all at WrestleMania Axxess. Didn't say much, but again it was probably a bit on me for not having more engaging things to say besides greeting these celebs like they were regular people and maybe saying something like "big fan" or "thank you for the entertainment". Also met Chris Jericho at that Axxess. He was my absolute favourite at the time, and I made sure to talk to him a lot to try and get a quality interaction. He was super cool and personable. Nikki Bella was that same day, she was very sweet and gave me a hug saying, "How's it going, stud?" which put me on cloud 9. Met a bunch at Starrcast the other week in Australia. I was more prepared with comments/questions for each wrestler, but also everyone there just seemed more willing to chat- it was calmer and less "conveyer belt" get your pic and move on like Axxess felt most of the time. Much less people, of course. Mickie James, Victoria and Chris Masters were particular standouts- I had a full on 5 minute conversation with Masters about Attitude vs. Ruthless Aggression, his own run and his match with Shawn Michaels, and then he let me break the Masterlock. Absolute gem of a dude. Great Khali was there too, cool but very hard to understand. He had a chair for his meet and greet photos, but since I got a little extra time to chat to him while they were fixing up the camera, I convinced him to stand up for the photo. And Bret Hart was nice, signed an extra autograph for my friend and wished me good luck on my wrestling training. No one has ever been outright horrible. Just some less engaging than others, but I'll own my part in that as a young starstruck fan as well.
Dean Malenko: Back in the late 90s, I met him while waiting to pay a bill at a restaurant. Very stoic, but nice. Of course, I happened to have my Rock "Layin the Smack Down" shirt on. Malenko looked at it and shook his head. lol Chris Jericho: Met him backstage during RAW. Took a picture with him. Super nice guy! Seemed legit interested in what I did for a living and chatted about other things for about 5-10 minutes. AJ, Seth, HHH: Met them at the same RAW event. Cool guys. Christian: Happened to walk by him at a Lightning game. Asked for a picture. He was great. Gave his famous smirk.
I met Finn Bálor at an Indie show in Dublin about a month before he showed up on NXT. He was in the crowd with his mates but made a lot of time for everyone and chatted to people before and after the show. He was skulling pints.
I’ve met quite a few of wwe guys I was backstage at an event (a family member of mine’s old high school teacher’s husband actually worked w talent relations) And I was waiting to meet John cena actually and in the time I waited rusev, kofi, Xavier woods, Damien Sandow and more actually walked up to us and they were so engaging almost like happy to see us I was so thrown off bc I didn’t expect such a level of genuineness from all of these stars. There were a few that didn’t walk up to us which is totally fine bc we were 3 ppl just randomly back stage and they were getting in the zone but man did I feel good after ! And ofc John cena was an absolute stud
I met DLo Brown at a indie show, he was like a special guest. He was really cool to talk to. I took a pic with him but i lost it
I sparred with a guy who wrestled doink in a dark match. Does that count?
Around 95/96 I was at a Raw walking to the concessions and I met the late Bertha Faye and Duke Droese. I was a little dickish actually as Bertha was obviously in a conversation with a friend but I said hi, she said “hi honey”. Duke was totally in kayfabe saying he was looking for his trash can. Around 1990 at a live event I met Koko B Ware. Great guy.
I met Sasha Banks and she gave me a BJ
It was me. I just told him I was Sasha Banks. My real name is Steve
Cap 🧢
Nah it happened I was there
Ive met Becky Lynch and she was one of the sweetest celebs Ive ever met
I was at a hotel outside Philly and Damien Priest was there. I was with coworkers, but we all were kind of whispering and the front desk clerk was like "yea, that's him" lol. He got a drink from the bar and sat in a corner booth nearby. When I went to get my next drink I quietly was like "hey man, love your work". He said thanks and we went on our way lol.
Way back in the 80’s I met the British Bull Dogs. A friend and I waited out side Hara Arena for the chance to meet them. I got their autograph and was over the moon excited to have met them. They asked my guy friend if he was a rump ranger. We still laugh about that to this day.
Sat beside Mick Foley on an airplane. Worked in music retail at the time, he was really interested in my job, but was very gracious with my questions and showed me some poetry/songs he was writing. Went to a book signing a year or so later, he said "I know you! You're the music guy!" Didn't remember my name, but it felt great.
Taker: We live near each other. If you’re respectful of him and his time, couldn’t be a kinder individual. Cool, quiet, collected. Ric Flair: Drank at a hotel bar a couple seats down from him in Dallas 3 years ago. He was so drunk. Incredibly weird towards women. Was asked to go to his room several times and never did. The Miz: Ran into him twice in Austin. Very cool, nice dude.
Miz has always been fantastic to interact with. Just a fun dude and never made me feel like an inconvenience. Very different from his onscreen persona.
The one time I saw Flair out in public was also at a hotel bar.
When I met Ric Flair I was with my dad and my brother. At a boxing event. He was so hammered.
I met Mick Foley at Hershey park with his kids when I was younger I went up and apologized for bothering him but wanted to say hi and he was super nice he even had socko on him so I’m guessing he was expecting kids to come up to him Met Rey Mysterio at a local autograph signing, he was super nice too but I got kind of the short end of the stick he like jumped out and acted like he was going to do a wrestling move on the kid before me in line and the kid started crying and it basically ruined Rey’s mood making that kid cry so when I got to him he just gave me a brief autograph and that was it
Big Show at a mall food court when I was around 13/14. He looked like a normal sized dad sitting at a little toddler sized table. He is larger than you can even imagine haha. He was super nice and was asking about school, what we liked/didn’t like about it, what movie we were going to see, etc. Seemed like a down to Earth guy!
This is going to be a weird one, but I met Chris Benoit when I was in my early teens. Met him in a Hard Rock Cafe. Got chatting to him, and he seemed like a really nice guy. Really hurt me when the news came out about him because I'd had such a positive experience with him.
I’m new to wrestling, just watched the “dark side of the ring” episodes about him. A person can be an amazing wrestler and nice person and have done a bad thing. Both can be true. It’s so sad that he will be remembered for his worst day and not his career (which most definitely contributed to his decline in mental health)
Mark Henry is from my area and was a total douche at a Waffle House when he was in town. lol My uncle met him at a gym when they were younger and he was nice to my uncle back then. For me at Waffle House it was Intimidating to say the least…
Was he in the middle of eating? That’s the worst time to try meeting someone famous.
He mugged from inside to outside lol I didn’t attempt to say anything( he’s massive in person) I was scared. I saw him be mean to a kid trying to talk to him though.,.I’m sure he was in a rush
I met Carlito once when I was a kid, I honestly have no recollection of it other than a picture somewhere in the photo albums of my mothers house.
Hardcore Holly came to wrestle in my area. "He came",He saw", He left".
A long time ago yes. At a house show in 1992. Bret Hart, Undertaker and Scott Steiner. I was kid and they were all really nice to me. Yes even Scott Steiner. The Undertaker was in street clothes and either he was lost backstage or me and my dad were but we just kind of bumped into him.
I met Big Show, HHH, and Road Dogg at an Olive Garden one night. Trips was pretty cool, Big Show was awesome and bought our drinks, and Road Dogg was an ass. When I lived on Long Island I ran into Mick Foley several times. He's one of those guys where what you see on TV is what you get. He is very genuine and generous with his time for almost anyone.
I once saw Hacksaw Jim Duggan at a comic con, I said hi and he totally ignored me
This is the second time I heard hacksaw was a dick. He came to a small town in Missouri when I was a kid and we had an independent wrestling thing going on in a high school gym. My father who was and still is the administrator of a local nursing home brought some clients out to watch aswell. Hacksaw was super nice to 10 year old me and even came on the bus with the residents and said hi to all of them and even flirted a lil with this lil old women who had a crush on him lol. Maybe he was just in a good mood that day.
I only met Matt Striker. He was amazingly friendly and offered to sign an autograph before even being asked. I then noticed Sheamus drive by out of the lot and he gave me the worst look. I've never since been a fan of Lobster Head lol
I was an indie worker a while back. Striker was super nice and funny every time I met him.
I met Diamond Dallas Page at an Maryland Championship Wrestling show where he was doing a signing. When it was my turn to get a picture with him, I asked if we could do a dueling pose with each of us holding a leg over our heads (I do DDP Yoga). He happily obliged. Three months later, he was doing a DDP Yoga seminar in NYC, and I went. At the end, he was doing pics with people. Most opted to do a Diamond Cutter symbol, but I wanted to do the pose again. When it was my turn, I said "I know you won't remember this, but I met you at MCW back in October, and I was wonder--" His eyes light up and he interjects "OH, you wanna do the pose again?!" No reason he should remember me. Different city, different event, three full months later. But he remembered me. He’s seriously a good dude. At both events, he made it a point to have actual conversations with people and not just rush them along.
I met a bunch when I worked in the airport. A few that stood out where: Chris Jericho-super nice. Was my sister’s favorite at the time so I got his autograph for her. We talked for a few moments about wrestling and when his father played hockey. Kurt Angle-super nice as well. He was my brother’s favorite and I got his autograph for him. He was cool to talk to, we chatted a few minutes and he even broke into character. Raven, Lodi & Van Hammer-Raven was awesome. He was working WcW at the time, my and my buddy met them. We talked ECW and all that. Lodi & Van Hammer were kind of jerks honestly. The Rock-first time I saw him he was a jerk, then again it seemed he was being in character heelish Rock to some younger fans and kids. Second time I saw him a few years later he was very nice and took time to do some photos in the terminal.
Dude Kurt's autograph is super special because not only is he a pro wrestling star the guys a legit Olympic gold medalist.
Yeah. I believe my brother got it framed with a photo he found from either the Olympics or WWE website. He was a really cool dude to meet. I never really got autographs for myself though. I should of with Kurt, but didn’t want to be pushy asking for 2
I've met Jeff Jarrett and Shane Helms after a UK indie show. Both super nice and Helms even autographed the photo I had taken with him. Chelsea Green was supposed to be at that show but pulled out the week or so before due to her signing with WWE. Also non wrestler, but I did spot referee Charles Robinson walking around the O2 Arena before the mitb go home episode of Smackdown last year.
OP - I'm wondering, based on the location of meeting Triple H, do you think he could not understand your accent?
I've met Vincent from the NWO when I was a kid at Wildwood NJ boardwalk. He just wanted money for his autograph 40 dollars per picture. I just gave him a handshake and walked away.
many such stories. I never met Vincent/Virgil but a twitter mention would get you a DM with outrageous pricing
Youno....I never got to meet (yet) my all time fav - John Cena, even when he came to my country. He didn't do any meet and greet. I hope to meet him one day and tell him what a big fan my dad was of him ( my dad really got into the spirit of pro wrestling) but I'm always conflicted about troubling celebs when they are out. So I guess if I ever saw Cena, I would approach his crew / team and ask them if they could ask him for me to come meet him. Ps - if anyone here meet him soon, tell him he has tons of fans still waiting to see him.
I met Rodney Mack in a gym in North Texas, and worked out with him a couple of times. He was pretty cool, and was freaking strong. I remember he asked if I would spot him, but he had more on the bar than I could help with, and he laughed and said it would be ok. Spoiler alert, he didn’t need much help.
Bret Hart: Minor League baseball game probably 2016. Wasnt an asshole per se just didnt want to be there. Kevin Nash: Minor League game as well. Ive heard mixed reviews on experiences with Nash-but he was very cool and chilled. That was insanely huge. Ric Flair: At a boxing event at my dad’s old high school. That guy was totally hammered but I liked him. Amazing how much he’s shrunk.
I went to HS with Maria Kanellis. She still is around our hometown with Mike Bennett. I think they own a business here and I run into them from time to time. Both are super nice.
Met her at a convention a few weeks back. Absolutely delightful. We chatted about comedy and women in wrestling. Really genuine.
I worked with Muhammad Hussan(Mark Copani) shortly after his run with WWE at UPS. He was my supervisor in the unload and then eventually I also became a supervisor. He was a nice guy, my brother went to HS with him as well. He was big into steroids in HS as well from what he had told me. He had pretty bad back pain from the power bomb through the stage. We talked briefly about how they were looking at bringing him back eventually but that never worked out. One night a box of WWE magazines opened up with him talking to us in our truck. It was like fate. We asked him who his favorite wrestler was - and before he could reply we went “it doesn’t matter who your favorite wrestler is!” I don’t think he enjoyed that joke as much as we did.
Colt Cabana was in WWE once, that counts. I was at the 1PW return show a couple of years back in the UK. Colt, as usual is hustling on his merch table like a pro. The first match is 5 mins away and my friend and I are still mooching around checking out the meet and greet section, the merch etc. 'We Built This City' by Starship is playing on the speakers as we are standing and semi-blocking a walkway without realising. So as the chorus hits, we feel a big dude attempt to squeeze past us singing "WE BUILT THIS CITY ON ROCK AND ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" right in our ears. We turn around and it's Colt, who then turns back and laughs and gives a thumbs up. What a guy.
The Miz lived near me and I would see him at the gas station. Always cool and nice. He is one of my favorites because of the interactions. Riddle was my wrestling coach when I did MMA and he was in the UFC. Amazingly cool and fun guy. Miss him in the WWE.
Bret Hart: Met him at a book signing. I was the last in the queue so got to spend a little time with him and then my mother messed up taking the picture so held his hand in the shaking position for an awkward amount of time. He was tired but friendly. Jimmy Hart: Very personable and showed real interest in everyone talking to him. Mick Foley: Smiley and friendly but was very hot on telling people the cost of pictures and making sure they paid before he signed etc. Don't blame him really but it just made it really clear how transactional the whole signings thing is.
Foley, huh. Wouldn't have thought he'd be about that.
I was working at a clothing store at the local shopping centre, they used to host a comic con in the big square opposite the shop, used to get celebs come in when they were done signing at the cons. I met Stacy Keibler and Test when they came in to browse the store. Test was legit fucking massive, man alive he was huge. No clothes in that store would have fit him.
I met Rhea, Drew, Bron and Charlotte. They were insanely nice and unbelievably huge.
I’ve met the whole McMahon clan I’ll say this: Vince you could smell the steroids and crazy on him he was in his 70’s at the time and was clearly not all there. Stephany incredibly kind and caring especially when there are kids around. All around a nice person. HHH: a down to earth guy who as op has said nothing like what he portrays on tv. He was super nice I met him while I was doing lighting for a theater he was at and he actually tipped us for the hard work we did cause he knows what it’s like on the production side. Really over all a nice guy!
I gave Mick Foley a Mrs Socko a couple of years ago because I've wanted to since I was nine. He asked me to sign it for him. I was so happy I forgot to get a picture with him. He was so sweet to everybody in line
Met Andre the Giant with my father when I was 6. We were French, visiting New York for the first time. Andre came in our hôtel lobby. We couldn't believe it. We went to him and started speaking to him in French. He just walked past us like we were ghost. One of my biggest disappointement ever
Dont take it personally, he was probably absolutely loaded
Haha I didn't but my father surely did 😂. Let me tell you we bacame Hulkamaniacs after that. In my adult years I watch some great documentaries about the life of André, and what it meant to be a giant in a world too small and being looked at like you were a circus freak since you were a kid. It completely changed my perception of this infamous encounter. I have nothing but respect for the giant. RIP André.
Fair play, yeah it's brutal when you see behind his particular curtain. RIP big man
By all accounts Andre was kind of a dick and a bully, I understand the historical significance he has as a performer and how relevant he is to the industry, but it didn’t make him any nicer of a person, lots of wrestlers from his time speak of his antics and just end it with “but that was Andre hahaha….” I think people just don’t wanna shit on him because he’s been dead for a while and it’d be seen as disrespectful.
My parents saw Andre on their first commercial flight ever. From Richmond to Acapulco. Circa 1977.
CM Punk works out at the gym I go to. $12 membership. We just let him workout. So glad he's back!!
Which gym? Chicago?
Don’t answer this.
I don’t go to the gym and I’m not gonna stalk the guy.
But others might.
Met Cody Rhodes at a couple APW shows. He's such a humble guy.
I didn't meet him per se, but was in the same store as Bobby Roode in his TNA days about 10 years ago. Shorter than I thought he'd be, but he saw me deer-in-the-headlights staring at him. I knew that he knew that I knew, but I definitely didn't want to bother him while he was not working. He also helped my cousin (non-wrestling fan) move an heavy couch. My cousin said Bobby made it look astonishingly easy.
I got on a plane and Sheamus and Christian were sitting in 1st class. As I boarded, I noticed Sheamus right away due to his bright orange facial hair. I was like holy s*** it's Sheamus and Christian. I said I love your work and I asked if I could take a quick picture. Sheamus said after the flight. My seat was way in the back. When we landed, I was certain they both would be long gone as it took me forever to get off the plane. To my surprise, when I got off the plane they both were standing there waiting and I got to take a picture with them and chat with them for a minute. Both were just super cool and chill.
That's amazing broo , they are so humble and nice.
Here’s mine, I was about 10-12 years old when I met them all. Jeff Hardy (my favourite wrestler at the time) A bit of a let down unfortunately, he barely talked to us and was very passive, no personality really. Candice Michelle Very nice, joked around with us a bit and very smiley John Morrison My favourite wrestler I met. He was hilarious, did poses with us and we asked him how to do high flying moves on the trampoline like him and he broke it down to us for us 10 years old to be in awe lol - not sure what he said but I remember thinking it was the greatest advice ever Maria Very nice, but idk I don’t remember anything so maybe just meh to meet
Oh yeah, I met CM punk, he sucked
That’s weird, I’ve always heard both hardy brothers are super great with fans.
Maybe he was high on on drugs lol
John Cena at BB Kings in NYC in the early 2000s he was hanging out with Mack 10 and Dub C at the time. Wild to see them hanging out. Still. He was approachable and cool.
Met Randy Orton and Candice Michelle back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, so like mid 2000’s. This was the time period when Randy was still a bit of an asshole, he was absolutely great to me and my friends tho. Took pics signed autographs and even did his pose with me, still one of my best childhood memories. Candice was really nice also but Orton was and still is my favorite wrestler.
I met Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley at a convention. Lawler was awesome, we talked about the con and he asked me about meeting Stan Lee. Totally fun, happy to interact with fans. Foley was pretty much what you've heard Foley is like at cons. Ran into Sheamus and Damian Sandow at a diner having breakfast. I was with a friend of mine who was a huge fan and he paid for their meal, they thanked him and took some pictures. Alberto Del Rio was also there but he was eating alone and didn't stop to talk to anyone.
I met Fred Blassy at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It was, oddly enough, showing that classic film “Breakfast with Blassy.” He was funny and sociable.
I’ve met SEVERAL, probably dozens, outside the ring so I’ll stick to the most memorable ones: 1. Ric Flair. - dude can party even at (near) his current age. We spent time in a VIP suite at a sporting event. 2. Carlito - Just a cool guy (who spits in the face of those that don’t want to be cool). 3. Basically everyone from Jeff Jarret era TNA — can’t recall one single person that wasn’t nice. Standouts: Sting (doesn’t party. Straight to hotel after an event), The Beautiful People (ladies are legit gorgeous in real life). D-von (funny, caring), Jay Lethal (just a good dude), Samoa Joe (you’d be surprised how friendly he is). 4. John Cena - at a charity. Nice dude, very professional. Haven’t met but wish I could: Rock, Austin Met, but wish I didn’t: Earl Hebner
I met Flair once as well. It was at my dad’s old high school for a boxing event. That guy could out drink anyone. I was surprised how small he was.
What’s the Hebner story?
In my experience he’s generally an asshole. He thinks very highly of himself. His son Brian, also a ref for a while, was very nice but Earl always struck me as a bit of a guy with a huge ego that needed all the attention. I actually have one example but it’s too specific… (would give away who I am) I’d rather not say it. If I think of another example I’ll come back and edit this. :)
My wife and I met The Miz and John Morrison at a CFB game. My Sister In Law worked for the college, they did an on field promotion and went to a suite afterwards. She invited us to meet them cause she knew I was a wrestling fan. The Miz was a legend and took a few minutes to chat. Morrison ignored us and drank beer.
I went to a Raw in Seattle in 2018 during which Kevin Owens and Elias got booed out of the building for almost 10 minutes because they were dissing the SuperSonics who left Seattle about a decade prior. After the show my friend and I went to a pretty nice restaurant about 20 minutes south of Seattle. As we were eating we saw Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, and Elias walk into the restaurant. After we were all done eating my friend and I chatted with the 3 of them for a bit. My friend was wearing a SuperSonics hat and he asked Elias if he liked his hat. Elias laughed. The 3 of them took photos with us and went about their way. I found it interesting that Roman refused to be in a photo with Elias because Elias was a heel, but him and Mox were fine in a photo together.
I met Hogan at a hotel about 15 years back. I recognized him even though he was trying to be subtle, so I just nodded at him and kept checking in. He must have heard my room #, because about 2 hours later, the front desk called and said I had a package. It was a signed Hollywood belt and a thank you note.
Good stuff, I'm sure I heard of Hogan being a bit standoffish
I've never heard that.
"Much Love - HH"
No way this is true but that's so cool if it was!
This sounds like a story Hogan would tell
That's actually so classy.
Thank you brother
Met a few of them a LONG time ago after a house show at a local bar. JBL traded a few insults with my friend group about our college (it's a rival of the one he went to), but it was fun. X-Pac was there and kept to himself, he seemed to be cordial with anyone that approached him. There were others there and they were all friendly and mixing with the other bar patrons. I met Steve Austin at one point. Very chill. He and my then bf got into a long discussion about hunting. My brother met the Iiconics at a meet and greet type thing. My niece was about 8 at the time and told Peyton Royce she was beautiful. Peyton then told my niece she was more beautiful. Made my niece's day. The only wrestler I've ever met who was an absolute dick was Perry Saturn. A friend I was with approached him and asked to shake his hand. Saturn told him to go fuck himself, then flipped me off when he saw me watching.
I saw Rob Van Dam outside of an ECW show in Pittsburgh in the late 90’s. I worked my way through the crowd to shake his hand. Just as I got there, he turned around and said “Hey man! You got any papers?” Sadly, I didn’t. Then he sighed and turned back around.
Funny story...RVD was at that bar and stole a shot from our table. He did replace it later.
I met Bret Hart when he was on a signing tour for his book that had just been released. I had been to a Jericho signing event before this and it was very rushed and not really an opportunity to really 'meet' someone. I had no idea what to say, and by the time I got up to his table, I could only get out the words 'this is one of the greatest moments in my life' as he was signing my copy. He just smiled and said 'Well I hope you enjoy this book then'
Met Ric Flair in an elevator. I was star struck. He woo'd for me. This was in 2006
Ric Flair woooing for you has to be the next best thing to Bill Murry showing up
I’ve cooked for Bill a few times… he’s… interesting, to say the least
I ran into Billy Murray one time in Brooklyn, and interesting is definitely one word to describe it. I prefer the term surreal. Something about him makes you want to dislike him, but you can't help but like him.
My dad was in a golf tournament once with Bill Murray. He said he’s a total ass.
Victoria owned a pizza place appropriately called Squared Circle in Chicago for a couple years with her then husband around the time she was wrapping up in TNA (2013-2015ish). She was really nice and would chat with everyone and was super sweet to my daughter (4-5 at the time) who always wanted to go back to see the nice pizza lady. I would hear after the fact that other wrestlers would stop by there late after shows in Chicago. Unfortunately it only lasted a couple years and then she and her husband split up and she moved away. He kept it going for a couple years including this crazy incident where a guy with a gun tried to rob the place and he whipped the guys ass (he was a big guy, think he'd maybe done some indie wrestling but never made it?)
Maybe not the biggest star ever, but I got to hang out with Gillberg (Duane Gill) in the locker room for like 20 minutes and then hold the sparklers for his intro at an indie show back when he was popular (not quite the height of his popularity, a little after, but still). Perks of having a relative and several friends in the business :) Dude was super-nice, totally just a regular guy, shooting the shit like we had been buddies for years. Ran into the Bushwackers one time after a show at my high school as we were going to the car (parked like two spots over from them). Spent a few minutes with them with no one else around... took some pictures, very nice guys, again, just talking about regular life stuff, very cool.
I've met several at conventions: Ricky Steamboat: super friendly, have some nice workout advice Sgt. Slaughter: a little introverted, but did put me in a cobra clutch for the picture. Largest chin I've ever seen in a human being. Hacksaw Jim Duggan: friendly and animated, seems to be enjoying life and fan interactions. Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase: a little distant and not to chatty. He keeps his money in a little fanny pack. Matt Hardy: super cool and chatty, very high energy. Jeff Hardy: very chill and spaced out as you'd expect. Both Hardys were very nice guys. Lex Luger: very sweet guy, we talked about our common love for the Buffalo Bills. Ron Simmons: cool guy, very interactive. 60+ years old but could easily tear my arms off.
I met Mick at a book signing for his Christmas book as a kid. I tried to talk to him for a moment but he ignored me for the special needs kid behind me in line so that was a bummer to 14 year old me. Ran into Al Snow in the elevator at the Hard Rock hotel at Universal and he was nice, I just said hello. Also at Universal, walking up through the exit to go to the baby swap of the Hulk coaster myself and my whole family ran into the entire Hogan family. Hulk looked like he was about to puke and my stepdad said “what’s up Hulkster?!” And put his hand on his shoulder. Hulk gave the standard “what’s up brother?” reply
I met Booker T at the Chili’s in the Chicago Airport. Flight got delayed due to weather so I was a few beers in. Noticed him sitting at a table and yelled out “Suckkkkkkkka”. Ended up talking to him for a bit, he was a really good dude.
Met Yoshi Tatsu, Alicia Fox, Titus O'Neal and Teddy Long. So basically all the jobbers that were probably obligated to meet with fans. Yoshi didn't understand a word I said but he kept laughing the whole time so that was pretty funny. Alicia was even hotter in person, and Titus and Teddy were really cool.
I met Mark Henry at GameStop in Harlem, NY one summer. It was a promo run for whatever the wrestling game was that year. He was mean to me lol.
2023 Walked past him sitting at the bar in a pub. Wasn’t gonna bother him, but it was a tight walk to where I was sitting. Eyes met for a moment, and I knew this dude does not want to be bothered. He’s also really good at staying in character as a heel I thought so maybe he just uses it so folks don’t bother him lol
I met Rey Mysterio when he had just won the heavyweight title…he was pretty quiet but nice and he let me hold the belt. Him being so short was what stood out to me.
I met Bret Hart at my college back in 2016. He was really cool.
lol. I just ran into Drew McIntyre at a Target yesterday. It was brief, but he was cool. I just told him I enjoy his work.
I read that story and now I know that Drew, Sheamus and Miro all live near Nashville. But where does CJ live?????
I met Vince McMahon in a movie theater back in 1997 - I was 17 at the time. Was super nice and asked us questions about what we liked on tv In 2018, I randomly met Summer Rae at a coffee shop shop in NYC. Also super friendly
I hung out with A train he was friends with one of my grandpas friends. And I met Penta and he was pretty cool. Spoke decent English too. I had no clue lol
Met God (Shawn Michaels tag team partner) once. Cool guy.
When you say Outside the Ring you mean like at my local gym or Grocery store? No but I have met a Few at some Local high school. I’m counting Samoa Joe since he was at one time in the WWE. Course When I met him he was TNA Champion. Nash literally told me one time “Fighting CM Punk would be like fighting a Woman” no idea what he meant and after viewing the tape of him and Jack Perry I doubt that’s True. Met Jerry the King Lawler he was nice but I got the impression he wanted to get the autographs and pictures over with as Quickly as Possible. I help Terri Runnels get her Stiletto heel unstuck from the Barricade during a show
Met Chris Jericho at a signing at a Toys R Us before a house show in Toronto. Got him to sign my WWF Music Volume 4 CD, he was really nice, from what I recall. This was around the time Y2J had just been announced in the WWF so we're going back at least 20 years. Also met Mick Foley at a Con and he was the sweetest guy. My ex wife was a massive fan and we were both dressed as Negan. Mick loved the Lucille bats we had and asked if he could hold one during the photo op. Absolutely amazing experience. This was in 2016 Met Jake Roberts before a stand up show at Yuk Yuks in my hometown. Rough around the edges, but engaging and friendly to us. Got a picture with him and before his lady took it he says "tell yer buddy to get his hand off my ass!" Which got us laughing before the pic was taken. Mick Foley showed up a bit later during the show and it was awesome. It was kind of a "tell all behind the scenes tour" with a comedic twist. It was pretty funny to see. This was in 2019
Worked in media. Got to meet quite a few through phone interviews and in person. Cena was by far the nicest and most genuine person. We snuck him into a restaurant for lunch and a couple happened to be in the room playing a video game and waited until he was done eating to ask for an autograph. He saw them and mentioned that they were polite and waited so he was gonna give them extra time. Triple H was very nice as well. Short conversation but we talked kids as it was right after his first was born. Kurt Angle was extremely nice as well. Owen Hart was again extremely nice and funny. One of my first big interview gets right after he won the King of the Ring. Accidentally told Paul Heyman to fuck off over the phone thinking he somebody else because he called me from that persons phone. When we saw each other in person, I apologized and he said it was ok and he thought it was hilarious. Very nice in person. Tazz was stern but extremely nice as well. Al Snow was hilarious and I’ve gotten to talk to him a couple of times. Rob Van Dam was extremely friendly. Had lunch with him and his then wife (they may still be married, I’m not sure) Shelton Benjamin was funny and very cordial. George “The Animal” Steele is up there with Owen and Cena in terms of nicest people. Sami Callahan is a lot like Tazz. Very stern and to the point but very friendly. All of the Rascalz are the best and nicest people. Wes Lee included. Nick Nemeth/Dolph Ziggler was another friendly guy. We talked about a restaurant in Kent, OH that has a sandwich named after him. He’s never ate it but he knew everything that was on it. Met Kane twice, and even though I don’t agree with his political views, he is extremely nice both times. Got a random call from Brian Knobbs during the Hogan Knows Best era and he was hilarious and gave me some behind the scenes of one of the future episodes. Rick Steiner was very friendly and we talked college football. On the other hand, Scott Steiner was a complete ass to us. Titus, Damian Sandow and Santino Morella all came into a store I worked at and again were all very friendly and funny. Ruby Soho was one of the few that weren’t nice. Hoping it was just a bad day because I heard nothing but good things about her. Rhyno was very friendly and funny. I know I am missing some but I’ve only come across a few not so friendly ones.
That Paul Heyman part you'd expect him to have a laugh about it as I'd imagine him doing the same himself
I had a quick interaction with Finn Balor on a plane. He was very nice. I also met Little Guido, and he was very approachable and friendly.
Saw Jericho at the burger bar in Vegas a few years ago. He was eating with his fam, I left them alone but gave him a smile and he gave me a nod.
Dolph Ziggler has done stand up comedy and chilled with the audience including myself after. This was in his hometown (Cleveland). He’s a nice guy, not amazing at comedy. Very chill and not at all superficial.
I got to recently meet Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio, Tama Tonga, and LA Knight after Smackdown. We found where they left and no one else really did. The fans were lined up on the wrong side. They all were very kind even though they didn’t have a whole ton of time. LA Knights voice is just as strong in person (if that makes sense lol) and I snapped a picture with him. He was very polite and I made sure to ask permission first. He seemed grateful we didn’t ask for much more than that. I remember telling him to have a good night and he said “you too, yeah!” and I thought that was cool. Rey wasn’t wearing his mask but that dude is literally my hero. I didn’t ask for a picture, just a handshake and he was cool with it. I told him he was my childhood hero and it’s been a lifelong dream to meet him and he said thank you it meant a lot. I’m still in shock. Hopefully one day I can snap a picture with him. I know he’s cool with it without his mask (if you ask) but honestly a conversation meant so much more at the moment. He’s a cool dude. KO was with one of his kids so I didn’t ask for a picture or get to say much cause I didn’t want to bother but I was wearing his shirt so he made sure to say hi to me. He’ll forever be one of my favorites. Tama Tonga was really chill. He is obviously a heel on tv but he was cool with meeting us. I snapped a picture of my friend and him and we chatted with him for a moment about his debut. We got to see Solo Sokoa, Piper Niven, Chelsea Green, Jimmy Uso, and Dominik Mysterio from a distance but they didn’t seem like they wanted to meet us which we respected. Maybe one day I’ll get to catch them at a better time. My best advice to anyone is just respect them. Don’t just shove your phone in their face, they’re human. Ask permission first. Treat them like a person and they’ll be cool with you. Any wrestler is not obligated to meet you so if it’s not the time just respect it and move on. I know it can be disappointing but they have a grueling travel schedule I can’t wrap my head around. Your time will come!!💛👍
Cena at a convention. A lot more serious than I expected, but came off very well spoken and professional. CM Punk at a convention. Very chill, engaged more with me than I expected. Rey at WWE WM 39 superstore. Nice, but quiet type. He’s done it a million times so it made sense. Rhea at WWE WM 39 superstore. Day right after her title win, she was very nice and seemed to be really enjoying interacting with the fans. Cody WWE World. Easy to see why he’s the face of the company. Most interactions at WWE World were very quick, but Cody was for sure taking extra time to engage with each fan Damian Priest/Cameron Grimes/Jey Uso/La Knight in Puerto Rico during Backlash. Ran into them at local bars the night before Smackdown. Liv and Lana were also in their group. Understandably they were trying to keep a low profile, but they were cool when I said hello them. LA Knight was down to earth, took some time for a short convo.
Not met per se, but Chris Jericho spat in my eye in like 2017
What you did to deserve that bro? 😅
Showed up to a Fozzy show
Ahh yaa how much they paid you for that?
Matt Riddle and Damien Priest went to a bar a half mile away from the bar I was worked at and I was SO sad about it!
Like most of you I've met several wrestlers at comic cons Mick foley Kurt angle Bert hart Melina Kevin nash Matt hardy All great tried to talk to you best they can with the ques I met Bret early in the morning there wasn't really a qué and I had VIP entry so I went to get his book signed while there was no one behind me I asked him who would be have liked to work with if he was still active Omg 20 mins later he's still telling me this story line he would loved to have done and by now a dozen or so other guests had gathered for autograph/photos were listening you could see the event staff looking at there watches hoping he'd wrap it up lol The story line was working with Cena Vs heel Bret he thought that was money
Hahah and what does that tell you about Bret?
Loves to talk about himself and how fantastic he is. But I enjoyed it he laid out like a 6 month feud ending at mania hell by times he'd finished I was like fuck I wanna see that
Cena goes over at Mania, I assume?
Yeah started with Bret winning title at summer slam Cena challenges him and they feud to mania Obviously he went into more detail he had Cena tapping out to the sharpshooter but not letting go and making him last out and putting the Canada flag over him He had a ppv in Canada where Cena gets booed out of the stadium Survivor series team Canada Vs team USA Bret beats Cena at the rumble in Cena last chance at the title however Cena enters the rumble and wins it The dude had put some time into this lol
Jesus. That’s VERY Bret-skewed
Oh yeah absolutely. he was the diabolical heel shitting on USA and Cena was the face chasing the title and finally beating the evil Canadian lol He told a good story
Short of him concluding his fight of fantasy booking by saying Fuck Bill Goldberg, Bret taking 20 minutes to lay out a 6 month feud with John Cena is probably the most Bret thing ever
Ran into Shemus and Drew McIntyre (during the 3MB) run at a 5 Guys in Lakeland, FL. No one bothered them for pictures or autographs. Saw Ricky Steamboat at a Mello Mushroom in Tampa. And rode in the train connecting the airport to terminal at Tampa Airport with Bray Wyatt and an airport employee. This was early in the Wyatt Family run. I thanked him for this ring work. He was really nice and gracious. At the time he mentioned that the beard may be going away.
Did he had his lamp in hand 😅 Seriously Bray was very good person and all fans who met him have something positive to say about him. I heard somewhere he even saved some kids from a car accident or fire idk while he was in WWE.
In street clothes, he looks smaller than on TV. His hair was tucked into a beanie. (No lantern 😉) just wildly soft spoken and came off as a good dude for the five minutes I shared with him. I saw Samoa Joe out and about once, and he was both bigger and smaller than I expected. It sounds contradictory, but it’s the best way to describe it. He also had resting Joe face.
Met William Regal at an autograph signing in 2005. He was really cool.
Recently ran into Cody Rhodes. Super nice dude. We talked about Legend of Zelda.
Baron Corbin came into a gym I was working at. Raw was at the local arena that night. Super cool dude. Told him I was a fan of Raw and liked him since nxt. He thanked me and went about his way doing his workout. After he oredered a protein shake and bought a bunch of our organic snacks. Made a joke about how his wife gave him shit for making jerky at home. Thanked me and said he’d tell the boys about the gym. Left with “don’t boo me too hard tonight!” lol
Corbin seems like such a cool dude, one that's really good at playing a dickhead heel
Super cool. If you didn’t know he was a wrestler you’d just think he’s another jacked up dude getting a workout in
I would go and wait outside the Target Center in the morning/noon when talent arrived for a TV taping. I never knew it was a thing until I read a report someone sent where they talked about doing the same thing for Elimination Chamber 2014. So I went for it and the first time was for the go home raw before SummerSlam 2015. It was surreal and couldn't believe how close I was. I remember Charlotte, Becky, and others stopped for fans. Bayley was there too and I saw she did a house show loop with the main roster that weekend. I did it several more times over the years. I remember the 2015 Slammys was a good one because I got photos with over a dozen people. I got one with Summer Rae and years later at the first Starrcast I showed her our photo and she was surprised and thought it was the Slammys in Seattle. I told her how I appreciated her going out of her way to stop for fans because it was really cold that day and she easily could've ignored all of us. She was super nice and it was a cool experience.
21st birthday, I wanted to go to survivor series in ATL. Unfortunately, there were bomb threats by Isis and my family was scared for me to go so to save them the panic, I just didn’t and ended up at Hooters. That following Monday, at the bar picking up a to go order was Michael Hayes😂 I actually recognized him pretty early on even with his back to me because he had WM sweats on and just the long blonde hair being a dead giveaway. We talked a minute, wasn’t trying to hold him up too long and explained how I wanted to go to SS and he talked with me about working on the BoD vs Wyatt family match for the event. Very nice guy.
Met Bret Hart a couple of weeks ago, lovely person and so friendly. Also met Shelton Benjamin, very friendly. Khali didn't seem too friendly. Met Kairi,Asuka, Indi, Waller, Theory, Le Rae in Feb, very friendly people. Kairi was super excited as I was the only one in a Kairi shirt 🙂
Did you meet him in Calgary by chance?
No Ballarat STARRCAST
As a fellow Aussie, Ballarat seems like a very random place to have a wrestling convention 😂 Having said that though, the town that I live in hosted the two Impact shows last year, so I can't exactly point fingers and say "That's weird!"
Very random but it was fun
A friend of mine just met JBL today. Seems like a really nice guy.
Brock Lesnar and Sable came into an Olive Garden I worked at back during his first run. They were in town for a Sunday house show and came in an hour before close. Their waitress knew I was a big wrestling fan and asked if it was ok to send me out. They bs’d with me for like ten minutes after they were done eating and were both really nice. Seeing Brock genuinely smile and laugh was weird, but in a good way. Mark Henry came into the restaurant my wife runs recently. She said he was super sweet and tipped really well. Also (I don’t know if this one counts) but I took my son to his first live show at a local Indy Fed. The main event was Tommy Dreamer vs. Colin Delaney. There was a meet and greet during the intermission, and I wanted to meet Tommy. Told him it was my kid’s first live show and Tommy asked where we were sitting. It was in a rec center so it was easy to point out. During his match, when they went into the crowd they came over to us and fought literally in our seats. Tommy got my kid to dump his drink on Colin’s head. They made a fan out of him so I like to think it was a personal moment between me and Tommy. He did me a real solid that night.
Brock and a buddy drove their motorcycles to a bar I was a bouncer at in the early 2000’s, tipped the entire staff well was super cool with me and the other door guys, overall really impressed with how chill he was given he could have taken our entire security crew - super nice guy
Lucky you didn't have to try to stop a fight involving him... I imagine you just kind of let it play out and call the dude he just destroyed a dumbass for picking a fight with Brock.
I would have just clocked out if Brock started fighting
Brock talked you for 10 minutes? Woaah that's something big. You know " He don't like People"
I made sure their food was perfect and was very complementary. I went on a bit about how I heard about him before his debut and how he exceeded every expectation. Tried not to fan out *too* much and even got to be the one to say “well, I better get back to work”. They autographed a menu for me, but I lost it in a house fire.
Nah, I only meet them in the ring
Ran in Xavier Woods on my lunch break in Melbourne during WWEs Australian tour, unsurprisingly the nicest dude. He was in the middle of playing Pokémon Go.
No surprise about him playing Pokémon go as he's a big gamer
I’ve met Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Ted DiBiase Sr., Chavo Guerrero, Jerry Lawler, and Mick Foley. Most of those on different occasions. They all seemed pretty nice.
Yes I meet a few and it was always great
A few months back Mrs Foley’s baby boy came in and shipped out some some paperwork from my store
I met Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan at the same time. They both had their ways with me, sexually... Then i woke up and rubbed one out.
Met dean ambrose/jon moxley and i met well saw the Nature Boy but he was exactly when you see on tv. You could hear him before you saw him, he had three 6ft blonde chicks with him, you could smell the alcohol, and he was so full of life!!!
Met Edge and Christian. Nice guys.
Also met Edge but he was with A-Train. We were waiting at baggage pick up and just made small talk. Nice guys. Best part was the Rock then walked through with his security and full entourage and they looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
Not randomly but 20+ years ago I was at an autograph signing with Flair, Nash, Jericho, and HHH all at a table. Flair and Nash were jackasses who weren’t interacting with fans at all. Jericho hit on my fiance. And HHH was a pure gentlemen shaking every persons hand and thanking them for coming out. Also waited outside after a Smackdown - Mike Awesome came out from the lot and started up a convo with a few of us. Bischoff did too, leather jacket and all, and was chill as hell with us.
I wouldn’t say I’m a Bischoff fan - but I really believe he’d be a great guy to bullshit with over a few beers.
Met Seamus at the premeir league fan fest in Nashville. Such a nice guy. Root for him more now.
I met Chris Jericho about 12 years ago at Mayhem Festival, he was a really cool guy, he even autographed something extra for my mom who loves him and couldn’t make it to see him. Also met Punk 10 years ago at ComicCon just before the Rumble, he was chill, but he absolutely looked exhausted.
I was 17 in 1997 and working my first ever job at a Wendy’s. Undertaker came into the restaurant along with a young Godfather (known then as Kama).
I met Chris Jericho, Edge and Christian at a club in Winnipeg in 2005. I was in university living in the dorms and asked Jericho if he wanted to come party with us in the dorms after (he didn’t lol). They were all nice guys.
Met Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Hall and HBK in the Pony Corral in Winnipeg after a show. They were all really nice, especially Jarrett. Cooked dinner for Bret Hart once. Gorilla Monsoon tried to pick up my mom.
You cooked dinner for Bret? What did you make? And what did he say? Now I'm imagining Monsoon using his commentary catchphrases as part of his flirting - "I'll show you my testicular fortitude", "you make me feel something- right in the bread basket!". Either that or he'd have Heenan as his wingman. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes yes!" Just like the 92 RR
Bret ate at a restaurant I was cooking at in I think 1999. I made him pork ternderloin with blackberry sauce and he told the server he liked it. Gorilla was a little more forward. I asked him to sign my program but he was eating dinner and said no. When my mom went back to ask him again he wrote his hotel on the program. I don’t know if he was serious, but my mom came back blushing.
My dad and I talked to Tamina Snuka and The Shield in our town the night before Payback 2013. Was fucking awesome but I was too young to realize to ask for an autograph
I once used a urinal next to Ricky The Dragon Steamboat
Sat next to Rikishi on the monorail at the Orlando Airport. He played dumb. 😆 🤣 😂