?Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com

On Monday, April 18, 2005 at 12:45 AM EST

No matter how much negativity comes out in the press on the internet about World Wrestling Entertainment, the response for meeting the superstars continues to grow to a level I don't think WWE has seen since the days of Stone Cold, the Rock, and Hulk Hogan. Today, again, was another prime example of that very fact in full execution. Let me elaborate.

We continued our family quest, (and if you need to know what that is, drop me an email, my link is at the bottom of this page), went out to our pals at New York Sports Works, Inc in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, (cheap plug = NewYorkSportsWorksinc.com) to meet two of the hottest talents on the Raw roster.

The Divalicious Candice Michelle and The World Heavyweight Champion.

The response. Unreal. I arrived for the marathon at 11am, when the signing was to begin at 2pm, and the line was almost out the doors of the mall at that time. By the time we left, around 2:30pm, the line nearly wrapped outside around Sears. And for anyone who is a mall veteran, that's one hell of a wrap around, to wrap around a Sears Department Store.

The champ and Candice arrived on time, dressed absolutely to the nines, Batista looking like his typical Evolution style self, with the shades, and the look that he has made famous on Raw the past few months. Candice, again, was absolutely stunning. Yep, I'll get my butt kicked for sure, but it's a toss up who is more attractive right now, Candice or Christy. Personally, I wouldn't mind, NEVERMIND! :) Let's not go there.

Now, prior to meeting the champ, and this was my first time meeting him, we had the opportunity to meet with a couple of young ladies who had met Batista previously, so they gave us the heads up as to how he would react to the onslaught of fans. Quiet, soft-spoken, and down to earth. And this precursor was totally different that some previous reports I had received about Batista not being tremendously receiving towards the fans during these sessions. How wrong I was and how right the ladies that were with us were. Almost suprisingly, almost too quiet. Like he is a little embarassed to be in the spotlight as he is. He met with all of my kids, which is basically all I ask when I go to these signings, let me say hello, recognize my kids, and I am a happy camper. I got a little extra added bonus to this deal, a chance to take a picture with the champ, which is currently proudly hanging up on my gallery of superstars in my room at home.

Candice, like the other ladies I have had the pleasure, was extremely outgoing, and very receptive to everyone who approached. I didn't quite know what to say to her, as she is by no means in a way, a prepared competitor for WWE, but her abilities elsewhere would probably make her a very marketable commodity for WWE and specifically for Raw in the future. She also seemed to understand that the majority of the buzz today was for the World Champion, and she seemed to have the professionalism to be able to take a slight back seat to Batista, without appearing to have her ego bruised. That is impressive, in its own right, as Candice's resume is a powerful one, from checking out her website, and she would, more often than not, stand out in a crowd on her own.

No matter how soft spoken the Animal is, the champ has a following. And a big one at that. WWE has made the right decision giving the title to the Animal, and it's going to be very intriguing to see what he does with it. It will be interesting for anyone in the New York area to check him out on television later this morning, or on ESPN2 as well. I would suspect the soft spoken Batista we met today would be quickly replaced with a more vocal champion, ready to do the right thing for World Wrestling Entertainment.

If Batista comes your way, check him out. He is a towering individual, larger than life character, and he seems to have a heart and an understanding, like most of the stars of WWE do, that the power is in the hands of people like you and me, the fans of the product. Without us, WWE is toast. From what I have witnessed over the past two months. WWE is far from being burnt to a crisp.

As I wrap this up, a thank you needs to go out to the boys, Alex, Mike, and the rest of the boys at New York Sports Works. I can't tell you enough how much of a good establishment this place is. They have been nothing but outgoing to everyone who has approached them, and they have gone above, beyond, and through the fence for my family and I. I can't thank them enough. I hope anyone in the Long Island area who reads this will take the time to come out to the Mall come May 8th, when Torrie Wilson comes to sign autographs, along with the WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Paul London.

And that, should make a colleague of mine at Wrestleview, very jealous. Sorry Anne! :)

Time to go. Check out the store's website, NewYorkSportsWorksinc.com

And email me, if you'd like, Click here to drop me a line.

I read every email.

I respond to as many as I can.

See ya, KIMOSABE! SUMO!?!?!?!