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Pro's from the Palace (#45) - Quest: Meeting Rey Mysterio & more stuff |
» Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
» On Saturday, September 3, 2005 at 1:25 AM EST
When you are fortunate enough to find a hobby you have a passion for, you stick with it. I have been fortunate to find "the quest." The quest, in no short of terms, is my family's endeavour to meet as many superstars from the world of pro wrestling as we can. It has grown in intensity over the year plus length we have been doing this, and it continues to grow again tonight, as we were in Massapequa, Long Island, New York at NEW YORK SPORTS WORKS in the Westfield Sunrise Mall (NewYorkSportsWorksInc.com) for the promotional appearance of the Smackdown cruiserweight, and luchadore supreme, Rey Mysterio.
This was my crew's second time to meet Rey, and for two members of my crew, their first, because unfortunately, when Rey came around last time, my smallest son Jonathan was in the hospital. So, this one has some importance for me, as Jonathan recognizes Rey each time he sees him on television, and Rey was cordial enough last time out to make a personalized autograph promotional picture out to Jonathan as a token of goodwill toward his recovery at that time.
The crowd, for a Labor Day Holiday Weekend, was impressive, to say the least. Mysterio has a tremendous following, as seen by the hordes of people, and little ones at that, clamoring for a glimpse of the masked superstar as he arrived for business. He wore his typical black mask that he seems to wear on non-combat related activities, and my wife made it a point to notice how impressive Rey was in stature, even though Rey is one of the smallest combatants in World Wrestling Entertainment.
We were first up for the signing, thanks in large part to my family's consistent desire to be insane and arrive 3 plus hours prior the signing start time. It actually turned out to be more like 3 1/2 hours, as he was 30 minutes late due to unforseen circumstances, but by Mysterio's demeanor, he appeared to be in fine spirits, and ready for business, as he had a vigorous high-five exchange with Jonathan, which I thought was absolutely tremendous. He shook my big guy Nicholas' hand, and took the time to recognize my wife and I very cordially. I expressed good luck to him in his upcoming cage match with Eddie, to which he appeared to be geniunely thankful for the support. It's still a quick experience, but Rey really appeared to be thankful toward the response he got from my crew and I for coming out and supporting the product and the superstars.
We're so accustomed to these experiences being so quick that I took the Smackdown tag belt I had Rey sign before he actually signed it. We had a good laugh at the time, and he signed the belt in nice bright gold ink. A positive experience, in every facet, and every light of the gold ink on that title belt. We also, well, actually, I was greedy, and bought the Limited Edition Red, White, & Blue Mysterio action figure and had him sign it, which he did in the gold sharpie. How sharp does that look, ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not, it is goregous sitting there on my wall. Hello, ebay? I doubt that, seriously
Anyway, I keep saying this like a broken record, but I don't care. These talents from WWE, they may be hamstrung in certain aspects of the product from dealing with the McMahon clan, but they certainly understand and respect the fact that their bread is collectively buttered by people like us, you, me, and all the people reading these internet sites checking out the content about their favorite superstars. I can vouch for anyone interested that Rey Mysterio is a must see. A must meet, for any fan. No question about it.
In closing, I have to continue to thank Alex, Mike, and the rest of the boys at New York Sports Works for continuing to be absolute gentlemen to my wife, my kids, and me throughout all of the experiences we have had meeting these superstars. Our total continues to increase, to approximately 22 superstars, and we have come out of each and every one of them with a very positive, very fulfilling and enjoyable experience. Anyone on the Nassau/Suffolk county border on Long Island needs to check them out in the Westfield Sunrise Mall, or go to their website at NewYorkSportsWorksInc.com. Next one up for them is on September 23rd, when MNM diva Melina and the Legend Killer, Randy Orton stop by for some hijinks and mischief. I am sure Alex will have a fresh supply of Red Bull for the Legend Killer, that's a lock.
If anyone is interested in learning more about my quest, please drop me a line. My email is at the bottom of this piece. I'll put it in the list of stars I have met. It has become extensive.
Now, on to some other thoughts and snippets to think about....
Watched Smackdown, portions of it, for the first time in almost eight weeks. Orton vs. Mysterio is going to be excellent from a wrestling perspective. I look forward to seeing those matches. I only hope the storyline surrounding it is not as obscene as the previous one involving Eddie Guerrero.
I understand that the network is forcing WWE to move to friday, but if they think they are going to get ratings on friday nights, they're crazy. Pre-empted in Boston, New York, and Washington, say good night to Smackdown's ratings, even with a bullrope match and a Steel cage contest. The beginning of the end of the brand extension gets underway on September 9th.
Going to Ring Of Honor on September 17th. AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave, anything goes. Damn good and looking forward to seeing it. I'll talk about it more in another column, and in the indy boards here at WV.
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Masters. Oh, how the icons have fallen.
Speaking of fallen, what ever happened to the push of Shelton Benjamin? Since his loss to Carlito, has he had one victory? Yes, his performance against Kurt Angle was impressive, but he was an eight month reigning Intercontinental champion, and now, what is he? Jobber central?
Curious. Why is it you have talents like Kid Kash and CM Punk languishing in developmental territories, yet you're bringing up guys like this Ken Kennedy and Cade & Murdoch to totally bore up the product even further. How much can be taught in OVW or DSW to guys that have been around the block like Kash and Punk? They're household independent names that probably would bring in some ratings boosts that are DESPERATELY needed.
I thought the draft would provide some new matchups. It seems to be working on Smackdown with Batista's next opponent, and the same can be said for the eventual next opponent for Rey Mysterio. But, come on, new vein for his character not withstanding, how many more times do we need to see John Cena vs. Kurt Angle?
Can someone explain to me one thing? Why hold an autograph session on a WEDNESDAY night? I won't go in to specifics on this, yet. Email me if you are curious.
TNA continues to impress with pay per view matches. Sabu vs. Abyss, the 3 way dance for the X Division title, but, let's be honest when we say this. Rhino can't promo his way out of a paper bag. If they put the NWA World title on the man-beast, TNA may drop through the floor before they debut on Spike TV.
Speaking of Spike, WWE has to be eating its own hat having TNA commercials on its programming. But, maybe its the beginning of a new war zone mentality for the wrestling business. God knows we all need some competition, because the product with the big boys has gotten so stale.
Is Brian "Spanky" Kendrick going to be the next version of Frankie Kazarian for WWE? To languish on Velocity for a period of time before his head gets screwed on straight and he realizes this turn was a mistake for his career?
So they're going to tape UXW for a pay per view. I hope they know how to use the bleeper button for the amount of curses they're going to have to edit.
Here's a question for all of you. I am a wrestling action figure collector. I have close to 300 to 400 figures. I am desperately searching for one that I can't find. It's a John Cena figure with the mini-spinner US title. Ruthless Aggression Series 14. Anyone who finds it in the Long Island area, drop me an email.
How badly are they burying Orlando Jordan? It's true he probably was the worst United States champion on record, but, come on, it's really pathetic how they're destroying his reputation as a competitor.
Ok, that's it for now. Drop me a line if you'd like. Click here to do it.
Kimosabe, Sumo!?!?!?!?
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