It was Awesome
The End.
Ha ha OK a little more detail....Actually there is so much to tell I will have to split it into two posts, In this post I will try and stick to the WWE side of the experience. In the second post I will fill you in on New Orleans and the fabulous people I met.
Firstly this time I booked a package through WWE instead of piecemeal like I did last year. I'm not to sure how it compares price wise, but I only went for a silver package and I was really pleased with it. The hotel The Sheraton was fabulous, huge clean rooms, fantastic views over the Mississippi. I really couldn't of asked for more. And trust me I have stayed in more hotels then you have had hot dinners. Oh wait, I could of asked for more.... There was NO FREE WiFi (of whiffy as we call it in the UK)
View across the Mississippi from my hotel at night
My package included tickets for Hall Of Fame, WrestleMania, 2 Axxess sessions and Raw on the Monday. At each and every event I was sat next to people who had booked the Gold package. Which leads me to conclude the Gold package is really not worth the extra money.
If you think about it, the whole concept of attending a WWE event is strange. You buy tickets for an event when you have no idea who will be staring in the show. You are buying in blind faith that it will be worth the money and effort of attending. On this occasion, they really didn't disappoint.
The truth is WWE really know how to put on a show. From the moment you step off the plane you are surrounded by all things Wrestlemania, it's exciting to see posters, bill boards and even your hotel room keys all Wrestlemaniaized (new word for you) There are caravans selling merch on street corners, every other person is wearing a Daniel Bryan t-shirt and you can wander down to the Megastore which they have set up to buy EVERYTHING WWE. It's cool!
Axxess - is a fantastic opportunity to meet with your favourite SuperStars, and to look round the amazing displays they have from historic moments in wrestling history. There are games to play, things to see... you will never be bored at Axxess unless you are standing in line to meet one of your heroes. The truth is the signing sessions can be a bit hit and miss. You are never told in advance who will signing at which station, so you will often see people running round trying to make sure they the join right queue. And even if you do join the right one, there is no guarantee you will get to meet the person you are queueing for, as each session lasts 2 hours and popular Super Stars can have very very long queues (were very comfy shoes.) I queued for nearly 2 hours to meet Cesaro only for him to change with Christian just 4 people ahead of me... frustrating!! You do get megastars like Dolph Ziggler, who refused to leave until everyone had been seen. What a bloody nice guy!!! You also get to meet cool people to chat to in the queues, which is great.
Once you do get next to the wrestlers, over 90% of them are just lovely and friendly and it's a great experience. Be prepared though, that sometimes meeting your heroes can leave a sore taste in your mouth if they turn out to be assholes.
Dolph Ziggler is not and asshole
Other things to say about Axxess is with the lower levels of the package you get general admission Axxess tickets, when you choose them you don't know who will be signing on which day. So its pot luck. And even when they announce the schedule, they rarely stick to it. You have been warned.
For some of the "top" guys you have to buy a VIP ticket. These are expensive and in my opinion not really worth the money unless it's someone you have been desperate to meet. You get 30 seconds with them at most. A quick handshake, Autograph & Photo and then your time is up.
Hall Of Fame - I don't have much to say about Hall Of Fame, personally I was pleased with this years inductees.
Lots of people get dressed up for the event, just to make it a little more fun. I wore head to toe Jericho for it!
Mr T's speech left me speechless. And the highlight for me was Kane, both when he interrupted Mr T and his induction speech for Paul Bearer. I thought he was class.
Jericho Dress
WrestleMania - The Big One.... not just any WrestleMania but WrestleMania XXX!!!
Photo of the Silver Dome
Wow what a show! From start to finish I loved every second of it. I won't talk you through every match, as I'm sure you have your own opinions about it all. but highlights for me are: Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock in the ring at the start. Cesaro's win, Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan's title win. It sounds silly, but stood there with the confetti coming down around us I felt like a little part of history. (I took a handful of it home)
The end of the streak, was a huge shock too! But I'm of the opinion, that if it was cool with Undertaker, then it's cool with me. I did see grown men cry when it happened and there were people who walked out.......
Finally... you still with me?
Raw - Over the last few years it has become accepted that the Raw after WrestleMania is nearly as good as Mania itself! If you ever go to WrestleMania you must do Raw as well in my opinion.
With so many European fans there, there is lots of chanting. Last year in New Jersey this hit fever pitch. It seems WWE have caught on to this as this years Raw felt like a homage to Europe. We had Cesaro, Wade Barretts long long long awaited return and Paige's debut where she won the Divas championship!! I did a lot of shouting that night.
Now in retrospect that episode of Raw will be forever remembered as The Ultimate Warriors last appearance, he came to the ring shook the ropes and made a hauntingly prophetical speech. He didn't look well to me that night. I even tweeted that he didn't. The next day Ultimate Warrior passed away. So very sad, after seeing him at the Hall Of Fame with his young children. RIP Warrior
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