THURSDAY, MARCH 30
12:00 PM EST: Chinese buffets are a gift from the gods. This place in particular had the best banana cream pudding that any of us had ever had. I want to go back just for the pudding. I know this is why you come to Wrestlezone; my banana cream pudding commentary.
4:00 PM EST: A huge update: I now have a rental car (thank you Trina, again) and access to my villa, which we will be using Sunday night for our massive WrestleMania viewing party. It’s very spacious with a private pool in the back, several large flatscreen TVs and a king size bed I’m probably never going to use this week. Things are starting to look up…
7:00 PM EST: I was unfortunately unable to attend the Thursday afternoon WrestlePro show to support several of my friends who were on the card, due to some unforeseen travel circumstances and, admittedly some downright terrible communication. My apologies. I’ve heard nothing but excellent things about the show, and you should absolutely support the WrestlePro brand if you have the opportunity.
10:00 PM EST: Thanks to some amazing friends behind the scenes I was able to score a couple of VIP tickets to WaleMania III, which lived up to its name as the most insane party of WrestleMania week. WZ’s Nick Hausman was also in attendance, and even made it up on stage with his podcast partner Eric Bischoff, who was a part of a stacked Q&A panel that also included Dave Meltzer, Bruce Prichard and Jim Ross. Others including Will Ospreay, Moose, MVP and Justin Roberts alternated in and out of the panel as they were available. There was a funny moment where the panel was asked who their favorite current act in WWE was; Prichard kicked things off with Bray Wyatt to a good reaction, but Bischoff got some hilariously insane heat by saying Dolph Ziggler. Meltzer and JR turned the crowd back around by putting over AJ Styles, as you would expect.
I was very thankful that for the first half of the night, the upper balcony area was sectioned off for people with certain levels of access. As someone with random bouts of social anxiety, having a slightly less crowded area to go and have a few drinks was a god-send. Plus, I got to meet the lovely Noelle Foley who was guest bartending on the balcony, and catch up with an old buddy in Frank the Clown, who has become the most hated man on the internet since the last time I saw him. Despite social media jealousy and what I can only assume are misconceptions, he’s still a genuinely nice guy who’s treated me with nothing but respect and friendliness in all the years we’ve run into each other.
The backstage area was a whole different universe. I roamed in and out throughout the night, as it was easily over 100 degrees in a jam-packed hallway, but it was an honor to meet and interact with so many people I’ve respected and admired over the years. Getting to shake Konnan’s hand and thank him for the 20+ years I’ve been watching his career was a cool moment for me. Others there included Mark Henry, Big E and Xavier Woods of the New Day, Samoa Joe, Kelly Kelly, Rey Mysterio, Victoria, MVP, So Cal Val, John Morrison, Marty Scurll, Ethan Carter III, and so many others. It was also great getting to see Adam Cole again, as well as Chris Hero who I dearly miss at AAW shows in Chicago.
Overall WaleMania III definitely lived up to its own massively generated hype. If you’re a wrestling fan who likes loud music and dancing, and you want to experience a bit of that celebrity, downtown Orlando night club feel, you can’t do better than WaleMania. When I saw it was a crazy party, I mean the kind with half-naked women running around with bottles of alcohol on fire, as some of the biggest wrestlers in the world today, and some of the all-time greats share the air with a couple hundred hyped-up fans. Thank you so much to my friends behind the scenes for the hook-up, I will definitely be back next year.
