The following editorial was written by Dominic DeAngelo and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Dominic’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @DominicDeAngelo.
Starrcast and All In weekend was an experience for everybody and every type of wrestling fan, journalist or performer. What was one of the best aspects?
Everybody got along.
That’s right, people were nice to each other. Just chock full of positive environments that didn’t suffer from cattle call diminishment. Any aspects of restlessness in lines were overshadowed by the buzzed excitement of people knowing that they were taking part in a big time event, a bigfoot sighting-like experience. It was something unlike anything any mark, smark, humanoid, slap dick or dirt sheet writer has encountered and that’s what made it stand out.
As someone who has been to conventions before (both of the comic book and pro wrestling nature), Starrcast had this element of uniqueness that made it stand out from your typical stand, snapshot and sign rhythm that many are used to. I don’t need to tell you that the universe of professional wrestling is a bizarre world and Cody, The Bucks and Conrad embraced every bit of it, all while filtering out bad apples and bad vibes. You had a mix of planned unique events and just wild random moments that wouldn’t occur under any normal setting. Here’s only 23 of the many expected and unexpected:
- Tony Schiavone singing Sinatra to serenade Conrad Thompson with “My Kind Of Clown”.
- The majority of Tony & Conrad’s past inside WHW storyline jokes getting paid off with appearances from Madusa, Tommy Young, The Barbarian & Scott Steiner.
- The ability to smoke cigars and mingle with newly crowned NWA Champion Cody Rhodes as he relishes in the moment of putting on one of the biggest landmark events in professional wrestling history.
- Witnessing “Hangman” Adam Page openly admit to murdering the “King Of Dong Style” Joey Ryan.
“You want to know the truth? I murdered @JoeyRyanOnline!” –@theAdamPage
– @DominicDeAngelohttps://t.co/MTC5MwGlgn pic.twitter.com/DOoJol0fgx
— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) August 31, 2018
- Jerry “The King” Lawler reflecting and giving inside info on his infamous feud with Andy Kaufman as Dutch Mantell & Bill Apter watch “Tony Clifton” crash the whole damn thing.
- Stone Cold E.T. talking smack to David Arquette and opening a can of whoop ass “Bad Boy” Joey Janela.
- Hanging out with Cody’s dog Pharaoh in the name of a good cause that’s Chicago PAWS (#HuskiesOfInstagram)
Pharaoh just received his gift bag from @PAWSChicago ???
Such a great organization. I can’t wait to do more stuff with them in the future! pic.twitter.com/cvUf92SQ2D
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 7, 2018
- Getting a hot dog or pulled pork cooked up by ODB herself for you to scarf down before you step in for a photo-op with a more physically fit and physically-talented human.
- Seeing Samuel Shaw showing off his other talent by drawing people.
- Witnessing candid moments like Gail Kim reuniting with longtime rival Awesome Kong
- Partake in an adult-themed beverage named after an appropriate wrestler counterpart. (In pure Dude Lebowski fashion, I got myself a “Nikita” white Russian).
Truly a highlight of my career was making the @Starrcast18 chalkboards. Just a taste of what you’ll find this weekend! pic.twitter.com/OrQevDLw07
— ? Sarah Joy Shockey ? (@sarahjoyshockey) August 30, 2018
- A panel of wrestlers being unmercifully roasted by stand-up comedians (and I do mean unmercifully) all in the name of Bruce Prichard (who loved every bit of it)
- Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope of The Insane Clown Posse ripping on an audience of 75+ while claiming other promotions have stolen their ideas and having one blitzed juggalo screaming “I f*ckin’ gathered, yo!”
- Another potential Juggalo stealing Jeff Jarrett’s guitar, him getting caught by Don West and Double J snuffing out any controversy by making peace with said (potential) Juggalo as Maffew of Botchamania fame orchestrates an impromptu chorus of Big Bossman theme singers.
- Getting to pick the brains of top pro wrestling journalists Wade Keller, Bruce Mitchell, Dave Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez regarding the current landscape of wrestling both from an independent, New Japan and WWE perspective
Okay, we are having our booking meeting for tomorrow's Four Star Summit. What do you want us to talk about? We have no gameplan yet. #Starrcast #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/JFlouZb2df
— Wade Keller (@thewadekeller) August 31, 2018
- Cut a WCW Saturday Night themed promo with the above-mentioned Sinatra-singing Schiavone (probably with an adult beverage in your hand – just like the classic Nitro days!)
- Color commentate an ROH classic with Ian Riccaboni as your co-pilot.
- Stumbling your way onto the the shooting of 47-minute special of Being The Elite.
@Kevkellam in the latest Being The Elite… WHAT IS LIFE! pic.twitter.com/9UsiIhTctS
— G (@GiorgioReyes) September 5, 2018
- Karaoke singing with “The Villain” Marty Scurll, Pat Patterson and Jeff Jarrett
- Having one of your psycho friends coerce you into getting a picture with Katie Vick’s casket.
https://twitter.com/Caseman041/status/1036371974497468419
- Aimlessly wander around a plaza-laced Schaumburg with your buds while trying to find one damn Denny’s or bar that’s open past 10 pm and getting the same Bulgarian Uber driver (no relation to Rusev) in two nights who had never had Taco Bell until he took your crew through the drive-thru.
- Partake in the ultimate version of people watching – one that has a potpourri of happy wrestling fans and happy wrestling personalities living in harmony (and surreality) all at once.
- Capping it all off by attending a landmark event that has truly created a stark alternative to the mainstream wrestling product.
When I say Starrcast was like any other experience for wrestling fans, I’m not jerking you around. It was and if you didn’t get a chance, hope that their will be 22 more reasons in the future.
