Day 2
Friday, March 27th, 2015
Day 2 was a much, much more relaxing day. The only thing on the docket is Ring of Honor, which starts at 8pm. The unfortunate thing is that, due to the WWE/San Jose ban, ROH has to run in Redwood City, which is about 20 miles away from my hotel. Luckily, I can take my own car, but I'm not familiar with the freeways of this area, so that has me on edge a bit. Also, this will be my first Ring of Honor event, ever. I've always wanted to go to a Ring of Honor show; more than any other wrestling promotion. I'm a fan of ROH's focus and mission statement as a wrestling promotion, and the vibe in the crowd always seems special. Today, I finally get to experience that. And front row, no-less! I'm planning to leave around 6:30pm, but until then, I'm just going to relax in my hotel room and watch some TV...
Last Spot, First Spot
The drive to Redwood City was pretty nerve-racking, but I made it safely. When I pulled into the parking lot, the attendant said the lot was full and I would have to go find a street a couple blocks down to park. I said "Alright" and started to drive on when the attendant yelled "wait!" He told me that I could pull right up to the side of the building and that I'd be the last person to get a parking spot. Turns out it was right by the front door, too! So I walked up to the front entrance, not really sure of what to expect, and walked into what seemed like a sports bar/soccer field combined. It was actually pretty cool, and a great environment for a wrestling show. The ring was set up in a room in the back. All the wrestlers had to use the public restrooms, so it was odd seeing guys like Mike Bennett, Roddy Strong, Jay Lethal, and Matt Taven walk right by. Taven was getting ready in the bathroom at one point while I was washing my hands in the sink next to him. Just surreal. I went in to find my seat, and the seating was a bit confusing, but I was able to figure it out and took my seat next to a very nice couple from Richmond, VA. I was honestly really uncomfortable at first. The seats were uncomfortably close together. This crowd was also considerably more rowdy than the Axxess crowd I was around yesterday. Then, I realized that my camera glasses weren't working for some reason. Later found out they hadn't charged when I had them on the charger, so that was a pretty big missed opportunity. AND THEN, I was a bit too zealous when it came to trying to grab some streamers, and I stepped on the guy next to me's foot. Didn't get a streamer roll, either. Wasn't a very good start to the evening, but that would soon change.
Good Wrestling Brings Us Together
I don't really want to get into too many specifics. I'll probably leave that for my return episode of The LEX Podcast. However, once the wrestling started, I started feeling more at home. We moved our seats up to the barricades, and that was my first opportunity to bang on the fabled metal sheets. My thumb still hurts from improper form with that. After a night of fantastic wrestling, it didn't matter how close the seats were. It didn't matter how hot it was in that venue. Didn't matter how the booking went. The ROH locker room busted their ass to give the crowd a fantastic show. What separated this event from the others I'll attend this weekend is that the ROH wrestlers made it a point to connect with the audience. They made it priority to engage the fans, and the fans showed their support in return. All, except for one fan in particular...
Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn
There was a guy sitting behind me a few rows and to the right who was just the absolute WORST. All night long, he did impressions, including Jim Ross, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and various other "voices." He shat on every wrestler, nearly every move, and was just pissing everyone off, including the wrestlers. Now, I understand that dude paid for a ticket (at least I assume he did) and he can say whatever he wants. However, things started getting ugly near the end of the show when people sitting around him started to threaten him. The heckler was eventually kicked out, but the show was nearly over, so it didn't do much good. It actually distracted from the main event a bit. I was getting pretty pissed, but I also didn't want to start anything. I had enough to worry about with getting back to my hotel that late on roads I've never traveled. He obviously wasn't there to enjoy the show, but rather to get himself over.
Gonna Be Tough To Top That
Ring of Honor matched all my high expectations. The matches were all good-to-great. The environment was special. They even managed to pull out some surprises with the return of Lacey to help Jimmy Jacobs fight off The Decade in Jimmy's final ROH match before he heads to WWE. I was told by the person sitting next to me that he talked to Jimmy at the meet-and-greet and Jimmy said he'll be writing creative for the main roster and not NXT, so that will be interesting. I didn't stick around after the show. I was tired and had a bit of a drive back to the hotel. I was so glad to have gotten a front row seat, as I don't think my experience would have been as good. Being able to dictate when the row behind me stood up and not having to worry about trying to see over the person in front of me was a huge plus, not to mention banging on the guard rails and seeing all the action up close. I really don't think any experience I have this weekend is going to match what I saw last night when it comes to engagement. It was a great crowd sans one guy, and the main event was the best match I've seen live. Joe and Jay put it all out there and delivered an incredibly hard-hitting match. I didn't get to go to NXT, and I heard the show was pretty solid, but I'm honestly ok with that. I got to see Itami, Balor, and Neville wrestle at Axxess (and closer than I would have been at the NXT event), and the experience wouldn't have been as special.
Tomorrow is the WWE Hall of Fame event. I wasn't super excited for the Hall of Fame, and I'm really still not, but I'm glad it'll be an event where I can sit and relax while I listen to some old road stories from guys who have put in their work over the last few decades. It'll be a nice event to setup WrestleMania on Sunday. Once again, thanks for reading, and I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of my Hall of Fame experience...
Tomorrow is the WWE Hall of Fame event. I wasn't super excited for the Hall of Fame, and I'm really still not, but I'm glad it'll be an event where I can sit and relax while I listen to some old road stories from guys who have put in their work over the last few decades. It'll be a nice event to setup WrestleMania on Sunday. Once again, thanks for reading, and I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of my Hall of Fame experience...
