Hitting You Right in the Feels. Pro Wrestling Edition.

I told you guys a while back that I would be getting into showing off some of my autographed wrestling cards, but I just never could figure out how. Today, the idea hit me to share some stories from my days spent inside the wrestling business. So here we are.

1982 Wrestling All-Stars Bill Dundee

Back in like 1998, a good friend of mine's father took him to a WCW house show. This was in the heyday of the nWo and my friend was all into that. Show went by without a hitch and my friend was still stoked when it was over so he talked his father into waiting around back for the wrestlers to come out.

1985 Topps WWF Jesse Ventura

They waited and waited. A few of the guys came out and paid them no attention. They waited some more. Guys kept coming out, getting in their cars and leaving. No one had time for this kid.

1986 Monty Gum Wrestling Stars Nick Bockwinkel

The last guy to come through was Sean Waltman (1-2-3 Kid, X-Pac, Sixx). He saw my friend and his dad and went right to them. Signed a shirt, took a picture with my friend and made his day. That moment right there made my friend a wrestling fan for life.

1987 Topps WWF King Harley Race

Fast forward to about 20 years later and my friend is now a wrestler just starting out in the business.  He got booked on this pretty big indy show that was bringing in a few big names. Anytime one of the young guys gets to work someone who's a name in wrestling, its a really big deal to them.

1989 Classic WWF Red Rooster

So my friend finds out X-Pac is working this show he is getting to work on. He gets to the arena, and everyone in the back is hounding X-Pac for pictures, autographs, etc. My friend finds out that he's working in the main event, which is a big 20 man battle royal featuring X-Pac.

1997 Action Packed WWF Mabel

So my friend works up the courage to finally go up to X-Pac and go over what they are going to do for the match. When he gets to X-Pac, X-Pac is already annoyed by everyone bugging him about pictures and autographs all night and says "What do you want!"

1998 Comic Images WWF Superstarz Jim Ross

My friend just politely replies, "I just wanted to go over what you want to do in the match tonight", while casually folding something up and sliding it into his pocket. X-Pac is delighted that he wants to talk wrestling and they go over all kinds of spots.

1998 Topps WCW Jay Leno

They go out for the battle royal, and X-Pac wins. The only person in the whole match he let look good was my friend, probably because he didn't bug him all night.

1999 Comic Images WWF SmackDown Vince McMahon

After the show was over and the locker rooms had cleared out, X-Pac found my friend sitting in the back with that piece of paper again. When Pac started walking up, he put it back in his pocket.

2006 Topps Heritage WWE William Regal

Pac just wanted to tell my friend that he did a really great job in the match, and ask him if he knew any good places close to the arena to eat. My friend was so stoked that he had actually become a peer to one of his heroes. They exchanged numbers so they could keep in touch and as Pac went to walk away, he asked if there was anything else.

2007 Topps Heritage Allen & Ginter WWE Carlito

My friend couldn't hold it back any longer. He pulled the paper out of his pocket and asked Pac if he could please sign it. Pac looked at it amazed as it was a photo of him 20 years younger with a kid in an nWo t-shirt. Pac asked "Who's the kid?" 

2008 Topps Heritage WWE Ringside Bonus Mickie James

My friend replied that kid is me. Then he went on to tell Pac that he was the only wrestler that even acknowledged them that night after the WCW show 20 years ago. Pac was astounded. My friend told him about how he is the reason he was wrestling today. He said after all my heroes just walked by me, I was ready to give up on wrestling forever until you came over and took that picture.

2008 TriStar TNA Impact AJ Styles

When I was in wrestling I always emphasized this story to every young aspiring wrestler that I could. Always take that 1 minute for those fans. You never know what good can come out of it.

2008 Topps Heritage WWE Jeff Hardy

My time in wrestling taught me a lot of things. It also gave me an entirely new family. I sure do miss it. 

2009 Topps WWE Rowdy Roddy Piper

2010 Topps WWE Daniel Bryan

2010 Topps Platinum WWE Bobby Heenan

2011 Indy Mike Freska 

Mike can still be found tearing up the place in the great state of Texas. Mike is a proud graduate of Shawn Michaels' & Rudy Boy Gonzalez' Texas Wrestling Academy.

2012 Topps Heritage WWE The Miz

2012 Topps Heritage WWE Jerry Lawler

I could probably do an entire blog or 5 on all the things Jerry has signed or given me over the last 3 decades.

2012 Topps Heritage WWE Terry Funk

2013 Topps WWE Seth Rollins

2014 Topps WWE Bray Wyatt

2014 Topps WWE NXT Baron Corbin

2014 IDW Tommaso Ciampa

Talk about a guy that has fought his way to the top.

2015 Topps WWE NXT Hideo Itami

The former, and present day KENTA. 

2015 Topps Chrome Stardust

Cody Rhodes has gone from this to helping run the biggest threat WWE has had in 20 years, All Elite Wrestling.

2015 Topps Heritage WWE Finn Balor

2016 Topps Indy Josh Moss

You may never hear about this guy, but he has put in the work and is a great worker.

2017 Topps WWE Aleister Black

2017 Topps Heritage WWE Kassius Ohno

The former Chris Hero