ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

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ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by ICW »

The 26th Legends of the Ring followed an all-too-familiar pattern:

· A breeze through the first block of the Superticket
· A breeze through the vendor room
· A soul-crushing wait through the second block of the Superticket

I'll get to the terribly long wait - and everything else - later in the report.

I want to start off by giving my appreciation to the friends I have made, and continue to make, in this hobby. I chatted with Marked Out's own Crossfire, who's always fun to chat with it. I also spent most of the day with my friends Mark and Gene; Mark actually surprised me with the paperback edition of the WWE 50 book, which was beyond generous. I later ran into Kevin, who is kind of enough to tell me that he's looking forward to reading my reports.

The coolest moment for me, though, was when someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You’re ICW right? From Marked Out!” As it turns out, this person, who's also named Kevin, said he flew out all the way from Chicago to attend this show after reading my reports! That was truly something else to hear! It was truly awesome meeting you, Kev, and I was truly blessed to spend parts of my day with the other fellas.

And now...onto the report.

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Jenna and I arrived at 8:30 AM and picked up our tickets and were given the bad news that Harley Race had cancelled. The news was disappointing but not entirely unexpected and I hope Race is doing okay. I managed to clean up on Race autographs at last year’s Big Event so his cancellation was less of a blow for me.

The vendor room was pretty dead for the first half-hour of the convention so Jenna, Mark, and I just talked by one of the vendor tables.

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Finally, things started to pick up just after 9:00 AM. I first spotted a line forming as Tyson Kidd made his way to his table. I pre-ordered the V.I.P. Combo which included 2 autographs and a photo op. Kidd was pretty quiet but very polite. He signed the Hart Dynasty and Tyson Kidd entries in the Encyclopedia.

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Dominic DeNucci was up next and he was also quiet but polite. He also looked great for being 86 (!!!) years old. I was thrilled to meet him because he really is such a legendary name in professional wrestling. He signed his entry in the Encyclopedia.

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Next was Mario Mancini who was pretty nice. When he saw my Encyclopedia he said, “I’m right above Mark Henry!” before signing it. I did not see the cake, FWIW.

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WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz was up next. I pre-ordered a combo but decided to buy an additional autograph ticket. Again, quiet but polite. He signed his entry in the Encyclopedia and the 1996 HOF page in my WM 32/HOF program. Big time meet for me and I’m hoping to attend one of his shows soon.

The first block of the Superticket was up first though there wasn’t an announcement that the S.T. had begun (Finkel wasn’t there). Jenna and I just decided to see if it had started and, sure enough, it had.

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One of the show workers had informed us that they were doing the group photo with the F.B.I. first and then re-lining everyone up for the rest of the Superticket. We’re standing on line for about 10 minutes when another worker says, “Anyone else need the group photo?” I raised my hand but he didn’t see me, so he told the F.B.I. to sit down and start signing. I ran into the room and told him that I needed the group photo and he sort of rolled his eyes at me but got all three guys to do the photo (they were all so cool about it, too). I lined back up for the autos and had them sign a 8x10. Amazingly, this is 4th F.B.I. photo op that I have (Guido/Mamaluke; Guido/Smothers; Guido/Big Sal/Mamaluke; Guido/Rich/Smothers)

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Next was James Ellsworth who was really, really nice. He asked me where I thought Manny Machado might end up (he’s an Orioles fan). I told him the Phillies and he said he thought he’d end up with the Marlins. Great guy. He signed my WM 33 program.

Next was Mick Foley who I’ve met at least three times and I STILL have stuff for him to sign. Mick was in great spirits as usual! I decided to get two autographs instead of the combo, so he signed the Rock ‘n Sock Connection and Union entries in the Encyclopedia.

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We were back in the vendor room before 10:30 AM and it was time to bang out my pre-orders. Up first was Damian 666 (who was in a lWo t-shit!) and Bestia 666. They each signed an 8x10 and were very nice guys.

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Following them was Jose Luis Rivera. I pre-ordered the Encyclopedia special, so Rivera signed the Los Conquistadores/Jose Luis Rivera/Shadow entries in the Encyclopedia. Quiet but polite.

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Next was Paul Ellering who was REALLY nice and asked me how the Yankees were doing this season. He signed his entry in the Encyclopedia.

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Steven Regal was next and he was as nice as could be. He signed his profile in the AWA page of the third Encyclopedia.

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Next was Scott Casey who also was very nice. He signed the Encyclopedia.

I was done with pre-orders but had $100 to spend as a belated birthday present from Jenna. Shopping spree!

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Up first was Kelly Klein who was nice. She signed an 8x10.

Raven signed the Johnny Polo entry in the Encyclopedia and seemed to be in a good mood.

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Nikolai Volkoff signed the Mongols entry in the Encyclopedia. He told us that his tag team partner was “nice but a bastard!” He also told us that he and his partner were the first tag team to sell out MSG. Great experience talking to Volkoff.

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I then got autographs from the Headbangers, who signed the Flying Nuns entry in the Encyclopedia. Great guys. They said they often couldn’t recall which one of them was Mother Smucker and Sister Angelica.

Jenna and I then went to the car to chill in the A.C. and listen to the radio. After about 10 minutes, I decided to head back to the vendor room to browse around.

Image I decided to get the $20 photo op with Brandi and Bernard the Business Bear.

Jenna then met me at the bar where we spotted Ricky Morton and Raven having lunch with Teddy Hart joining them later.

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About a half hour later, I went back to the vendor room and cashed in on one last pre-orders: a photo op with Jose Luis Rivera in his Shadow mask.

At this point, it was just after 12. I talked some more with my pals Mark and Gene and we decided to get on line for the 2nd block of the Superticket…

…and I didn’t get into the room until 2:20 PM! We waited about an hour and a half because the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express were “delayed” at Yogi’s. People were not happy.

They had us line up first for RVD but they were taking care of the G.A. ticket holders who only had RVD autograph/photo op tickets (which really pissed off a lot of people). Thankfully, one of the workers told us that we could head over to the tables with no lines while my friends held my place in the RVD line.

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Up first was D’Lo Brown who brought the WWF European Championship with him. D’Lo’s a great guy and it was a thrill to pose with the belt. I had D’Lo sign the Aces and Eights section in my 2013 TNA Program.

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Next were the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Robert was busy chatting with Tommy Rich while Ricky was talking to some woman who was trying to sell him something (or something like that). I had them sign my WM 33/HOF Program. Robert mentioned twice that they were selling their Hall of Fame t-shirts.

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Summer Rae was next and she was nice. She commented that her calves looked so big in the Ultimate Guide cartoon, an inside joke as the Shield always ragged on her for having big calves. She signed the WWE Ultimate Guide.

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Next was RVD – who was with his girlfriend Katie – and he was in a great mood. He signed the 2013 TNA program. He looked at the photo and said, “That is a confident mother fucker right there!”

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Finally, I met Emma to close out the day. She was nice and signed my WM 32/HOF program.

That was it for LOTR 26. The wait for the 2nd half of the Superticket was b-r-u-t-a-l but all's well that ends well. Once again, it was so great seeing everyone.

Autographs:
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Feel free to visit my blog concerning wrestling conventions, signings, and meet & greets!
https://squaredcirclecons.com/
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billybatson22
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by billybatson22 »

Your report was amazing as usual and considering I attended as well, I can truly say you captured the "feel" of the event.

One thing I left out of MY report which I was reminded of when I looked at your photos, was when I walked out into the parking lot to leave, Domenic DeNucci was getting something out of the back of Shane Douglass's car (The Franchise was in the front seat area at the time). When DeNucci leaned over, he busted ass like I haven't heard in years. It was long, loud and memorable. I looked like a deranged mental patient laughing to myself as I headed towards MY car!

Again: GREAT report!
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mikeyicon
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by mikeyicon »

Amazing as always! Wow! Good stuff. Not sure if you do or not, but I think a blog or possibly book about your passion for wrestling and these shows with stories and photos could be a fun read for others beyond this website. thanks for bringing a smile to my face this monday afternoon during a lunch break.

who are your top 5-10 old-school WWF wrestlers do you still need to sign the book and get a photo with.

Fantastic!
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by Anthony18 »

Was there a big turnout for this convention?
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yosemitechris
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by yosemitechris »

wow, great report! lots of great names at this show and some great photo ops you got.
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Greg2600
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by Greg2600 »

Great sigs. What's with the Vermont Teddy Bear though?
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crossfire
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by crossfire »

Great stuff. Great to talk to you throughout the show.
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by ICW »

billybatson22 wrote: June 11th, 2018, 12:26 pm Your report was amazing as usual and considering I attended as well, I can truly say you captured the "feel" of the event.

One thing I left out of MY report which I was reminded of when I looked at your photos, was when I walked out into the parking lot to leave, Domenic DeNucci was getting something out of the back of Shane Douglass's car (The Franchise was in the front seat area at the time). When DeNucci leaned over, he busted ass like I haven't heard in years. It was long, loud and memorable. I looked like a deranged mental patient laughing to myself as I headed towards MY car!

Again: GREAT report!
Thanks, man! Ugh, I feel for DeNucci. Hopefully he was okay (I think he made his scheduled appearance after LOTR)
mikeyicon wrote: June 11th, 2018, 12:36 pm Amazing as always! Wow! Good stuff. Not sure if you do or not, but I think a blog or possibly book about your passion for wrestling and these shows with stories and photos could be a fun read for others beyond this website. thanks for bringing a smile to my face this monday afternoon during a lunch break.

who are your top 5-10 old-school WWF wrestlers do you still need to sign the book and get a photo with.

Fantastic!
Thanks, man! I do have a blog https://www.squaredcirclecons.com and I'm starting to post older reports on there. I've actually thought about writing a book just for shits and giggles, maybe self-publish on Amazon or something lol but we'll see. I really appreciate the compliments and glad you enjoyed it.

To answer your question: Hogan would be #1 though I'm not sure I'd meet him after his whole racist tirade. I would've loved to have met Piper before he passed. I consider myself lucky to have met Bruno and Dusty and I've met Iron Sheik and Harley Race, who have pretty much stopped doing these shows.
Anthony18 wrote: June 11th, 2018, 1:31 pm Was there a big turnout for this convention?
Hey Ant, I'd say the turnout was bigger than October.
yosemitechris wrote: June 11th, 2018, 1:57 pm wow, great report! lots of great names at this show and some great photo ops you got.
Thanks!
Greg2600 wrote: June 11th, 2018, 4:26 pm Great sigs. What's with the Vermont Teddy Bear though?
Thanks! Bernard the Business Bear is featured in ROH, he was sort of a mascot for the Bullet Club.
crossfire wrote: June 11th, 2018, 5:58 pm Great stuff. Great to talk to you throughout the show.
Thanks, man! Great to talk to you too!
Feel free to visit my blog concerning wrestling conventions, signings, and meet & greets!
https://squaredcirclecons.com/
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mikeyicon
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by mikeyicon »

that's right, I did check out your blog a few months back. What could be neat for your next project is a group of photos in alphabetical order or chronological order or checklist of who you have and need in one shot, could be a fun project. As mentioned, you are doing this stuff for the right reasons and as a social thing which is what it should be and I always enjoy your reports. I truly believe if done right, you have a potential book that most wrestling fans would enjoy and knowing who was cool and who wasn't.
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by WOODMO »

Excellent stuff!
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crossfire
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by crossfire »

Did you pass on Teddy Hart?
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by ICW »

mikeyicon wrote: June 13th, 2018, 1:39 pm that's right, I did check out your blog a few months back. What could be neat for your next project is a group of photos in alphabetical order or chronological order or checklist of who you have and need in one shot, could be a fun project. As mentioned, you are doing this stuff for the right reasons and as a social thing which is what it should be and I always enjoy your reports. I truly believe if done right, you have a potential book that most wrestling fans would enjoy and knowing who was cool and who wasn't.
I've been kicking around some ideas on how to display my photo ops/autograph items but it's a tall task to undertake given my limited free time. I really appreciate the kind words and support!
WOODMO wrote: June 13th, 2018, 2:47 pmExcellent stuff!
Thanks!
crossfire wrote: June 13th, 2018, 9:59 pm Did you pass on Teddy Hart?
Not intentionally. I first saw him at Yogi's chatting with Ricky Morton and Raven before he headed over to the bar. His handler tried to order a Blue Moon for him but the bar didn't have any hahaha.

After I was done with the 2nd block of the Superticket, everyone was gone from the vendor room (which is expected). I never once saw him in-between the blocks.

I did congratulate Colt Cabana on his court case win, which was pretty cool. It's so weird because the WrestlePro guy saw my Encyclopedia and goes, "I bet you're a Scotty Goldman fan!" I told him that I already had that 'graph and he goes, "Well how about Katie Lea Burchill!" and, once again, already had it.
Feel free to visit my blog concerning wrestling conventions, signings, and meet & greets!
https://squaredcirclecons.com/
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Re: ICW's Legends of the Ring 26 Report!

Post by class316 »

Wow shocking your girl doesn't mind you spending all that money at wrestling cons even giving you an extra $100.

Out of curiosity being that you don't drive how do you and Jenna get to Legends of the Ring?

Dominic DeNucci looks great for 86, I agree, Lucky him.

What the hell is Bernard the Business Bear? ROH mascot?
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