James from Legends of the Ring posted the following message yesterday morning, “We would like to thank all of our loyal customers and vendors for supporting this event. The crowd wasn’t what we expected and watch for Major announcements for the June 2020 show coming shortly. I will be contacting each vendor personally to discuss June 2020.”This may have been the lowest attended LOTR I have ever seen (I started attending in June 2015). I was floored at the lack of regulars and the vendor room felt noticeably bare of talent. One vendor, who was strictly selling merch, had packed up and left before 1:00 PM.I think the overall structure of the Superticket has to change. It has to. I’ll be making a post addressing this shortly.I did have a stress free time at this event, though, and I hope you guys enjoy the report!
Ringside Fest 2019 to feature Ricochet, Jeff Hardy, Seth Rollins, & Sasha Banks
The 16th annual Ringside Fest will take place on Sunday, November 3, from Caroline’s on Broadway in New York City. The lineup will feature Ricochet, Jeff Hardy, Seth Rollins, & Sasha Banks. General information about the event can be found here.
Tickets for this event can be purchased here. Below are some pricing details:
The Platinum VIP Package – which includes front of the line access and 2 autographs from each guest – is a whopping $400 while their 4 combo deal is $320.
A Jeff Hardy and Sasha Banks combo will run you $160 while a Ricochet and Seth Rollins combo will cost $170.
Prices for individual combos:
Seth Rollins: $100
Jeff Hardy: $90
Sasha Banks: $80
Ricochet: $80
Can’t make Legends of the Ring 29 this Saturday? The Wrestling Universe has you covered
The Wrestling Universe – the haven of the wrestling action figures from every era imaginable – is no stranger to hosting epic meet & greets and this weekend is no exception.
A good chunk of guests scheduled for Legends of the Ring 29, which is being held this Saturday at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Monroe, NJ, will also be appearing at the Wrestling Universe on either Friday evening or Sunday afternoon.
Butch Reed and his former manager, Theodore Long, will be appearing at the Universe on Friday from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.
Sunday will feature 10 wrestling talents: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, The Pope (F.K.A. Elijah Burke), WWE’s Sarah Schreiber & Nigel McGuinness, Alicia Atout, Bill Alfonso, Adam Bomb, Rebel, Renee Michelle, and Rosa Mendnes. You can pre-order tickets here.
Evolve announces Meet & Greet with NXT stars – including Walter
Evolve 135
Saint Finbar Catholic Church Gym
1839 Bath Avenue
Brooklyn, NY, 11214Belltime: 8:00 PM
Evolve 136
La Boom
56-15 Northern Blvd
Woodside, NY 11377
Belltime – 6:00 PM EDT
EVOLVE returns to Brooklyn, NY (St. this Friday and Queens, NY this Saturday. You can get tickets heres:
From Evolve’s WWN Newsletter:
This weekend’s EVOLVE events will feature Meet & Greets with the following NXT Superstars:
-NXT UK Champion WALTER:
-Kassius Ohno
-Johnny Gargano
-Tommaso Ciampa
-Candice LeRae
-Babatunde
-Arturo Ruas
-EVOLVE Champion Austin TheoryThe Meet & Greets will begin when doors open for each event. They will continue after each event. Pricing info can be found in the WWNLive.com Shop. Here is some of the special merchandise available:
-You get an 8×10 free with an autograph purchase. You are also able to have the NXT Superstars autograph any item you bring.
-New York City was the location of one of the greatest moments in NXT History when Johnny Gargano won the NXT Championship. We have these exclusive, framable 8x10s featuring the closing scene with Gargano, his wife Candice LeRae and best friend Tommaso Ciampa. You have the opportunity to get all three of them to autograph these 8x10s this weekend at EVOLVE in NYC. This could be your only chance to get all three signatures! This is sure to be a collector’s item.
-EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory is signed to WWE and training at the WWE Performance Center. HE will be in EVOLVE as long as he is EVOLVE Champion. This means that this Saturday in Queens, NY could be his last show in the intimate confines of independent wrestling. This could be your last chance to get his picture and autograph. We are very excited to offer this exclusive Austin Theory 8×10. This is the first Austin Theory merchandise to feature the NXT logo. He could main event Wrestlemania one day! This is your chance to get his first merchandise.
-You will also have an opportunity to meet members of the EVOLVE roster. Pricing and merchandise items are determined by the individual EVOLVE star. Information will be available at their merch tables.
-The WWN Merch Table will have official NXT shirts for Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Matt Riddle and Undisputed Era.
-The WWN Merch Table will also have all the latest Blu-rays, DVDs, shirts and new items, including the EVOLVE track jacket and EVOLVE hoodie. All ticket holders get a discount at the WWN Merch Table. Ringside ticket holders have a $10 credit. GA ticket holders have a $5 merch credit. Please note that merch credits must be used at the event that night and cannot be combined. Thank you for all your support!
Pricing info:
Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Kassius Ohno, Candice LeRae, & Walter: Each $20/$20/$30 with additional autographs at $15
Arturo Ruas, Babatunde, & Austin Theory: Each $15/$15/$20 with additional autographs at $10
Attending the East Coast National
Does the end justify the means?
That’s a big question that most (if not all) of us face in this hobby. Should I shell out hundreds of dollars for a 5 second photo op with an A-lister? Should I spend my entire day and night in airports or hotel lobbies to score that big photo op or autograph I need on my piece? Do I travel across the state to attend that big time convention?
Do I dare purchase photo ops from B.G. Entertainment at these sports shows?
That’s the question I’ve come to ask myself every single time a New York Yankee is booked for MAB’s Pinstripe Parade or JP Sports & Rock Solid Promotions. We’ve all heard horror stories – or perhaps actually experienced those horror stories. But I have to be honest here: I’ve never had a poor experience with B.G. Entertainment. Are their photo ops perfect? No. Do I particularly care if they’re perfect? I honestly don’t. My personal criteria for a good photo op: no blurriness, no heads digitally cutoff, and (hopefully) I look presentable. That’s it.
So by that criteria that I’ve set for myself, B.G. Entertainment hasn’t really let me down; in fact, the Sopranos group shot I took earlier this year is among my favorite photo ops ever. They came through.
And if we’re talking strictly about the outcome of the photo ops…they came through again, in my eyes. The Sabathia shot is one of my favorites. But the entire process? That’s a whole other story this time around. There was one point in the evening where I sat down and asked myself, “Does the end justify the means?” Let’s see what my answer was…
Meeting the BamTino
A few weeks ago, StubHub announced a free signing with former Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez at their NYC location. I was fortunate enough to grow up during the Yankees last dynasty (World Champs in 1996; 1998-2000 plus a World Series appearance in 2001). There’s no question that the BamTino was a huge reason for New York’s success in the late 90s and was one of my favorite Yankees growing up.
Legends of the Ring to feature Doom photo op; Nigel McGuinness added
Thanks to our friends at Captain’s Corner and Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling, the next Legends of the Ring will feature a rare tag team photo op:
Additionally, RDP has announced a big guest of his own:
