TNA House Show, Akron Ohio

I went to my first TNA Impact Wrestling house show on Sunday July 29 at the Akron Civic Theater. I did not know what to expect. It turned out to be one of the most FANtastic wrestling experiences of my life! I decided to use some birthday money I had been saving to get a $50 ticket, which included a meet and greet with some of the wrestlers. I arrived at the venue at 3:50 for the 4:00 meet and greet. There was already a long line of very enthusiastic wrestling fans. At 4:00, they started letting people into the theater. There was a nice mix of ages. A lot of kids (which was kind of surprising since Impact Wrestling is not a PG show). And even some wrestling fans that were older than me. Inside the lobby of the theater was a man trying to sell some merchandise to the captive audience. One deal was a two-pack of action figures of Kurt Angle and Mr. Kennedy. They were selling the two-pack for $20, which included the opportunity to meet Angle and Kennedy at 5:30 to have them sign the action figures. This was a really good deal, considering that a two pack of action figures would cost about $16 in the store. And for $20 you got the figures and the opportunity to meet the wrestlers. I briefly considered getting the figures, but decided against it due to the fact that I am not at all a fan of Mr. Anderson. They were also selling a replica of the TNA Heavyweight Championship belt for $375. While this was way out of my budget, it was a fair price. Replica belts can be found online for $300-$600. What made this a great deal was that belt acted as a lifetime backstage pass. You could take the belt to any TNA Impact Wrestling House Show and go backstage to meet the wrestlers. A lot of fans jumped at this opportunity. The opportunity to meet the wrestlers of TNA continued to be a theme throughout the night. They were all too happy to take your money, but these experiences were very reasonably priced (like the two-action figures and opportunity to get them signed for only $20). It was nice to see the company making their wrestlers available to the fans without gouging their wallets.

The meet and greet began at 4:30. The line was long but they kept it moving pretty fast. Five wrestlers were seated at a table on the theaters stage, right in front of the ring. The wrestlers participating in the meet and greet were Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, The Pope, Magnus, and Garrett Bischoff. I was a little surprised that they did not have 8 x 10 photos for the wrestlers to sign. I was glad I brought a little notebook to take notes for this blog. I had the wrestlers sign the notebook. When I meet a celebrity, I always like to say a little something. I want the person to feel like I am there to really meet them, not to just get a signature on a piece of paper. Daniels and Kazarian were the first two at the table. It was really hard to talk to them. There was a security man at the front of the table who kept placing programs in front of them to be signed. He was trying to keep the line moving, which I appreciated. But it made it hard to talk to Daniels and Kazarian because they were signing pretty much non-stop. The Pope was next. He had a big smile the whole time. He was as charismatic in person as he is on TV. I told him “Thanks for coming to Akron tonight”. He looked at me with a big smile and said “Thanks for coming”. Magnus was next. He showed no emotion. He never smiled. He barely looked at me. And he said nothing when I thanked him for the autograph. I don’t know if he was trying to stay in character or if he just did not enjoy participating in the meet and greet. Last at the table was Garrett Bischoff. I said “Thanks” when he handed me back my notebook. He looked at me and said “Thanks for coming”. It felt like he was genuinely thankful that I had come out to see him. He came across as a newcomer to the business that really appreciated the fans coming out to the show.

While standing in line for the meet and greet, they announced that Madison Rayne would be at the souvenir table signing autographs. SO after I got Bischoff’s signature, I stood in line to meet her. While standing in line, a man came by selling really nice Madison Rayne banners. The banners were HUGE with a very nice picture of her. The banner was $10, which included the opportunity to get your picture taken with the TNA Knockout. Again, it was a good deal considering how nice the banner was. There was a father in line with a little girl and two boys. He bought the banner for his daughter but said that his boys did not need their picture taken with a female wrestler. This made me laugh. Madison Rayne had a big smile on her face the entire time she was signing autographs. When I got the opportunity to meet her, I told her “Thanks for coming to Akron tonight.” She replied “Thanks for coming. It’s good to be back”. She was extremely nice.

After getting Madison Rayne’s autograph, I made my way to my seat. The $50 ticket was worth it to get the wrestlers autographs. But when I saw just how close my seats were, it was even MORE worth the money. I was about ten rows from the stage. The ring was set up on the theater stage, which was unique.  I had not sat that close to the action at a wrestling show in about twenty years. It really is a different experience. I got to see the facial expressions, which really adds to the drama of the moves being performed in the ring. I also got to see a lot of spit flying when certain moves connected. The wrestlers really sell the impact of the moves with their facial expressions, which is something I had not had the chance to experience in a long time. Just before the show, Joseph Park showed up. He sat directly behind me. I reached over and handed him my notebook and asked for his autograph. He was happy to sign. WOW! He is a BIG MAN!!! If I was Bully Ray, I would not pick on him. Shortly after Joe Park sat down behind me, the fans that really had those tickets showed up. SO he had to move. This happened to him about five times, with him sitting down and the real ticket holder showing up shortly after. It was a nice touch to have Joe Park show up in the audience. The fans were excited to see him. After ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ blared over the PA system, the action began!

-Jeremy Borash was introduced as the host for the night. -The show began with a battle royal. The winner of the Battle Royal would get a shot at the TNA Heavyweight Championship in the Main Event of the night. The participants were: Kurt Angle, Robert Roode, The Pope, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson, Magnus, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, D’Vonn, Garrett Bischoff, and Rob Van Dam. Mr. Anderson competed wearing a baseball hat. This made me regret, just a little, not getting the action figure two pack because anyone who would wear a baseball hat and keep it on during a battle royal is cool to me! Kurt Angle won the battle royal. He eliminated Roode, who hid during the entire match and tried to surprise Angle after the last competitor was eliminated. But the veteran was too smart for this and tossed Roode over the top rope. This was a very popular victory for the fans. Angle was loudly cheered!

-Miss Tessmacher successfully defended the TNA Knockouts Championship against Madsion Rayne. When Rayne came out to the ring, she was the complete opposite of how she was at the souvenir table. She was cocky and gave a diva-esque wave to the audience, as if she was too good to even wave to the them. These women athletes wrestled a match that was every bit as good as the men. In fact, they wrested a better match than Jeff Hardy. The WWE Divas should take note, Tessmacher and Rayne were wrestles in every sense of the word, and not just eye candy.

-Earl Hebner came out to referee the next match. He took off his referee shirt to reveal a shirt that said ‘Damn Right I Did’. He then put on a pair of Bret Hart glasses and mocked Hart’s strut. -Mr. Anderson defeated Magnus in a Bound for Glory Series match. Before the match, Anderson posed in front of the ring waiting for a microphone to be lowered. Nothing happened. He posed again. Still no microphone. Anderson grabbed a folding chair, set it up and then had Jeremeny Borash stand on the chair with a microphone. Anderson posed and had Borash hand him the microphone. It was hilarious! Anderson continued to entertain the fans by announcing that he was looking for his a%holes. He kept asking “Where’s my a%$holes?” The fans cheered in response. It was a little bit uncomfortable sitting in an arena with a lot of kids as Anderson searched for his ‘donkey holes’. But this is Mr. Anderson’s gimmick, and it is the parent’s fault for taking their kids to this event knowing that Anderson calls his fans ‘donkey holes’. After the fans cheered being called ‘donkey holes’, Anderson then looked over the audience for his d%$che bags. He would ask “Where’s my d%che bags?” He made a beeping sound that got louder and louder until he looked at Magnus. Anderson said “BING! Found one!” It was a very funny bit. Mr. Anderson really went out of his way to make the fans laugh. While I am not at all a fan of the ‘donkey hole’ gimmick, I really appreciated how much Anderson went out of his way to entertain the fans. Magnus submitted to the sharpshooter. After the match, Anderson grabbed a microphone and put his arm around Earl Hebner. Anderson made fun of the fact that Magnus actually tapped while trapped in the sharpshooter BEFORE Hebner called for the bell. Again, Mr. Anderson went out of his way to entertain the fans. I really appreciated the effort he made to ensure the fans had a good time.

  -Before the next match, Jeremy Borash saw Joe Park in the audience ad called him up on stage. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian came out in gradate robes to interrupt the segment. They proceeded to beat up Joe Park. D’Vonn and Garrett Bischoff came out to make the save. D’Vonn announced that they were Daniels and Kazarian’s opponents.

-Daniels and Kazarian defeated D’vonn and Bischoff. D’vonn was very popular with the fans.

-Before intermission, Jeremy Borash announced that referee Earl Heber had recently officiated his 100,000 match and to celebrate he would be at the souvenir table to sign autographs. Miss Tessmaacher would also be at the souvenir table signing autographs. They did the same deal where if you bought a $10 banner, you could have your picture taken with the Knockouts Champion. Finally, they announced that there were a limited number of backstage passes available for $50. The pass would allow two people to go backstage where they were guaranteed to meet Angle, Anderson, Hardy, RVD, Roode and Austin Ares. That’s $25 a person, and considering the stars that you were guaranteed to meet, I thought that it was a pretty good deal. Next time TNA comes to town, I would consider getting the backstage pass. At intermission, I got in line to meet Miss TEssmacher. She is really tiny! I told her she wrestled a really great match. She said “Thanks. It hurt, I’m not gonna lie!” I then went over to meet Earl Hebner. He called everyone “Buddy”. When he slid my notebook back to me, he said “Here, buddy.”

-Robert Roode defeated RVD when Van Dam missed the Five Star Frog Splash. This was a Bound for Glory Series match. The fans were really into RVD. They enthusiastically chanted “RVD” and “Whole F’N Show” while Van Dam pointed to himself with his thumbs. This was a great match.

-Jeff Hardy defeated The Pope. Hardy was definitely the most popular wrestler of the night. He was the only wrestler to come off the stage to shake hands with the audience, which was a really nice touch on Hardy’s part. The match itself was terrible. The Pope dominated Hardy until Jeff hit the Twist of Fate to get the pin. Even the though match was bad, Hardy won so everyone was in the audience was happy.

-TNA Champion Austin Ares defeated Kurt Angle to retain the TNA Championship. This was a GREAT wrestling match. Both guys are fantastic wrestlers. The match spilled out onto the stage, where Angle threw Ares off the stage onto the floor. The audience was in shock when Ares went sailing off the stage. I can’t believe he took such a hard bump at a house show. Ares is one tough wrestler. He won after reversing the Angle Lock and hitting a muscle buster.

After the match, they gave the fans a really unique opportunity. For $20, you could go into the ring and have your picture taken with Austin Ares. A whole group could go up for $20. So if there were 4 people, it was only $5 a person. Again, TNA made their wresters available to the fans at a very reasonable price. In addition to the picture you got that night, they made the picture available online for you to download for free. I am not a big Ares fan, so I did not get my picture taken with him. But I would consider it if I ever went to another TNA house show and had the opportunity to get my picture taken with a different wrestler It was a really fun night.

TNA came across as an organization that really caters to the fans, with some wrestlers signing autographs for free and others signing at a minimal charge. The wrestlers themselves out on great matches, with most of the in ring action being pay-per-view quality (especially Roode vs. RVD and Angle vs. Ares) and they made it feel like the Impact TV show (Joe Park appearance, Kennedy’s a-hole bit). I will defiantly go to more TNA Impact Wrestling house shows.