KB Goes To Lexington Comic Con

And meets some wrestlers.

I believe this is the fifth year this thing has been held but I’ve never been able to go before, despite it being a ten minute round trip from my house. Thanks to you guys buying my books in droves though, I was able to go and meet some people I’ve watched for years. A lot of this has nothing to do with wrestling but I’ll throw it in anyway. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures as the prices are INSANE. The cheapest photo from a celebrity was and if I had gotten one with everyone I wanted to meet, it would have been over 0, so I went with free handshakes instead. Too many people around for regular pictures too. Let’s get to it.

Since this was your standard geek fest comic con, there were a lot of Star Wars and Power Ranger names there. From Star Wars, I got to meet Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Jeremy Bulloch (the original Boba Fett). Now I have pretty big hands. I’ve only met a few people with hands bigger than I have. Peter Mayhew almost palmed my hand. It blew my mind.

Time for the Power Rangers guys, starting with Bulk and Skull. These two were by far the most entertaining guys at the entire event and seemed to be having a blast. A fan in front of me asked their happiest day on the show. Bulk said the day Jason left the show, because he went to college which was more important than any show he could have done. That’s an awesome thing to say. I told Bulk that I used to hate them as kids and it was overcoming a small nightmare to meet them. Bulk got about a foot from my face and asked if I wanted a new nightmare. I backed up a bit and he smiled and shook my hand. These guys were a blast.

I met the Black Ranger (Zach), Red Ranger (Jason) and the Blue Ranger (Billy). Zach was a nice guy but a bit quiet. We had a quick chat about most adults not understanding the show. Jason I just got a quick handshake because I was right next to him as the next guests were paying. He has the same serious voice that he had on the show and looked me right in the eye as he said nice to meet you. Billy was always my favorite ranger so it was really cool to meet him. He asked my name and said he was David which is always a nice touch. These guys were really cool and it was such a great flashback to being a kid.

Tara Reid from Sharknado was there. She doesn’t look bad in person but you can tell a lot of her looks are from a makeup artist. She also sounded like she smoked about five packs of cigarettes a day which really doesn’t sound good. This was where I learned a big lesson about comic cons: if you aren’t buying their stuff, these people rarely want to talk to you. All of them were nice and everything, but my goodness they kind of brush you off if you don’t pay far too much money for a photo. Then again, I didn’t really care to meet her so it wasn’t a big deal.

Also of note, as I was standing in that line, I got to shake Ernie Hudson’s (Winston from Ghostbusters) hand. He was one of the headliners and I really didn’t want to stand in line for half an hour to meet him so this was about as good as it was going to get. He seemed like a nice guy and was smiling and talking to all the people there to see him.

I got out of the Tara Reid line and saw the other headliner’s booth: GOLDBERG. Yes THAT Goldberg, meaning I got to have a nice chat with a fellow fan as I stoop in line. Price for a picture and autograph: $80. This wasn’t as bad though as the attendant said Goldberg had nothing to do with the prices and it was due to a deal they had to make with a photographer. He also offered a deal: picture alone for just $30. I didn’t take it but the guy was very nice and seemed to agree that the prices were ridiculous.

As for Goldberg, he was the polar opposite of how he was on TV. He was laughing, chuckling and talking to everyone that came to see him. It seemed like he was really happy to be there and kept shouting to the fans in line waiting to see him. He even gorilla pressed a decent sized fan over his head and pumped him up and down several times, drawing applause. In one of the best moments I had all day, Goldberg told me I was next. Seriously, awesome.

As I was walking down to get to the people I really wanted to see, I met Rita Repulsa (Power Rangers villain). Much like Tara Reid, if you don’t get her stuff, she’ll be polite but not much more.

Now we get to the main event for me: the wrestling section. First up was Sgt. Slaughter, who saluted me and chatted with me a bit. Back in the day he gave me his helmet at a house show so I had something to talk about with him. It’s so bizarre to shake the hand of someone who main evented Wrestlemania. He’s the third former World Champion I ever got to meet and it never gets old to see.

Next up was Greg Valentine, who looks to be about 84 years old. He was a nice guy and has huge hands as well, making it a rare day with two people with bigger hands than I had. I asked him if there would ever be a Rhythm and Blues Greatest Hits album which got a chuckle from him. He said the closest thing to that was hitting people with guitars and chuckled again.

Then I got to meet the greatest heel of all time: the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. I could barely hear him over all the noise but I got to tell him he was the best I had ever seen and he seemed appreciative. Then to possibly top the Goldberg line, Ted DiBiase laughed at me. That thing is CHILLING in person, even though it was nowhere near as strong as he used to be with it.

Next we had the man I wanted to see more than anyone: Jim Cornette. I talked to him longer than anyone else all day (maybe two minutes or so) and got to hear stories about Skandor Akbar. These are the kinds of things I could hear about all day and never get bored. I even got to find out where the tennis racket came from (he needed something with range to knock fans away from him). This might have been the highlight of the day as Cornette is one of my wrestling heroes.

Last person downstairs was James Hampton, who most of you likely haven’t heard of. He played the bugler Dobbs on an old show called F Troop. Hampton looked MISERABLE and barely moved to shake my hand without saying a word. I didn’t think he had the energy to talk to me so I moved upstairs.

The second floor was much smaller than the first so there wasn’t much to see. The main attraction for me was Victoria/Tara but she was off to lunch while I was up there and I didn’t have time to wait for her. I got a very quick handshake from Ernie Reyes Jr., who is best known as Keno from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.

However, there was a surprise guest from our world: Brian Knobbs. Again, not much here but anytime you can meet a former champion, it’s a cool experience.

Overall it was a very fun day and well worth the $30 (plus $1 to have my picture taken with a Ghostbusters proton pack). If there’s ever a con near you and you’re a fan of geeky stuff like this, check the guest list and see if there’s anyone you want to see. Just be ready to stand in line for a good while though as it can take its sweet time.

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