Hello. My name is Clark Tolleson, and I've been a wrestling fan since 2003, but I started to watch TNA Wrestling (WWE's rival company) in 2006. So, my friend, Austin, and I went to a TNA house show in Wichita, KS at The Cotillion on March 4th, 2012.
It was the end of the show, and TNA does this thing where fans can go into the ring and get a picture with the main eventing babyface(s) of the evening. This night, Jeff Hardy and "Cowboy" James Storm were the main eventing faces. So Austin and I get in line for our in-ring pictures, but this kid who we didn't know was the son of one of the Cotillion's security guys, so we let him hang out with us and he joined us in our picture with Storm and Hardy.
Five minutes later, it's our turn for our picture. We get into the ring, and I shake James's and Jeff's hand (and yes, Storm's breath did smell like beer). They were so cool and down to earth guys. As I was leaving the ring, I shook Jeff's hand again and I said, "Hey Jeff, tell Matt he needs to reunite with you" or something like that. I could tell he was in a hurry, so I didn't wait for a response. I think he said "alright" though. As we were about to leave the arena, Don West came by and we thank him for coming to Wichita, telling him we can't wait for another TNA show here in a couple years (turns out Don's contract with TNA expired months later).
Another funny thing: the kid who was hanging with us caught Jeff Hardy's armband at the end of the night. For some reason, he traded the armband to Austin for a Mr. Anderson & Kurt Angle action figure set and we were cracking up at that kid giving up the JEFF HARDY ARM BANDS for some action figures!
It was still a fun show.
I met a lot of other wrestlers, like Gail Kim and Christopher Daniels, I caught a glimpse of D'Lo Brown in the crowd during one of the matches, even though I didn't talk to him, and I was somewhat close to getting killed by Bully Ray. Also, the guy who sat next to us in the crowd was a cool dude and he bought a replica TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt. Yes, it is heavy! But seriously, great interactions and a great show.
BACK TO GUEST SUBMISSIONS
Thank you, Clark, for being a fan of the site and for sharing your own story. I think TNA is very underrated and underappreciated in terms of how fan friendly they are, and this is another reminder of how cool it is to get up close and personal with your favorites. The armband story is pretty funny, I wonder if he'll grow up to regret that one?
If you have a cool story of your own from a time you met a wrestling legend, why not share it with thousands of readers from all over the world? Simply email your story to me (preferably with at least one photograph) to imetawrestler@gmail.com and I will publish it here on the site. For more information on stories from IMAW readers and other guest submissions, click here. Thanks again, Clark!
