I’ve just finished uploading 186 pictures from Wrestlemania 23 weekend, which included the premier of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s new movie “The Condemned”, Midday Madness autograph signing, Fan Access, the Hall of Fame ceremony, Bacon, Bagels & Biceps Brunch and Wrestlemania 23. You can see the pictures at http://mattboom.smugmug.com
I also have uploaded a few videos I took during the weekend. You can find them at http://www.youtube.com/mattroseboom

My friend and I bought the Platinum travel package when they first went on sale about a year ago. Both of us had been to WWE and TNA PPV’s before, but this was our first Wrestlemania. We figured it would be a once in a lifetime event, so we splurged. If I’d known Wrestlemania 24 was going to be in my hometown of Orlando, I probably would have just waited. But now I get to go to two Wrestlemanias in a row.

We arrived in Detroit on Friday. My friend said he saw Ron Simmons at the airport before I arrived. Everyone was asking him to say damn, and he did.

We were booked at the downtown Marriott. It was full of wrestling fans. The line to pick up our tickets was pretty long, but it moved quickly. We received our tickets and some souvenirs including a stuffed WWE bear, a leather duffel bag, a program, and a WWE magazine, a WWE CD wallet and our tickets.

That night we attended the premier of Austin’s new movie “The Condemned”. The front section of the theater was reserved for the wrestlers and movie stars. The rest was open seating. We got there early so we got a good seat. The movie was really good. There wasn’t a lot of plot and it was really violent, but I didn’t realize that seeing people blow up could be so much fun. It was a good solid action film. Stone Cold didn’t come out before the movie even though everyone was chanting his name. But as soon as the credits started to roll, his music started and he came out, gave a short speech and drink some beers.

The next day was Midday Madness. Our session started at 9 a.m. (That’s Midday?) They had two different rooms set up. We were in room A, so we got the wrestlers we got. There was no going into the other room. I think they also had two rooms set up for a noon session. In our room, standing by the line signing were Joey Styles and Josh Matthews. I felt a bit sorry for Josh, since he was right by the door, you could hear a lot of people saying “who’s that guy?” as they walked in. But he was a good sport about it. At the table signing were Hardcore Holly (with his wife or girlfriend sitting next to him, with her hand on his leg), Jeff Hardy, Tori Wilson, and CM Punk. Next up was Mr. Kennedy and MVP posing for Polaroids taken by the staff.

We took a walk to Ford Field to see the fan access in the afternoon. Chavo, Helms and Super Crazy were signing autographs. They also had the usual things going on such as some WWE video games set up and other activities.

That night was the Hall of Fame ceremony. It was at the same theater they showed the movie the night before. It was the same set-up with the wrestlers having the front section, but it wasn’t open seating for the fans. The ceremony was great. They really chopped it up when they showed it on TV that night. I recommend everyone watch it on the Wrestlemania 23 DVD when it comes out. On the way out they handed out commemorative metals - really cool.

The next morning was the Bacon, Bagels & Biceps Brunch at 9 a.m. It was open seating with a breakfast buffet. They showed Wrestlemania 22 on big screens while everyone ate. There were just over 1,000 fans in the room. Jimmy Hart came out and talked with the crowd, then Mick Foley. Mick presented plaques to the many sick kids in attendance as Wrestlemania was one of their “wishes”. This was really moving and brought tears to my eyes. Mick was great with the kids and was really funny.
Next the Superstars came out and sat on stage and answered questions. The stars were, Marcus Cor Von, Candice, Victoria, Mark Henry, Chris Masters, Hardcore Holly, Vicki Gurerro, Brian Kendrick, Paul London and Matt Striker. Josh Matthews mediated. The questions were pretty good overall. I took a video (http://www.youtube.com/mattroseboom) of one fan asking Marcus Cor Von which wrestler from “that other league” he’d like to see come to WWE next. The fans started chanting “Joe, Joe, Joe.” Marcus said it takes a strong man to leave an environment where he’s comfortable to come to something new. He said the WWE is the big time and he doesn’t care who it is that comes next. The fans also started a Monty Brown chant at one point and Marcus said he’s in the WWE now and it’s Marcus Cor Von. We got some more souvineers here including a mug, keychain and license plate.

Then it was finally time for Wrestlemania. We had awesome seats in the first row of the risers, right across from the hard cameras. We got to keep our seats, which were nice folding chairs with Wrestlemania 23 pictures on them. After the show we stayed in our seat waiting for the crowd to die down. We were thinking about how were were going to get these chairs home on the airplane. Just then someone came up and offered me $200 for the chair - so I sold it. Then a couple came up wanting to buy my friend’s chair, so he sold his for $200 also. That paid for our airplane tickets… So we had an awesome time and made some money at the end. We went home happy.

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