1. The Time When Security Tackled Me In The iMPACT Zone!
Again, like meeting Mick Foley, going to the iMPACT Zone at Universal Studios isn't much of an achievement, it's included in the cost of the ticket. You just need to get the right day. However, actually getting to the iMPACT Zone is quite a challenge. It's July 2004, TNA has just moved to Orlando and is being broadcast on Fox Sports News whilst still running the weekly PPVs. Me and my family arrive at Universal Studios on a day they're taping iMPACT and we immediately go around asking how to get tickets for the show. Guest services tell us to go to the ticket booth at the sound stage, but they're not sure where it is. After some blind wandering, we find the sound stage and I walk over with my dad, leaving the rest of the family to get food. We get to the sound stage, but there's no ticket booth, only a set of doors. We hesitate for a moment, mostly due to confusion, then open the doors and walk through into the iMPACT Zone we had no idea it would lead us directly in there. And to our surprise, the majority of the TNA roster were in the ring, receiving a pep talk from Jeff Jarrett. We had walked in on a production meeting! And as the door shut behind us, everyone turned and looked at us. We were like deers caught in headlights. Jeff pointed in our direction and told us to get out, so we quickly turned around and bolted out of the iMPACT Zone. We later figured out that you had to line up outside and they'd let you in when they were ready, but there were no signs to tell you this. For a young company (at the time) that was trying to attract both local fans and patrons of the park, the set up for their free shows was pretty bad a lot of people were confused about how to actually attend the taping and where to find them. But we got in, and took our seats. I remember being one of the most animated people in the crowd. Anyway, during the taping, me and my dad decide to get a drink from the concession stand. The match in the ring had just finished and Jeremy Borash was rallying the crowd to make some noise for the cameras. We went down the steps and round the back of the stands to get a drink. Heading back to our seats, I vividly remember looking over my shoulder and talking to my dad whilst walking, and as we passed under the stands to the ringside area, a security guard grabbed me and pulled me aside. A split second later, a steel chair swings past my face as Jeff Jarrett cracks Shark Boy across the skull. Yeah, I very nearly almost took a chair shot from Double J!! I don't remember the exact date of my vacation or when that episode of iMPACT aired, all I know is that it was June or July 2004, and that I watched iMPACT religiously when I got home to see if I could see myself. Sure enough, you can hear me shout CANADIAN DESTROYER just before Petey Williams executes the move. And, when Jarrett and Shark Boy are brawling through the crowd, you can just barely see me getting grabbed by security. If anyone could find that for me, I'd be eternally grateful. -- So those are my 5 crazy experiences. I'm hoping you smiled at least once. Like I said at the beginning, there is no way that anyone else can have the same stories as I do. These are unique to me, but then, I know wrestling fans across the planet will have a bunch of their own crazy experiences and I'd love to hear what happened to you, so if you're feeling brave, leave them in the comment box below.
We later figured out that you had to line up outside and they'd let you in when they were ready, but there were no signs to tell you this. For a young company (at the time) that was trying to attract both local fans and patrons of the park, the set up for their free shows was pretty bad a lot of people were confused about how to actually attend the taping and where to find them. But we got in, and took our seats. I remember being one of the most animated people in the crowd. Anyway, during the taping, me and my dad decide to get a drink from the concession stand. The match in the ring had just finished and Jeremy Borash was rallying the crowd to make some noise for the cameras. We went down the steps and round the back of the stands to get a drink. Heading back to our seats, I vividly remember looking over my shoulder and talking to my dad whilst walking, and as we passed under the stands to the ringside area, a security guard grabbed me and pulled me aside. A split second later, a steel chair swings past my face as Jeff Jarrett cracks Shark Boy across the skull. Yeah, I very nearly almost took a chair shot from Double J!! I don't remember the exact date of my vacation or when that episode of iMPACT aired, all I know is that it was June or July 2004, and that I watched iMPACT religiously when I got home to see if I could see myself. Sure enough, you can hear me shout CANADIAN DESTROYER just before Petey Williams executes the move. And, when Jarrett and Shark Boy are brawling through the crowd, you can just barely see me getting grabbed by security. If anyone could find that for me, I'd be eternally grateful. -- So those are my 5 crazy experiences. I'm hoping you smiled at least once. Like I said at the beginning, there is no way that anyone else can have the same stories as I do. These are unique to me, but then, I know wrestling fans across the planet will have a bunch of their own crazy experiences and I'd love to hear what happened to you, so if you're feeling brave, leave them in the comment box below.