It is a great feeling when there is something in your life that you have always wanted to do, and then you finally get to do it. I got to experience that feeling on Sunday, April 7th, 2013. Just a car ride away at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with a good group of friends by my side, I had the amazing opportunity to attend my very first live WrestleMania. It might not sound like that big a deal to some people. But it was truly a dream come true for me. I’ve been a fan of professional wrestling for more than 30 years. I was lucky enough to watch the very first Mania on Closed Circuit at the Ridgewood Grove Arena way back in 1985. Since then, I have been to  SummerSlams (including the very first one), a Survivor Series, Monday Night RAW’s, and countless live house show events. But the chance to go to a live WrestleMania has always eluded me…until this year that is.



I am happy to report that even after waiting 29 years, it didn’t disappoint. The first match was at 6:30pm but we rolled into the MetLife parking lot at around 3 o’clock. It was already packed at that time by the way. We promoted the callingallnerds website, gave away a few things, and handed out some flyers. Business is business after all. But we also got to enjoy the entire WrestleMania experience. That included a tailgate party complete with burgers, hot dogs, some munchies, my own homemade chili, and plenty of beverages. All non-alcoholic of course. None of us waited all these years for our first WrestleMania just to not remember it. I think a big part of any live show you go to, from concerts to sporting events, is the fans. In that department, the WWE universe definitely didn’t disappoint either. Passionate fans on any given day, they pulled out all the stops for the company’s biggest show of the year.



As we made our way through the parking lot, we got to see people decked out as Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior, Paul Bearer and countless others. We even had a visit to our podcast from a very well lubricated trio that included Rowdy Roddy Piper, Randy Savage and Ric Flair. Only at WrestleMania. Oh yeah, and did I mention that there was actually some wrestling going on too? We made our way to our seats just before the action kicked off. Luckily for me, there was still plenty of time to look around and take everything in. Vince and the WWE definitely goes all out. The lights, the fireworks, the displays, all the bells and whistles for the grandest stage of them all. They also spared no expense on the video screens. Which I really appreciated since all our group could afford were seats in the upper deck. Finally it was time to get to the action. I really expected Vince McMahon, the creator of all of this magnificence, to come out and start off the show.



Instead it began with a video about Hurricane Sandy, the strength of the people of New Jersey, with a voiceover by Governor Chris Christie. It was both fitting and nicely done. Now I won’t go into every single match here. If you’re a wrestling fan then by now you either saw the show or know the results…so there’s no reason to waste a lot of space unnecessarily. HOWEVER, I will definitely touch on some of the high spots for me personally. The one that sticks out most is Punk-Taker. The best match on the card if you ask me. In my humble opinon, CM Punk is not only the best in the world, but when all is said and done he will go down as one of the absolute greatest of all time. And say what you want about Taker being too old, or only wrestling once a year…whatever. The guy brings it like nobody else when Mania rolls around. As for the rest of the card, I was disappointed with the Rock-Cena match. But it was what it was.



It dawned on me that I had never actually seen Jericho’s entrance live, so that was pretty cool. Thought he put Fandango over well too. The Shield is the REAL DEAL! Please Vince (or HHH), use them wisely. And speaking of The Game, he will always be one of my favorites and I love the chance to see him back in the ring. Especially on such a big night. When the final bell rang and all was said and done, my first WrestleMania experience was a great one. It also meant a lot to me to see it with my friends and fellow callingallnerds CEO’s, Jesse and Cody Berberich. I took them to their very first SummerSlam back in 2002. So going to our first Mania together was pretty awesome. Hopefully it is the first of many for us. Now getting out of the parking lot was near impossible, but what can ya do? I have also harped on the fact (maybe a little bit too much) that having my daughter Meghan there would have made this whole thing perfect for me.

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But I won’t let those little things take away from such a great moment.

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Meghan and I will have our own Mania moment one day. WrestleMania will always be here…and this fan will be too.