Just got home. Had a great time and it was nice seeing everyone. Successfully avoided all tournament play and got to chat with a bunch of folks about a wide variety of topics. Hope all the live attendees had fun and get home safely.
I was not as skilled as you,
TDalton, at avoiding tournament play. For the second consecutive year I went 1-1, this year only playing in COTG, and a year ago, only playing in Indies.
Next year I will try to do better at avoiding tournament play and just talking to folks.
Highlights of the weekend were as follows:
1.) Grabbing a quick coffee with Milton and Kevin Melesky, and also witnessing the "whitest" attempt and a handshake ever between Stu and Milton. At first Stu went for the fist-bump, and Milton went for the handshake, then they tried a second time with the exact opposite occurring. It was a microcosm example of what being part of this community is all about - shared love of wrestling with awkwardly hilarious social interactions.
2.) Realizing that after the longest stop ever at Tim Hortons at Jamestown - easily 20 minutes for a wrap for Milton and my black coffee - I ended up at the wrong bar to pick up
Vegas since GoogleMaps somehow took me to Buffalo instead of the original Niagara Falls location I had put in. Whoops.
3. Park Golf. Tim Dalton got me out on the course and I actually played. It was a ton of fun, and is the opposite of regular golf, even if our party slowed Tim down.
4.) Hearing
~KB~'s and Pete Beck's takes on Not COTG 2140. Also during that same conversation hearing the three things that will ensure KB is going to fight ...
5.) Pulling the "Irish goodbye" at the bar on Friday night, as it had karaoke going on, and coming back to the La Quinta Inn, and telling Pete Beck and KB that "I Irish goodbyed because 'it wasn't my scene.'" Then having a fantastic conversation with the promoters who were not at the bar.
5.) Cracking Pete Beck up during Tom's discusion on COTG at the perennial by saying "Wait, aren't Viking gods and Nordic gods the same thing" after at least four other promoters loudly corrected another promoter who said he'd love to have Viking gods represented in the myth worlds. I stand by the joke, as it needed to be said.
6.) Raising over $250 with the Cards For Charity fundraiser bootlegs I did. Note, pay attention to the It's Up To You Promoter section of this board, for details on how to order the Summer '24 and GCON XXXV and 25th TNTHOF Two-Packs, this WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2024.
7.) Dinner with
Thomas (TK), his son, Marcus, and Milton, and discussing COTG.
8.) Waking up at the ass-crack of dawn this morning (see Pre-3:00 a.m.) for an early flight and seeing Todd, Zeke, Mike Delve, and Pete Beck in the lobby of the hotel, with all of them giving me a strange look about where the hell I was going - when not one of them had gone to bed. It was a fantastic close to GCON, and was the perfect ending to a fun-filled weekend.
Bottom-line, I cannot wait until next year's GCON, but first, there is the 25th Annual George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Weekend coming up July 18-July 20th in beautiful Waterloo, IA. I hope many promoters are able to come to this spectacular event, as it is always a highlight of my summer!
