
My relationship with professional wrestling is a lot like Michael Corleone’s relationship with organized crime in The Godfather III. Every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in. When I drove to WrestleMania in New Jersey last year with a buddy, I was able to justify that decision by convincing myself that I was motivated by nostalgia, irony and a careless disregard for disposable income (I opted for nosebleed seats, which were about 80 bucks each, but ringside tickets will set you back a few grand).
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In stark contrast to Axxess was WrestleCon, a non WWE-organized gathering of indie league wrestlers and old timers located directly across the street in a much smaller venue. A true wrestling geek’s fantasy, WrestleCon featured guests such as Internet darling Colt Cabana, who recorded a live episode of his podcast The Art of Wrestling, for which I’m a huge mark.I spent most of Saturday at WrestleCon, but I was still curious about Axxess. Thankfully, it cost nothing to enter the ‘super store’ located directly next to Axxess. I casually walked through the doorway between the store and Axxess while staff members were busy checking other people’s tickets. Did I sneak in without paying? Yes. Am I proud of myself? Yes.
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Like the rest of WrestleMania weekend, everything on Bourbon Street is a cash-grab, from the gift shop beads to the over-priced slices of pizza and the Lucky Dogs you WILL buy because you’re hammered. While many fans were already sporting large plastic bags full of pricy merchandise they had purchased earlier in the day at the WWE super store, they were still more than willing to drop considerable coin on huge novelty cocktails in and outside of sleazy bars.
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