When Pro Wrestling, Las Vegas, and a Birthday Collide!
What Does Pro Wrestling, Photography, Las Vegas, and a Birthday Celebration All Have in Common? An Unforgettable Weekend!
As I landed in Las Vegas for the first time EVER, I was about to embark on one of the most exciting times of the year. It was my birthday week, which was on May 27 and I decided to treat myself to a trip to Las Vegas. On top of that, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) was coming to Las Vegas for the first time since 2019 to have their AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view weekend.
Hello Las Vegas! (May 24, 2022)
A little after 4pm PST, I landed in Las Vegas for the first time. Along for my birthday trip was my friend, Christina, who is a freelance pro wrestling ring gear designer who has designed ring gear for AEW’s Wardlow and Thunder Rosa along with Impact Wrestling’s Chelsea Green. Immediately as soon as we exited the airport, we felt the dry heat of Las Vegas that we kept hearing about first-hand. As we ordered an Uber and traveled to our hotel, we looked around at all of the scenery (Ex. mountains, hotels, and other big attractions). Our hotel happened to be right across the highway from where the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) shows were going to be during my birthday week. To celebrate our first night in Las Vegas, we got food and drinks and toasted to a fabulous birthday week because our first AEW event for the week was the next day!
My friend Christina and I enjoyed our first night in Las Vegas.
AEW Dynamite (May 25, 2022)
At AEW Dynamite
AEW Dynamite is AEW’s number one show on Wednesday nights on TBS at 8PM EST and it was the first AEW show that I had attended outside of Florida. The interesting part about being on the West Coast is that the shows started earlier, which means that there were tapings for their YouTube show “AEW Dark” around 4pm PST before going live at 5pm PST. It was exciting being able to see live the first of two ‘go-home’ shows for that Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view. The crowd for AEW Dynamite was electric! It was non-stop and it started off with a steel cage match with Wardlow vs. Shawn Spears while Wardlow was handcuffed. If Wardlow won, he would get the opportunity to face Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at AEW Double or Nothing. The special guest referee for this match was MJF and this put Wardlow at a disadvantage of being able to face him after all of the wrong-doing MJF did to Wardlow in not letting him out of his bodyguard contract to sign with AEW full-time as a pro wrestler.
MJF as the special guest referee.
“The Chairman” Shawn Spears
AEW security escorted a handcuffed Wardlow to the ring.
MJF antagonizes Wardlow while he is handcuffed. He becomes so incensed that he breaks out of the handcuffs! Wardlow proceeds to powerbomb Shawn Spears multiple times!
*Spoiler alert: Shawn Spears accidentally hits MJF with a steel chair which results in another referee being called into the match. This gave the opportunity for Wardlow to powerbomb Shawn Spears multiple times and finally pin him for the 3-count. Wardlow received the opportunity to finally face MJF in a match at Double or Nothing that upcoming Sunday, May 29, 2022.
Wardlow defeats Shawn Spears to earn his match at AEW Double or Nothing to face MJF.
Wardlow celebrating on top of the steel cage!
Roaming Around The Las Vegas Strip (May 26, 2022) Thursday was a late start in getting ready due to adjusting to the time change. Did you know that it becomes sunlight around 5am, 5:30am PST?! This really threw me for a loop. I was thinking that it was 7:30am or 8am PST and it was not! While that could be seen as a negative, it weirdly was considered a positive because I figured out that I had more time left in the day.
While roaming around Las Vegas, I got the opportunity to meet Wardlow (the wrestler from the steel cage match from the night before). It was such a pleasure meeting him and he was incredibly nice and wished me a Happy Birthday!
Walking around the Las Vegas strip was amazing! Seeing all of the different hotels and how they are connected to one another, eating at amazing restaurants, taking in the fountain show at The Bellagio Hotel, and more. Some of the hotels that I got to visit were The Cosmopolitan, The Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, Mandalay Bay, The Bellagio, and more. One of the restaurants that I had the pleasure of eating at was Wahlburgers. While there are locations of Wahlburgers in Florida, I felt as though this was even more awesome. The photo with my friend and I was taken by a photographer. First, they came out with a complimentary print of the photo, and then if you wanted different variations of the photo, you had to pay for them but it was worth it for the experience. The only thing that I learned about Las Vegas when it comes to getting photos/being a tourist is that there is always going to be a cost in the end (even when you are not thinking anything of it in the moment of excitement).
As we made our way back down the Las Vegas strip to our hotel (which we did not get back until after 1am PST), we decided to take in the fountain show at The Bellagio. Seeing this fountain show was on my list because one of my brothers and I love the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” and one of their iconic scenes is in front of this hotel. It was amazing to have to chance to see this live and in person. The music that was paired with the fountain show really set the mood.
AEW Rampage, AEW Karaoke, and Max Caster’s Concert (May 27, 2022) It’s my birthday!! Happy Birthday to me! If you have ever seen season 4, episode 9 of the hit 90s show “Boy Meets World”, you will understand trying to be in multiple places at once. The character Cory Matthews is trying to make his girlfriend Topanga’s Sweet 16 birthday party and help his friend, Frankie get closer to his dad (who is a pro wrestler named Vader) by attending a pro wrestling show.
AEW Rampage is the second of AEW’s most rated TV shows which airs on TNT at 10pm EST and the second ‘go-home’ show is before AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view. While at AEW Rampage, I was able to meet some young fans named Ella and Alana. They also live in Florida and follow me on social media. Their dad was so kind to introduce me to them and explained to me that they like seeing my professional wrestling-related posts online. We decided to a photo together to celebrate this official meeting. It’s always great when I can connect with other wrestling fans!
Me with Alana and Ella at AEW Rampage on my birthday!
Before the start of AEW Rampage, there was a match featuring one of my favorite people in the world, Ryan Nemeth. I have mentioned his name in previous discussion board posts in my Branding Using Social and Mobile Media class because he is an awesome person, author, pro wrestler, screenplay writer, stand-up comedian, etc. It was nice being able to see him live and take photos of him again because I hadn’t taken photos of him since 2013.
The “Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth posing for the camera.
After AEW Rampage was the AEW Karaoke event where some AEW superstars did karaoke to raise money for charity for a local animal shelter where all the proceeds went to them. This event was from 7pm — 11pm and it was running into my other event later that night (hence the mention of the “Boy Meets World” episode). There were many performances by Thunder Rosa, Sonny Kiss, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Trent, Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander, The Dark Order, etc. The most notable and show-stopping karaoke performance was Bryan Danielson singing with a fan “I Want It That Way” by The Backstreet Boys.
Once I spent some time at the AEW Karaoke event, my friend and I went to Freemont Street for our next event, which was Max Caster’s concert. The two events overlapped in time, but we wanted to be a part of both of them and then see Ryan Nemeth open for Max Caster. Due to our Uber dropping us off not near the area and having to walk the rest of the way, we finally arrived at The Nerd to find out that Ryan had already done his opening stand-up comedy set before Max Caster went on stage. I was so sad because I wanted to see him live performing his stand-up. At that moment, I felt as though I would not be able to see him around the venue.
As fate would have it about 20 minutes later, my friend tapped me on the shoulder and said “Hey…look! It’s Ryan.” I was so excited to see him and I waited patiently until he finished his conversation. Once he turned around, he did a double-take and was so excited to see me and even said “You made it!” as I said in passing that I was going to be in Las Vegas. A fun fact about me is that I mentioned him as part of my statement of purpose to be admitted into the Social Media Graduate Certificate program through the University of Florida (UF) Online. When I got accepted into the program, he was one of the first people that I told and he was very happy to hear about it. After not seeing each other for 9 years, we picked up right where we left off. It was so great seeing him after all this time!
Ryan Nemeth and I reunited after 9 years in Las Vegas.
AEW Fan Fest and AEW Heels (May 28, 2022)
After little sleep, there was AEW Fan Fest from 10am — 6pm PST. This event is put on a few times out of the year for fans to have the opportunity to meet their favorite AEW wrestlers. For a general admission fee, you could be able to do fun activities, listen to live interviews showcasing some of the AEW wrestlers, and take photos with them. For the more popular wrestlers to do a meet and greet photo opportunity with, it did cost more money (which was paid for separately on top of the general admission fee).
Red Velvet and I
The Factory and I
Since it was my birthday week, I decided to splurge about buying photo ops with Sting and MJF. Sadly, both of them later cancelled their appearances but I was refunded. However, I was able to meet once again the TBS champion, Jade Cargill. While she plays a ‘heel’ AKA bad girl on TV, she is an absolute sweetheart. Even though security told fans to not ask for autographs or have long conversations with her to keep the line moving, she remembered me from our meeting in Orlando in March and decided to hold up the line to chat with me. She complimented me on how I looked and then said to me “So, what’s our pose this time?” She serves as an inspiration to women in the arena of fitness and pro wrestling.
TBS Champion Jade Cargill and I at AEW Fan Fest.
Once the AEW Fan Fest was over, I had about an hour break before going to AEW Heels at 7pm PST. This group is for women and female-identifying fans to come together to celebrate their love for professional wrestling. It is through this community that you can make friends and have a safe place to talk with AEW female wrestlers and realize that they are human just like you even though they are on a National TV platform each and every week.
Me with Diamante and Kiera Hogan.
Myself with Kris Statlander
When I attended my first in-person event of AEW Heels in March in Orlando, I was introduced to many of the female wrestlers, but the one that stuck out to me was Nyla Rose, who is known as the first out transgender wrestler signed by a major U.S. wrestling promotion, which is AEW. I like to call her “my bestie” because she is so cool and fun to be around. She made approaching her comfortable due to her fun-loving personality and she is quite the jokester. While it was a short amount of time, I could see the positivity that she brings to many people and to AEW Heels group. Every once in a while on social media, we will talk about our love for Reese’s peanut butter cups and how did she find a six-pack of Reese’s cups. Her response was “I got lucky and found them at a 7-Eleven in West Virginia.”
Nyla Rose and I at AEW Heels event.
The entire day of AEW Fan Fest and AEW Heels was so much fun. I love having a day dedicated to meeting your favorite wrestlers and being able to chat with them. This is something that I would like to be a part of as often as I can and as an AEW Heels member, I have the ability to be a part of virtual meetings with the AEW female community and have special guests come to our meetings to give meaningful messages and useful trainings that are needed for our female wrestling community. Recently, I learned that we will have someone from AEW security give a session on self-defense next month.
AEW Double or Nothing Pay Per View (May 29, 2022)
The day in which the whole entire reason why AEW came to Las Vegas is here! It’s AEW Double or Nothing. First, I had to make sure that I submitted all my discussion posts and assignments before the deadline (which I did) because of the time change. Once that was finished, my friend and I went to do some other activities before going to the T-Mobile Arena for AEW Double or Nothing.
The first match of the night was Wardlow vs. MJF. Wardlow was finally getting the opportunity to finally get his hands on him after the months of ridicule that he had been through. A powerbomb symphony commenced when Wardlow delivered 10 of them to MJF before finally pinning him for the three-count and being officially under contract with AEW after being MJF’s personal bodyguard for 3 years.
The full card of results from AEW Double or Nothing 2022 in Las Vegas was: 1. Hookhausen (Hook and Danhausen) defeated Tony Nese and Mark Sterling by pinfall. 2. Wardlow defeated MJF by pinfall.
3. The Hardys (Jeff and Matt Hardy) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (with Brandon Cutler) by pinfall.
4. Jade Cargill © defeated Anna Jay by pinfall and retained the TBS Championship.
5. The House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, and Brody King) defeated Death Triangle (Pac, Penta Oscuro, and Rey Fénix) (with Alex Abrahantes) by pinfall.
6. Adam Cole defeated Samoa Joe by pinfall and winner of the men’s portion of the Owen Hart Tournament Final.
7. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. defeated Ruby Soho by pinfall and winner of the women’s portion of the Owen Hart Tournament Final.
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD as a finalist in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
8. American Top Team (Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, and Paige VanZant) (with Dan Lambert) defeated Frankie Kazarian, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti by pinfall.
9. Kyle O’Reilly defeated Darby Allin by pinfall.
10. Thunder Rosa © defeated Serena Deeb by pinfall and retained the AEW Women’s Championship.
11. The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard) defeated The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley), Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz by technical submission.
12. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) © (with Christian Cage) defeated Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland and Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks) by pinfall and retained the AEW Tag Team Championship.
13. CM Punk defeated “Hangman” Adam Page © by pinfall to become AEW World Champion.
The final match had so many emotions involved because CM Punk was at one time “no longer in love with professional wrestling.” He left his former wrestling promotion because of his physical and mental health along with other business and creative differences behind the scenes. He retired in July 2014 and it wasn’t until August 2021 that he returned to professional wrestling but with AEW. To date, the reaction from the fans once they heard the first notes of his entrance music is one of the most deafening pops/roars through an arena. Loyal fans, who never gave up hope, waited 7 long years for the return of CM Punk and the emotions were all over the place.
Fast forward to May 2022 and he was in the main event picture facing “Hangman” Adam Page for the AEW World Championship. After winning the title, there were tears of joy from CM Punk and fans all around the world as they rejoiced in him officially being a champion again in professional wrestling.
After leaving wrestling more than 7 years ago, CM Punk finally captured gold in being the main event in one of the biggest wrestling pay-per-views of the year!
Goodbye, Las Vegas (Monday, May 30, 2022)
As my alarm went off that Monday morning at 4am PST, I did not want to get up because I knew that I was going home to Florida and leaving Las Vegas. It was such an amazing time there. My hope is to have this as a yearly trip for my birthday. Enjoying pro wrestling and my birthday in Las Vegas seems like a good fit! The memories of Las Vegas will not leave me as I was able to go on many adventures, make new friends (Kim and Amelia), and reconnect with pro wrestlers/friends that I haven’t seen in years. Until next time, Las Vegas!
Myself with Christina, Kim, and Amelia.
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