WWE Raw Pics 4/25/11; Meeting The Miz!

I decided a week or so ago that I wanted to go out to Raleigh for Monday Night Raw at the RBC Center before going to Smackdown! in Greensboro on Tuesday. I know Greensboro well having lived closed to there for a long time, and so another trip to see WWE action was on!

But before all that, I went on wwe.com to see that The Miz was signing autographs at an auto mall in Smithfield, NC near Raleigh. So instead of leaving in the afternoon for Raw, I left in the morning to meet The Miz and get an autograph from him. This also allowed me to sight-see a little bit at museums in Raleigh before the Raw show.

My impression of meeting the WWE Champion was like the rest of the stars and divas I've met in the WWE: Very good. He signed my WrestleMania XXVII hat and took note of my WM shirt that I had on. He asked me how it was, and I told him using his own line "Awesome!". He then said, "That's because I won the main event!" That's when the following pic was snapped. I shook his hand and thanked him for the time. He flew all the way(14 hours according to him) to Raleigh from Qatar on Easter Sunday. Then had media day early Monday morning, this autograph session, and the Raw show that night. That told me a lot about him, and he was cool to me and other fans there. All the WWE stars and divas I've met are cool. You can follow him on Twitter @mikethemiz.

Anyway, here are some pics from meeting The Miz and also from the Monday Night Raw show in Raleigh

This is a pic of me meeting WWE Champion The Miz in Smithfield, North Carolina on Monday morning. He signed autographs at an auto mall to the first 300 fans that showed up.

Raw performers are in the ring ready to take on Smackdown! performers in a 20-man battle royal to determine the first pick in the 2011 Draft.

Cena comes out after being announced as Smackdown's first pick in the 2011 Draft. Of course, he was sent back to Raw at the end of the night.

Cena is interviewed after being picked by Smackdown! only for the WWE Champion The Miz to interrupt him.

R-Truth is on stage addressing the capacity crowd in Raleigh. He had by far the funniest and most entertaining segment of the night. If you haven't seen it, check YouTube to see the segment. He went with the flow from the crowd, and we were seriously into the segment. Too funny!

Mysterio introduced as the first draft pick for Raw!

It's Kofi vs Sheamus for a draft pick!

Orton comes out after being the latest pick to Smackdown!

Michael Cole and Jack Swagger are on their way to the ring!

CM Punk interrupts the draft picks for Smackdown! to address his opponent Randy Orton at Extreme Rules

John Cena in the ring after Raw is off the air. He takes a shot at The Miz for saying "NC Wolfpack" in his promo before the main event. Cena says that Raleigh is home of the NC State Wolfpack. He leads a chant and that ended the show.

I've got a ton of pics left to put up from my trip to Atlanta earlier this month and for the following night's WWE Smackdown! event in Greensboro. Thanks for viewing!

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WrestleMania Axxess Photo Shots: Gail Kim!

It's time for another WrestleMania Axxess Photo Shot with this entry focusing on WWE Diva Gail Kim.

Kim is of Korean descent and was born in Toronto where she would eventually start her wrestling career on their independent circuit.

In 2002, she signed with the WWE before she debuted in 2003. It was during her debut that she won the WWE Women's Title in a battle royal. She held it for about a month and became heel before she was let go in late 2004.

She would end up in TNA in 2005 where she won the Women's Knockout Championship and was also the named the Knockout of the Year in 2007. She was a manager during the early part of her tenure in the promotion before having great feuds with other knockouts such as Awesome Kong.

After her contract expired in 2008, Kim returned to the WWE in 2009 on Smackdown! She made it to the finals of the tournament that determined the first ever Divas Champion which was won by Maryse. Recently, she has been in a storyline with star Daniel Bryan as her on-screen boyfriend.

Kim is one of the best in-ring workers and is extremely beautiful as well. She has worked herself into being one of the top female performers in the world.

It was an interesting time when I took my pic with Gail Kim during the afternoon session the day of WrestleMania XXVII(which was the last Axxess session). She looks even more lovely in person which I told her when I shook her hand. For some reason(and I still don't what happened), there was a delay with camera personnel when I was up on stage. Therefore, I was up there standing alongside Kim for longer than is expected. And a funny conversation that left me leaving the stage laughing took place. Here's how the conversation with Kim and I went:

Kim: It looks like you get extra time up here.
Me: I want to stay up here longer. I'm not complaining.
(Kim laughs lightly)
(Still a delay with the camera personnel)
Me(sarcastically): Sure, hold us up here longer. Sure.
Kim: Are you complaining?
Me(Laughing lightly): Of course not. I still want to stay up here longer.
(Kim laughs lightly again)
(Finally the photo is taken and I thank her for the extra time before leaving the stage laughing at what happened).

Hey, which guy wouldn't want to stay up there longer with a very beautiful diva like Kim? Ha! Anyway, here is the pic I took with the beautiful Gail Kim:


As I've done with the previous WWE stars I've featured with these Photo Shots, I'm gonna post a rap/poetry for Kim(or at least attempt it, lol)

"Kim is not only sexy, but always puts on a good match,
Though I know she always wants opponents to dispatch,

In fact, she's one of the best female wrestlers around,
I hope she's the next to win the women's triple crown,

Gail was born in Canada but descends from Korea,
She's not retiring, and don't be misled by the media,

Whether it's TNA or WWE, she's won titles in both promotions,
And she's performed across all the oceans,

The WWE Divas title is the only one alluding her,
Okay, I'll avoid making this sound like a lecture,

She deserves to be recognized as one of the diva's best,
Cuz her in-ring work has always impressed,

It was a fun time to meet you Gail Kim,
She's a nice lady and also works hard in the gym,

She's hot enough to burn up any temperature gauge,
And I enjoyed the time meeting you on that stage!"

She'll appreciate it if you give her a follow @gailkimITSME on Twitter. You can also check her official Gail Kim site. Thanks Gail!

Previous WrestleMania Axxess Photo Shots:
Melina
Natalya
Maryse
Alicia Fox
Tamina
The Bella Twins
Eve Torres
Kelly Kelly
R-Truth

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WrestleMania Axxess Photo Shots: R-Truth!

As I continue on with the series of WrestleMania Axxess Photo Shots, this entry will focus on superstar Ron Killings aka R-Truth.

Killings was born in Atlanta, GA, but grew up in Charlotte, NC. He was very determined to become a rapper in the music industry, but would eventually end up in the wrestling industry.

In 1999, he was signed by the WWE(then the WWF) and debuted in late 2000 as K-Kwik where he teamed up at one time with the Road Dogg. He briefly held the Hardcore Championship on two occasions before leaving the promotion in 2001.

In 2002, he entered TNA(Total Non-Stop Action) where his career really took off. He was a two-time NWA Heavyweight Champion and two-time TNA Tag Team champion for the promotion. He spent five years there with some highly successful feuds that kept him atop the scene in TNA.

In 2008, Killings returned to the WWE as R-Truth(as a face). Later on, he would rap on his way to the ring from either the entrance ramp or sometimes the audience for matches before using his phrase "What's Up!" with the crowd responding back to him.

So far in his return to the WWE, R-Truth has been a U.S. Heavyweight Champion on one occasion. He recently turned heel for the first time in his WWE career this past Monday on Raw, and is looking to win the WWE Title.

The day before I got a pic with him, he was signing autographs for fans. I wanted to get one from him, but seen the line was backed up. I didn't know if he was scheduled to appear again. But after I got a pic with Kelly Kelly that morning, I did see that he was up for the magazine photo shoot. Being that he lives in nearby Charlotte(I live less than an hour from there to the north), I wanted to meet him. So instead of an autograph, I got a pic. When I went on stage to meet him, I had to say "What's Up!" to him. He responded by saying "I can't call it." I didn't know he put up his hand gesture in the pic because I was looking at the camera, but seen it when I uploaded the pic later. That was cool. Here's the pic of me with R-Truth:


There's no way in the world I got anything on R-Truth when it comes to rapping since he's been involved with that before(and likely to produce more albums in the future). But as I've done with the other WWE stars on here, I'll try. I'm gonna throw his catch-phrase of "Truth is.." in this:

*Truth is, Ron Killings goes by R-Truth,
Truth is, see him wrestle by going to a ticket booth,

Truth is, he's a rap recording artist,
Truth is, in the music industry, it's one of the hardest,

Truth is, he's a veteran wrestler in the ring,
Truth is, rapping on his way to the ring is his thing,

Truth is, he can hurt you with the Lie Detector,
Truth is, I need to hire him as a music director(LOL),

Truth is, Charlotte is where he does reside,
Truth is, he's watched on TV by many worldwide,

Truth is, his scissors kick is called Truth Axe,
Truth is, it's put many opponents on their backs,

Truth is, I'm wanting to see what he does as a heel,
Truth is, many thought his turn was unreal,

Truth is, I'm glad I met him during WrestleMania week,
Truth is, this is true what I speak!"

You can follow Ron Killings aka R-Truth on Twitter @RonKillings. You can also follow his fan-site on Twitter @RonKillingsWeb and the best fan-site for the latest news on him at Ron-Killings Website. R-Truth has even said "Awesome job!" about the fan-site, so that's all that needs to be said there. Thanks Ron!

Previous WrestleMania Axxess Photo Shots:
Melina
Natalya
Maryse
Alicia Fox
Tamina
The Bella Twins
Eve Torres
Kelly Kelly

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WrestleMania Axxess: April 2, 2011

After my first WrestleMania Axxess the night before, I was back at it the following Saturday morning.

I wore casual attire because the WWE Hall of Fame was taking place that night at the Phillips Arena which is what we were told to wear. I only had two hours sleep going into this Axxess session which was from 8am-12pm.

I didn't get there until right about when it started, but it didn't matter. So as I did the first session, I went straight to the Diva Shoot area. And once again, it was Melina that was up taking photos with fans. So I got my second pic with her, and she said that I can take as many with her as I wanted.

On the other side for the magazine shoot for the first part of the morning session was Alicia Fox, so I got my second of three pics with her.

Later on, the Bella Twins were at the Diva Shoot as they took over for Melina. There was no way I was going to pass up getting a pic with those hot twins. And I loved how my pic with them came out, too!

I went back over to the magazine shoot and seen that Tamina was up after taking over Alicia Fox. So I was one of the first to get a pic with her in which she noted I was tall! LOL!

After the photo shots were done, my purpose for attending that morning's Axxess was to meet WWE Hall of Fame announcer and fellow Sooners fan, Jim Ross along with Jerry "The King" Lawler. When I first got in line, Lawler wasn't at the table. After waiting for about an hour, Lawler showed up just in time as many fans chanted "Jerry!" as he came out. I'm not sure what happened as to why he was late, but I was glad he made it. I was really glad to meet JR and Lawler! They both shook my hand after signing my WrestleMania hat for me.

With less than an hour to spare, I went over to Undertaker's Graveyard. I loved the smoke they used which is the same during his ring entrance. The tombstones of all the opponents he's beaten at WrestleMania events were there. You could even get a pic from the staff of you being inside the casket. For some reason, I couldn't get mine to upload.

So after going through the graveyard, I took the last few minutes to walk around during the session when a familiar face caught my eye where a radio station was at. It was former WWE Women's Champion Lita, who was talking wrestling on radio! I was able to get a good shot of her before leaving! I certainly wasn't expecting to see her there, but glad she came out to Axxess. It was a good way to end the morning session.

Anyway, here are the pics I took during my second Axxess session:

The Great Khali and JTG are signing autographs at the table. Yes, the pic is very blurred.

I'm in line to meet good ole JR Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler.

This is me getting my WrestleMania 27 hat autographed by JR and then by Lawler. I didn't realize until later that I blocked Lawler out of the pic(You're only allowed one pic because of the long lines). But was glad to meet a fellow diehard Sooners fan and Lawler has the same birthday as me!

From the Undertaker's graveyard, you can see a Tombstone setup for Triple H. As it turned out, this tombstone will be added to next year's Axxess sessions because the Deadman won an incredible match between the two.

The tombstone of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. This was the Undertaker's first victim of the "Streak" at WrestleMania 7.

Tombstone for Jake "The Snake" Roberts, whom the Undertaker made his second victim at WrestleMania 8. This was his first WM as a babyface(good guy), too.

Tombstones for King Kong Bundy and for Giant Gonzalez. Undertaker beat Bundy at WrestleMania 11 to become his fourth victim. He beat Gonzalez by DQ at WrestleMania 9.

Tombstone for Kane, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania XX(20) in New York City.

Tombstone for Randy Orton, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles.

Tombstone for Mark Henry, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 22.

Tombstone for WWE Hall of Fame legend Ric Flair, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 18.

Tombstone of Triple H, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 17. The two had the best match on the card for this year's WrestleMania 27 in which the Undertaker ran his undefeated record to 19-0 at WrestleMania events.

Some more caskets for the Undertaker. Do you want to be another victim of his at WrestleMania? Haha.

Tombstone for the Big Boss Man, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 15.

Tombstone for "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 26 in Arizona for the second straight year.

Tombstone for Michaels, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 25 in Houston in quite possibly the greatest match in WM history.

Tombstone for Edge, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 24 for the World Heavyweight Title.

This is the Undertaker's casket that was used during his match with Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble in 1994.

Tombstone for Sycho Sid, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 13.

Tombstone for Diesel(Kevin Nash), whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 12.

Tombstone for Batista, whom the Undertaker beat at WrestleMania 23 to win the World Heavyweight Title.

Former WWE Women's Champion Lita makes an appearance at Axxess as she was interviewed on the radio. I took this pic before the session was closed. This appearance did catch me by surprise!

I wasn't able to get into the afternoon session that Saturday because tickets were sold out for it. But, I walked around for awhile and went to get something eat. That's what I did before going to the WWE Hall of Fame that night!

I still have more Axxess session, WWE Hall of Fame, WrestleMania 27, CNN Studios, Coca-Cola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, Fernbank Museum, and of course more WM Axxess Photo Shot pics still to come from my time in Atlanta!

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WrestleMania 27 Axxess: April 1, 2011

It was no April Fools Day joke this year as this was the first time that I've attended a WrestleMania Axxess session. And wow, what a time it it was!

I originally bought the ticket two weeks prior to this, and seen that stars such as John Cena, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Melina, and Natalya were going to be there.

The very first thing I did after I got my ticket scanned to go inside was go to the Diva Shoot. I wasn't exactly sure who it would be there because schedules can change. It turned out to be Melina, and I had to get a pic with her. I would get another pic with her the following morning.

I walked around for a little while after that to see what else they had, and seen John Cena's muscle cars, Shawn Michaels' past WrestleMania attire, and the stars that were there to sign autographs.

Also, in-ring action took place that featured an appearance from WWE Hall of Fame legend "Rowdy" Roddy Piper! He got a huge pop when his music hit and many flocked to see him team with the celebrity guest "Lightning Kid" Rob Drydrek to beat Tyson Kidd and Zach Ryder. Drydrek, on his skateboard, slid down the entry ramp, jumped over the top rope, and into the ring on Ryder. That was an awesome spot to see!

Later, I had to get a magazine cover pic with diva Natalya, who was really nice to me. Later, I walked back over to the ring to see The Miz make an appearance. After that, the WWE All-Stars tournament featuring stars from past and present competing in that gaming challenge.

After watching that for a little bit, I looked over to see that Snooki was there to sign copies of her book for fans at the Diva Shoot area during the last two hours of the session(a change takes place midway through the 4-hour session to another star/diva at all photo and autograph locations).

On the other side where Natalya was, Maryse and Alicia Fox were both up on stage for the second part of session! There was no way I going to pass up getting a pic with those two! Security had to rush people faster than normal through the line to make sure everyone was able to get their pics with them. The session was done at 10pm and I got the pic with them at 9:58pm which was just in time!

Anyway, here are some of the pics I took from my first WM Axxess even though some are really blurred:

This is a shot of me with my feet up on Mr. McMahon's desk. Haha!

This is the actual 4x4 ATV that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin drove at WrestleMania 25 which was the year he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

This is Vince McMahon's limo that exploded on an episode of Monday Night Raw back in 2007.

Some fans in the ring at Axxess.

John Cena appears at Axxess. This was taken about the time he arrived, and was his scheduled day to appear for an autograph signing. I had to get another one later.

Two members(Wade Barrett & Justin Gabriel) of The Corre signing autographs!

Jack Swagger and Michael Cole are in the ring taunting the announcer. He had the Ankle Lock put on him during the segment by Swagger. Of course, Cole was booed heavily when he came out!

Some of the WrestleMania attire won by Mr. WrestleMania himself, the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. He would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the next night!

One of John Cena's muscle cars on display!

I like this muscle car from Cena!

I like this from Cena, too!

A black muscle car!

Another muscle car from Cena that was on display.

The Champ is here at WrestleMania Axxess! John Cena is signing autographs for those with VIP tickets! I didn't get to meet him, but I will eventually!

Reality show and Jersey Shore star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi makes an appearance at Axxess signing copies of her book!

WWE Champion The Miz is in the ring answering questions and talking about his match at WrestleMania 27!

The Triple H Throne is on display!

WWE Hall of Famers "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Sgt. Slaughter along with current stars Evan Bourne and Sheamus in the ring ready for the WWE All-Stars game tournament!

The Usos, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, and Slaughter in the pic here.

The Usos face one another in the first round of the WWE All-Stars tournament. As it turned out, one of them actually won the tournament!

The Usos playing against each other in WWE All-Stars. Jim Ross faced off against fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler. I was rooting for JR to win because of being a huge Sooners fan, and his game against Lawler lasted a long time. He won the game though. Boomer Sooner!

The pic is very blurred, but that is WWE Hall of Famer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat that was introduced as he just made his way to the ring.

The "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes is coming to the ring!

The "Masterpiece" Chris Masters is introduced to the crowd! John Morrison is in the ring, too.

You can see Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix in the ring. Others such as JTG can be seen as all of them are competing in the WWE All-Stars game tournament!

Construction was on-going in the direction I was headed back to my hotel and didn't get back until very late. So I only had two hours sleep or so, but I bought another ticket for the Saturday morning session because I didn't get to everything that I could for this one. I ended up going four times total, and meeting many stars. It was just too much fun and too many things to do at just one session. I'll never forget this first WM Axxess because I enjoyed these more than the WrestleMania event itself! No, I'm not kidding either!

I'll be posting the remaining three WM Axxess sessions, WWE Hall of Fame pics, WrestleMania 27 pics, CNN Studio shots, Coca-Cola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, Fernbank Museum, and of course more WM Axxess Photo Shots that I took with the stars. Yes there are plenty more pics to come from my vacation in Atlanta! Thanks for viewing!

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