There are now many wrestlers who have competed at Madison Square Garden, Wembley, Arena Mexico & The Tokyo Dome

AEW All In 2024 has passed and it's time to update the list of those wrestlers that have competed at Madison Square Garden, Wembley, Arena Mexico, and The Tokyo Dome!

You can read last years post here: Who Are the Only 3 Wrestlers...

Those 3 were Chris Jericho, Juice Robinson, and John Tenta.  Thanks to AEW's working agreement with CMLL and NJPW we've added 7 more names to the list!  In no particular order:

From Rocky Romero's X account, he and Dragon from their Tokyo Dome debut

"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson

Danielson made his Arena Mexico and Wembley debuts both in 2024.  

Arena Mexico

March 29, 2024 CMLL Homenaje A Dos Leyendas 2024

Blue Panther, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. defeat Blackpool Combat Club: Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley, & Matt Sydal

This was Dragon's CMLL debut as well.  He would return to CMLL a week later on April 5, 2024 to have his dream match facing Blue Panther one on one defeating Panther in 26 minutes by submission.

Tokyo Dome

October 14, 2002 NJPW The Spiral

Six Man Tag Team Match: Jushin Thunder Liger, Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask defeat American Dragon, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero

Madison Square Garden

December 26, 2010 WWE Raw House Show

WWE United States Champion: Daniel Bryan defeats Zack Ryder

Wembley Stadium

August 25, 2024 AEW ALL In 2024

AEW World Title Vs. Career: "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson submitted AEW World Heavyweight Champion: Swerve Strickland with Prince Nana to win the championship

Zack Sabre Jr. 

One of my all time favorites, I still cannot believe I saw him wrestle Chris Hero in Orono, Maine for Limitless wrestling in 2016 on a stormy January night in with 150 other people.  

Arena Mexico

June 21, 2024 CMLL/NJPW Fantastica Mania Mexico 2024

Best Two Out Of Three Falls: Michael Oku & Zack Sabre Jr. defeat Averno & Volador Jr. [2:0]

Tokyo Dome

January 4, 2018 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12

Four Way Gauntlet Match

CHAOS: Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions: BULLET CLUB: Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, Suzuki-gun: Taichi, Takashi Iizuka & Zack Sabre Jr., War Machine: Hanson & Raymond Rowe & Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi & Togi Makabe to win the championships

Madison Square Garden

April 6, 2019 ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard

RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion: Zack Sabre Jr. submitted Hiroshi Tanahashi

I was at this match!  My second ever MSG live event during Mania weekend.  I saw Zack wrestle 3 times over the weekend.

Wembley Stadium

August 25, 2024 AEW ALL In 2024

Casino Gauntlet Match: Christian Cage defeats Adam Page, Jeff Jarrett w/Karen Jarrett, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle O'Reilly, Luchasaurus, Mark Briscoe, Nigel McGuinness, Orange Cassidy, Ricochet, Roderick Strong and Zack Sabre Jr.

Jon Moxley

Arena Mexico

March 29, 2024 CMLL Homenaje A Dos Leyendas 2024

Blue Panther, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. defeat Blackpool Combat Club: Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley, & Matt Sydal

Tokyo Dome

January 4, 2020 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 In Tokyo Dome

Texas Death Match: Jon Moxley defeated IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion: Lance Archer to win the championship.

Moxley would make his second Tokyo Dome appearance the next day in a successful title defense against Juice Robinson. 

Madison Square Garden

December 27, 2012 WWE Raw House Show

The Shield: Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins defeated Team Hell No: Daniel Bryan & Kane & The Miz

Wembley Stadium

August 27, 2023, AEW All In London 2023

Stadium Stampede Match: Best Friends: Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta, Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo w/Alex Abrahantes defeat Blackpool Combat Club: Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta, Mike Santana & Ortiz

Jay Lethal

Arena Mexico

July 25, 2008 CMLL Super Viernes - Gran Prix: CMLL vs. TNA & Leyenda De Plata 2008

Gran Prix Internacional Torneo Cibernetico: Alex Shelley defeated AJ Styles, Alex Koslov, Averno,  Chris Sabin, Dos Caras Jr., Dr. Wagner Jr., Hector Garza, Jay Lethal, Johnny Devine, Marco Corleone, Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Sonjay Dutt, Ultimo Guerrero, and Volador Jr. 

Tokyo Dome

January 4, 2016 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 In Tokyo Dome

ROH World Champion: Jay Lethal with Truth Martini defeated Michael Elgin

Madison Square Garden 

April 6, 2019 ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard

Ladder Match: Matt Taven defeated: Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion: Jay Lethal and Marty Scurll to win the championship

As stated above, I was at this show.  In my opinion the ROH side of the card was A LOT weaker than the NJPW portions.

Wembley Stadium

August 25, 2024 AEW ALL In 2024

Sixteen Man: Action Andretti, Kip Sabian, Kyle Fletcher with Don Callis, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, "Dynamite Kid: Tommy Billington & Top Flight: Dante Martin & Darius Martin defeated Anthony Ogogo, Ariya Daivari, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh with Sonjay Dutt, Private Party: Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen & The Dark Order: Alex Reynolds & John Silver with Evil Uno

Rocky Romero

Arena Mexico

July 4, 2003 CMLL Super Viernes 

CMLL World Trios Title #1 Contendership Tournament First Round: Los Infernales: Averno, El Satanico & Mephisto defeat Bobby Quance, Pinoy Boy & Rocky Romero

Tokyo Dome

October 14, 2002 NJPW The Spiral

Six Man Tag Team Match: Jushin Thunder Liger, Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask defeat American Dragon, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero

Madison Square Garden 

April 6, 2019 ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard

Honor Rumble: Kenny King defeated Bad Luck Fale, Brian Milonas, BUSH, Chase Owens,  Cheeseburger, Colt Cabana, Delirious, Great Muta, Hirooki Goto, Jonathan Gresham, Jushin Thunder Liger, King Haku, LSG, Minoru Suzuki, PJ Black, Rhett Titus, Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi,  Shaheem Ali, Shingo Takagi, SHO, The Beer City Bruiser, TK O'Ryan, Tomohiro Ishii, Tracy Williams, Vinny Marseglia, Will Ferrara, YOH and YOSHI-HASHI

This was on the pre-show 

Wembley Stadium

August 25, 2024 AEW ALL In 2024

Sixteen Man: Action Andretti, Kip Sabian, Kyle Fletcher with Don Callis, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, "Dynamite Kid: Tommy Billington & Top Flight: Dante Martin & Darius Martin defeated Anthony Ogogo, Ariya Daivari, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh with Sonjay Dutt, Private Party: Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen & The Dark Order: Alex Reynolds & John Silver with Evil Uno

Tomohiro Ishii

Arena Mexico

September 13, 2013 CMLL 80th Aniversario Event

just as Ishii in Mexico

Best Two Out Of Three Falls: La Ola Amarilla: Ishii, Namajague & Okumura defeat Fuego, Rey Cometa & Stuka Jr. [2:1]

Tokyo Dome

October 8, 2005

NJPW Toukon Souzou New Chapter

Osamu Nishimura & Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii 

Madison Square Garden 

April 6, 2019 ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard

Honor Rumble: Kenny King defeated Bad Luck Fale, Brian Milonas, BUSH, Chase Owens,  Cheeseburger, Colt Cabana, Delirious, Great Muta, Hirooki Goto, Jonathan Gresham, Jushin Thunder Liger, King Haku, LSG, Minoru Suzuki, PJ Black, Rhett Titus, Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi,  Shaheem Ali, Shingo Takagi, SHO, The Beer City Bruiser, TK O'Ryan, Tomohiro Ishii, Tracy Williams, Vinny Marseglia, Will Ferrara, YOH and YOSHI-HASHI

This was the pre-show Honor Rumble, the win was wasted on Kenny King.  VERY bad ass portion of this match was the Great Muta making his MSG debut.  He has stated in an Interview that he had always wanted to wrestle at Madison Square Garden.  He was a surprise entrant and the building erupted.  

Wembley Stadium

August 25, 2024 AEW ALL In 2024

Mixed Tag Team Match: Tomohiro Ishii & Willow Nightingale defeated Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway when Ishii pinned Stokely

Kazuchika Okada 

Arena Mexico

May 14, 2005 Toryumon Mexico 8th Aniversario

Sofia Cup Dragon Scramble Elimination: Mistico defeats Banana Senga, Crazy Boy, El Hijo del Fantasma, Extreme Tiger, Hajime Ohara, Hiromi Horiguchi, Joe Lider, Kanjyouro Matsuyama, King Ali Baba, Milanito Collection AT, Shamu and, Kazuchika Okada 

Tokyo Dome

January 4, 2009 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III

RISE: Milano Collection AT and Minoru & Taichi Ishikari defeat Kazuchika Okada, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Nobuo Yoshihashi

Madison Square Garden

April 6, 2019 ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard

Kazuchika Okada defeats IWGP Heavyweight Champion: "Switchblade" Jay White with Gedo to win the championship

I was at 5 of these wrestlers MSG debuts!  Okada closing the night out defeating Jay White for the championship was a perfect cap to the evening. 

Wembley Stadium

August 25, 2024 AEW ALL In 2024

Casino Gauntlet Match: Christian Cage defeats Adam Page, Jeff Jarrett w/Karen Jarrett, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle O'Reilly, Luchasaurus, Mark Briscoe, Nigel McGuinness, Orange Cassidy, Ricochet, Roderick Strong and Zack Sabre Jr.

People that I thought compete at all 4 but haven't

Will Ospreay - Arena Mexico

Jeff Jarrett - Arena Mexico

Christian Cage - Arena Mexico

Claudio Catagnoli - Tokyo Dome

Matt Taven - Tokyo Dome

Kamala - Tokyo Dome

PAC - Tokyo Dome

Lio Rush - Madison Square Garden

Mercedes Mone - made appearances at Tokyo Dome and Arena Mexico in angles but did not have a match

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my book the 2024 Limitless Wrestling Almanac, or any of my other books.

Until next time!

Other Promotions Running Madison Square Garden

When I was a kid I watched all the wrestling that I could, I still do we just have way more access today than in the 1980's.  Growing up in the Maine my primary promotion was the WWF and watching the TV shows or the Coliseum Home Video releases the commentators always drilled home that Madison Square Garden was the greatest sports arena in the world where all the biggest matches and moments happened.  I always wanted to got to MSG for a show, my buddy Jay and I talked about it for years and finally we did it in 2018.  You can read about that trip here.

As a kid only the WWF ran shows at Madison Square Garden and as I got older I learned of the exclusive deal the WWF and The McMahon family had as the wrestling promoters of MSG.  It apparently when back decades through different version of Madison Square Garden.

There have been 4 versions of Madison Square Garden, the first operated from 1879 to 1890, the second 1890 to 1925, the third 1925 to 1968 and the current version opened February 11, 1968.  The first wrestling card promoted at a Madison Square Garden was on November 24, 1875.  

Roderick "Jess" McMahon had been promoting wrestling since 1915 and became the first McMahon to promote wrestling at the Garden in 1925 at the 3rd incarnation.  He would later partner with Toots Mondt running shows at MSG, and his son Vince J. McMahon would take over for his father in 1957 partnering with Mondt to promote shows.

Other promoters ran the Garden the McMahon and Mondt's Capital Wrestling Corporation would become the sole promoters in 1961.

Jack Pfefer & Pedro Martinez promoted at MSG and their show on November 14, 1960 would be the final show promoted at the venue until 2019 that did not have the name McMahon attached to the promotion. 

Tony Marino defeated Miguel Torres 

Red Grupe defeated Swede Hanson

Dixie Rebels: #1 & #2 (Mario Galento & Jerry Miller) defeated Luther Lindsay & Mr. Puerto Rico 

Haystack Muldoon pinned Pampero Firpo

Bavarian Boys: Rudy Jacobs & Harry Wenzel defeated P.Y. Chong & Larry Simon

Karl Gotch defeated Jerry Graham by disqualification

Ricki Starr & Miguel Perez defeated The Fargo's: Jackie Fargo & Sonny Fargo

Bruno Sammartino wrestled Antonino Rocca to a 34:00 curfew draw

 

This was the last non-McMahon Family, WWWF / WWF / WWE show to be promoted at Madison Square Garden.  From 1963 through 1988 the WWE ran monthly shows at the Garden  until national expansion took their tour across the world.  1989 - 1991 averaged 8 shows a year and over the next several years the numbers would continue to decline to 2 shows in 2005.  Citing the rising costs and fees of running the Garden WWE would run just 1 show a year, typically the annual post Christmas house show which began in 2011.  

This is why MSG management ended their exclusivity deal with the WWE, as WWE was still running upwards of a dozen shows a year in New York City, just not at the Garden.  This opened the door for other promotions to run The World's Most Famous Arena.  In June 2018 New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor announced the G1 Supercard to be held April 6, 2019.

This date coincided with WrestleMania weekend with Mania being held at the Meadowlands and other WWE shows in the surrounding area with nothing booked at MSG.  My friends and I bought tickets in July 2018 when they went on sale and were Garden bound for the first non WWE show to be held at the venue in 59 years.  The show sold out within 16 minutes of the general on sale time.

It was a stacked card, however we all felt that the ROH portion was not as good as the New Japan portion of the show. 

Dark Match

Oedo Tai: Kagetsu and Hazuki, & Jenny Rose defeated Hana Kimura, Sumie Sakai, & Stella Grey

Pre-Show

Honor Rumble: Kenny King won outlasting: Minoru Suzuki, Cheeseburger, Beer City Bruiser, Sho, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, Yoh, Shaheem Ali, Rhett Titus, LSG, Ryusuke Taguchi, Will Ferrara, Chase Owens, Rocky Romero, Brian Milonas, Bad Luck Fale, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams, Yoshi Hashi, PJ Black, Jushin Thunder Liger, TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia, Delirious, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Colt Cabana, Hirooki Goto, King Haku, The Great Muta.

Main Card

ROH World Television Champion: Jeff Cobb defeated NEVER Openweight Champion: Will Ospreay to win both championships

Rush defeated Dalton Castle with The Boys in 15 seconds, post match Castle beat up The Boys

Kelly Klein defeated Woman of Honor World Champion: Mayu Iwatani to win the title

New York City Street Fight: Flip Gordon and Lifeblood: Juice Robinson & Mark Haskins defeated Bully Ray, Shane Taylor, & Silas Young

Dragon Lee defeated Bandido & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion: Taiji Ishimori to win the championship

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Guerrillas of Destiny: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa with Jado defeated ROH World Tag Team Champions: Villain Enterprises: PCO & Brody King and Los Ingobernables de Japon: Evil & Sanada and The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay to win both championships

British Heavyweight Champion: Zack Sabre Jr with Taka Michinoku defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi by submission

Kota Ibushi pinned IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Tetsuya Naito to win the championship

Ladder Match: Matt Taven defeated Jay Lethal & Marty Scurll to win the championship

Kazuchika Okada defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion: “Switchblade” Jay White with Gedo to win the championship

While we were in New York City for Mania weekend Lucha Libre AAA held a press conference at Madison Square Garden that we attended announcing a show to take place September 15, 2019 on the main floor of MSG. However after poor ticket sales the show was moved the smaller Theatre at Madison Square Garden and it became a joint show with IMPACT Wrestling.  During the press conference AAA CEO Dorian Pena talked about the July 24, 1994 show that AAA ran at the then called Paramount theatre and how excited they were to run the main floor.  

Although located inside the MSG complex this is not The Garden.  Originally called Felt Forum when it opened in 1968 when the Garden was sold out the overflow would watch the show via closed circuit in the Felt Forum.  The name of the venue changed names many times over the years to what is is called now.  

AAA was not the first wrestling promotion to run a show in smaller venue under the main floor of MSG.  WCW: World Championship Wrestling held two shows there, the first April 13, 1993 and the second on June 30, 1996.  NXT held one event in the venue on November 16, 2016.  

On October 27, 2009 Hulk Hogan held a press conference at Madison Square Garden to announce the release of his new book, and representatives from TNA Wrestling were on hand to sign Hogan to a full time contract with the promotion.

After the G1 Supercard, WWE increased their presence at the Garden running both Raw & Smackdown live TV from MSG, the same week as the AAA card, and post pandemic have run TV and House Shows at the Garden.

Speaking of the Pandemic, prior to the world shutting down in 2020 at Wrestle Kingdom 14 January 4, 2020 NJPW announced their return to MSG with Wrestle Dynasty!  The show was cancelled and has not been rescheduled. 

Here are some other blog posts I wrote about Madison Square Garden

March 19, 2018 My Madison Square Garden Adventure

June 17, 2018 Will Other Wrestling Promotions Run Madison Square Garden

April 2019 IndyMania: My Wrestling Vacation Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Later Readers!

April 14, 1993 WCW: World Championship Wrestling

Johnny B. Badd pinned Tex Slazenger

Maxx Payne defeated Steve Regal

Chris Benoit fought Ron Simmons to a no contest; Simmons was scheduled to win the match but the bout was stopped per order of the New York State Athletic Commission after Benoit hit a dive to the floor

Van Hammer pinned Vinnie Vegas

WCW/NWA Tag Team Champions: The Hollywood Blondes: Steve Austin & Brian Pillman defeated 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell

Rick Rude pinned Cactus Jack

WCW US Champion: Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW TV Champion: Paul Orndorff via disqualification 

NWA World Champion: Barry Windham pinned Ricky Steamboat

Sting defeated WCW World Champion: Big Van Vader via disqualification when Harley Race interfered

July 24, 1994 AAA Lucha Libre Worldwide

Every match was contested in Best Two Out Of Three Falls format

Diamond Dallas Page & Louie Spicolli defeated El Bandido & Indio Valiente

2 Cold Scorpio, Heavy Metal & Tito Santana defeated Los Payasos (Coco Amarillo, Coco Azul & Coco Rojo) by DQ

Mascarita Sagrada & Octagoncito defeated Espectrito & Jerrito Estrada

El Hijo del Santo & Octagon defeated La Parka & Psicosis

Cien Caras, Konnan & Perro Aguayo wrestled Los Gringos Locos: Eddy Guerrero, Jake Roberts & Love Machine to a No Contest

June 30, 1996 WCW: World Championship Wrestling

Chris Benoit pinned Eddie Guerrero with a roll over and grabbing the ropes for leverage

WCW Cruiserweight: Champion Dean Malenko pinned Lord Steven Regal

Jim Duggan pinned VK Wallstreet

WCW US Champion: Konnan  with Pedro Morales pinned Kevin Sullivan with a sunset flip after Morales hit an interfering Jimmy Hart with a headbutt

Rick & Scott Steiner defeated WCW Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat: Booker T & Stevie Ray via disqualification

WCW TV Champion: Lex Luger defeated Arn Anderson via submission with the Torture Rack

The Nasty Boys defeated Public Enemy in a streetfight when Jerry Saggs pinned Johnny Grunge after Grunge fell into a table

Randy Savage pinned Ric Flair with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage; Bruno Sammartino was the guest referee for the bout; Flair initially won the match via pinfall after hitting Savage with a weapon but Sammartino spotted the weapon and had the match continue

WCW World Champion: The Giant defeated Sting via disqualification

November 16, 2016 NXT Live

 No Way Jose defeated Roderick Strong

The Iconics: Billie Kay & Peyton Royce defeated Daria Berenato & Liv Morgan

Oney Lorcan defeats Elias Samson

TM-61: Nick Miller & Shane Thorne defeated SAnitY: Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton with Eric Young

Tye Dillinger defeate Eric Young

Bobby Roode defeated Cedric Alexander

NXT Women's Champion: Asuka defeated Ember Moon and Nikki Cross

#DIY: Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Samoa Joe and The Revival: Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson

September 15, 2019 AAA Lucha Libre Worldwide

Chris Dickinson & Mascarita Dorada defeated Dave The Clown & Demus

Josh Alexander, Michael Elgin & Sami Callihan defeated Drago, Faby Apache & Murder Clown

AAA World Cruiserweight Title #1 Contendership Four Way Match: Daga defeated Aero Star and Flamita and Puma King

Taya Valkyrie defeats AAA Reina de Reinas Champion: Tessa Blanchard to win the title

AAA World Tag Team Champions: The Lucha Brothers: Fenix & Pentagon Jr. defeated The Latin American Exchange: Ortiz & Santana

Brian Cage, Cain Velasquez & Psycho Clown defeated Los Mercenarios: El Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion & Taurus

Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Blue Demon Jr.

Buying Wrestling Tickets

I love professional wrestling and I want to see it succeed, the only downfall to that is it makes it so much harder to buy wrestling tickets during those times when wrestling is popular.  We are in one of those times.  Except this boon is like no other boon that we have had before.

With my WrestleMania XXIV, Hall of Fame, and Midday Madness tickets, 2008

Thanks to the Internet and streaming we can consume wrestling from around the world live no matter where we are on many different devises and platforms.  Because of this we have companies from other countries coming and running shows in the United States, something that never would have happened 10 years ago.

New Japan talents has been appearing on joint shows with Ring of Honor for years, however in July 2017 they ran two solos shows in Long Beach, California.  In 2018 they ran six solo shows and now in 2019 almost a dozen.  AAA is running Madison Square Garden this September and in Los Angeles in October, Progress Wrestling from the UK has run tours in 2017 & 2018 and independent companies from around the world pack in the fans during WrestleMania weekend. I myself went to RevPro and NJPW in New York this past April.

All of this makes it very difficult to get the best seats when buying tickets. 

The first time I ever got wrestling tickets was with my Dad when I was nine years old in 1989.  We went to the Ticketron outlet at the back of the Sears and my Dad but us tickets to WWF.  That's how you did it back then at the box officer, by phone, or at an authorized ticket outlet.

My first wrestling ticket stub, this image is two tickets placed together to from one as they tore opposite ends, 1989

My next couple of wrestling shows my friends bought the tickets.  My first experience buy wrestling tickets was driving down to Boston and standing outside overnight for WCW Monday Nitro, you can read all about it here.

My first of many wrestling shows in Boston, WCW Monday Nitro, 1997

It wasn't too long after that when Ticketmaster exploded and online ticket sales became the way to buy tickets for most venues.  This meant to try and get the best tickets standing in line or ordering by phone became a thing of the past as you were competing with everyone that had a computer and the fastest Internet connection. Some venues tried to stagger the on-sale time so the box office could sell tickets for an hour before online sales launched but that didn't last long.  

In fact many venues have multiple pre-sales if you a member of a certain club or credit card.  Also Ticketmaster jacks up the prices of tickets with their platinum seating charging astronomical prices for tickets.  For instance the New Japan show at MSG advertised front row at $290 and yet Ticketmaster made those tickets platinum premium seating charging over $700 each.  I'm not going to even start with secondary ticket sellers.

New Japan at Madison Square Garden, April 6, 2019

The Augusta Civic Center handled their own ticket sales until switching to Ticketmaster in 2004.  Prior to that they had no online ticketing just by phone or at the box office so in April 2003 I stood in line overnight at the Civic Center for tickets for the July 29, 2003 Smackdown Brand house show.  I met my buddy Rood for the first time that night and in the last 16 years we have gone on many wrestling adventures.

I got the last two front row tickets and it was my first time getting front row for WWE.  It was well worth it as at that show Vince McMahon appeared on the Brother Love Show with Zack Gowen and the cared was main evented by Brock Lesnar & Kurt Angle vs. John Cena & Big Show.

Some smaller venues like The Colisee in Lewiston & The Lowell Memorial Auditorium handle their own ticket sales and have online ticketing.  I managed to get front row in Lowell for two ROH PPV's All Star Extravaganza VIII in 2016 & Best in the World in 2017 and front row for War of the Worlds.  Having front row for those PPV's were amazing!  

But no matter if it's Ticketmaster or a smaller venue the same thing always happens to me.  I get all excited because I want to get front row, so I sit down in front of my computer and start hitting the refresh button as the butterflies building in my stomach.  Then when tickets pop up I move as fast as I can and except for a few instances I'm always initially disappointed because I don't get what I want. 

I'll tell my friends and they are always happy and positive about it, but not me, not for a couple hours actually.  I don't know why I put myself through it but I do.  Every time!  For instance when New Japan Pro Wrestling Fighting Spirit went on sale on July 26th at 10am I was up in northern Maine at a campground, we were actually leaving that day.  After getting all pack up I went into the lounge area where I could get on the wi-fi.  The night before I had logged up and checked everything out and it was fine.

Ten am hits and I start to try and buy tickets and it's moving like sludge.  At first I think it's the ticket website because I knew these tickets would be a hot item.  Finally it comes back and it's fifth row in the parquet, not even floor seats.  I search again and it gives me balcony.  So I go to buy the parquet seats and the Internet crashes.  I can't get back on and I have no cell reception for data.  That's it we are not getting tickets.  

We head down the road and notifications on my phone start going crazy so I drive until I see a good place to pull over and I pull up the website and as it's now 25 past ten and I'm know I'm getting nosebleeds, but I want to be there.  So I check the sections because you can pick you seat and there's nothing on the floor.  I then selected four tickets best available and it gave me second row on the floor and I didn't hesitate.  Got super lucky.  New York and Philly sold out in a couple hours, maybe less, and currently there aren't many left for Lowell.

upcoming New Japan in Lowell, 9/27/2019

In the past for indy shows I never bought tickets in advance, just show up at the door and typically you can get front row or general admission isn't bad.  Now with Limitless Wrestling, I get that same pit in the stomach feeling.

For their fourth anniversary show on Sept 6th, VIP and Front sold out in under three minutes and over 250 sold within the first hour.  I was lucky and got a VIP.  Part of me is happy that Limitless is doing so well and packing in the fans, but another part of me wants to not stress about getting tickets.

My least stressful wrestling ticket buying experiences in the last three years are the WWE shows at the Augusta Civic Center because I have no interest in front row, I go to the box office where I can pick out my seats and I buy particular ones in the $25 section and they are a great view.  Also by going to the box office I save all the Ticketmaster fees and just pay the venue's $2 per ticket fee for the twenty five dollar ticket is $27 and not $38 each.

I also want to add that I have an album with every single ticket stub I have ever gotten from any event that I went to that was ticketed, other than the movie theater.  Wrestling, concerts, monster trucks, sporting events and more.  It's really fun to go back and look at them when I add the new ones to it. 

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Until next time!

IndyMania: Part 4 the Wrap Up

I took this photo at the Beyond show on night 1 and
it was so good I didn't bother trying to get a better one.

Here is the fourth and final post about my wrestling trip to New York City and IndyMania.  This is just the summary of the trip, you can read about the trip here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The plans for this trip started way back in July 2018 and came to fruition almost 10 months later and it definitely lived up to our expectations.  The numbers:

Dates of the trip April 3 - 8, 2019

Travel, we drove 655 miles and spent 7 hours round trip on the Amtrak train going from Providence to Penn Station and back

We attended 8 wrestling related events including a two day convention, the AAA Press Conference at Madison Square Garden and six wrestling shows in 4 days in two different States.

Still from AAA promotional video of the press conference

We witnessed 54 wrestling matches with 185 different wrestlers, 101 of them was the first time I had ever seen them live, 9 wrestlers competed three times and 43 wrestled twice over the four days.  Our first show was at a hookah bar with a hundred people and the last show was at a sold out Madison Square Garden!

Best matches of the week for me were:

Friday April 5th Revolution Pro Wrestling
British Tag Team Champions: Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Will Ospreay

Sheer brutality on Ospreay who got his nose broke and was just beaten and stretched by Sabre and Suzuki.  We had front row for this and to see these guys live and this close was just unbelievable.

Saturday April 6th G1 Supercard
Kota Ibushi vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Tetsuya Naito

These two have always had great matches, to be there for a true classic encounter is truly a special moment.  Like being there for Flair vs. Steamboat.

Friday April 6th Pancakes & Piledrivers III
Tessa Blanchard vs Rickey Shane Page

I cannot praise this enough!  Just go watch the match.

Thursday April 4th Wrestlecon Supershow
Dragon Lee vs. El Barbaro Cavernario

I had never seen Cavernario and not for nothing I wasn't expecting much but I was blown away!  These two guys absolutely killed it and gave everything they had and somehow more.

Saturday April 6th G1 Supercard
Kazuchika Okada vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion: JayWhite

This gets the nod for the 5th spot simply because it's Okada regaining his championship in his style match.  

Thursday April 4th Wrestlecon Supershow
Will Ospreay vs. Bandido

This gets an honorable mention because this was a dream match and they tore the house down.  This was Bandido's last indy match he had on the books after signing with Ring of Honor.

I got my photo taken with twenty two wrestlers: Faby Apache, Minoru Suzuki, Katsuyori Shibata, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Bob Backlund, Kai, Atsushi Onia, Pentagon Jr, Session Moth Martina, Blue Demon Jr, Konan, Scott D'Amore, Dave Meltzer, Will Osprey, Jushin Liger, Orange Cassidy, Taya Valkyrie, Johnny Mundo, Twisted Sisters, and Priscilla Kelly.

I also snagged a photo with New Japan English commentator Chris Charlton who was sitting behind us at the Wrestlecon Supershow.

My favorite photos of my are with Jushin Thunder Liger and Faby Apache because they are in full gear, but I loved getting pictures with the everyone that I did.

However my favorite photo op of the weekend was Jay with Minoru Suzuki!

I added 71 signed trading cards to my collection and you can view them here:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, & Part 7

My it's hard to pick favorite cards that I got because I got so many that I never thought that I would get signed like Faby Apache and all the Japanese wrestlers.  Also I love getting the NWA Wonderama card signed plus I got that sweet SCU All In card signed by all three members.

I'd have to say finally getting this card signed by the Iron Sheik was exciting.  I had gotten it signed by Nikolai Volkoff years ago and have tried many, many times to get Iron Sheik to sign it with no luck.  Sheiks health isn't the best and at 77 he doesn't make many appearances anymore. 

The AAA press conference was the unexpected surprise of the week as we went just to watch and were invited in.  The still I posted above was used in a promotion video of the press conference but I also saw it used last Friday in the opening video package for AAA's Conquista Total Circa 2019 show in Mexicali, Baja California.

Here is a video I made on my phone of us jamming out with Tanahashi during his entrance for Revolution Pro Wrestling.  The ringside photographer grabbed a photo of this and I'm still trying to find him.

This wrestling trip was amazing!  If I were to rate it on my past wrestling getaways as a whole I would put it at number 2 behind NWA Legends Fanfest in 2009.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Until next time!

Wrestled Three Matches

Zack Sabre Jr

Will Ospreay

LAX: Ortiz & Santana

Aussie Open: Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis

Rey Fenix

Pentagon Jr

David Starr

Wrestled Two Matches

Minoru Suzuki

Jushin Thunder Liger

Hiroshi Tanahashi

Colt Cabana

Tomohiro Ishii

Jonathan Gresham

Roppongi 3K: Sho & Yoh

Ryusuke Tagushi

Rocky Romero

Bandido
Christopher Daniels
Frankie Kazarian
Scorpio Sky
Orange Cassidy
Session Moth Martina
Masato Tanaka

Puma King

Arez

Sammy Guevara

Flamita

Caleb Konley

Jake Manning

Dragon Lee

Shane Strickland

Chuck Taylor

Trent?

DJ Z

Bill Carr

Dan Barry

Brian Cage

AR Fox

Shigehiro Irie

Eddie Kingston

Wrestled One Match

The Great Muta

Kazuchika Okada

Kota Ibushi

Tetsuya Naito

Taiji Ishimori

Evil

Sanada

Toru Yano

Hirooki Goto

King Haku

Shingo Takagi

Bushi

Tama Tonga

Tanga Loa

Chase Owens

Jay White

Bad Luck Fale

Robbie Eagles

Yoshi Hashi

Juice Robinson

Jeff Cobb

Rush

Dalton Castle

Tracy Williams

PJ Black

TK O'Ryan

Vinny Marseglia

Delirious

Kenny King

Cheeseburger

Beer City Bruiser

Shaheem Ali

Rhett Titus

LSG

Brian Milonas

Will Ferrara

Flip Gordon

Mark Haskins

Bully Ray

Shane Taylor

Silas Young

PCO

Brody King

Mark Briscoe

Jay Briscoe

Matt Taven

Jay Lethal

Marty Scurll

Chris Dickinson

MJF

Alex Reynolds

John Silver

Mick Moretti

Gabriel Skye

Taijiri

Hurricane Helms

X-Pac

Zane Riley

El Barbaro Cavernario

Chris Brookes

Clark Connors

Karl Fredericks

Carlos Romo

A-Kid

Kid Lykos

Michael Oku

Ultimo Dragon

Black Taurus

Mr. Iguana

Shark Boy

Shigehiro Irie

Bestia 666

Tracy Smothers

Timothy Thatcher

David Arquette

Yoshihiko

Danshoku Dino

Antonio Honda

Maki Ito

Makoto Oishi

Mao

Sanshiro Takagi

Tommy Dreamer

Mike Babchik

Matt Striker

Johnny Impact

Joey Ryan

Sexy Eddie

Val Venis

Moose

Davey Vega

Mat Fitchett

Dezmond Xavier

Zachary Wentz

Ace Austin

JT Dunn

Clayton Gainz

Daga

Ian Maxwell

Arik Cannon

John Skylar

Kyle the Beast

Lance Anoa'i

Mance Warner

Trey Miguel

Matt Cross

Adam Brooks

Rich Swann

Chuck Mambo

Jacob Fatu

Larry D

Ace Romero

Dan Maff

Fallah Bah

Madman Fulton

Joe Gacy

Sami Callihan

Dave Crist

Jake Crist

Rickey Shane Page

Tessa Blanchard

Jessicka Havok

Taya Valkyrie

Priscilla Kelly

Scarlett Bordeaux

Kimber Lee

Kelly Klein

Mayu Iwatani

Kagetsu

Hazuki

Jenny Rose

Hana Kimura

Sumie Sakai
Stella Gray
Kris Statlander
Jordynne Grace
Samantha Heights
Diamante
Su Yung
Thunder Rosa
Holidead
Allie
Rosemary

Appeared but didn't Wrestle
Gedo

Jado

Taka Michinoku

The Boys

Velvet Sky

Angelina Love

Mandy Leon

Ayla Fox

Sonny Onoo