Looks like Delta/American are the only reasonable choices. Leaves from LGA instead of JFK. and there's one stopover each way. But for under $300 round trip, whatevs.
The speculation is that the Rumble will be a big deal, since being in Texas, they are right in the backyard of Steve Austin, Sean Michaels, and the Undertaker - three of the biggest names since Hulk Hogan's era. I will be very surprised if at least 2 out of those 3 don't show up. That said, there will probably be a lot of cheap seats available. All of the same factors that apply to PAX will also apply to this. It's in the middle of nowhere, people really don't want to travel there for it, and now they have to sell THREE TIMES as many seats as they usually do. I've been able to get nosebleed tickets in Boston for WWE shows at the Garden for $35.
Every PAX, GiantBomb has done a PAX/wrestling event where they play old wrestling video games and have all kinds of ongoing storylines. They even had some indy wrestlers show up at East last year, with a video promo sent in by Xavier Woods, one of the WWE Tag Team Champions, who is a huge gamer and has his own gaming youtube channel (UpUpDownDown). I'd firmly believe that he will be at PAX South in person this time.
Regarding wrestling fans: there will likely be a lot of overlap of PAX-goers at the Rumble. As someone here has noted before, Pro Wrestling is a pretty nerdy hobby. I'm more afraid of hockey fans than wrestling fans. From the shows that I've gone to (mostly in Boston, which has a fairly high douchebag quotient), the breakdown tends to be roughly: 25% young kids and their families, 15% drunk bro-mans, and 60% wrestling geeks. No one will bother you and you will fit right in, especially if you wear a shirt or hat repping gaming, heavy metal, or hockey. Most of the people are just fans enjoying their hobby and are real friendly and will gladly fill you in if you want to know what's going on with the storyline, or who a particular dude in the ring is. The most dangerous scenario would be if you ended up sitting next to and engaging with a wrestling That Guy.
It would be way cool if the Undertaker was there. Is the Undertaker today still the same person I saw when I was a kid in the '90s? If so, how old is that dude?
It would be way cool if the Undertaker was there. Is the Undertaker today still the same person I saw when I was a kid in the '90s? If so, how old is that dude?
This is the Undertaker as of 2016:
So yeah, he's pretty much the same as the '90s. He's 51 years old, and probably only has another year or two left before he calls it quits for good. As it is, he only shows up during the lead-up to Wrestlemania, and generally only wrestles one match a year. But given that this is meant to be a big Rumble, and it's in his neighborhood, the odds are pretty good that he shows up. We will probably know for sure once we get into January.
It would be way cool if the Undertaker was there. Is the Undertaker today still the same person I saw when I was a kid in the '90s? If so, how old is that dude?
I wondered this same question almost a year ago, and did a bunch of googling. Dude is over 50! From what I can tell, he's only been wrestling the occasional big event for a few years now, with on and off injuries. But shit, yeah the dude is still at it. Same guy.
I decided to book my flights ~2 weeks ago b/c I was already in there getting my BGG con flights set up. For the first time, there was direct to SAT for me (flying from Newark). No direct on the way back, unfortunately, but I'll take it.
The last time the WWE ran the Alamodome, they couldn't sell all the seats, and I'm told they had $5 tickets for sale at the Taco Bell next door, and then they even gave away a number of tickets at the door just to pad the seats for TV so they looked sold out. And that was in 1997, when wrestling was in its last Boom period, and they were way more popular than they are today.
Also, Scott - the WWE has been leaning hard into embracing nerd culture lately. The current Cruiserweight Champion's theme song is basically a remix of the Dr. Wily Stage 1 theme in MegaMan 2.
I don't watch wresting, never really have, but I do listen to the Powerbombcast. Everything I've heard is that WWE is the shittiest it's ever been...
Because I am on the nerdy Internet I always hear the murmurings of wrestlefans, especially on Twitter. They all sound just like music fans. WWE is mainstream garbage. The good wrestling is either indy or foreign. Meanwhile, they are all watching WWE and talking about it more than any other wrestling company. The murmurs are also slightly louder year after year. The talk does not match the walk. How would they know it's the worst it's ever been if they weren't all watching it constantly?
As far as I'm concerned, WWE jumped the shark when it became slightly less ridiculous. When they changed from having cartoon characters like Andre the Giant, Macho Man, and Ultimate Warrior to having a more badass tough guy image with The Rock + Steve Austin type characters, it was over. If they aren't acting like crazy characters, the truth shines through. Mostly naked guys on roids grabbing each other. It's never been good since.
Still. A cheap spectacle. A unique life experience. Happens after PAX is over. Not too shabby.
In 2016, we started recording attendee ID locations (states & provinces) when they registered to check out a tabletop game. Now that I have a year's worth of data... I can run stats. Not many meaningful states w/o also seeding lots of info like relative distances to PAX, relative population sizes of states, etc., but I can pull a few things easily:
For instance, roughly 75% of tabletop-borrowing attendees come from the home state and/or close neighboring states. West has the broadest appeal from afar, but not by as much as you'd think.
Just booked everything for this trip. Waited too long to get into the Contessa, but still close by. Does everyone else just use Uber to get to and from the airport, or are there other recommended methods?
Just booked everything for this trip. Waited too long to get into the Contessa, but still close by. Does everyone else just use Uber to get to and from the airport, or are there other recommended methods?
Just booked everything for this trip. Waited too long to get into the Contessa, but still close by. Does everyone else just use Uber to get to and from the airport, or are there other recommended methods?
Just booked everything for this trip. Waited too long to get into the Contessa, but still close by. Does everyone else just use Uber to get to and from the airport, or are there other recommended methods?
A licensed cab and not a bullshit evil Uber.
Yeah, I wasn't going to use Uber in any case, I was just wondering if there was a train or bus or something, but it looks like it's just shuttle or cab.
That Contessa looks awfully nice, but as a Marriott Rewards man, I can't pass up all the good options so close to the Henry Gonzo. Gonna be Springhill Suites for me this time around. $121/night and a free breakfast.
Lookin' like I'll skip the ski trip and stick around Sunday at PAX South this year. Especially since two of the people who I hoped to come on the ski trip will also be at PAX South...
Comments
Stop at CLT
Arrive in SAT at 1:40 PM
Leave SAT on 1/30 at 5AM
Stop in DFW
Arrive in LGA at 11:41AM
$290 + probably $50 in bag fees.
Every PAX, GiantBomb has done a PAX/wrestling event where they play old wrestling video games and have all kinds of ongoing storylines. They even had some indy wrestlers show up at East last year, with a video promo sent in by Xavier Woods, one of the WWE Tag Team Champions, who is a huge gamer and has his own gaming youtube channel (UpUpDownDown). I'd firmly believe that he will be at PAX South in person this time.
Regarding wrestling fans: there will likely be a lot of overlap of PAX-goers at the Rumble. As someone here has noted before, Pro Wrestling is a pretty nerdy hobby. I'm more afraid of hockey fans than wrestling fans. From the shows that I've gone to (mostly in Boston, which has a fairly high douchebag quotient), the breakdown tends to be roughly: 25% young kids and their families, 15% drunk bro-mans, and 60% wrestling geeks. No one will bother you and you will fit right in, especially if you wear a shirt or hat repping gaming, heavy metal, or hockey. Most of the people are just fans enjoying their hobby and are real friendly and will gladly fill you in if you want to know what's going on with the storyline, or who a particular dude in the ring is. The most dangerous scenario would be if you ended up sitting next to and engaging with a wrestling That Guy.
So yeah, he's pretty much the same as the '90s. He's 51 years old, and probably only has another year or two left before he calls it quits for good. As it is, he only shows up during the lead-up to Wrestlemania, and generally only wrestles one match a year. But given that this is meant to be a big Rumble, and it's in his neighborhood, the odds are pretty good that he shows up. We will probably know for sure once we get into January.
As far as I'm concerned, WWE jumped the shark when it became slightly less ridiculous. When they changed from having cartoon characters like Andre the Giant, Macho Man, and Ultimate Warrior to having a more badass tough guy image with The Rock + Steve Austin type characters, it was over. If they aren't acting like crazy characters, the truth shines through. Mostly naked guys on roids grabbing each other. It's never been good since.
Still. A cheap spectacle. A unique life experience. Happens after PAX is over. Not too shabby.
Also, in a fun twist, snorting cocaine is cool, but drink driving is not.
For instance, roughly 75% of tabletop-borrowing attendees come from the home state and/or close neighboring states. West has the broadest appeal from afar, but not by as much as you'd think.