• Brad Ward’s Blogamania

    Brad’s Wrestlemania NXT Experience

    Find out what everyone’s favorite wrestling superfan Brad Ward did during Wrestlemania weekend. Take it away, Brad!

    (You can follow Brad on Twitter: @BradFGN)

    This year’s Wrestlemania weekend is truly when NXT had its arrival. In past years the NXT fan ring was focused on matches featuring lower card WWE talents but this year WWE brought Full Sail to WWE Wrestlemania weekend in a couple ways. What WWE did was they brought the NXT arena with the apron trons, the jumbo tron above the ring, the ring announcers, the superstars and the championships. In the past the MC’s of the Fan Axxess ringside area would refer to it as the WWE ringside era this time they referred to it as the NXT Universe. NXT while still developmental is now becoming a brand.

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    My trip started Saturday, March 28th 2015 leaving from the Calgary airport around 6:30 AM for sunny San Jose, California. The original plan was to attend Axxess only that Saturday Night, but instead we ended up making it to San Jose Convention Center around 1:03 PM, we arrived at the hotel at noon and made it there just 3 minutes later, while we had a massive lineup to make it in to the festivities we made it.

    Continue reading →

    Brad Ward’s BlogaMania: Part V (Brad Gets Raw)

    Wrestling superfan Brad Ward takes us on a trip; HIS trip. From Canada to New Orleans, enjoy Brad’s daily antics leading up to Wrestlemania 30 with Brad Ward’s BlogaMania. Take it away, Brad!

    Welcome to my Wrestlemania week blog, where I will detail, star rate and fill your eyes with pictures and sometimes videos of New Orleans. Wrestlemania week is more to me then WWE’s biggest show of the year. It is seeing an entire year of stories and superstars build to one week to see who is going to be the next new star. It is the chance to see friends and colleagues. It is seeing Superstars live and just taking in what you talk about for a year in front of your own eyes.

    This is Wrestlemania week, it’s time to be cool and eat fruit.

    MONDAY: Jimmy John’s, KaRawoke and public BDSM.

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    I sleep in to 9AM and start the day pretty early, as we want to hunt down the famous New Orleans delicacy called beignets. On the way to finding them, we stopped at a nearby convenience store to find the newspaper that has Daniel Bryan on the cover as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion and talks about the Yes Movement.

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    Continue reading →

    Brad Ward’s BlogaMania: Part IV (WRESTLEMANIA!)

    Wrestling superfan Brad Ward takes us on a trip; HIS trip. From Canada to New Orleans, enjoy Brad’s daily antics leading up to Wrestlemania 30 with Brad Ward’s BlogaMania. Take it away, Brad!

    Welcome to my Wrestlemania week blog, where I will detail, star rate and fill your eyes with pictures and sometimes videos of New Orleans. Wrestlemania week is more to me then WWE’s biggest show of the year. It is seeing an entire year of stories and superstars build to one week to see who is going to be the next new star. It is the chance to see friends and colleagues. It is seeing Superstars live and just taking in what you talk about for a year in front of your own eyes.

    This is Wrestlemania week, it’s time to be cool and eat fruit.

    SATURDAY: More Axxess, a casino and the WWE Hall of Fame.

    Up bright and early after the fun night of Axxess and drinks with great friends. Today’s Axxess started at 8AM, so I was up at 5AM to get there an hour early so we didn’t get a bad place in line at the New Orleans Convention Center. My friends from England, Emma and Tara, were going to be there so I’d be hanging out with them mostly, as other friends had Daniel Bryan VIP tickets and would be there at a different time.

    I brought my program too Axxess so I could get even more autographs done. I had a lot of fun, with the exception of getting up early. I got photos with 3MB, David Otunga and Brad Maddox. All five of them were all very cool, especially Jinder Mahal:

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    After Axxess, we got some coffee at the Starbucks inside the convention center. From there ,we then headed to Harrah’s Casino for lunch. We started by doing some gambling, and I made $50 profit at the slot machines. It was my first time being in a casino for over 3 years and I was pretty happy with my success. Continue reading →

    Brad Ward’s BlogaMania: Part III (Axxess All Areas)

    Wrestling superfan Brad Ward takes us on a trip; HIS trip. From Canada to New Orleans, enjoy Brad’s daily antics leading up to Wrestlemania 30 with Brad Ward’s BlogaMania. Take it away, Brad!

    Welcome to my Wrestlemania week blog, where I will detail, star rate and fill your eyes with pictures and sometimes videos of New Orleans. Wrestlemania week is more to me then WWE’s biggest show of the year. It is seeing an entire year of stories and superstars build to one week to see who is going to be the next new star. It is the chance to see friends and colleagues. It is seeing Superstars live and just taking in what you talk about for a year in front of your own eyes.

    This is Wrestlemania week, it’s time to be cool and eat fruit.

    THURSDAY: The WWE Superstore, Jim Ross and Captain America.

    Tonight is the night that there is a midnight launch for Captain America, so I had to bring along my Captain America t-shirt! I start off the day with some breakfast and play some WWE 2K14. I check my messages, Twitter and Facebook to see if anything new has broken about Wrestlemania week.

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    We then head down to the WWE Superstore and I get a program featuring the WWE Superstars and Legends, which doubles as a Hall of Fame program as well. There is a signing with Booker T, so we wait in line for his autograph and then head back into the WWE Superstore to get the preliminary Wrestlemania and WWE swag for the week. Continue reading →

    Brad Ward’s BlogaMania: Part II (Hello, New Orleans)

    Wrestling superfan Brad Ward takes us on a trip; HIS trip. From Canada to New Orleans, enjoy Brad’s daily antics leading up to Wrestlemania 30 with Brad Ward’s BlogaMania. Take it away, Brad!

    Welcome to my Wrestlemania week blog, where I will detail, star rate and fill your eyes with pictures and sometimes videos of New Orleans. Wrestlemania week is more to me then WWE’s biggest show of the year. It is seeing an entire year of stories and superstars build to one week to see who is going to be the next new star. It is the chance to see friends and colleagues. It is seeing Superstars live and just taking in what you talk about for a year in front of your own eyes.

    This is Wrestlemania week, it’s time to be cool and eat fruit.

    TUESDAY: Planes, Outback Steakhouse and the Wrestlemania Press Conference.

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    I wake up at 4AM doing the shower gimmick, get dressed and load the vehicle with the luggage and head to the airport. I arrive at the airport at 6AM just 15 minutes before my two hour window, I head to the ticket printer and head to the Delta counter and get my luggage weighed and head to the gate.

    As I am from Canada, I have to go through Canadian Customs which means I have to turn the cell phone off and declare my purpose for the trip. I give my checked bag to the luggage people and head through airport security, which means I have to take out my Xbox, and laptop, which ends up happening about five to six times a trip, depending on the amount of connections. I made it through security with around an hour to go till boarding the flight. I grab an iced tea to drink before the boarding as my flight, as I tend to get quite dehydrated in airports. Continue reading →

    Brad Ward’s BlogaMania: Part I (The Calm Before the Storm)

    Wrestling superfan Brad Ward takes us on a trip; HIS trip. From Canada to New Orleans, enjoy Brad’s daily antics leading up to Wrestlemania 30 with Brad Ward’s BlogaMania. Take it away, Brad!

    Welcome to my Wrestlemania week blog, where I will detail, star rate and fill your eyes with pictures and sometimes videos of New Orleans. Wrestlemania week is more to me then WWE’s biggest show of the year. It is seeing an entire year of stories and superstars build to one week to see who is going to be the next new star. It is the chance to see friends and colleagues. It is seeing Superstars live and just taking in what you talk about for a year in front of your own eyes.

    This is Wrestlemania week; it’s time to be cool and eat fruit.

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    Brad’s Wrestlemania Checklist

    So we start off with my Wrestlemania trip preparations. I tend to do a lot of pre-packing as I am a guy who works non stop. At this point, I largely have my trip expenses paid for and here is what was on my list:

    • Plane ticket from Calgary to New Orleans: $450.00
    • Hotel: $300.00
    • Plane ticket from New Orleans to Calgary: $348.00
    • Raw ticket: $60.00
    • Wrestlemania ticket: $250.00
    • Passport: $120.00
    • Insurance: $10.00
    • Captain America shirt: $35.00
    • Phone case: $20.00
    • Bryan shirt: $41.00
    • Warrior shirt: $26.00
    • Shoes: $90.00
    • Socks: $15.00
    • Boxers: $120.00
    • Shirts: $100.00
    • WWE Perform shirt: $25.00
    • Battery: $48.00
    • Fri 6 – 10 Axxess: $60.00
    • Sat 8 – 12 Axxess: $60.00
    • Sat 1 – 5 Axxess: $60.00
    • Sun 8 – 2 Axxess: $60.00
    • WWE Hall Of Fame: $62.00
    • An Evening With Jim Ross: $60.00
    • Foot Cream: $10.00
    • Benadryl: $10.00
    • Apple iPhone Cables: $45.00
    • Shampoo: $4.00
    • Bar Soap: $4.00
    • Deodorant: $4.00
    • Haircut: $20.00
    • Screen Protector Replacement: $5.00

    TOTAL: $2,500.00 CAD (approx.)  Continue reading →