Hello one and all and welcome to the latest in a series of pieces regarding WrestleMania weekend. Back in late March/early April, we here at Sportskeeda were fortunate enough to experience the week-long festivities live in Orlando, Florida which included a whole host of events - including a few that weren't necessarily based on the in-ring wrestling product.
Of course, we are indeed referring to WaleMania which emanated from the Tier Nightclub in Downtown Orlando on the Thursday night of Mania week. It was the third edition of the event which also took place in San Jose and Dallas during the previous two Mania weekends, with the rapper Wale succeeding in combining two of his favourite things - music and professional wrestling.
It was an interesting night this time round with a number of headline-making moments that are sure to draw people back to the event when it rolls around next year in New Orleans. There were tears, there was laughter, and there was a whole lot of excitement in the air as Wale and company blew the roof off of Orlando for one night only.
With all that being said, here are 10 observations from attending WaleMania III.
#1 Tony Nese is great
We'd been told before going to WaleMania that we would more than likely run into a couple of wrestlers here and there after the Q&A section had concluded. Naturally, we played down the chances of this happening, meaning that any and all superstars that we'd run into would provide us with a welcome surprise.
As such, the arrival of Tony Nese into our conversation was great. The Cruiserweight star had a quick five minute chat with us about all things WWE, and he comes across as one of the most down to earth wrestlers you could ever meet. He seemed to be there of his own accord, and by the looks of things, he was having a great time talking to fans.
Holy.. Foley?
#2 Noelle Foley shocker
Once we found out the bar was open, a couple of the guys within our group went upstairs and started to queue up for a drink. As I walked towards them, they had an odd look on their face, and upon reaching them, I soon realised why - Noelle Foley, one of the stars of the Holy Foley series on the WWE Network, was behind the bar serving drinks. Wait, what?
It was a fun little cameo from Noelle who was serving wrestling-based beverages and shots all night long. A lot of guys were stood there for what seemed like days basking in her beauty. Meanwhile, others may have been too busy looking at their phone to notice. Either way, it was a great start to what proved to be an evening of wrestler appearances.
Thank you, JR.
#3 JR admiration
Just under a week prior to WrestleMania 33 week, Jim Ross lost his beloved wife Jan in a motorbike accident. As you'd expect, many fans thought he would skip the festivities in order to grieve - however, the legendary commentator decided that the best way to deal with his issues was by diving head first into the love and adulation of the fans.
Which, of course, is exactly what he received upon taking to the stage at WaleMania. He was happily answering questions with the who's who of talent alongside him, with the handful of supporters that were in attendance appreciating the fact that he was able to fulfil this commitment. What a legend.
Onto another of the personalities to appear that night.
#4 Prichard makes some noise
Bruce Prichard is one of the loudest people you'll ever meet in your entire life, we can officially confirm. Within Tier Nightclub it felt like Bruce was attempting to get the attention of someone ten blocks away, and that's one of the reasons why we love him. Throughout the night he was happy to meet fans as everyone, there was, however, he may well have made the most noise when he was up on stage.
Prichard made a number of backhanded comments here and there that appeased the fans in attendance, with the most popular being when he joked with Dave Meltzer about his six star Tokyo Dome ratings. It seemed later on as if the two kissed and made up, but who knows whether or not that was all for show?
Now to talk about the man himself.
#5 Wale's dedication
The man who's name was on the mast, Wale, put on yet another great night of entertainment at WaleMania III and his dedication to the cause cannot be understated. In addition to obtaining appearances from top level talent throughout the evening, he also played an incredible set that lasted much longer than any of us were anticipating.
Also read: 10 observations from attending NXT Takeover: Orlando
Wale performed for what felt like close to two hours, with the production behind the set being second to none considering how small the venue was. There was confetti, a smoke machine, you name it, and he had it. Of course, there was no extravagant pyro on the level of WrestleMania, but that may well have been too much to ask.
New. Day. Rock.
#6 New Day really do rock
Just a few weeks after he was embroiled in a sex tape scandal, Xavier Woods made it known to the world that he didn't give one damn what people thought about the issue when he appeared at WaleMania. Woods was dancing and jiving along to songs until the early hours of the evening, and he wasn't the only member of New Day that was present.
Big E also made the trip to Tier Nightclub for the festivities, following up on his appearance at WaleMania 2 in Dallas. The two were officially introduced after having already been spotted by a number of eagle-eyed fans, and they managed to keep their spirits up throughout the entire event. Bravo, gentlemen.
We all just made the list.
#7 Drink it in man
To paint a picture for you, Tier stayed true to its name when it comes to the layout of the club as there were two floors that made up the building. A lot of the superstars that popped up were introduced on the actual stage, however, one man decided that he would look down on his many admirers from afar - and that man was none other than Mr Y2J Chris Jericho.
Jericho's appearance was met with overwhelming applause and admiration, proving that the multi-time World Champion is still incredibly over in today's wrestling landscape. In addition to this, Jericho was nice enough to walk over from the VIP section and meet a few of us who were attempting to catch a glimpse of the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla.
The Maharaja is here.
#8 Jinder's rise
Jinder Mahal wasn't one of the featured talents at WaleMania, and as such he was just walking around near the rest of the fans on the lower floor. Because of this, we decided to meet good old Jinder, who at this point was still a relatively dull jobber that couldn't buy a victory on WWE television.
Fast forward a few weeks, though, and Mahal is now the number one contender for the WWE Championship. Wait, what? How? We're asking ourselves the very same question. It's bizarre to consider how quickly this transformation has happened, especially considering how stacked the talent roster is over on SmackDown LIVE. Impressive stuff.
Joe. Joe. Joe. Joe.
#9 Joe steals the show
With around an hour or so remaining the night was starting to die down, so we decided to get a few drinks. I was the one who was nominated to carry out this task, and as I was doing so, a chant started to ring into my ears from the dancefloor "Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!". Lo and behold, upon turning around Samoa Joe was stood there basking in the glory of all the fans in attendance.
He seemed in really high spirits despite not having a place on the WrestleMania card and was more than happy to interact with anyone who wished to do so. He probably got the loudest ovation of the night, simply due to how unexpected it was for him to show up, and that's the kind of reaction he truly deserves.
A quick summary to round this up.
#10 Completing Mania week
WrestleMania week has always been a pretty great tradition, and now WaleMania has added to that with a real impact. The event really does complete the festivities perfectly, as a lot of wrestling fans go to these host cities looking for a good time when it comes to having a night out.
With WWE superstars popping up alongside indie wrestlers, there's a communal feel that allows fans to get closer to these guys and girls than they could ever hope to at something like Axxess or WrestleCon.
If you're in the New Orleans area for WrestleMania 34, make sure you grab some tickets to the fourth edition of this - you won't regret it.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
