Since, I’ve been to every WrestleMania live and in person since 2003 (Apart from 2006), I thought it would be fun to write about my adventures on WrestleMania weekend. With 7 weeks until Miami’s Sun Life Stadium is filled with over 70,000 fans for the 28th annual of the granddaddy of ‘em all, I’ll write a column about my adventures leading up to this years event. This time, I’m gonna look at losing my Mania virginity when I travelled to Seattle in March 2003 for WrestleMania XIX.

Growing up in Scotland, my first chance to see my favourite wrestlers live was when the WWF came to Glasgow’s 10,000 seater SECC arena in 1991 when Hulk Hogan defended his WWF title against Sgt Slaughter. The Stamford group would return every spring and winter until 1994. The WWF wouldn’t come back to Scotland until 2002, so my very kind Mother would let me drag her to UK pay per views like Rebellion and Insurrextion which ranged from entertaining to abysmal.

I remember watching WrestleMania X-8 on TV and thinking how amazing experiencing The Rock and Hollywood Hogan live, would have been. At the end of 2002, I quit college after realising becoming an Accountant would be about as rewarding as watching Impact Wrestling. I had some student loan cash left and I decided to look at flights to the US. For $400, I managed to get a return ticket to Seattle and the WrestleMania dream was ON! I scoured ebay for a decent ticket that wasn’t gonna cost me my house. So with all my travel sorted and the Red Roof Inn booked, I set off at 18 years old on my first trip to America to see all my favourite wrestlers and potentially see a title change!

America was just as big and brash as I’d seen in the movies, but the people of Seattle were great and as I set off to check out Fan Axxess, I wondered what wrestlers I would meet. I hadn’t met any WWE star, so my nerves were kicking in. When I walked into the massive convention hall where Axxess was being held, I felt like Charlie being given the golden ticket to the chocolate factory. There was a memorabilia wall, photo opportunities, a huge ring with “The Fink” getting the crowd pumped and even a mini Hell in a Cell where JR and King were signing autographs. After making a quick trip to the merchandise stand to buy some JR’s barbeque sauce and a nice Hulkamania t-shirt, I went off to get some autographs. After going and meeting JR and King, I noticed a huge commotion at the other side of the room. Then from behind a curtain, walked….Shawn Michaels. Possibly the best wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots and one of the most controversial figures in the industry was signing photos for fans. As a huge Bret Hart fan, my anger towards the Heartbreak Kid for Montreal had subsided and I was excited to meet the legend himself. As the queue got shorter and I came closer and closer to the Showstopper, I wondered what I’d say. I thought of memories I could share with him about classic matches or some of his great promos. Finally, I was up next and and I froze. I couldn’t think of anything to say. After 15 uncomfortable seconds, my only comment was “Good luck in your match tomorrow” He smiled and I walked off like the idiot I was. Luckily, from then on, I made a pact to myself to ask a fun question and make meeting wrestlers an enjoyable experience for both of us.

After overdosing on Sprite and Cheetos, Sunday finally came and it was time to head off to Safeco Field for WrestleMania. I could rabble on about all the matches but you probably know exactly what happened. What I will say is I got to see a few remarkable things that night. I saw Stone Cold Steve Austin’s last match. We didn’t know it at the time, but when post-match Austin walked up the ramp you could tell something was wrong with him. I got one more chance to see my favourite wrestler of all time, Hulk Hogan battle Vince McMahon. The best part about the match was seeing Rowdy Roddy Piper (not looking his most slender thanks to a nasty car accident) interfere and bash both men with a pipe. After seeing house shows and UK only pay per views for years, there’s just an atmosphere at Mania that you don’t get anywhere else. During Shawn Michaels return match against Y2J there was a commotion in our section and this was because the plush boxes above us had Kevin Nash hanging out and giving out the nWo hand gesture to the fans. It was a fun moment that nobody at home got to witness. I knew when I left the stadium that I had to come back the following year.

I was looking forward to experiencing Monday Night RAW for the first time and I wasn’t disappointed. The one thing that you don’t realise if you haven’t been to a live RAW is during the commercials you sit in the arena with a dark screen and silence, it’s pretty bizarre to say the least. After getting my collectors cup and multiple hot dogs, I got to see Goldberg’s WWE debut when he interrupted The Rock. Although Bill’s Stamford tenure was lukewarm at best, it was a fantastic moment to be in the crowd when he first came out and speared The Great One.

When you grow up and watch American horror movies and thrillers, you don’t ever expect to almost experience being in one yourself! I made the mistake of getting a ticket to the post Mania SmackDown in Spokane and not realising it was 8 hours away. When the guy at the Red Roof reception told me this, I was gutted and figured I’d have to give up going to the taping. To my surprise the man behind the desk said he could give me a ride because he was going down to the show. I decided to take him up on his offer and off we went. I tried to give him some money for the gas/petrol but he insisted that he pay. Around 8 hours later as we approached the arena in Spokane, I asked him where his seat was and it was only then he told me he didn’t have a ticket and was just going to hang around till the event was over and drive me back. This was the first sign that things weren’t quite right. I tried to just not be pessimistic and go and enjoy the show. Afterwards, I reluctantly got back in the car to drive back to Seattle. At first, I was pretty freaked out but after a few hours, I fell asleep. I woke up at 3am and the car was in the middle of a field, with the guy from the desk at the wheel rocking back and forth. It was at this point, I noticed he had a full arm tattoo of a topless hooker with a whip. I can safely say I almost s*** my pants. He tried to re-assure me he was just resting and about to take me back to the hotel. I’ve never been so happy to see a Red Roof light as we pulled in to the hotel at 5am. I had survived an absolute weirdo.

The next day I got up and packed all my merchandise I’d bought and made my way to the airport to check in for my flight. As the shuttle dropped me off, I realised I’d left my passport on the dresser in my hotel room. After a quick trip back to collect it, I went to check in and found out my flight had been brought forward by two hours and I’d missed it. As I contemplated living like Tom Hanks in The Terminal, I was told they didn’t have my contact info and they’d have to put me up in a Holiday Inn for the night and I’d fly home the next day. I got a $5 meal voucher. The cheapest thing on the menu was $6. I loaded up on Twinkies, cheetos and sprite and watched crappy American TV and relaxed with a great free night at the Holiday Inn. Since I missed my connecting flight from London back to Glasgow I had to pay an extra £150 to get home. An expensive, strange and bizarre experience that encompassed me loosing my WrestleMania virginity.

Seattle was very good to me and I had some of the best times ever. Sure, I woke up in a field with a strange tattooed man rocking back in forth and had to pay an extra £150 to get home and almost lost the will to live after missing my flight but it was worth every second and nine years later, I look back and laugh at the memories.

Come back next time when I tell you about my trip to New York City for WrestleMania XX. From arguments with cab drivers to Sensational Sherri hitting on me, there’s lots to reminisce about, I hope you’ll join me.