Apart from that, we always try to catch up with the stars and staff before the show, when all of them are still fresh and in a good mood, and afterwards as well.
That way, we gain a lot insight on how the wrestlers we see on the screen day by day behave in a more private environment, when the cameras are off and they can behave completely out of character - or not.
Here are some insights of the people we met in Zürich this year!
Some people, that are always nice, very friendly, and taking time for their fans even though the find themselves in some stress, are definitely Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Wade Barrett, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro, and Kofi Kingston. Those, I have had the fortune to meet before, and every time, they never fail to be exactly that: friendly and talkative. Especially Natalya always likes to stop for a little chat.After Zürich, a few more people could be added to that list, among them Summer Rae, Big E Langston, Damien Sandow, and Seth Rollins. Especially Summer proved to be such a bubbly and delightful person, always responding to the fans with a smile, taking her time for photo's, autographs... One wouldn't think that when she bitches around in the ring, but she certainly is a lovely person!
Other wrestlers like to stay in their roles, no matter if heel or face. In his heel days, especially The Miz was one to stay in his role, shouting, more arguing with the fans than actually talking to them. But there is still a difference between acting keyfabe and acting like an ignorant and utter douche. So just because the character is a heel, unfriendly behaviour isn't necessarily pretended...Someone absolutely acting keyfabe appeared to be Damien Sandow. He wasn't unfriendly, but always kept up his sophisticated and arrogant behaviour. Likewise, Zeb Colter, stayed in his role, giving autographs and posing for photos, but still having this "We, the people" touch we all know from TV.
Nobody can expect from someone to be in a good mood 24/7, and what still seems to surprise some "fans" is that wrestlers are no exception to that. And some people just aren't as outgoing, extrovert, and social as others. Among them are people like Jack Swagger, Santino Marella, and, since I got to meet them in Zürich now, Fandango and Goldust.But whether it is tiredness or the general aversion against being too close to other people, these stars still take their time for you! Contrary to the last year where I would have put Zack Ryder in the category that is about to follow, he managed to somehow pull himself together this year and end up here in line with the others.
And of course, as a contrast to the first category, the unfriendly behaviour exists as well. Primo and Epico, or rather known as Diego and Fernando by now, belong to that category. It is hard to determine whether those that can be added to this category truly belong in here or simply were in a bad mood when we met them, but there are still differences to the likes of Fandango and Goldust for example.Contrary to their colleague Seth Rollins, both Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, proved to be rather ignorant when it came to even looking at their fans, even though Reigns, later on, at least took some minutes to interact with the fans. With Aksana it was the same, just the other way round. Before the show, she reluctantly agreed to taking photos, but since then she appeared rather unfriendly to all of us.
One who was rather disappointing this year was Randy Orton. Last year, he was quite friendly, but since his heel turn and the win of his title, he seemed to not have to be friendly anymore, just storming off and turning his back to the fans...
My personal favourites from this year were of course talking to Antonio Cesaro and giving him my present, doing the "We, the people" pose with Zeb Colter and convincing him that women are people too, getting my elite action figure signed by Damien Sandow, and meeting Big E Langston and Seth Rollins for the first time. Plus, it is always a delight to meet Natalya and Dolph Ziggler, because those two are just the cutest!In addition to that, it is always interesting to see who is on tour with them. Seeing (Cooperate) Kane was a little surprise already, while Justin Roberts is almost a given on any tour, but it was nice to meet not only Jamie Noble, but Mr. People Power John Lauranitis himself!
