Merchandise Madness

Browsing the new NXT merchandise page in the WWE Shop, I realized that I still do not have everything to satisfy my WWE needs!

For example these amazing shirts! Sadly, the Cesaro one is only available for males, which is way too big for me. But the one from Sandow is actually available for women, and the Ascension shirt is available in a Youth version that fits me as well.

Cesaro - Über American
Damien Sandow - I think, therefore I am
The Ascension - We will rise

NXT - The Future is now

And, of course, my action figure collection should always grow bigger and bigger. With the new Series' from Ringside Collectibles - and some figures I have to catch up with - that should be no problem.

Cesaro - Elite 23

Zeb Colter - Series 37

Seth Rollins - Elite 25

Justin Gabriel - Series 39
Daniel Bryan - Elite Best of Pay-Per-View

WWE European Tour - My personal Zürich recap

Meeting wrestlers is and will always be a highlight of my year. At least once a year - when the WWE comes to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, or France - we try to attend at least one show.
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!

We, the people

My opinion on Zeb Colter in the past had been... tricky. I'm no fan of Swagger, but I liked his theme song. His All American gimmick was something I couldn't care less about, but starting with such radical and very generalising statements - I might even say policy - was something my more left-liberal heart couldn't swallow so lightly. Actually, I didn't swallow it at all - I hated it!
Hence why I can totally understand Mr. Cole's laughter and the reproach of Colter being a hypocrite. On the other hand, I more than welcome this twist or even turn from "All immigrants are bad immigrants" to "I am strictly against illegal immigrants". It is still, politically speaking, a very (!) problematic statement since the reasons and forces behind immigration (illegal or not) should always be taken into consideration, but it's at least not as radical anymore. And not as generalising!

Now, my main point or reason why I dove deeper into this topic is - of course - Colter's association with Antonio Cesaro! I would've wished for him to get another form of attention, but a Push is a Push, and I am happy that the Swiss Sensation gets more TV time and thus more opportunities to show off his talent. That he holds a lot talent (I might even say that he is amongst the top 5 most talented wrestlers in the WWE nowadays) should be beyond dispute at this point.
The one thing that bugs me next to the political views that are represented here is the fact that Colter is a mouthpiece for his client. Whilst Jack Swaggers mic work was and still is - in my eyes - non-existent, Cesaro is in no need for someone who speaks for him. It's on me to hope that he gets his well deserved time at the microphone as well then! He's making a good figure nonetheless (and I will forever be eternally in love with the Swiss army beret), and I might even say that his class and neatness rubbed off on Colter's wardrobe as well as the grooming of his beard.

I am not entirely happy with the way this Push is happening, but I can't hold grudges for long when a former King of Wrestling is able to step into the ring and do what he likes to do: wrestle and entertain his fans; me among them!