World Class Revolution: God Bless Texas II

               World Class Revolution presents God Bless Texas II. My son and I went to the first God Bless Texas event last year that was held at the Gas Monkey Live venue. We had a couple issues at that one and was assured that it was a one-time thing and it should not happen again. So we decided to go ahead and buy tickets for this one as well. It was at a different venue this time, so fingers crossed it will be better. My son and I arrive at Gilley’s Dallas around 4:00 pm on Sunday April 15^th. Since we had ringside VIP tickets we were allowed to enter the venue at 4:30 pm before regular admission. Everyone else was allowed to enter at 5:00 pm. So we go ahead and make our way to the venue’s entrance. A line started to grow behind us. We could over hear people making comments like “Do you think they will actually let us in on time?” Laughter and “I doubt it” was the answers we heard. Since we usually don’t know anyone at these shows, we just keep to ourselves. Well 4:30 came and went. We noticed some of the wrestlers starting to walk by to go in. They finally let us in at about 4:45 pm. As we enter we see most of the talent at their respective tables to greet their fans. I had already pre-planned who I wanted to meet. First and foremost was Chavo Guerrero Jr., Marshall and Ross Von Erich, Iceman King Parsons, John Morrison, & Eric Embry.

                When we walk in Ross and Marshall were already in a conversation with some of their fans. Not sure how that happened considering we were the first VIPs to enter. So we walked over to Chavo’s table. Who was set up right next door of the Von Erichs. I had an old WWE program from 2004 that I have been getting signed by some of the wrestlers in it. This time I needed Chavo and John Morrison to sign it. So my son and I were talking to Chavo and I had asked him what he would charge to sign my book. He gave me a price and took a photo with me. The price was really good. Even though we were only speaking for a few minutes, you can tell that he really cares about his fans.
 

                After that we walked back over to Ross and Marshall and were speaking to them for a while. It’s always good to see them. Like others who grew up here in Dallas, it’s good to see them keeping up the Von Erich moniker and keeping the tradition alive. I’m glad we were able to catch up a bit and able to speak about this and that on a personal level. We took a couple photos and let them get back to business. We were also able to get a photo with the Australian wrestler that goes by the name Hunter P.S. Hayes. Who, in the ring, is the “son” of former Freebird Michael P.S. Hayes. Just three of the coolest guys you will meet.

                Speaking of Freebirds. We were walking around the autograph area (which didn’t take that long) and who do I run into. (Not literally) Miranda Gordy. Miranda is the daughter of legendary Freebird (RIP) Terry Gordy. She was there at the show and was going to be part of the match against Ross, Marshall, and Hunter. She was supposed to have accompanied Buddy "Jack" Roberts Jr., son of former Freebird Dale Hey aka Buddy Roberts. But I didn’t see him. In the match he was replaced with Lance Hoyt. But Miranda was really cool. She and I took a photo together, shook hands, and said our nice to meet yous and went our separate ways.

                I totally missed Iceman the first time walking around. But I did see him the second time. So my son and I made our way over. I had a really good photo of the two of us from the first God Bless Texas back in 2018. We were chatting for a minute about it and he was talking to my son. Then I asked him if he would sign my photo. He said of course. It will be $25. I instantly thought “WOW” he went majorly up from the last time we met. Not to mention it was my own photo. But I really wanted him to sign it. (Something that I have since grown to regret doing) So I reluctantly paid it. I then asked if I could get a photo with him with my phone. He looked at his manager and his manager said that will be an additional $20. I was at a loss for words. So I passed on that. A different light seemed to be shinning down than it did before. Last time I make that mistake.

                We made our way over to speak to the Boss man. Jerry and I have never spoken that much in person. Mainly via Facebook. So it was good to finally speak with him and catch up a little. Our conversation spanned quite a few topics. Some personal, some wrestling. It was during one of those conversations that Jerry told me that John Morrison wasn’t going to make the show. Little bummed out because I really wanted his autograph. But it is what it is. So we knew Jerry was busy and we didn’t want to take up to much of his time. Especially by asking frivolous questions. Lol So we went and made one more go around the autograph area. Jerry did give us a promotional poster that came with our tickets. So I could try and get that signed.

                As we were walking around, I had noticed the former wrestler "The Flamboyant" Eric Embry walking around. I walked up to him and we spoke for a few minutes about the good old days of WCCW and the Sportatorium. He was a really nice guy that still seemed to care about his fans from back in the day. He took a photo with me. I got from our conversation that he was a little put off by the charging of autographs and photos. Back in the day I met just about all the wrestlers from the WCCW but I honestly couldn’t tell you if I met Eric before. But I’m glad I did now. I didn’t get an autograph though.

                As we finished up meeting Eric Embry, I really wanted to get my promotional posters signed by some of the talent that I didn’t really know. I walked over to “Retro” Randy Price’s table and spoke with him for a minute. We were talking about the last GBT. Which was his first event with World Class Revolution (At the time it was Imperial Wrestling Revolution). We spoke and he signed my poster then he had to go. I kept looking at all the wrestler’s tables to see how much they would charge to sign it. Not a one had prices for your own item or anything. Plus they would all have a lot of people around their table and it would be really awkward asking how much to sign it. So I wasn’t able to get anyone else on it.

                It was getting closer to start time and my son and I headed to our seats. We had really good ringside seats. They were unfortunately zip tied together. Which made for a very awkward evening. I was so close to the guy next to me, if I was at work, HR would have been involved. Lol Also, the view would have been better if the camera man wouldn’t have been in front of us most of the time. Occasionally he would move and we could see without having to lean this way or that way. But regardless, we had a great time. About mid-way through there was an “intermission” and the VIP ticket holders got to go in the ring and take a photo. We thought it was going to be just us, but wrestler Marti Belle joined the VIP’s in the photo. She was really nice. Then after about 15-20 minutes (maybe?) the wrestling started back up.

                When the final match started, it was Chavo against MVP. I instantly leaned over to my son and said I don’t know who to root for. I like them both. But it was a great match. Not to mention there was a guy behind us that was so funny. He had everyone just cracking up. But after the match, Chavo took the mic and did a speech thanking everyone as did MVP. They also said that they would take in ring photos with anyone who wanted one for $20 with both of them. So my son and I took the offer. As we were waiting for MVP to come back to the ring, Chavo told my son and I to come up in the ring. We got in the ring and was talking to him for a few minutes. Chavo is just a really awesome guy, I can’t stress that enough. So MVP made his way back in the ring and we took the photo. Some random guy walking by took the photo. The photo was ok, it could have been better. But it was cool none the less. Just a really cool night of wrasslin’. We got to have some well-deserved father/son time and see some really talented wrestlers. Can’t wait for the next Dallas show. Great job Jerry and all the talented wrestlers. See you all next time.

We're in this together

Red Letter Media-Mike Stoklasa

Riley: We’re here with Mike Stoklasa. Creative genius behind the website www.redlettermedia.com . Most would know Mike as the voice of the infamous Harry S. Plinkett in the even more infamous Star Wars prequels movie reviews. Mike has also directed, along with Jay Bauman, the movie Feeding Frenzy. Feeding Frenzy co-starred Plinkett alums such as Rich Evans (Mr. Plinkett), Jay Bauman (Martin), & Nadine herself Jocelyn Ridgely as Jennifer.  

Riley: So Mike, how the hell are you?
Mike: Doing well, thanks.
Riley: You’ve done reviews for all the of the (makes me cringe) Star Wars prequels as well as all the "Next Generation" Star Trek movies. I know it all started as something just for yourself, did you ever think it would be as big as it is now?
Mike: No, never. When I started with the Star Trek: Generations review it was 2008 and youtube was still relatively new. There was no Facebook or Twitter so it was hard to imagine viral videos like they are now. Not to say I would have expected that (especially with a video about Star Trek: Generations) but it wasn’t in my mind. I was just making it for fun.
Riley: With the obsession of pizza rolls by Harry S. Plinkett, has General Mills, parent company of Totino's, ever complain to you or RLM about the use of pizza rolls in your reviews?
Mike: Never heard from them, no. But as they say there’s no such thing as bad press! I would imagine they don’t mind the pizza roll name out there more cause of the Plinkett reviews, even if they are being eaten by a psychopath, but crazy people got to eat too. Crazy people love Pizza Rolls!
Riley: Speaking of Plinkett and his pizza rolls. On Half in the Bag, when Rich portrays Plinkett, he never mentions pizza rolls. Any reason for this or did it just happen that way?
Mike: Rich does a slightly different Plinkett. I don’t think we’ve ever said, “you should or shouldn’t mention Pizza Rolls” its just never come up? The Pizza Roll comment in the Generations review was just a non sequitur that I thought was funny to randomly blurt out. It’s sort of latched on with people for some reason, but its nothing I find I want to use more or less. It’s just pizza rolls! mmmmm
Riley: With the ever growing popularity of the Star Wars reviews and Half in the Bag with Jay, what's next on the agenda for you and RLM?
Mike: The biggest thing coming up is our next feature film called “Space Cop” which we’ll be shooting this summer. In addition to that we’ll keep making Half in the Bag, Gamestation 2.0, as well as more Plinkett reviews. I get bored with one thing and like to move on to other things too, but we’ve got a full schedule.
Riley: With your film school and editing background, which do you find more enjoyable  voicing the reviews or filming/editing the reviews?
Mike: I like both! Editing is my first passion though. I love editing and making something out of nothing essentially. Taking all the parts and putting them together and making it work. Voice acting and acting in general is a lot of fun, but I’m not an actor. I don’t enjoy that part as a craft, just as a means to an end. I know the kind of performance and read I need to get and when I got it I move on.
Riley: I know a lot of purist Star Wars fans that agree with everything you say in the Star Wars reviews, what have been some negative reactions?
Mike: The most noteworthy negative reaction was probably the guy that wrote the rebuttal stuff. The real hardcore fans think I was trying to pull some kind of trick or something when I think I made some valid points as to why the movies didn’t work for me or work as movies in general. I know some people love their Star Wars universe and see no wrong in the prequel, but I wasn’t trying to take that away from anyone, just present my opinion. People are free to like what they like! But the key was that it was in a character and in a comical fashion. Some people didn’t get the sarcasm or intentional errors and such. Those humorless, uptight uber-nerds kind of frighten me.
Riley: I know Plinkett is just a character you play. I know a lot of actors that occasionally put a little of themselves into the  character they portray. I know the Harry Plinkett character isn't your everyday guy. Is there any part of Mike Stoklasa in the Harry character?
Mike: Plinkett is a bit of an alter ego I suppose. He’s sort of the embodiment of complaining about stuff. Personified irritation. I’m a little more reasonable in real life, obviously, and he’s just a character. It’s part performance, part commentary.
Riley: Is there anything that yours or RLM fans would be surprised to know about?
Mike: I guess one thing that some fans might not know is that Jay and I essentially do everything in Red Letter Media. Occasionally we have some people help out on a more complex shoot, but when we make Half in the Bag it’s usually just me and jay operating the cameras, then editing, Jay updates the website, I take out the garbage and so on. We really do everything pretty much ourselves. I’ll get emails that say, “Not sure if this is really Jay or Mike reading this or if your assistants filter your mail” and its funny to me. Maybe someday we’ll get some help!
Riley:  With filming of  the short "fuck bot 5000", is there any plans to make a feature length film about FB 5000?
Mike: There are no plans to make a feature about Fuckbot 5000. Fuckbot is actually the brain child of my friend Jack and my girlfriend Jessi. They made him up and we used him in our 48 hour film. He makes appearances here and there, but FB is not really Jay or my thing.
Riley: Well Mike, that's about all the time we have today. Thank you for your time and keep making such awesome films. Is there anything else you would like to tell your fans before we depart?
Mike: Please continue to visit our webzone and purchase our products.