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The Gathering II, the second-ever convention weekend presented by Marty Damato's T-Mart Promotions, took place over the weekend at the Charlotte University Hilton in Charlotte, NC, bringing in about 300 fans for a weekend of live wrestling, Q&A Sessions, autograph and photo sessions and more. The event, a spiritual successor to the events formerly promoted by Greg Price, dates back to January 2004.
If there was one theme for the weekend, it was that Damato bent over backwards to make good to the audience who gathered in the Queen City, despite a number of last minute issues. A big part of the weekend was built around having every Midnight Express member (sans Jim Cornette, who had passed on attending) in the same place at a convention for the first time ever. Unfortunately, Bobby Eaton was hospitalized just before the weekend began while Norvell Austin, who was slated to make his first-ever convention appearance, was unable to make the trip. The story that made the rounds over the weekend was that Austin's daughter missed her flight and the window to get him from his assisted-living facility closed, making it impossible for Austin to make the trip. With so many photo-ops built around the Midnight Express and a PYTs reunion with Koko B. Ware, Damato and their staff did everything they could to try and make it up to those who paid for photos and autographs. The convention went as far as to allow fans who paid for 8x10 photos to exchange them, free of charge, for photos of other talents.
Kendall Windham was also unable to attend at the last minute due to a last minute issue stemming from the venue he operates. With Norvell Austin and Kendall out, Damato added Jimmy Hart, NWA Champion Nick Aldis and NWA Women's Champion Kamille to the autograph line for VIP ticket holders. In the case of Hart, he was added on Sunday, the least attended day, so there was absolutely zero financial upside for Damato to do so beyond making sure there was a substitute for Austin, meaning Damato added Hart without any chance of selling additional tickets. TMart absolutely went above and beyond the call of duty over the weekend.
Other VIP Superticket guests appearing over the course of the weekend were Eric Bischoff, Mike Rotunda, John Nord, Dennis Condrey, Steve Keirn, Stan Lane, Rick Steiner, David Crockett, Ken Resnick, Tony Atlas, Barry Windham, Eric Embry, Tom Pritchard, Ax, Smash, Tommy Rich, Trevor Murdoch, Jackie Fulton, Bobby Fulton, Molly Holly, Jeff Gaylord and Gary Young.
The convention featured the first-ever appearance from former Memphis and AWF star Jeff Gaylord, who also sat down for an interview with Chris Hero that will be released by Highspots.com. Former AWA star Derrick Dukes appeared and was also interviewed by Hero.
John Nord was a surprise Q&A guest on Friday, bringing down the house with a ton of over the top adult humor. He noted that his favorite opponent of all time was The Undertaker, noting that after Undertaker asked to work with him, Nord's WWF paydays tripled.
During a Q&A Session on Saturday, former USWA star Eric Embry stated he was in the middle of closing a deal that would see him move back to Dallas, Texas to relaunch the old Dallas Territory under the name World Class Pro Wrestling. Should the deal go through, the idea would be for the first event to be a Dallas territory reunion event.
Honored at the banquet over the weekend were Steve Keirn, Demolition, George South, Tony Atlas, Jim & David Crockett, The Fantastics and the late Andre the Giant. Former AWA announcer Ken Resnick did a great job hosting the banquet and the Q&As over the weekend. He also held court during his signing session, making sure every person in line got a lot of time to speak with him.
Others appearing over the weekend included Mick Foley, Marc Lowrance, Ted DiBiase, NWO Sting, Dr. D David Schultz, Randy Rose, Doug Gilbert, The Mulkeys, Hector Guerrero, Lex Luger, Heath Slater, Rachael Ellering, Sam Houston, Jimmy Valiant, Hero and South, Tatanka, Savannah Evans, Dark Journey, Magnum TA, Missy Hyatt, Mike Jackson, Mr. Hughes, Davey Richards, Tommy Young and Ron Fuller. Kevin Sullivan was slated to appear but announced at the last minute he would have to miss the gathering.
The live event portion of the weekend was a good, old school show with the locker room run by George South. The show drew a little over 300 with Mike Jackson again wowing the audience with his work at 71 years old. Colby Corino vs. John Skyler was an excellent bout as well. Sam Houston worked way harder than anyone had any reason to expect and even former WCW star Lodi shined in his bout. It was a crowd that wanted to go back in time and they especially relished the bouts that felt like they stepped out of 1985. Anytime you get to see Tommy Young referee, it's truly something special. You can read my coverage by clicking here.
The plan is for a third Gathering next year set for 8/4-8/7 with tickets and hotel blocks going on sale this September.
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