BACKSTAGE PASS: The behind-the-scenes scoop on Raw and Smackdown

I've always wanted to go backstage at Raw and see what was what going on. When the WWF came to Phoenix, I got my wish. I can't say how I got backstage, but I will tell you that it didn't involve any sordid "favors" and technically, I wasn't supposed to be back there. Luckily, nobody really knew otherwise and nobody really seemed to care.

The first person that I see is Jerry "The King" Lawler. I am standing outside the security door when he comes walking up, looking very tired (apparently, he had just come from the gym). He says hello to me and walks through the door.

A few minutes later, I am walking around backstage, wandering through the massive maze of crates, sets, cameras, tables, chairs, and cables. There are a lot of people walking around and a lot of activity is going on (it was about four hours before show time). I pass by Pat Patterson, Earl Hebner (or maybe Dave--I can't tell them apart), Percy Pringle/Paul Bearer, and Bruce Prichard. There are television screens every ten feet or so playing various pieces of matches. Footage on one screen shows Ivory working out (?!) in red and blue workout clothes, looking very non-RTC. She is pumping some serious iron. Another screen shows a video still of Billy Gunn in the middle of suplexing somebody.

I walk past the screens to find Stephanie McMahon sitting in a chair, getting her hair and make-up done. I'm too intimidated to approach her, even though she's smiling and laughing.

I continue down the corridor, past Bradshaw (who is sitting on a crate talking to someone from the crew, sounding kind of bummed out), and wander toward the "Press Room." Tazz and Steven Richards are outside the Press Room talking. Tazz sees me and says "Hi. How ya doin'?" I say I'm fine. J.R. passes by us (cowboy hat-less), muttering something to somebody about "No, that's fine, we'll just do it."
I make a quick trip to the bathroom and head back towards the Press Room.

As I start to walk into the Press Room, I bump into...Vince McMahon. I freeze dead in my tracks and just kind of look up at him, a bit flabbergasted. "Well, hi," he says. He seems a bit amused. "Hi," I stutter, moving aside. "Go ahead."
Vince steps aside and motions for me to go into the Press Room, holding the door open for me. "No, go ahead," he says. I smile and say "Thank you." He says "You're welcome," and I walk past him (stomach doing cartwheels) into the room.

I have definitely picked the right room. This is not the Press Room-- instead, it's functioning as the wrestlers' "lounge". Sergeant Slaughter, Taka Michinoku, Edge, Christian, Tazz, Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler, The Kat, and Trish Stratus are all here, eating and watching the previous night's "No Way Out" pay-per-view on a video screen.
I ask Tazz and Kurt Angle if they mind if I sit at their table. "No, not at all," they both answer in unison. Kurt is eating some roast beef and peas while he and Tazz talk about last night's Championship match. They are both chewing huge wads of tobacco. A production crew member asks Kurt if he's happy with the way the match went last night. Kurt nods and says "Yeah." Michael Hayes walks in and hands Kurt a can of Skoal, which he had apparently borrowed earlier.
Various people walk in and out of the room--among them Kevin Kelly, Crash Holly, Val Venis, and Teddy Long (who also says hello and asks me how I'm doing). Teddy jokes with Kurt about something and goes to walk out a locked door. "Okay," he laughs. "Lock the black man out, I see."
Trish gets up to leave and Kurt stops her to compliment her on last night's match with Stephanie. "That was a great match last night," Kurt tells her. "Everybody was really impressed. I heard some of those slaps on TV, and they were loud. I was like 'Oh, man!' Great job."
A production crew member walks in and asks, "Who's the interviewer that Kurt's ignoring?" Somebody answers that it's Jonathan Coachman. I watch a little of the triple threat tag team match with Edge, Christian, and Kurt (whose cell phone is constantly ringing), and then I wander back out into the corridor. I haven't approached anybody to get my WWF cookbook signed yet, but when I spot The Rock showing Trish Stratus a wrestling hold outside the lounge, I get up the nerve to approach them.
"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but could I have your autographs?"
The Rock and Trish look very puzzled, like "What the hell?" It occurs to me that maybe they aren't asked for autographs backstage very often because fans are never back there three hours before the show. Trish hesitantly agrees, but she and The Rock are both very cordial while signing. Rock even signs the autograph "To Niki."

Now that I have obtained autographs, I know I should leave the backstage area soon. On my way out, I walk past Teddy Long, standing next to Bull Buchanan (Bull looks a little angry), and then I pass Vince McMahon (also talking on a cell phone). I also pass Saturn (getting his stage makeup done) and Shane McMahon, Xeroxing something in the production office.

As I walk out the security doors, the lasting impression I have is that everybody backstage is at work. Everybody I saw was busy putting something together for the show. Wrestlers were going over their matches and filming vignettes and interviews (those "live" interviews that air during Raw), and production crew members were running around with clipboards and headsets on.
I leave the arena and walk outside into the massive pool of fans, having just had an enlightening experience most of them would kill for.

Backstage at WWF Smackdown in Tucson, AZ on February 27, 2001

I manage to get backstage again, but this time it's only about two hours until the event begins. The backstage area is even more crowded tonight, and the main corridor is packed with people. Taka Michinoku is on a payphone, and further down the hall Percy Pringle and some others sit at a table, handing out envelopes to the wrestlers. The wrestlers have to sign for the envelopes, and I am under the impression that the envelopes contain either plane tickets or paychecks. Wrestlers are stopped looking at the evening's matches, which are posted on the wall. At the end of the hall, Jacqueline is getting her make-up done. I pass various wrestlers in the corridor--Chris Benoit, Steve Blackman, The Goodfather, Rhino, Hardcore Holly, William Regal, and a mask-less Kane.

Out in the loading area, Shane McMahon is standing talking to The Big Show, and The Undertaker is standing alone a few feet behind them. I approach The Undertaker and ask for his autograph. He signs my WWF cookbook while I compliment him on last night's show in Phoenix. He's civil, but he doesn't say much. Later, when people asked me if The Undertaker was "nice", I answered, "Well, he's not mean. He's just very quiet and serious."
I am hesitant to approach Shane and The Big Show, because I don't want to interrupt their conversation, but I manage to walk up to them and smile. After a minute, they pause in their conversation and look at me. "Hi, I don't want to interrupt, but could I have your autographs?"
Shane smiles at me and says "Certainly." The Big Show signs first and as he goes to hand me the marker, it falls to the floor. Shane and I both bend down to get it. "I've got it," Shane says politely. Shane signs my book and asks, "What's your name?" I tell him, and he says, "It's very nice to meet you."
I walk away thinking, wow--he was so nice to me. As a matter of fact, out of everybody I encountered on my two-day backstage excursion, Vince and Shane McMahon were the nicest people I met.

Unfortunately, the niceties were about to end as I walked into the Ladies Dressing Room. I guess I should have known better, but there was no security around and the door was wide open. I was hoping to find Jacqueline to request an interview, but the only people in the small room are Terri Runnels and Tori. I figure I might as well ask for an autograph, and as I dig for the marker, Terri, who's in the midst of putting on make-up, regards me suspiciously. "Hi," she says (more of a question than a greeting). I say hello and ask if she would sign my book. Terri looks at me like I just kicked her dog. Her face turns a light shade of red. "You can't just come walking in here, hon," she snaps. "I'll sign--I don't know about Tori--but I'll--just--just--"
She throws her makeup down on the counter. She's clearly frustrated and pissed off. I've intruded and interrupted the whole make-up process. Tori hasn't said a word. In fact, she's been looking down at the floor the whole time. I apologize profusely and tell Terri I can wait until she's done. "No, don't wait!" She yells. "I'll just sign, and get out! You can't just come walking in here! This is a private area, and it's off-limits to almost everybody. You can't just go wherever the hell you want! My god!"
Terri signed the book (to get me out of there quickly, I'm sure), and I ran out the door. I can understand why she was upset (I shouldn't have gone into the dressing room), but I do feel like she lit into me a little too hard about it.