wrestling / Columns
Sanders’ Bret Hart & Squared Circle Collectibles Meet & Greet Review
Image Credit: Lee Sanders
Loading...Slowly but surely we’re getting back to normal life before COVID-19 crippled us as a nation. With normality comes partaking in family gatherings, hanging out with friends, live events and meetups. In my case I took part in the October 21st Bret Hart Meet & Greet in Winchester, Virginia at the Squared Circle Collectibles store. The store has been picking up some steam the past several months. In the process of selling signed wrestling memorabilia in the form of autographed prints and photos, they also offer wrestling action figures, Funko Pops, displays of titles, and more. I was very excited to check out this store as it was my first time visiting. It had been on my to-do list since earlier this year when Jeff Jarrett was supposed to appear. Sadly, Mr. Jarrett had other commitments but since then appearances has been made by Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Boogeyman, Mick Foley, Bushwacker Luke, Rhyno, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and many more including AEW stars.
The men and women behind Squared Circle Collectibles have been at it for a few years. They’ve operated at events in Baltimore, Maryland and at Virginia Hampton Inns. In the process they’ve worked hard and diligently in securing a permanent physical location. Their store located at 3343 Valley Pike Suite 100 in Winchester, Virginia is about to celebrate its one year anniversary since its grand opening. It’s truly amazing how far they’ve come along and if you’re a wrestling fan, you love hearing about great stories such as this. To my point, as far as I can recall, Bret “Hitman” Hart to date is their biggest and greatest star to ever step foot in their store. I had to take the 98 minute drive from my home to this event. As I told my wife, it’s not everyday you get to meet a childhood hero and wrestling idol. Let alone being able to meet them so close to one’s neck of the woods. Previous years whenever there was a Bret Hart appearance, it was held in Philadelphia, or a few states over and was too far and expensive to do. With this event the only thing I had to be concerned about was having a full tank of gas.
The event went from 6pm to 9pm as my wife and I arrived right at the 6pm mark. There was a decent amount of people waiting as we estimated it to be 85-90 people deep. We obviously were at the back of the line but I didn’t care as we chatted amongst ourselves. There was a nice amount of fans I would say between 30-65 years old in attendance, 98 percent male and 2 percent female. You had some younger fans in attendance but the 30-65, really 40-65 appeared to be the dominate age group. Parking isn’t an issue as it was easy to find parking space. The other businesses in the strip had closed for the day so we all didn’t deal with any hassle. What I liked the most about this location is the fact that it’s next a SUNOCO gas station. Great for if you wanted to use the restroom or grab something to eat and drink while you waited. It got dark pretty quick as sadly no overhead lights by Squared Circle Collectibles were present. I learned from the staff that apparently there was an HOA and electrical issue so that’s why lights were an issue this week. We all managed to see a glimpse of Bret Hart when he arrived a few minutes after start time. From there it took only a few minutes before the line began moving. From the moment we got there and we’re in line it took us 90 minutes to get inside the store. A welcomed opportunity because for many of us it got pretty chilly outside.
Inside the store you were greeted by some of staff as they helped checked you in. Majority of the people including myself had pre-ordered online ahead of time. All we had to do was sure our confirmation number or barcode showing all the info. Can’t stress it enough folks, take a screen shot of your confirmation order. It saves you on lots of time and keeps things moving along. Some people got caught up thinking they had to print a ticket when in fact you do not. Just send a confirmation email and text to yourself with all the info after you’ve created your login credentials and you’re good to go. I’m not sure if the method in place is permanent but I hope it is as it creates smooth transactions. Now full transparency folks, myself and a few others leading up to this event was very confused at the Bret Hart tiers being offered. When prices initially launched, many of us jumped on what we thought were the highest prices, thinking for getting our championship titles signed, we’d be covered. This wasn’t the case at all as it was covered under the original SHARPSHOOTER package tier for $200.00 USD. I purchased a photo op & autograph combo that was $160.00 USD along with an personal inscription tier that was an extra $10.00 USD if I’m not mistaken. I purchased the inscription tier thinking it would have me covered for certain in getting my championship title signed. It wasn’t until days later was there clarification from Squared Circle on their social media pages about what would be signed and not signed, and under what tiers they fell under. Sadly my tier only covered me for a photo op and autograph on a 8×10 photo. There were quite a few of us that were confused by this as we then heard a $80.00 USD premium tier would be made available for folks wanting to get Bret’s autograph on a championship belt or a photo-op. If you’re following me so far, you know for some of us we pretty much already paid this and wanted to get the perks we had coming to us. Communication with the staff at SSC was easy and they adjusted it without any issues whatsoever. It turns out the pricing issues some experienced was due to the fact that it was SSC’s first time partnership to bring Bret in. Usually they do their meet and greets on their own but for Bret they had to work with two other people who made the pricing. This is why the ticket site (brown paper tickets) was used. Usually you’re able to go straight to Squared Circle’s site and purchase the tickets directly.
I finally had my chance to go behind a curtain where I saw my wrestling idol sitting behind a table, taking his time to autograph some memorabilia for a fan. Bret then stood up and signed the shirt that fan was wearing as there was quite a few autographs on this shirt. This same fan hugged Bret afterwards and told him how much he meant to him. Bret was lost in the moment and appreciated the love and support. Bret then turns to the fan’s son who was 2 or 3 years old and asked for a high five. The kid said no to Bret and that made us all who saw this go OH NO! Bret smiled at the kid and told him how he’s pretty tough. Bret eventually was able to get a high five from him and we all cheered with quiet laughter. My wife turned to me and asked me if I was still sure about wanting to be a dad. I told her but of course as it’s moments like what I saw that fan and his son had, I want to pass on to my child. Right before I met Bret, I talked with a couple of SSC staff members who wanted to know where I wanted the Hitman to sign my belt. I told them anywhere on the front was fine as one staff member told me the smoothest side is always the best. I agreed as we looked at one area of space where they asked me if pink was okay. I said pink is awesome and yes please as they wanted to know the story of the other two autographs. The two in question came from meeting CM Punk and Sting. Finally, my opportunity to meet the Hitman came as we locked eyes and I shook his hand. I told him how much of an honor it was to meet him. He took a look at my shirt and smiled as he asked me was that a new design because he never saw it before. I told him it was and that it came out not that long ago. Bret smiled as he continued autographing my belt. We posed for our picture as I shook his hand more time and thanked him for the years of wrestling and awesome memories. He thanked me for coming out as it meant a lot to him. I was one cloud nine as I made my exit through a back door and out to the parking lot.
“How was it,” my wife asked me as we headed up to our car. I said FANTASTIC! How did the picture turn out was all I thought about. She told me it came out pretty good as she showed me. It did come out great as I also got a better look at his autograph on the big gold belt. I had the biggest smile from ear to ear as we pondered what to eat for dinner. “There’s a SHEETZ just down the road, you wanna do that,” my wife asked me as most of the places in the area was closed. I didn’t care as I met my wrestling hero. From Wrestlemania XII against Shawn Michaels, to his match against Mr. Perfect at 1993’s King of the Ring, to his match against his brother Owen Hart at Wrestlemania X. I have so many found memories of Bret Hart as there’s not a month that goes by do I find myself getting lost online looking up his matches. Bret Hart was a big part of my childhood and stood out. In his earlier days he might’ve not talked enough, or sound bombastic and eccentric when he spoke, but I knew…I knew just by looking in his eyes that he meant business. That when the bell rang he was going do what he did best and outclass, outwrestle, and outperform his opponent. Whether as a solo act or as part of a team, I knew Bret wasn’t going to deliver a dull moment. For this fan he never disappointed. To have my friends in the wrestling, media and you podcasting world tell me beforehand how cool Bret is was comforting. To actually experience it in person was a memorable experience. After all in this day and age there’s some celebrities, athletes, and entertainers you meet in person and the experience ends up being bad. I’ve had only but a small handful through the years. Meeting Bret Hart didn’t disappoint and it’s the stuff dreams and memories are made of that you get to share with friends, family, and fellow wrestling fans.
The overall experience was a great one and the team at SSC did a fantastic job in presenting this event. If you ever find yourself traveling in the area or just love to travel every chance you get, look this store up. Keep tabs on their website as you can purchase a lot of the items I saw in-person, online. You can also see upcoming guests that’ll be stopping by the store. Trust me when I tell you I’ve seen and covered a few meet and greets over the years. There’s been some bad ones I don’t care to talk about just from an execution standpoint. This event was top notch smooth and you honestly didn’t wait that long. By the time I was done and got in my car, I circled to the front of the store and saw everyone remaining was inside the store. So I’d say perhaps almost 175 people showed it seems, possible under 200 fans. If you’re a Bret Hart fan or you’ve hesitated in meeting him or interested in a first experience, start with Bret Hart. I promise you’ll thank me later!
For more great talk of all things wrestling and beyond, be sure to follow me on Twitter @THERCWRSHOW and check me out on YouTube.com/thercwrshow Take care you all!
