wrestling / Columns
Sanders’ Chris Jericho’s Rock N’ Wrestling Rager At Sea Triple Whammy Review
Loading...It’s hard to believe but the very first Chris Jericho Rock N Wrestling Rager at Sea was in 2018. I can recall my curiosity of the event and wanting to go. At the same time however, I felt there could be hiccups along the way. As result I decided to sit out and wait for reviews from friends and colleagues going on the cruise. Reviews came back overwhelmingly positive. I shared this information with my girlfriend at the time as we decided it be a great honeymoon / vacation after we get married. We decided 2020 was going to be the year we got married and go on Jericho’s third cruise. Sadly, with the pandemic this would not happen as everything, including our wedding was pushed to 2021. Fast forward to now as my wife and I have been newlyweds for four months as we celebrated a much deserved vacation in style.
Arriving at the Miami airport went without a hitch coming from BWI. Trying to get a Lyft or Uber at the Miami Port Authority results in a long wait time. Your only other choice is to do a taxi that is clearly marked. We sadly got in an independent taxi and the fifteen minute drive to our ship check-in location costed us fifty dollars. You heard me right, fifty dollars for a fifteen minute drive. Once we arrived for checking in so we could go onboard our cruise is where the real fun began. We arrived for check-in at 10:22AM. We did not get onboard the ship until 2:45PM. Over four hours we waited which had me wondering if this was normal. You see this was my first time ever doing a cruise and getting on a plane for that matter. My wife assured me having done numerous cruises, especially themed cruises, that this is not normal. Usually, it takes an hour to ninety minutes total. So, what happened and why such a long delay? Norwegian Cruise Line and Sixthman had their check-in process greatly understaffed with long wait times. From three security guards patting you down to enter a small doorway, to waiting in another line to show identification credentials, current proof of COVID vaccination, and a recent COVID-19 test in the last seven days. Just when you think you are done you have another line to go through as you have to get a COVID-19 test just to get to the finish line of getting your Rager badge and cabin keycard. This is where loads confusion comes into play as I was told by customer service from Sixthman that as long as I got a COVID-19 test three days before arriving at the port, I would not need to go through another COVID test. What was told to me on the phone and what I experienced in person did not match. For many of us it was unbearable as it was hot, extremely slow lines, poor customer assistance and communication from those managing the lines, and again greatly understaffed. This was not just my experience but from those I spoke to who were there as early as 6:00AM ET just to be in line early. This trend continued all day from others I spoke to sadly. The end result was our ship not sailing off until sometime after 10:00PM when it was supposed to set sail around 5:00PM. I will say it was a classy move of Norwegian and Sixthman to apply one dollar credits to everyone’s account. Even if you had your partner with you, they too got a credit as well. It was most helpful as many I spoke too were also on a tight spending budget.
Some activities that were scheduled for DAY 1 of the cruise were rescheduled as result of this long check-in process. I cannot speak for others but myself and my wife were so drained from the traveling and delays, we had dinner and went to our cabin. To Hell with whatever activities might still been in play for later that day, I wanted a soft bed, a drink, and rest. I did however find myself roaming the ship after a few hours of sleep looking for the deck level holding a live Talk is Jericho show. This edition which kicked off the cruise covered the evolution of women’s wrestling. It featured Jazz, Medusa, and Brit Baker. It was refreshing hearing Britt talk about continuing her education for her degree in dentistry, working at a practice in hopes of one day having her own, while still pursuing a career in pro wrestling. Chris Jericho had Medusa retell familiar stories that we fans just love to hear again and again. Take for instance what lead to Medusa leaving WWF/E for WCW. Another classic story is Medusa throwing the WWF/E Women’s championship in a trash can live on WCW Nitro. The women also shared their favorite memories from their careers, opponents, where the women’s division is heading and more. It was a great change of pace and great to hear each woman’s perspective on the business. I particularly was fond of hearing Jazz speak as she has been one of my all-time favorites. I was a teenager when I began following Jazz’s career. For me she has always been one of the cornerstones of excellence in women’s wrestling and its evolution. Her matches with Trish Status and Lita still hold up to this very day of great in-ring action.
Day 2 of the cruise saw some activities get rescheduled. This included the Kurt Angle photo op as it was pushed back to Saturday. More on Kurt Angle later as there is a funny story I want to mention. There was an AEW photo op that consisted of one person of your choosing. You could either do that photo op with AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker, Orange Cassidy, The Gunn Club, Chaos Project, or with Billy Gunn. There was another AEW photo op session on Day 3 that consisted of Jake Roberts, Will Hobbs, Anna Jay, or with Colt Cabana. There was also a Legends photo session as that consisted of Jazz and Danhausen on Day 2. A second Legends photo op was on Day 4 as it featured Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of The Rock n Roll Express, and Will Osprey. My Day 2 kicked off with an AEW photo op as I wanted to meet Britt Baker. Gotta say I am one of the few podcasters that defended her work very early in her AEW career when everyone wrote her off. I always said the potential is there and she just needed more time to piece it all together, especially on the promo work. While many wanted her off tv, I wanted for her to keep getting opportunities because I could tell she was putting in the work to improve. She has come a long way and I am proud of the performer she has become as she is still scratching the surface. It was a great honor to meet her and I gotta say she is even more easy on the eyes in person. Britt Baker’s line was much longer this go round from what I was told compared to the last cruise where she cut her infamous heel promo. I was pretty amazed at her line as I waited. Her line practically went around the entire ship! I saw many people walk away in defeat at the sight of her line as many felt it was a lost cause.
Day 2 of the Jericho Cruise also found me doing a legend photo op with Jazz. She was such a sweetheart as she greeted me. We embraced as she gave me a hug and I told her how much of an honor it was to watch her, and that she was one of my favorites growing up. In addition, I took the time to tell her I was one of her Twitter buddies as she smiled even more, and we took the photo. She thanked me for coming out. She was a sweetheart. Jazz for me really broke the mold and shook it up in WWF/E when she came along. She was like Chyna, except Jazz’s ability in the ring was far superior to Chyna. Jazz does not get enough praise for her work in the women’s division. It was truly an honor to meet her, and I am glad she was showcased during the cruise as she was worthy of being featured. It was always one of my all-time dreams to meet her and she did not disappoint. Now if I can get her on my podcast that would be something as it is rare she grants interviews. Anything can happen right? I decided afterwards to grab lunch and let me say the cafeteria on Deck 12 was excellent. Most of the places to eat were complimentary, meaning you can eat as much as you want and for free. Deck 12, known as the Garden Cafe was my favorite as they had pizza, fries, baked potatoes, salads, all kinds of cookies, pies, cakes, sandwiches, etc. I grew particularly fond of this place late at night during the cruise after inhaling so much secondhand weed from folks during concerts and when walking outdoors. Remember my Kurt Angle teaser from earlier? So, my wife and I are eating, and she whispers to me to look over my left shoulder. I am not budging as over the years I never marked out for a celebrity. My mentality is to treat them with respect and like everyday people just like me. After all, at the end of the day that is what they are but with a more recognizable face. Kurt Angle was with his wife, and they just finished eating. A fan walked up to them, and they talked for a couple of minutes. Kurt seemed very mellow, loose, enjoying himself. The fan mentioned to Kurt that he would see him at Angle’s photo op. Kurt asked the fan if he knew what time it was happening. Sadly, the fan didn’t know but just that it was rescheduled to Saturday from Friday. Even Colt Cabana’s show was rescheduled. Angle’s wife jokingly said to Kurt why to go, always on top of shit as usual and they both laughed. I was holding back choking on my salad on that one.
From there my wife and I took in the sights and sounds of the ship as we explored our new surroundings. One thing we both made note of which is there were hardly any kids on the cruise. In retrospect I understand why as this cruise really is aimed towards the adults. I also want to burst a bubble, a myth that has been floating around past few cruises now. That myth of the cruise consisting of a bunch of losers, horny men and only three women on the entire ship. No my friends, there were plenty of women on this cruise in all shapes, sizes and ages. There were maybe a very small few who were by themselves as I talked wrestling with a few of them, or they were with their significant other. Lots and lots of couples were on this cruise including same sex couples. I would say 64 percent men and 36 percent women. Anyone throwing shade at those going to these types of cruises are simply mad at those who financially can afford to do themed cruises like this. These are people that mostly hide behind avatars and keyboards, plain and simple.
Day 2 of the cruise continued on into the evening as I saw the dance group The Vaudettes. These girls are from my hometown of Chicago, and they have been combining dark seduction, dance choreography with electric and rock music since 2015. These girls are really impressive and are worth checking out as they are inclusive when it comes to empowering, while being body positive. An AEW wrestling event followed afterwards as it featured Brian Cage and Christopher Daniels losing to Angelico and Isiah Kassidy. Ricky Starks defended his FTW championship successfully against Sonny Kiss. Colt Cabana defeated Ryan Nemeth. Abadon defeated Ashley D’Amboise. And in the main event, Peter Avalon with JD Drake and Cezar Bononi faced Chuck Taylor, Wheeler Yuta, and Orange Cassidy in a Trios Tag match. Excellent wrestling action as this was officially my first time seeing AEW live action in person. The people performing did not feel like they were phoning anything in as each match felt competitive. The roster was doing their best to entertain the fans and it really showed. From there Fozzy performed as all of this action I watched so far was outdoors on the ship’s main deck. Over the years I always meant to see Fozzy perform live, but something always came up. Gotta say Fozzy crushed it on this night as I found myself in a groove. I love experiencing live music, especially hard Rock or Metal music. It made me feel slightly guilty that this was my first time seeing Fozzy live as I own all their albums. I have been a Fozzy fan since their debut album. Chris Jericho commanded the stage like a true rock god with his thunderous high notes and screams. Many times, I felt like I was watching David Lee Roth from the band Van Halen. Jericho was that good! I also have to give praise to Rich Ward as he has substantially matured as a guitarist. You hear it on the albums, but it does not do justice when it comes to seeing him perform live. I enjoyed a nice walk late night after the concert, even hanging out at the casino watching folks play my favorite game, Blackjack. Fun fact! Marko Stunt, and The Rock n Roll Express are excellent Blackjack players as I watched them win a few hands over the days I visited the casino area on the ship.
The Bahamas took over the first half of Day 3 as there were no activities. It was not until early evening did things pick up. Everything started with a special live Talk is Jericho with the Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Still energetic and charismatic was Mr. Angle as this interview was a trip down memory lane. Kurt Angle talked about how coming to WWE came about, working with Shane McMahon, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, and Eddie Guerrero just to name a few. Mr. Kurt Angle also talked about what lead to his WWE departure, going to TNA / IMPACT WRESTLING, coming back to WWE, and why his last WWE run went lackluster. Mr. Angle came off very appreciative of his fans on how devoted they have been to him all these years later. It was a great interview. From Talk is Jericho, it was time to go straight to Kurt Angle’s photo op. I understand many fans on their complaints on how his photo op was managed. First off, the pictures taken with Kurt Angle were shot professionally by Sixthman. They were on your bed along with other goodies you got once a day for the duration of the voyage. We got these pictures on the last day of the cruise. The pictures with Mr. Angle came out great! Where some fans were a little irritated or disappointed came from when learning he was not doing autograph signings. Many thought he was going to give autographs in addition to the photo op as he commanded a hundred dollars. It was never clearly advertised if his photo op included an autograph. Most fans found out the hard way no autographs were allowed as they saw a sign stating so before meeting him while standing in line. You were forced to use hand sanitizer before meeting Mr. Kurt Angle which was okay for me honestly as I am not sure where folks hands have been sometimes. You then shake Kurt Angle’s hand as he stands on one side of the Chris Jericho Rager cutout backdrop. You stood way on the other side of the sign. In addition, that one hundred dollars was only good for one photograph, just one. Many fans I spoke with told me how they were greatly disappointed as they did so many meet & greets and had better experiences than with Mr. Angle. Others told me how they got more value for their money than what was spent on Kurt Angle. I understand these people’s frustration as for many they went through the rigorous process of being vaccinated and getting tested for COVID-19 at the cruise site. Many felt since they got tested and were fine then Mr. Angle should have done more to make the pictures intimate. In his defense I cannot help but wonder if the pit stop to the Bahamas did not happen, would that have made Kurt Angle feel better? When our ship stopped at the Bahamas, folks were able to get off and go touring. They just had to be back in time to get onboard otherwise they would be left behind. Knowing and understanding that there are many COVID-19 variants, and that Mr. Angle has young children makes you wonder. Sadly, we will never know. He said a few times during Talk is Jericho for him this was a vacation for himself and his wife and other than the show and photo op session, you hardly saw him roaming the ship as opposed to the other wrestlers.
After these activities I decided to grab a bite to eat at a Sushi restaurant. After resting a few hours at the cabin, I decided to roam some more where I was back at the Blackjack table as a spectator. Afterwards I saw the rock band The Nocturnal Affair perform. I never heard of this band before, but they were excellent. They reminded me of early Pantera meets Stone Temple Pilots CORE album meets Type O Negative. Very impressive band as their drummer Logan Mader is up there with Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. From there I went to see the next band which was Kuarantine. This band is fronted by Chris Jericho, and it is a straight up KISS cover band. Gotta be honest as I had no prior knowledge of this band until I saw them perform on this night. Chris Jericho continues to amaze as he is a Jack of all trades. Author, wrestler, musician for two bands, talk show host, podcaster, etc. What can this man not do?! It was insane watching him work the entire time during this cruise. I find him to be very admirable and I love his strong work ethic. His game is strong as his calling card is going heavily invested all the way. That passion and drive you get with this new band Kuarantine. The band did great renditions of Who Wants to Be Lonely, No, No, No, and Heart of Chrome just to name a few of the KISS cover songs performed. So far, the band has released a few singles, but no full album has surfaced yet although Jericho did confirm during this band’s first ever live performance, that they have recorded multiple songs for a full length album that is slated to be released before the year is out. Loads of people were vaping during this performance and there was even weed in the air through out. I found myself woofing down a couple slices of pizza and sandwiches afterwards before ending my night as result. Oh yeah!
All this fun has to come to an end, right? Indeed, as Day 4 saw the cruise close out with a meet and greet with The Rock n Roll Express. Everything I ever saw of these guys from interviews to shoot DVDs was what you see is what you get. In the case of the Express, they are entertaining, very approachable, super friendly and love to have a great time. Besides Jazz, and Kurt Angle, The Rock n Roll Express were my absolute favorites to meet. It is not every day you get to meet your childhood favorites as growing up I loved watching them. I guess it is why I became such a big fan of The Rockers essentially because they reminded me such of The Express. They particularly got smiles when my wife chatted with them. Once the realized me and her were together they wanted for us all to take another picture together. Now that is just super friendly and classy. I sadly did not do any of the autograph sessions as I was under the impression it was available for an additional fee. Turns out it was not the case as it was free and the setup was great. You entered a room where the session was being held and there was a big round table of all the talents there to autograph your one item. So, I missed out on an opportunity to get everyone’s autograph. It was not all that bad as I got to see Fozzy perform one more time in the rain. It was not heavy rain, but it was enough to notice. The band kept right on performing until they finished their set, even doing an encore. There was supposed to be another AEW wrestling event, but it never happened due to the rain. If it did begin after the rain delay, I would not know as no announcement was made. With the ring covered up, my wife and I went to an Irish pub called O’Sheehan’s, which I highly recommend. The blue cheese hamburger is excellent! I highly recommend it and the taco bowl.
Before retiring for the night, we all received a memo about the disembark process from the ship. This information was not accurate from what actually happened. The process was extremely confusing as there was a lack in communication again. I saw on the cabin tv that checkout was at 7:00PM on Monday. I double checked with Norwegian, and they said we actually exit as early as 8:00AM. I packed the night before but did not sleep. By the time I did try to take power nap our housekeeper named Jowe, knocked on the door. This knock came a little after 7:00AM which threw me off as for the duration of the cruise, he knocked after 10:00AM. Apparently everyone could no longer be in their cabins at that time. We all had to be in open common areas while waiting to disembark. This process was frustrating for many of us but especially those who already made pickup arrangements with Lyft, Uber, etc. In our memo from the night before it said certain sections of deck levels would be called. It all tied into some color card system they mentioned in the memo. They also said announcements would be made on their PA System, and that never happened. We did not even get an announcement before going to bed for the disembark process and wake up time.
All things considered, I am on the fence about doing another Jericho cruise. For me it depends on the caliber of stars coming as many were notably missing from this event. Also, more activities to do would be nice as sadly some of what they had did not apply to me. Shows like Talk is Jericho and Colt Cabana are great as there should be more shows added like Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette, The Angle Show, even a few ma & pa podcasts. In addition, there needs to be better customer support service from Sixthman. Why is it every time you have a question you have to go to their desk, wait in a somewhat long line, rinse and repeat? Just uncalled for as you should be able to get assistance at the press of a button or phone call. More staff is greatly needed. Also, better lines of communication from staff about activities happening for the day, reminders, etc. Transparency is a must as folks do not need to feel misled or ripped off. Speaking of ripped off, everyone should be able to connect to the internet for the duration of your stay for free. The internet packages they had for this cruise is insane! In these times internet has become a necessity and not a luxury. Maybe just charge a flat free for internet for duration of the cruise. This ideology is something that may not happen on some or all cruises, but it would be nice. To those thinking about whether you should do the Jericho cruise, I would say if you eat, sleep, breath AEW then this is for you. If you are a hardcore fan of themed cruises, then this is up your alley. You owe to yourself to do a cruise like this just for the experience. I also recommend giving yourself at least a $1000 spending limit of spare cash in case you want souvenirs. Last, avoid Southwest Airlines. The reports you’ve been reading on long delays, and canceled flights are true. I wasn’t due back home until after 10:00PM on Monday. Due to delays and my return plane being almost overbooked, I didn’t get home until 2:00AM. When I arrived back at BWI there were so many angry people shouting at Southwest, and demanding they go home already. It was quite a sad site to see all those people essentially stranded. Hopefully by the time you decide to go to one of these cruises all of this, and the check-in lines will not be as bad. Hopefully the itinerary is even more loaded up. Which reminds me, Rock n Wrestling Rager: Four Leaf Clover hits the sea March 14-18, 2022. Good luck and rock on!
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