TNA Lockdown Weekend Fanfest Recap - Day 1

Credit: Gregory Davis & PWInsider

Here is my recap of Day 1, Friday, of TNA Lockdown weekend.

Much to my surprise, TNA announced on their website on Thursday that there would be three extra autograph signings. I couldn't believe they did these with one day notice, but l was informed by the locals that there were promoted locally for at least a week.

First was a Mickie James signing at a Chevy dealership. There was a good turnout of about 200 people. A TNA rep riled up the crowd for Mickie's arrival and was taking photos of the fans, so I'm assuming those will be online at some point. 8x10 promos were given out and the first couple dozen fans received a TNA shirt, although they didn't appear to be signed as promises. In addition to Mickie signing and taking photos, they raffled off tickets for Saturday and Sunday.

Then it was off to the riverfront at a bar for some good ol' fun. Samoa Joe, Tara, and So Cal Val were there, with about 50 fans. This was more of a hangout as the three wandered around for autographs and photos. Some from a local radio station was the master of ceremonies and was good in his role, except he kept saying WWE by accident early on when referring to the wrestlers.

There were some trivia contests, a fan debuted a rap for everyone (not pretty), the three answered questions, tickets and prizes were given out and we ended with a contest where the fans had to give their best pickup lines to Val and Tara. Val was filming footage with her phone for the website. This was a blast! Everyone was having a great time and it was a fine way to start the weekend.

Things really pick up tomorrow. It's an early start for Fan Interaction, followed by The Main Event signing, the VIP cruise and finally a Beer Money signing.