U.S. Serviceman On His Backstage Experience At WWE TTTT: How Roman Reigns Really Is, Vince, More

Longtime Wrestling Inc. reader Travis Akers, who has served 6 tours overseas, attended last month's WWE Tribute to the Troops taping. He won a VIP backstage experience as part of a contest sponsored by WWE, Navy MWR and Coca Cola. WWE profiled Akers' experience recently in a YouTube video, which you can watch above. He sent us this great report of his experience:

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I wanted to share my story from Tribute to the Troops. I wasn't able to submit until after the special aired on USA.

My wife and I were selected as the winners of a contest sponsored by Navy MWR, Coca Cola, and the WWE for Tribute to the Troops, being held at my Navy duty station in Jacksonville, FL. Our day began when we were picked up via limo from our home and taken to the Jacksonville Veteran's Arena and met at the entrance by WWE staff. We were provided all-access passes and escorted to the back door. As we're walking in, we stood in a security line for pat down with Rusev, Lana, and Kane in line with us. That pretty much set the tone for the day. Additionally, this was also our wedding anniversary, so it was already a special day.

Once inside we filmed a 15 minute interview, which was condensed for the special on USA to about a minute and a half. Following the interview we were given a tour of the production backstage while being followed by a filming crew. The tour included wardrobe, makeup, creative, dressing rooms, and guerilla (where Vince McMahon and producers sit backstage directing the program). Along the tour we met many of the WWE's top superstars and divas including Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, Titus O'Neil, Brie Bella, Mark Henry, Kevin Owens, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Eva Marie, The USOs, The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, The Dudley Boyz, Kane, Ryback, Rusev, Lana, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Curtis Axel, Damien Sandow, The Wyatt Family, Charles Robinson, JBL, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, Dolph Ziggler and many others that I am sure I'm forgetting.

We had the opportunity to take pictures and get autographs with many of the stars and was given extended time to talk with a few as well. My wife is a Total Divas fan, so she spent time with Eva and Nattie, while I was able to have extended conversations with Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, and Titus O'Neil.

Following the tour, we had lunch with the roster backstage in catering. Trust me when I say they all eat very well. The food was fantastic and sitting at the same table with Kane, Booker T, and Jerry Lawler was something very special. The most interesting part of lunch was listening to everyone going over their scripts and plans for the evening's booking. After lunch we were escorted to the promo area and recorded some footage for Coca Cola with Roman Reigns. I got to cut my own promo (I cut it against my sons for fun and thought they would enjoy that when they got older).

Roman then took us through guerilla once more where we were able to make an entrance on stage, down the ramp, and in the ring. While in the ring I attempted to run the ropes and take a couple of bumps. I had no idea how hard the ropes actually were and how hard the mat is. The punishment these guys put themselves through provided a whole new level of respect from me, especially after discovering the steel steps are in fact steel too. Geez. The Wyatts, HHH and some NXT guys were ringside while I was running around like a fool in the ring and were laughing at me... a lot. But I didn't care, how many people get to run the ropes in a WWE ring? We filmed another spot with Roman for Coca Cola, as you could see with all of the product placement and then made our way backstage once again for a VIP reception with several superstars and Governor Rick Scott of Florida.

Lastly, we were escorted to our ringside seats, directly behind the announce table and the show began. Following Tribute to the Troops and Smackdown, we were taken home via limo once again and that ended our WWE VIP experience.

Some random highlights: Dean Ambrose walking up at lunch and telling us which dessert to get from the buffet line, running into Vince and the camera crew telling me I can't say "holy s–t" while they're recording, shaking the ropes Ultimate Warrior style in the ring, watching Ryback eat... seriously, that dude eats. There are a ton more, but these are just a couple of glances into our experience with the WWE. You can see the video the WWE posted on Youtube (in the video above). I also provided some pictures we took along with some the WWE e-mailed us, and more are posted on my Twitter feed at @travisakers.

Final note: The Superstars are all very humble and generous. They never were rushed in talking with us and took extra time for pictures, questions, and autographs whenever we asked. I know Roman Reigns gets a lot of heat from the IWC, but I think you should all know he is very genuine and humble. He spent a lot of time with us (around an hour) even when the cameras weren't rolling and shared a lot about his life and his experiences. The WWE might have booked him poorly the past couple of years and you can say what you want about his mic skills, but I can say after our day, he's got my support.

If anyone has a specific question about someone or our experience, I would be glad to answer in the comments section. Thanks!