Hillbilly Jim & the WrestleMania Fan Axxess Tour

Today is the start of the WrestleMania Axxess Tour. The event starts in Miami and stops in many major cities until its culmination in Detroit, the site of WrestleMania 23. At each stop of the tour, fans will get the opportunity to get autographs, call a SmackDown match, walk down the Locker Room of Champions, get free WWE ring tones and wallpaper, take part in trivia challenges, take part in a video game tournament, and do many more cool things. For more information, go to www.wrestlemania.com.

One of the major features of this tour has been the opportunity to meet Hillbilly Jim. This is his fourth year on the tour. I had the opportunity to speak to Hillbilly Jim about this event and he told me that he loves to meet the fans, sign some of his old memorabilia, and talk about the old days. Since the theme of this WrestleMania is that it is the 20th anniversary of WrestleMania 3, I had to ask him about his experiences at the show. He told me that this was his most asked question. He said that it was incredible wrestling for what seemed like a small city and that it was amazing to wrestle in front of that record crowd. He realized it was something special when he went out to the ring and commented about how loud the stadium was. When asked if there was a possibility of his retuning to the ring for WrestleMania 23, he said that it was not likely. He feels that he had his run and that it is time for the younger guys to enjoy their time.

We also spoke about a few non-WrestleMania things. I was surprised to find out that the wedding between Uncle Elmer and Joyce on the second edition of Saturday Night's Main Event was legitimate. The story was that someone in the office found out that Uncle Elmer was getting married in real life and convinced him and Joyce to do it on the show. He still has some very fond memories of that night at the Meadowlands.

He also gave some advice to the youngsters that want to become a professional wrestler. He said that the WWE is the top of the mountain and that you have to start elsewhere. He recommends that you make a local contact and start wrestling locally. If you are lucky enough to get a call from the WWE, make sure that you are ready because you may not get a second call. He also said that the WWE has scouts that go to many indy shows and they have a big enough staff that see many of the indy wrestlers throughout the country.

If you would like to talk to Hillbilly Jim, you can visit him at the WrestleMania Fan Axxess tour or talk to him on his radio show. Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio. The show is broadcast on Channel 61 Outlaw Country and is broadcast live on Saturday from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM and rebroadcast on Sunday from 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM.

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