Friend Encounters: Missa Kate and Glen Rylko

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today, once again I honor, feature and remember my late friend Glen. Since passing in 2022, Although he passed in 2022, I keep his memory alive with these features.

Today I actually feature two of Chicago's finest. "Chicago's favorite sweetheart" Missa Kate is one of the best wrestlers around. Glen was one of the most supportive wrestling and convention fans.

I used to say Missa was the best around here, but she has experienced time on the national level. She has all the tools and one of the big companies should sign her. She plays equally well as a good guy or bad guy. She has no weakness. Unfortunately for her fans, she retired late last year. I wish her well wherever her future takes her.

As for Glen, I miss seeing my buddy at wrestling and comic cons. We generally sought the same folks, like Missa. Since he passed, I always think of him whenever I am at any such event. He was a good guy and he is missed by all. RIP Glen.

Missa Kate and Glen Rylko in Chicago-August 2021.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #778 Nattie Neidhart & Pete the Plumber

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I feature two Calgary legends.

Natalya Neidhart is a third generation wrestler. Her grandfather Stu Hart ran Stampede Wrestling for years. Her father Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart was a tagteam champ with her uncle Bret Hart. She also has several other uncles involved in wrestling. Nattie carved her own path though, earning everything including several titles. Nattie was the perfect combination of looks and skills. Perhaps a bit weak on the mic, but that's a minor criticism. I think Nattie is too good. I think she has gotten taken for granted by the WWE. They view her as such a good trainer and ring partner, they don't use her enough for her own storylines. I'm not sure what Nattie was doing for Calgary TV in the picture, but it earned her a Celebrity Jersey Card. Her #23 might be the year or it could be for former center Sean Monahan.

Pete the Plumber has been helping the fine folks of Calgary with plumbing issues for more than 50 years. Starting with working with his father, Pete has become quite famous and very well-liked in the area. A good plumber is a treasure and that is Pete. Pete earned his Celebrity Jersey Card as a fan at a Calgary Flames game. I truly enjoy making these types of cards. Folks like Pete deserve a bit of the spotlight, even if it is more of a flashlight with Johngy's Beat.

Paul Ellering at Blizzard Brawl

There are only a few celebrities who by themselves are enough to make me go to an event a couple hours away. Precious Paul Ellering is one of them.

When Tony and I saw Ellering was appearing at Blizzard Brawl last year, it was all we needed. Ellering is arguably on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling managers. Although he mainly only managed the Road Warriors, their body of work and dominance are enough to put them all in the elite category.

Ellering was a former wrestler when he became manger of the Road Warriors. Clearly, wrestling is predetermined and victories are scripted, but the talent must be there to merit the wins and push. The Road Warriors had it all and Ellering was the perfect choice to manager them.

As a former wrestler, he still had some size and definitely the skills to get involved. He also had the mic skills to put over the team.

At Blizzard Brawl, Ellering had a long line as expected. It is always funny to Tony and me when the younger folks have no idea who major legends are. Some fans go wild over the "flavor of the moment," without knowing the legacy of men like Ellering.  Fortunately, the Blizzard Brawl crowd is pretty good with that. They know and appreciate wrestling history for the most part.

Meeting Ellering was fun. He's a legend from our youth. He was extremely pleasant and engaging, which is all you could want.

Ellering was recently announced as a guest at Squared Circle Expo, a great wrestling convention running March 27-28 in Indianapolis. If you missed him at Blizzard Brawl, this is another rare chance to meet a legend.

Go to SquaredCircleX.com for more info and schedules. Go to GLCWWretling.com for more info on Blizzard Brawl 2026 and all of GLCW's events. Check here for my recurring coverage of the wrestling scene.

Tony, Paul Ellering and me in Waukesha, WI-December 2025.

Cora Jade at Dreamwave Wrestling

I attended my first Dreamwave Wrestling show last July. It was about a two hour drive, but we wanted to meet former WWE star Cora Jade, as well as see some of our independent wrestling favorites in action.

Brianna Coda was trained at Chicago's Freelance Academy, before making her pro debut in late December 2018. After wrestling on the indy scene, with a stop at Impact, she joined the WWE as Cora Jade in 2021. She parted the WWE in late 2025. During her time in the WWE, she won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship with Roxanne Perez. She also was ranked #65 on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI Women's 250 in 2023.

Jade has made a few random appearances since leaving the WWE, but hasn't signed with any wrestling company. At Dreamave, she wrestled (as Elayna Black) Maggie Lee for the Dreamwave Women's Championship, but lost.

The pre-show meet-and-greet with Jade was fun. Jade was friendly and engaging.

It's hard for us to get to Dreamwave, but we certainly would go again depending on our schedules and the specific event. The next Dreamwave show is February 7. For more info, go to dreamwavewrestling.com.

Cora Jade and me in Peru, IL-July 2025.

Talking Travel with Stefan Holt

My latest Talking Travel interview was with anchorman, journalist and pilot Stefan Holt. The full recap and interview is on Global Traveler at Talking Travel with Stefan Holt.

The son of veteran newsman Lester Holt, Stef grew up around the media field. His mother was a flight attendant, putting aviation in his blood. Stef pursued both. One was a passion, while the other was a profession.

I talked to Stef about both. My initial focus was on Standard Terminal Arrival charts. In Chicago, several paths are named after Chicago sports legends. Other cities have similar names, too. Stef explained how all of that works.

He also talked about travel to cover events, his bucket list trips and more. Last, I had a little fun asking him about his Chicago favorites and the Bears. (His wife, a granddaughter of Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Bobby Dillon) is a Packers fan.

This was a fun interview, but one with a lot of interesting aviation info. I thank Stef for his time and consideration and I encourage all to check out his Instagram account for more fun.

Lastly, please subscribe to the Global Traveler YouTube channel. It's free, easy and you won't be bothered. Plus it really helps me.

Chris 51 at Wizard World (Fan Expo)

Chris 51 is an artist, tattooist and a self-described aftertainer I met years ago at Wizard World (now Fan Expo). I watched him work his ink magic on a few people, before interviewing him. Both parts were entertaining.

Chris 51 cites his passion for pop culture as the start of his career. That might be, but a lot of people love pop culture. Some of us even have longtime sites devoted to pop culture. Few of us reach the level Chris 51 has. You have to be special to have 51 as your last name (more on that later).

Chris 51 created and starred in A&E's Epic Ink. He also appeared on My Morphin Life with Jason David Frank. He created the Geeksterink Legends Tattoo Tour at Wizard World, which is where I met him.

One cool thing about Chris 51 is his use of himself as a Simpson's character, because I got a little flack for using South Park for my character. If a talented and successful guy like Chris 51 can do it, why can't I/

Anyway, the 51 comes from the area 51. in Oregon. There are some connections between the part of Oregon and the mysterious territory in Nevada. Chris 51 does his work at Area 51 Tattoo in (wait for it) Springfield, Oregon. There's another Simpson's reference.

Chris was completely fun and cool. Although he was extremely busy and I wasn't getting a tattoo, he gave me several minutes of his time in a very entertaining interview.

Look for Chris 51 on social media and also area-51tattoo.com. For more info on FanExpo go to fanexpohq.com. Also, check here for my recurring coverage.

Chris 51 and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2016.

Thank you Carly Alvers

The 2026 DePaul softball season starts February 6 in the Dome in Rosemont. I'll be there, but Carly Alvers won't.

A native of Mokena, Alvers played 174 games, starting 157, during her four seasons at DePaul. She hit .257 with six HRs, 54 RBIs and 62 runs scored. In her last two seasons, she started 94 of 95 games at third base and was a steady force in the infield.

I like Alvers right from the start. She had a positive energy about her. She was always up for a post-game selfie and a quick chat.

It's always bittersweet as the new season starts. I miss the departing players, but I welcome getting to learn about the newbies. Sometimes, the alums come to games, but I also rarely recognize them. I am horrible at that. Most of the time, I will never see the departing players, but that's the nature of the game. The fun part though is knowing new players and seeing all their differences. I'm just a reporter and a fan. I always wonder how coaches deal with the ever-revolving door.

DePaul looks to improve on their 16-32 record of last year. I'll be at Cacciatore Stadium as often as my schedule allows. Check here for my recurring coverage. Go to depaulbluedemons.com for more info.

Carly Alvers and me in Chicago, IL-April 2025.

Friend Encounters: Goofy and Ty

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today, I am getting goofy, but only because my late friend Ty got goofy first. Actually, he got Goofy for real.

I love this picture. It shows Ty happy meeting a character. Ty met all sorts of celebrities, but mainly wrestlers. He loved wrestling. I would see him at many wrestling events and comic cons. He would always stop me for a selfie. I looked forward to those moments of catching up with my pal.

Goofy has an interesting history. He debuted in 1932 as Dippy Dawg, who is older than Goofy would come to be. Later that year, he was re-introduced as the younger Goofy. Since then, he has become a beloved part of the Disney Universe.

Ty beats me on this one. I have never met Goofy, nor any Disney characters, other than Mickey Mouse.

Fortunately, I did meet Ty many years ago and became friends. Tragically, he died too young last year. I plan to keep his memory alive here with his other celebrity encounters. RIP Ty.

Goofy and Ty in Orlando, Florida-January 2024.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #777 Cassie Duncan & Erica Day

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Ice Girls deserve the spotlight, too!

I don't know a lot about foemer Los Angeles Kings Ice Crew member Cassie Duncan. She was on the team for at least the 2009-10 season and was a trainer after that. Beyond that, I have nothing, but never let a good Celebrity Jersey Card opportunity pass without capitalizing on it.

I discovered slightly more about Erica Day. She was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, but made her way to Los Angeles and the Kings. She worked on the Ice Crew for at least the 2009-10 season. She also did some acting in videos and television. That's enough to merit a Celebrity Jersey Card.

Kal Herro - GLCW Champ

A new Great Lakes Championship Wrestling champ was crowned in December at Blizzard Brawl. Kal Herro now proudly wears the title belt.

I have written many times about Kal. I have known Kal for many years, having met him at a Blizzard Brawl about 15 years ago. I have watched him grow up to be an amazing young man and a skilled wrestler. Now I have seen him win his first GLCW heavyweight title.

Son of promoter David, Kal has worked hard and earned everything he has gotten. As discussed in The Herro's Journey, the documentary about David, people can say he got a lot from being David's son. They can say that, but they'd be wrong. This young man is incredibly talented and has worked towards this from a young age. He is extremely well-mannered and in awe of his father. The love they share and show is heartwarming. It's a pleasure knowing both of them.

Th next Blizzard Brawl will be in Milwaukee in December. I don't know if KJal will still be champ, but it's a good bet he will be there. Of course, there is the chance one of the big companies will see this energetic, charismatic talent and sign him.

Kal Herro, Tony and me in Waukesha, WI-December 2025.