Friend Encounters: Jerry Lawler and Scott Romer

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities. 

Scott Romer is a legendary wrestling photographer. He has had an amazing career and is still at it.

His book When It Was: My Life on Both Sides of the Camera should be on every wrestling fan's shelf. Even if you aren't a wrestling fan, you'll enjoy stories of presidents, heads of state, U.S. Supreme Court justices, athletes, movie stars and more.

Scott still appears at wrestling conventions selling his book and talking wrestling. He can talk wrestling with the best of them, because he has met pretty much everyone. Did I mention he is the son-in-law of Dick the Bruiser? That's just one of so many fascinating stories in his book.

Although wrestling is the backdrop, this book is the story of a man who had a drream as a youngster and made it happen. It's a great read, with the wrestling stuff being a bonus.

I usually see Scott a couple times a year. One of those times was last year at SICW FanFest where Romer took the picture with Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler. I see two kings in that picture.

Look for Scott's book at When It Was. If you see him at a convention, stop by to talk a bit of wrestling.

Jerry Lawler and Scott Romer in St. Louis, MO-May 2025.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #784 Megan Eugenio x 2

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. I worked "overtime" making these cards.

Born in Massachusetts, but relocated to New York, Megan Eugenio rose to fame as Overtime Megan. At just 26, Megan has built an empire based on podcasting, brand partnerships, sports and pop culture analysis and other such social media content. Not just a talking head, Megan built a strong foundation for her media career starting at Pace University.

Megans makes her Celebrity Jersey Card debut repping two of her home town teams. Her #17 Knicks jersey could be the year of her graduation from Pace, but it was most notably worn by Henry Bibby. With hockey and basketball on her Celebrity Jersey Card debut, Megan needs to add baseball and football to completer her Grand Slam of sports jerseys. Knowing how active and popular she is, Ithink we will see that sometime.

Finally Met Abby Trott

 I interviewed voice artist Abby Trott for Global Traveler at Talking Travel with Abby Trott. Then I saw she was appearing at a comic con in Milwaukee. Obviously, I had to make the trek to actually meet her.

As usual, we arrived early and things were just getting organized. After giving her a bit of time to get settled, we went to her booth. She was a bit surprised (hopefully positively lol) to see me. We talked for a few minutes and I thanked her again for the interview.

I admit I was a bit disappointed she did not remove the mask for our picture or at least slide it down, since this was years after the initial pandemic. I had seen she was maskless at other conventions. Still, I understand there could be many reasons and I respect her right to do as she chooses. It was still fun to finally meet her.

Trott has done voice work on many cartoon series, video games, anime and more. Her career in voice acting started when she moved to Tokyo after high school. She has since moved to Los Angeles where her career really flourished.

AbbyTrott and me in Milwaukee, WI-August 2025.

Cosplay with Kelsey Raegan at Nightmare Weekend

Kelsey Raegan made her wrestling debut in 2019. Trained by D-Von Dudley and Gangrel, Raegan started a bit late, as she was in her late 20s. She has quickly learned the business and has won several titles, including the SHINE championship once.

When Raegan appeared at Nightmare Weekend, she was in full cosplay mode. She was also one of the most popular wrestlers there. 

It was my first year covering Nightmare Weekend from Galaxy Con, but it won't be my last. It was a smaller con, but packed with a lot of great guests and event. A full card of wrestling in cosplay was one of the real highlights on Saturday.

The wrestling was a chance to see a lot of talent wrestlers in costume, outside of their usual gear. Many wrestled a different style, one to conform more with their ring gear. It amounted to a fun night, and the wrestling was not sacrificed for the gimmicks.

For more info on this event, go to galaxcycon.com. Also, follow Raegan on social media for more fun. 

Kelsey Raegan and me in Rosemont, IL-May 2025.

Will Perdue at Bulls Fest

Will Perdue is a very underrated former NBA player. Perdue won four NBA championships.

After being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the first round in the 1988 draft, Perdue played 8 seasons in Chicago, winning 3 titles with the team. Although he was mostly a backup center, Perdue averaged 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Those aren't huge numbers, but considering his role, they were slid.

He was traded to the San Antonio Spurs, where he plaued four seasons, winning another title. One more season with the Bulls and a last one with the Portland Trailblazers would round out his career. Since retiring, Perdue has stayed active, doing broadcasting work for various outlets.

I met Perdue at Bulls Fest 2025. I was the first person to meet him that day and he talked about my shirt (from The National, a huge sports convention). He talked about being there, meeting fans. Although I was there, I missed him. Anyway, the crowd handler scolded me saying I needed to move on. Then Perdue told him he was talking to me and I wasn't lingering. Score one for Johngy and thank you Mr. Perdue.

Will Perdue and me in Chicago, IL-August 2025.

Are You Going to Call Ernie Hudson?

Actor Ernie Hudson was 72 when I met him in Indianapolis in 2018. He looked and sounded fantastic.

Hudson has built a great career in movies and television.

Although his career started even earlier, I remembered him from The Main Event, starring Barbra Streisand. Of course, one of his most famous roles was in Ghostbusters. As you can see from his shirt, he embraces that role and fans still love that movie of 40+ years ago.

Hudson was in great spirits at the comic con. He gladly came around his booth to take a picture with Cuzz and me. Then he chatted with us for several minutes. On the business side, I give him high marks for having a nice selection of 8x10s. While many folks wanted pictures from Ghostbusters, there were plenty fans who wanted ones from his other projects, like Roots, Oz and more.

 Cuzz, Ernie Hudson and me in Indianapolis, IN-March 2018.

Finally Met Jordan Lynch

 Jordan Lynch graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 1996. He went on to star at Northern Illinois University, where he was a Heisman trophy finalist. He went undrafted by the nFL, but played a couple seasons in the Canadian Football League after a trout with the Chicago Bears.

After a season as a coach at NIU, Lynch became head coach at MC, succeeding the legendary Frank Lenti. Since then, he led the Caravan to five IHSA Football Championships.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lynch. That interview is at On the Beat with Jordan Lynch.

Earlier this year, I finally met Lynch. After introducing myself, I thanked Lynch. He was very appreciative and engaging. He also appreciated my sweatshirt.

For more info on Lynch, go to MCHS.org. Check back here for more coverage of the Caravan.

Jordan Lynch and me in Bridgeview, IL-January 2026.

Friend Encounters: Cecil Cooper and Dennis

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Today I feature my Wisconsin friend Dennis. Fortunately for me, he is pictured with a Milwaukee Brewers legend whom I already met. That's a bit of a rarity, because Dennis meets a lot of folks I would love to meet. Of course it helps that he lives in Wisconsin where a lot of Brewers and Green Bay Packers do conventions.

Cecil Cooper was a very underrated first baseman who started with the Boston Red Sox, but really became a star with the Brewers. He eventually became a coach and managed the Houston Astros for a few seasons. I met him in Houston, although I was on official press duty and unable to get a picture with him.

Some day, Dennis and I must join forces for a celebrity picture. Perhaps someone like Bill Sharp, who split his career between the Brewers and White Sox, would be a great choice. If anything like that happens, I'll report it here. Until then, I'll feature other pictures from Dennis.

Dennis and Cecil Cooper in Milwaukee, WI-May 2025.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #783 Ginette Reno & Kaylee Williams

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring celebrities wearing sports jerseys.

Canadian singer, songwriter and actress Ginette Reno is a gold and platinum selling musician.  A singer in both French and English, Reno was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982. Shortly after recovering from heart surgery in 2014, Reno sang the anthems for the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. She has since returned multiple times. Those appearances landed her on a Celebrity Jersey Card.

Chicago native Kaylee Williams rose to fame as a scream queen, although she is not limited to just horror movies. I had the pleasure of interviewing Kaylee back in 2011. That interview is at On the Beat With Kaylee Williams. Kaylee earned her Celebrity Jersey Card by repping the Chicago Wolves American Hockey League team.

Laynie Luck Appearing at Squared Circle Expo VI

The wrestlers lineup at Squared Circle Expo just keeps getting better. Independent wrestler Laynie Luck was recently announced.

I first saw Laynie a few years back. I quickly realized she is an excellent wrestler. She married fellow wrestler GPA. They have wrestled in mixed matches and separately. Both are extremely nice outside of the ring, too.

After making her pro debut in late 2015, Laynie has wrestled for several companies, including Impact. She has won several titles and has appeared on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 250 Female Wrestlers list four times.

SCX VI features more than 75 wrestlers appearing for meet-and-greets, along with vendors, panels, Q&As, photo ops and much more. There will also be two full nights of wrestling. Matches haven't been announced yet, but I would think Laynie would be in one of the matches. I hope GPA is also there.

Go to squaredcirclex.com for more info. Check back here for my updates.

Laynie Luck and me in Northbrook, IL-December 2023.