Great Weekend at RomeoCon 2024!

RomeoCon was back! In its third year, RomeoCon 2024 was bigger and better than ever and Tony joined me “On the Beat” to experience all of it.

Our first stop was at the Salud Cabrones Podcast booth to see “Chicago's favorite sweetheart” Missa Kate. A longtime favorite of ours, we never miss a chance to see Missa. This time it was extra special, as proceeds from Missa merch and a big raffle benefitted wrestler Chris Bey, who suffered an in-ring injury.

Missa was as fun and lively as ever, but she got serious in the Wrestling Trivia contest a few minutes later. Missa's team took the title, but it was a fun time for all of us.

Next up was the POWW Entertainment booth. It's always great catching up with POWW owner Psychotic Jimmy Blaze. Referee Nick Headford and Photog Mike Bare were also repping POWW. Chicagoland's longest-running independent wrestling company, POWW was the first indy wrestling show I ever attended and I have seen many since then. POWW never disappoints and it all starts with Jimmy.

Continuing the wrestling theme, we met Chavo Guerrero, Jr. Both of us longtime fans of the legendary Guerrero wrestling family, Tony and I were excited to meet Chavo, who was in great shape and spirits.

Taking a break from wrestling, we found “world famous cartoonist” Art Baltazar. Also co-owner of Aw Yeah Comics, Art also runs a great comic shop, which happens to be mere blocks from my home. I have spent many hours meeting artists or just soaking in comics greatness in Aw Yeah.

We couldn't be ensconced in so much pop culture greatness without doing a bit of shopping. A Funko Pop here. A wrestling action figure there. A tshirt or two. Vendors were well-stocked and fair-priced, the best combination.

Back to wrestling, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, The Boogeyman and Zilla Fatu (son of WWE legend Umaga and part of the Samoan Dynasty) rounded out the wrestling contingent. Great wrestlers weren't the only celebs though. Voice actor Phil Parsons, actor Manu Bennett, Power Rangers Tracy Lynn Cruz and Blake Foster, John Gremillion, Jill Harris, Erik Kimerer, Dave Trosko, Dallas Reid, Kent Williams, John Swasey, Chuck Huber, Linda Young and Dr. Aaron Ozee were all part of the packed celebrity guest lineup.

In addition to all of that, there were several panels, cosplay contests and other fun stuff. There was always something extra happening, yet there was plenty of time to get everything done, thanks to the coordination of the schedule.

Presented by Encore and held at Romeoville Athletic & Event Center, RomeoCon 2024 was an awesome two-day event. Not a huge con, it had everything collectors would want without the chaos of bigger ones. Additionally, it was extremely well-run and organized.

This was our first time at RomeoCon, but it certainly won't be our last. While we relive memories by seeing our friend's posts on social media, we look forward to the next RomeoCon. Thank you to the fine folks at RomeoCon for the hospitality all weekend. See you next year!.