[Trip Report] San Antonio, TX and Royal Rumble, January 2023
Hey everyone!
Those of you who know me and Ryan well will know that I am, embarrassingly, already 4 trips behind on nifty.travel. 2022 turned out to be a wild year, and while I’m excited to share my trips to Melbourne, Australia; Atlanta; and Disney World with you, I’m going to attempt to regain momentum by talking about our very recent trip to San Antonio, TX.
Why San Antonio, TX? We didn’t travel for the holidays, so in late January I knew I would be ready for a change of scenery and a little bit of sun. San Antonio’s rich history, affordability, and nicer winter weather all appealed to me. Most of all, San Antonio would host the 2023 WWE Royal Rumble, one of the most spectacular live wrestling events of all time. And I wanted to go.
I am a new adult fan of professional wrestling. During the 2 weeks I spent between jobs in 2021, I decided to finally start watching wrestling after many years of curiosity. I watch a lot of WWE and WCW shows from the ‘90s, because there are some interesting and influential storylines, and there is such an abundance of content from and about that era that is very easy to watch on Peacock. I have watched every episode of WCW Monday Nitro between May 1996 and February 1999. I generally don’t stay up-to-date on any promotion’s weekly shows, but I’ve started watching AEW Dark and Dark Elevation on Youtube. Ryan and I have seen both an episode of Smackdown and Dynamite at Climate Pledge Arena. I watch every new WWE pay-per-view (PPV) event on Peacock. This year, I’d like to make a point of watching more local indie wrestling, wrestling from developmental promotions, and Japanese wrestling.
So, yes, I am not the most informed wrestling fan, but I am enthusiastic, and I love the Royal Rumble. If you are not familiar with the format, the Royal Rumble match itself involves 30 wrestlers. The first 2 wrestlers start in the ring together, then another wrestler enters every 90 seconds. Wrestlers get thrown over the top rope and eliminated, and the last wrestler standing wins. The winner usually wins a chance to challenge a champion for their title belt at Wrestlemania. Since 2018, the PPV has included both a men’s and women’s Royal Rumble match. I have not watched all of the past Royal Rumbles, but I love the 1992 Royal Rumble in particular. It is probably my most favorite PPV to watch.
The timing all lined up: right when I knew I would need a vacation from the miserable Seattle winter, the Royal Rumble would come to a warm, sunny, cool, affordable city. Sign me up!
I've attached some photos inline, but you can see all photos from our trip here.
Day 1: Arrival Day
We flew in via Alaska Airlines. Seatac was uncrowded, and our flight was uneventful. We landed in the late afternoon, just before the sun started setting. We checked into the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter and flopped down in a corner room on the 33rd floor that looked out onto the Alamo from its luxurious private balcony.
Hungry for dinner, we got changed and headed to the Riverwalk. There, we checked in at Boudro’s Texas Bistro, where they said we’d have a 45-minute wait. We took the opportunity to walk the Riverwalk, wave at the passing tour boats, and admire the myriad gift shops, drink stands, and restaurants. Finishing the loop exactly 45 minutes later, we sat down under a heater on the sidewalk and ordered the tableside guac, a ribeye for Ryan, and blackened prime rib for me. We skipped dessert and walked back to the hotel to watch TV and go to bed early.
Day 2: Guenther House, Alamo, Best Quality Daughter
We rolled out of bed a little late (but on time if you’re on Seattle time) and took a Lyft to the Guenther House, a restaurant and museum. Our Lyft driver apologized for taking a while to get to us; his last passenger was distracted by the appearance of Tommy Dreamer and left some important documents in the car.
At the Guenther House, there was a wait at the host stand, but there was plenty of covered, heated outdoor seating. We got the quiche of the day to share, and Ryan had a breakfast platter with biscuits and gravy, and I had a waffle with peach preserves. The quiche was incredible - with chorizo, a total standout. Fluffy interior with a flaky (yet durable) crust. We drank many cups of the Founders’ coffee, which was hazelnut flavored. After breakfast, we poked around the museum, which was a restored Victorian-era home full of artifacts from the adjacent mill. We bought a pepper-shaped cookie cutter from the gift shop as a souvenir.
The weather was cloudy and not too chilly, so we walked back towards downtown. One of my coworkers is a tiki bar enthusiast, and he recommended we check out Hot Joy. We sat down at a booth following a brief detour to check out a quirky antique shop. Their happy hour drink specials are phenomenal, and we savored a couple of frozen Zombie Killers (half Zombie, half Painkiller) and a flaming Mai Tai. A perfect setup for a stroll around the Alamo.
We eventually made our way to the center of town and the Alamo, and we watched a rifle- and musket-loading demonstration by a docent in period attire. The atmosphere inside the Alamo was quiet and reverent. We took special note of the machines measuring the impact of water on the structure over time. As homeowners, we too worry about water damage. Then we explored one of the surrounding buildings (the oldest structure in Texas!) and took pictures with the statues of people.
At that point, we were pretty tired and needed a power nap before dinner at Best Quality Daughter in the Pearl District. After watching a few rounds of Family Feud we caught a Lyft over. We huddled by the bar (would it kill anyone to put in a bench) while we waited for our table.
Dinner consisted of: a Nightshades butterfly pea flower cocktail for me, Are You There God, It’s Me Margarita for Ryan; NOT the bougie egg rolls, at the server’s suggestion, but marinated young bamboo, Taiwanese popcorn chicken, and mochi cheddar hush puppies; curry guisada dan dan noodles and cashew chicken; and boozy boba for Ryan, plus bao bun ice cream sandwiches to share. What a delight! The space at Best Quality Daughter is lavishly, trendily decorated, and is a great compliment to the delicious food and drink.
Day 3: Royal Rumble
On the day of the Rumble, we got up earlyish for brunch in the Pearl District. We were hoping to meet family there, but our plans didn’t work out. Brunch was Full Goods Diner, and was Tex-Mex-infused. We sat outside where it was wet and chilly but covered and heated. We started with a mimosa for me and a bloody mary for Ryan (and coffee for both of us), and continued with cinnamon toast for me, an empanada and crispy potato cake to share, and migas for Ryan. We spent the rest of the morning wandering around the Pearl District, checking out the farmer’s market and trying to stay dry. I bought a little scented candle for my office.
The next order of business was gearing up for, and relaxing prior to, the Rumble. It was going to be at least 4 hours of sitting in the least comfortable seats we could imagine, and we needed to have our tanks full to survive. We rested, changed, and took some time to walk around the mall attached to the hotel. Ryan passed on buying a genuine Stetson, but I bet he’ll want one someday. We tried to get an early dinner, but restaurants were filling up rapidly. The hotel bar had just enough space for us, so we got some salad and soup for a late lunch/early dinner.
We walked over to the Alamodome to join the huge crowd of people lining up to get in to the event. I had forgotten over the course of the pandemic what a crowd of 50,000 looks like. We stood in one line to scan our tickets, stood in another line to get our wristband for the floor, and stood in yet another line to get in the door. We managed to find our seats and scope out the venue, which was impressive on a scale we hadn’t seen at the weekly shows. In keeping with the curse of stadium shows, our seats seemed great until our neighbors filled in and started to encroach on our space and senses. The guy on one side of us had the most obnoxious, pedantic, and poorly-informed wrestling opinions coupled with the worst halitosis. It was so bad that Ryan and I switched seats, and I kept my mask on for most of the match.
Okay, but what about the event itself? I’ll try and keep my review brief for the non-wrestling-fans who are reading this. It was a great Royal Rumble. The previous year’s rumble was…weird. Much of the roster was out with COVID, and they had to dig pretty deep in the WWE rolodex to get 30 men and women who could wrestle the rumble. This year, both rumbles were stacked with main-roster stars and a couple of old favorites.
The men’s rumble was first and opened with Gunther (#1, couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!) and Sheamus (#2), whose stables (Imperium, who are styled like Nazis and are obvious heels, and Brawling Brutes, who are just Irish guys who want to fight I guess) had been feuding (we watched them fight a 6-man tag match at Smackdown in September). We loved seeing Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day get up to some shenanigans. Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar (Ryan’s favorite) only stayed in the ring long enough to make a splash, and were removed promptly by their competitors. Legendary Rey Mysterio did not make it into the ring because of a legitimate injury (but in kayfabe, his heel son Dominik sabotaged him!), but the also-legendary and not-usually-wrestling Booker T came into the ring for a few moves. Logan Paul is an awful person, which probably makes him a great heel, and he’s pretty fun to watch even if he doesn’t take many bumps yet. Cody Rhodes came in from the #30 position poised to win, which he did. Everyone was excited to see this megastar back after his injury - he tore his pectoral leading up to Hell in a Cell and worked through it for a dramatic match against Seth “Freakin” Rollins, but he had been out for surgery and recovery since. It was Cody, Seth, and Gunther in the final 3, with Gunther almost going “coast-to-coast” (winning from the #1 spot). “What a stud!” Cody said of Gunther at the press conference later.
Next we had the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match between Bray Wyatt and L.A. Knight, which was just a squash match with interesting lighting. The women’s championship match between Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair ended predictably (Belair retained, because she is the “-EST of WWE,” we love her).
The women’s rumble was pretty compelling, even though we were starting to get tired. The frightening Rhea Ripley and captivating Liv Morgan started the match. The early part of the women’s rumble was pretty stacked with stars from WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, and the crowd seemed, unfortunately, pretty uninterested in these stars, many of whom are champions. Bayley and her stable Damage Control grouped up to create chaos for the other competitors. We felt chills when we heard the signature “Hart Foundation guitar squeal” for Natalya. Xia Li continues to be done dirty by the company, who has her dressed like she lives in the “pan-Asian curios” shop at the mall. Do better, Triple H. My favorite, Asuka “The Empress of Tomorrow” landed #17, and surprise - Piper Niven (f.k.a. Doudrop, no longer signed to the roster) landed #18 to wreck everyone before being faced with #19, Tamina Snuka (coming out in regalia reminiscent of her father). Zelina Vega came out in Street Fighter cosplay to promote a new video game. Michelle McCool, from the “Divas” era of WWE women’s wrestling, popped out of the front row, where she sat next to her children, not even bothering to take off her Ugg boots to wrestle. Another one of my no-longer-signed favorites, Nia Jax, entered #30. I didn’t understand the animosity the crowd had against her (my impression is that she was literally fired for being injured). In the common trope of battle royale matches, the other competitors banded together to evict her from the ring as quickly as possible. Rhea, Liv, and Asuka were the final 3, and when Asuka’s poison mist hit Liv instead of Rhea, the talented Ms. Ripley took advantage of the situation to eliminate her other 2 competitors and be the first woman to go coast-to-coast. Congratulations, Rhea! Once again, speaking to Triple H directly here: you need to set up your women superstars for success, and I noticed a lot of wrestlers in need of better gimmicks, better writing, and altogether more support from the company. I don’t feel like a lot of the women “got over” with the crowd as well as they could, and forcing them to set their gimmicks aside to advertise for sponsors, let’s say - doesn’t help them get over, either.
Then, they subjected us to a terrible performance from a terrible “country” band (because country music is nu-metal now?) that the crowd booed resoundingly. Sorry to that band. I can’t even be bothered to look them up because the song was that bad.
I never watch the Royal Rumble for the men’s title match, but this year, the match gave me a reason to stay awake. For several months now, trouble has been brewing within the Bloodline, as “Honorary Uce” (where “uce” is short for “uso,” Samoan for “bro” as I understand it) Sami Zayn has had his loyalty questioned. Sami, sometimes a disgruntled conspiracist, sometimes a hapless stooge, had teamed up with the ultra-powerful Roman Reigns, his legitimate cousins Jimmy and Jey Uso and Solo Sikoa, and “Wise Man” and special counsel Paul Heyman to get him out of the rut of fighting people like Johnny Knoxville. Tonight, Sami was looking particularly like he was about to start crying and throwing up at any moment, as Roman’s “final test” of Sami’s loyalty was coming, after Roman would defend his title against Kevin Owens, Sami’s longtime friend. Roman and Kevin wrestled a brutal match that ended with Kevin handcuffed to the ring ropes. When Roman demanded Sami hit Kevin with a chair, Sami refused, got slapped around for it, and eventually betrayed Roman and hit him with the chair instead. What an incredible moment to witness live! Jey Uso, who had defended Sami throughout this ordeal, left the ring in despair while Jimmy, Solo, and Roman beat up Sami and Kevin.
We left the arena when the show was over, taking the time to watch the commentary desk leave (I was so excited and tired that I shouted “I LOVE YOU PAT MCAFEE” as he left, much to Ryan’s chagrin, but in my defense he really does bring out the best in Michael Cole).
Day 4: Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Departure
We woke up feeling a little rough after the Rumble, but after sleeping in and taking advantage of late checkout (we’re Bonvoy Gold Elite babeyyy), we took a Lyft out to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, a little theme park carved out of a hillside just outside the city, where Six Flags has busily invested in some big, serious, even themed roller coasters.
After getting our bearings, we hit the biggest coasters that were open: Iron Rattler, Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger, Road Runner Express, Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster, and Superman Krypton Coaster. We passed on Batman: The Ride. I was particularly interested in riding Dr. Diabolical, because I heard the ride itself was innovative, and that it was themed, and that apparently the character of Dr. Diabolical was offensive enough (“like a dominatrix”) that someone took to TripAdvisor to leave a nastygram. The ride certainly was themed, with a thin story, 2 waiting rooms that don’t seem to do much when crowds are light, and a couple of audio-animatronics. I am saddened to report that Dr. Diabolical is hardly like a dominatrix at all, just a sort of run-of-the-mill, modestly-dressed, steampunk-styled villain. The ride itself was very cool and lived up to the hype! The “cliffhanger” moment followed by the 95-degree drop, combined with trains that have most passengers suspended next to, but not over, the track, was effective and delightfully terrifying. We had some hotdogs (nothing special) to tide us over at the park. We would have taken more advantage of the Mardi Gras festival food booths, but most of them weren’t being worked.
We came back to the Marriott to pick up our luggage, and then headed to the airport. At the airport, we had time to do one last thing: try Whataburger. The burgers and fries were just fine - hot and tasty, comparable to Five Guys or In-N-Out (Dick’s is better in our opinion, even though they feed cops for free). The Dr. Pepper shake, however, blew our minds. We’d go back just for that. We got split up by seat upgrades, so we asked at the counter if we could sit together. They rearranged us so we sat together… in the back of the plane. They gave us some miles for our trouble. We passed time on the flight home by napping, reading, and watching Beat Bobby Flay on the in-flight entertainment app. We arrived home safely, no thanks to our Lyft driver, who was extremely nice and was very curious about our astrological signs, but probably the worst driver we’ve ever ridden with. Our cats were happy to see us.