Unlikely Friendship Forms on Flight to Las Vegas
A group of grandmothers forged an unexpected friendship with a professional wrestler during a poignant journey to Las Vegas to scatter the ashes of a late husband.
The four women—Lynn Crawford, 71, Susie Matthews, 73, Rose Sulley, 74, and Christine Goodwin, 80—have been close friends for over 40 years. They were traveling to Las Vegas to scatter the ashes of Rose's late husband, Pete.
Seating Confusion Leads to Encounter
However, their trip began with some confusion. Upon boarding their flight from London Heathrow, the women found a stranger occupying one of the seats they believed they had booked. The individual was professional wrestler DeReiss Gordon, known in the ring as Man Like DeReiss.
The group was traveling with Rose's daughter and her partner, who had inadvertently "messed up" the seating arrangements, according to Susie.
DeReiss described the grandmothers as initially "fuming," but the tension soon eased. When Susie asked for assistance adjusting her seat, she initiated a conversation with him. DeReiss shared that he was traveling to Las Vegas for WrestleMania week and invited the women to attend his show, to which they agreed.
Fulfilling a Promise in Las Vegas
During their week in Las Vegas, Rose and her daughter carried out their plan to scatter Pete's ashes at the MGM Hotel. The following day, the four friends honored their promise by attending the wrestling event.
"We didn't know what was going on," Susie recalled. "We were all dressed up like Sex and the City, and there were thousands of people walking around with long beards down to their bellies and baseball caps... and there's us, all dolled up.
"We were watching it and we were traumatised. We were like, 'what on earth is going on here?' They were flying out of the ring."
Determined to let DeReiss know they had come, the group asked a female wrestler they encountered in the restroom to pass a message backstage: "Can you tell him that the girls from Wales on the plane are here?"
DeReiss said,
"I was at the merch table when someone told me, 'You know those nans from the plane, they're here'.
"I couldn't believe it. Someone went to get them, we had a chat, and then they carried on watching the show."
Susie shared that they took photos together and gave him a "big cwtch" before returning to their seats.
"It was just such a lovely moment," she said. "We'd promised we'd go, and we did."
First Live Wrestling Experience
Although Susie's grandchildren are avid wrestling fans, it was the first time for her and the group to attend a live wrestling match.
"It was the best day, we absolutely loved it," Susie added. "It was so special that we kept our promise, and he was so excited to see us."
Continued Connection After Returning Home
The encounter might have ended there, but after returning home, the group learned that DeReiss had taken to social media in an effort to locate them after losing contact.
Plans are now underway to reunite the grandmothers with DeReiss at a wrestling show in London, where they will also meet some of his fellow wrestlers.
DeReiss, who described the women as "hilarious," expressed hope that their story encourages people to engage with strangers.
"I think we got on because our lives are so different, we found each other interesting," he said. "We were both going to Vegas for completely different reasons.
"People don't talk to each other enough. If you strike up a conversation, you'll often find someone has an interesting story.
"Just ask the person next to you how their day is going, or why they're travelling, there's usually a story behind it."
