By Jesse Suchanek on April 8, 2005 at 12:05 PM EST

An appearance by former WWF and WCW World champion Bret Hart drew an estimated 700 fans to Rob Van Dam's Five Star Comics in Lakewood, California, just a few minutes outside of Los Angeles on Saturday 4/2.

The crowd stretched outside the mall and swung around the corner, doubling back with fans paying $40 (or $80 for a VIP ticket) an autograph to meet Hart. Van Dam also appeared at the signing, entering the mall with Hart.

Hart had agreed to make a rare signing appearance for Van Dam several months back with Rob planning for Wrestlemania weekend in order to smartly take advantage of the out of town fans to increase foot traffic for his comic book and collectibles store. Van Dam's gut instincts proved correct, based on the sheer amount of fans who came out for the signing.

I wonder if Ric Flair got an autograph?

Credit: PWInsider.com