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After the video for Alundra Blayze aired, Jerry brought out Natalya, who he called the best looking member of the Hart Family. She said that she thought Jerry would make a puppy comment, but she is more of a kitty person. Yeah, the double entendre was not lost. Natty did a great speech about women who liked to fight, and then referenced her throwing the WWE Women's Title and threw it in the trash can on WCW TV. For you younger fans, it was a surreal moment. It really was. As Natty said, it was one of the first shots fired in the Monday Night War. She said that when she found out she was doing this, she had to tell someone. It was Arn Anderson, who she hoped wouldn't be mad about this. She told a story of Arn getting mad years ago when it took Blayze too long to do a promo, he said something and she chased him away, running for his life. She then brought out Madusa (sorry, that is who she is to me).
She came out and said, "I betcha never saw this comin' did ya? Neither did I!" She put over the Hart legacy (they showed Bret) and put over Natty. She is 51 years old and looks better than I ever did at 21. She talked about being trained by Eddie Sharkey and how she worked for free. Yep, that is what the scumbag old time promoters did (my words, not hers). Wahoo McDaniel then came along and brought her in to work in the AWA with Sherri Martel, who she thanked. She talked about how that led to All Japan Wowman, WCW and finally WWF as Alundra Blayze. She then made me a fan of her's for life by paying homage to the Fabulous Moolah. She thanked the Gagnes, Curt Hennig (who she choked up for) and finally Dallas Page. She then put over the AJW ladies, Bull Nakano, Aja Kong and Chigusa Nagayo (if you don't know those women, please Google their work). She then put over her family and friends, then Monster Jam (who are in town here in Vegas tonight). She then put over people who did the job for her. They all did their part in facilitating her success. Then she got to Paul Heyman. She found him and said she loved him, and put over his kids. She said she loves him and she was the first Paul Heyman girl. You could tell it meant a lot to Paul. She talked about the Dangerous Alliance. She had a huge crush on Steve Austin. She put over Arn and Bobby Eaton, Larry Z and Ric Rude. God damn, that was a hell of a group huh? She said Rude will be a Hall Of Famer for sure. She then mentioned Randy Savage and got emotional when she said she loved him. She thanked WWE for mending fences she thought were unmendable. Then she thanked the love of her life, her husband. He is a Sgt. in the Army for almost 30 years. She hasn't seen him in almost a year because he has been deployed but his unit arranged for him to be here. The crowd chanted USA. The crowd stood up and I saw Mark Henry salute him. She then asked all vets to stand up and be recognized. She thanked our soldiers for what they do for us. Now it's time for fun stuff, the title in the can. She was sitting on the toilet when Eric Bischoff called (the crowd booed him). And on 12/18/95 she unknowingly fired the first shot in the Monday Night Wars. Who does that? What was I thinking. She initially said she wouldn't, but she did it for job security. She gets asked about it every day. She owns it and is at peach with it now, and sow should we be. Natty came out with a trash can. First she pulled out bra and panties. She hates that. BBQ sauce, I hated that too, but it's great sauce JR. Bischoff's book? Oh no! We are still friends to this day though. Finally, she pulled the title belt out of the trash. She then said the title is finally home. She then put over what a great honor this was and she is humbled and honor since so many others belong here as well. She said never give up on your dreams, you never know what will happen. And to the younger fans, she is the reigning WWE Woman's champion and she drives a monster truck. She has help titles in two male dominated business. She then cut a nice promo to end the segment. That was among the best Hall Of Fame speeches ever.
I have to say, I love this night. Catching up on history and paying homage is so awesome.
They showed the footage of the Warrior statue being unveiled at Axxess and Dana Warrior's comments about her late husband. Wow, amazing.
They came back and the crowd was chanting Thank You Warrior. We saw the statue and it is time for the Warrior Award. Of course, it's Connor. I really don't want to say anything about this other than it was beautiful and you should all watch it. It was inspirational. It was awesome. One thing I do want to say is she challenged the WWE Universe to donate to Connor's Cure. She wants to raise a million dollars in a month. We will get the link and post it on the site. Great cause in my opinion. She then brought out Daniel Bryan, who she put over greatly, to accept for Connor.
Bryan came out and was emotional. He said everything he has done has been fictional, and if it inspires you, great. But what he is talking about is real, and that is Connor. When he first saw Connor on a YouTube video, it was the video he made wanting to meet Bryan. The fans chanted for Connor, and he approved it. He said that the video went viral and even he heard about it (and he is not on social media). So they meeting was made. And he said when he met Connor he was truly amazing. He had brain cancer at 3 years old and lived more than half of his life with it. Despite that, when you met him you never saw that. He was full of life and confidence. He told great stories about Connor. A Crusher chant started. Bryan said he wishes that we could have seen Connor last year at Mania, through his eyes. Confetti is coming down and there was Connor, tired and sick, throwing his arms in the air excited. Bryan got understandably choked up. Seeing that let Bryan know what was truly important, not winning a Title, but the love between a father and a son. You could see the life in Connor and his Dad's eyes just being there in that moment. What you leave behind is what matters, like Warrior said. Connor has inspired people, which is why he is the perfect recipient for this award. And that is why it is Bryan's pleasure to present this award to Connor's father, who like his son was an inspiration to Bryan. Steve Michalek came out to accept. Much like Dana's speech, please go and watch this yourself. It was extremely touching. In fact Eps just said to me that this may be one of the best things ever in wrestling. I think it might be THE best.
Click to page three for more thoughts from The Hall Of Fame.
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