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Hey folks, Dave Scherer and I will be doing side-by-side thoughts/coverage of the Hall of Fame tonight, hope you enjoy both!
The red carpet prior to the event was a lot of fun as usual, it was a great chance to see the guys behind the TV characters sort of at ease and being themselves to a certain extent. Who would have thought that Baron Corbin enjoyed playing golf so much? And Dean Ambrose seemed to be having his usual fun evening prior to arriving at the Hall of Fame.
Jerry "The King" Lawler comes out to a nice reaction to open the show, and welcomes everyone to the HoF ceremony. We go right to our first induction, Diamond Dallas Page. Interesting new wrinkle this year, as they show the phone call where Triple H lets each inductee know they're being inducted and capturing their reaction. We then go to a video package About DDP's unlikely rise to the top at an older age, how Eric Biwschoff knew he could trust him to work with anyone, including Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone, and then his transition into his post-wrestling career as a yoga instructor and the help he's given to wrestlers needing to get themselves back on track.
Jerry Lawler introduces Eric Bischoff, who gets a big "welcome back" chant, and says that before he starts, he wishes he was sitting in the crowd watching Dusty Rhodes induct Dallas, and tells him to rest in peace. Bischoff talks about meeting DDP as a manager back in 1988, and hearing the criticisms of Dallas towering over the guys he managed at the time. He tells some funny stories about getting in a fight with him in a hotel, only for DDP to be his color commentator during his announcing audition with WCW and help him out to a massive degree. He tells stories about how hard he worked at the Power Plant to get ready despite everyone telling him he was too old to start an in-ring career. It all paid off because DDP got to go on and have career matches with the best in the business, and he's getting inducted tonight because of the heart he puts into everything he does. He mentions how Scott Hall and Jake Roberts are here tonight because of DDP, and he finally introduces his friend Diamond Dallas Page.
DDP comes out with his daughters, then says he didn't get the gig at Wrestlemania 6, his car did, but now he's going in the WWE Hall of Fame 27 years later. The fans chant that he deserves it as he says his friend Lee Marshall called him an anomaly, which according to Star Trek, is something that's never supposed to happen. DDP says this is bittersweet since Dusty Rhodes isn't here to share it with him, and he tells stories about meeting Dusty and being nervous about doing commentary alongside Gordon Solie. He remembers Michael Hayes falling down laughing, but Henry Ford said that if you think you can't do it, you'll be right. He remembers training and thinking this fake stuff hurt like hell, and doubting whether he wanted to do this. He thanks Jody Hamilton, Terry Taylor, Dusty's wife Michelle, and jokes about how long he took to find who Diamond Dallas Page is, and also thanks Eric Bischoff for making him drop the gimmicks and just be him. He thanks Jake Roberts for being his other mentor, and critiquing everything he did, and says you only learn from falling down, and he had some BAD matches, but Jake's education took him much further than he ever should have gone. DDP also thanks Johnny Ace for giving him a finish that changed his life, William Regal for teaching him the cravate, and credits Ron Reis for suggesting the Diamond Cutter sign. He tells a story about Michael Hayes calling him and hoping to get his answering machine, but he tells DDP that he saw a match he had with Sting, and said he had never been so happy to eat crow. He thanks Scott Hall and Kevin Nash (who we see in the crowd blowing DDP a kiss), who were the only ones who bought into his idea to have him turn on the NWO. He brings up his feud with the Macho Man winning PWI's Feud of the Year award in 1997, and tells a story about thanking the Macho Man for helping him out by taking the fall clean in the middle of the ring at Spring Stampede, and then Macho Man pulling him into a room and telling him it menat a lot. He thanks Hulk Hogan for telling him how he saw him one day drawing money with him, and then flash forward years later to when he and Karl Malone took on Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman in the highest-grossing PPV in WCW history. He thanks his ex-wife Kimberly and his current wife Brenda, a breast cancer survivor, also Mick Foley, Miz, AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Steve Austin, Bray Wyatt, and especially Chris Jericho, who he then tells a story about how he helped him straighten out his back after blowing it out. He thanks all the DDP Yoga folks for believing in him, thanks Goldberg for a hell of a match at Halloween Havoc, and his mom for letting him believe he could do anything. He then tells a story about how Dusty once told him he should get out of the business if he didn't think he could be the World Champion, and that led him to vowing he would be World Champion within five years, and he did that just under five years later, and he thanks Ric fordoing the honors for him that night. To be an overachiever, you have to be an overbeliever, and never give up the strength you have in believing in yourself, and he thanks everyone again for allowing him to live the dream, BANG!
We see Roman Reigns in the audience and the fans boo, then we're back to Jerry Lawler, who introduces a team he helped create. We see a video package of the Rock N Roll Express, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Ted Dibiase, and Jim Ross put over what great chemistry they had and how they were the ultimate tag team even before Shawn and Marty. D-Von Dudley talks about how they paved the way for the Dudleyz, Edge & Christian, and the Hardys, Shawn says they're one of the most influential teams ever, and Big E says that every team was in some way influenced by them.
Now back to Jerry Lawler, who introduces the man who will induct them, a man who will never be known as soft spoken: Jim Cornette. Here we go! Cornette comes out with tennis racket in hand, and says that after the way this speech has been built up, he's going to try and keep this thing short enough to be done by Saturday night. He talks about how he used to hang out behind Louisville Gardens hoping to carry Lawler's bags back in the day, but then puts Lawler over for seeing MTV and having an idea to do something like that, and hence the Rock N Roll Express was born. He saw the talent of Ricky and Robert and decided they needed a gimmick, so he put them together, gave them the look, and he picked the perfect two guys for the job. Ricky Morton had been around the business for his entire life, and Robert's older brother Ricky was one of the best wrestlers he had ever seen, and they had to get away since the fans in Memphis knew them since they were teenagers. Cornette talks about how Bill Watts brought them to Mid South where they were Justin Bieber before Justin Bieber was born. Cornette says Ricky and Robert had more sex on the way to the ring than most people have in a year. The men also admired them because they had guts and wouldn't quit, they were quicker and smarter than all their opponents, and Ricky Morton was the best in the world at taking an asskicking and looking sympathetic. Cornette talks about getting beat up more by the Rock N Roll Express fans than the Rock N Roll Express themselves. Cornette talks about how Watts put the Midnight Express together and matched them up, and they went on to have one of the greatest feuds ever. Cornette talks about going from the county fair to the Superdome because of this feud, and becoming nationally recognized stars. Then Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes brought them to Charlotte, and they went on until the 90s when politics broke the Midnight Express up. The Rock N Roll Express went on into Smoky Mountain Wrestling where they tried to recreate the old school territory, and it ended up going under, but it would have never lasted as long as it did if it weren't for the Rock N Roll Express. The Rock N Roll Express went on to WWE and appearing on Raw and PPVs and opened up a whole new generation to what they do. Cornette has had many wrestlers tell him they decided they wanted to get into the business after watching the Rock N Rolls and the Midnights go at it, and that's the kind of impact these guys have had. The Rock N Rolls continued on into the 2000s and started fighting the reuinted Midnights when the reunion and nostalgia shows became popular, and the rivalry went on for 27 years. Cornette managed the Rock N Roll Express' opponents in their first matches, and did it again four months ago, because they're still fighting guys half their age and training guys a third of their age. They've been at it 34 years, and they shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, they should be in the Smithsonian. Nobody can make them stop and they don't want to stop, and he tells a story about a family who took Christmas pictures with a picture of the Rock N Roll Express hanging in the back like members of the family. He finally introduces two men who meant a lot to both his professional and personal life: The Rock N Roll Express.
Ricky and Robert come out and say that a promoter once told Cornette that if he could get as much heat with the fans as he has with the boys, they'd all make millions. Getting called for the Hall of Fame was the greatest call of his life until a week later when both his kids told him he has grandkids on the way. Ricky says he has seven kids and seven grandkids, and Roberts says they all look like him. Robert says they're still active, and Ricky says their independent rate just went through the roof. Robert says they both came from wrestling families and worked their whole lives. Ricky says to be a part of the business and watch it change over the last 40 years and turn into the hugest entertainment empire in the world. Ricky says he always stood up for the boys because, unless you know the sacrifices they made andwhat they went through, and even though it's sports entertainment, they're professional athletes. Nobody thought they'd make it in the business until they met Jimmy Hart and Jerry Lawler in Memphis, and it worked after going to Mid South, and he wants to thank Bill Watts, Bill Dundee, and Jimmy Hart for believing in them. They were off to see the Wizard, and Dusty made them who they became. Ricky says he watched a lot of kids grow up in this business, and points out Shawn in particular, and thanks Kevin Nash for keeping them alive in the business. Ricky thanks Flair for giving him the PHd he got in the business, and calls him the best World Champion in history, and gets the crowd to WHOOOO! for him. Gibson talks about being at the Superdome with Muhammad Ali, and Jim Crockett came came all the way down from Charlotte to meet them because Ric Flair put them over. Robert tells a story about how he and Michael Hayes used to hitchhiker to the TV station to set up the ring because they loved the business. Ricky says they wrestled a lot of guys, but they made history with another team they hope will be up there soon: Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane, and Jim Cornette: The Midnight Express. They've been around the business all their lives and have seen the world and shared life's tragedies, but while he has four brothers at home, he has five in his heart, and he thanks Robert for everything. The fans give them a standing ovation, and they do the jumping high five before leaving the stage.
Jerry Lawler says that if the next inductee was alive, he'd tell all the fans to be quiet and see what a real sexy man looks like. We see a video package of people talking about how far ahead of his time Ravishing Rick Rude was, and how he could work a crowd like nobody else, to the point he used his ring gear to get heat. Jerry Lawler introduces the man who will induct Rude: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.
Steamboat talks about all the years ago when he received his Hall of Fame induction, but Ravishing Rick Rude broke the mold. Steamboat talks about his training and his early success, winning the Intercontinental and US Titles, and finally the World Championship in WCW. Rude once told him that he was a heel, he was stingy, and he didn't want to share his heat with anyone. Rude was a true heel who would pick someone in the corwd and say that he wished he had a six pack like him, and tells his girlfriend that she wished her boyfriend had a six pack too. He watched Rude work out in the gym and talks about he would do wrist curls with 80 pound dumbbells. He tells some more gym stories, then talked about the strength you felt when wrestling him, and his great sense of timing and psychology. He talks about how Rude was an enforcer for Degeneration X and a member of the Heenan Family, then gives another example of Rude's psychology, comparing him to Ric Flair and Jake Roberts as he tells a story about a cage match they wrestled together. Rude wasn't stiff, but he was snug and you knew he was there when you were in the ring with him. He introduces Rick Rude's family, and asks the fans to give them a warm welcome.
Rick Rood (the son) says he was nervous when he heard he was going to have to accept this award because he's not sure how to accept an award on behalf of one of the most interesting men in the history of television. He asks what his father would say in this moment, so he asks the fat, out of shape, central Florida sweathogs to keep the noise down so all the ladies could get what they came for tonight. He's not going to talk about Ravishing Rick Rude since the fans know more about him than he does, but he wants to talk about Richard Irwin Rood, who grew up in a small community in a single parent home, and his grandfather was tough as nails and taught him to be tough too so he could change his situation eventually. Rood was a bouncer and a world-class armwrestler, and he was always thinking about wrestling and how to make it better for the fans. Rude enjoyed boating, fishing, and as Steve Austin would say, trying to hunt, but he loved his family and always told his mom that he worked as hard as he did so they would have more than he had growing up. Rood says that he accomplished that, he married the strongest woman in the world, who raised them after he was gone, and because of the opportunities he created, his sister is about to graduate college, he owns his own business, and his late brother Colton (they show his picture) was the most wonderful, Christ loving, and kind person he had ever known, and that was no accident, so on behalf of the entire Rood family, he thanks WWE for giving him the career he had and putting him among the greatest wrestlers of all time.
Jerry Lawler comes out and says that before there was a women's revolution, there were revolutionary women, and none were more revolutionary than Beth Phoenix. We see Beth Phoenix cutting promos about her power and beauty, and the time she entered the Royal Rumble and eliminated the Great Khali. They covered her angle with Santino, and how she was a real life Wonder Woman and the Glamazon. Lawler introduces a woman who has taken valuable time away from her Wrestlemania preparations and posting pictures of her cat to Instagram to induct Beth, Natalya.
Nattie comes out and says we can follow her cat on Instagram, then says she gets to induct her best friend Beth Phoenix into the Hall of Fame tonight. She doesn't know what kind of magic made this happen, but this was meant to be, and it started with the World's Strongest Man, Mark Henry. Henry said the first time they met, he said she reminds her of Beth Phoenix before he even said hello. Nattie smiled back and asked who the hell she is, but says that they can pass as sisters, they had the same hair, body type, and wrestling style, and she wanted to know why she was Single White Femaling her, so she went on MySpace and saw her evil twin introduced herself and said she wanted to become a wrestler because of two people: her uncle Bret Hart, and her other uncle Owen Hart. Beth said that Owen was her inspiration, and she was inspired to become a WWE superstar because of her family, and then she met this wonderful, amazing woman, but she showed up wearing the same outfit as her. Beth became her sister, her partner in crime, and they did their damn best to impress the agents any way they could. Natie realized she wanted to be just like Beth, and they deemed themselves Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah, and of course Beth wanted to be Moolah, so she became Mae. They didn't want to be supermodels, they wanted to grow up kicking ass, and that's what Beth did. They faced Layla and Michelle McCool in 2010 in the only ever women's table match, but Beth insisted that the spotlight be on her because that's the kind of person Beth is: the kind who wants to life others up. Beth believed in her when nobody else would, and they did fake Southern accents and tell folks at gas stations made up stories about their six ex-husbands, but they also shared times that would make or break you, and when you travel 300 days a year, strangers become family, and Beth is family all the way. She is a mother of two, has a Masters in forensic psychology, can bench press 230 pounds (or two Carmelas), a four time Women's Champion, and one of only three women to ever compete in the Royal Rumble, and truth be told, she is so jealous that Beth got to kiss Khali and she didn't (Sorry TJ). Nattie believes that Beth (she pauses to hold back tears) was her uncle Owen's gift to her from Heaven, and because of Beth, she believes in faith, and so she introduces her best friend, her sister, her soulmate, and her destiny, Beth Phoenix.
Beth comes out and hugs Nattie, and says that Nattie got these expensive fake lashes for her, and they're already ruined. She tears up as she gets a great ovation and a welcome back chant, and Beth says she's a mom now and will totally put everyone in time out if they don't sit down. Beth says you never forget your first love, and that's true for her because her first love is wrestling. She used to watch WCW with her grandmother as a kid, but then she watched the opening match at Wrestlemania 10 between Bret and Owen Hart, and a switch flipped for her because they created a work of art that made her realize this was what she wanted to do when she grew up. She thanks a bunch of people she knew growing up and from college, who were cool with it when she hung a Stone Cold Steve Austin poster on her wall. Her roomate believed in her when she said she wanted to be a wrestler, so she thanks Janet for believing in her crazy, and her trainer Ron Hutchinson, who trained Edge, Christian, Trish Stratus, and her (he actually trained a whole LOT of other folks besides them but anyway), she also thanks Jason Sensation, and Afa. Finally she got a tryout with WWE when she was 22, spent 20 minutes pumping herself up outside the arena, and told herself she's got this, ripped the door open, and smakced directly into Brock Lesnar. So much for not being intimidated. She went to the ring to work out and says she saw the guys she had watched so many times: the Dudleyz, Shelton Benjamin, Christian, Val Venis, Simon Dean, Nick Dinsmore, William Regal, and Chavo & Eddy Guerrero. These guys got in the ring with someone who just wanted a shot, and she appreciated everything they did for her. She became great friends with Molly Holly and learned a lot from her, and Molly even gave her an entire box of gear she didn't use anymore, and put her in touch with Danny Davis at OVW. Beth quit her job and went to OVW to hand Danny her first $100 and handed her a receipt for the entire tuition. Beth thought it was a mistake, but Molly paid her entire tuition to help her live her dream. Beth says you can always tell the strong women because they build other women up instead of tearing them down, and that's who Nora is. Beth thanks everyone at OVW, and says Paul Heyman saw something in her, believed in her, and gave her the chance to listen, to learn, and to try again. She puts Tommy Dreamer over for being the champion of the little guy, and says he still loves wrestling more than anybody and fought for her when the odor was closed, guided her when she made mistakes, and has been her friend. She also thanks all the great women she got to work with, including Gail Kim, Katie Lea Burchill, Ariel, Cherry, Melina, Maria, Nikki & Brie Bella, Traci Brooks, Tamina, Vicki Guerrero, Michelle McCool, Layla, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Eve Torres, Trish Stratus, and everyone else who worked with her to build the Glamazon and elevate the role of women. Candice was the champion when she came in, and did a lot to create the Glamazon by putting her over when she first came in. Mickie James was her first opponent ever, and says she is a great wrestler and friend, and every night wrestling Mickie was a night off. Beth puts over Eve Torres for everything she's done in her personal life, but always made time for her as a peer and as a friend. She also couldn't forget her favorite opponent Santino Marella. Vince heard her idea about the angle and said they'd give it a try, and Santino always said things under his breath that were funnier than what got cuaght on camera. She tells a story about Santino cutting a promo in Italian, and an Italian fan later translated that she can't cook, just feeds her protein shakes, and he needs to get away from her. He always made her look like gold while putting a smile on everyone's face. Then there's Nattie, the Mae to her Moolah. Nattie isn't the last of a breed, she's a breed of her own and one of the toughest competitors in the locker room. She had both her teeth knocked out, picked them up and handed them to the ref, and asked him to hang onto them for later. Nothing kept her from what she does best, performing, and they had their share of adventures and bonded over everything. When she was at her lowest, Nattie always made her feel better, and she thinks Owen had a little part in bringing them together because as friends go, she's the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. She thanks today's women's wrestlers for continuing the movement toward equality, and puts over Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Dana, Bayley, Nia, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Naomi, Becky Lynch, and everyone in the locker room. She puts over Finlay who says she treasured his respect, and Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Bob Backlund, Goldust, Barry Windham, Jim Ross, everyone in the crew and office, and also Shawn Michaels, Ted Dibiase, Mr Perfect, Sherri Martel, Alundra Blayze, Molly Holly, Trish, Lita, and Chyna for inspiring her. She puts over Chyna for breaking down the walls, and she started lifting the day after she saw Chyna debut on Raw, and she never met her, but she thanks her for her contributions, the other inductees of the Hall of Fame class of 2017, the WWE Universe for demanding equality for women, and says there are two amazing people who couldn't be here tonight. Her mother underwent heart surgery and her parents couldn't make the trip, but they were her biggest fans long before she became a wrestler, and his brother and his wife, her mother-in-law for adopting her into the family and treating her like a daughter, and of course her husband Adam (Seen in the crowd with their daughter on his lap) whom we all know better as Edge. Oh, here comes Tony Chimel, who does the old school Edge introduction as they play his music. Beth says being married to a wrestler has unique challenges, but being a wrestler married to a wrestler is the next level because you're always running out of Icy Hot, you get called brother even though you're a woman, you fold laundry and lose track of which Zubaz belong to her, and during their wedding vows, Adam says if they smell like smoke, it's because you've been through fire, and Beth says that if Edge smells like smoke, it's because Edge speared him through a flaming table. Beth thanks Adam for everything, and says he was not only born to be a father, but the father of these two girls. He took 13 flights from Dublin to North Carolina in two weeks to tuck his daughters in as many times as he can, and that dedication is why she loves him. And to his daughters Ruby (who is already tucked into bed) and Lyric who is sitting with daddy, she wants her to know that she and Ruby are their greatest accomplishments. If they ever feel like square pegs trying to fit into a round hole, it's because they weren't meant to, they were meant for greater things. Don't try to be something she's not, embrace being different, and accept what makes others different.
Jerry Lawler says it's time to introduce the winner of this year's Warrior Award: Eric LeGrand. We see a video package of him growing up in Avenel, NJ, and how he was paralyzed during a Rutgers college football game. He fought to get off the ventilator and recover, and a year later, he led his college team back onto the field, and now works as a motivational speaker for those with spinal injuries. Lawler introduces Dana Warrior to present the award.
Dana comes out and says that once upon a time is a humble beginning most people can believe in, and just the word believe breathes magic into a room, and we're here because of characters who bring stories to life. Heroes, villains, and evil queens (we get a close up of Stephanie McMahon), and not out frail America's Top Model maidens, we have brass knuckle princesses who knock tiaras off heads, and wear bling around their waist, and they don't need to be rescued because their woman superstars rule. They have men too, and when women ask where the good men have gone, she asks if they checked WWE because they slay dragons on the weekly, or at least the pyro makes it look that way. Every story needs a jester, and that's why we have Enzo...how you doin'? Once upon a time, there lived a Warrior so electric and vibrant, they called him Ultimate, and he dazzled crowds, slayed his opponents, inspired his loyal subjects to be warriors in their own lives, and this Warrior's battle cry was "always believe", and his loyal warriors did. Three years ago, he stood here and accepted his place in the Hall of Fame, and he delivered a message that reverberates still throug the WWE Universe, and even after he drew his last breath and passed into Parts Unknown, not every story ends with laughter. All stories have an interconnectivity and run on for all time and Eric LeGrand is such a spirit as the Warrior. Eric is a man full of belief, and the one word he wrapped his life in since his accident is believe. He required himself to be disciplined in the face of challenge, and he shone a light so bright that others are able to follow, and his mother Karen is a heroine. Dana says that, mother-to-mother, she bows down to her because her son is a warrior, and she is a warrior queen...and she bought her a tiara and it's in the back. Eric is in a chair, but he is not the chair. The chair might be his chariot, his means of transportation for this one chapter, but he has vowed to walk again and she believes him. Knowing research is the key ot victory, he formed his foundation where proceeds go toward finding a cure for paralysis, so she wants everyone to search out Team LeGrand because you never know what dollar will tip research in the way of recovery. We will be moved and inspired by Eric, a warrior who embodies the "always believe" spirit her husband promoted, and she introduces Eric LeGrand.
Eric comes out and thanks the fans, then thanks God for the blessings he's bestowed since his injury since his injury. He thanks Triple H for his friendship, and he says it began with Triple H's personal trainer bringing him on his podcast, and then Triple H invited him to Summerslam in Brooklyn. He and his friends got to go backstage, but as time went on he started a show called Mission: Impossible where he gives people in his case a chance to share their stories. He talks about a guest he had who had to get his legs amputated at four years old, but now he's a Penn State wrestler, and Triple H got to be a part of that episode. His life changed forever at that football game in 2010, and he relives the moment and the days after, and he knew as he tried to recover, he was never going to give up and tells a story about asking to come off the ventilator, and his respiratory therapist didn't think he'd survive, but he was fine an hour and a half later. The feeding tube was out, and he had a full Thanksgiving dinner with his family, and he could barely turn his head when he first got hurt, but now he can shimmy and dance and little things are coming back to him. He knows people who die or their condition degenerates after surgery like his, but he's trying to give people hope and make it so people with his injury can get surgery to fix it the way you can get an ACL repaired today. He puts over Christopher Reeve for everything he did, and then he turns to WWE and says that pretty much everyone in the world was a fan at some point. He was born in 1990, and he remembers when he was 5 or 6 and his friend on his block used to put holds on them, and his sister put the Walls of Jericho on him as a kid. He was always inspired by Stone Cold Steve Austin, and watching him come out with a crowbar and beat people up. He was also inspired by Kane and the Rock, and tells a story about watching Goldust want to be like the Rock. He also wants to thank his mom watching on the Network at home, and she dropped her life to learn to take care of a quadropalegic, and also her Team LeGrand team and his people from Rutgers. He thanks WWE, hopes he can represent this as well as the Warrior, and he WILL walk again one day.
Time for our next induction, and holla holla, it's Teddy Long! We see a video package showing his history as a manager in the NWA, and later the General Manager of Smackdown. Lawler says that luckily, Long's inductors got kicked out of the bar in time to make it here, it's the APA!
Teddy comes out and does his dance, then stops because his back hurts...but it was just to trick the APA. He tells the fans to give him a HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA! He starts talking about how he got started in wrestling and didn't get paid at first, but he got to show a well-known wrestler around town in Georgia and that's how he got in. He started getting busy doing anything he could to earn his keep backstage, and then his job was setting up and breaking down the ring, and he didn't get paid at first doinbg that, then he took the ring to Marietta one night and found out the referee wasn't there, so he got to be the referee that night. He was scared to death, and his first match was Black Bart and Ron Bass in a Texas Death Match, and they are beating the hell out of each otehr and bleeding all over the place, so the first thing he does when they start bleeding is jump out of the ring, then he eventually got back in and became a referee. Years later, he started riding with Kevin Sullivan and Eddie Gilbert, and learned a ton from the both of them, but they found out he was a disc jockey back in the day, so they drank together and he started DJing for them. They went to Jim Ross, who was in charge in WCW at the time, and Jim got him in to become the manager of Doom. He also managed Johnny B. Badd, Scott Norton & Ice Train, and then in 1998, he came to work for Vince McMahon and the WWF, once again Jim's work. He started refereeing here again, and then he heard his name was brought up that he could talk, and since they needed a manager at the time, he came to TV in Providence with D-Lo Brown, and he cut a promo one night, and came to the back and Vince said he couldn't believe he had him under his nose all this time and never knew it. He got to manage Mark Henry, Rodney Mack and their White Boy Challenge, Mark Jindrak, Chris Nowinski, and then one night they got to Smackdown and found out he was becoming the General Manager. He was nervous, but couldn't let the WWE and the McMahons down, and he isn't blowing his own horn, but he made it work. He was General Manager for nine years, the longest in wrestling history, and now he wants to thank God, WWE, the WWE Universe, the McMahon family, and his son, who at six years old when he was working for the Crocketts, helped him put the ring up, and it took six hours, but they got it done, and his wife who he's been married to for over twenty years. Behind every good man is a great woman, and that's his wife, and he wants to thank everyone else in the 2017 Hall of Fame, and he wants the APA to know that if they have a problem with him paying them that money, he may need to put them in a TAG TEAM MATCH, PLAYA! Faarooq is retired, so if he's just gotta take Bradshaw, he'll put him one-on-one with the Undertaker! The fans chant for Teddy, and he just wants us to know this, then he's outta here: HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA!
Jerry Lawler is back and introduces the video package wit this year's Legacy Hall of Fame, including Haystacks Calhoun, Judy Grable, Bearcat Wright, Farmer Burns (!), Rikidozan, Luther Lindsay, June Byers, Toots Mondt, and Dr. Jerry Graham.
Jerry Lawler says it's time for our final inductee: Kurt Angle. We see a video package of Kurt Angle from his time as an Olympic gold medalist, and Steve Austin, the Rock, and Mick Foley say he never saw anyone get into the business and get to the top and learn it the way he did. He can do anything, and bleeds excellence. Jericho says he's a great athlete, but we never knew what a great character he'd become. We see the Kurt Angle "sexy Kurt" scene with Sherri Martell, the milk truck, and everyone of consequence saying how he's an all-time great. Lawler introduces an inductor who needs no introduction: John Cena!
Cena comes out to "John Cena sucks" chants and says it's nice to see all of us too. The fans chant for Miz, but Cena says that this induction is long overdue because Angle is someone in a class by himself: physically superhuman and with a personality larger than life that he could have you laughing before running circles around you. He didn't just win an Olympic gold medal, he won with an injury that would put anyone else in a hospital bed. People come to WWE with so much hype behind them that they can't live up to expectations, but he not only lived up to them, he actually exceeded them. In less than two years, he became the measuring stick for any and all superstars. People would line up off camera to test how tough he was, but they all failed because he could tie anyone in a knot, but he could entertain with the best of them. He didn't just make us laugh, he made us cheer, watch, and believe. He is the type of guy that fathers tell their sons about and then the son says there's no way that can be true. He was there, he lived it, and it's true...it's DAMN true. Ladies and gentlemen, a friend and mentor and deserving member of the WWE Hall of Fame: Kurt Angle!
Here he is, and the fans haven't forgotten to chant "you suck!" along with his entrance music. The fans chant "welcome back" at Kurt, who says it's great to be back home. He wants to thank Cena for the speech, but the fans cut him off to chant "one more match", so Kurt says he just got here and to give him a few minutes. He tells a story about how he came to WWE: after he won the Olympic gold medal with (the fans chant along) a broken freakin' neck, Vince McMahon invited him over and offered him a contract for more money than he's ever seen in his life. He doesn't want to pass it up, but he has something to tell Vince: he can never lose a match. He never heard back from Vince, but two years later he was watching Raw, loved it, and gave WWE another call. He asked Jim Ross if the contract offer still stands, and Ross said no, but he can come and try out just like everyone else. So he did, worked hard, and picked it up fast, and he has some people who helped him along the way who he wants to thanks. Jim Ross, Dory Funk Jr, Tom & Bruce Prichard, Gerry Brisco, Pat Patterson, John Laurinaitis, Dean Malenko, Arn Anderson, Terry Taylor, and two men who lost their lives in their 30s: Steve Bradley and Shawn Evans. His first match was only 12 months after he began training, but he did it because there were people like Edge & Christian, the Hardys (fans start chanting DELETE at him), Chris Jericho, Eddy Guerrero, and Steve Austin, the Rock, Triple H, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, and even Rikishi, and he has to thank all of them. When he got his own groove about two years in, the matches he had with those guys, he was one of the best in the business, and he couldn't believe it. Then the matches he had with Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, John Cena, and that crazy son of a bitch Shane McMahon (and he can't wait to see Shane and AJ). He has some advice for the wrestlers in the crowd: he did a lot of good and bad, but limit your mistakes, follow the protocols, follow the rules, don't be the guy everyone says they could have been the greatest of all time if they stayed out of trouble, and take chances with their personality and their character. Sometimes you make fun of yourself and it works out in your favor, like the cowboy hat. A stagehand brings out the hat and Kurt puts it on, and Kurt asks if we think he wanted to do this with Austin and McMahon. He sings Jimmy Crack Corn, then there was the wig (he puts on the wig he wore after Edge shaved his head and then demands his headgear and he puts that on too. He asks if we believe that he tapped Hulk Hogan out with this on, then says he'll keep it on with a while. He rode a moped to the ring to wrestle the Undertaker, then doing WHOO offs with Ric Flair. And of course, battle raps with John Cena. Angle gets the fans to clap along as he raps about winning the gold medal with a broken freakin' neck, and then says his favorite of all time...he's just a sexy Kurt. He teases that he'll do it live, then does and the fans sing along. What he's trying to say is you gotta make moments, because people will remember the matches, but the character moments are what really matters. His favorite was the milk truck, and he's not driving the milk truck out here, but he wants to thank God, the WWE Universe for always making it fun for him, his brothers, parents, and the woman who was there at his worst and now at his best, and that's his wife Giovanna. Finally, he'll celebrate this induction the only way he knows how...the stagehand brings out a couple of milk bottles, and he says we are now looking at the 2017 Hall of Fame class...it's true, it's damn true, and he has a milk bash! His music hits and the fand chant "you suck" along with Kurt as he thanks all of them. Great induction to end a great night.
That's it for now, I'll be back tomorrow to cover NXT Takeover! Have a great night, everyone!
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