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Keep Refreshing For The Latest Results
* Kurt Angle (inducted by John Cena)
* Rick Rude (inducted by Ricky Steamboat)
* The Rock N’ Roll Express (inducted by Jim Cornette)
* Beth Phoenix (inducted by Natalya)
* Teddy Long (inducted by The APA)
* Diamond Dallas Page (inducted by Eric Bischoff)
* Warrior Award: Eric LeGrand (inducted by Dana Warrior)
* Legacy Inductees: Dr. Jerry Graham, Haystacks Calhoun, Luther Lindsay, Rikidozan, June Byers, Judy Grable, Farmer Burns and Toots Mondt.

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-Welcome to Live coverage of the WWE Hall of Fame right here on 411mania. For the second year in a row I, Robert Leighty, get the honor of covering this event. This is going to be a long night so get comfortable and enjoy what is always one of the best nights of the year for this crazy business we call pro-wrestling.

-I will pop in from time to time with red carpet thoughts before the ceremony starts at 8 PM.

-Byron and Maria Menounos are part of the red carpet coverage and get an interview with Ric Flair. Renee (who looks fantastic) does an interview with Mick Foley who is sporting a tye-dye tuxedo which looks horrible. He challenges Michael Hayes to top what he is wearing tonight. Foley is looking forward to Cornette’s speech and wants Ricky Morton to start his speech with “We sold this **** ***** out.”

-Kelly Kelly is back and on the red carpet and she is here to show support for Beth Pheonix. She still looks great as well.

-Renee gets to interview Gene and who flirts a little with her because really, who wouldn’t. He is happy that Rick Rude is being inducted this year.

-Byron and Maria get to interview Sting and his wife. Sting is excited to see Angle, DDP, and The Rock N Roll Express to go in and is interested to see Bischoff induct DDP.

-Renee with Mojo and he is rocking a Zubaz suit. It looks better than what Foley was rocking.

-Miz and Maryse next with Maria and Byron. Miz jokes that Maryse dressed him today. Miz admits to using top stick and I have no clue but apparently it’s something women usually use. Maryse slams Cena for saying she never accomplished anything as it crapped all over the women who wrestled with her. He spoke of the woman’s revolution yet he made Nikki stand there as his arm candy while he did all the talking. Preach!

-Renee catches up with Aries and he is excited to hear the stories and suspects Cornette and the RNR Express will have some good one.

-Eve Torres is back with Byron and Maria. They reminisce about the tag match they had at Mania XXVIII. Maria is always great in this spot as you can tell she is a huge fan.

-Renee is with Dean Ambrose and this was a highlight last year. Dean says he looks like a real lady killer tonight and Renee says he shouldn’t be saying that to her. He wants to know why she is killing his buzz. He is looking forward to seeing the RNR Express and Jim Cornette. He puts over the RNR Express and Midnight Express as they perfected tag team wrestling. Renee and Dean are amazing together. As I say quite often, Dean is a very lucky man.

-Charlotte is amazed to be back in the same venue where her dad was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

-Reigns next with Maria and Byron. He cuts a promo on Taker and says this is his time now. He has headlined Mania for 2 straights years and he was born for this moment.

-Renee gets Cena and Nikki Bella. Cena says he is tired as it has been a long week. He is honored to induct Kurt Angle.

-Samoa Joe which is surreal to see him at the WWE Hall of Fame. Joe is looking forward o Mania and wants to make an impact if possible. He talks about his storied history with Kurt Angle and is excited to be here to see him inducted.

-Graves and his wife next and he is thrilled to see Angle as he grew up in Pittsburgh. He also plugs his interview with Angle and that gives me a chance to plug that I have a review of that interview on this site.

-Renee is with Dana Warrior and her daughters. This night always has a special feeling for her and she loves Eric being chosen for the Warrior award tonight. She calls him a true inspiration. Warrior’s daughters are excited to see Goldberg and Seth Rollins.

-Patterson is being interviews and my feed freezes for the first and hopefully last time. When it comes back The Godfather is being interviewed which is a fantastic transition from Patterson.

-Rapid fire with Gallows and Anderson as they joke about the AJ Styles chants and how he is nothing without them. Speaking of AJ, they throw over to Maria and Byron who have The Phenomenal One. He is excited and says that Shane will have 10 seconds to get back into the ring in their match.

-Randy Orton and his wife and he is proud of this Mania because of what he and Bray have built. He puts over Angle and DDP while also saying he can’t wait to hear Jim Cornette.

-Shane with Maria (who look amazing since I haven’t mentioned it yet) and he is ready to roll on Sunday. Shane says he has trained different this year as he needs his cardio this year. He knows he is in AJ’s world and Byron tells him to be safe on Sunday. Yes, Shane please don’t kill yourself jumping off a roller coaster.

-Bayley next and she has brought along her fiancé. Like everyone else she is excited for Sunday.

-It seems she may be the last red carpet guest as Renee joins Byron, Maria, and Kathy to go over all the inductees. Kathy is looking forward to NXT tomorrow and Maria wants to hear all the speeches.

-That wraps up the red carpet coverage and after a short break I will be back for The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony.
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2017 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

-Opening video package is great as always and then it segues into going over all the inductees tonight.

-We are love from Orlando, Florida and our host for the evening is WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler. He welcomes us to the ceremony and runs down a few inductees. The crowd is jacked for Angle.

-Diamond Dallas Page will be out first and they show HHH giving him the call. DDP breaks down as you would expect and it is an amazing moment. That gave me all the feels. The video package puts over how DDP was the underdog and the guy who was never supposed to make it. The highlight the tag match with Malone against Hogan and Rodman. He was also the first to get one over on the nWo. Foley puts over that nobody worked harder than DDP. After his career ended he founded DDP Yoga and they show all the guys that he has helped. Foley sums it up best…an excellent person and a better person.

-Eric Bischoff is out to a good reaction and the crowd starts a “Welcome Back” chant. Eazy E for Hall of Fame 2018! Eric gets emotional as he says that he wishes someone else was here to induct DDP and says “God Bless You Dusty Rhodes,” as he tears up. He is proud to be standing here and is happy to be a distant second. He first met DDP back in 1988 when he was the manager of Badd Company. He was told by Ray Stevens and others that DDP was to tall to be a manger. He compares it to if Paul Heyman was 6’11” and was shredded while also managing Brock Lesnar. He tells a story of how obnoxious DDP could be and it cause them to get in a bar fight. He wasn’t heart broken to see DDP head to WCW and goes over everything he did in the early years with The Diamond Mine. Soon the AWA closes their doors and after failing to sell Vince McMahon on a broom in his WWE audition. He got a chance with WCW and his first commentary audition was with DDP, the same guy who get into a bar fight. He puts Page over for helping him the job in WCw and they became great friends even if he is still obnoxious.

-Bischoff continues as he talks about Page deciding to try to become a wrestler at the age of 35. He calls DDP relentless as he made it through training and The Power Plant. He was never satisfied and tried every gimmick possible to try to get himself over. He kept at it as he was committed and his work ethic was second to none. Bischoff puts over the matches he had with Savage, Flair, Hogan, Hall, Nash, Guerrero, and even Goldberg (some boos as the mention of Goldberg’s name). Dallas defines heart by what he does to help other people. He talks about all the help he has done with guys who aren’t even in the business. He says 2 WWE Hall of Famers are here tonight (Jake and Scott) because of what DDP did for them. Wonderful speech from Bischoff there and that brings out DDP.

-He is flanked by four women and yep, they are his daughters. Good job DDP! He has a water bottle with him so this could be a long one, but I will never complain about how long any of these guys and gals are out there. DDP talks about his pink Cadillac getting the gig at Mania VI and he was just riding along. He breaks up as the crowd starts a “you deserve it” chant. He talks about Lee Marshall calling him an anomaly, and how it is something that was never supposed to happen. Dallas says it is bittersweet for him as Dusty Rhodes isn’t here to share this with him. He recalls the first time he met Dusty and does his best impersonation. He says Dusty told him he was going to make him the Jesse Ventura of the 90s and said Gordon Solie would walk him through all of it. He talks about how Michael Hayes fell on the ground laughing when DDP told him he was going to start wrestling when he was 35. He trained at the Power Plant under Jody Hamilton (The Assassin), and he says that he soon found out this fake stuff really hurts. He breaks down again as he thanks Hamilton for believing in his work. He thanks Buddy Parker for being The Sarge and Terry Taylor for helping him. He thanks Dusty’s wife for always getting Dusty to call him back.

-DDP continues as he talks about all the gimmicks he had and how it Bischoff who told him to lose all the gimmicks and just be himself. He thanks Bischoff for always having his back. He says without Dusty there is no DDP, but he also wants to thank his other mentor, Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Without both of them he is not standing here today. He talks about how he taped every single match he had and how everyone does that now. He watched all those matches with Jake and that was his learning tree. He thanks Johnny Ace for giving him the Diamond Cutter and thanks William Regal for helping him make the move his own. What pulled the move together was throwing up the Diamond Cutter sign and when the fans started doing it, it showed the bookers that he was getting over. He thanks the fans for that, and then talks about his first competitive match with Sting. The next day he got a call from Hayes who was pissed DDP actually picked up the phone as he wanted to get the answering machine. He wanted to let DDP know that he was never happier to eat crowd, said he was proud of DDP and hung up the phone. In 1997 he got a call from Jake who congratulated him for reinventing the DDT.

-More from DDP as he next thanks Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, He puts them over for fighting for him to get the chance to turn on the nWo. He says that moment made his career as it took off like a rocket from there. They set the table for him and next was the PWI Feud of the Year: Page vs. Savage. His favorite story was when he called Savage on Thanksgiving to thank him for what he did for him. He didn’t know if Savage knew how grateful he was for their match at Spring Stampede. He ran into Savage the following Monday and he thought Savage was pissed. Savage played the message a few times and asked his dad if any of the boys had ever done that for him. Savage then thanked DDP for the gesture and gave him a giant hug. Page thanks Hulk Hogan next as he told DDP that somewhere down the line if he kept doing his thing, they would draw money down the road. That leads to the biggest angle he was part of with Page/Leno vs Hogan/Bischoff as he was all over The Tonight Show. He wants to thanks his ex wife, Kimberly (which gets a big pop) and then he thanks his current wife, Brenda. She is a breast cancer survivor and she is his personal superhero. He says DDP keeps evolving and he runs through a list of all the guys that use DDP Yoga (Foley, Hall, Gallows, Anderson, AJ Styles, Wyatt, The Miz and others). He makes sure to really put over Jericho and how he came to DDP after he blew out his back. He did everything DDP asked and now he is out there wrestling like a kid again. He thanks his family and all the people at DDP Yoga. He thanks Goldberg for a hell of a match at Halloween Havoc. Finally, he wants to thank his mom as I am sure Mr. T appreciates that. One final Dusty story as he ranted to Dusty about how he was never going to get a chance to be a star. Dusty raked him across the eyes and asked him to repeat what he said. Page said “I am never going to be World Champion,” and Dusty told him “then what the hell are you doing it for?” Awesome! As they were talking DDP wrote down that he would be World Champion within 5 years. It took 4 years, 4 months, and 14 days but he accomplished the goal in a match with 3 Icons: Sting, Flair, and Hogan. He thanks Flair for that moment and talks about the inner peace he felt when Savage handed him the belt. The next day he got a call from Dusty who asked him how it feels, and Page told him it feels real. Dusty responded with “that’s because it is.” He mentions that his friend Jim Ross calls him an overachiever, and for that to happen Page says you have to be an over-believer. He wraps up as he thanks the fans for helping him lead the dream.

-They show Reigns in the crowd and he gets booed out of the building. So if the rumors are true, then Mania is going to close with the conquering hero getting booed out the building.

-Rock N Roll Express next and the video package does a great job of showing how amazing they were.

-Jim Cornette time and this is what a lot of people have been waiting for tonight. Jim knows the fans expect something as he says he has a live mic, but says no matter what he says the crowd may be disappointed because of the hype. In 1983 Jerry Lawler had an idea because of what was happening with MTV. He had a couple young guys wrestling for him that needed a gimmick. They put them in spandex pants and he mentions that spandex was flattering to Gibson which draws a laugh. He says it wasn’t a marketing gimmick and Ricky and Robert were the perfect guys. He mentions Ricky’s dad was a referee and he grew up in the business. Robert had family in the business as well and it prepared him for the business as well. The fans in Memphis had seen Ricky and Robert since they were teenagers so they needed to go to another territory and that is when Watts took them to Mid-South. He says Ricky and Robert ad more sex on there way to the ring than most people have in a year. Awesome!

-Cornette continues by talking about how Ricky was the master at taking a beating and getting the crowd to sympathize. He says that he was beat up by the RNR fan’s more than the RNR Express. He brings up all the great teams they fought, but they needed their Joker, and that was the Midnight Express. They were polar opposites of each other, and that is why it worked so well. When they fought each other the matches were magic (no argument here). By the end of the year various promoters had heard about these kids tearing down the house and selling out show after show. There were two men that they respected that brought them to Charlotte and that was the greatest World Champion of all time, Ric Flair, and a creative genius, Dusty Rhodes. Even when the Midnight Express changed members they were still able to tear down the house each time they worked together.

-Cornette jumps forward with SMW and how if it wasn’t for the Rock N Roll Express it would not have lasted as long as it did. It was also in the 90s when they made their WWE debut. The Rock N Roll always gave the fans what they wanted to see and that he has had several stars in the WWE say that decided to become wrestlers when they watched the Expresses do battle. They continued to wrestle each other into the 2000s and had their last match against each other in 2011. He talks about how 4 months ago he managed a team that fought the RNR Express. He says they have been a team for 34 years and that they should be in The Smithsonian instead of the Hall of Fame. He calls then a National Treasure. He tells a story of how fans would view the RNR Express as members of their family. There was a family that had a picture of their wall of Jesus Christ on the left and The Rock N Roll Express on the right and that is how you know you are over. Cornette tries to start a Rock N Roll chant, but the crowd doesn’t bite which is kind of sad. Cornette finally wraps up as he brings out The Rock N Roll Express.

-The last I saw of the RNR Express was in cherry pickers fighting The Broken Hardys, which shows how much they get it. Now we get a solid “Rock N Roll” chant. Ricky starts as he poke a little fun at Jim Cornette and says hell hasn’t frozen over with them and Jim being here. Ricky does say this SOB is sold out, and Robert says fans are hanging from the rafters. He continues by saying that the day after he got the Hall of Fame call, he found out he had 2 grandkids on the way. Ricky says since he is a Rock N Roller he has 7 children and 7 grandchildren which Robert says they all look like him. Tremendous! Robert talks about how they are still active in the business and Ricky says their rate has gone up now. They are honored to be in the Hall of Fame because they come from wrestling families. They have watched the business change over the last 40 years and how it is turned into this large, global empire. Ricky says he always stood up for the boys because unless you are one of them you don’t know the sacrifices they have made. They show some of the boos and the crowd just hate Roman Reigns. The booing even for The RNR Express to stop their speech. Ricky thanks Jimmy Hart, Bill Dundee, and Jim Ross for all they did. They packed up to go to Charlotte and it was liking going to see The Wizard as they got to be touched by Dusty Rhodes. They thank Dusty for everything he did for them.

-Ricky jokes that Gene Simmons is the Ricky Morton of Rock N Roll. Rick thanks Shawn Michaels and then Kevin Nash for keeping them alive in this business. He thanks Ric Flair and calls him the greatest champion of all time and gets the entire building to give a Woo. Robert talks about how Ric Flair sent Jim Crockett down to New Orleans to see them wrestle. Ricky talks about working with Michael Hayes and how they were always stiff with each other. Robert says he used to hitchhike with Hayes when they were teenagers just to get to a show to set up the ring. Ricky talks about The Midnight Express and says he hopes all three members along with Cornette are up on the stage being inducted one day. Robert thanks God for keeping them healthy and then thanks his family. Back to Ricky as he talks about coming home to someone he always adored, his wife. He thanks her for everything. He then gets emotional as he calls Robert his 5th brother and calls him the greatest partner in the world. That was fantastic! Great moment to see them inducted and you can tell it meant everything to them to be able to share some of their story.

-Lawler out to tease Rude as being next and the crowd goes crazy. Great video package as they touch on Rude putting other guys women on his tights. They cover the Cheryl Roberts angle and Jericho loves what Rude did. Cena says Rude was the guy who could steal your girl and then kick your ass. That about sum its up actually.

-Out to induct Rick Rude is WWE Hall of Famer, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. He talks about being up here 8 years ago when he received his Hall of Fame ring (that he wears every day). They broke the mold when they created Ravishing Rick Rude. He goes through the history of Rude and how he started to train in 1982. He talks about how Rick won the IC, US, and World Championship. He talks about how Rude was a heel that wanted all the heat. He was a true heel in every sense of the word, and he was entice the fans for fun. He talks about Rude doing wrist curls with 80 pound bells and how he embarrassed two 300 lb weight lifters with how strong he was. The first thing he also noticed by Rude was the strength in is hands and how he could control anyone in the ring. He puts over the worker Rude was and how committed he was to every small detail. He brings up Rude being an enforcer for DX and being part of The Heenan Family. He talks about psychology and mentions Flair and Roberts being masters. He tells a story of the psychology that Rude had in the ring. He tells a funny story of Rude doing sit-ups while hanging upside down from a cage during a match they had just as a inside joke to Steamboat. He wouldn’t call Rick, stiff in the ring but he was a bit snug. He brings out Rick’s family: his son, wife, and daughter.

-Oh man, his son (Rick Rood) is a beast and I wonder if ever made it a go in the business. He is trying to think of what his father would say and then cuts into a classic Rude promo as he calls the fans “central Florida sweat-hogs.” Tremendous! The show The Miz marking out and the fans give him a standing ovation. He isn’t here to talk about Rick Rude, but is here to talk about Richard Irwin Rood. He was one of 6 children raised in a single parent home with his father. He worked as a bouncer and took 6th in The International Arm Wrestling Championship in Las Vegas. His father did great work in the business because he loved what he was doing. He remembers his father constantly pushing to make a difference in the business and he worked so hard so that his kids wouldn’t have to. He speaks about how his mother is the strongest woman he knows and mentions his sister is about to graduate from college (the crowd really likes the sister). On behalf of the entire family they thank the WWE for the career his father had and for placing him the greatest wrestlers of all time. Wonderful speech!

-Next up is Beth Phoenix, Again, great video package that puts over all that Beth accomplished. Multiple time champion, 2nd Woman in The Rumble, part of Glamerella (which was a great pairing). Charlotte says she forged a path for the women today.

-Nattie is out to induct Beth Phoenix and before I can make a joke about her talking about her cats, Lawler mentions this taking away from her posting Instagram pictures of her cats. On that note she does plug her cats Instagram account and it draws a “Two Paws” chant. She calls Beth Phoenix her best friend as she starts to tear up. She says it is destiny and that is started with Mark Henry. The first thing he ever said to Nattie was that she reminded him of Beth Phoenix. She had no idea who she was, but soon realized they could pass as sisters. Nattie brings up how Beth introduced herself on Myspace (which Nattie says people may need to look up). Beth said she wanted to be a wrestler because of Bret Hart and Owen Hart. That gets a crazy awesome response from the crowd. The first time they met, Beth showed up wearing the same outfit. They bonded and did all they could to impress Arn Aderson and Fit Finlay. They deemed themselves Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah. They wanted to kick ass when they grew up instead of being models. She talks about the Tag Tables match they had with LayCool and how Beth wanted to put the spotlight on Nattie. She talks about the road trips and making up stories to gas attendants, and that Beth became part of her family. Beth is not only an ass kicker, but is a mother of two, has a master’s degree, is a classically trained pianist, and can bench press 220 pounds. She is a 4 time WWE Woman’s Champion and Nattie is still jealous that Beth got to kiss The Great Khali. Nattie chokes up again as she says Beth was a gift from her uncle Owen, and because of her she believes in faith. Awesome speech from Nattie!

-Beth Phoenix is crying before she can even say a word and so are some of the women on the floor. She says her first love is wrestling and that you never forget your first love. She thanks her Grandma for introducing her to wrestling as WCW was always on their TV. Everything changed for Beth when she watched Bret vs Owen at WrestleMania X. They crafted a work of art that changed her and made her realize this is what she wanted to do. When she got to college the first thing she did was hang a 6 foot poster of Steve Austin on the wall. Her roommate pushed her to chase her dream of being a pro-wrestler. She thanks her trainer Ron Hutchinson who is credited for training Edge, Christian, and Trish Straus as well. She thanks Afa and his family for opening their to her as there is nothing like Samoan hospitality. She got her first tryout for the WWE in Toronto when she was 22 year old. She pumped herself up and ripped the door open and smacked into Brock Lesnar. Opps! She mentions The Dudley Boys, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Val Venis, Simon Dean, Nick Dinsmore, William Regal, Chavo and Eddie Guerrero. Loud Eddie chant for that one. She talks about learning a lot from Nora (Molly Holly) and how she get her in touch with Danny Davis in OVW. Nora quietly paid her tuition to the school so she could chase her dreams. She gushes all over Nora as does pretty much anyone who has ever met her. She thanks Danny Davis, Jim Cornette, Al Snow, Tom Prichard, Robert Gibson, Aaron Stevens, and Paul Heyman. She is a Heyman girl because he believed in her and gave her confidence. Next up she thanks Tommy Dreamer (who is in attendance) for being the champion of the little guys. Big ECW chant! She doesn’t know anyone who loves pro-wrestling more than Dreamer and he guided her when she made mistakes.

-Beth continues by thanking all the women she worked with: Gail Kim, Katie Lee Burchill, Ariel, Cherry, Brookes, Melina, Maria, The Bellas (some boos), Vicki Guerrero, Tamina, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, Layla, Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox, Trish Stratus, and everyone else who fought to elevate the role of women. She puts over Candice for being a fighting champion and in many ways made The Glamazon. Mickey James was her first opponent in a wrestling match and puts over the opportunity the girls have today to work with her and learn from her. Eve Torres next who has a degree in engineering, won a reality contest, has a child, does MMA training, and is stunning yet makes time to talk to her. Next she brings up Santino Marella. It seems she handed a 1 page storyline idea to Vince and he decided to run with it. She says Santino would always mumble funnier things under his breath. She tells a story of Santino cutting a promo in Italy while speaking Italian with the knowledge that Beth has no clue what he was saying. Awesome! She moves on to Nattie and she starts to crack again as she talks about her. She calls Nattie one of the best people she has ever know and calls her one of the toughest people (man or women) on the roster. She tells a story of Nattie having two teeth knocked out in a match and continuing. They have bonded over wrestling, family, and friends. She also feels that Owen had a part in bringing the two of them together and says Nattie is the best friend there is, was, and ever will be. Beautiful!

-She continues by putting over all of the current Women on the roster and mentions how bright the future is. She talks about her support system in the WWE: Finlay, Arn Anderson, Malenko, Windham, Ross, Goldust. She thanks all the people behind the scenes as it makes an army to create a WWE SuperStar. She thanks Shawn, Ted Dibiase, Mr. Perfect, Sherri, Alundra Blayze, Molly, Trish, Lita, and Chyna (massive pop for that one). Holy hell, the crowd is dying to have her put in the Hall it seems. Beth says Chyna paved the way for her and while she never met her, she thanks her for doing what she did.

-There are two people missing: her parents. Her mother recently had heart surgery and could not be here. It is a miracle she is alive, and her father is by her side. She breaks up again as she talks about her parents. She thanks her brother and her mother in law (Mama Edge). She thanks her husband Adam (crowd goes crazy for Edge). She goes to announce him as Edge, but gets interrupted by TONY CHIMEL and Edge is just laughing his ass off. That was fucking amazing and it gets a standing ovation from everyone as they play Edge’s music. Beth says being a wrestler married to a wrestler has unique challenges and some of the jokes she tells are pretty hilarious…brother. She brings up Edge spearing Foley through a flaming table as the first thing she thought of when Edge said “we smell like smoke because we’ve been through fire” as part of their wedding vows. She thanks Edge for being an amazing father. Finally, she gives a shout-out to her 2 daughters. She says her daughters are her greatest accomplishments. Her journey and everything here is all for her kids. If they don’t fit into the mold people want it means they are mean for greater things. She wraps up with more heartfelt words of wisdom to her children. Fantastic stuff there!

-Back from a commercial and Goldberg is show on the screen and he gets booed nearly as loudly as Reigns. Oh man, this show is interesting on Sunday.

-Warrior Award next and this year it goes to former Rutger’s football player, Eric LeGrand. He is young man who was unfortunately paralyzed during a game while playing for Rutgers. He fractured his C4 and C3 vertebrae. He had a 0-5% chance of regaining neurologic function and beat those odds. He is still in a wheel chair, the kid has been an inspiration to millions and has a charity that is trying to find a cure for paralysis.

-Dana Warrior is out to present the Warrior Award. She starts by saying it makes sense that Mania is in Orlando as it is the place where once upon a time lives. She talks about the WWE having heroes and villains and they show Steph on the screen (which brings many boos). She puts over the men and the women of the WWE while getting in a shot about Sheamus’ split head. She also makes a joke about Enzo being a jester, and says “how you doing?” This leads to her talking about her late husband, The Ultimate Warrior and how he inspired his loyal subjects to be Warriors in their own lives. She speaks about Warrior being inducted 3 years ago. Not every story ends with happily ever after, but there is a reason for that. There is cast of people out there that keep on the spirt of believe and Eric LeGrand is one of those people. He has championed the word believe and has shown so bright, others are able to follow. She calls him mother a heroine, and bows down to her, mother to mother. Her son is a warrior and she is a warrior queen. She believes Eric when he says that he will be able to walk again. She talks about his charity and it is an off-shoot of the one started by Christopher Reeves. Along with believe there is one other word and that is love. It is about love connected to service. She says worse things have happened to people nicer than her so she has no right to complain. We will be inspired and motivated by Eric. Please welcome a true Warrior that is ultimate in every way, Eric LeGrand.

-Eric comes out a wonderful ovation and first thanks God. He next thanks HHH for his friendship. He says they became friends because they both know HHH’s trainer. They invited Eric to SummerSlam 2 years ago and that is how they friendship started. He has always been a big wrestling fan and he calls the SummerSlam experience an experience of a lifetime. Oct 16, 2010 he says his life changed forever in that game with Army. He was always told to keep his head up and his teammate got their before he did. He tripped the player and Eric hit him with the crown of his helmet in the shoulder. That was it for him and he thanks all the doctors and people that helped that day. He was told he would never be able to breath on his own again and would always need a feeding tube. He was told that after surgery he said “I’ll be back.” He made a vow to always keep on fighting and five weeks later he told them to take the ventilator out. He was told he would only last a minute, but 90 minutes later he was breathing on his own. That Thanksgiving he was eating dinner with his family and jokes that people can tell he is eating plenty of solid of food. Six years into this and now he can dance in his chair and is making progress. He has had friends that have passed from this injury and he fights for all of them. His dream is that spinal cord injuries will be treated as easily as a torn ACL is now. He wants to finish the goal started by Christopher Reeves (who he calls a true Warrior).

-He talks about being a wrestling fan and how he was put in the Walls of Jericho by his sister. He grew up with The Attitude Era and he was inspired by 3 guys: 1) Stone Cold Steve Austin and you can tell he is a massive fan as he talks about Austin firing off Stunners. 2) Kane: watching him as a kid was incredible. He was in awe of Kane’s entrance and he always thought it was bad ass if you could step over the top rope. He says Kane won him a ton of matches against friends when he played SmackDown vs Raw. 3)The Rock: he loves the fact that he is always grinding and working. He talks about the amazing Rock/Goldust/Booker T promo and goes into a Rock promo of his own which gets the crowd going. He says the WWE will always be with him and he has a few more people to thank. He thanks his mom who is back home watching on The Network. She has given up a big part of her life to help him and he wouldn’t be where he is without her. He finishes by again saying that he will walk again one day. Good stuff there!

-Commercial to hype the mixed tag match and the crowd cheers The Miz when we come back. Yep, going to be interesting on Sunday.

-Hitting the home stretch now as Teddy Long is next. Video package time and DOOM! Awesome! They play up Teddy being the longest GM in SmackDown history. Renee Young pops up a talking head and I only mention because it is Renee Young. They bust on Teddy for constantly making tag matches and how you would never know what he was going to say. Vickie says Teddy Long helped her so much with how to be a GM and how to interact in the ring with talent. Big Show calls him the man.

-The APA are out to do the induction and it gets an APA chant from the crowd. They joke that when you give older guys a live mic they forget the two most important words in the business: Go Home! JBL says they thought Teddy might have to get inducted in 2018 at the rate they are going. They bust Teddy’s balls for being the cheapest man alive. He never offered to pay for anything and Simmons pulls out a tab that Teddy owes them: $72,345.43 and they will never see a dime. They say that Teddy’s most important job besides GM and manager of Doom was being the driver for the APA and The Godfather. They talk about Teddy failing a drunk test in Kentucky even though he didn’t have a drink for over a week. They tells jokes about Teddy’s age as he wasn’t just around for the Civil Rights Movement, but also The Civil War. Nice! All joking aside they put over all the accomplishments of Long. JBL brings up that Teddy was born in Alabama during a time when his friends were blasted with hoses for being black. He was a few blocks away from a church bombing that killed 4 girls. JBL talks about the diversity today and how people move ahead on their own merit. He puts over people like Ernie Ladd and Ron Simmons. He mentions that Teddy said Ron winning the World Title wasn’t about black history, but it was about history. It is their honor to induct their good friend and the cheapest man to walk God’s green Earth, Teddy Long.

-Teddy is out as he fakes injuring himself while dancing to mess with JBL and Ron. He promises he won’t be out here all night and after 4.5 hours I appreciate that. Again, talk all you want, but if you want to run short then all good with me. He clears up the Kentucky police incident as he did pass the drunk test, but was given a tick anyway that he made Ron and JBL pay. He started out working any job he could in the business and one day was asked to be a ref. His first match was a Texas Death Match and the guys beat the hell out of each other. He was in a car with Eddie Gilbert and Sullivan when they found out he was a DJ and could talk. So they went to JR who made him a manager. He goes over managing Doom, Johnny B Badd, Ice Train and Scott Norton. In 1998 he started with the WWE thanks to JR and they convinced Vince to let him be a manager. He was with D-Lo Brown first and Vince couldn’t believe Teddy had this talent and was under his nose all this time. He mentions managing Mark Hendry, and Rodney Mack (WHITE BOY CHALLENGE). From there he got to be SD GM and spent more time that anyone else doing the job. He thanks the McMahon family for giving him a chance. He thanks his son who is here tonight. He remembers he had to put up the ring one night and he had nobody to help so he had his 6 year old son help him and it took 6 hours. He thanks his wife of 20 plus years. He says behind every man is a good woman and that is exactly what his wife is. He ends things by thanking all the fans for coming out to support the entire class. He wants JBL and Bradshaw to know one more thing and that is if they have a problem with the money situation then he has no choice but to put them in a tag match. Awesome! Since Ron is retired then he has no problem letting JBL go 1 on 1 with The Undertakah! Again, Awesome! Crowd popped huge for both of those jokes.

-Lawler throws to the video honoring those inducted into the Legacy Hall of Fame: Haystacks Calhoun, Judy Grable, Bearcat Wright, Farmer Burns, Rikidozan, Luther Lindsay, June Byers, Toots Mondt, and Dr. Jerry Graham.

-That was a great video package that gave a little bit of information on each member and was very informative. More of this every year please!

-Video package for Mt Lebanon grad, and Pittsburgh native, Kurt Angle. When Kurt was announced I immediately sent an e-mail asking to do this coverage so I am rather pumped for this one.

-John Cena is out to many, many boos and “John Cena Sucks” being sung to his theme music. He jokes it is nice to see all of them too. “Lets Go Miz” chant next and even he seems shocked by that one. Cena says the moment we are about to experience is long overdue. He says Angle is in a class by himself. He puts over that Angle won his Olympic Gold with an injury that would put most in a hospital. In less than 2 years he became the measuring stick for any and all WWE SuperStars. He mentions that guys always tried to test Kurt on and off camera and they always failed. Great stuff from Cena here as puts Angle over in amazing fashion. He brings out Angle rather quickly.

-Angle is out and it is spectacular to hear the music again. The crowd does the “You Suck” and I am sure Kurt wouldn’t want it any other way. Amazing reaction as they fans start a “Welcome Back” chant. Next is “One More Match” which may be a record for how quickly that happened. Even Kurt jokes that he just got out here to give him some time. He thanks Cena for everything he just said. He talks about meeting Vince in 1996 and how he gave him a massive contract, but he told Vince that if he signs he can never lose a match. He didn’t hear back from Vince after that. Kurt started to watch RAW and decided to call Jim Ross (and Kurt says he is praying for JR) and asked if the contract was still on the table. Turns out it wasn’t and Kurt had to tryout just like everyone else. Kurt puts over all the guys that helped him when he started in the WWE. He was on TV only 12 months after he started training. He said he was able to do it because he worked with unselfish guys: Edge, Christian, The Hardys (Delete chants from the crowd), Eddie Guerrero, HHH, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Big Show, Kane, The Rock, and Rikishi. He knows he named nearly everyone, but he had to thank all of them. He talks about the Mania 21 match with Shawn and then matches with Lesnar, Shane, and Cena. He wants to speak to the current stars as he tells them to limit their mistakes. Basically Kurt is saying to avoid the things that he did. He also tells them to take chances with their character like he did. He mentions the tiny cowboy hat and someone brings one out of stage. Perfect! Kurt starts singing “Jimmy Crack Corn” with the “I Got Olympic Gold” modifier. Next he brings out the wig with the head gear and he is just running through all the classics. He mentions he made The Immortal Hulk Hogan tap out while wearing that. He talks about driving a moped to the ring while feuding with Taker and having Wooo offs with Flair. Next he talks about Battle Raps with John Cena. He gets the crowd to clap and starts rapping. Next he starts singing “I’m just a sexy Kurt….I’ll make your ankle hurt.” Shawn Michaels is dying in the front row as Angle sings all this and the crowd is loving every second. That gets a standing ovation and an Angle chant. This is just amazing. He tells the talent they have to make moments and that fans will remember the matches, but you have to give them character moments. He mentions the Milk Truck, but says there is no chance he is driving one out there.

-He thanks the WWE fans and then starts thanking the members of his family. He gets emotional as he talks about his wife and how she saved his life. He wraps up by celebrating the only way he knows how….chugging 2 bottles of milk. Just fantastic! That will go down as one of the better speeches in Hall of Fame history. His music is played and the crowd chants “You Suck” and we are out.

-Thanks for following along with this marathon of a show. Sorry for getting behind a bit, but with a show this long technical issues are bound to happen.