411’s 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony Report

-Welcome one and all to live coverage of the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. We are over an hour away from the ceremony, but the Red Carpet Special begins in 20 minutes. Please keep checking back as I will touch on the highs and lows from the Red Carpet. So sit back and enjoy the show and coverage as this is most likely going to be a long night.

WWE Hall of Fame Red Carpet Special

-Our hosts for the Red Carpet are Byron Saxton and the lovely, Maria Menounos. As most know she is a big time wrestling nerd and does well in this spot each year. They throw to Renee Young and she is with Samoa Joe. He looks pimp in a Tux and takes a shot as he says it is unfortunate that Renee’s date couldn’t make it tonight. Fantastic! Oh, and yes, Renee look amazing!

-Over to Charly and she is with New Day who are sporting Dr Evil tuxedos. They are feeling great and are going to do what they do and will become the 5 time tag team champions on Sunday. Charly talks about The Bludgeon Brothers and Xavier says they have courage and hits the catchphrase.

-Back to Byron and Maria and they are joined by WWE RAW Women’s Champion: Alexa Bliss. Maria towers over her as I sometimes forget how short Alexa is or how tall Maria is. Both ladies look lovely! Again, if anyone takes offense to me complimenting the women, tough, as this is a Red Carpet and it’s to show off how everyone is dressed while hyping the coming show.

-Renee is with Bayley and her fiancé (lucky guy) and as she is talking a large “Rusev Day” chant starts and she jokes about it being amazing that the Hal of Fame is on Rusev Day. Bayley is great!

-Byron and Maria send us to our first commercial break.

-Charly is with Jimmy Uso and Naomi who are color coordinated like any power couple would be. They hype their respective matches for Sunday. Jimmy wants to party tonight but Naomi blocks that noise.

-Now we come to the Rusev Day part of the show though he corrects Byron and tells him it is Ravishing Rusev Day. Fantastic! Rusev says it will come full circle as he captures the title he lost 3 years ago to Cena. Lana promises to win the Battle Royal and hypes her strategy. They sing about Lana being the best and number one.

-Renee is with Corey Graves and his wife, Amy. He jokes about not drinking any fluids for the next 2 days just so he can get through 7 hours on Sunday.

-Charly is with Matt Hardy and Queen Rebecca and he is excited to see the Dudley Boys head into The Hall of Fame. He tells a story about eating at an Outback in Pittsburgh and it ends with Hayes and Gangrel having a headbutt contest while on a cliff. Amazing!

-Now, we know that Maria is just tall as she is with AJ Styles and his wife and she is taller than AJ. I am sure the heels are helping, but man. Byron brings up the hype for his match with Nakamura. He says the fans are looking towards the match as much as he and Shin are and it is up to them to deliver.

-Renee is with Nia Jax and her aunt, Ata Johnson (The Rock’s mom). She wants to see Ivory and also Mark Henry. Renee wonders if they will see some sexual chocolate and Nia hopes so.

-Commercial break.

-Renee is back with Hall of Famer, Lita. She, like all the women, is excited to see Ivory go into the Hall and puts over the great stories she can tell.

-Brother Nero is with Byron and Maria and he says he is cleared to return. This is his first Hall Ceremony since 2009 and obviously he is proud of the Dudley Boys and he also wants to see Jeff Jarrett, They talk about The Ultimate Deletion and Jeff says there needs to be another one so he can do more. Jeff says the Swanton he gave to Orton off the Tron was the one time he questioned what he was doing but when he did it, it was fun.

-Charly is with Carmella and her sister, Brie. More beautiful ladies! Stop me if you heard this, but she is excited to see Ivory. The sister gets some interview time which is cool as it is fun to hear from family and friends. Carmella says she has her briefcase in the back and won’t reveal if she will cash in on Sunday. Man, I never thought about it, but having someone cash in during The Hall of Fame Ceremony would be fantastic.

-My feed freezes which likely won’t be the last time.

-My feed is back and Renee is back with Sonya Deville. She is kind of overwhelmed with the experience and says the whole feel is cool. She talks about working with Lita on Tough Enough and then Dolph Ziggler is here to interrupt. They get him to leave and Sonya breaks the trend as she talks about being excited to see Goldberg. Nice!

-Saxton and Maris with Bobby Roode and his girlfriend. Nice job Bobby! He puts over working his first Mania and the journey it took to get here. It will be surreal to have 70,000 people singing his song and chanting “glorious.”

-Renee is with WWE Hall of Famer, Kurt Angle and his wife. He talks about how much those inducted tonight will enjoy the evening. He tells them to have their speeches relate to the fans and it will be memorable. Angle puts over Rousey and how fast she is learning. She belongs in the ring and she will prove a lot of people wrong on Sunday.

-Over to Charly and she is joined by Seth Rollins and his girlfriend. It goes without saying but pro-wrestlers seem to attract beautiful women. He is looking forward to tearing things up on Sunday and will keep his head on a swivel. Charly brings up Rollins’ cash in 4 years ago and he says it is hard to escape it as it is always played in Mania packages. He got to live a dream of walking out of Mania with the WWE Title.

-Commercial break!

-Back with Randy Orton and his wife with Maria and Saxton. Maria brings up that this year they have comfy chairs for the guys and girls on the floor which she knows Randy appreciates. He talks about how he has complained for years about how uncomfortable the chairs were so he is happy considering this is always a long night. Randy can’t wait to hear from the Dudley Boys and then hypes his match on Sunday. He thinks everyone has a shot, but he will retain at the Superdome.

-Renee is with the IC Champ, The Miz and his mom and dad. Obviously no Maryse as she is at home with their new baby girl. They talk about the baby and names the grandparents want to be called. Sweet! Sadly, my feed keeps freezing during this interview and I am going to get behind the live feed that others may be watching. The Miz says this is the biggest match of his career (dude, you were The Main Event of Mania XXVII!) as the IC Title means so much to him and says nobody will be able to follow the match they have. Big words there!

-Charly with Dana Warrior and her daughters. This has to be tough for them as Warrior was being inducted the last time they were in this building for the Hall of Fame. She almost loses it a couple times and really, nobody would blame her. She puts over JJ as the Warrior Award recipient this year.

-Byron and Maria with Ronda Rousey and her husband. She is clearly smitten with him as she gushes when talking about him. Ronda looks like someone who is ready to make out over seeing everyone and as someone who attended 3 different Hall of Fame ceremonies, I can’t blame here. She focuses in and talks about the match on Sunday. She talks about going against people who had advantages like PEDs and that didn’t stop her, so nothing will stop her on Sunday. Man, has PEDs ever been uttered on WWE TV? The husband gets some mic time and again, Ronda gushes over him. Ronda then puts over Kurt for being a tremendous partner.

-Commercial break.

-Baron Corbin is with Charly and he wants to be the first two time winner of the Andre Battle Royal. He is most excited to see Jeff Jarrett, and talks about seeing the Dudley Boys as he grew up watching them destroy people and tables.

-Renee Young is with Simmons, JBL, and The Godfather. That is quite the trio right there, and they joke about not being able to talk about hos. They are all there to support Mark Henry as you would expect. The Nation of Domination is quickly filling up the Hall.

-Charly is with Hall of Famer, Beth Phoenix who will be calling the Women’s Battle Royal on Sunday. Beth looks fantastic! She is thrilled with the progress the women’s division has made and she can’t believe it has already been a year since her induction.

-Byron and Maria are with Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. It is surreal for Daniel to finally be back and it is in New Orleans where he had the highest moment in is career. Maria brings up that they have left their daughter at home alone for the first time, and Bryans says they both may cry talking about it. Daniel jokes that it will be weird to head down to the ring in his underwear again.

-That ends the Red Carpet Show, so stay with me as the Hall of Fame Ceremony follows.

2018 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

-Welcome to our live coverage of the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. This is the third year I have had the honor of doing this coverage and yes, it makes for a long night so thanks for following along and for your patience as we tend to get issues every year during this show. As I always say, I know some have comments to make about who should be in and who shouldn’t, but even with politics deciding who makes it, the show itself is the one time the WWE treats the past with reverence and respect. It is a great show where guys and girls get a chance to thank all those that helped them along the way and talk about their career. I sat through these shows at Mania XXV-XXVII and they were a blast.

-Classy move as they dedicate the show to the memory of Johnny Valiant.

-Traditional fantastic opening that goes touches on those already inducted and Warrior gets the closing spot before getting to the current class. This year we get Goldberg, Ivory, Kid Rock (celebrity wing), Jeff Jarrett, The Dudley Boys, JJ Robertson (Warrior Award Winner), Mark Henry, and Hillbilly Jim.

-Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler is out as our host, as he has been for the last several years. His opening spiel is short and we are right to our first inductees.

The Dudley Boys

-Excellent video package covering their careers from ECW to the WWE. The most decorated Tag Team of All Time.

-The King brings out Edge and Christian to do the honors of inducting The Dudley Boys.

-Sorry for the delay as things went haywire for a few minutes.

-Christian is excited to be getting inducted into the Hall of Fame and Edge has to break the news to him that he is only inducting another team. Christian is bummed and says it is bad enough he had to come out to Edge’s music. Christian jokes they are getting to do this because they are the only two guys in the locker room that likes Bubba.

-Edge brings up ECW and that gets the chant you would expect. Christian gets in a good joke about it being during a time when it was cool to spell Boyz with a Z instead of a S. Edge brings up that as they Dudleys were honing their craft in ECW they were cutting their teeth with The Hardy Boys in the WWE. They knew they Dudley Boys would get to the WWE and when they got there they had to pass a test called the APA. They talk about how the Dudleys beat the crap out of the APA and that gets Ron Simmons to stand up and “DAMN.” That was fantastic.

-Edge talks about the origins of TLC and how it involved 5 fearless wrestlers and D-Von. Ha! Christian says that after the first TLC they all felt they deserved a bigger payoff. They went to see JR and Edge’s Bubba impression is fantastic. They did get a bump in pay. Edge and Christian then put on the famous Dudley glasses and then Edge tells Christian to get the Dudleys. Christian introduces them by stuttering which is a fantastic touch.

-D-Von starts to talk and Bubba tells him that after 20 years he still hasn’t learned that he only has to say “Testify.” D-Von tells him that he is office now and he tells Bubba when to speak. He has been getting the table for 20 years and it is his time to speak first. They have some high quality snarking on each other before getting serious.

-D-Vons puts over his grandmother being the glue of the family and talks about seeing Hulk Hogan (which gets a great pop). He wanted to be like Hogan and says he already had the tan which gets a laugh out of Bubba. He even tried to cut his hair like Hulk Hogan and now years later they have the same hairstyle. He puts over Piper, Savage, Andre, etc as being the guys he grew up watching and putting the dream of being a wrestler in his head. He wants his boys to be able to look at him and be proud of the man he has become. He talks about his mother and jokes that he won’t go on a 30 minute spiel like Mr. T, but he can if he wanted to. He is proud to say that he loves his mother. He loves his 4 sons more than life itself and they are the reason he took the flaming tables and ball bats. He mentions that all 4 are wrestling and will follow in his footsteps. Most importantly he wants to thank Bubba for being there with him every step of the way and there was nobody better to do it with and he then tells Bubba that he can talk.

-Bubba says that he wishes his parents were here today as they would have gotten a kick out of this so he did the closest thing he could and that was bring a picture of them with him. Bubba talks about the WWE/F and D-Von gets on him to leave the F out as they were taught that 15 years ago. He talks about leaving a closed circuit arena after watching Mania III and he told his dad that he would be wrestling one day. His uncle told him to shut up and get in the car. His uncle is here and he asks him what he thinks about him now. Awesome! He says that he and D-Von are most proud of being the first original ECW act in the Hall of Fame. He has everyone say hello to Tommy Dreamer while making a fat joke. Tremendous! He thanks everyone in the ECW locker room and Paul Heyman for everthing and for putting the together. They both thank Spike Dudley and call him the toughest 115 lb man they had every seen. They can’t express the gratitude they have for Spike as they think of him as a brother and love him. Bubba also wants to thank everyone guy and girl they every worked with as it takes everyone to get over. They didn’t have the bodies of the Road Warriors, couldn’t work like Tully and Arn, and weren’t as pretty as Ricky and Robert. D-Von takes exception as he fees is a handsome black man. Bubbba wants to know why D-Von is finally entertaining on their last night. D-Von wants to thank Tommy Dreamer for giving him the thumbs up during his ECW try-out and for everything he did, he thanks him for the bottom of his heart. He loves Tommy for the bottom of his heart and Bubba says he couldn’t say it any better. He then works in a shout-out to the future Mrs. Dudley, Velvet Sky and she makes her on screen WWE debut. Man she looks fantastic!

-Bubba talks about meeting Vince McMahon for the first time in an airport and he wasn’t sure if Vince remembered him. He said of course I remember you and looked forward to working with him in the future. Bubba was left puzzled wondering why Vince was flying commercial. D-Von talks a fantastic story about Ron Simmons always mispronouncing his name and no matter how much he corrected him, the name stuck. He talks about the APA being like Andre and how they had to earn their respect. He talks about his Reverend D-Von gimmick and how Ron and JBL would meet him with the collection plate and tell them they were going to the bar. Bubba says they need to thank Mae Young as she may have gotten them over more than anyone else. That first night they went easy on her and she was pissed so she lit into both of them in the back as she wanted to slammed like one of the boys. He says Mae Young is the toughest man he ever met in his life.

-They discuss the TLC matches and Bubba wants Edge and Christian to come back out and he brings the Hardy Boys up on stage. Bubba says they haven’t been in the same place since TLC II and all 6 of them made their own history. All 6 of them take a bow to a standing ovation and D-Vo says they likely have another TLC match in them for Sunday. Edge bounces before that can go any further and Matt says “delete” to the idea. The Dudley music plays and a “stage hand” came up to get them off the stage and this is all set-up for the poor kid getting put through a table to massive cheers. That was incredible. Fantastic stuff from The Dudley Boys as they didn’t go too long and make it memorable. and emotional when needed.

-Hype video for Lesnar/Reigns. They then come back and show Reigns who gets booed and some cheers so better than previous years.

Hillbilly Jim

-Great video package that does a great job of introducing his story to newer fans and yes, Hogan was a big part of it.

-WWE Hall of Famer, Jimmy Hart is out to do the inducting even though Jim had gone on record saying he wanted Hogan, but obviously that’s not happening. Jimmy says that Jim loves 3 things: playing guitar, watching wrestling with his grandma, and playing basketball. He was good enough to get college scholarships, but he wanted to be in the entertainment industry. He started bouncing and then was picked out to be a wrestler and started working in the South. Jimmy puts over everything Jim was able to do during the Rock N Wrestling Era and has one of the LJN action figures till in the original package and that is worth some decent pocket change. He talks about Jim coming back from injury and making it to WrestleMania III. He mentions that Hillbilly was the guy who put in a good word for him to appear at WrestleMania I. Hillbilly has been his friend for 39 years and he thanks the fans for everything they do for all the wrestlers and then brings out Hillbilly Jim.

-He is out and hoe-down with Jimmy Hart and that has the crowd rocking. He corrects Jimmy as she had 67 scholarship to play college ball. He says that this can be a long evening so he is going to try to keep his comments brief. He talks about being in a gym in Bowling Green, Kentucky and a guy came up to him and told him he can be good for the business. This man was already in the business and moved from Canada to Kentucky and his nam was Bruce Swayze (sp?). That started him on his journey and then mentions he sat in the crowd when JR was inducted and what he said stuck with him. He talked about opportunity and that is the story of his life. He tells everyone to take opportunities serious as they can pass you by in an instant. He had the ability recognize opportunity.

-The first instance was with Bruce and then it happened a few months later with a guy named Dale Mann who set him on the next step in his career. Next he got a phone call from Stu Hart (and he does his Stu impression) to come to Calgary. He talks about the learning curve as he learned it was best to be nice to Stu instead of going to the dungeon as everyone knew. He had to leave early because his mom was ill, but he became life long friends with Bruce Hart. A few months later he gets a phone call form a future WWE Hall of Famer: Jerry “The King” Lawler who wanted to bring him into Memphis. He also thanks Jerry Jarrett and puts over the talent he got to work with in Memphis.

-Next Bruce had him go with him to a WWE show in Nashville show to introduce themselves. He met Pat Patterson and that was all it took as Pat was able to help get him into the company and he hasn’t left it since. To him the WWE was always a limousine and he wasn’t going to leave a place where his bread was always buttered. He then gets to thanking Hulk Hogan and that gets another pop. He calls Hogan the biggest wrestling star in the world and it was an amazing opportunity. This business took a country boy and made it possible for him and his family for having a whole lot of everything. He talks about getting that big check from his action figure sales from Pat Patterson and how he would play ribs on him. He was at Notre Dame for a show and he was waiting to get home. Patterson come up and said he had some paperwork for him. He was burned out and ready to crack and Pat asks him if he was having trouble with a lawsuit. He handed him some paperwork and at the bottom was the check and he thought it was for 8700 and Pat told him to check it again as it was $87,000. Jim was so excited that he ran to a phone and called his mom. As soon as he got home he took the check to his account and paid his taxes and he still has that money to this day.

-He talks about Andre The Giant and a tag match they had against Studd, Bundy with Heenan as their manager. They beat on Jim as they know that once the tag is made to Andre all the fun is over. He tells another Andre story about how much they drank 57 bottles of liquor waiting in an airport and he only drank eight of them.

-He talks about WrestleMania III next and puts over that they drew more than the Pope. He brings up the 93000 number and anyone can send hate mail to him if you are on the 78,000 number side. He talks about the midget match with Bundy and how he thinks some parts of the match were a rib on him when he had to carry the midgets around. This speech is great, but Jim’s slow and soft tone has to be putting some people to sleep though no fault of his own. He is accepting this induction in his name, but is accepting for the following: his mom, his family, the state of Kentucky, his friends in the wrestling business, and finally the fans. They accepted him from Day One and they never left him and made him feel like wherever he went, he was home. He was asked how he would like to remembered and he shot back that he just wants to be remembers. He thinks a lot about those who have passed and Valiant is on is mind as our Andre, Gorilla, Blassy, Heenan, Lord Alfred, Albano and many others. He continues with Savage, Snuka, and Piper. He gets choked up talking about them and Piper’s name gets a Piper chant going from the crowd. He continues to get emotional and the crowd picks up as they cheer him on as he closes. He tells everyone to enjoy this weekend and gives a final Good Evening. Heart felt speech from Jim.

-Lawler mentions the Legacy Wing and here are this years members: Stan Stasiak, El Santo, Jim Londos, Sputnik Monroe, Boris Malenko, Dara Singh, Hiro Matsuda, Rufus R Jones, Cora Combs, and Lord Alfred Hayes. Great stuff here!

Ivory

-My feed freezes for a few minutes and then jumps to Molly Holly in the middle of her speech. Sorry about anything I may have missed. Molly is talking about all the traveling up and down the roads and Ivory always brought her cat, Frankie. Molly then talks about being in Houston during 9-11 and Ivory wrestled twice that night just to do what she could to help fans have a good time to take their minds of what was happening around the world. Since they couldn’t fly, Ivory decided they would have the most epic road trip with Lillian Garcia tagging along. Molly calls Ivory one of the trail blazers and icons of the women’s movement. Molly then brings out Lillian Garcia to make a proper introduction and she brings out Ivory. Wonderful touch!

-Ivory is out and this may shock you, but she is rather perky and excited. She looks fantastic and immediately starts telling stories about Molly and Lillian. She lets us know that Molly would hum when she would drive. She then wakes up the crowd by screaming out “New Orleans” and starts singing. In 1986 she came to NOLA for TV meeting to promote a women’s show called GLOW. She has had good and bad times in NOLA and brings up Hurricane Katrina. While everyone was doing what they could to help, she was doing a show in Ohio and used it to raise money for the animals that were displaced and then she spent 10 days in Mississippi helping other rescue leagues and that has changed her life.

-She talks about the rise of women in the WWE and how far they have come since when she broke into the business. She talks about GLOW changing the business forever and the rise of the division during the Attitude Era that inspired the current roster. She does a roll call of Lita, Trish, Jackie, Stephanie, Molly, Victoria, etc. When thinking about this day she thought of what he brother said in that he loved going to work because everyone was smarter than him. That was similar to her as she worked with legends and that made her better. She thanks the fans and says she wouldn’t have the guts to stand here without the fans supporting here the last few minutes. This is a once in a lifetime event unless you are Ric Flair and she thinks this is like marriage, unless you are Ric Flair. AWESOME! She says she has never been proposed to and immediately all the guys in the crowd start yelling out proposals. She jokes that not even Flair has proposed to her. She compares this to a wedding and when she was told to get an evening gown, she had flashbacks to The Attitude Era and what that meant to them. She is prepared just in case as her undergarments are Hall of Fame ready. She puts over Molly as her Maid of Honor and the women of GLOW as her bridesmaids. She thanks several guys including Jim Cornette and talks about how this party could do dirty dancing and that gets cut off by the Right to Censor music. Wonderful!

-She mentions those who have passed from GLOW including Mt Fuji, Big Bad Mama, Princess Jasmine and then those in the WWE: Chyna, Luna, Mae Young and Moolah. She says that she needs something old: herself, new: her ring, borrowed: time from the next inductee, and blue: well, purple is good enough for her. She thanks the fans and her family for being here. She shows a picture of her brothers as kids wrestling in their underwear and talks about all her nieces and nephews. Her family isn’t the Samoan Dynasty, but she has a great family. She asked her sister what marriage is like and she told her that she can’t imagine life without her husband. So Ivory takes her vows and with her new ring she weds as she thanks everyone for being her witness.

-Hype video for NXT New Orleans tomorrow.

Kid Rock

-The video package puts over the Celebrity Wing and I know some hate it, but the WWE really does rely on celebrities and it’s a fine way to honor some of them. I was there at Mania XXV for the mini concert he performed and it was fine even if it was a little long. The package touches on American Badass Taker to fuel those rumors for tomorrow, and Rock’s song “Lonely Road” was amazing with that history of the WWE package.

-HHH is out to induct Kid Rock as I guess the rumors of it being Austin were wrong. HHH talks about the Celebrity Wing and how Kid Rock had an impact on what they all love. Music takes you back to places and brings up hearing “Freebird” and thinking of Michael Hayes. He talks about The Attitude Era and how it had a soundtrack that was headlines by Kid Rock. He calls him a true artist that can do anything and calls him a fan of what they do inside the ring. His music is hard hitting and in your face like the Attitude Era. His song “Celebrate” is the theme for Mania and that is perfect as that is what they are all here to do. Man, HHH is doing a tremendous job here.

-Kid Rock is out and hopefully the crowd doesn’t torment him like they did some celebrities that were inducted in the past. Rock says this moment is better than any day of the week. There is no politics here and he didn’t have to kiss anyone’s ass. They just called him and he was proud to be able to do anything that helped them. He was given notes to stay away from politics and from thanking Vince McMahon. So the first thing he does is thank Vince McMahon and then says he would like to body slam some democrats. He is only joking as we are all humans and we all need to respect and love each other. He puts over The Undertaker, Ric Flair, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan for being a good friend. Hogan getting more shout outs this year than any previous one I can remember. Kid wants the fans to gibe it up for the WWE stars and the lifestyle they live to entertain the fans. He thanks his family, friends, managers, band, and the fans as he promises to have the shortest speech. He thanks every fan for spending their hard earned money to see him entertain. He thanks Jesus and dedicates this award to Joe C. AWESOME! Joe would always watch wrestling tapes in the bus and told Rock he was using him a stepping stone to get to the WWE. That was a fantastic job by Kid Rock.

Jeff Jarrett

-This is the one that has me the most intrigued just because it is so surreal seeing him back in the WWE after nearly 20 years of going against them. The video package is well done and he clearly found his niche when he cut the hair and got an edge.

-Road Dogg is out to do the honors and we know he can talk, but thankfully he is office so he knows they need to speed things up here. He promises to get to the nitty gritty and talks about being told he was going to get his big break being Jeff Jarrett’s roadie. He can’t share some of his stories because the show is PG now and because he can’t remember the 90s. This is where he tells everyone “don’t do drugs.” He quickly brings Jeff out as now we are moving along.

-Good Lord the tuxedo is sporting is something else. Road Dogg takes away his mic and his hat and tells him to use the stage mic. Jeff jokes that Road Dog really is the boss now. Jeff talks about his start and gets choked up as he says he isn’t going to get through this speech. The crowd starts a “You Deserve It” chant. He talks about the evolution of his career and says his greatest match was when he stepped in the ring with Shawn Michaels. He calls Shawn the greatest of all time and thanks him for everything he did for him during his career. He puts over the tag matches with Hall and Nash and talks about how he was honored that Scott did the honors for him with the IC Title. He puts over The Miz for binging importance to the title and that seems to catch the Miz by surprise. He talks about being in the 4 Horsemen, The NWO and a certain Club in Japan. He lost his hair in MSG to X-Pac and sas that 18 years later X-Pac is in the same boat with his hair. Nice! He talks about the celebrities he has messed with and mentions he lost to Stephanie McMahon in her first match but he thinks Ronda and Kurt will Sunday. He gets emotional talking about Brian James and puts over their relationship. He then loses it again as he mentions Owen Hart (massive pop). He wants to talk about Owen the man instead of the ribber first as he had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. He does a quick story about Owen calling Jim Duggan and pretending to have a pizza for him in the lobby and if he doesn’t come get it he will beat his ass. Amazing! The next story is during a match with Ahmed Johnson, Owen got on the headset and had Ahmed’s music played at 3 different times during the match. Again, amazing! One more story as they had a tag match with Edge and Christian in Chicago not long after they debuted. Owen had a plan for a rib and Jeff just decided to go along. While they were doing double 10 count punches in the corner, Owen and Jeff quickly put on clown noses to get them laughing. That brings out Edge and Christian who put the clown nose on Jeff to pay off that story. Fun stuff!

-Jeff gets emotional again as he thanks Karen and his kids. He thanks his father and what he has done for him in this business. His final thank you is to his grandmother. She took a second job selling wrestling tickets in the 40s to support her two kids and without her there is no Jeff Jarrett. He breaks down again thinking about a poem he read during his first ever promo. He recites the final stanza from the promo and can barely get through it. Before he leaves though, Road Dogg is back out and they are going to sing. AWESOME as they sing “With My Baby Tonight” together and Jeff has forgotten most of the words, but thankfully it’s the world largest karaoke as they are on the screen for everyone to sing. They hit the floor and get Ryder and Lillian to join in on the fun. Neither of them really know the words anymore, but man if it isn’t fantastic seeing them and everyone trying. Patterson is completely lost and it is glorious. They are both out of breath when they get back on stage as Road Dogg asks how long the song runs. That wasn’t as epic as Hayes singing Freebird, but still fun.

JJ Roberston

-Time for the Warrior Award and this year it goes to JJ Roberston who was born with a chronic liver disease. He received a new liver, but complications put him a coma. His parents told to take him off support and they made funeral arrangements, but he started breathing on his own. He then needed a second liver transplant and that sent him on a journey to raise awareness for donor support. After 13 years he received his second transplant and he has been living life to the fullest.

-Dana Warrior is out to present the 4th Warrior and is back where her husband was inducted into the Hall of Fame. This feels like a homecoming for her and her daughters. She breaks down talking about how tough she has had to be these last 4 years and she has had doubt about whether she has been tough enough, but she is reminded of what Warrior wanted. They show pictures of Warrior during that ceremony and you have to feel bad for her and her children as there’s no way that gets any easier. She will always believes the last weekend of his life was an Ultimate Crowning. She never would have believed that she would be on this same stage 4 years ago. In 4 years she has graduated from grief and if she could go back and tell her something it would be: don’t be afraid.

-The Warrior award is for those who treat the word “impossible” as profane. The Warrior Award is for those that always, always believe. That sums up JJ and his family is just so happy as they jump to their feet. You have to be so happy for them! Dana goes over the medical issues that Jarius faced and how he has continued to fight. It is her honor to present the award to not only JJ, but also the donor who gave life to one so full of it. She brings out JJ and this should be great.

-He dances his way out on the stage and he looks puzzled by the lack of anything for him to stand on to reach the mic. Dana gets a stand for him and he says to get this show on the road. He thanks the 3 previous recipients and is proud to be Warriors with them. He thanks Stephanie and his favorite stars: Roman Reigns (JJ doesn’t like when you boo him), Randy Orton, Zak Ryder, and even his least favorite, The Miz. AWESOME! This kid is having a ball and it is contagious. He wins the night by saying he probably has a better chance of getting a WrestleMania Match than John Cena. That was an unbelievable line. He talks about his work to get people to become organ donors and he is standing here with a new liver and as a Hall of Famer. Jarius is out! Peace! That was perfect.

Mark Henry

-This one is going to be emotional and heavy as Mark has never been shy about showing his emotions. The video package is wonderful as it touches on Sexual Chocolate and his resurgence when they finally realized that booking him as a nonsense monster who split wigs was the way to go.

-The Big Show gets the honors here which is appropriate. Show calls Mark his brother from another mother. He talks about Mark’s family and is happy his daughter looks like her mom instead of Mark. Nice! He talks about Mark being one of the best recruiters the WWE has. He has been a great mentor for the young guys and his door is always open. Don’t let that fool you through as he wasn’t someone you wanted to test. He tells a story of Mark destroying a camera when someone tried to sneak a picture in an area where there weren’t any supposed to be taken. He told Mark if he ever grabbed him like that he would hit him with his car. He then brings out the man as we are flying through these now.

-Mark starts by giving honor to God as it will take God to get him through this without crying. The crowd starts a “Sexual Chocolate” chant which helps lighten the mood. He tells the boys and girls that he respects everyone who loves this business. Today he is humbled as the crowd start with “you deserve it.” He talks about his grandma taking him to a show in Texas and it just happens that his favorite wrestler was on the card: Andre The Giant. He ran to the barricade and the people rushing behind knocked him down and Andre picked him up and it was the moment that got him where he is today. He couldn’t have gotten where he is without the help of so many. He calls his mother the backbone of his family as she bought him his first set of weights when he was 10 years old. He knows his mom is looking down smiling and proud. All the kids would hang out at his house because his mon was a great cook. He realized later that weight set was a way for her to keep the kids close and keep an eye on them. He thanks all of the coaches and trainers that provided him the foundation to become the Strongest Man in the World. He thanks two people that powered him to becoming a weightlifter and strongman. He was on TV shows and magazines for what he was doing, but it was being a wrestling fan that kept people interested. He grew up loving Andre, JYD, and The Iron Sheik.

-One day he got a call from Vince McMahon and he hung the phone up because he thought it was a joke. His friend called him back and asked him if he really hung up on Vince McMahon and advised him to take the call if he calls back. He know Vince thought he was the biggest mark as half the call was him asking “Can I meet Yokozuna or can I wrestle The Undertaker?” His first coach was Dr. Tom and while he was athletic he wasn’t focused. He blames his initial failure on his lack of focus. He tells a story about the late Ernie Ladd and as he does a noise happens which Mark asks if it’s God or Ernie. He was often under Ernie’s learning tree and felt he had to carry the entire black race after the conversations they had. He had to spend a year in Canada for threatening Shawn Michaels (he apologizes to Shawn) and it was the best thing as he learned from the Hart Family. He thanks all the Harts and then breaks down a bit as he talks about Owen Hart. He speaks directly to Martha and says that Owen needs to be in the Hall of Fame. He isn’t speaking on behalf of the company or any other wrestler, but as one of Owen’s brothers. That was quite possibly the most powerful statement I have hear at any Hall of Fame ceremony.

-We get some levity as Sexual Chocolate’s theme is played and Mark gets into character as he starts hitting on Stephanie McMahon and ten goes to hitting on his wife. Amazing! He says D-Lo fell out of the car laughing when he told him was going to be Sexual Chocolate. He thanks Mae Young and Chyna for what they did for him and he misses them both. He puts over The Nation of Domination and gives a shout-out to Ron, D-Lo, and The Godfather. He says when you look up man in the dictionary there is a picture of Ron Simmons. He talks about Ron being the first African American to win the WCW World Title and the second ever to win the World Title. He also can’t forget The Rock as they were starting out around the same time. He calls him the offspring of wrestling and that he was breed to be a wrestler. He took care of The Rock who didn’t have any money and told him he could back him pay when he had it and he has heard that he is doing ok for himself now. So sine he is retired he could use that money back with interest. Too funny!

-He talks about winning The ECW Title with Big Show and Kane in the match and puts over how great they are. His crowning career moment was winning the World Title and he thanks Randy, Daniel and The Big Show for helping him in that moment. He is proud to be the 5th African American to win a World Championship. These moments showed he made the most of his career and he was able to turn the corner from being the Worlds Strongest Man. He knows he can’t thank everyone and mention she has had nearly 8000 matches. Lastly, he thanks his familyfor years of unwaivering support. He thanks his wife and says she is his Dwayne Johnson in that she is his Rock. He thanks his son who is rocking the salmon suit that Mark wore in his famous angle with Cena. He did all he did for his family so they could have ore than he had. He thanks them for letting him live the greatest dream a man could ask for and he tells his wife he is coming home. He finishes by saying he is proud of the diversity shown by the WWE and mentions this planet is a melting pit and that the future depends on everyone living as one. Before he goes he has the salmon jacket brought out and puts it on as he says he still has a lot in the tank. He threatens Cena, Styles, and Reigns before turning the switch back off and letting everyone know that he is just playing. He proudly accepts his place in the WWE Hall of Fame……because that’s what he does.

-Video of Paige as she gives us a peak of the movie based on her life. The tease was amazing as it is The Rock cutting a promo on Paige and her brother.

Goldberg

-This is another surreal one, but obviously after his last WWE run things ended on great terms. That final run was one of the better things the WWE did as they got everything right about the character finally and his match with Brock at Mania is one of best short matches you will ever see.

-Paul Heyman is out to introduce himself and he does his Brock Lesnar spiel as well. He brings up the elephant in room about why the guy from ECW would be inducting the top home grown star from WCW into the WWE Hall of Fame. Paul says that he wishes he can be half the father that Bill is to his son. He also mentions they needed to find someone who could beat up Brock Lesnar and have the fans believe it and that sure wasn’t Roman Reigns. I love Heyman! He says the fans chanted this guys name when he started the streak, when he speared the Hulkster in the Georgia Dome, and when he went through Evolution in the WWE. We also chanted his name when he took the fight to Brock Lesnar like nobody has or every will (another dig at Reigns). Great stuff from Heyman as he was all in on that. Goldberg gets the complete entrance with police from the back and it looks sweet with him rocking the suit.

-Goldberg says like his matches this will be short. He talks his parents and the morals they instilled in him. He says his sister basically raised him as his parents were in a bitter divorce. He wanted to follow in his brothers footsteps and play football, but he wanted to make the NFL and be a role model. He talks his career at Georgia (some boos from the LSU crowd) and with the Atlanta Falcons (big boos from Saints fans). He obviously had a lack of talent and injuries that got him out of the NFL. He was looking to fill the void and DDP kept truing to get him to try wrestling. He watched as a kid and says Brusier Brody was his favorite. The gimmick was to be part Brody, part Severn, and part Hawk and he had an impactful arsenal of moves that are easily copied (“where’s Roman?). Ouch! He talks about gaining momentum in WCW and he was sitting at home watching Thunder and that is where he heard that he would be wrestling Hogan in the Dome. He thanks Hogan and says he owes him one. He talks about the failures of WCW and will only mention one: Nash ending his streak on his birthday. “Thanks Kev, I guess I owe you one too.” Shots fired! He thanks those who helped him in WCW: DDP, The Sarge, Jody Hamilton, and Bobby Heenan among others. He also thanks DDP and his 15 page match layouts. He talks about their match at Halloween Havoc. He shouts out the people behind the scenes including Bill Apter. He doesn’t believe any character depended on help more than his. He continues to give props to Charles Robinson for all the spears he took , Lex Luger The Steiner Brothers, The Guerrero Family, Ron Simmons, Curt Henning, and Rick Rude. Big Show for the 30 second matches and he says Show hated being held upside down and he loved keeping hi there. He thanks JR and says he is the first person he called when he decided to get in the business. He came into the business during the hottest period and he was spoiled as he knew nothing of the down times. When he came to the WWE he knew he had a price to pay as he once yelled at HHH in front of his future wife at a toy convention. He thanks Austin and says he knows he copied a bit from him. He doesn’t want to talk about that horrible 2003 run as it sucked and he sucked. He was just happy to work with The Rock, and deal with Dean Malenko, Taker, Booker T, and Goldust. He isn’t proud of how he acted in that first run and he had no plans of coming back, but he then had a family. He knew he would have to bring up the wrestling business to his son and all it took was a phone call that had him coming back for the WWE2K video game. Form there he realized that the relationship had healed and he wanted to get back in the ring again. It wasn’t just a job as he loves the fans and loves being that character for the people. He thanks his wife and son. They are his world and he always swore he would never get his family in the business in any way, but his son and his love for him was the story. He says he was miserable but only in how he felt physically and says the run was the most fun he ever had. His wife had goal of getting his getting Goldberg to a place where he was a peace with pro wrestling and she helped him accomplish that. He talks about his son and the love he has for him is tremendous and much like Heyman, I hope I am half the father Goldberg is. He jokes that his son better be a bad ass as he will have a target on his back. He thanks his mother and father in law and all his friends. He thanks the fans for making him love wrestling again. He says he will do anything for the fans and they quickly start a “one more match chant” and Goldberg says she shouldn’t have said that. He tells a story about Steph telling him that he can’t head butt the doors anymore. So this night he decided to punch the door since he couldn’t use his head and he broke his hand which he never told anybody. He got to be in a beer bash with Austin and drank 13 beers because his hand hurt so bad. He then learned that Austin never actually drank a drop of the beer. Before getting to his finish, he has to back track as he forgot to thank Sting. He respects Sting as a man because of his integrity and he hopes that he made him proud. He credits Sting and DDP for making Goldberg. He always thought of wrestling as business and now he knows it is so much more. His original dream was to make the NFL Hall of Fame and it is funny that he ended up in the WWE Hall of Fame, but he knows this is where he belongs. As long as he is 2-1 over Brock Lesnar and has the strength to jackhammer anyone in the room and as long as he knows a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket (Reigns) can never be as strong as a Georgia Bulldog then never say never. He only has one question to end “WHO’S NEXT?”

-Thanks to all of you that followed along with the lover coverage for nearly 6 hours and for those reading later. As always this is an exhaustive show though it always ends up entertaining. Everyone was solid tonight and we had some good to great moments sprinkled into keep things moving along. Speech of the night was probably Mark Henry with The Dudley Boys just behind, but the burn of the night goes to JJ for his shot at Cena. All the digs at Reigns were fun as well. Here’s hoping everyone enjoys the show in Sunday. I’m going to sleep now. Thanks for reading!