411’s WWE Hall of Fame Report 03.27.10

Hi, hello and welcome to 411wrestling.com’s report of the 2010 edition of the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony! I’m Steve Cook, and on the night before WrestleMania WWE is inducting seven individuals into their Hall of Fame. Their worthiness can be discussed and debated (I suggest the comment section or the 411 Fan Forum if that‘s your bag), but tonight we’re here to pay tribute to people who have been part of a business that has given us so much joy.

Speaking of joy, I am in a rather joyful mood tonight due to the results of a college basketball game held in Syracuse, New York. I’m not a huge West Virginia fan, but when they’re playing Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament…well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So it’s going to take a lot for WWE to piss me off tonight.

The inductions of Mad Dog Vachon, Wendi Richter, Antonio Inoki & Stu Hart took place earlier in the evening, so we get to see Bob Uecker, Gorgeous George & “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s inductions on this broadcast.

We get a pretty standard HOF video package to start things, featuring pretty much everybody already in that isn’t working for other companies.

Jerry “The King” Lawler is our host for the evening. He welcomes us to the ceremony, says it’s an honor to be host for his favorite night of the year. He introduces the Superstars on hand, who sit up front as per usual. He talks about different celebrities that have been there, which segues into an introduction for Dick Ebersol.

Ebersol’s inducting Bob Uecker tonight. Ucker’s been a friend of his for 35 years and is known as Mr. Baseball. When you think about it, he’s had the most extraordinary life of anybody in sports. What Bob made of his life after he was a baseball player is what’s made him so memorable.

We get the Bob Uecker video package featured on the last edition of Raw, showcasing some footage from Major League, Miller Lite commercials, and Andre the Giant choking him at WrestleMania IV. After a commercial break, Mr. Baseball will become Mr. Hall of Famer.

Dusty Rhodes is singled out in the crowd when we return. Ebersol talks about how Uecker ended up appearing with WWE…he and Vince had gone to the Silverdome weeks before WrestleMania III to figure out how they were going to work the venue out. Vince was having problems trying to get Uecker to do the show, and since Dick & Bob were old friends he, Vince & Jesse Ventura went to Uecker’s hotel in Arizona. Uecker had been up in his room watching the America’s Cup sailboat races. After two hours and a lot of beer, Uecker agreed to appear at WrestleMania. Shockingly, Bob was pretty afraid of Andre the Giant. Bob Uecker comes out to the MLB on Fox music, and then we go to commercial.

Uecker thanks the crowd and says he wasn’t a great ballplayer. He signed with the Braves for $3,000, and was with them twice. He won a championship with the St. Louis Cardinals, and the games he didn’t show up for he tried to catch on the radio. WM III was one of the best things he did in his life. He tells a story about Jake Roberts and how Jake wanted him to take a picture with Damien. Bob asked Jake “Where’s Damien?”, and Jake said that he was in the bag. Bob replied “So am I after a few more beers”. He holds Damien, he looks at Jake and notices a big scar. Bob asked Jake what it was and he said “oh, that was from when Damien bit me.” He then talks about the time Jake threw his snake at the feet of Donald Trump’s wife. He talks about WM IV and the choking incident…he says that he was all over Andre after the camera cut away but they didn’t show it. Later in the night when he was changing underwear. Some of the greatest times he had in sports were his times with WWE. He puts over the big crowd tonight and tomorrow at WM and thanks the crowd, who yells “Uuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeccccccckkkkkkk!” I’ll take this opportunity to say that Ueck gets a lot of sun in Arizona.

We’re 25 minutes in and through one inductee, in case you’re keeping track. It’ll probably work, I’m thinking George’s 97 year old widow won’t be talking for too long.

Sgt. Slaughter is shown in the audience as we return. Lawler puts over Uecker’s ability to make fun of himself and points out that most HOFers seem to think they were better the older they get. He talks about various nicknames and this segues into the video package on the “Human Orchid”, Gorgeous George. Bob Giegel on a WWE program? Now I’ve seen everything. They credit George for every heel of all time, mention all of his nicknames, and how Muhammad Ali got his trash talking gimmick from him. He showed how important image could be.

Accepting on behalf of George is his widow, 97 year old Betty Wagner. She doesn’t look a day over 96. She tells the story of how he got his name, which has to do with putting a flower in his hair. She talks about how she made all of his outfits, and how their kids would play in his robes. She doesn’t want to tell everything about George! Good stuff.

Jack Lanza is shown in the crowd when we return, and we get clips from the inductions held earlier in the night. Lawler says that the next inductee once wrote a check so big his bank bounced, leading into a video package for the Million Dollar Man. The video puts over the Million Dollar Man character and points out that he was a good wrestler too. Miz & Jack Swagger seem to dig his act more than MVP did. Cody Rhodes talks about the time DiBiase bought Sapphire and lured her away from his father. John Cena loved it when he bought the WWE championship. He has a son that is a future champion in WWE. No plural, in case you’re keeping track.

Lawler introduces our last inductee for the evening, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. He’s got the Million Dollar Belt! Standing ovation from the Superstars. He has to admit that there are some moments in time that he can’t put a price tag on, and this is one of those priceless nights. To be inducted into the HOF is to be set apart and recognized by your peers and colleagues, and he doesn’t think there can be a better honor. He’s humbled to join all of the other inductees. He has a lot to be thankful for. Story time! In 1987 he had already been in the business for twelve years, doing all he could to be the best he could be. The WWE called him up, he went to New York, got picked up in a limo and met with the brain trust of WWE. They had a great idea for him, a guy who was filthy rich and thought he could buy anybody or do anything. If he agreed to do it, he’d get to fly first class, ride in limos, stay in the finest hotels. It was a tough job, somebody had to do it. They believed they could make him one of the most hated villains ever. The rest is history. He mentions Arn Anderson, Ricky Steamboat & Steve Keirn, and puts over the current WWE Superstars. He gives them some advice that his father gave him. If you’re willing to work hard, persevere and pay the price, you can accomplish anything in life. If you’re not passionate about it, don’t bother to try. Live your life with integrity. It’s not always the most talented guy, sometime it’s the guy who’s the most dependable and has the biggest heart. He wishes his dad was here, and thinks he’d pat him on the back and say “Job well done, son.” Last but not least, he thanks the WWE Universe, the greatest fans in the world. One last thing…just in case there’s any doubt left that what he’s said for years for true, that everybody has a price, he tells the crew to let the money rain! Money falls from the rafters (hundred dollar bills from the looks of things), as DiBiase’s music plays and the show ends.

Decent little show here, but I can’t really rate it with some of the classic ceremonies we’ve seen in the past. I wish we’d gotten to see Ted Jr. & Brett DiBiase’s induction speech for their father, and Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer’s induction speech for Gorgeous George. Maybe it’ll all come off better on DVD when we get to see the whole ceremony. In any event, the Road to WrestleMania is now over. So long and good night!