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-Welcome to 411’s Live Coverage of the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. For those who don’t know, I am Robert Leighty and have been writing for 411 since 2008. Hall of Fame coverage has been my duty since WrestleMania 32. This year with the ceremony being in Vegas, we are getting a late (or early) start for us folks in the Eastern Time Zone. I am ready with water, ginger ale, and Pepsi for when I need something to keep me up. I have been up since 7:30 AM due to work so while I tend to avoid caffeine, exceptions will be made.

-I love Hall of Fame and don’t think too much about how deserves and who doesn’t. Everyone up there has tried to entertain me as a wrestling fan and I am all for them getting one more moment in the sun. The Red Carpet pre-show is about to start, so before getting there, you can follow me on twitter if you like @RobertLeightyJr. Let’s get to it!

2025 WWE Hall of Fame 2025 Red Carpet Show

-Jackie Redmond, looking gorgeous, welcomes us to the show and her co-host is Peter Rosenberg. They are live from Fontainebleau as for this year we are done with the ceremony being in the ring right after SmackDown. I appreciate the change. I went to 3 HOF Ceremonies at Mania XXV, XXVI, and XXVII and it was a great time.

-Byron Saxton is on the carpet and his first guest is Gabriel Iglesias, who hosts WWE Rivals. That’s one of the shows I cover and my reviews are out there to be found. Iglesias is wearing Cena jorts and is looking forward to seeing Lex Luger get inducted.

-Jackie and Peter run down the list of inductees: Triple H, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger, The Natural Disasters, and Immortal Moment: WrestleMania 13: Submission Match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin.

-Video package on Triple H’s WrestleMania entrances. I chuckled as Cody talks about it being simple like the water spit and they cut to HHH on his throne at Mania 22. We know what Cody once did to a similar throne years ago.

-Back to Jackie and Rosenberg and they are joined by Karrion Kross, who puts his hand up to avoid seeing AJ Styles. Scarlett is here as well and wow. Karrion notes he is here out of respect, but he is pissed off and will ruin the ceremony by putting AJ’s head through a light. Cool!

-Speaking of AJ Styles, he is here and is with his wife. He is rocking a purple suit to match his wife’s dress. AJ says Karrion is nothing to worry about and isn’t a problem to him. Rosenberg tells AJ he will be in the Hall of Fame and mentions he never thought AJ would be in WWE as he was a TNA guy. AJ notes he started to accept the fact he was never going to have a Mania moment. He doesn’t think about the Hall of Fame because he won’t believe it until it happens.

-Byron Saxton is with LA Knight and he says he is here to show appreciation to HHH. He also puts over the WrestleMania 13 match being inducted. Knight brings him wife into the picture and she is stunning as well. She goes over LA’s fit and shows off what she is wearing as well.

-Back to Jackie and Peter, who are with Sean Waltman. He is obviously happy for Paul and says he knew HHH had a mind for the business. He was the one they assumed would end up running this one day. He knows HHH would have never put himself in the Hall, so he thanks Nick, Shawn, and Taker for going behind his back. He doesn’t think HHH will have a long speech tonight. I don’t know man, if it’s like his Mania matches strap in.

-Next up is Ludwig Kaiser and Tiffany Stratton and they are color coordinated as well. Ludwig says his English is not good enough to let us know how proud he is off Tiffany. Aw, that’s sweet! Stratton says she is kind of shocked how fast things have happened in the last year and credits Australia last year for the start of this run. She calls the match with Charlotte her dream match. She is ready for a fight and knows it will be the hardest fight of her life. She notes she does look up to Charlotte and calls it an honor to have Charlotte as her Mania debut opponent.

-Peter Rosenberg is with Warrior Award Winner, Titus O’Neil. He is WWE’s Global Ambassador and calls the HHH Era amazing. He talks about revenue going up being good for everybody and puts over the NXT stars. Trick Williams is his guy and he is ready for Stand and Deliver tomorrow.

-Jackie and Rosenberg have Main Event Jey Uso with them and he still isn’t sure how he is going to beat GUNTHER tomorrow. All he knows he is going to shock the world for a second time tomorrow. They talk HHH and Jey mentions HHH wrestled his dad a million times and says HHH “damn near raised me.” Jackie and Jey do their custom handshake.

-Byron is with GUNTHER and he looks classy! I wouldn’t except anything less. He says Jey is full of crap and has false confidence. He wants to move on as it is about the greats tonight. He notes wrestling is a very unthankful career and this night lets legends get thanked and honored. He tells Byron he doesn’t need luck.

-Peter and Jackie again and now they have Charlotte Flair with them. Rosenberg wishes her a belated Happy Birthday. Charlotte tells Jackie “wait, until you see my robe” and says it has two of her favorite colors. Rosenberg ruins part of it as he says there has to be blue. Jackie asks how much Charlotte thinks about her resume. She notes she is 4-3 at Mania and always wants to top the previous match. She thinks Tiffany will bring out a different side to her. She gets a chance to talk about HHH and says she has known him since she was six. He hired her in NXT and has been influential in her career since day one.

-Commercials!

-I am going to take this chance to plug a column I just wrote where I examine what matches would have closed each night if WrestleMania had always been two nights.

-We are back with Jackie and Peter and they have Randy Orton and his wife with them. Randy says he loves Hall of Fame and his favorite moment is obviously seeing his dad inducted, but Hunter going in will be second. He says he has no career without HHH as Evolution helped launch him and he gives credit to Ric Flair as well. Jackie wants to see Randy give Rosenberg the RKO. That would be awesome! Rosenberg would probably be smiling from ear to ear.

-Peter is off and catches up with HHH and Stephanie McMahon. WWE has something special for Hunter and they are going to present him with it now. Nick Khan is called over and they wait for the family to join as well. It looks like it is going to be a statue. They kill some time and Steph notes back in the day she couldn’t keep her hands off Paul. Everyone has a laugh. HHH is very proud of Steph and Peter is happy she is back. The family is here and they unveil the HHH statue. HHH: “They made my nose look bigger than it is.” HHH says he has been at the forefront of making these for talents in the WWE and seeing one of himself is touching. He is happy his family could be here and he thanks Nick who made all this happen.

-Back to Jackie and it takes a few seconds for Peter to join here. They are trying to figure out who to break over next as we get split screen of HHH and Nick with family at the statue. Bianca joins Peter and Jackie and shockingly, she didn’t make the outfit she is wearing. She says it is still fun to get dressed up and her and Montez are in love and living life. They love matching and she says it is one of their love languages. Here is Montez and yes, they are color coordinated. He says this weekend is about his beautiful lady and she keeps climbing the ladder and making it matter. “Everyone can look at the menu, but I am the only one that know what it taste like.” Jackie tries to change the subject, but Peter says it’s almost 1 AM and it’s an adult show. Bianca says he was talking about when the kiss and the taste of her lip gloss. Tez says this show is PG! Bianca talks Mania and says she is looking to get to 5-0 at WrestleMania.

-Byron Saxton is with Logan Paul who plugs Prime and notes he is feeling good and looking good. He says he is the youngest male to be inducted into The Hall of Fame and can’t wait until we hear his speech. Chat GPT helped him write the speech and it will make his mom cry. He is going to name drop HHH and Nick Khan. Byron: “So, we’re going to keep digging this hole.”

-Paul Heyman is with Jackie and Rosenberg and Heyman doesn’t want to be interviewed by Rosenberg so he focuses on Jackie. Smart man! Heyman says HHH steered them out of the chaos and filled massive shoes with honor and a collaborative effort. He can’t convey in words how much admiration he has for the name. Heyman says he will always be loyal to his Tribal Chief and his best friend, and will never be disloyal to either.

-That wraps up the Red Carpet! See you in a few moments for The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony!

2025 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

-Michale Cole welcomes us to the show and then we get a sweet opening video package narrated by Joe Tessitore. Man is great at narrating! There are only 5 inductions tonight so we will see how long this goes. I was always a fan of letting the men and women get as much time as possible. We will see if I am still feeling that if we get to 4 AM.

-Michael Cole and Pat McAfee welcome us again and are up on the stage. This is a much better setting than using the ring inside the arena. Cole tells us about his journey to the WWE where his grandma let him stay up until midnight to watch WWWF. He then bought a ticket in 85 to watch WrestleMania at a theater near his college (Syracuse). He then got his start in WWE and his favorite memory is being there to provide a voice for all the great moments for the superstars and he starts namedropping: Booker T, GUNTHER, Logan Paul, Dirty Dom. His biggest honor is now being able to host this show. Over to Pat and he mentions watching as a kid on a black box which gets a laugh. I’m not saying I did the same, but I’m not saying I didn’t benefit from something similar as well.

Lex Luger

-Great video package! A few months ago I started doing weekly Retro Reviews of Nitro from that first episode and Luger was killing it with his tweener character. He was also in fire and probably at his peak as far as in ring work as I worked my way through all the NWA shows in 89 and 90. There’s the body slam of Yokozuna on The USS Intrepid and then his shocking return on the first episode of Nitro. They also make note of his historic World Title win over Hulk Hogan on the 100th episode of Nitro. We see Cody giving Lex the news that he is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. That was great!

Diamond Dallas Page is out to induct Lex into the Hall of Fame!

-DDP flashes the Diamond Cutter sign and gives us a BANG! I suspect Page is going to crush this as he is good at this speaking stuff. He is honored to induct another brother into the WWE Hall of Fame. They are here to honor a transformation and a rebirth. A man that came out on the other end stronger. He notes Lawrence was seemingly given every physical gift by God. He goes over Lex’s football career in college and in the USFL and NFL. Lex made his debut in 1985 and in 1987 became a member of The Four Horsemen and we get a WOOO from the crowd. DDP runs through the WWF run and jokes Lex never saw a mirror he did not like. He discusses The Lex Express and Lex hitting the slam on Yoko. Next, we touch on his return to WCW on the debut episode of Nitro and DDP notes it was the first shot fired in the Monday Night War. Becky Lynch in the crowd and oh man! I hate you Seth! Just kidding! Sorry, back to DDP as he notes they lived like rockstars in the 90s and for some they didn’t handle it well. He brings up Lex becoming paralyzed and he was there when they took Lex away in an ambulance. Lex didn’t just survive that fall as he let go of his ego and surrendered to something much bigger. Lex realized if we can focus on building each other up instead of tearing each other down, our impact will carry on far beyond time. In our darkest hour there is always hope and tonight will stand as proof there is always hope. Tonight they honor the legend of Lex Luger and celebrate the man, Lawrence Pfohl. DDP brings out his friend and mentor, Lex Luger.

-We get the moment we all want as Lex stands up from his wheelchair and gets some help getting to podium. Lex says they had a longer walked planned, but he took a bump getting into his uber. He says it has been a journey and roller coaster ride. Twenty years ago he said he would told people they were out of their mind if they said he would be standing here. He felt he was toxic and now he is up here quoting Amazing Grace. He thanks all of his friends and calls DDP relentless. He thanks his family who has always been with him and the jail Chaplain that led him to the Lord on April 23, 2006. He has a story as he wants to thank the fans. The last time he got out of jail Pastor Steve asked him to join him in Walmart and the old Lex didn’t go in a store like Walmart. He says he never got the fans and thought they were out of their minds. He notes he was a wrestler than never watched wrestling. He was in a low point where he had given up hope and it was the fans in that Walmart that showed him the love he needed as it gave him hope and a light. He admits he is a wrestling fan now and credits all the men and women working today and the things they are able to do athletically. He mentions his wife Robin and says he is so thankful and grateful. He brings up his mom who passed recently and she would ask if Lex would ever make the Hall of Fame and he hopes God has given her a glimpse as he has made it now.

-Good heartfelt speech and we see earlier in the night when HHH gave Lex his ring. I will say it was kind of a bummer nothing was worked out with AEW for Sting to be there. Part of me was hoping part of the deal was that they couldn’t advertise Sting being on the show and he would just be a surprise.

-Pat breaks out his tele-strator to break down the one time Cole came down to the ring dressed as HHH. Some funny stuff as he points out the tattoos on Cole’s shoulders (his kids). Cole is a good sport! Cole asks Bayley what she is laughing about as they continue that long running feud. They both mention Paul Heyman looks a little sullen.

-Video Package for Kamala as he is part of this year’s Legacy Wing! Nice little video package and then they introduce his wife, Jean Harris, who is in the crowd. I like the way this is being handled compared to previous years. Jean stands up and gets her flowers for her husband.

Michelle McCool

-Her video package starts with HHH breaking the news to her on ESPN. She started with The Diva Search on a dare and became a driving force from the Divas Era to the Women’s Evolution.

–The Undertaker is out to induct his wife and we get the full Taker experience with the music and lights. Funny as previously he has just had the Gong and then it kicks into Kid Rock. Man, Taker might want to just shave his head. Taker says he is here for a good time and not a long time. Preach! He says he is not here as The Phenom or The Deadman (someone in the crowd, “yes you are”) and Taker shoots back, “no I’m not.” He is here to induct his wife who came to the WWE with her working boots on and something to prove. Taker gets a little choked up and flustered which shows he is human. “You know she chased me for months and finally wore me down. That’s my story.” Michelle told Mark, “You will never speak on my behalf.” He clapped back, “when I do speak you better listen. I think it was about three months before I could eat solid food again.” He runs down her accomplishments and puts over LayCool and says they made being mean girls cool. He says the most amazing thing about Michelle is who she is when the camera isn’t rolling. She is a woman of faith, mother who leads with love, and the strongest person in their family. Taker credits her for picking him up and that is something we all saw if you watched Taker’s “Last Ride” documentary. I have a newfound respect for Michelle after watching that documentary. Taker puts over the current women’s division as he says they are SMASHING it and says Michelle played a role in helping them get there. He calls Michelle the toughest, classiest, and fiercest woman he has ever known. Taker loves his wife and respect to that!

-Michelle is out and we get some kissy face with Taker, which is something I never thought we would see on WWE TV. Michelle says Taker told a few lies and she may have to switch things up. She goes back to 2004 when she was in the back of her parents car and her phone rings. It’s a 203 area code which is Connecticut and she lets it go to voicemail. She remembers having a Tough Enough application in college and throwing it away because she was scared to fail. Wrestling was sacred in her house as it was bonding with her dad and “pap pap.” Cool! She saw a commercial for The Diva Search and figured she would take a chance, but didn’t let anyone know. We go back to the car and the message was that WWE wanted to see her for The Diva Search and she couldn’t help giggling. She realized her life is going to change as what if she is good enough just as she is. “You are enough period!” She is taking us outside the ropes and is going over her “flawless finishes.” We go back to 1985 and she gets caught in the middle of a food fight with family. She was blamed and her father gave her the look. Her dad gave her a swat and she shot back, “that didn’t hurt.” It took three times and she finally admitted, “that hurt.” She discusses how titles don’t come without scars. Life can never limit your fight as that part is up to you. “The higher you rise, the louder the noise gets.” That leads to another point: Ignore The Noise! Layla is in the crowd which is nice to see. She talks about a match Lay-Cool had with Nattie and had it led to the first Women’s Table Match. People will always have opinions of who you should be but not every voice deserves your attention. If she listened to every critic she would have surrendered and not being standing across from Mae Young calling her a hussy and wanting a no DQ match. Her last flawless finish: “failing isn’t fatal.” She brings up her health issues as she has dealt with severed kidney and liver issues for over 25 years. I thought I heard something about this previously. She was on an overseas tour and doesn’t remember any of it as she was sick and when she got home she was admitted to a hospital for 16 days. It was so bad she was having hallucinations but they helped her as it was the men and women she worked with and her mom told her she kept asking about “Taker, Taker, Taker.” Funny! She stands her a smalltown girl, who would have never imagined this night. She brings up that today is Good Friday, well Saturday for me, and it’s no accident as she gave her soul to The Lord. Real power isn’t found in the spotlight but how you treat people when there is no spotlight. She jokes she would run to the ring because they would only get 3-4 minutes and she thanks the fans. She thanks Torrie Wilson, Sharmel, Lisa, Nattie, Fit Finlay, Cathy, John, and Stephanie. She calls Layla her better half and adores her. She says they could always run it back one more time and she hits the “flawless” catchphrase. She thanks her parents and gives advice to her daughter and son. That’s sweet! “I love you the most. The end, I win!” Finally, for Taker, the love of her life, “I have nothing.” Funny! She brings up how Taker chased her for so many months an he would not take no for an answer. She thanks God everday for him and calls Taker her rock and protector. She goes over her Flawless Finishes one more time and goes back to the girl in the backseat that was afraid to answer the phone. She finally believed she was enough and that changes everything.

-We see video from earlier where Michelle receives her Hall of Fame ring from HHH.

-Peacock commercials! I am finished with one ginger-ale and a water. Working on a Pepsi now as we just passed 2 AM in SW Pennsylvania.

–Dory Funk Sr. video package as he is the next Legacy inductee. Again, this is much better that just reading a list of names and saying thank you. The Funk Family in attendance stand and accepts the flowers for Dory.

-McAfee shouts on Becky Lynch, and sadly, the camera doesn’t cut to her. You had one job man!

-HHH video package narrated by Tom Rinaldi. Look, I love this show, but it’s 2:15 AM. If HHH isn’t speaking next, they could have saved this for later in the show. Working Bray’s passing into the package seemed kind of iffy for some reason. Might have to think about that one. We also cover him being punished for The Curtain Call and then the famous “I am the fucking game” comment. We run through his run quickly and get to his health scare that forced him to retire. That does suck he never got that retirement match, but being the man in charge of the kingdom probably helps.

-Cole mentions Jimmy Hart is in the building tonight and that segues to our next inductees:

The Natural Disasters

-Good for them getting inducted but I am a little bummed the video package focused on them as a team and kind of skips Quake’s earlier solo run and MONSTER program with Hulk Hogan. My step-dad (I love you Jeff and miss you) took me to my first WWF show in 1991 and it was headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake in a stretcher match.

-Fred Ottman (Typhoon) is out with his son (Berkley) and for the late John Tenta (Earthquake), his wife (Josephine), grandson (Joe), daughter (Joanna), and son (John Jr.) Nice to have all that family there for Quake. John Jr speaks first and says he came home to see his dad sitting on the floor with VHS Tapes and letting them watch his infamous “Quake Burgers” segment on Prime Time. Awesome! He loves that memory is it was his dad as a vicious heel on TV and a soft, gentle giant at home. He looks back and sees a person with an full life who achieved his dream. He thanks the fans and says John was always grateful for their support and he thanks the WWE. Joanna next and says her father was always silly and taught her you could be both fierce and gentle. She is training to follow in his footsteps. Cool! Her dad wanted to be remembered as a pretty good heel. She thanks Uncle Fred for being a great friend to her father. This is fantastic and I am getting teary eyed! She knows her dad would want to celebrate Fred for all he was and all he gave.

-Fred is next and he is grateful for The Disasters going into The Hall of Fame. He thanks the two children for the words they said. He wishes John was here as he was his best friend and says John was his brother from another mother. He brings up how Quake had just finished his run with Hogan and they called him into the office to pitch the idea of the team. Fred was thrilled as John was a phenomenal athlete. They were on the road together 300 days a year and had so much in common. He puts over John for being a great dad and person and starts to break a little bit. He brings up John’s cancer and how he was in remission. John gave him a call and told Fred “it was back.” Cancer Sucks! He starts to have a laugh thinking about Quake looking down (“big old cutie.”) He tells John he misses him as he breaks a little and says this one is for him.

-HHH presents the rings to Fred and John’s family.

-More time to kill so we get a video package of the best stunners. Woods at Mania 32! The Rock! Scott Hall and Nash at Mania! Shawn at Mania XIV! McAfee at Mania a few years back and him drinking beer while out on the floor.

Immortal Moment: WrestleMania 13: Submission Match: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart

-I watched Mania 13 at my friend’s house and even watching it left, I could tell it was one of the greatest matches I had ever seen. It is just a perfect match with a perfect crowd and they pulled off the double turn better than anyone ever has. People had tried many times since and plenty of people have tried to copy Austin passing out with blood pouring down his face. I once did an article where I ranked every PPV match from 1997 and this ended up being #1 over Hell in A Cell I and Eddie/Rey at Halloween Havoc. Think about that trio of matches happening in a 7 month span.

–CM Punk is here and this crowd is dead. He says he has been given two minutes to talk about the two greatest generational superstar elite workers this business has seen and their magnus-opus at Mania 13. He can talk about each man for two hours and the match for five, but people don’t want to hear from him. Punk says their Match is the Greatest Match in WrestleMania history and calls it perfect. The match meant a lot to him, the business, the fans, and the boys and girls in the crowd. He credits Ken Shamrock for his role as the ref and Chicago for being the setting. He gets a bit emotional as he says this match and these two mean so much to him and we cut to Seth Rollins. Punk says he is trying to fill the boots of the people he idolized as a kid. He brings up how he has lost mentors: Harley, Eddie, Terry, and Roddy. It is important to say how grateful he is that Bret and Steve are here so everyone can give them their flowers as they desperately deserve it. Good stuff from Punk but weird to see him get flustered which shows this did mean a lot to him.

-Bret Hart and Steve Austin each get their own entrance and we get an unveiling! Sweet, it’s a bust of each man, but only half their face which makes up one whole face. That’s pretty awesome! Bret says it is an honor to become the first man to get three Hall of Fame rings. Oh, that might hurt Flair as he was pushing for that whenever Evolution goes in. Bret quotes a painter who said, “art is a wound turned to light,” and to him that was always the perfect statement about this match. He says he and Steve were always friends, but always had a lot of trust and respect. That is what he remembers the most and what means the most to him standing here now. That is how you do magic and you can’t be a great wrestler with out both. He passes it off to Steve.

-Austin says he has talked about this match so much it’s like having smoke blown up and his Bret’s ass again. He says the match was basic and simple and that is a great start. Steve also gives a shout-out to Shamrock but was pissed at how jacked he was and how it made him and Bret look bad. He gives credit to Vince (oh boy), Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler on commentary. He says those three put down the soundtrack for what he and Bret did. He also credits the crowd. He gets mad about the video package nearly making him cry in the back and now he wants to drink some beer because he is about to start crying. He opens up some beers and tells Bret he loves him and says if not for Bret, there is no Stone Cold. He is proud to be the first match to go in and we get a toast and a bottom line. McAfee was all over Austin asking him to drink a beer with them.

-That was fun, but again, this crowd is not good. Austin just says whatever he wants and that’s why people love him. Start taking guesses on what match goes in next.

-Peacock commercials!

Ivan Koloff video package as he is part of The Legacy Wing. Ivan is the man that ended Bruno’s legendary Title reign. I can’t even imagine what that crowd was like that night. Renae Koloff is here to represent her husband. Again, I applaud all of this.

Triple H

-One more HHH video package and this is the main one set to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.” That’s dope. WWE always crushes with their video packages, so I am there for all of this. Obviously HHH deserves to go in and might as well do it now, because I assume he would have had a Vince rule where he wasn’t going to put himself in, but he has bosses higher up than him, so here we are.

-We cut back to Steph and she is already crying, which isn’t shocking.

Shawn Michaels is out and let us commence with The Roast of HHH! Shawn starts by saying he hopes everyone is enjoying the 2025 “ass kis…Hall of Fame Ceremony.” He tells his NXT kids if he isn’t there tomorrow, that means the joke didn’t go over well. He runs through HHH’s nicknames, accomplishments, and rivalries with Punk, Cena, Rock, Austin, and Reigns. He is biased as he is his best friend, but he was there in the beginning and brings up The Kliq. HHH didn’t walk in the door wanting to be the man he is today: “the most powerful man in pro-wrestling.” He just wanted to be a pro-wrestler. He brings up the idea that HHH wouldn’t be where he is without marrying the boss’ daughter. Shawn says those people are wrong as all he did was fall in love with a beautiful woman and he worked harder than anyone else. He goes back to Steph as he knows Steph wondered about Shawn’s relationship with HHH and he admits his wife has done the same. The only time they ever kissed was on live television in front of everyone. “That’s the truth Steph and I am sticking to it.” He says HHH does everything with genuine intent and gets emotional as he is about to talk about what HHH has done for him. He notes HHH learned a lot of the what to do and not to do from him (mainly what not to do). He says HHH staying his friend for so long was probably a bad business decision. SHAWN BRINGS UP THE HOMER SIMPSON HEDGE MEME! Vince would have had no clue about that reference. Hunter would not leave Shawn because of the type of human being he is and the type of human being he was raised to be. Shawn says he is not bitter about people liking the second DX over his version. He moves to HHH’s biggest accomplishment to the future of the business: NXT. They would talk about a place with passion like that when they drove up and down the roads. People would say you can’t build a WWE Superstar and Shawn knows HHH thought, “why the hell not?” Shawn mentions if you look at Mania’s card it is damn near all NXT stars. HHH made a call to Shawn to swing by NXT and see what he thinks. It started 2 hours a day and 3 days a week to a non-stop 24/7 grind that virtually never ends and Shawn would not change it for the world. Well, he might as he gets e-mails at 1 AM that start “per Paul.” Paul is his boss and he should know he goes to bed at 9. “The Paul I work for is a huge pain in the ass.” Shawn says Paul is getting him back for everything he did in the 90s. He brings up the “reign of terror from 2002-2005.” WE’RE SHOOTING! “Much like the 90s, he didn’t leave me, so I am sure as hell not leaving him.” Shawn references Nash and Waltman on the floor and Hall who has passed. He says Hunter can take the WWE in the future and nobody is better equipped to do it. He brings up HHH working with Bad Bunny and Travis Scott and pivoting to working with Roman and Punk. He has a unique way of managing the corporate side without losing his love of what happens in the ring. “People feel more confident with HHH at the helm.” Shawn is crying at this point as he gets ready to bring out HHH. “Buddy, I love you.” That was great! Just raw emotion from Shawn and I loved it!

-HHH is out and he hugs Shawn and they share a long embrace and then a brief peck on the lips to pay off what Shawn said earlier. We get a “Triple H” chant as the crowd shows some life for a change. “You deserve it,” chant next! HHH says he has spent the last 15 minutes blubbering and is dehydrated, so if he passes out someone drop an elbow so they can use it for footage. That could be a long list of people wanting to run up there to drop the elbow. HHH is crying and says if you can find a true fan, you are a rich man and Shawn makes him a billionaire. He brings up Motorhead as that song never gets old. He can never repay Lemmy for his friendship. Rich Hering (former Warrior Award recipient) is here and HHH has him stand. He says 55 years ago today, Rich did his first show for the WWF and has never left the company. That’s hardcore! HHH goes back to Nick springing this on him and he has been thinking since then how to talk about this. He still isn’t sure how and brings up how Mr. T may still giving his speech and notes he loves his mom! AWESOME! Salute to everyone that joined me for that speech and Hillbilly Jim’s as well. HHH says he gets it now though. He says this speech and night is for all the people that got him here. “I said it before when we did DX, my mom taught me all that stuff. She will tell you to suck it, just wait.” Tremendous! He mentions tonight is his parents’ 61st Anniversary. That’s great. Congrats to them! HHH thanks his sister (Lynn) for always having his back and says she had a similar heart issue to him. He notes she is a fighter and is proud of her.

-He discovered wrestling and hit the gym as he needed to be big like the guys he saw on TV. He points out his friend, Brian, who helped him train and they have been friends for 40 years. He mentions another friend, Jim, who encouraged him to get into the wrestling business. He brings up ARNOLD and seeing the movie, “Pumping Iron,” and reading ARNOLD’S book. It was a blueprint and ARNOLD became a role model for him. He was inspired by ARNOLD to become something more. He caught his break in his early 20s from Ted Arcidi as he ran into him and asked where he could train. Ted tried to talk him out of it, but HHH insisted and he told him to go see Killer Kowalski. HHH says on the first day it felt natural but he didn’t have money to return for day two, and Killer told him it was fine and to come back as he believed in him. He jokes he couldn’t always understand Killer.

-From there he goes to WCW and points out Eric Bischoff, who did make it to the show. He says Eric took a chance on him and gave him a job so he is forever grateful and he thanks Eric. Cool! He met Dusty and says he was wonderful to him and became a mentor later in life. He taught him, “booking ain’t easy,” and HHH gets so emotional he steps away and Cody is now crying. He tells a story of Arn taking him out the first night and they learned HHH didn’t drink or do drugs, so they took him out more as they had a driver. Next he brings up Harley Race and meeting him in WCW. He does his Harley impression which is always fun. He heard HHH trained with Killer and Harley responded after a long pause, “He was the shit.” Harley went out of his way to personally buy a set of earrings for HHH’s daughter when he was born. He runs over a list of guys in WCW that helped him: “Stunning” Steve Austin, Mick Foley and he hopes Mick knows how much he means to him. Terry Taylor, who HHH though wasn’t here due to a medical issue, but he is here and HHH is blown away. They worked once and HHH lied he had been working for five years, but Terry knew the lie. Terry was impressed though and told HHH he didn’t have to put he was working in the Power Plant with Steve Regal. HHH didn’t have to, but went every day to train. Terry let him stay in his home and says his wife is an amazing cook. Now he gets to Regal and he was going to be paired with him and Sherri as The Bluebloods. Regal told him everyday to get out of here and let Vince make him a star. He tells Regal that he would take a bullet for him and Regal is wiping away tears.

-Now the WWE years: HHH didn’t know anyone and knew he just wanted to talk wrestling. He rode with different guys who didn’t care about talking business. He was going to drive alone and a sketchy van pulled up honking and Kevin Nash popped his head out. Nash told HHH to get in the van as he was picking up Kid, Hall, and Shawn. They talked about business every trip though Hall wanted one night where they didn’t talk business and he would be the first to start talking business. We get the story of the first night as they pull into a Denny’s. HHH is driving so Kev is mildly in the bag, Scott is very in the bag, and Shawn is pretty in the bag and getting worse. Kid is fine and has a habit of ordering five drinks at one time: Coffee, tea, lemonade, pop, and strawberry shake. Kid passes out in his shake, while Shawn is getting worse and Hall is accusing the cook of putting boogers in his eggs. This is great! HHH says they should go as they drag Kid out of the restaurant, and he gets his ankle caught in the door and starts screaming. Kid passes out again and the police are being called. Shawn says, “is he breathing?” HHH says yes and starts slapping Kid in the face thinking this is how he is going to wake him up. Shawn questions why he is kicking Kid’s ass and I dying now, but it could be lack of sleep at this point as we are nearing 4 AM. Kid would recover and thank them for saving his life the next day and it was chaos, but HHH loved it and wanted to ride with these guys. It was a brotherhood! He gets choked up again as he says he thinks about Scott every day. He says Kevin would see wrestling as a movie. Kid was the measuring stick as if you couldn’t work with him, you were out. Shawn could put it all together as a Pat disciple. Scott could make everything so simple and it was genius. He learned so much from Scott Hall and can’t find the words to say it. He tells the story of Hall knocking him cold on RAW and he doesn’t remember the end of the match. Scott told him after the match, “you have a glass jaw.” Ha!

-He credits the people he got work with every night: Bret, Steve, Kid, Shawn, Kevin, Scott, Mick and even names The Bushwhackers as you could learn from everyone. It was a melting pot of all these different styles and he loved it. He brings up DX and mentions Joanie (Chyna). Good on you HHH! He says they wanted to put a heater with him and Joanie was the perfect person. He notes most didn’t buy it, but he and Shawn saw it. He calls Chyna the anchor of DX and they would have imploded if it wasn’t for her. He says she forever changed the business and what the women do today comes out of what Chyna did. He brings up Dogg, Billy, and Kid and says that second DX was the most fun he had in the business and makes a marijuana joke about Dogg. Fair! He says he knows is getting, but he is trying not to miss anyone. He is always thankful for the honesty he has with Steve Austin. He says Mick gave him the gift of toughness and he calls the Street Fight and Hell in a Cell two of his favorite matches. He jokes about Foley’s first retirement only lasting a few months. He calls Mick one of his favorite opponents and people of all time.

-Randy Orton and Dave Batitisa (not here) next, but first he calls Ric Flair his hero and the Greatest of All Time. He talks Evolution and how it changed the business. The idea was to take two young guys and make them stars. Randy and Dave taught him wha it was like to give back and he gets emotional again and makes a joke about his estrogen level. He watched Randy and Dave mature and do the things they are today and that lit a fire in him to do that with others. He thanks Randy for being the pain in the ass that he was at it helped him for where he is now. Next he brings up all the injuries and thanks Dr. Andrews and the crew that helped put him back together and made it possible for him to return. He owes them the world as it got him through the rest of his career.

-He got invited in 96 to sit in production meetings and he soaked up everything he could from people like Pat Patterson, Lanza, and George Steele. He puts over Pat Patterson as a genius and he would teach him why he was putting matches and finishes together the way he was. Pat told HHH when he was done in the ring he had a future on the creative side of things. All that helped him build a developmental system and the Performance Center. Building NXT was one the most meaningful moments in his career and that’s where he learned under Dusty’s tree. He feels so good seeing all the NXT talent up and down the Mania card and credits that first group: Roman, Seth, Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley and that was the fountain of youth for him and still is. He tagged Shawn in and he found the same fountain of youth and made him want back in. He brings up Michael Hayes and notes he probably left. He calls Michael this generation’s Pat Patterson. Bruce Prichard next and he says Bruce was always put between a rock and a hard place because of his position, but HHH is thankful to work with him on a daily basis. He brings up one of the lead writers, Ed, and says so many wonderful things happened in this business because of Ed. He thanks all the production staff as they make it possible for them to do their jobs.

-Paul Heyman, and he is going to cry, if he isn’t already. HHH drops the first F Bomb of the night and it fits since it was Paul. He then jokes he is going so long just to piss Shawn off as he has to be at NXT in 15 minutes. HHH thanks Linda and tells her that he loves her very much. He says Shane is the brother he never had and misses him. “Please don’t jump off anything high.” He says he has skirted around someone, but has to talk about it and that’s Vince. He knows it is a complicated story, but he is not here without Vince. He wasn’t just his boss and mentor, but he became his father-in-law. He is the father of the person he loves most in the world. He is his kids grandfather, so it is complicated. “I love you Vince and thank you.”

-The Undertaker: “There is nobody in the business I respect more.” He says Taker was locker room leader when that meant “locker fucking room leader.” HHH tells the story of sitting at a bar with The Kliq and Taker gave him the nod, and opened a bottle of Jack. They drank and Taker told him he was alright. When he started the relationship with Steph that could have been the end of both of their careers, but they loved each other and you don’t have a choice. He went to Taker and asked what he should do. Taker gave him words that set up the rest of his life. “If you love her, go get it and anybody that doesn’t like it, they can fuck off.” That changed his life and meant more than Taker will ever know.

-HHH brings up his health scare from a few years ago. He thought he had pneumonia and it was getting worse. He went to a doctor and he was in heart failure. His life changed as he sees life as a gift now. He realized the people around you are what matter as he wasn’t thinking about production meetings. All he thought about was Steph and his girls. He doesn’t wish any of us to have it, but hopes we all learn that lesson. He still works hard, but little things don’t bother him the way they used to. “This shit can all end tomorrow, for anyone.” He notes his daughter Aurora was on him all day to make sure he talked about her. In his mind they are still tiny little girls sitting on his briefcase. His middle daughter Murphy plays on the boys high school football team as a running back just because she wanted to prove she could. Vaughn is the youngest at 14 though HHH says she is going on 40. She loves to have fun and he tells her she can do anything, but work your ass off for it.

-Now to Steph and HHH isn’t sure he can get through this. Steph is his everything and he can’t imagine a better partner, mom. “One word: forever.” “Not a bad commitment level for a guy just looking to get a better spot. Three kids and twenty years later, I’m all in on that shit.”

-Nick Khan and HHH says he swears he is going home. He has known Nick for a decade and calls him the best business man he has ever met. Nick has the answers for everything as they are coming in real time and he could not do this without him. A big part of this weekend is because of Nick. He hates the spotlight and attention, so HHH tells everyone to go up and thank him this weekend. Ha!

-The wrap-up as HHH says he is still that kid just watching what he loves to watch. Tomorrow, he gets to watch the best athletes on the planet do what they do. Inside he is still going to be that little kid. All the people he mentioned helped prop that kid up and become more than a kid from New Hampshire with a dream. He tells everyone to be the best they can be so we can all move forward. The last one to thank is all of us. Whether you call it fans, WWE Universe, or even marks none of them are anything without them. He promises he will do everything he can to keep this business alive for the next generation. It may not always be perfect or great, but he will always work his ass off. He has two words and the crowd yells “Suck It.” “I was thinking Thank You but we can go with Suck It.” We get a water spit and then see HHH getting his ring earlier as we close.

-We made it! Thank you all for joining me for the live coverage.