Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Road Dogg & Billy Gunn brought New York City to its feet with a rousing induction speech that capped off a heartwarming night as the Class of 2019 took their place in the WWE Hall of Fame. See what The Honky Tonk Man, Torrie Wilson, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Harlem Heat, The Hart Foundation and Warrior Award recipient Sue Aitchison had to say as they took their place in sports-entertainment history.
Honky Tonk Man shakes, rattles and rolls his way into the Hall of Fame.
1,103 miles from Graceland, Tenn., The Honky Tonk Man rolled into the Barclays Center in a pink Cadillac, a bopping young lady at his side and sequins covering every square inch of his jumpsuit. But that was about as cool, cocky and bad as the legendary Intercontinental Champion’s WWE Hall of Fame induction got; Honky seemed somewhat surprised to have gotten the nod in the first place, so his speech was a marked contrast to the hip-swiveling scoundrel that hoarded the Intercontinental Title for 400 some-odd days. “Never say never in WWE because you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I am living proof of that for sure.”
In fact, Honky’s induction was more of a showcase for the man beneath the jumpsuit instead of the character that launched him to stardom, from Jimmy Hart’s induction speech to the story that made up the bulk of his turn on the mic: The tale of how The Honky Tonk Man character was created. In short, the look came from him, the name from Johnny Horton’s 1956 hit, and the good word that got him to WWE came via an assist from a slyly unnamed Hulk Hogan.
From there, his thanks were reserved for WWE, as Honky gave the company credit for shining up the character he had created and turning it into a household name. “For all this, I will be forever grateful to WWE,” Honky said. “It really is, truly an honor to be part of such an incredible family.” Because he couldn’t leave without singing his big hit, he serenaded the audience with a final rendition of “Cool, Cocky, Bad” while taking a lap around the arena. From there, it was back behind the curtain and onto whatever life awaits a hit singer, record-setting champion and certified WWE Hall of Famer. Whatever it is, it’s a safe bet that the cars are fast, the girls are pretty, and everyone’s always up for a song. (Via WWE.com)
In fact, Honky’s induction was more of a showcase for the man beneath the jumpsuit instead of the character that launched him to stardom, from Jimmy Hart’s induction speech to the story that made up the bulk of his turn on the mic: The tale of how The Honky Tonk Man character was created. In short, the look came from him, the name from Johnny Horton’s 1956 hit, and the good word that got him to WWE came via an assist from a slyly unnamed Hulk Hogan.
From there, his thanks were reserved for WWE, as Honky gave the company credit for shining up the character he had created and turning it into a household name. “For all this, I will be forever grateful to WWE,” Honky said. “It really is, truly an honor to be part of such an incredible family.” Because he couldn’t leave without singing his big hit, he serenaded the audience with a final rendition of “Cool, Cocky, Bad” while taking a lap around the arena. From there, it was back behind the curtain and onto whatever life awaits a hit singer, record-setting champion and certified WWE Hall of Famer. Whatever it is, it’s a safe bet that the cars are fast, the girls are pretty, and everyone’s always up for a song. (Via WWE.com)
Torrie Wilson brings her mission to inspire to the WWE Hall of Fame.
What does it mean to be a strong woman? Do you need a championship title? A movement behind you? A main-event position at WrestleMania? Those certainly help, but if you ask Torrie Wilson, those are the spoils, not the qualifications, of a powerful female in complete control of her “inner bada**”. As Stacy Keibler said in her surprise appearance as Torrie’s inductor, “The All-American Girl” is the poster child for working to make yourself, and the world, a better place. And as Torrie herself admitted in her charming, candid speech, even if her wrestling skills didn’t occasionally fit the bill of a Hall of Famer, she worked hard to “[maintain] the courage to keep coming back for more, even if I wasn’t the best.” Who could be more deserving than that?
Wilson’s speech was a lesson in self-improvement, as she took the WWE Universe from an embarrassing grade-school interaction with her fourth-grade boyfriend to the unlikely Superstar who motivated herself to the Hall of Fame with three simple rules. Rule No. 1: “Realize that permission is for pansies. We don’t need anyone’s permission to be who they are.” Rule No. 2: “Gotta forget the failure. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t hired based on my wrestling skills. I had none.” And Rule No. 3: “Summon your swagger. Even if your swagger is dorky as hell, your swagger is the first thing that people see.”
There was a series of thank you’s to the people who helped push Torrie to be her best self — Fit Finlay, Billy Kidman, Victoria, Michelle McCool, Candice Michelle, just to name a few — a word for her late, beloved father Al, the WWE Universe who always says it like it is, and even her old classmate for motivating her to find her confidence, The All-American Girl swaggered her way into the WWE Hall of Fame. Her work to make the world a better place continues. But her speech left WWE at least a little bit better than it had been just moments before. (Via WWE.com)
Wilson’s speech was a lesson in self-improvement, as she took the WWE Universe from an embarrassing grade-school interaction with her fourth-grade boyfriend to the unlikely Superstar who motivated herself to the Hall of Fame with three simple rules. Rule No. 1: “Realize that permission is for pansies. We don’t need anyone’s permission to be who they are.” Rule No. 2: “Gotta forget the failure. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t hired based on my wrestling skills. I had none.” And Rule No. 3: “Summon your swagger. Even if your swagger is dorky as hell, your swagger is the first thing that people see.”
There was a series of thank you’s to the people who helped push Torrie to be her best self — Fit Finlay, Billy Kidman, Victoria, Michelle McCool, Candice Michelle, just to name a few — a word for her late, beloved father Al, the WWE Universe who always says it like it is, and even her old classmate for motivating her to find her confidence, The All-American Girl swaggered her way into the WWE Hall of Fame. Her work to make the world a better place continues. But her speech left WWE at least a little bit better than it had been just moments before. (Via WWE.com)
Natalya honors Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart at WWE Hall of Fame induction.
Only one member of The Hart Foundation took the stage at the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but that isn’t to say they weren’t both there. The late Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart was represented on stage, both in spirit and in body by his daughter Natalya, who joined Bret Hart to accept the induction in her father’s place.
The Queen of Harts aimed to deliver the speech her father would have given, thanking her mother, Bret, the WWE Universe for their “unconditional love since 1985,” The British Bulldogs, New York City (Anvil’s favorite town) and the teams inspired by The Pink and Black Attack. She also revealed that Anvil had been approached to write a book late in his life, and declined the opportunity to relive his days as a world-class shotputter and NFL player: “At the end of the day, I was a wrestler, and that’s what I loved most.”
Bret took the mic after Natalya and regaled the audience with tales of The Hart Foundation’s inception — basically, he came up with the idea and didn’t tell Anvil — and their misadventures with King Kong Bundy. Thank you’s followed to Jimmy Hart for their entrance music, infamous referee “Dangerous” Danny Davis for getting The Hart Foundation the Tag Team Titles and the various teams who helped make The Hart Foundation as good as they were. He closed the induction by paying homage to Anvil as the kind of friend with whom he never had a cross word or disagreement. “When I cross over,” Hart said, “I pray God will lead me straight to The Anvil.”
It was a fitting farewell to the new WWE Hall of Famer. But perhaps the “Hitman’s” best tribute to his former partner came in a backstage interview all those years ago: “Individually or together, The Hart Foundation will live forever.” (Via WWE.com)
The Queen of Harts aimed to deliver the speech her father would have given, thanking her mother, Bret, the WWE Universe for their “unconditional love since 1985,” The British Bulldogs, New York City (Anvil’s favorite town) and the teams inspired by The Pink and Black Attack. She also revealed that Anvil had been approached to write a book late in his life, and declined the opportunity to relive his days as a world-class shotputter and NFL player: “At the end of the day, I was a wrestler, and that’s what I loved most.”
Bret took the mic after Natalya and regaled the audience with tales of The Hart Foundation’s inception — basically, he came up with the idea and didn’t tell Anvil — and their misadventures with King Kong Bundy. Thank you’s followed to Jimmy Hart for their entrance music, infamous referee “Dangerous” Danny Davis for getting The Hart Foundation the Tag Team Titles and the various teams who helped make The Hart Foundation as good as they were. He closed the induction by paying homage to Anvil as the kind of friend with whom he never had a cross word or disagreement. “When I cross over,” Hart said, “I pray God will lead me straight to The Anvil.”
It was a fitting farewell to the new WWE Hall of Famer. But perhaps the “Hitman’s” best tribute to his former partner came in a backstage interview all those years ago: “Individually or together, The Hart Foundation will live forever.” (Via WWE.com)
Sue Aitchison takes center stage as the 2019 Warrior Award recipient.
You might not have heard Sue Aitchison’s name before the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. That, perhaps, is part and parcel with being a behind-the-scenes cog in the WWE machine. But few people employed by or associated with the company have left the kind of mark Sue has, and few are as worthy of enshrinement in the WWE Hall of Fame as the 2019 Warrior Award recipient.
As a key organizer of WWE’s Make-A-Wish partnership, “unsung hero” doesn’t quite begin to describe Sue, suffice it to say she is the type of individual the late Ultimate Warrior singled out as the ideal recipient of his eponymous award during his 2014 Hall of Fame induction. His widow, Dana Warrior, agreed as much in her introduction speech — as did John Cena, who introduced Sue and spoke to her crucial involvement with Make-A-Wish and the life philosophy that had made her WWE’s secret weapon: “How can I help?”
In that case, it was true to form that very little of Sue’s induction speech was about herself. Instead, she took her time to shine a light on the children she works with at Make-A-Wish, from the first visit she organized — a young man who wanted to meet Hulk Hogan — to the meeting between Daniel Bryan and first-ever Warrior Award recipient Connor “The Crusher” Michalek. She even brought up Jody Phillips, a former Wish child who had met The Rock and since recovered, started a family and now calls her “Grandma.”
“These children have a bigger impact on this world that some of us will never know or even see,” Sue said of the kids she worked with, also sparing a good word for the Superstars, refs, merch crew and social media team who help make the wishes themselves such a special moment. “How blessed I am,” she said, “To have a job that puts smiles on faces with a great team that makes it so easy.” The blessing is mutual. Sue Aitchison is now in the WWE Hall of Fame. Her name will live forever. She deserves nothing less. (Via WWE.com)
As a key organizer of WWE’s Make-A-Wish partnership, “unsung hero” doesn’t quite begin to describe Sue, suffice it to say she is the type of individual the late Ultimate Warrior singled out as the ideal recipient of his eponymous award during his 2014 Hall of Fame induction. His widow, Dana Warrior, agreed as much in her introduction speech — as did John Cena, who introduced Sue and spoke to her crucial involvement with Make-A-Wish and the life philosophy that had made her WWE’s secret weapon: “How can I help?”
In that case, it was true to form that very little of Sue’s induction speech was about herself. Instead, she took her time to shine a light on the children she works with at Make-A-Wish, from the first visit she organized — a young man who wanted to meet Hulk Hogan — to the meeting between Daniel Bryan and first-ever Warrior Award recipient Connor “The Crusher” Michalek. She even brought up Jody Phillips, a former Wish child who had met The Rock and since recovered, started a family and now calls her “Grandma.”
“These children have a bigger impact on this world that some of us will never know or even see,” Sue said of the kids she worked with, also sparing a good word for the Superstars, refs, merch crew and social media team who help make the wishes themselves such a special moment. “How blessed I am,” she said, “To have a job that puts smiles on faces with a great team that makes it so easy.” The blessing is mutual. Sue Aitchison is now in the WWE Hall of Fame. Her name will live forever. She deserves nothing less. (Via WWE.com)
Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake achieves his destiny as a WWE Hall of Famer.
Everybody in the WWE Universe started out as a fan. That includes Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, the new WWE Hall of Famer inducted by Hulk Hogan and idolized as a man who has “wrestling in his blood.” His passion for the industry runs so bone-deep, Hogan said, that his place in the WWE Hall of Fame is “only fitting.”
As Brutus himself somewhat countered, it isn’t just a fitting end to his career, it’s a wild development for a Florida kid who dreamed of glory in the ring to receive the highest honor that profession can bestow. He wasn’t lying: Beefcake’s career was as serendipitous as it gets — he was recruited by Hogan, who had quit the industry previously and asked ten people to be his partner before he landed on Beefcake himself; the original pitch for his character was a butler-type fellow named “Baron Beefcake,” and the “Barber” aspect of his career came by happenstance in the middle of a match.
But if Beefcake owes much of his success to chance, his WWE Hall of Fame induction is a mark of his ability to capitalize on those opportunities. He was given a chance. He made the most of it. He found his niche and made it work. A fan should be so lucky. (Via WWE.com)
As Brutus himself somewhat countered, it isn’t just a fitting end to his career, it’s a wild development for a Florida kid who dreamed of glory in the ring to receive the highest honor that profession can bestow. He wasn’t lying: Beefcake’s career was as serendipitous as it gets — he was recruited by Hogan, who had quit the industry previously and asked ten people to be his partner before he landed on Beefcake himself; the original pitch for his character was a butler-type fellow named “Baron Beefcake,” and the “Barber” aspect of his career came by happenstance in the middle of a match.
But if Beefcake owes much of his success to chance, his WWE Hall of Fame induction is a mark of his ability to capitalize on those opportunities. He was given a chance. He made the most of it. He found his niche and made it work. A fan should be so lucky. (Via WWE.com)
Booker T cedes the spotlight to Stevie Ray at Harlem Heat’s WWE Hall of Fame induction.
“We did it!” Booker T yelled as he and his brother Stevie Ray took center stage during Harlem Heat’s WWE Hall of Fame induction. And, to be sure, the former WCW Tag Team Champions’ enshrinement in the WWE Hall of Famer is an unlikely turn of events: It’s not often that stars on the other side of the Monday Night Wars are enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame. But few teams are more deserving of the honor, and few Superstars are more unsung than Stevie Ray, to whom Booker credited the inspiration for his career and ceded the bulk of the speech. “I’ve been living my brother’s dream,” said the two-time Hall of Famer, “And I think it’s time for me to wake up.”
Stevie’s speech was a heartfelt recap of Harlem Heat’s unlikely journey to the top, and the various close calls with failure the multi-time champions brushed up against on their way to WCW — “looks like this is over before it even got started” was a common refrain. And while the new Hall of Famer had plenty of praise for the individuals who took chances on them over the years — “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, Hulk Hogan and Ole Anderson among them — the final lesson he imparted was one taught to him by Arn Anderson upon his arrival to WCW: “Respect for the business, and respect for your peers.”
As if to make his point, Booker T closed things out with a shout-out to young tag teams carrying on Harlem Heat’s legacy, from The Usos to The Revival to NXT’s Street Profits and, of course, The New Day. But it was something Stevie said earlier that summed things up nicely, after Ole had sent them out to refine their craft and return when they were ready: “Don’t let me down.”
“We’re here,” Stevie said, to a round of applause. We can dig that. (Via WWE.com)
Stevie’s speech was a heartfelt recap of Harlem Heat’s unlikely journey to the top, and the various close calls with failure the multi-time champions brushed up against on their way to WCW — “looks like this is over before it even got started” was a common refrain. And while the new Hall of Famer had plenty of praise for the individuals who took chances on them over the years — “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, Hulk Hogan and Ole Anderson among them — the final lesson he imparted was one taught to him by Arn Anderson upon his arrival to WCW: “Respect for the business, and respect for your peers.”
As if to make his point, Booker T closed things out with a shout-out to young tag teams carrying on Harlem Heat’s legacy, from The Usos to The Revival to NXT’s Street Profits and, of course, The New Day. But it was something Stevie said earlier that summed things up nicely, after Ole had sent them out to refine their craft and return when they were ready: “Don’t let me down.”
“We’re here,” Stevie said, to a round of applause. We can dig that. (Via WWE.com)
D-Generation X honor Chyna and “apologize” at WWE Hall of Fame induction.
The men of D-Generation X are a little older. Their hair is grayer, if it’s still there at all. They need glasses to get through their notes. And they’re down one trailblazer in “The Ninth Wonder of the World,” Chyna, who passed away in 2016. But just because they’ve grown old, does not mean they’ve gone so far as to grow up.
The raucous induction of the counter-culture icons — represented by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws, with Chyna included as a posthumous inductee — was as much an exercise in genial rule breaking as their in-ring heyday was. They weren’t supposed to thank a certain man behind the curtain, or even mention his name. They did that. They were supposed to refrain from crossing the PG line. They did that. True to form, they went into the ceremony with a set of rules to follow. They broke them all.
But their induction was also an opportunity for the legendary hellions to thank the people in their lives — wives, family and God, mainly — who brought almost all of them all back from the brink, and they certainly took that ball and ran with it as well. Road Dogg was the most passionate, Billy Gunn the most emotional, and X-Pac the most detailed, with a literal list of people to credit not just for his success but for his life. They also did not spare any expense when it came to thanking Chyna, credited as the “biggest and best trailblazer” in the history of the industry, “probably the most impactful woman to ever set foot in this ring,” and someone without whom WrestleMania would not be ending in a women’s main event. “She’s here,” Triple H said to Chyna’s sister in the audience. “The real her. And believe me, the real her would love this.” (X-Pac pointedly suggested renaming the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal as the Chyna Memorial Battle Royal; the crowd in attendance did not disagree with the idea.)
That said, DX also had some restitution to tend to. As Shawn Michaels said in a strangled voice, they were responsible for corrupting an entire generation. (A hearty cheer went up when Triple H asked how many people got in trouble for imitating the group in school.) So, out came the infamous podium, and one by one the members of DX attempted to take their turn apologizing. Instead, they resurrected the old catchphrases, one after another, and ended the evening with the infamous two words and a Super Soaker shower to anyone close enough to get caught. No, there will be no apology. There never could be. And their induction couldn’t have ended any other way. It would have been an insult to the thousands in attendance, the millions around the world, those who were there, and those who were not. (Via WWE.com)
The raucous induction of the counter-culture icons — represented by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws, with Chyna included as a posthumous inductee — was as much an exercise in genial rule breaking as their in-ring heyday was. They weren’t supposed to thank a certain man behind the curtain, or even mention his name. They did that. They were supposed to refrain from crossing the PG line. They did that. True to form, they went into the ceremony with a set of rules to follow. They broke them all.
But their induction was also an opportunity for the legendary hellions to thank the people in their lives — wives, family and God, mainly — who brought almost all of them all back from the brink, and they certainly took that ball and ran with it as well. Road Dogg was the most passionate, Billy Gunn the most emotional, and X-Pac the most detailed, with a literal list of people to credit not just for his success but for his life. They also did not spare any expense when it came to thanking Chyna, credited as the “biggest and best trailblazer” in the history of the industry, “probably the most impactful woman to ever set foot in this ring,” and someone without whom WrestleMania would not be ending in a women’s main event. “She’s here,” Triple H said to Chyna’s sister in the audience. “The real her. And believe me, the real her would love this.” (X-Pac pointedly suggested renaming the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal as the Chyna Memorial Battle Royal; the crowd in attendance did not disagree with the idea.)
That said, DX also had some restitution to tend to. As Shawn Michaels said in a strangled voice, they were responsible for corrupting an entire generation. (A hearty cheer went up when Triple H asked how many people got in trouble for imitating the group in school.) So, out came the infamous podium, and one by one the members of DX attempted to take their turn apologizing. Instead, they resurrected the old catchphrases, one after another, and ended the evening with the infamous two words and a Super Soaker shower to anyone close enough to get caught. No, there will be no apology. There never could be. And their induction couldn’t have ended any other way. It would have been an insult to the thousands in attendance, the millions around the world, those who were there, and those who were not. (Via WWE.com)