Jerry Lawler opened up the show and thanked everyone for coming to tonight’s WWE Hall of Fame and said that tonight is when superstars from the past, present and future come together to honor stars from the past and that he wants everyone to give the current stars a round of applause before introducing a video package for Ron Simmons.
Ron Simmons
John Bradshaw Layfield came out to open the show and made a funny remark right off the bat stating that a writer came to him to help him write the speech and said as this isn’t the Attitude Era, he isn’t going to repeat what he told that writer and if he can’t talk about his best friend, you may as well put him in the ground. JBL talked about Simmons’ college football career and says that he remembers the time that Ron would be driving cars around with his own picture on the hood of his car and said that Ron is a man who possesses awesome strength and shared a story of when Simmons came to the company wearing a blue helmet, Stone Cold said that only Ron could walk in like that and no one would say a thing. JBL said that Ron broke the barriers in professional wrestling by becoming the first African American WCW World Champion and if there wasn’t a Ron Simmons, there wouldn’t have been The Rock or any other top talent and said that athletes have no barriers now because of what Ron accomplished in his career. JBL then talked about the APA being put together and took a little dig at Vince Russo without mentioning him by name and said that Russo wanted to make the team about race and Ron shot it down and talked about how the two of them got an 8.6 quarter hour rating when they faced each other and if one of the guys can do that today, then tweet him. JBL then said that they were two guys who loved the business and told some wild and crazy stories during the Attitude Era and that people love wrestling stories, especially in regards to Ron who had nothing growing up and earned everything and said the best thing in his life was becoming Ron Simmons’ friend before bringing out Ron, who took to the stage and said that the entire evening, he has been sitting in the back trying to think of one word to say as the fans chanted “DAMN”, however he instead said that word is “HONORED” and thanked everyone saying that over the years he’s had the fortunate luck of being honored in other Hall of Fames, but this one was the one he treasures the most of his career and that he learned a lot during his career and he wants to right now extend his thanks to Hiro Matsuda, Ric Flair, Junkyard Dog and Dusty Rhodes and that at times he looks back on his career and wonders what may have been and that in his heart, the fans are his family. Ron then talked about his run as the first-ever African American WCW World Champion and how it led to people such as Booker T thanking him and said it made the 27 years he spent in the ring worthwhile and said that while he has thanked others and others have thanked him, there’s only one person he can thank for sticking with him over those years and that’s his wife and said that while he’s been champ and gotten awards, he’s never known fear until the day he came home at 5:30 in the morning, looked her in the eyes and knew the meaning of fear, which prompted tons to laugh at this. Simmons said that he would like to thank the WWE and his family and that he can’t remember a time where he had a problem and couldn’t go to someone in the company about it and thanked everyone on behalf of his family and said that he has to also thank the WWE as without them, there’s no us, before finishing with a DAMN!
Jerry Lawler then came back out and talked a little about Ron Simmons before introducing a video for Mil Mascaras who he noted that like Ron Simmons changed the game for African American stars, Mil Mascaras done the same for Mexican and masked superstars in the company such as Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and his very own nephew, Alberto del Rio.
Mil Mascaras
Alberto del Rio came out and said that he’s back however tonight isn’t about him and he’s here to induct his uncle into the WWE Hall of Fame and said that his uncle was the first Mexican wrestler in the company and the first Mexican wrestler to wrestle in Madison Square Garden and tonight, he is now the first Mexican wrestler in the WWE Hall of Fame. Del Rio said that over his career, his uncle has made movies, broken records and led the way for other Mexican stars before introducing his uncle. Mascaras came out and thanked everyone and said that he doesn’t know what to say to what Alberto del Rio just said and said that he paid the price and when you pay the price for what you do, you have to ask where you would be without everyone and everything. Mascaras talked about his career and the length of time he spent in the ring and said he gets asked this question a lot and responds that he did it with good training, good food and a little secret of his, which included some wine every now and then. Mascaras said that he would like to extend thanks to his family, especially his wife, an American women he met in Chicago and noted that she takes care of everything. Mascaras then talked about touring Japan and wrestling worldwide and said that he’s seen beautiful places and eaten at beautiful restaurants and thanked everyone for their support.
Jerry Lawler came out once again and said that stables can come and go in the professional wrestling business, however The Four Horsemen are one of the best, as he introduced an awesome video package.
The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham) (w/JJ Dillon)
Dusty Rhodes came out and said that it is strange for a fan that loved the NWA in the 1980’s to see this moment happening and said that in music The Beatles laid the foundation, in movies The Rat Pack did the same, however in professional wrestling, The Four Horsemen were those guys. Dusty then brought up that tonight is the first time that someone has been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice and said that he loved and hated and partied and done everything with him, but no one in the business can accomplish what Ric Flair has and he’s a national treasure. Rhodes then said that JJ Dillon was a master strategist and said that the wrestlers of today want to travel in their bus, however The Four Horsemen rode in limo’s and stayed in fancy hotels and that JJ Dillon was the man behind all of that. Dusty said that Barry Windham was the best natural athlete who ever walked into the business and that Barry is and was a Horseman and a gift to the industry and that Tully Blanchard was a master powerhouse and never made a mistake inside the ring and truly believes that Tully was the best he’s seen and the glue of the Horsemen and while Tully was the glue, Arn Anderson was the heart, who did anything and everything that needed to get done. Dusty said that all Arn Anderson is and was and wanted to be was a professional wrestler, but tonight he’s a Horseman and a Hall of Famer as The Four Horsemen came out to a huge and long ovation as fans started to chant “Thank You Horsemen”. JJ Dillon took the mic and said 25 years ago, the exceptional athletes carried all the major titles and something special really happened that day and they never thought The Four Horsemen would last as long as it did and wanted to thank Dusty Rhodes for being the catalyst and said that he is proud to wear his WWE Hall of Fame ring and to be standing there with these 4 men alongside him tonight and said that tonight is also special as his three daughters and his son are also here. Ric Flair then took the mic to a huge “WOOOOO” chant and said that this is emotional and he wants to tell a stor and said that his ex-wife once asked him when will he grow up, to which he responded that he was going to have a few drinks with John Cena and stated that how could he and John Cena have anything in common, before responding that she wouldn’t find that out tonight and he slammed the phone down before stating once a Horseman, always a Horseman as the fans started laughing. Flair said that he’s had a wonderful career and said that for the years that he was with these guys, it was the best time of his life, before breaking down saying that they loved doing what they done and said that Windham was the only person who could match him in a lot of ways and joked by saying that in a strange way, they were all JJ Dillon’s kids. Flair then told a story of how his ex-wife Beth wanted him to come home from the road and he refused, so his wife threatened to take their daughter and leave, which prompted him to ask JJ to stake out his house, however JJ fell asleep and missed them leaving and said that despite that, he wants to thank these guys for being with him, the fans for their support and his children for being there.
Barry Windham got on the mic and said it began for him in Florida and said that this honor means so much and is something he can’t even begin to imagine and noted that he met Ric Flair when hw as only 14 years old and that he ripped the car up and that he met Tully around the same time as Ric and met JJ when he reffed in Texas and discussed the time he drove the ring truck and thought he saw a ghost, but it was actually JJ as both started laughing before noting that he had some of the best matches of his career with and against Arn Anderson and said that he wants to thank everyone for their support and again its an honor to join his father as a Hall of Famer. Tully then took the mic and said that every Saturday morning he stood behind this group and talked about the symbol of excellence and that they were the best and said that they used to have an internal competition to see which one of them could be the show stealer and see if anyone else could follow them and said that no one can follow the Horsemen and said that they can talk about the way they all interacted but he remembers something his late father told him (there was a few Thank You Joe chants here) and that is that the wrestling business is the entertainment business and its your job to make everyone get off their seats and be entertained and said that having the opportunity to ride in limo’s, jets and stay in great hotels was down to the fans and entertaining them and said that he went on a different path in his career and that his children who are here didn’t know this part of his life and said that they are the four people he loves the most and didn’t know love until they were born. Tully then thanked Pat Patterson and reminisced about Patterson running into him and handing him a business card which opened the doors for The Brainbusters to join the company and said it was a great thrill for them to win the titles, while he and Arn were working with Bobby Heenan and said that he was told a few months ago about this occasion tonight, however he waited until the official announcement for his children to see and said that his son wasn’t impressed until he found out. Tully then talked about his father and said that he was his best friend and said that last Thursday week his father passed and he’s here accepting this award and it will take him a long time to process losing his father and standing here tonight accepting this award. Tully said that on most days he wakes up with all sorts of twinges in his back and doesn’t want anything for it because he loved his career and said that the fans deserve every ounce of energy when they get in the ring.
Arn Anderson then took the mic and said that he was asked about writing a speech, however he’s just going to talk to the fans and said that at 7 years old he could remember watching Nick Gulas and becoming hooked on wrestling and that his passion and desire got him to where he is today and said that Dick Slater and Bob Orton were his two idols and thanked his grandparents for instilling a work ethic in him that he still has to this day. Arn then told a funny story about how his grandmother asked if he would be wrestling with glasses on and that Michael Hayes was the sexiest thing she had ever seen back then and then switched it to how he broke into the business under Ted Oates, worked with The Armstrongs and done TV for Bill Watts and that he drove himself to death to learn the industry and finally got his break when Junkyard Dog suggested that he should head to Atlanta and asked that how many people can say that they were managed by JJ Dillon, Paul Heyman and Paul Ellering. Arn then talked about the end of his career in WCW and that he was told it required surgery or him losing his left hand and that the surgery put him on another path which he loves and praised the WWE producers for all their hard work and that their job is to take the younger guys of this company and make them better so that they can entertain the WWE fans and looked at CM Punk and said that three years ago, would anyone have thought of CM Punk and team leader in the same sentence, because he did and praised The Big Show, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio for their work and said that Randy is as good as his father, before going on to praise Edge, Kane, The Undertaker and more saying that they were the golden circle which will never be seen again and then praised Chris Jericho and John Cena saying that he’s a man who makes everyone’s lives in the industry that much better and that everyone in the lockerroom is a caretaker of the company and its up to them to make sure that there’s an industry to have for their children and others to enjoy and said that as much as he loves this path, its nicer to think that this industry chose him.
Jerry Lawler came out and commented on how the WWE Hall of Fame has several celebrities, but there’s one man who was and can still be considered “The Baddest Man on the Planet” going in this year as he introduced a video for Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson
Triple H and Shawn Michaels cmae out and HBK talked about Tyson’s boxing career saying that everyone and anyone had to catch a Tyson fight because it was an event before noting that they tried to rush from a show to Tyson’s fight one time and he missed as both he and Triple H joked about. Triple H said that Tyson helped to turn the tide of the Monday Night Wars because of his encounter with Stone Cold Steve Austin, because of him joining DX and because he knocked out Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14, which prompted Michaels to responded that he wasn’t liking being the butt of the jokes just like last year, which led to the two of them going back and forth with comedic banter and Triple H joking that Shawn was better, which prompted fans to chant, as both men were laughing as they introduced Mike Tyson. Tyson came out and said that it was so overwhelming to be a WWE Hall of Famer and noted that growing up he watched Bruno Sammartino, Lou Albano, Moondog Mayne, The Valiant Brothers and more and said that he always wanted to be a wrestler and really appreciates being in the WWE Hall of Fame alongside some of his favourite wrestlers and said that if he didn’t appear at WrestleMania, then he would have been disgusted not to have done so and said that while his family never came to his boxing fights, they are here tonight and then looked at John Cena and said that Cena must be black somehow as he makes a ton of gang signs and said that he himself starting to get back in the public eye, including small appearances in movies and said that before he left he also had to state that Dusty Rhodes was like John Cena also, in that somehow he must be black also as he walked off laughing.
Jerry Lawler then came back out and commented on the career of Yokozuna and said that he was a former WWE Champion and part of a great family.
Yokozuna
The Uso’s came out and said that they are very proud and honored to be able to do this for their family and said that Samoans are no strangers to this business as they talked about their family and said there was only one Yokozuna and said that they were about 5 or 6 when he debuted on TV and remember being told that their uncle was on TV, seeing him and stating that he’s Japanese and they’re Samoan and said what you saw on TV was the opposite of their uncle Rodney in real life as he loved to laugh before introducing their father Rikish with members of Yokozuna’s family to accept the award, with Rikishi saying that he was so happy to be here and said that it is his humble honor to accept this award for his family and a son of Samoa and that Yokozuna was born into wrestling as it was his blood and his passion and he could go through stats and accomplishments in Yokozuna’s career, but the main thing was that he hailed from one of the most dedicated families in the wrestling business and said that the dynasty still lives on today and it is unbelievable that one family has produced so many talents over the years and said that a Yokozuna was the highest title in sumo wrestling however there is now the title of WWE Hall of Famer added to that and said that on behalf of his family, Yokozuna’s family and the whole world, they miss him and love him.
Jerry Lawler then came out and commented on Edge’s career and said that it was unfortunate that his career had to come to an end due to injury before introducing a video package.
Edge
Christian came out and said that everyone has heard the news and they can’t keep it a secret but apparently someone on this stage who has yet to come out tonight has got a haircut. Christian says that it was amazing that Edge was trying to emulate his career and now the haircut proves that and said that Edge would have to delete title reigns to do that and noted that they were just a couple of idiot kids growing up in Toronto that somehow knew they were going to make it in the wrestling business and noted how he met Edge wrestling in Middle School and said that no matter what you do in life, sooner or later that kid goes back to school and recreates that moment, before saying he has a treat, as he shows footage of Edge doing it, which got a huge laugh. Christian said that he’s proud to be inducting Edge here tonight because of something that he said when they both broke into the business and that was that Edge grew up with his mother working multiple jobs and said that he knew he had to make it in professional wrestling so that he could take care of his mom and that this WWE Hall of Fame induction solidifies that and then discussed how this time last year, they all found out that Edge was going to retire and while they knew Edge’s clock was ticking, they thought it was going to end on Edge’s terms and while it did end at WrestleMania on Edge’s terms, it also ended with Edge retaining his World Heavyweight Championship and said that he thought you don’t get a bigger celebration of your career than that, however tonight eclipses that. Edge came out and hugged Christian and said that he told himself that he wouldn’t cry here tonight but he already done so backstage tonight so that’s out of the way and said that he wants to thanks some names that are personal to him and some people might not know and said that this is a celebration so he wants people to be happy and showed some photos to make fun of himself, including himself and Christian as young kids and his hair from that time to today. Edge then noted that he wrote an essay and won a contest to become trained by Ron Hutchison and Sweet Daddy Siki and that those two gyys taught him the basics and fundamentals and that anyone who left that school was ready and said that Siki was one of the first African American wrestlers in the industry and he loved him.
Edge then talked about some of the students from his training who were there and going on the road and said that he can remember the Tony Condello tours before pointing out Lance Storm, Scott D’Amore and Rhino and thanked Gerry Morrow for his teaching also. Edge then looked at Rhino and said that they named him Rhino when they were both chubby little kids and that they went to terrible places in Canada which included driving over frozen lakes and seeing a huge hole in the ice. Edge said that he can vividly remember a trip with Condello who decided to gun it and drive over it as Rhino was rocking back and forth in the back muttering to himself and the van sinks and they all manage to escape, however the funniest part was when they got out and Christian fell through the ice to his hips which freaked Rhino out as he thought that it was going to shatter and ran and as Christian gets out, he ends up on the receiving end of the first-ever gore. Edge said that he wants to thank Bret Hart for helping him to join the WWF and said that he remembers asking Bret how to get into the company and that Hart invited him to train with him and that he got the call to wrestle Bob Holly in a tryout, kept up the hard work and eventually got signed and said that once he got there, he had some great opponents and that the hardest point of his career was getting to the top and noted that HBK was one of the first who congratulated him by text on his Hall of Fame induction. Edge then commented on Flair, Foley, Eddie Guerrero, Owen Hart, The Hardy Boys, The Dudley Boys, Batista, John Cena, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker and that he loved it all and that he can remember being on tour in Iraq for the Troops show and that he had really bad gas and let go and The Undertaker’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and said that he wants to thank both Lita and Vickie Guerrero for establishing the Rated R Superstar and Hulk Hogan for making a dream come true, noting that it had nothing to do with a certain sex tape that someone is trying to flog, which again drew some laughter from the crowd. Edge then noted that the Fabulous Freebirds should be in the WWE Hall of Fame and Michael Hayes is still rock and roll and showed various suits belonging to Hayes and said that tonight he’s like Kermit The Frog’s pimp. Edge said that he’s had a lot of friendships in this business over the years and said that Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder are near and dear to him and that he knows the influence he was on them, much like Bret Hart and HBK were to him and said that they need to keep it up and thanked William Regal for his unwavering friendship and humor and said that he wants to thank Rey Mysterio, Glen (Kane) and Mark (The Undertaker) and talked about how Matt Striker was anxious towards The Undertaker and how both of them teased Matt. Edge then said that he wants to thank Tommy Dreamer and says that he has a funny story to tell about Tommy and how Dreamer was a terrible driver who hated fogs and all that and that Dreamer was driving in the fog and got pulled over by a cop as he stated straight to the cop that he shouldn’t be driving, but the funniest one he can remember is that Dreamer stated that he usually doesn’t like to room with anyone as he wants some alone time and that he doesn’t snore, however the two of them shared a room, Dreamer snored and Edge hit the Superfly Splash onto Dreamer…..naked as the day he was born. Edge then said that Dreamer was his Kramer, Striker was his George and Christian was his Elaine and that he and Christian have been friends for 27 years and that he loves Christian’s morals and that he was the best husband that he has ever known.
Edge then said that he wanted to thank his girlfriend Beth for coming into his life and making it so much better and thanked the true best friend of his life, his mother and talked about how little they had growing up, however when he told her that he wanted to be a wrestler, she told him to go with those plans and encouraged him and he thought that the best look on her face was when he was able to afford to buy her a home, but tonight was even better. Edge then extended his thanks to everyone in the WWE and the fans and said that he loved it all and said that he could stand up here all night and thank everyone as they played a clip of him and Christian as the Fat Elvis. The Hall of Fame music started to play however Edge cut them off and said no and he didn’t want to do that and instead asked that they play the music from his induction video as he did the 5 second pose before walking off.
