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We open with our hosts Corey Graves and Renee Young, who welcome us all to the show tonight. They changed the set up a bit, and Corey said they had to work around Hillbilly Jim still giving his speech from last year. They're about to celebrate the history of the business, and bring up the first inductee tonight, the Honky Tonk Man.
We hit the video of the Honky Tonk Man, and here to induct him is Jimmy Hart. He first met Wayne Ferris when he managed him in Memphis in 1979, and then he went to New York to manage King Kong Bundy and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, then one time the office called to tell him they had someone new to manage, and it was Wayne Ferris dressed like Elvis. He got Elvis' best friend to let him into Graceland to film the promo videos hyping his arrival, then they recorded some music for him, then Honky won the Intercontinental Title from Ricky Steamboat and never looked back. He was so hot that Diamond Dallas Page drove his pink Cadillac from Tampa to Toronto to drive him to the ring at Wrestlemania VI, and now he introduces the Honky Tonk Man.
Honky comes out in a pink Cadillac with Peggy Sue (not sure who is in the gimmick tonight), and he starts by thanking Jimmy for everything he's done for him, because otherwise he'd never be here. He thanks WWE for inducting him, it's an honor to be inducted with such a great class, and every dream he's had came true 1000 times, but this is the one he never dreamed would happen. The fans chant that he deserves it as he tells us that he has a saying to never say never in WWE, because you never know what's going to happen, and he is living proof of that. The video package sent him back in time, and there's something he'd like to share, and it's not about him and his career, but how the Honky Tonk Man gimmick happened. He had a lot of people help him whom he'd like to thank, because it's been a good trip, he wouldn't change a thing, and would do it all over again. He was at a point in his career that would get the wheels going, and he had a vision of this character in his mind, and thought he needed something to give his career a boost. He was stuck on a name, and heard a song on the radio called "I'm A Honky Tonk Man" that described the character he wanted to create. He showed up one night in the gimmick, and the promoter asked if he could play a guitar, and Honky said not a bit, and the promoter said that would make it even better. The Honky Tonk Man was off and running, he took the character to Calgary, and that's when WWE was selling out all over America, and they came to Calgary one night, and he got a spot on the show and a friend he hadn't seen in years said the gimmick would fit right in with WWE, and wanted to recommend him. He wanted to be part of it, and it was on his recommendation that WWE hired him on the spot, and if he hadn't made that recommendation, there might have never been a Honky Tonk Man here, and he doesn't know how he could ever thank him enough, they're friends to this day, and all he can say is thank you, and I LOVE YOU, BROTHER. WWE shined up the character and did something with it that he couldn't: they gave it life, sent him to every major arena around the world, and made him a household name. This character will never die, it will live forever, and that is the power of WWE, and for all this, he'll be forever grateful to WWE and an honor to be a part of this family.
Honky goes to leave, but Jimmy Hart calls him back to sing his theme song on the way out.
We go back to Corey and Renee, who play a video of the history of Degeneration X, then we go to our next inductee, Torrie Wilson. We hit the career video, and to induct her after nearly 13 years away from WWE, Stacy Keibler! I see she's also on the Torrie Wilson anti-aging plan. Before we get to Torrie, she wants to thank the fans for creation the women's revolution, and she's sure they're as excited as she is to watch Ronda, Charlotte, and Becky make history tomorrow night. The Becky chant interrupts Stacy's monologue, as she talks about Torrie's strength and determination. When Stacy was in college, she entered a contest to become a Nitro Girl, and here she was surrounded by the stars she watched on TV all these years, and she was welcomed there by Torrie, and she'll never forget how kind and sweet she is, and that was the start of a friendship that's still going on 20 years later. They've been by each other's side for all that time, and were even roommates for years, and they gave it their all together. Torrie is constantly evolving and challenging herself, and always pushing others to be their best. her #1 purpose is to leave this world a better place, and she is the embodiment of the evolution of women, and that's why she's proud to induct her as the next member of the Fall of Fame.
Torrie comes out to a big hug from Stacy and says it's been a rough week, but she wants to take us back to 1984 when she got a note saying yes, no, or maybe, then checked yes and passed it back, and later realized she just agreed to date the biggest geek in school. She spent the rest of school hiding from the kid, spent the summer eating, and is back at school when "Mr Suave" comes back, and he comes up next to her and goes "What's up, fatso? What happened to you?" then he chased her around the playground calling her fatso. They put a picture of her at age 8 up on the screen as she talks about what a loser she felt like and how she cried all night. She didn't want to be a fatso, and made a vow right then that she would make him eat his damn words. Fast forward to her first day in WWE, her stomach is in knots as she walks in and sees Stone Cold and the Rock, and tried to take the long way around them, and walks right into Bubba Ray Dudley and thought she had heat already. She wanted to avoid everyone because she's shy and had no confidence, so she decided what if she stopped being shy, and everyone thinks fear is something you just overcome, and we all face it in some way. But fear only has one enemy, and that's a confident persona, and thanks to WWE, she found a confidence she'd have never gotten anywhere else, by playing someone she wished she could be. The fans pushed her to push through her fear, and that helped in all areas of your life, and you don't have to be a WWE superstar to find your confidence and have your moment. What they taught her was invaluable, and if she can give that back in some way, maybe it will help you too. She wants to share that the first thing you have to do is realize that permission is for pansies, and nobody asked the guy who didn't think she belonged in the WWE Hall of Fame, she didn't ask the guy up in the stands there who thought she sucked if he would put her boots on and spend a night living her life, because he wouldn't. She showed up here for the fans who helped her play who she wished she could be outside of the ring, who knows she is a badass whether anyone else believes it or not. She tells people to forget the failures, and the fans might not be surprised by this, but she wasn't hired for her wrestling skills. She admits she sucked in the ring, and even dancing for the fans was rough (her words), and she came back because she forgot the failures. Also, she wants people to summon their swagger, and even when they feel dorky as hell, you have to be who you want to be. One time she recalled trying to summon her swagger at Judgment Day 2003, it was a poseoff thing against one of the sexiest and most confident women she ever saw named Sable, and she was praying for God to strike her dead or give her five minutes of rhythm, and she ended up not getting either. The women have come a long way since then, and people can win their struggle with fear anytime. She said even the people who were real jerkoffs to her (again, her words) made her who she is today, and she loves Kevin and Hulk for giving her the opportunity that got her here today. She also mentions Fit Finlay, and she's so sorry for all the times she cried when she screwed up, and says Finlay is the most patient guy in the world, even when she had a hard time taking herself seriously, and he helped her realize what she is made of, and she thinks Finlay is a big reason we get to see women main eventing Wrestlemania tomorrow. The fans chant "thank you Finlay" as she brings up her ex-husband Billy Kidman, and she knows there were 1000s of times he wanted to bash her head with a chair and didn't, and he helped her get through the business in her early days, and she also thanks Stacy for being there for her because nobod understands her journey like Stacy does. Stacy did a lot of things to get heat early on and she was worried about it rubbing off on her, and she claimed Michelle McCool as her road wife before Undertaker got his hands on her, and they spent hours driving around and contemplating life. She mentions Lisa/Victoria, who she calls one of teh craziest people you'll ever meet, and they were friends way before wrestling, and she builds up everyone around her, whether they suck in the ring or not, and she loves her and thanks her for being her friend. She shouts out Candice Michelle, who was all the things she wished she could be outside of the ring, and she doesn't feel that way all the time, but she came in as a sexpot and became a champion. She can't forget her family, and starts to cry as she talks about the ride her family has ridden with her, and she starts to talk about her dad, and tears up as the fans cheer Al. She says her dad passed away two days ago, and she was glad she got to have this experience with her, and he came here and acted like an ass to spend some tmie with her, and she thanks Dawn Marie for making his life. Most of all she wants to thank the fans, who are the only reason she is standing here right now. They are not easy to win over, but she loves how hardcore they are, and thanks them for letting her be a part of their lives, and apparently, their puberty from what she hears a lot. That gets a BIG pop. She wants to thank (I couldn't catch who because the fans chant "thank you Torrie") and also thanks her fourth grade boyfriend for giving her the motivation to become who she is.
Our next inductee is up on Page 3!
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