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Tatsumi Fujinami became a world wide star in the 1970s. He won the WWE Junior Heavyweight Champion in 1978.
Bret Hart says he wanted to be like Fujinami. Hideo Itami says he was like Hulk Hogan in Japan. William Regal says he could wrestle anybody. Fujinami won the IWGP Title twice. In 1991 at the Tokyo Dome, he beat Ric Flair to become the NWA World Champion. He was the first to hold both the NWA and IWGP titles at the same time.
Fujinami fought the biggest stars, including Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki. He won a total of 11 titles and is one of the biggest stars from Japan. Itami says he wants to be like Fujinami.
Jerry says the next inductor is known for his endurance in and out of the ring. He is a sixteen time World Champion and two time WWE Hall of Famer, Ric Flair.
Ric says he has had a great time and it is his honor and privilege to be a part of his favorite part of the Wrestlemania week, the Hall of Fame. He says he is honored to be here. He says he has done a lot of things and been a lot of places. Since 2008, this has been the best thing that he has done. He says he loves seeing everyone dressed up and he is proud of everyone. He mentions that since he has a daughter involved, he is more involved.
He is honored to be inducting a Japanese legend. He has been going to Japan since 1972 and he has wrestled all of the best. He says he thought he trained hard with Verne Gagne, but these kids were doing conditioning at ringside for five hours a day. The Japanese push the young boys to the point of making them fail. The lifestyles in the dojos was tough. Fujinami became Japan’s brightest star. He invented the Dragon sleeper and Dragon suplex.
Ric asks Vader to stand up. Ric says that Fujinami and Vader went back and forth over the IWGP Title. Ric thanks Vader for everything they did together over the years. He met Fujinami for the first time in 1979 when he came to Charlotte to train with Jim Crockett. Fujinami is the greatest wrestler from Japan. He is honored to induct Tatsumi Fujinami into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Tatsumi Fujinami comes to the stage and Flair hugs him.
Fujinami says that he is so proud to be here. He thanks everyone. He says that he would like to thank the WWE for this great honor. He says he has wrestled for 43 years. He mentions that he is 61 years old and he is still wrestling. He says that he fights because it is his mission. It is his mission to honor the people he faced over the years.
Tonight he joins the WWE Hall of Fame. He talks about how this is an adventure that continues. He thanks his wife and family for supporting him during his career. He says that there are many more adventures to come.
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