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Diesel was fueled for greatness. Cesaro points out how he won the Triple Crown in his first year. We see footage of him beating Bob Backlund in eight seconds. He was the longest reigning champion of the 1990s.
He pulled back the sports entertainment curtain once and for all. He appeared on WCW with Scott Hall. Seth Rollins said it was a shock for them to appear on Nitro. They took over WCW and they formed the nWo with Hulk Hogan. Cole says it was the start of the WCW revolution. Triple H says Razor Ramon leaving was big, but it was devastating when he took Diesel.
He won the title many times, but his career transcends titles.
Jerry mentions a lot of legends have appeared tonight, but it would not be Wrestlemania weekend without Mr. Wrestlemania . . . Shawn Michaels.
Shawn thanks Jerry Lawler for going through all of his nicknames because we don’t want this show to go too long (said at 11:38 PM Eastern). Shawn pulls out his speech and he rips it up.
Shawn says that he is thrilled a lot of people have inducted tonight, but this is a pro wrestler inducting a pro wrestler. One of them are going to be in trouble when they go to the back. Shawn says he is a trained professional.
Many years ago, he was sitting at home and he saw Vinnie Vegas on WCW Saturday Night and he made him chuckle. He went to TV and talked to Rick Steiner and he asked him about Vinnie Vegas. Would he be interested in coming up to be his bodyguard? Rick went to a pay phone and he called Kevin to see if he would like a job.
Kevin goes to Ole Anderson and he tells him that he is going to go back to the strip club because this is not working. He gets his notice and then he goes to another part of the WCW office and he faxes it to JJ Dillon. He goes to Albany and that is where they met. He introduces himself and he tells Kevin he is going to need a bodyguard and he might need one in real life because nobody likes him. Kevin said no problem.
They have been friends ever since.
They were having a lot of fun and they were getting over. Then they got hot. Vince McMahon came to him and he told Shawn that the big guy was getting white hot. Shawn tries to suggest it is both of them. Shawn thought Vince was crazy. He brought this big goon up here and Vince fell in love with him. Vince told Shawn they are going to put the strap on him.
They go to Madison Square Garden and he wins the title (but does not mention WWF to get bleeped). He got pulled into the shower and he says that when you get pulled into a shower by a big man . . . you get a little worried. Kevin says three years ago he never thought he would make it but he came up here and he hitched his wagon to Shawn and he became champion. Kevin thanked Shawn.
Shawn mentions the Kliq and he says they will not disappoint later. That is Kevin Nash his friend.
The biggest reason Kevin belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame is not because of the type of friend he is. It is because of what he did in the business. He fundamentally changed the business. Everyone now has a guaranteed contract because of the actions of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Everyone wanted to be a wrestler since they were twelve, Kevin wanted to make money. Kevin decided to treat this business like a business and doing a job.
Maybe you should get paid the most for your services. By going down to WCW and holding them hostage and making them get paid guaranteed money, it changed things for everyone in the WWE. There would be no nWo or guaranteed contracts. Without the nWo, there would be no DX. Without no DX, there would not be a line of merchandise checks keeping him afloat.
Shawn introduces Kevin Nash.
Kevin thanks Shawn for having to follow that. He says he always considered Shawn to be the Michael Jordan of what they do. He just put him over pretty strong so he must not suck. Without Shawn’s call to Steiner, he is not here tonight. He would probably be at a Gentleman’s Club . . . he would be working there. They put Kevin Nash in the Hall of Fame and they wondered if it would be Kevin Nash or Diesel.
Without Diesel there is no Kevin Nash because there would have been no nWo. He has been blessed with some of the best workers in the world to go out and perform on a nightly basis. He never said he was the best dancer, but he knew he could follow. He thanks everyone for giving him the due diligence and for kicking him in the keester when needed.
Some say he did it for the money and he did. Kevin says he has set up some food trucks around the building since this has gone a little long.
His first match was on Night of Champions. He had black hair and he was given a fuchsia Mohawk. He says he wouldn’t be getting any. He was given a partner greener than him. His partner goes off the top rope and misses a head butt by 35 feet. They were called LOD Wannabes.
Three weeks later he was told to grow his hair out. Kevin says Dusty has the idea to do a character called Oz. If you have ever been pitched anything by Dusty, ‘It is like Tron, but there are 55 layers’. We see a photo of Oz. He asks if you want to put a rubber mask on his face. He sees the mask and dunce cap. He says he was as green as the uniform. He put it on but he wondered if it was easier to put a note in the box that said ‘You’re fired’.
Kevin mentions DDP and he says he was a little whiny. He always knew he could quit. Dallas told him he would make it. Vinnie Vegas came around and it caught Shawn’s eye. The first time in a WWE arena, Shawn wrestled Marty Jannetty. He was involved in one part of the match and he helped Shawn win the title. He did more in one day than in three and a half years with Turner.
Diesel was a fantastic run. He was goals oriented and he wanted to become the champion. He was with Rikishi, when he was known as Fatu. They had a few drinks and one of the agents said he had to go to Vince’s house when they got back from Europe. He thought it was cool he was going to be fired at Vince’s house. He even fell asleep at his house. Vince told him he was going to be champion and he thought IC Champion, but Vince told him World Champion.
He became World Champion, but then he jumped to WCW with Scott. His first contract with the WWE was a ten date guarantee at $150. Kevin says they were working for an opportunity. The opportunity was given and some took it and ran with it.
Kevin says not enough credit goes to the people who keep the lights on, the people who will be filling the arenas. Our generation did some things, but you took it ten fold. Kevin says his house is 40 miles from Cape Canaveral. He can go to his deck and see anything that launches from the Cape. Every time he comes back to this company, it grows. The growth is staggering. It is staggering what the superstars and divas do. He is going to see a spaceship take off from Cape Canaveral and it is going to be going to the moon because WWE decides to run Mania on the moon.
Kevin says he can thank a thousand people but he will probably miss someone. He thanks his wife, and he says some think she is a unicorn that does not exist. He wants to mention Rick Rude. Rick told him that if you want to keep your wife, keep her away from the business. They have been together for 27 years. She has endured the complaining and without her he would implode.
Kevin says he was talking to Ric Flair and they came to the conclusion that there are two things that are real. They are when you win your first championship and when you are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, and Triple H come out to congratulate Kevin.
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