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THE UNDERTAKER & MORE HONORED: COMPLETE WWE HALL OF FAME BLOG

I will be sending in Rampage stuff in the morning since this threatens to go late.

It’s time for the WWE Hall of Fame kickoff show as Smackdown has finished. Pat McAfee and Michael Cole will be filling the time until they get the stage set up. Maria Menounos, Bryon Saxton, Corey Graves, and Kayla Braxton have some banter backstage and then we get a quick rundown of everyone who will be honored tonight.

I am looking forward to Scott Steiner on WWE TV with an open mic. A smaller class than in the past, and that is probably a good choice after people have been sitting through a Smackdown taping.

Maria and Byron interview Montez Ford and Bianca Belair where they have some light chatter about their matches this weekend.

They show a video recap of past Hall of Fame shows.

Byron and Maria have some quick chat with Kane, and we hear the crowd cheering something.

They have set up chairs on the stage for the WWE superstars, and they are all in formal gear. I am so old I remember when they asked the audience to dress up as well, but now that it’s just an extra for Smackdown, those days are gone.

 

I have a feeling I am going to be super mad at these time limits by the time the night is over.

The hosts for the night are Corey Graves and Kayla Braxton.

The Steiner Brothers

WWE is still fantastic at putting together video packages, and this one is no exception. The video goes through the years in order and leads up to Bron Breaker as the next generation. But he can’t be called a Steiner.

Bron Breaker is the man to induct them. We also see that they will be giving their speeches in the ring. His speech is incredibly short, but I liked his line that giving the mic over to his uncle is the biggest risk of his career.

Scott thanks all the teams they wrestled. He tells a story about traveling with Randy Savage. Savage made them pull the van over and says he can make the cows come to him first. Scott mooed at them and they ignored him. He then yelled, “I’ve got some food!” and still nothing. He sees three cows running at Randy as he was getting in the van can, and he swears Randy knows the cows. He tells people to enjoy the weekend and have fun because the years go by fast.

They are sweetening the sound with a low rumble of cheering which just sounds terrible.

He then puts over his family and that his greatest legacy is his two boys.

Rick is up next. He says that they had four minutes and Scott took three

FOUR MINUTES? Why do they have time limits? It’s not like some other show has to start at a specific time.

Rick thanks his family, the schools he works with now, and his brother.

Sharmell

The video package starts with her run as Queen Sharmell. They talk a little about her time as a Nitro Girl and then go right back to the Queen Sharmell run. And we get the Boogeyman with his worms as well. Always hated that gross out crap.

Sharmell is inducted by Booker T. Booker said that a great writer said “When I’m good I’m good, but when I’m bad, I’m better.” He credits it to Michael Heyes and Mae West glares from the afterlife at him. He says their run as King and Queen was their most memorable run and goes right to bringing her out.

She thanks the Nitro Girls, and her trainers, Molly Holly, Medusa, Victoria and Jazz. She Thanks Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio for their programs, and the Boogeyman. I like that she thanked the people she had her major angles with. She’s got a well written prepared speech and comes off highly professional in her short time. Tons of poise and shows someone who knows how to do this kind of thing.

She talks about the wrestling school she and Booker have opened as her way of paying it forward.

She ends by talking about how much she still loves Booker.

Lots of ads for other Peacock shows after each induction. Boy Peacock has a lot of shows I don’t have time to watch.

Shad Gaspard - Warrior Award

Corey and Kayla present the Warrior Award to Shad Gaspard.

The video package goes over his career and then has videos of Shad with his family. They then tell the story about how Shad saved his son from a riptide and lost his own life in the process.

Dana Warrior presents the Warrior award. There is a part of me that wishes they would have gone with Warrior’s suggestion that an award be given to the backstage people who work at WWE, but when they use it for people like Shad, it’s impossible to complain.

Shad’s wife and son, Siliana and Aryeh accept the award for him. JTG comes out with them and does the Cryme Tyme handshake with Aryeh. She gives a moving speech about him, talking about the other heroic things he did in his life.

Please go out of your way to watch this moment. A touching tribute to a man who went out of his way to go good things for his family and the people around him.

The ad for NXT Stand and Deliver will be the best event for the brand ever. OK. Yeah. No one believes that.

Vader

The video for Vader starts with his run toward the WCW Championship. They only give a few highlights of his WWE run, but it’s a fast paced package.

Debra and Jesse White, his wife and son, give the induction speech. Jesse gives a nice recap of Vader’s career, including his time in football. He talks about how his dad missed so much of his childhood due to being on the road, but that they had a better connection that people who had their fathers around all the time.

They have the huge helmet Vader wore in WCW at ringside.

Short, and got in a lot in that little bit of time. Vader was a guy with an amazing career and I wish they could have had more time to spotlight him.

Undertaker

I wonder if Vince only gets four minutes.

The video package is well done with people talking about him as they have quick cut scenes. We then get a montage to Metallica’s Sad But True and Kid Rock’s American Bad Ass.

Vince is still doing the Vince walk on his way to the ring. They have four mannequin in Undertaker gear in the ring. Vince’s voice has become fully gravelly and he is wearing a suit without shoulder pads. I had no idea he had any quits like that.

Vince says he will read the list of opponents so that the fans don’t interrupt him, which prompts the crowd to “What!” at him. He mentions that Undertaker had other challenges outsidee the ring and tells a story about filming Shotgun Saturday Night. He talks about seeing Undertaker and Triple H fighting on an escalator being filmed without permits. He talked about Taker being in freezing rain as they filmed for five hours in a cemetery. .

Vince starts to get choked up as he talks about the things he admires in Taker. As he goes through the list, the crowd starts “What!” him and Vince says he will have the Undertaker come out and kick their ass. Vince says his greatest quality is his love the business, the other performers, and the fans.

Good speech from Vince. Hitting all the right notes.

And it went over four minutes.

Undertaker gets the full spooky entrance.

He’s in a suit and we catch Vince saying “I love you” on a hot mic. If you haven’t watched the multi part Undertaker documentary they did, do yourself a favor and watch it. It was a fantastic documentary and the best tribute you could get.

Taker is fitted with a headset mic so he can roam. LONG ovation by the crowd. Again, this short afterthought of a ceremony just makes me irritated. I can’t help but think how much I would have loved one of the older Hall of Fame ceremonies where they took their time, made it special and a true event rather than a free add on to Smackdown.

Taker is choked up. So am I. I had just started watching wrestling again when Mean Mark Callous showed up in WCW, and the Survivor Series he came in was the first Survivor series I watchers. Even at its worst, Taker was entertaining and went beyond what could have been a cornball character meat to last a few months.

He says for thirty years he has been the Undertaker, but tonight he is Mark Calaway. He talks about how the business comes with sacrifice. He says his first thank you is to the fans. He is pacing as he gives his speech. Something he never did as Taker. He talks about how he was a semester away from graduation and had no idea what to do with his life. He had opportunities to play basketball, but he didn’t want to do it. He wanted to get into wrestling.

He has already gone over the four minute mark, by the way.

His brother told him he had to live his life for anyone other than you.

He says wrestling was the only way to find his true identity. He then says that he will tell everyone his mental moves and hopes it helps other people. He says one of his earliest lessons came from Vince. He’s working a squash match at a TV taping, and the person he’s working again screws up move after move and he is red hot at the kid. Vince tells him after the match and tells him perception is reality, and everyone watching thinks you’re an asshole because of how he treated that kid.

So, for the rest of his career he knew his actions matter. He then talks about Stephanie McMahon and how she’s not as big of a brat as she seems on screen. She’s much bigger. And she’s the little sister he never wanted. Nice jibe and he then says he loves her and her family. He then talks about Shane driving him around and riving him out.

He then talks about the Godfather. He says that while Godfather was an influence, but he never said he was a positive influence. He starts singling out people he loves as the BSK. He tells a story about breaking bricks with Brian Adams, the last time they were together before he passed.

He brings up Paul Bearer. If you listen to the stories Mike and Dave on this site tell, you know that Paul was an amazing guy, and Taker says if he left a drink alone, Paul would put cucumbers in it.

He then talks about Kane. Nice jokes about him.

Taker says his second mental move, which happened over a piece of cornbread. He’d just won the World Championship and he’s at home eating supper. He dad asked him if he was paying his taxes. His dad then asks if he’s living beneath his means. He then says the toes you step on on your way up and the same asses you will have to kiss on the way down. He took that as everyone you come across, treat them with respect. He says that one hello might change someone’s life.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know I write this often: Be kind, be courageous, and be cool. I think it’s the same thing.

He then talks about the people who trained him and helped him on the way up in his career. He then thanks the behind the scenes people. He thanks his doctors.

His final mental move comes before Wrestlemania 25. He and Shawn are talking about their match and he asks when they are on. He’s told they are on third and they have 15 minutes. He says they felt insulted, they raised hell and got moved later and got more time. They had something to prove and they proved it. He thanks Shawn for their friendship and one of the best matches of his career. His third move is never be content. He tells the other wrestlers to pay attention to that.

He then puts over his matches with Triple H at Mania 27 and 28. He thanks H for reminding me of who he really is when his confidence were at it’s lowest.

He then talks about how his family had to make a lot of sacrifices. He talks about each family member. He tells a story about his parents. He was about to wrestle Sid VicIous and told Sid to be careful because his mom is a pistol. When Sid has him down in a rear chin lock. He turns Taker to face his mom. Sid then says “Is this your little boy? I’m kicking his butt, what are you gonna do about it.” And his mom rushes the ring. Taker’s dad and brother had to hold her back and she had bruises from being held too tight.

He said his mom has been asking when he was going to get that Damn ring, and he holds it up and says we did it.

He then talks about his wife Michelle. He talks about how she brought him back to religion.

He then thanks Vince.

He challenges us to make his three mental moves.

A fantastic speech and a summation of a legendary career. There will never be anyone like him in this business.

 

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