WWE News WWE News: Complete WWE Hall of Fame ceremony recap - Flair wants to return to WWE, Edge closes HOF, former WWE & TNA stars acknowledged
Mar 31, 2012 - 10:05:15 PM
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WWE Hall of Fame Report
March 31, 2012
Miami, Fla. at American Airlines Arena
PWTorch specialist Benjamin Tucker (@BTuckerTorch) is contributing with live Twitter coverage.
Pre-Show Notes
-- Diamond Dallas Page, Tommy Dreamer, and Rhino are among the non-roster wrestlers in-attendance.
-- John Cena was accompanied by Arnold Skaaland's widow (correction) and received boos as the wrestlers and family arrived at their seats.
-- Former WWE Diva Maryse accompanied The Miz to the event.
-- C.M. Punk is in a suit and tweeted a photo with Kofi Kingston, who rides with Punk on the road on Punk's tour bus.
-- Kevin Nash was backstage with Triple H, Sean Waltman, and Shawn Michaels, who posted a photo on Twitter.
-- Jerry Lawler is hosting the ceremony. There is a big "APPLAUSE" sign for the crowd.
1 -- RON SIMMONS INDUCTION (JBL inductor)
-- JBL said a poor writer tried to help him with his speech. Tucker: Awesome speech by JBL talking about road stories with Taka Michinoku learning some interesting verbiage.
-- Simmons still hasn't aged. Ron talking bout JBL being like a brother to him. He finished a classy speech with... DAMN!
2 -- MIL MASCARAS (inducted by Alberto Del Rio)
-- Del Rio gave a short introduction. Mascaras talked a lot about marriage and food.
3 -- FOUR HORSEMEN (inducted by Dusty Rhodes) -- to air on USA Network special
-- Dusty Rhodes made it clear this was about professional wrestling, using the term with emphasis. Rhodes stressed Arn Anderson, making a big deal out of Double A compared to everyone else. He seemed to gloss over Tully Blanchard.
-- Ric Flair was out on-stage looking the happiest he's been since his last HOF induction in 2008. J.J. Dillon spoke first.
-- "Please come back" chants greeted Flair. Flair responded, "I'd like to! Don't question me about that!" Flair was about to cry. He talked about how awesome his career has been, but the Horsemen period was the best. Flair then talked about marital problems with his second wife. He said he watches WWE every week, and made it seem like he can't wait to leave TNA.
-- Barry Wyndham, acting very humble about the induction, said Blackjack Mulligan was at home recovering.
-- Tully Blanchard talked about his father, Joe Blanchard, who recently died, and never telling his kids about his career.
-- Arn Anderson received a standing ovation. Arn talked about his retirement and gave a heartfelt speech, mentioning his family. Arn then talked up C.M. Punk, Big Show, and some other "team leaders." He gave Randy Orton strong complements and Orton seemed pretty humbled on-camera. Arn called John Cena the "best man I know." Arn went away from the Horsemen theme a bit, but his speech was great.
4 -- MIKE TYSON (inducted by DX - Shawn Michaels and Triple H)
-- Shawn Michaels and Triple H came on-stage to do some of the usual DX antics, including Hunter bringing up some bad memories for Shawn related to Tyson at WrestleMania 14.
-- The crowd played up the storyline going into WrestleMania by chanting, "Shawn is better." From Tucker: DX was like Penn and Teller.
-- It was difficult to hear what Tyson was saying. The big line was saying he didn't know Dusty Rhodes and John Cena were black. "'Gratitude' is the word I'm trying to convey right now," WWE quoted Tyson as saying.
5 -- YOKOZUNA (inducted by the Usos; accepted by Rikishi)
-- The Usos got pretty choked up talking about Yokozuna (Rodney Anoa'i to them). Rikishi accepted the award on behalf of Yoko's family after a great speech by the Usos.
6 -- EDGE (inducted by Christian)
-- Christian started off with some light-humored bits about his long-time friend, then got serious talking about Edge wanting to become a wrestler to support his mother. Christian got choked up reflecting on it. Great speech.
-- Edge started off with some comedy, including old photos of his mullet hair, and thanked "Foo Fighters" for lending him their song. Edge gave Lance Storm, Rhino, and some of his old comrades some air time. "Thank you, Edge" chant before Edge said, "You can get people to open the door a crack for you, but you've got to kick it open yourself," as quoted by WWE.
-- Edge thanked the Dudleys, Owen Hart, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, and other wrestlers currently in TNA. Edge then thanked Hulk Hogan before making a joke about his sex tape. Next, Edge gave shout-outs to former Edgeheads Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. He also thanked "Glenn and Mark," referring to Kane and The Undertaker, respectively.
-- Edge closed with a funny story about splashing Tommy Dreamer in the middle of the night to prevent him from snoring, shouted out to Beth Phoenix, and thanked his mom for being the best tag partner he could ask for. He then closed the show with the Five Second Pose, concluding the show at three hours.
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