Live Report From The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony

Posted by James Thomlison on 04.01.2007

JT and JP were there! Their thoughts inside...

Hola, fans. It's JT and JP here to check in with our live report from the 2007 Hall Of Fame!

JT: Good times all around. It's always fun to get home at 2 a.m. when you have to be up soon to start WM Sunday! As you know, this year saw Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Perfect, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Fuji, the Sheik, The Wild Samoans, and Good ‘ol JR got inducted! JP and myself were there, and we're here to bring you all the action from the three hour extravaganza. That was great, was it not JP?

JP: Those were the worst seats I've ever had. My nose is still bleeding from being up that high. Way to go there, JT.

JT: Hey! It's a theatre! It's designed to accommodate everyone no matter where you're sitting!

JP: Look, I'm sure the brochure you read was nice, but tho-

JT: Oh stop! They weren't that bad! At least we were there right?

JP: In the long run, I suppose so… sort of. Don't we have a report to get to?


HIDDEN HIGHLIGHTS PRESENTS

WWE HALL OF FAME 2007 LIVE REPORT

OPENING!

JP: We're starting off with banter? Didn't we just banter?

JT: Since when is there not enough banter?

JP: Since it is 3am and we have a big day ahead of us. Let's get on with Hall of Fame!

Nick Bockwinkle

JT: Heenan came out and he was Heenan. Classic joke-telling and ribbing. He only spoke for about five minutes, but that's really all you need when it's Bobby Heenan. Bockwinkle then came out and after his first sentence, Brain made a joke at his own expense, telling Nick he needed to "speak English dammit". Nick talked about all the people he had worked with, how blessed he was, a bit about family and friends, and wrapped up fairly quickly. Probably the shortest of the inductions speeches.

JP: I learned this week that Nick Bockwinkle apparently owns a bunch of mattress stores in the Minneapolis area. And friends, I just happen to be in need of a mattress! Oh, and for the rest of the night Bobby Heenan and Nick Bockwinkle were having their own private sideshow that was hilarious. The best part was when Bockwinkle said he was going to go sit down next to Bobby, and Heenan shoved the chair away as far as it could go. Classic!

The Wild Samoans

JP: Afa and Sika's children Matt (aka Rosey) and Samu came out to do the introductions. I have to say, Rosey did not look very… plump… like the last time I saw him. The best part about their speech was that Samu said they would be nowhere without God and then paused and waited for an applause. After about 15 uncomfortable seconds, some people starting to applaud. Oh Detroit, you are so great at the no-sell, even with God! Anyway, Afa and Sika came out and Afa said a bunch of stuff in Samoan that got a few spatterings of "What?" chants. Eventually Sika took over, thanked everyone under the son, and name dropped the entire Samoan race who have ever been in wrestling. I did enjoy all the references to High Chief Jay Strongbow and Peter Maivia, though.

JT: Yeah, I cannot believe Detroit no sold God. Hilarious. Like JP mentioned, a bit of an awkward moment when Afa started talking. I think because of how low he was speaking, the crowd thought he was just speaking horribly jumbled English. They did indeed name drop, and talked about times when the family first came to America and put over their father very, very much. They even pointed out their sister, and let everyone know that it was Umaga's mom. They seemed to be very honored and showed a great deal of respect for anyone they spoke of.

The Sheik

JT: It's time's like this that make me wonder why they do not let RVD talk on WWE television. He once again proved that in an unscripted environment, the man can be very good on the mic. He came out with Sabu, did all the talking, and everyone loved it. He talked a little bit about growing up, and what it was like being trained by The Sheik; even jokingly creating a scenario for us to explain why his style was so different from Sheik's (during a very strict regiment of headlocks, Sheik would get a phone call in the house, and RVD would sneak a couple of high flying moves while he wasn't looking). He then joked about how the LAST thing anyone wanted was for Sheik to come into the ring to "show you how a move is done" if he felt you weren't doing it right. But again, this was all in a very playful and respectful way. He closed by talking a bit about how Sheik helped him so much in his younger days as he matured into a man, and that was that.

JP: Every time I watch Sabu talk it freaks me out. I'm glad he kept to a few words. The Sheik's wife was interesting to listen to. It really gave the other perspective on a wrestler from their home life.

Mr. Fuji

JP: Inducting Mr. Fuji was WWE Hall of Famer himself: The Magnificent Muraco! Muraco told some hilarious stories of Fuji playing practical jokes on the road with people, especially about shaving eyebrows, mustaches, and (if you didn't have facial hair) something below the waist. Mr. Fuji came out slowly, really showing his age. I've forgotten how long he's been around. Fuji told some more funny on the road stories before finally deciding he needed to sit down. Can't say I blame the guy! He was helped back to his seat before the arena went dark to "start the live show" that would be on TV three hours later, albeit in a much more truncated format.

JT: If any of those stories are even close to true (which likely they are), I would call Mr. Fuji one of the best pranksters of all time. We definitely learned one thing, if there are shenanigans afoot, "Mr. Fuji will investigate the matter"!

Jim Ross

JT: The "show" started with Todd Grisham announcing Stone Cold and I'd have to say that within 15 seconds of the show starting, we all heard the glass break. Crowd obviously went nuts and here was the man. He basically delved into his relationship with J.R., all the way back to the days where he had never even met him, only watched him on televisions covering some local territories. He told stories about how great a friends they were, specifically citing how when he had his neck surgery, when he woke up, J.R. was sitting at the end of his bed (albeit rummaging through his wallet!). He then credited Ross for being the only reason the last X amount of years, the movie "Condemned", and even Stone Cold standing there at that moment. As he tells it, after the year Austin had off and him and Vince still weren't on ‘puppies and hugs' terms, JR basically locked him and Vince in a suite at a hotel in Houston, and make them work things out. After that we got the video package (throughout the night, it was typically shown at the end of the inductor's speech, and then out would come the inductee).

J.R. then hit the stage to naturally a standing ovation and Thank You J.R. chants. Then, he talked… and talked… and talked… but the funny thing was, you had no idea of the concept of time. It was easily well over a half hour but you'd never have known it sitting there listening to him. This shouldn't be surprising for a man who's made a living doing nothing but talk for the last 33 years. It really was great listening to him. He talked about his journey through the world of wrestling, and told a couple of really great stories (one of which I won't even attempt to tell you because it would do no justice [trust me, buy the DVD], but let's just say it ended with him in a car [he was a driver at the time] with a loaded pistol on the dash, a grumpy drunk man in the backseat, and an assassination plot on the the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. No – I'm not joking). He then talked about his appreciation for everything he has done and all the people he has known, and eventually wrapped up saying that he was honored to be the first "true wrestling fan" (i.e. he has been since youth and always will be nothing more than a big fan with the luckiest job on the planet) being inducted into the HOF. Really good stuff. I could have listen to him go on for hours.

JP: I can't believe how much Jim Ross could talk! His speech went on for 45 minutes, nonetheless the 20 minutes Stone Cold did in the intro. And how long did it last on TV? Ten minutes for the two of them. People who get the DVD will be quite shocked!

Jerry "The King" Lawler

JP: I have to say, this was the saddest part of the night. The crowd totally disrespected William Shatner. Although everyone preceding this got a standing ovation, most people stayed seated when Shatner came out. Some people chanted "boring" at him while others just booed. Meanwhile, he was being funny talking about beating Lawler up 12 years ago while not wanting to talk about himself. Such a shame with that crowd. Anyway, Jerry came out to "Jerry" chants, to which he questioned the origin of between himself and Springer. This was followed up with a Viagra joke that was definitely cut out. Lawler went through his history about three times, filling in more details along the way. It was most interesting to hear him talk about his days booking Memphis and how he got a lot of the guys to hate him by going over them and all the divorces that happened there. Lawler also showed off his new girlfriend, except the Hall of Fame sign was blocking the screen so I couldn't see her. Oh well, she sounded like another underage hottie!

JT: I'm with JP here. The level of disrespect shown to WILLIAM F'N SHATNER was just a shame. Look, it isn't his fault that the brass wouldn't allow Jerry's initial inductor request to be met, and was in fact doing them a FAVOR by agreeing to do it. If you've ever seen Shatner in front of a live crowd, you know that he is GOLD. He is REALLY funny guy who is completely comfortable sharing that with an audience. Here he is doing this bit where he wants to make it really clear that tonight is not about him, yet keeps referencing how he kicked Lawler's ass 10 years ago. It was really, really funny, and ruined by a few idiots who wanted to be total smarks and not only boo or yell shit, but start an actual boring chants. It amazes me that people would not realize what a pleasure it would be to have this man in their presence addressing them. I don't give a shit if he isn't associated with wrestling, he has known King for years and is WILLIAM SHATNER. I understand people's grievances, I really do and I in no way disagree, and it probably didn't come off as bad on TV, but being there I can tell you that it was WAY over the line. William Shatner is taking all the shit that should be directed at the man who told King no on Lance Russell. King tried to do the best he could by comparing some rather silly things about the two (like making jest of both of their music albums and saying they both use priceline.com), but he never had a shot. As for King, he did tell some very interesting stories and told some great jokes, most of which probably did not make the air. He really dove into some history and just gave a great speech in general. It was nice to see him go in with his announce booth partner, but I think the E will regret not going with Lance Russell.

"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

JT: Wade Boggs came out and showed very genuine emotion about Curt. You could tell from listening to him speak that he really and truly believed that he may have died had Curt not taking the course of action he did when Wade was very badly injured during a hunting accident. It was very clear that he not only felt privileged but HONORED to be the man to come talk about his good friend. To accept, out came his father, wife, and family. Larry and Leonice both said some words and the word "perfect" was used, well, perfectly throughout the whole thing. Obviously a father will always support his son, but listening to Leonice really drove home what a great guy Curt really was outside of the ring.

JP: Wade Boggs was able to win over the crowd a little as he could tell personal stories about Hennig. It was certainly an emotional induction, especially with his wife and family.

"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes

JP: The former Goldust Dustin Runnels and brother Cody came out to induct their father, admitting that this was the first time ever the three of them would be seen in public together. Dustin and Cody sounded genuinely proud of their farther, and took time to rebuke any rumors of him being an absentee dad. Dustin did most of the talking at the beginning, but once Cody started talking he turned it into a job promotion for Dustin. It was absolutely great and blatant, you could not ask for anything more. Meanwhile, from our vantage point I could see Dusty pacing backstage, ready to come out. Finally he did to "Thank you Dusty" chants and regaled us with stories from back in the day. He took a lot of time to give props to those who came before him, even asking Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to induct himself and Harley Race into the Four Horsemen. Dusty is still amazing on the mic and was able to enthrall us all nearly three hours of speeches. Simply amazing.

JT: Completely agreed. He came out and did what he's done for thirty years; opened his mouth and immediately had each and every person in that building in the palm of his hands. His consistent point of conversation was having passion for the business, and there was certainly no lack thereof during his speech. He danced with the Diva who brought him out (sorry, really was that far away), paced back and forth, got other wrestlers in the crowd involved, got the actual crowd involved, complete typical Dusty, and he did it as effortlessly as he ever has. Also of note, he was the second man of the evening to proclaim Flair as the best ever, to which naturally got a ton of WOOOOOO's. He yet again was the everyman.

………but what was up with the complete no sell for JBL? For shame!

Post Show

JT: Tons of confetti (as probably shown on TV), we were thanked for coming, and made a bee line for the vehicle.

JP: And then we sat in the car for an hour waiting to get out of the garage!

JT: And then you showed off your super suite for us, you bastard. That thing isn't a room, it's rooms, plural.

JP: What can I say? Hotel points rule!

OVERALL

JP: I had a great time and really enjoyed the history lesson. Very few new things were learned, except Cena and Batista are going to be booed like hell at ‘Mania. They even did one of those show HBK on the screen/show Cena on the screen back and forth things and Cena was getting terribly booed! HBK got some boos, but nothing like Cena.

JT: I too had a great time. It's always special to not only see the guys of yesterday get their due, but to get to hear them talk about it. The Hall of Fame always have a very special feel and this was no different. If there were any drawbacks, I would say that there is a lot of the crowd you probably don't hear on the TV broadcast and – at least in this year's case – that was a good thing. It really just seemed like you couldn't get the entire crowd to just shut up for five minutes and let even guys like J.R. and Bobby Heenan talk. It didn't take away from my enjoyment, it was just something I could have lived without.

CLOSING

JT: Hope this shed a little insight on some of the things you may not have seen, but at the current moment I feel like I have been awake (and driving) for three days straight. I will be no better tomorrow as it's another long day, but at least I will have that WRESTLEMANIA ADRENALINE going baby! See you all tomorrow after everyone eventually manages to keep me upright long enough to walk back to JP's hotel.

JP: With that, I'm off to bed. Like I said, we have a long day tomorrow, so look for the live report from us after WrestleMania. See you then!