It was announced earlier today that the first inductee into the 2015 NWA Hall of Fame is Adam Pearce. В Pearce had the following comments earlier upon receiving the news:
If you had told me twenty years ago that someday I'd be inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame, I'd have said you were CRAZY. If you had told me THIS MORNING that someday I'd be inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame, I'd have said the SAME THING.
To be called a "Hall of Famer" means that the man or woman being described is undeniably special, having possessed a certain positive quality that without question sets them far apart from everyone else. I don't know what that quality is, maybe it's different from person-to-person, but I know that in every case it's more than just having performed above and beyond the "norm". Somehow people in respective "Halls of Fame" also find a way to perform above and beyond the "good" and the "great", and they do it over and over and over again for as long as they do it. I don't know if I truly ever really did that, but I do know that I did the very best I could EVERY time I could.
Likewise, a Hall of Famer represents his or her vocation with an unmatched dignity; an unquestioned class. He or she is one you point to and say "THAT is how it should be done". Indeed they are THE example to emulate. I like to think that I upheld the National Wrestling Alliance stronger than anyone during my time – I believed in the brand, and believed in the championship. I tried always to carry myself much in the same way as my predecessors, many of whom are enshrined and deservedly so. Putting on Sweet Charlotte was always my happiest moment, taking her off for the final time forever my saddest.
I was there in 2008 when Ric Flair was enshrined, and many would agree that he fits many of the criteria I've outlined. I was there last year when my dear friend Percy Pringle (Paul Bearer) was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and I've never been so proud. Until today. All of my adult life, I've lived by the mantra "work hard, treat people fairly, and EARN respect". If I've earned enough to be deserving of the same honor, then I'm truly humbled.
To every opponent, partner, referee, manager, and ring announcer I shared the ring with, I give you my profound thanks. Without you, I'm not me, and you deserve the recognition if I deserve the honor because we are only as good as the people we work with.
I am honored and forever grateful to accept enshrinement as part of the 2015 Class of the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame.
Adam Pearce
February 5, 2015
