How about that, WWE Network fans! WWE added as much as they possibly could from the 1994, 1995, and 1996 Hall of Fame ceremonies to the Network this week. I say “as much as they possibly could” because for whatever reason, they didn’t record the entire events back then. However, they posted as many inductions as possible from the inaugural events, divided up by years, for a runtime of roughly two hours.
I’m really glad they put these up, because with the exception of a fan cam recording that I have from the 1995 edition, I had never seen these events. A lot of the speeches were short. After all, it was different back then. Those first HOF’s were held as banquet dinners. It definitely wasn’t as a big of a deal as it is now. However, the speeches from the likes of “Captain” Lou Albano and Pat Patterson make it worth a watch.
I freakin’ love the Hall of Fame every year. People used to give it crap in the past, saying it lacked credibility, and that it’s not a “real” Hall of Fame because it lacked this name or that name. Well, with the unimaginable inductions of once shunned WWE performers Bruno Sammartino and The Ultimate Warrior, combined with this years upcoming “It’s About Time” induction of Randy Savage, I think we have just about every guy that deserved to be in there, in.
Okay, so maybe you’re still questioning the Hall of Fame’s credibility.
“It’s about booking guys only to make another buck off of them.”
“It’s a night of ego stroking for Vinny Mac. He inducted Scott Hall as ‘Razor Ramon’ and Madusa as ‘Alundra Blayze’! He will only accept people HE created and people he likes!”
Okay, smart mark. How about you stop booing Roman Reigns for two seconds, sit down, and enjoy the damn show.
At it’s core, the WWE Hall of Fame is about honoring men and women who not only were the best at what they did, but they sacrificed their body, as well as time with their loved ones, to ensure that they weren’t anything less than the best. It’s about celebrating a lifetime of hard work. It’s about being able to relive a wrestlers’ greatest moments with him or her, all while getting to share in one last incredible moment with them.
Personally, I love relaxing and reliving those career moments with those individuals on the night before WrestleMania. I enjoy hearing those old war stories from the guys that paved the way for me– like how Roddy Piper and Bob Orton were always on the verge of inciting riots, or how Freddie Blassie would get stabbed because he was legitimately despised. I love to laugh at those behind the scene incidents that the cameras don’t see– like Owen calling his father Stu pretending to be Reg Park, goading him into a fight on the weekend of Wrestlemania IV.
And dammit, I’m man enough to admit it: I love to cry while watching the Hall of Fame. I don’t know if anything tugged on the strings of my heart more than Jake Roberts speech last year, or Bobby Heenan’s speech in 2004. When he says, “I only wish that Monsoon was here..” as he fights tears, I too have to fight the impending eruption from the water faucets that are my eyes. When Ultimate Warrior passed away just three days after he had been inducted and made amends with WWE, it was hard to go back, watch his speech, and not cry when you watched him speak about the love of his daughters.
Yea, sorry I’m getting all sappy. It happens, though! Look, whether you laugh, cry, or just plain smile while watching, the WWE Hall of Fame is the night you stop worrying about whether or not Bryan is in the main event of ‘Mania. It’s the night where you shouldn’t be concerned about hashtagging why divas are or are not getting the time you think they desreve.
On the night you watch the WWE Hall of Fame, it’s time to remember just why you watch wrestling in the first place. You go back to being a fan– not a SMARK. You aren’t concerned about the lack of “workrate” The Bushwackers would have had when compared to tag teams of today. You sit back, listen to their journey, discover what got them to the grand stage of the Hall of Fame, and reminisce about how when you were six years old, you wanted nothing more than to sit front row at a WWF event just so Luke or Butch could lick your face….
…. oh don’t act like I was the only one that wanted that! Ohhh… I suppose you’d prefer this…
Perves.
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-Greg
