Tag: hall of fame 2017

Rikidozan among 2017 WWE Legacy Award Hall of Fame inductees

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Based on T-shirts that have been printed, these are the Legacy Award Hall of Famers for the WWE Hall of Fame this year:

  • Judy Grable — One of the female stars of the 50s. She took her name from Betty Grable. She wasn’t one of the top tier women in her era but she was a legitimate star.
  • Toots Mondt — Mondt was a former shooter who worked with Strangler Lewis and Billy Sandow in the 20s and controlled the world title for a time and bounced from place to place. He was Vince McMahon Sr.’s business partner and some said the wrestling brains behind the outfit into the 1960s. He was considered a very controversial person in the industry.
  • Rikidozan — The father of Japanese pro wrestling and easily the single most influential pro wrestler in history. No wrestler was ever such a major cultural figure, in both Japan and in North Korea after his death. On a cultural basis, he would be far closer to Muhammad Ali than to Hulk Hogan.
  • Farmer Burns — A world champion in the late 1800s, Burns was the coach and promoter of Frank Gotch, the first true superstar pro wrestler and mainstream sports figure to come out of wrestling.
  • Luther Lindsay — A noted shooter. He was a star, but not a major star. Like Art Thomas, this is what it is.
  • Dr. Jerry Graham — Vince McMahon’s childhood favorite pro wrestler. The Graham Brothers (Jerry & Eddie, who were not brothers) vs. Argentina Rocca & Miguel Perez was a huge program in Madison Square Garden. The Doc was a colorful figure, whose problems with alcohol prematurely ended a run that should have had a lot of legs left in him. Vince McMahon and his father tried to bring him back a few times but it never worked out.
  • June Byers — Byers claimed the women’s world title from 1953 to 1964 although there were other claimants. Most of her era considered her the best of the women wrestlers after the retirement of Mildred Burke.
  • Haystacks Calhoun — Billed at 450 to 600 pounds, Calhoun was a great touring attraction in pro wrestler, similar to what Andre the Giant later would be, but not on the same level as Andre.

Natalya to induct Beth Phoenix into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE continued to make Hall of Fame announcements on Wednesday by revealing that Natalya would be inducting Beth Phoenix.

The two are good friends and teamed together in the ring before Phoenix retired.

“There’s nobody that I can think of that deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame more than Beth Phoenix,” Natalya said in an interview with WWE.com. “She’s a pioneer for women in our division. Beth did extraordinary things for women in WWE.”

Phoenix tweeted about the news, “When it comes to friends, she is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. @NatbyNature thank you #DOD4Ever”

The Hall of Fame ceremony will be the first of WWE’s major events during WrestleMania weekend, with it taking place on Friday, March 31st at the Amway Center. The same building will be home to NXT TakeOver: Orlando the next night before Camping World Stadium hosts WrestleMania 33 on April 2nd.

This year’s WWE Hall of Fame lineup is:

  • Kurt Angle (inducted by John Cena)
  • The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (inducted by Jim Cornette)
  • Teddy Long (inducted by John “Bradshaw” Layfield & Ron Simmons)
  • Diamond Dallas Page (inducted by Eric Bischoff)
  • Rick Rude (inducted by Ricky Steamboat)
  • Beth Phoenix (inducted by Natalya)

Dana Warrior will also present Eric LeGrand with the 2017 Warrior Award at the ceremony.

Eric Bischoff to induct DDP into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Following yesterday’s announcement of Jim Cornette inducting the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express into the Hall of Fame, WWE revealed on Tuesday afternoon that Eric Bischoff would be doing the honors for Diamond Dallas Page.

Bischoff and DDP have been longtime friends, working together in the AWA and again when Bischoff was in control of WCW.

“I’m honored,” Bischoff said about inducting Page. “It puts a smile on my face because I know how much it means to him. This is the Holy Grail for him.”

“His journey [in life] is similar to his journey in the ring,” Bischoff said. “DDP was the common guy, the everyman, a blue-collar guy from New Jersey. He represented something that the average person could believe in, in a way that was a little unique. [People thought] ‘That could be me. If I could just get that break, work a little harder, I could be that guy.’ That’s a very inspirational quality to have.”

WWE hasn’t yet confirmed who will be inducting Beth Phoenix, but all other members of the company’s 2017 Hall of Fame class are accounted for.

John Cena will be doing the honors for Kurt Angle, Cornette will induct Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson, John “Bradshaw” Layfield & Ron Simmons will induct Teddy Long, and Ricky Steamboat will induct Rick Rude at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on March 31st.

Jim Cornette to induct Rock ‘n’ Roll Express into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

One of professional wrestling’s most outspoken — and often controversial — personalities will be inducting the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame.

WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Jim Cornette would be doing the honors of inducting Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson. Cornette stood opposite the two as a manager for years, including when he managed the Midnight Express in a feud that spanned multiple promotions and came to define tag team wrestling during the 1980s.

“By any standard, Ricky and Robert belong in the Hall of Fame,” Cornette said in an interview with WWE.com. “And that’s whether it’s longevity as a team, the attendance records they set, or the great matches that they had, which fans can still see on WWE Network.”

Cornette’s inclusion at the ceremony comes as a surprise considering that he hasn’t been with the company since 2005, when he worked at Ohio Valley Wrestling, and how often he’s been critical of WWE. He tweeted about the news, “Wear your winter clothes to Florida! A cold snap is headed towards Hell!”

WWE hasn’t yet revealed who will be inducting Diamond Dallas Page and Beth Phoenix into the Hall of Fame. Ricky Steamboat will induct Rick Rude, John Cena will induct Kurt Angle, and John “Bradshaw” Layfield & Ron Simmons will induct Teddy Long. Dana Warrior will also present Eric LeGrand with the Warrior Award.

The 2017 Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on March 31st at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

John Cena to induct Kurt Angle into the WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

We now know who will be inducting Kurt Angle into the WWE Hall of Fame.

WWE announced on Thursday afternoon that John Cena would be doing the honors. Cena debuted in WWE against Angle by answering an open challenge on SmackDown in June 2002, where Cena was portrayed as putting up a good fight before losing to Angle.

After it was announced that he would be headlining the 2017 Hall of Fame class, Angle spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso and called it a “no-brainer” for Steve Austin to induct him.

Angle later appeared on Live Audio Wrestling with John Pollock, where he said the decision wasn’t up to him but believed WWE would listen to his input. He mentioned Austin, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Cena as potential choices.

The Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on March 31st at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida over WrestleMania weekend.

Rick Rude added to 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class is up to seven official members.

In an announcement made by Bleacher Report on Monday afternoon, WWE revealed that Rick Rude would be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. He joins Kurt Angle, Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Teddy Long, Diamond Dallas Page, and Beth Phoenix as those set to be honored on March 31st over WrestleMania weekend in Orlando, Florida.

Rude is the first posthumous member of the 2017 class and will be inducted by Ricky Steamboat. Bleacher Report spoke to Steamboat about Rude’s career.

“If you looked at all the boxes you would check to make a main event guy that would go down in history as one of the best, Rude checked all the boxes,” Steamboat said. “He was an all-around package. He looked good, he could play the part, he knew what to do. He could take great bumps, feed the babyface when it was time to feed, and he would never run out of gas.”

Rude’s career began in the early 1980s and spanned multiple promotions. During his time in the WWF, he was a memorable heel who would brag about his physique and insult the audience for how they looked.

Later in WCW, Rude was a member of Paul Heyman’s Dangerous Alliance stable. A back injury he suffered in Japan during a match with Sting effectively ended his in-ring career in 1994, though Rude later went on to become a character on television for WWF, WCW, and ECW.

Rude passed away at only 40 years old in 1999 due to heart failure.

WWE adds Beth Phoenix to 2017 Hall of Fame class

Posted on by Joseph Currier

As WWE gets closer to WrestleMania with each passing week, the company revealed another member of this year’s Hall of Fame class on Monday afternoon.

USA Today was chosen to break the news that Beth Phoenix will be inducted into the 2017 Hall of Fame class. She joins Kurt Angle, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Teddy Long, and Diamond Dallas Page as the already announced members of the lineup.

“To hear they find my career was worthy enough and that I did well enough in the ring to be honored among the greatest of all time was incredible and the biggest compliment I could ever ask for,” Phoenix told USA Today. “It’s still sinking in and is very surreal.”

With Phoenix’s husband Adam “Edge” Copeland having previously been inducted in 2012, the couple are now the only spouses currently in the Hall of Fame.

“He was like, ‘Oh, Ok.’ He wasn’t shocked by it at all,” Phoenix said about her husband’s reaction to the news that she would be joining the Hall of Fame.

“He’s like, ‘Of course, you deserve it.’ I was shocked by that response, too. I said, ‘You think I deserve this? Is this the right time?’ He was 100 percent confident and he made me feel like a million bucks about it. He is super excited. We’re still celebrating it and looking forward to seeing everyone at WrestleMania and enjoying the experience.”

Phoenix is both a former Women’s and Divas Champion and was one of the better workers in the division prior to the current period that WWE has dubbed as the “women’s revolution.” She debuted on the main roster in 2006 after a stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling before retiring in 2012.