Favorite WWE HOF Induction

[Doctor Awesome]

I hope this is in the right place, seemed appropriate.

Anywho, I know it's not quite time to start drumming up speculation about who will/should be inducted into the WWE HOF this coming Spring during WM weekend, so that's not what this is about. I just watched the WM20 HOF ceremony for the first time in a while, and it was the last one they did in the old-style (Hotel Banquet Room) before turning it into the big tv production it is now. Though I do prefer the format they've used since '05, I really enjoyed the '04 ceremony and wish that those inducted that year would have had the larger audience. Back to the topic, as a huge Bobby Heenan fan, his induction speech without question stands out as my absolute favorite. As a kid growing up I studied him and developed a great deal of my quick wit from him and still use many of his one-liners to this day. He and Gorilla still leave me in stitches when I watch old matches w/them on commentary. He was just starting to get back on his feet after his first run of issues from throat cancer and he owned the room. It was emotional, hilarious and a true sign that he had the utmost respect of all his peers. I've seen that speech 100 times and it never gets old. I really loved the fact that Jack Lanza kept it short and sweet before turning the floor over to The Brain. What he did say was powerful, describing a horrible payoff that Bobby received when breaking into the business and how it did not derail his desire to succeed.

I have enjoyed many others, too; Edge, Piper, Eddie Guerrero, Bret Hart, etc...But, seeing The Weasel recieve that honor still brings a tear to my eye.

So, there have been some really awesome HOF inductions/speeches, which one stands out as your all-time favorite and why?

 

[Milkomania]

My favourite was Bret Hart's.

I loved the introduction by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who after seeing Hulk Hogan, states "It's funny, earlier I was looking in my gym bag and found a can of whup-ass with Hull Hogan's name on it". Hogan was not happy but the crowd loved it. I really liked how Bret's speech was clearly just a man who had been through alot and was now telling you stories of the buisness he loved. Best story had to be about The Hart Foundation, Road Warriors, Davey Boy Smith, Hulk Hogan and an inxoticated Vince McMahon in a strip bar.

Then again I liked Stone Cold's, always had a lot of time for the man and his speech again was fuelled with emotion and passion for the buisness.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I have really enjoyed most of the HOF inductions I have seen, the vast majority are very interesting, entertaining and its always great to see the veterans getting the respect they deserve from their peers.

But I have to say Ric Flair's induction is just phenomenal. The applause that the Nature Boy gets when he walks out onto the podium goes on for about 10 minutes, and Flair is in tears, just asking everyone to stop so he can begin. Naitch is truly overwhelmed by the reaction he gets.

Even though I knew alot of his stories from reading his book, it was still brilliant to hear them told by the man himself, and Triple H is brilliant as well in his introduction of his idol. Big Show and Edge are in tears in the crowd, and Stone Cold is there having flown down specifically to see "The Greatest Of All Time" get inducted into the HOF.

Flair goes on far longer than his allocated time, but so what? The man has done it all and done in better than almost anyone else. He deserved that honour.

WOOOO!

 

[asiatic7]

I really enjoyed Ron Simmons HOF speech. I really enjoyed JBL putting Ron over before his speech. It was really moving and you can hear and see the raw emotion coming out of JBL as he spoke about his friend. Ron's contribution to wrestling is something that should not go forgotten. It wasn't a long speech but the little that he said had an impact to me.

Ric Flair had a good speech too, even though it went long (about an hour and a half!) and he just started to ramble after a while.

On a side note... Paul Orndorff's speech was plain bulls#$t! I never seen a guy put himself over like Orndorff. He's so full of himself.

 

[Wald]

I found Bret's and Heenan's to be the most entertaining, I'll go for Bret's as it was excellent to see him back after so long

 

[Wolf Pac]

I have 3 favourites.

1) Rocky Johnson's but not because of Johnson himself, just because of The Rock's introduction speech. Not only was it great to see him back for the first time in a long time but as usual, he had us all in stitches, just owning everyone from Jericho, Cena to Santino, showing that he still had it. It was awesome, seeing him interact with his old chums again, and the new stars in the WWE. I marked out a little as well for the "Triple Threat" chants from the crowd, for Cena, Austin & Rock.

2) Bret's HOF induction, but again because of the introduction speech by Austin. Austin's "It's funny, earlier I was looking in my gym bag and found a can of whoop-ass with Hulk Hogan's name on it" line stole the show for me. Bret's induction speech was good though, the stories he told, the passion that oozed out of him in the speech, was just beautiful.

3) Stone Cold's HOF induction. He's my favourite wrestler of all time, so it was just emotional for me. I loved the ending where he gives Cena one of his beer cans, that was like a symbol of him passing on the torch.

 

[IHW]

I am a little partial towards Shawn Micheals. He is my favorite all time Superstar, so seeing him go in was my favorite HOF Induction. The speech itself was great. Triple H put over Shawn and his legendary career, then the Heart Break Kid would be as humble as ever. He made sure to give plenty of thanks and showed his passion for the business. Then all of DX coming out was icing on the cake.

 

[voiceofsire]

Number 1 by far is bret hart. Did not think it would ever happen. And the bad blood between him and vince was still there. So you really had no idea what was going to be said.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Shawn Michaels, my personal favorite because hes my all time favorite. The Kliq reunion was awesome. It was a fitting ending to HBKs carrer going out with the humble speech.

Bobby Hennan, the most entertaining....by far. Bobby is the funniest wrestling personality ever and he didnt disappoint this night.

Bret Hart, pretty shocking seeing him return. Glad to see him being reconized for all his accomplishments after we thought he was gone for good.

 

[The Brain]

My favorite HOF induction speech was Bobby Heenan’s. Brief pause as you get over the shock. Of course I found Heenan’s speech very entertaining as he has always been a funny guy, but his speech was more than just humor. You could tell that Heenan was genuinely happy to be there. He had a rough couple years prior to his induction going through various medical treatments. He was basically bedridden for two years. I could just see the pure joy in Heenan’s face when he was reunited with his long time friends and got the opportunity to speak about his career. I don’t think an induction has ever meant as much to anyone else. I felt happy for him when in the middle of his speech he shouted “Damn I’m having fun.”

My favorite part was when he accidentally said WWF instead of WWE and went on a little tirade about the name change. He mentioned how over the years WWF had a guy with a snake, a bird, a bulldog, a lizard, had the Killer Bees, Freebirds, with a weasel and a gorilla calling the action. That was wildlife. I have to admit I got a bit choked up at the end when Heenan pointed to the sky and said he wished Monsoon could have been there. And then in typical Heenan fashion he asked Mean Gene if he was going to get paid for this. The combination of humor and pure joy and a little bit of emotion made Bobby Heenan’s induction speech the best ever.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

So many, but I have to go with Heenan.

Oh my goodness, what an induction. I downloaded that segment and put it on my mobile so I watch it from time to time. He fucking roasts just about everybody and when he made the Flair/Flynt crack, a peed a little inside.

Smashing induction and the "I wish Monsoon was here" got me a little teary. You could feel so much love coming from the guy and that he enjoyed all the worlds he traveled when in the business. It's a damn shame that he can barely speak now.

There are much more.

An honorable mention to Austin's induction which was great. I personally enjoyed Roddy Piper's induction a lot as well.

 

[IT Factor]

The most deserved HOF induction had to be that of Bret "The Hitman" Hart. It was doubtful after his departure from WWF after Montreal in 1997 whether Bret would ever return let alone be inducted into WWE's HOF. I enjoyed Bret's speech and thought he was one of the more genuienely proud guys to be there. He wasn't just faking emotion and talking bullshit[like Ric Flair, for example].

I also liked Stone Colds, Bobby Heenans, and Shawn Michaels inductions.

 

[HBsam31]

I just rewatched Bret's after reading this thread, and man it was a good one. From Stone Cold's joke about the can of whoop ass with Hogan name on it to the great stories Bret told about the business and his brother Owen. It was great to see him put his differences aside for one night to be included in the HOF. Bobby Heenan's is another for me. So much emotion from him, and he cut up on everyone. He had me laughing so hard then tearing up at his mention of Monsoon. The HOF gets a lot of crap from us fans, but it is moments like these that make you glad they have one.

 

[theBec2101]

Flair-because he set the record straight on best ever of all time.
Also liked
Austin-best of all time
Bret-just after all the BS he went through, was about time
Edge-may not be the best ever, put one of the best performers and entertainers