Thoughts on the 2008 Hall of Fame
It's a late night here in Orlando, as we have wrapped up the Hall of Fame 2008 with some emotional moments we won't soon forget, and now it is officially time to move on to WrestleMania XXIV, which will be a sight to see in about 16 hours in the Citrus Bowl. With the HOF ending less than two hours ago, there are tons of thoughts and comments that I want to share, but for now with a long day ahead of the crew, I will share just a few thoughts and then try and get some rest.
First off, I am one of the biggest marks on the planet for the Rock, and will defend him to no end - till tonight. As much as I was excited seeing the Rock make his WWE comeback at the Hall, I felt he totally took advantage of the situation at the Hall, and made it way too much about himself and not the event. In case you are wondering what I am speaking of, let me explain.
The HOF began about 7:10, and The Rock was the first one out. Well, first he did a long monologue, which was great, but really dragged. Then, as the many classless fans that were on hand that could not shut up and stop chanting, the Rock each time would take a step back and let it go, again, taking more and more time. This went on forever, and it really started to get old, to the point where by the time Rock's mom was done honoring her Dad, Peter Mavia, it was already past 8:30! Yes, we then had to go through five more in the Hall and it was already over an hour twenty into the show.
You could tell that it didn't sit well with the current talent as well, as the following in some coy way made a comment about the amount of time Rock was one - JBL, Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes, Triple H, Ric Flair. In other words, as much as I am thinking they liked Rock being there and seeing him, I think they felt he tried to steal the spotlight a little too much, and he did.
Onto the fans. Yes, this is another major issue I had with the event this year, and have had with the event since they began selling tickets to the Hall to the general public. Bottom line is - wrestling fans do not belong at this event. Sorry, but for the most part, wrestling fans are not educated enough, or have enough class to dress up, shut up, and enjoy an event that is clearly about those wrestlers and some in the industry being honored.
It took me about 15 minutes to get tired of the chants, tired of the catcalls for "puppies," tired of the "wooooo" every five seconds, and just tired of the fans as a whole. Another thing wresting fan - business attire please does not mean cut offs and the best wrestling shirt that you have that doesn't need washed. Try on a shirt that has a collar, or maybe pants that are not jeans. To a large portion of fans that are there, they dressed up and it looked good, but to another portion, they don't get why they should not show up looking like a slob.
If the WWE wants this event to be the best it can be, despite the fact I have enjoyed being there the last three years, they should make it a private event again, and keep the low class typical A wrestling fan that makes me hate the business a lot of times away. They do no good, and make a special night nothing more than a night of chants, catcalls, and bad attire.
Labels: wwe hall of fame
