In an interview with The UK Mirror, actor and early Wrestlemania headliner Mr. T commented that he turned down an invitation to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame because of the induction of another celebrity, Pete Rose.

"WWE asked me to be in the Hall of Fame and I turned it down. You know why? They put Pete Rose in the wrestling Hall of Fame. This guy can't even get into his own Hall of Fame. After they put Rose in they came and asked me and I said "You don't insult me! You don't put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame before me! I ain’t going to be a part of that. They put him in and he only did one WrestleMania, and he didn't even wrestle."

T went on to claim he was the only celebrity to have wrestled, overlooking New York Giants great Lawrence Taylor, who headlined Wrestlemania 11's main event against the late Bam Bam Bigelow. There is also William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who competed in the Wrestlemania 2 NFL Battle Royal and was inducted into the Hall several years ago in Chicago as well. Last year, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. faced off with The Big Show in Orlando, FL.

Labels: mr.t, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments

Last night during the main event of RAW between Batista and Kane JSX and I had a rather spirited discussion about the WWE Hall of Fame and some of the "fringe" wrestlers that do or do not belong in it. The one name that always comes up in my mind about if he should make it or not eventually is Kane. Yes, the Big Red Machine has had quite a WWE run, way back from WrestleMania 14 when he first fought his brother the Undertaker.

Kane has also undergone quite a change from his time under the mask to now, as he's now simply unmasked and bald, as compared to back in the day. He's also been a heel and face about 50 times each, and I guess now fans are supposed to boo him again for his dirty deeds done to Rey Mysterio and last night to Batista.

I personally would put him in. He's the overall best rival that Taker has ever had, and had two solid WrestleMania matches (14 and 20) against him. He has fought just about everyone, and while I doubt we'll ever see another major title around his waist again, he did hold the WWE Title for one day when he bested Steve Austin at the King of the Ring on the same night Taker threw Mick Foley off the top of the cage.

He also has had the IC belts, Tag belts, and ECW title on a few different spots. He's always in some sort of main event mix, and has never had any issues with the company (at least none that have ever really come to light) like suspensions or walk outs like some other major stars. He's been a solid talent for the past 12 years, and the Kane character will always have a place in the company.

Kane in the Hall? Someday a sure thing.

Labels: batista, kane, mick foley, undertaker, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Several sources within WWE were surprised to hear reports of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson being aloof backstage at the Hall of Fame, because they thought he was just being his regular self and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Apparently there were only a couple people upset with Johnson, but they were top people in the company. Most of the heat on Rock has been attributed either to jealousy or not knowing that he had to leave immediately because he’s working on the Witch Mountain film.

The Rock talked to Vince before the show and talked about having some fun on the show and having a long monologue to open up the show as if he was the host of the show. He told Vince that he would roast some of the guys in attendance and be self-deprecating. McMahon loved the idea and Rock apparently said that he was having a great time and would have gone for another hour if he could have.

Both Rock and Flair went long with their segments, but only Flair was told to 'wrap it up.'

Labels: ric flair, the rock, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry at his official website.

Here are some highlights:

- Tag Teams Getting Exposure: It is nice to see some of the tag teams on Raw get a cup of coffee on the broadcast. Hopefully something meaningful will come of the duos’ enhanced exposure. Hopefully, we will even here some of them verbalize in the near future.

- Hall of Fame Thoughts: "It was great to see MLB great, Wade Boggs in Orlando and without question Wade can drink more beer than any baseball player alive…INDEED! It’s also not new news that the WWE is talking about acquiring a building for the WWE Hall of Fame. I expect that to be soon, within a couple of years, but the big question is where? It wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever to see it erected in Stamford, CT, where the WWE HQ is located. Nonetheless, count on it happening, as we have been saying here for quite some time. Also, I strongly suggest that the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony be held on Friday night next year and NOT on Saturday night. I would have few, if any, official functions for the talents to be involved with on Saturday night, which is obviously the night before WM25. Can you say curfew boys and girls?

- Ken Shamrock at RAW: "Ken Shamrock made a surprise appearance backstage Monday night at Raw. Ken was in the area doing some promotional work in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and dropped by to say hello and reconnect with the WWE. I told Ken I watched his last MMA fight that emanated from the UK and he smiled and said "that fight was a joke". I told him we all have the occasional bad day at the office. Ken’s loss in the UK could prove to be financially costly to him, as it relates to future fights. Ken discussed the potential of being involved in a reality show and said a fight with his brother Frank was definitely on the radar screen, but that if the fight came off that it would not be held in California. Ken having his persona essentially rehabilitated, and focusing on "family" and fighting on the possible reality show, would help create a demand for this brotherly battle. Ken looked much leaner than when I last saw him in the WWE, but in great shape, nonetheless. Ken really evolved in the WWE over his time in the company, that included yours truly fining him a week’s pay once upon a time for missing a booking after having a little too much fun, oversleeping and not making his flight to, I think, ElPaso . I found Ken easy to work with, as long as one was direct and honest with him, which is the way business should be conducted. This is only a personal observation, but if I were Ken or his "people" I would be looking at ending my active fighting career much sooner than later. No one wants to have their porch light start flickering, if you know what I mean."

Labels: jim ross, ken shamrock, wade boggs, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments

From PWPIX.NET

WWE is planning to launch a Hall of Fame facility in the next few years. Officials from the company have been looking at various sights over the years, including one in Orlando, Florida. Shane McMahon recently said that WWE is anxious to get it done, but nothing is confirmed yet. The company has been collecting memorabilia for years now and storing it in a warehouse that is under lock and key. Every piece of memorabilia that is collected gets dated and filed for future reference.

Labels: shane mcmahon, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Credit: ProWrestling.net

The majority of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s speech at the Hall Of Fame ceremony on Saturday was written by RAW lead writer Brian Gewirtz. Rock arrived late Friday night and spent portions of that night and Saturday working on the material, which mostly consisted of bullet points and one-liners. Gewirtz is responsible for writing the bulk of Rock’s material throughout his WWE career.

Nobody in WWE seemed happy when Rock’s speech lasted so long, but apparently nobody from the production team told him to “wrap it up” as they did with Flair. The edited version of Rock’s speech that aired on USA Network was a lot shorter than his actual speech at the ceremony.

Labels: the rock, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

I knew this was coming, as there was no doubt in my mind Rock was going to take backlash for Saturday, but for the record - here you go:

source: pwtorch.com

A number of people in WWE weren't pleased with how Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came off this past Saturday night. He did not leave a positive impression on a number of wrestlers at the Hall of Fame banquet.

A number of sources report that Johnson did not hang out with old friends before and after his speech at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He showed up for the speech, delivered one that offended many in WWE and was believed to be too long, and then left.

Some of his former colleagues are saying that Johnson came across as "aloof" and "totally Hollywood," as if he were "above WWE now," not to mention everyone in WWE as well. One of those people include one-time friend Steve Austin, who was openly displeased and taken aback by Johnson's demeanor.

Here is one wrestler's comments regarding Johnson's Hall of Fame speech: "This wasn't a roast. This was supposed to be a tribute to his dad and grandfather. Instead, he did an hour plus of comedy, running way long, then did a short tribute to his dad and grandfather, then left. It was rude of him."

WWE had plans to control the length of the Hall of Fame speeches, but the induction ceremony ran way over the planned length in large part due to Johnson's drawn out speech. Flair's Hall of Fame speech ran long as well, but everyone was forgiving of that considering that it was his night.

After the event, pretty much everyone backstage shared in their resentment and disappointment on Johnson's conduct at the Hall of Fame. The belief backstage was that Johnson had no reason to treat old friends like discards from a past life.

Johnson's speech went on first because he had to catch a plane immediately to Las Vegas, where they are filming his latest movie, Space Mountain. After he left, two individuals took shots at him during their Hall of Fame speeches. When praising John Cena, Ric Flair made a point to say that Cena, "Will never leave our business for Hollywood." Triple H mentioned, "Rock fans," and then said, "Oops, am I supposed to say Dwayne fans now?"

Labels: the rock, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: the rock, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Match could be Ric Flair's last, but fans want more

Nobody wants this to be the end for Ric Flair. Not even Ric Flair.

After a crowd of 10,000 gave him a long standing ovation at his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday night at Amway Arena, fans started screaming for him to keep his career going. Taking a moment to collect himself, Flair had an answer.

"I'm not gonna retire!" he screamed. "I'll never retire!"

Then he belted out his trademark, "Wooooooooooo!" The crowd roared. On an emotional night featuring seven other inductees, fans waited until the end of the night to see their wheelin' and dealin' champ get his spot in the Hall.

Click HERE for the rest of the article

Labels: ric flair, wrestlemania 24, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

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

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

Family, friends, WWE stars talk Hall of Fame

ORLANDO -- The WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony is 7 p.m. EST Saturday, March 29 at The Amway Arena, 600 W Amelia St.

In his home state Florida, the late, great Gordon Solie, the pinnacle of wrestling announcers, will be inducted by legendary announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross.

Pam Allyn, the daughter of Solie, said via e-mail: ``We are very grateful to Vince McMahon and WWE for this honor. For the family, this will be an experience full of memories to behold for many years. I only wish that dad were here to accept the accolades.

'Dad never saw his profession as `just a job.' It was his life. In the midst of complete mayhem, he never lost focus or control. He truly enjoyed every moment from his cherished seat behind the microphone. My dad was and will always be the greatest teacher I have ever known. Congratulations dad.''

There are the top tier of wrestling announcers like Gorilla Monsoon, Lance Russell, Miguel Alonso and Ross, and then there is Solie in a class by himself.

Solie was a staple calling the action for Championship Wrestling from Florida. He had an excellent working relationship with each combatant including Dusty Rhodes.

When the villainous Rhodes made a dramatic career move in Florida, going good over Pak Song, it put him over the top. Rhodes became the American Dream as Solie mouthed the historic turn, and the rest is history.

Click HERE for the rest of the story

Labels: wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

From PWPIX.Net

In an interesting note, Hollywood heavyweight Jack Nicholson stated in a 2006 media interview that he would like to someday induct Ric Flair into the WWE Hall of Fame. Nicholson is a huge professional wrestling fan, with his all-time favorites being Flair, John Cena and Harley Race. This is nothing confirmed and I can't even say that it has been discussed within WWE, but I could see WWE going for a high profile celebrity like Nicholson to induct Flair into the Hall. Inside the business, I could see Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat or even Triple H doing the honors.

Labels: Jack Nicholson, ric flair, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: mae young, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

The WWE Hall of Fame event is becoming as popular as WrestleMania itself, and this year is no different, as the announcement of Ric Flair, followed by the announcement of The Rock doing the introducing of his Dad (Rocky Johnson) and grandfather (Peter Mavia) has Orlando buzzing about the event.

Here at Let's Wrestle, our crew is headed to the event to bring you the best coverage we can bring to the net. BUT, we also have available tickets for the event that you can't obtain ANYWHERE else! If you are planning on going to Orlando to be there for all the events, you CAN'T miss this once in a lifetime event!

Tickets for the event SOLD OUT, but we have some available for purchase RIGHT NOW. We have Tickets for the event available in the following sections:

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If you need a pair, or MORE for this great event, please drop us an email at

letswrestle@gmail.com

We will respond with pricing and what we have left. Orders can be done via Paypal, or you can pay via Money Order. No checks please. Get on board now and be a part of his special event the night before WrestleMania 24!

Labels: wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

From Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

WWE will fill out the rest of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2008 with the following individuals: Mae Young, announcer Gordon Solie, Jack & Gerald Brisco, and Eddie Graham. Those names have been confirmed for induction into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. The latter four individuals were big stars in the Florida territory in the 60's and 70's. There are also rumors swirling around that Jake "The Snake" Roberts will be inducted with this year's HOF class, but it hasn't been confirmed yet. Wrestlers already announced for the Hall of Fame include Ric Flair, Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia.

Labels: jack and gerald brisco, mae young, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

From Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

The list for this year's WWE Hall of Fame inductees is almost complete. Two names we know for sure are Ric Flair, and Mae Young. Young is said to be a lock for the WWE Hall of Fame. Another name getting some considering is former announcer Gordon Solie. Dusty Rhodes is pushing hard for Solie to get inducted, since it's in Florida and that's where he made his name. The problem is that Solie never spoke well of McMahon when he was alive, and that doesn't help his chances obviously. Solie has gotten a significant amount of votes from the selection panel in the past, but McMahon vetoes his induction. Two other individuals up for consideration are Peter Maivia, The Rock's grandfather that passed away in 1982, and Rocky Johnson, The Rock's father. Their inductions hinge on The Rock's schedule getting cleared during WrestleMania weekend. He's definitely up for the idea. Internally, the belief is that The Rock is coming. Furthermore, there is an unwritten rule in that WWE doesn't want to induct more than one or two deceased individuals per year. They don't want the event to be a downer and the last thing they want to do is a put a spotlight on death.

Labels: mae young, ric flair, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE has reached out to The Rock to have him induct his father Rocky Johnson and grandfather Peter Maivai into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. Sources say The Rock is up to the idea, but it will all depend on his movie schedule. Last year, WWE wanted him to induct his father into the Hall but The Rock's schedule wouldn't allow for it.

Labels: peter maivai, rocky johnson, the rock, wwe hall of fame

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments