haVoc Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Thanks to the Miami Herald for the following: NEW YORK CITY - Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan stole the show Saturday night, but Jesse 'The Body' Ventura's reference to the 2008 Presidential election opened many eyes near the end of a long evening during the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame induction ceremony. After being introduced by his son in the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton in Times Square, Ventura discussed his pro wrestling career, and how being involved in wrestling [quick on your feet, sharp, good mic skills] helped him make the transition to politics -- where he shocked the world by winning the Gubernatorial race in Minnesota. Ventura noted he coined the phrase Mean Gene (Okerlund) and how he opened the door to wrestling agents (Barry Bloom) which saw the Big Show clap and smile sheepishly. An actor in a few Arnold Schwarzennegar movies (Predator, Running Man), he also helped bring pro wrestlers to a new, respected level in the mainstream eye. ''Never say never [also a WWE motto],'' said Ventura, sporting a black beard and black hair. ``Maybe in 2008, we put a wrestler in the White House.'' The crowd erupted. Heenan, who had throat cancer, had wrestlers, staff and fans rolling with his humor and stories. The Hall of Fame inductee ripped the World Wildlife Fund, saying the then wrestling version WWF had a bird, two bulldogs, a snake, a dragon, a macho man and Afa and Sica, and, of course, a gorilla. Talk about wild and wildlife. Most of the WWE stars including The Rock, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Trish and Bob Holly were in attendance. Baseball's hit king Pete Rose, the WWE's first celebrity guest inductee, mentioned how WWE and Nascar know how to treat fans. With two giant video screens behind the podium, WWE cameras then focused on (Sparkplug) Holly. Fans laughed. Rose then said: ``What? Is [Major League Baseball Commissioner] Bud Selig here? Did Vince McMahon get Bud Selig?'' Linda, Shane and Stephanie McMahon sat front row. Jimmy Superfly Snuka and Golden Boy Arnold Skoaland were seated in the VIP area with the current WWE talent. Did not see Brock Lesnar. The event -- which drew a soldout crowd of 1,500 -- started at 7 p.m. with food. drinks and autographs from current WWE stars. Emceed by Mean Gene Okerlund, the induction ceremony ended at 1:10 a.m. after Vince McMahon's praises of each honorary and their families. Inductees thanked Vince McMahon Sr. and Jr. and the entire McMahon family. Shawn Michaels introduced Hall of Fame inductee Tito Santana. Triple H introduced HOF inductee Superstar Billy Graham. Ric Flair introduced HOF inductee Harley Race. Mick Foley introduced HOF inductee Magnificent Don Muraco. Pat Patterson introduced HOF inductee Sgt. Slaughter. Jimmy Hart introduced HOF inductee Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine. Big Show acknowledged HOF inductee the late Big John Studd and introduced his son. Ernie 'The Cat' Ladd ackowledged the HOF inductee the late Junkyard Dog and introduced his daughter. Kane introduced Rose. Blackjack Lanza introduced Heenan. Everyone received a commemorative item and program entering the event and were handed WWE cookies and a commemorative special section following the festivities. Fans also lined up outside the Grand Ballroom as some Hall of Famers were scheduled to sign autographs following the long spectacular.
The Mandarin Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Of course, why wouldn't Heenan steal the show?
1234-5678 Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Of course, why wouldn't Heenan steal the show? I really hope he commentates on a couple matches tonight.
Mecha Mummy Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 That seems like a pretty nice experience all in all. Here's hoping the Brain has it in him to do some commentary tonight.
KTID Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Most of the WWE stars including The Rock, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Trish and Bob Holly were in attendance. This must have been ment as a joke.
Guest Trivia247 Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Now why couldn't the Rock Introduce Don, the Rock Muroco? Where was Muroco? and Harley Race?
MillenniumMan831 Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 They oughta at least have Ventura guest commentate Raw's 4-Way Tag Title Match and Heenan guest commentate SD's 4-Way Tag Title Match.
Austin3164life Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Now why couldn't the Rock Introduce Don, the Rock Muroco? Where was Muroco? and Harley Race? Ummm... Ric Flair introduced HOF inductee Harley Race.
Jobber of the Week Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Now why couldn't the Rock Introduce Don, the Rock Muroco? Probably because Foley was the guy who went to MSG for the Snuka/Morocco match?
Art Sandusky Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Man, I can't wait for the DVD to see all of this.
ChrisMWaters Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 You know...I've seen how Heenan looks now...as well as Ventura and Rose... But I'm curious to see how Race, Muraco, Santana, and the others that are still alive look now.
Downhome Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 That sounds like a great time. Is this all really going to be on the DVD?
TheOriginalOrangeGoblin Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 That sounds like a great time. Is this all really going to be on the DVD? Apparently "highlights" will be. Not the whole thing.
TSA09 Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Maybe on the Wrestlemania XX DVD....like as an extra.
2GOLD Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Triple H introduced HOF inductee Superstar Billy Graham Am I the only one who chuckled at this? It sounds like it was a fun time, but from 7pm till 1am? That's a long show.
MillenniumMan831 Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 You know...I've seen how Heenan looks now...as well as Ventura and Rose... But I'm curious to see how Race, Muraco, Santana, and the others that are still alive look now. Raw magazine had respective features on Santana and Muraco no more than a couple years ago and they looked healthy. Muraco put some chub in the gut on but looked happy and healthy for the most part. Santana seemed like he's in good shape. He was definitely lookin' good (heterosexually speaking of course).
haVoc Posted March 14, 2004 Author Report Posted March 14, 2004 Triple H introduced HOF inductee Superstar Billy Graham Am I the only one who chuckled at this? Whatever you chuckled at flew over my head.
TheOriginalOrangeGoblin Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Triple H introduced HOF inductee Superstar Billy Graham Am I the only one who chuckled at this? Whatever you chuckled at flew over my head. Roid connection.
haVoc Posted March 14, 2004 Author Report Posted March 14, 2004 He must chuckle at 90% of the roster then,.
Dangerous A Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 I find it interesting that 4 of the top superstars to ever step in a ring didn't make it for one reason or another. (Hogan, Sammartino, Hart, Backlund) Vince just knows how to have wonderful employer-employee relationships, doesn't he?
haVoc Posted March 14, 2004 Author Report Posted March 14, 2004 Not like Vince didn't offer them. Hogan I'm not sure about, the other three have had their chance.
Downhome Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 I thought Superstar refused to have a part in this whole thing. Or am I thinking of someone else?
Guest Askewniverse Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 I thought Superstar refused to have a part in this whole thing. Or am I thinking of someone else? I think Bruno Sammartino was the person who refused to be a part of the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Dangerous A Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Not like Vince didn't offer them. Hogan I'm not sure about, the other three have had their chance. I never said Vince didn't offer them an invitation. My point is that at least 2 of them were (Sammartino, Hart) were invited and declined. (not sure about Backlund) Those 2 are THE most important wrestlers of their era, yet they declined to show. The reason being is because Vince doesn't have the greatest relationships with his star guys for one reason or another. Since this Hall of Fame is a sham anyways, it's not like any of those guys are going to lose sleep because they didn't get in. I expect the Hall to be used as a storyline gimmick sometime soon anyways, thus killing any reverence it may seem to have.
NYU Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 My point is that at least 2 of them were (Sammartino, Hart) were invited and declined. (not sure about Backlund) Those 2 are THE most important wrestlers of their era, yet they declined to show. The reason being is because Vince doesn't have the greatest relationships with his star guys for one reason or another. Or it could be that Bret said he didn't want to show up and give a speech at WrestleMania XX for fear that he may start to break down and cry in the middle of the ring. He's not sure if he's ready to go through that kind of attention in front of the fans again, which is why he politely declined Vince's invitation. If the rumors are true, he does want to eventually show up to speak to the fans, but tonight just wasn't the right night. But I forgot.....Vince is the devil, hates his workers, eats their children, urinates on their puppies....and all that other garbage.
Dangerous A Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 But I forgot.....Vince is the devil, hates his workers, eats their children, urinates on their puppies....and all that other garbage. Vince isn't the Devil himself, but he is far from a noble person. He doesn't honor contracts(Bret's "creative control" in his final contract, WWF turnin into WWE anybody), helped Jimmy Snuka cover up the murder of his girlfriend, and turned a blind eye while his employees Terry Garvin and Pat Patterson sexually abused ring boys in the early nineties, (Vince eventually "fired" both men, but Patterson was back on the payroll in less than 6 months, leading many to believe he wasn't really fired in the first place) and only took action once things went public. Other than that, Vince is a lock for sainthood.
Guest ToddRoyal Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Most of the WWE stars including The Rock, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Trish and Bob Holly were in attendance. This must have been ment as a joke. Actually if you read the article, it was mentioned for a reason. Pete Rose mentioned that the WWE, like NASCAR, took care of its fans. When he mentioned NASCAR, they showed Bob "Thurman 'Sparky' Plugg" Holly to get laughs.
TheOriginalOrangeGoblin Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Unless Hogan's appearing tonight, him not being given an invitation to join the HoF is inexcusable...
Art Sandusky Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 Backlund was going to be a part of the ceremony until Pete Rose was announced to be in attendance. Guess he feels strongly about Rose's gambling.
Guest Your Olympic Hero Posted March 14, 2004 Report Posted March 14, 2004 You know...I've seen how Heenan looks now...as well as Ventura and Rose... But I'm curious to see how Race, Muraco, Santana, and the others that are still alive look now. Raw magazine had respective features on Santana and Muraco no more than a couple years ago and they looked healthy. Muraco put some chub in the gut on but looked happy and healthy for the most part. Santana seemed like he's in good shape. He was definitely lookin' good (heterosexually speaking of course). Saw Santana at an indy show I'd say about 6 years ago. Perfect shape, and charged me $5 for an autograph
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