Official WWE Hall of Fame 2013 News and Discussion Thread

[LG]

- A documentary on Bruno Sammartino's life is almost completed and around five or six outlets have shown interest including HBO and CBS. A movie on his life has not been filmed but the script has been completed. Former WWE writer and "Liar Liar" writer Paul Guay did the script and two studios have shown some interest in it. WWE has also talked about producing the movie under WWE Studios but that is very preliminary talk.

nodq

[LG]

In recent weeks, it has been rumored that DX will be the headliners for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Sean Waltman, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg would be the performers inducted. Shawn Michaels would then be the second two time hall of famer, along with Ric Flair. Speaking of DX, Shawn Michaels tweeted a photo from last Thursday night’s WWE NXT tapings. The photo features almost the entire D-X crew (Triple H, X-Pac, Billy Gunn, Shawn Michaels) as well as Kevin Nash.

pws

[LG]

WWE has announced that Donald Trump will be this year’s inductee into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. The announcement was made by press release today, with the statement noting that “Mr. Trump has been a part of WWE’s most popular events and storylines dating back to WrestleMania® IV in 1988 and WrestleMania V in 1989 when he hosted the pop-culture extravaganzas in Atlantic City.” Trump also “bought” WWE in 2009, “reselling” it back to Vince a week later for double the price and then was part of the Battle of the Billionares match at WrestleMania 23.

Trump said of the induction, “It was literally the thrill of a lifetime performing in front of 80,000 enthusiastic fans during the ‘Battle of the Billionaires’ match at WrestleMania XXIII. I’ve always enjoyed and respected WWE’s brand of entertainment and look forward to the ceremony in my hometown at Madison Square Garden.”

McMahon added, “Donald is a global icon whose status brought an unmatched level of publicity and grandeur to WWE.”

[Konan]

WWE Legend Superstar Graham has published a new Facebook post on why he wants WWE to remove him from the Hall of Fame. Here's what he wrote:

"In 2011 I became one unhappy retired wrestler when WWE inducted into its Hall of Fame Abdullah the Butcher (Larry Shreve). Not just because Shreve had never worked for the WW(W)F or stepped foot inside Madison Square Garden, not just because my good friend Randy "Macho Man" Savage was passed over in the honors list of that year, but because Abdullah actually is a butcher in a disturbingly real sense.

Now we all know that pro wrestling is largely make-believe. The trouble is that many of us end up losing the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. The temptation to become in real life the characters we create in the ring can sometimes become just too overwhelming. I'm afraid that's the case with this WWE Hall of Fame inductee. For decades Larry Shreve has played the blood-lusting Abdullah the Butcher, a maniac psychotic enough to qualify as a Canadian-born Hitler, another Fuehrer.

Well, losing touch with reality is one thing; losing respect for other wrestlers' rights is another, and in my view the "Butcher" has blotted his copybook big time by becoming a suspected spreader of Hepatitis C through his negligence when blading in the ring. The Butcher, who is Hepatitis C positive Genotype 2 is currently facing allegations of negligence, assault and battery in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice stemming from an unsanitary blade assault in a 2007 professional wrestling match. Nicholson is being represented by Ronald Caza in the case. Caza, of the Caza Saikaley law firm is one of Canada’s most eminent lawyers.

In this link (youtube.com/watch?v=0rN4FI8yqq8) you will see how Shreve, in a match against Hannibal (Devon Nicholson), cut his own head with a razor blade and then cut the forehead of the unsuspecting Nicholson. It’s alleged that the end result of this assault was Nicholson, a healthy young man at the time who was just beginning a promising career, contracting Hepatitis C. How many others wrestlers have contracted Hepatitis C thanks to Abdullah's indifference to the danger he poses regularly to his fellow workers? Nicholson is now in the middle of a 9 month regimen with disturbing side effects to rid him of this disease.

In my opinion every time "The Butcher" behaves in this utterly irresponsible way, cutting the foreheads of other wrestlers, it is as if he is attempting murder, because the fact is the Hepatitis C can kill. I take no pleasure at all in saying this. Larry Shreve was once a friend of mine and it has saddened me to see him sink into such anti-social behavior. But right is right and wrong is wrong and never the twain shall meet. WWE, with its powerful influence on our vulnerable youth in these increasingly immoral times, should be strongly condemning life-threatening gimmicks in the ring, not rewarding them, and Larry Shreve needs to take stock of his actions and the tragic effects they have had on others. The world of pro wrestling is a rough and tough one, and none of us has a lily-white record when it comes to personal behavior. But carelessly spreading a deadly disease in the name of "entertainment" is beyond a joke. So hopefully now you will all have a better understanding of exactly why I asked WWE to remove my name from the WWE Hall of Fame list when Abdullah was inducted two years ago.

Superstar Billy Graham"

[Konan]

Booker T tweeted the following on being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year:

"I guess you all no by now I'm going in the ( HALL OF FAME 2013 ) Just want to say there or no words but thanks to all me fans.#youdidit"

[Konan]

Below is WWE's new Hall of Fame logo for 2013, which first appeared in Booker T's induction video:

[LG]

[LionDen]

Based on commercials airing on the USA Network, the WWE Hall of Fame special next Tuesday will feature highlights from inductions for Bruno Sammartino, Donald Trump and Trish Stratus. I am really shocked they aren't going to feature Mick Foley.

[LionDen]

Vince McMahon announced this evening on Twitter that he will be inducting Donald Trump into the WWE Hall of Fame this Saturday in New York City.

[LionDen]

Mick Foley posted the following to Twitter regarding the possibility that he may not be on the USA Network WWE Hall of Fame special on April 9th. The tweet was removed shortly after it was posted:

Um.. guess you didn’t hear the rumor @SantaClausWay..If you want to see my Hall of Fame speech, come see it live @TheGarden – might not be on TV.

Mick Foley also twitted:

"Thanks for all the messages of support concerning #WWEHOF. I'll give the best speech I can, and let the decision makers make the decisions."