Black Widow
04-05-2009, 08:48 PM
WHEN Vince McMahon stands on a stage and says that a certain man is “the greatest WWE superstar of all time” it is worth listening and believing what he says.
This occurred last night, and the wrestler to whom the Chairman of WWE was referring was the great Stone Cold Steve Austin – as of now a Hall of Famer.
In the Toyota Center, which will host Raw on Monday, several thousand people – including past, present and possibly future WWE superstars – gathered to honour a host of wrestlers from various ages to celebrate their numerous contributions to the business.
The main attraction, in his home state of Texas, was of course Steve Austin, a man who has legitimate claim to be the most important and successful master of his craft.
It doesn’t matter that his returns to WWE TV are sporadic and his last match was six years ago, Stone Cold is beloved by the WWE fans and especially those that had arrived to honour his induction to the 2009 Hall of Fame class.
The fact that Vince McMahon was the man to introduce Austin obviously adds additional credence to the importance of this induction.
Vince received a huge reaction from the live audience, and then told some humorous stories of Austin and his various T-Shirts over the year.
Mr McMahon credits himself with coming up with the ‘What’ phenomenon.
He joked: “Maybe I should have some royalties."
The Texas Rattlesnake emerged to a prolonged ovation including a “Thank you Austin” chant which seemed to choke the man famous for his unfeeling and cold character.
Austin being Austin, he did not start with saying how great he was, but thanked the production people at WWE for making him looking a million dollars for so many years.
Soon, the live audience chanted “one more match” to the man they have seen battle nearly all of wrestling’s modern greats in superb contests.
Stone Cold himself was typically non-committal and stoic. “I don’t know about that” was his answer. He may as well have said “Don’t even think about it.”
It was almost a period of closure between Austin and the WWE fans, as the speech included an apology directed at those in Atlanta, Georgia, whom he let down by no-showing an event several year ago when he was booked to lose to Coach.
Many wrestlers, on a Hall of Fame stage, would have talked up their achievements. The fact that Austin was happy to own up for a mistake says more about the measure of the man than hundreds of finely produced video packages could ever do.
Austin’s induction was obviously the highlight, but it was one of many.
Ricky Steamboat is one of history’s truly great wrestlers. WrestleMania 3 was average to be kind to it, but Ricky v Randy Savage was a work of genius.
The Dragon was inducted by long-term NWA and WCW rival Ric Flair, his greatest opponent.
And when the Hawaiian talked of his career and the emotion he felt about being acknowledged by his peers, even your correspondent – and I’m not a man known for is displays of emotion – had more than a tear in his eye.
In fact, the whole night was full of heartfelt moments which moved all but the cold hearted.
In began with The Funks, Dory and Terry, being championed by Dusty Rhodes.
Dory talked of having ten thousand matches, one hundred thousand bumps and five million miles travelled, but seemed reluctant for the spotlight.
Terry, meanwhile, have never been accused of bashfulness, and proceeded to give a nice speech about his time in the industry.
Terry joked: “They say you are as old as you feel. I feel 105 and am ready to go.”
Next up was the Birdman, Koko B Ware, who for like a lot of his career was overshadowed by a Macaw.
This time, Frankie (jnr) was trying to peck at his scripted rather than flap around a ring.
The Texas crowd truly appreciated the next induction. The Von Erich family are a legendary dynasty in The Lone Star State, and after Michael PS Hayes talked up his greatest rivals, sole surviving brother Kevin gave a composed thanks on behalf of his clan.
He urged people not to think “poor Kev” but instead “lucky Kev” because he feels blessed to have known and worked with the men he has.
Howard Finkel was next to be ushered into the prestigious club, and seemed to prove that when he announces matches it is not act – he really does talk like that!
Some of the younger members of the audience or those watching on TV may not have appreciated he induction of Bill Watts, but Jim Ross’s touching tribute to his mentor spoke of his massive achievements in the history – as well sharing some great stories about Andre, Duggan, Michaels and more.
The Hall of Fame ceremony, at this point, went on air, and began with Steamboat speaking so touchingly.
He said: “You know something Mickey Rourke, this is my Oscar” he said to the star of The Wrestler, who was present at the ceremony."
Austin’s emotional induction completed the night, and was the perfect culmination to such a touching evening of celebration to several men who truly shaped the nature of the business.
The Sun
This occurred last night, and the wrestler to whom the Chairman of WWE was referring was the great Stone Cold Steve Austin – as of now a Hall of Famer.
In the Toyota Center, which will host Raw on Monday, several thousand people – including past, present and possibly future WWE superstars – gathered to honour a host of wrestlers from various ages to celebrate their numerous contributions to the business.
The main attraction, in his home state of Texas, was of course Steve Austin, a man who has legitimate claim to be the most important and successful master of his craft.
It doesn’t matter that his returns to WWE TV are sporadic and his last match was six years ago, Stone Cold is beloved by the WWE fans and especially those that had arrived to honour his induction to the 2009 Hall of Fame class.
The fact that Vince McMahon was the man to introduce Austin obviously adds additional credence to the importance of this induction.
Vince received a huge reaction from the live audience, and then told some humorous stories of Austin and his various T-Shirts over the year.
Mr McMahon credits himself with coming up with the ‘What’ phenomenon.
He joked: “Maybe I should have some royalties."
The Texas Rattlesnake emerged to a prolonged ovation including a “Thank you Austin” chant which seemed to choke the man famous for his unfeeling and cold character.
Austin being Austin, he did not start with saying how great he was, but thanked the production people at WWE for making him looking a million dollars for so many years.
Soon, the live audience chanted “one more match” to the man they have seen battle nearly all of wrestling’s modern greats in superb contests.
Stone Cold himself was typically non-committal and stoic. “I don’t know about that” was his answer. He may as well have said “Don’t even think about it.”
It was almost a period of closure between Austin and the WWE fans, as the speech included an apology directed at those in Atlanta, Georgia, whom he let down by no-showing an event several year ago when he was booked to lose to Coach.
Many wrestlers, on a Hall of Fame stage, would have talked up their achievements. The fact that Austin was happy to own up for a mistake says more about the measure of the man than hundreds of finely produced video packages could ever do.
Austin’s induction was obviously the highlight, but it was one of many.
Ricky Steamboat is one of history’s truly great wrestlers. WrestleMania 3 was average to be kind to it, but Ricky v Randy Savage was a work of genius.
The Dragon was inducted by long-term NWA and WCW rival Ric Flair, his greatest opponent.
And when the Hawaiian talked of his career and the emotion he felt about being acknowledged by his peers, even your correspondent – and I’m not a man known for is displays of emotion – had more than a tear in his eye.
In fact, the whole night was full of heartfelt moments which moved all but the cold hearted.
In began with The Funks, Dory and Terry, being championed by Dusty Rhodes.
Dory talked of having ten thousand matches, one hundred thousand bumps and five million miles travelled, but seemed reluctant for the spotlight.
Terry, meanwhile, have never been accused of bashfulness, and proceeded to give a nice speech about his time in the industry.
Terry joked: “They say you are as old as you feel. I feel 105 and am ready to go.”
Next up was the Birdman, Koko B Ware, who for like a lot of his career was overshadowed by a Macaw.
This time, Frankie (jnr) was trying to peck at his scripted rather than flap around a ring.
The Texas crowd truly appreciated the next induction. The Von Erich family are a legendary dynasty in The Lone Star State, and after Michael PS Hayes talked up his greatest rivals, sole surviving brother Kevin gave a composed thanks on behalf of his clan.
He urged people not to think “poor Kev” but instead “lucky Kev” because he feels blessed to have known and worked with the men he has.
Howard Finkel was next to be ushered into the prestigious club, and seemed to prove that when he announces matches it is not act – he really does talk like that!
Some of the younger members of the audience or those watching on TV may not have appreciated he induction of Bill Watts, but Jim Ross’s touching tribute to his mentor spoke of his massive achievements in the history – as well sharing some great stories about Andre, Duggan, Michaels and more.
The Hall of Fame ceremony, at this point, went on air, and began with Steamboat speaking so touchingly.
He said: “You know something Mickey Rourke, this is my Oscar” he said to the star of The Wrestler, who was present at the ceremony."
Austin’s emotional induction completed the night, and was the perfect culmination to such a touching evening of celebration to several men who truly shaped the nature of the business.
The Sun