(Rock appears)Crowd - ROCK-Y! ROCK-Y! ONE MORE MATCH! ONE MORE MATCH!
Rock - Thank you, it’s an honor to be here tonight. Something’s missing… FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO ORLANDO!
Crowd - ROCK-Y! ROCK-Y!
Rock - Thank you. It’s great to be here tonight. Congratulations to all the hall of fame inductees tonight, and on a personal note, it’s great to see so many smiling faces, like for example, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Speaking of smiling faces, where’s Mick Foley?! The Rock ‘n Sock Connection! Only in this business can a man who weighs 280 pounds get a sock out of his crotch area and make me a better man! You still got that sock!? You brought the sock? Well, I actually meant did you have it at home…you drew a tux on it… only Mick Foley. Love ya. JONATHAN COACHMAN, THE COACH! Nobody cares about you. CHRIS JERICHO, Y2J! How ya doing, I can’t believe you’re still talking about the night you beat myself and Stone Cold, but I guess it’s better than talking about the haircut that makes you look like a 12 year old boy. Nah, it’s good. I love the highlights, they look awesome. Yay, Backstreet Boys, coming back to Orlando! Speaking of hair, where’s HHH? I know he’s backstage getting ready to induct HHH. Here’s the thing with him, he’s so obsessed with winning the WWE Title that the mere thought of that made Stephanie McMahon pregnant! Congrats. The hall of fame is one of the most important nights for WWE, second only to entertaining the troops in Iraq. Unfortunately, there was a big controversy involving WWE and Iraq - they’d take insurgents and make them watch the DVD of “The Marine”. Hey, I made Doom. Is there Santano, San Francisco… (Santino stands and twirls)Wow, a faux-hawk AND a rat tail! What’s your name? IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS! Tonight, what matters is the WWE and the hall of fame inductees, because without them, there would be no WrestleMania and no WWE. Without the WWE, there would be no trail-blazing, eyebrow-raising, jabroni-beating, pie-eating, ready to induct my family into the hall of fame, THE ROCK! IF YA SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN!
Rock - I just want to take a moment to talk to you as a third generation wrestler who not only grew up in this business, but who loves this business. To be able to induct my father, and grandfather, it really brings my WWE career full circle. Let me start by saying one name - “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson!
It is my great honor to induct my father, Rocky Johnson!
Rock - The High Chief Peter Maivia was many things to many people, but to my family, he was everything. It was those images of my grandfather that we just saw that inspired me to become a professional wrestler - my father and grandfather were the corner stones of my career, and my goal was to make my family proud when I first stepped into a WWE ring in 1996. Grandpa, I hope I’ve made you proud, because I sure am so proud of you. To induct my grandfather into the hall of fame, please welcome the real rock, my mother, Ata Johnson.
Ata - Thank you, son. My father was a loving, generous man with a beautiful face. He always had a ukelele handy and loved to make people smile. He loved this business, but that’s a trait that is shared by his fellow wrestlers. You give your all to this business - that says a lot. I applaud you for your love to your chosen profession. We have lived and loved this wrestling business all of our lives - here we are, at the hall of fame. And dad, dad, as you look down from heaven, take your final bow - this is your big finish. So dad, with your warrior heart pumping and your spirit soaring - look at the crowd one last time. Dad, you are my champion, I love you.
HHH - What made Ric Flair was his passion - he lives, breathes, and sleeps this business. That passion has made him the greatest of all-time in the ring, on the mic, greatest father, husband, and friend. Sure, some things have changed. Now, when Ric’s in the hotel lobby naked, it’s because he can’t find his hotel room, he can’t see that he can’t see that he isn’t wearing a shirt, and forgot that he isn’t wearing pants. It’s been said that Ric is arguably the greatest of all time, and I’ve yet to see the argument against it - he is, was, and will always be THE MAN! The one, the only, NATURE BOY RIC FLAIR!
Flair - Thank you. Please sit down, I swear. Shortly after I started, 35 years ago, Ray Stevens told me “Baby, if there’s ever a day that you don’t have goosebumps, that’s the day you don’t need to walk through again” and I can truly say that I have them tonight. Tonight concludes a long journey that started 35 years ago in Minnesota. You have all decided to induct me, and that’s honor enough, but I do want to thank the people who got me here. It is an honor to be inducted with six incutees that I have great memories of. They all made great contributions and that’s why they’re here. Thank you. This is where it gets hard sometimes. It’s also an honor to be on stage in front of my peers. I’ve done something no one has done - be inducted while still active. For all three brands of the greatest wrestling company in the world, I want to thank. It’s been a very special time in my life for the past 7 years. It’s an honor to be inducted here in Orlando, the second home of space mountain. I’ve had many great matches here, from Eddie Graham’s building to the Amway Arena, to tomorrow, the Citrus Bowl. It was an honor to have my matches called by Gordon Solie. Pro wrestling is the greatest sport in the world. Everything I am today, everything I have today, is because of the sport of professional wrestling. I have been so very fortunate, to step into the ring with the best in the industry for the past 35 years. I hope the fans realize I gave it the best I could, whether there were 100 of you or 10,000 of you - I hope nobody ever went home mad spending their money to see Ric Flair. There are so many people that I owe so much too, some are no longer with us - they made me who I am, some took it for granted, some gave it their all each and - Shawn Michaels, you’re coming up, stay focused! HHH reminds me of myself more than anyone else. I wish I could turn back the clock and wrestle him in my prime. Shawn Michaels, Shawn told me he always wanted to be like me - he doesn’t have to, he just needs to be Shawn Michaels. He’s one of the greatest in history. My youngest son asked me if I could do a moonsault, and my oldest son, David, is his biggest fan, that’s when I knew he surpassed me. I’m very proud of this award, but I’m even more proud, and more thankful to have a wonderful family. I can’t believe this. My mom and dad, they’re both gone now, but their memories will never die. I may stand alone tonight, but I know they’re proud of me. My dad taught me that I could accomplish anything with effort, and my mother was an amazing woman who gave more than she got. They’d be proud to be here, but they’re in a better place. Thank you. My wife, Tiffany, my best friend, she inspires me daily in ways that no one has before. Throughout the ups and downs, she’s been there. She calls being married to me a mixed blessing - can you imagine that? No more naitching. My children, Megan, Reid, David, Ashley, are the true blessings of my life. I’m proud of them all. I consider myself the luckiest man alive to have something as special as them. They are now my heroes. I can’t credit for all of it, I had a lot of help. My first two wives, Leslie, with her, I was out of control, she made a wise decision. Beth spent 27 years with me, they both took great care of my life’s greatest blessings. As they’ve gotten older, I’ve worried that I wasn’t there for them - I apologize, no one loves their children more than I do. I leave knowing that my last match could be tomorrow, but that I’ll be performing in front of the most awesome crowd ever. I couldn’t be in the ring with a better opponent than Shawn Michaels - it’s a huge honor. Shawn wants me to a cut promo - he’s gonna say that to be the man, you gotta be the man. I wanna thank everyone who traveled here, but they’re winding me up. Thank you, thank you! WOOO!
is up with the Hall of Fame? It was supposed to start an hour ago and the graphic on the streaming video still says "coming soon."
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