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CALDWELL'S USA HALL OF FAME REVIEW: Thoughts on Rock's audition to host the Oscars and Flair's beautiful speech Mar 30, 2008 - 2:35:30 AM
The show opened with a video package with classic still photo shots of WWE's top personalities in company history. Nice stage-setting promo.
As I expected, The Rock got a mixed reaction when his name was introduced by Todd Grisham to start the show. When his music hit and he walked out, though, it was all cheers. They showed Cena with a square-locked jaw not showing any emotion. Maybe doing a little business for next year. The fans chanted, "One more match," and Rock flashed his smile to quiet the crowd down.
Rock then auditioned for hosting next year's Oscars by doing a roast of everyone in the building. He pointed out Austin, then he asked Foley to whip out his sock. Foley obliged by yanking out his sock, which was dressed in a tux. The kids will love that in the magazine.
Rock ripped on Coach, who went along with it, then he said he can't believe Jericho is still talking about beating Austin and Rock in the same night. Rock ripped Jericho's hair, and Jericho pretended like he was mad before laughing at himself. Jericho played it off well. Oh, the shout-out to Triple H. (Boos.) Rock said Hunter is so obsessed with winning the WWE Title that the mere thought of that makes Stephanie McMahon pregnant. Dooh. They showed Linda and Stephanie sharing a laugh.
He saved the biggest rip for next-to-last with John Cena. He said there was incident where U.S. troops tied up the enemy and made them watch copies of The Marine DVD. Oh man. Still doing a little business possibly for next year. Cena faked being mad, then he bowed to Rock. Rock then laughed at himself for making "Doom". Rock pointed out Santino Marella in the crowd, and did the line that it doesn't matter what his name is. Great spotlight moment for Santino.
After a commercial, Rock introduced Rocky Johnson, and they aired a video package on Rocky's accomplishments. Rocky came out and he gave a quick speech. Good line about wanting to be remembered for paving the way for all athletes.
They came back with a video package on High Chief Peter Maivia. Pat Patterson said he put Samoan wrestlers on the map. Rock spoke again and got a little emotional talking about his grandfather. He talked about wanting to make his grandfather proud, then Rock brought out his mom, Ata Johnson, to induct High Chief. She gave a very nice speech, which the audience was respectful of.
After a break, John Cena was on stage to the usual mixed reception. Cena didn't bust out the "NFL Films" voice to promote the Hall of Fame, but he went for the deliberate-enunciation-and-emphasis-on-syllables preacher promo. Cena thanked the legends ahead of him who turned all of the current wrestlers into fans. He emphatically asked everyone to stand and applaud the superstars of the past. Good promo that won over the majority of fans for one day at least.
Triple H came out after the break to induct Ric Flair. Hunter, looking the part of future WWE CEO, thanked the fans for jam-packing this arena to pay tribute to wrestlers. He introduced a lengthy video package on Flair. Talking about Flair's first year in the business, Ross said it was like seeing Michael Jordan his first year with the Chicago Bulls. They aired a sound byte from David Crockett, who hasn't been heard from in years. They showed some classic Flair promos, then everyone tried to imitate the Whoo. Someone barked like a dog there. After the lighthearted moment, the video got serious about what Flair means to the wrestling business. Nice finishing touch.
After the break, Hunter talked about Flair's passion making him the greatest wrestler, father, and husband, and friend. They showed Flair's family sitting on the front row non-reactional. Hunter got a few laughs about Flair having a touch of old age that's limited his ability to get Space Mountain up that first hill. Hunter got serious and said he he's still waiting to hear the argument against Flair as the greatest wrestler of all-time. Hunter obviously hasn't received his copy of Bret Hart's book in the mail. Hunter then brought out Flair to a huge reception. Flair was all-tears as he came out. They showed Big Show and Shawn Michaels crying.
After reading Wade Keller's report and reading feedback on Flair's speech promo prior to watching it, I just sat back and listened. This was about as authentic a speech as you'll find anywhere. Authentic is the word that kept coming to mind during this. It was a great moment to see him use the time to thank others and apologize to others, while handling the crowd and tough moment with dignity and class. Here's some of the feedback we received tonight...
- "Flair's induction to the HOF speech was not just a great wrestling speech, it's a great moment in time speech for all. For Flair to say what he said and humble himself the way he did with great introspection was an amazing revelation."
- "Ric Flair’s speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony was memorable for what was missing: no talk whatsoever about his accomplishments or about the wrestling business, other than to mention how lucky he has been to be in it. Instead, he used his time to focus on profusely thanking his peers and his family.
"As a 40-something wrestling fan who fondly recalls the Ric Flair of the 1970s and 80s, I think that the Ric Flair I saw tonight is the one I like the best. I hope that in retirement he can find the peace and joy in his family life that eluded him for all those years that he was chasing fame and fortune."
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AND NEW FOR 2009! Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?
