WWE Hall Of Fame 2015 Recap

The video for Alundra Blayze/Madusa aired…

Alundra Blayze: Presented by Natalya

Natalya spoke about how Alundra showed up to fight and was a revolutionary. “One iconic act of defiance would change the history of sports entertainment forever, when Alundra Blayze took her WWE Women’s Championship and threw it in the trash on WCW TV.” There were boos from the fans. She said the gloves came off and the gauntlet was thrown. She said that act started a revolution.

Natalya said she had to tell someone when she found out that she was going to induct Alundra. She said she hoped Arn Anderson wouldn’t mind. Natalya told a story about Arn being upset that Madusa was cutting promos before him doing too many takes, and that led to Alundra chasing after him with her heels. After reading a quote about a brick wall, Natalya introduced Alundra Blayze as “the only woman in the world who Arn Anderson is afraid of.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet you never saw this coming, did you?” Blayze started. “Yeah, neither did I.” She thanked Natalya for the introduction and spoke about her carrying on the Hart family legacy.

Alundra spoke about meeting a stunt coordinator who told her she should be in pro wrestling. She spoke about working for promoter Eddie Sharkey and making zero money, living in her car, and having it repossessed. She said Eddie told her that’s what wrestlers do.

Madusa said she got a call from Wahoo McDaniel, who wanted her to work with Sherri Martel. She said she learned so much from Sherri and busted her ass while learning her craft. She said her time with the AWA led to All Japan Pro Wrestling, WCW, and laid the foundation to Greg Valentine and Pat Patterson of WWE.

Alundra paid homage to the Fabulous Moolah and thanked her for paving the way. She thanked Verne Gagne “and my AWA family.” She thanked Curt Hennig and Dallas Page, and said Page is a future Hall of Famer. She also mentioned her Japanese wrestling family and said her beliefs, values, and morales were forged during the three years she spent there. She thanked several of her Japanese counterparts by name.

Alundra thanked her parents and family, and her “extended family watching me right now on WWE Network for $9.99.” She thanked her “Monster Jam Family” and her pink warriors, and her “die-hard Madusa fans.” She also thanked Evan Karagias for “having the stones to let me pin him for the cruiserweight title.” She also thanked a list of women who “did their part” in her success.

Madusa gave “special thanks” to Paul Heyman, who was shown in the crowd sitting next to his children. Heyman had tears in his eyes. “I was the first Paul Heyman Girl,” Madusa said. She mentioned the Dangerous Alliance. She also brought up Steve Austin and said she had the biggest crush on him. She said Arn better not think about coming up on the stage “or I will beat your ass.” She mentioned Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko, and Rick Rude while labeling him a future WWE Hall of Famer.

Madusa got choked up as she said she was honored to be inducted in the same class “as the immortal” Randy Savage. She mentioned Nora Greenwald (Molly Holly) and Gorgeous George (Macho valet version). She gave a shout out to members of the WWE staff.

Madusa thanked the love of her life and noted that he served in the army for 30 years. He was shown sitting in the crowd. She said she hadn’t seen him in nearly a year because he’s serving, but his platoon arranged for him to come back for this occasion. The fans roared. She asked for the military members, first responders, and public servants to stand up to be recognized.

She was censored as she said it was time to get to some fun shit. She said it was time to talk about the title. She said she was sitting on the toilet in 1995 when she got a call from Eric Bischoff, who was booed. She laughed. She said he offered her a WCW contract.

Madusa said she had no idea that she would fire the first shot in the Monday Night War by throwing the title in the trash. She said that when Bischoff told her to dump the title, her reaction was hell no, but she ultimately did it for job security. She said she did what any other male or female wrestler would do under those circumstances.

Madusa said Bischoff’s goal was to get WWE’s attention. “Mission accomplished,” she added. She said she will be forever known as “that bitch” who threw the title in the trash. She said she’s at peace with it now “and so should you.” She looked toward the back.

Natalya walked out with a trash can. Madusa reached down and pulled out bra and panties. “Really, I hated that crap, who came up with that.” She pulled out JR’s BBQ and questioned who the writer was who had her wrestle in that. She praised JR’s BBQ sauce. She pulled out an Eric Bischoff book. She said they are friends to this day.

Madusa pulled out the WWF Women’s Championship. She said that’s a “women’s wrestling belt.” She challenged anyone to come take it, then said she’s just kidding because he’s retired. She said the belt is finally home where it belongs.

She read from her notes and said being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame is the highest honor to be bestowed upon a sports entertainer. She joked that she’s the reigning WWE Women’s Champion who has held the belt for 20 years. She said she is a two-time Monster Jam champion, and the only woman to hold world championships in two male dominated professions. She closed out by saying you can call her Alundra or Madusa, but you can bet your ass that this diva will never be subdued”…

Lawler set up the footage of the Ultimate Warrior statue being unveiled with his wife and children at Axxess on Thursday. Back live, the fans chanted “thank you, Warrior.” The statue was on the stage behind Lawler, who spoke about the Warrior Award. A video for Warrior was shown.

Warrior Award – Connor Michalek: Presented by Dana Warrior

Dana Warrior was introduced. “Is it too late to say I had other plans tonight?” she asked? She said it was an honor and it was a terrifying honor. She recalled how proud she was of her late husband’s speech and said she agreed with all he stood for. “Most of all, I was proud to be called his wife,” she said.

“Losing him was an unspeakable blow,” Dana said. She said people don’t tell you about the physical pain that comes from losing someone so much. She said it was like losing the air from her lungs and the beat of her heart. “That kind of sadness could swallow a person whole if you hadn’t spent 22 years with a man who embodied the spirt of a warrior… and he gave a little of that to me along the way.”

Dana said she wants him back every day, but she never wanted to follow him. She said she knew he would be so mad at her if she didn’t stand up and embody a warrior woman. She said a wallflower can’t be married to a warrior, so even though she’s quieter, she is a warrior. She issued her gratitude to those she said know who they are and what they have done.

Dana thanked her daughters and said they have been her reason for getting up every day “and to fight like mad to make you proud.” She asked the girls, who were in the crowd, to forgive her for any mistakes she made during trying times. Like their dad, she said the most awesome thing she will ever do is be their mom.

Dana also thanked the fans. “Even if you didn’t like us much in the beginning, we got better as we went along,” she said. She thanked WWE and said she would never forget what they did for her and her family. She thanked “Stephanie and Paul” and said they might play bad guys, but they are really good friends. She also thanked Steve Wilton and said he was her husband’s most trusted friend.

Dana spoke about what makes one a true warrior and said it’s about the impact you have on those around you and the impact you leave behind. She said Conor and her husband have taken their final breath and journeyed into parts unknown, but their legacies are ultimate. She challenged every person out there to make a donation to Connor’s Cure in Warrior’s memory.

She said if they raise $1 million she’ll do something warrior crazy and she might even bodyslam someone. She said she had the perfect opponent in mind, “brother.” She said she was kidding and said there was nothing but love.

Dana introduced Daniel Bryan and said her husband thought he was a wonderful example of an underdog rising to the top. She said watching Daniel Bryan and his love for Connor made her love him even more. Dana said she believes her husband would have selected Bryan for his huge heart and his own warrior spirit.

Bryan came out and hugged Dana, who left the stage as the crowd delivered a “Yes!” chant. Bryan was already teared up as he stood at the podium, which had the Warrior Award trophy. He apologized for keeping his hands in his pockets to keep from crying. The fans chanted his name. He said he really appreciated that, but everything he’s done is fiction and what he’s talking about is something very real.

The fans chanted “Connor.” Bryan said that’s more like it. “You shouldn’t be chanting for me, you should be chanting for him,” he said. Bryan said he first found out about Connor via a Youtube video even though he’s rarely on social media. He spoke about having his heart stolen the second he met Connor. Bryan said it’s not just because he was cute and charismatic.

Bryan said there was something more there and he struggled to find what that was when he was putting his speech together. Bryan said he thinks the thing that spoke to him was his strength. He said Connor was diagnosed with brain cancer at age three, and lived his life in and out of hospitals. He said that when you met Connor, he was full of life and confidence.”

Bryan said he was still doing the “no” thing because they wanted the fans to stop saying yes. “Whatever,” he said. Bryan recalled Connor telling him that he didn’t like it when the fans chanted yes because Bryan didn’t want them to. He recalled asking Connor if he thought he could put him in the No Lock. Connor told him yes, he could put everyone in the No Lock.

Bryan recalled Connor getting Triple H to punch him. He said Connor told him no, he couldn’t do that in a way that suggested it was going to hurt. He said it didn’t take much more for Connor. The fans chanted “Crusher.” Bryan said noted that he was called Connor The Crusher.

“I wish that you all could have seen Connor through my eyes at the end of WrestleMania last year,” he said. Bryan said he was in front of 70,000 fans with confetti falling. He said he looked out and saw Connor, who sat through a four-hour show and had to be tired, but he was smiling and throwing his hands in the air while in his dad’s arms.

Bryan said that gave him a sense of what is truly important. “It wasn’t what I was doing in that moment in time, it was the love between a father and his son,” Bryan said. “And you could see the life in Connor’s eyes. And you could see the love in his dad’s eyes, so appreciative of being there in that moment and being able to hold his son.”

Bryan said it was his pleasure to present the award to Connor’s father, who supported his son throughout all of it. Bryan introduced Steve Michalek, who walked out and hugged Bryan before heading to the podium as the fans gave him a standing ovation. Another Connor chant broke out.

Steve thanked Connor and said if it wasn’t for his spirit there was no way he would be able to talk in front of so many people. He thanked Dana Warrior and said her bravery and commitment in raising her children can’t be overstated.

Steve thanked Bryan for the kind words “about a little boy who saw you as a hero.” Steve said Connor’s love and passion for WWE began with Bryan, and he would be so happy to know that Bryan was giving him the award and inducting him into the Hall of Fame.

Steve spoke about how Warrior owned the crowd, and said Bryan has the same energy and passion that Warrior had. Therefore, he found it fitting that Bryan was giving the award. He also thanked Stephanie and Triple H for starting Connor’s Cure. He said he’s proud that the foundation has been so successful, and said it’s thanks to the fans that it’s here to stay and to make a difference.

Steve spoke about the videos that people have seen. He recalled that six year-old Connor told Bryan and Kane that he and his younger brother Jackson were the real tag team champions. He recalled the ring appearance where he punched and pinned Triple H, “and even had the presence to hook the leg.”

Steve said Connor got to have his own WrestleMania moment when he shared a hug with the new champion (Bryan) as confetti fell all around them. Steve said that while Connor may not be physically with us, he never let cancer beat him. He said at times it may have put him on his back, but his WWE friends like Justin Roberts and Daniel Bryan made his smile brighter and made him laugh a little longer.

Steve said doctors told him that Connor would never make it to WrestleMania. “But that didn’t stop the Crusher from making it to the show of shows, and dare I say that with Daniel Bryan by his side, he became part of WrestleMania history,” he said.

Steve said Connor will always be his best friend and his hero, and he hopes that he will also be a hero for all kids fighting against this terrible disease. He said he is humbled, honored, and proud that his son made such an impact on so many lives.

Steve said one of the last times he was with his son, it seemed like everywhere they went someone knew him. Steve told him it seemed like he was becoming a big celebrity. He recalled Connor looking up at him and said, “Dad, don’t you know, I’m going to be famous one day.” He said that thanks to the award, the Hall of Fame, and Connor’s crusade, his words came true and his legacy will live forever.

Steve introduced Connor’s brother Jackson to say a few words. Young Jackson walked onto the stage, and his father picked up him. Jackson waved to the fans and then blew a kiss. “I love you, Connor,” Jackson said to close the speech…