WWE Hall Of Fame 2015 Recap

Lawler set up The Bushwhackers video…

The Bushwhackers: Presented by John Laurinaitis

Laurinaitis came out and the crowd chanted “People Power.” He thanked them and said it’s not about him, it’s about The Bushwhackers. He spoke about how everyone has to start somewhere, and you become who you are thanks to people along the way. He pointed to the New Zealand flag and said it helped him meet the people who made him the man he is today.

Laurinaitis had Dusty Rhodes stand up as he recalled Dusty telling him he was sending him to Florida to be paired with The Sheepherders. A shot of the trio was shown and the fans laughed at Johnny’s hair. He made a crack about how his hair wasn’t as cool as he thought it was.

Laurinaitis said the Sheepherders told him what to do and why he was doing it. He said they were his mentors. He said they were his family, his mates, and his beginning. He said it’s an honor for him to induct Luke and Butch.

The Bushwhackers made their entrance. Luke did the walk, and Butch did his best while walking with the help of a cane. Butch made some classic Bushwhackers sounds, then Luke joined in. They spoke about Gene Kiniski and Andre the Giant. Butch told a story about being attacked by hundreds of Samoans.

Luke told a story about Stu Hart and Stampede Wrestling, neither of which they had ever heard of. “We were doing hardcore before hardcore was called bloody hardcore,” Butch said. They said they were working for the AWA when Luke got a call from a guy named Pat (Patterson).

Luke said they went to a meeting and were told they wanted to make them the good guys. Butch questioned how they would make good guys “out of these ugly looking bloody heads.” He followed by saying, “And you know what, they bloody did, it’s amazing.”

They spoke about the match and licking fans. “You bloody Americans taste great,” Butch said to laughs. They thanked the fans. Luke said he had one more story from the Royal Rumble. He recalled being eliminated and continuing to march the whole way. He said Butch didn’t like it because he was in the match for 25 minutes. Vader was shown cracking up. Butch said what really got him hot was that Luke got the same check he did.

Butch asked Roddy Piper to stand up. Piper stood up and did the Bushwhacker march. Luke called for Ted DiBiase to stand up, and Ted did a quick Bushwhacker march and shook their hands. Luke mentioned Stu Hart, and they asked Bret Hart to stand up on behalf of his father. Bret did the march and shook their hands.

Butch recalled working SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium. They said their partner was Jim Duggan, who stood up and gave them a hoooo. He did a standing version of the march too. Butch said it was a great night because there were plenty of whoas, plenty of hos, and a great big hooooo. Funny.

Butch had his wife Helen stand up and thanked her. Luke said God bless her for living with Butch, who thanked her again and said he loves her. Butch also thanked his daughters who were back home for letting him chase his dream and understanding when he wasn’t at home. He thanked them for the grandchildren and said they are beautiful.

Butch thanked Luke. Butch said you could never have a better partner than he did for 34 years. “The only thing in 34 years that pissed me off is when he walked straight out of the ring and I did 25 bloody minutes.” Luke issued thanks for letting two boys from down under be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Butch licked Luke’s head as Luke pretended he didn’t want him to, which got a rise from the fans to close it out…

Lawler set up the Tatsumi Fujinami video…

Tatsumi Fujinami: Presented by Ric Flair

Flair read from his script initially and then noted that he was about to ad lib (make that WrestleMania postponed until May). Flair spoke about how what he’s doing with WWE now is the coolest thing he’s ever done. He spoke about how hard Fujinami trained and the moves he invented.

Flair had Vader stand up and spoke about his feud with Fujinami. “The guy can go,” Flair said regarding Vader. Flair said Fujinami is the greatest wrestler in the history of Japan. He said he thought about Muta before he said that. He kept it (mercifully) brief and introduced Fujinami.

Fujinami walked out wearing a tux and shared a moment with Flair. Fujinami pulled out his speech and said he was proud to be there. He thanked WWE “for this great honor.” He said he fights because it’s his mission. He said today he joins the WWE Hall of Fame, and he thanked his wife and family for supporting him…

Lawler set up the Randy Savage video…

Randy Savage: Presented by Hulk Hogan, Accepted by Lanny Poffo

Lawler introduced Hulk Hogan, who wore a tuxedo (sadly, the tux had sleeves). Hogan started with a Savage impersonation. “He was something else,” Hogan said. He said he was crazy and it was his pleasure to induct someone he really loved into the Hall of Fame.

The fans chanted Randy Savage loudly. Hogan spoke about how intense Savage was. “Great competitor, even a better friend,” Hogan said. He said there were countless times that intensity spilled over. He said Savage would call him at three in the morning to talk wrestling.

Hogan said they all looked up to Randy’s father Angelo Poffo. Hogan said he actually switched to the canary yellow tights because Angelo wore those and stood out so well. Hogan said Savage loved his craft. He brought up WrestleMania 3, and said he feels Savage proved he was the best “in the Super… I mean, Silverdome” (intentional and funny).

Hogan spoke about his match with Andre, but he said Macho Man stole the show at WrestleMania 3. Hogan said the MegaPowers were a great tag team. He said Savage would take sports entertainment to another level. He recalled the angle where they were breaking up and Savage accused him of having jealous eyes for Elizabeth.

Hogan said Savage wasn’t getting the reaction out of Hogan that he wanted, so he poked his finger in his face and it brought Hogan up to that level of intensity. “He was the Macho Man 24 hours a day,” Hogan said. He said that was Hogan’s voice and impersonated him saying, “Pick up the tab, brother.” Funny.

Hogan said Savage was so intense that he made you better at everything you did. Hogan recalled some of his personal favorite WrestleMania moments. He brought up the money and the miles line he’s been using. Hogan said whenever you worked with Savage it was always intense and he made him and everyone else in the business step up and be a better performer.

“When I think about it, there wouldn’t be Hulkamania without the Macho Madness,” Hogan said. Hulk said if it hadn’t been for Randy he wouldn’t have stepped his game up. Hogan said Savage deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and he thanked WWE for inducting him.

Hogan introduced Lanny Poffo as the man accepting the award for Savage. Randy’s music played as Poffo walked onto the stage and hugged Hogan. Lanny read a poem about his brother’s accomplishments. It included a line about the storyline being real when the MegaPowers exploded and said it’s time for us to heal.

The fans chanted Randy Savage, and Lanny joined them once. “Okay, we’ve got a curfew, okay,” Lanny said. He noted that his mother couldn’t be there. He said she’s 88 years-old and spoke about how great she was in the Savage DVD.

Lanny brought up Randy’s widow Lynn, and said he knew she was watching and had paid her $9.99. He thanked her for making his brother the happiest man in the world right up until he died. Lanny got choked up and said, “Think of baseball.”

Lanny recalled Warrior getting a chance to speak before he passed. Lanny said Randy didn’t get that opportunity, so he wanted to say what was in his heart. He praised him for being a good uncle to his daughter, and a good father to his wife’s children from a previous marriage.

Lanny said all the athletes of the Special Olympics were like his sons and daughters. Lanny said Randy loved them like Mr. T loved his mother. Hilarious. Lanny read a very poem he wrote about the Special Olympics.

Lanny recalled going to the Special Olympics with Savage numerous times. He said he introduced Savage, who came out in his full regalia, and he spoke about how his speeches always seemed to get better. He said WWE always sent a mountain of merchandise so that Savage could hand it out like Santa Claus to the Special Olympians. “He was a champion of the underdog,” Poffo said of his brother. He read another poem to close out his speech…