Tomorrow night is my fantasy WCW's big PPV, "Slamboree: A Legends Reunion".. But tonight, WCW is inducting several new members into the WCW Hall of Fame. Here is the recap of the Induction Ceremonies for the (fantasy) Class of 2006 into my WCW Hall of Fame...
Thanks...
-Doug
WCW (Fantasy) 2006 Hall of Fame Ceremonies
April 8, 2006
Hilton University Plaza Hotel
Charlotte, NC
We see the cameras pan the audience full of WC Superstars and assorted legends from all across the world of professional wrestling. We see WCW Owner Eric Bischoff, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Ox Baker, Jeff Jarrett, Chavo & Hector Guerrero and so many others sitting in the crowd.
Lights flash and music fills the room as Soce the Elemental Wizard comes out and does a fantastic "Legends Rap" to honor the new inductees to the World Championship Wrestling Hall of Fame. As he finishes his rap to a thundering ovation, Soce quickly speaks of how he's always been a fan of professional wrestling and how honored he feels to be in the presence of such true legends. And then Soce introduces the host for the evening, the voice of WCW Monday Nitro, Tony Schiavione.
Tony thanks everyone for attending and introduces a video tribute to many of the great wrestlers who left this world way too soon: It's sad and moving and tears are beginning to flow freely as we see the faces of such stars as Dick Murdoch, Rhonda Sighn, Davey Boy Smith, Referee Brady Boone, Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy, Mark Curtis, Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge, The Wall, Brian Pillman, The Renegade, Chaz Rocco, The Von Erichs - Fritz, David, Kerry, Chris & Mike, Bobby Duncum Jr., Louis Spicolli, Yokozuna, Crash Holly, Chris Candido, Road Warrior Hawk, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero...
The camera pans the audience again and we get a good shot of Tammy Sytch with tears in her eyes from watching the video. We go back to Tony Schiavone who talks briefly about the sport of professional wrestling and what it means to him and everyone in the room. Then he asks everyone to please welcome the WCW Hall of Fame Class of 2006...
The nine inductees come out on to the stage and take their places at the tables on either sides of the podium as the crowd stands and gives them a huge ovation.
Schiavone introduces the man who will induct the first new member of the WCW Hall of Fame, Blackjack Mulligan.
Mulligan comes to the podium and talks briefly about his career as a wrestler. He thought he was the biggest and the baddest guy around until he met this guy. This man was known as "Big Nasty" and he got the reputation the hard way. Mulligan tells a quick story about a crazy night in Montreal where he and Mosca had to fight their way out of a bar after Mosca beat up one of the bouncers... and then Mulligan tells us to "watch this!"...
We see a great video feature on King Kong Angelo Mosca highlighting his career, both as a professional football player for the CFL and as a wrestler. The it's back to Mulligan who introduces "King Kong" Angelo Mosca.
Mosca is humble as he gets on the mic. As he remembers that story Mulligan told, it was Mulligan who started the trouble at the bar, trying to pick up some "fat chick" and Mosca had to save his butt from the bouncer who was the girl's boyfriend or something. Mosca talks about making the transition from football to wrestling and how much he loves the business. We see a great shot of his wife and son, Angelo Mosca Jr. in the crowd as Mosca talks. He tells a quick story about an encounter with a little old woman at a show in Florida back in the seventies and says he'd rather go sixty minutes with Abdullah the Butcher than deal with that woman again. Mosca thanks everyone for the induction and honor and says he's proud to be in the WCW Hall of Fame.
Schiavone is back and introduces the man who will induct the next legends - here is Captain Lou Albano.
The Captain comes up to the podium and goes into a rant as only Captain Lou can. He talks about life on the road with Afa and Sika when he was their manager and some of the crazy times the three of them had. It's classic Albano as he just goes on and on, keeping the entire crowd in stitches from laughing so much. Finally, Lou stops for a breath and we hear Afa heckle him from the sideline telling him to "shut up!" Lou laughs and introduces the video profiling the history and careers of Afa and Sika - The Wild Samoans.
Afa and Sika come to the podium and say that after having to listen to Lou ramble, they will keep it very short. Afa makes a joke about how they had to listen to Lou ramble like that for three years straight and calls Albano "mental".. Afa thanks his family and everyone and plugs his promotion, XFW. Sika just says, "Thank you very much!"
Much applause as The Samoans sit down. Schiavone is back to introduce the next speaker - Rico.
Rico comes up and talks about how proud of his character and admits that he ripped off everything he does from one man, Adrian Street. Rico talks about how far ahead of his time Adrian was. Street made records, movies, and was a fantastic wrestler. He was also wrestling's first ''transvestite". Rico talks about how he went to meet Street in Florida when he was first hired by the WWE and how generous Street was with advice and tips to get his character over. Rico says that this man is the toughest "drag queen" you'll ever see.
We go to the video presentation highlighting the career of "The Exotic" Adrian Street, starting with his debut in 1957 at age 16. Street was a weightlifter, boxer and model before becoming one of the most original and eclectic characters in wrestling history.
Rico then introduces "The Exotic" Adrian Street.
Street is dressed in a very flashy tux with frills and a fur collar and is wearing some bizarre make-up. He thanks Rico for the great introduction and reminds him that he (Adrian) is still the "queen bitch".. Adrian stays in character and tells several great stories about his career and adventures. He puts over Miss Linda, who is in the audience, and says that without that great woman beside him, he would never have been as great as he was. He tells a story about being dragged to a "redneck bar" in the Carolinas by the late Dick Murdoch and how he freaked out everyone in the beginning, but by the end of the night, all of the rednecks were converted and full pledged members of the Exotic Adrian Fan Club. Adrian puts over his wrestling school and thanks everyone for the great honor. He talks about possibly painting the HOF plaque pink to "add some class" and then gets serious as he talks about how much he loves wrestling and what it means to him. He thanks everyone once again before sitting down.
Back to Schiavone who introduces the next speaker, WCW Womens Champion Lisa "Ivory" Moretti. Ivory is wide open ultra-hyper as she talks about the state of Womens wrestling and how it's often been overshadowed by the men over the years. But one lady managed to overcome everything and went on to a stellar career and true "icon" status. Watch the video.
We see a highlight video that looks at how Mary Ann Kostecki transformed into the legendary Penny Banner. In an amazing 23 year career, from 1954 - 1974, Penny went on to face some of the toughest women in the sport and excelled, holding several titles including being the first AWA Womens Championship. Penny also found the time to be romantically linked with "The King of Rock" Elvis and was a household name before giving up life in the squared circle for marriage to fellow wrestling legend Johnny Weaver. Penny was recently featured in the movie "Lipstick and Dynamite" and has a best selling book out called "Banner Days". She's a regular award wining participant in the annual Senior Olympics and a true legend.
Back to Ivory who then introduces the legendary Penny Banner.
Penny comes up to a huge ovation. She talks about starting out in this business and life on the road for a female wrestler. She tells a couple of funny stories about "Cowboy" Bill Watts and about her very few matches against Moolah. She sends a shout out to fellow lady legend Kay Noble who is currently in a fight with cancer and asks that everyone keep Kay in their prayers and thoughts. Penny then talks about her own recent on-going fight with cancer and how it's one match she's determined to win. She's lost some weight and all of her hair, but she's ready for the big comeback at the end and will get the pin on her hated foe. Then, in a classic moment, Penny says she's going to make herself more comfortable and then Penny reaches up and pulls off the strawberry blonde wig she's wearing to reveal a shining bald head. The place breaks up as Penny smiles and says, "That's better!" She compares her new look to Baron Von Raschke who is sitting at the table next to the podium and says that they'll be posing for pictures together in the lobby after the show. Penny goes on to thank WCW, several legendary names from the past who helped her get started, God and the fans who have supported her and stayed in contact over the years. She's honored and proud of this induction. Thank you!
Penny sits down as the audience of her peers and several thousand fans roar their approval. Tony Schiavone is back up and introduces the next speaker, a true wrestling legend in his own right and Hall of Famer himself, former 8-time NWA World Champion Harley Race.
Race arises to a standing ovation from his peers and talks about how tough it was to be the World Champion, wrestling sometimes eight to ten times a week in ten different cities and against ten different opponents. And they were all tough, but Race was tougher and could always manage to escape, by hook or crook with his title. But no one managed to give him more fits than a "Mexican jumping bean" who liked to run around in a mask out in Texas and California. Race puts over the acrobatics and talent of Mil Mascaras and how he was "doing the high spots" before anyone in wrestling knew what a high spot was.
We see a great video piece highlighting the career of the legendary "Man of 1000 Masks". It talks about his great career and legendary status in Japan and Mexico and even now, Mil still occasionally works shows in Japan. It speaks on his roles in movies and how he followed the path of such legends as Santo and Blue Demon to become "a movie star" as well as a top wrestler. He was the IWA World Champion and held dozens of regional titles as well. He's a true icon and legend. He's Mil Mascaras.
We go back to Harley who introduces the legendary masked man, Mil Mascaras.
Mil is up and speaks of his career and how honored he is to be there tonight. He often worries about the direction that wrestling is headed, but he sees such lucadores in the ring as Juventud Guerrero, Silver King, Hector Garza, the Guerreros, Rey Mysterio (big pop for the mention of Rey's name) - and he knows that the legend of Lucha Libre is in good hands. He thanks the fans for supporting him and WCW for this honor before siting back down.
We go back to Tony Schiavone who introduces the next speaker, a true wrestling legend in his own right, "Number One" Paul Jones.
Paul gets up and almost immediately goes into a story about how he and Jim Raschke became a team after Steamboat turned on him and the success they had. He tells of some funny (and extremely exaggerated) stories of himself and the Baron having to fight off all the hot women who came to see them at the arenas and recalls an angle where he tried to convince Raschke to wear a blonde wig to be "even more of a sex symbol".. Paul talks about how hated the Baron was by the fans, but how respected and loved he was by his peers. No one could ever find anyhing bad to say about Jim Raschke in real life and he's a class act all of the way. Paul calls Raschke one of his favorite guys to work with, as a partner or opponent, and puts over Raschke as a truly great example of what being a "superstar" is all about. "Of course, he's no 'Number One' Paul Jones", Paul quickly adds, to a great laugh. Paul closes by saying how honored he is to call Raschke his friend.
We see a video highlighting the career of the mid-western farm boy and school teacher turned "Goose-stepping Nazi". It talks about his time as a two-time AAU Amatuer Champion and how he just missed going to the 1964 Olympics. Then he moved to the professional ranks and after being trained by Verne Gagne and Mad Dog Vachon, we see the transformation into the dreaded "Nazi" character that everyone loved to hate. We see clips of his classic battles with Bruno Sammartino in New York. Video from his days in Florida and Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic regions and finally, his days in the AWA where he shared tag team glory with the late Crusher. And we see lots and lots of clips of opponents being put down by the power of "The Claw"..
Back to Paul Jones who introduces Baron Von Raschke.
The Baron stands up, places his monocle in his eye, looks at the crowd, and goose-steps up to the podium to a huge ovation. He is in full "Baron" character as he sneers and threatens to place each and every member of the audience in his dreaded claw. Then the Baron smiles as we see a transformation to the humble James Raschke. He thanks Verne Gagne and Mad Dog Vachon for training him way back in 1966 and turning a biology and science teacher into one of the best known characters in wrestling history. The Baron thanks his wife Bonnie and son Karl for their support and love and for "putting up with him".. He talks about some of the great matches he's been involved in over the years in the AWA, WWWF, NWA, WCW and WWE as well as all over the world. He thanks the late Vince McMahon Sr. and Bruno for originally making him a household name during his first run in the old WWWF and how George Scott and Jim Crockett in the Carolinas made him a "superstar". He tells a funny story about being mobbed by a group of fans back in the early eighties who were "out for blood" and he says that it was just a case of mistaken identity. They thought he was Rob Lowe. He then goes on to talk about how he's often mistaken, even today for Ben Affleck, seeing as how they're both such sexy guys. This gets a huge laugh from the crowd. Raschke gets serious and thanks Paul Jones for the introduction, WCW for the honor and the fans for their great support over the years. He calls Penny Banner his "twin" and also notes that Adrian Steet doesn't have much hair on top these days either. Raschke says that they're just trying to be "sexy like me" and says that they are all living proof that bald is definitely beautiful. And then, after saying thank you to everyone one more time, Raschke transforms into "the Baron" one last time and says, "And dat is all de' people need to know!"... before dropping the mic and walking off to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Back to Tony who says that it's time to change things up a little bit for the next Inductions. One of these names was announced previously. The other was not, but both men were true greats in the sport of professional wrestling and the decision was made to induct these men together as they were best friends in their careers, in life and sadly, in death. Tony suspects that they're probably sitting back together in wrestling heaven, sharing a beer and watching right now. Schiavone introduces a great video clip highlighting the next two Inductees to the WCW Hall of Fame - Curt Hennig and "Ravishing" RIck Rude...
We see a great video clip that highlights the careers of Curt Hennig - his time as the AWA World Champion, his tag team success with Scott Hall, his roles in the nWo and the Horsemen, and finally his time as "Mr. Perfect"..... The video moves into a look at "Ravishing" Rick Rude and his great career in WCW and the WWE. He was a member of DX and the nWo - on the same night. He held titles in WCW and the WWE and all over the World. He defeated Ric Flair to capture the NWA World Championship back in 1993 before being forced out of action by back troubles. We see a great picture of Rude and Hennig together as the video ends.
At the podium is legendary wrestling manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Bobby talks about how he never thought he would ever have anything to do with WCW again, but when they called him and asked him to come do this induction of two of the best men he's ever known, he couldn't say no. Bobby tells a few quick stories about the great ribs pulled by Curt and how he never knew what to expect when dealing with these two men. But he always knew he would be having fun. No one was better in the ring than Curt Hennig. And no one was more entertaining than Rick Rude. Bobby starts to tear up a little bit as he talks about the great loss to everyone when Rude passed away. And then how upset he was when he heard about Curt. Bobby misses them badly. He thanks everyone for showing their love to Rick and Curt and on their behalf, he's proud and honored to see these two great men get their rightful spot in the WCW Hall of Fame.
Bobby sits down as the crowd gives him a standing ovation..
Back to Tony Schiavone as he introduces the next speaker. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you... The Rock.
The Rock comes out to a huge ovation. He's tickled pink and honored to be able to introduce the next inductee... a true icon and legend in the sport of professional wrestling. A true "Living Legend"... Rock calls himself "the great one", but standing next to this man, he's just "pretty damn good".
We see a video piece highlighting the career of "The Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino. His first WWWF Championship victory over the "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in 1963 when led to an amazing eight year reign and then another great win over Stan Stasiak in 1973 which led to four more years as the WWWF Champion. A feat that will never be duplicated. We see clips from his famous "Showdown In Shea Stadium" with Larry Zbyszko and clips from his classic match with Pedro Morales in 1972. We also see clips of the infamous incident in Madison Square Garden when Bruno's neck was broken by Stan Hansen and see the return of Bruno months later to exact revenge. He's a member of the Italian Amercian Hall Of Fame and a household name for close to 40 years. He is truly deserving of the name "Living Legend"..
The Rock introduces the "Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino.
Bruno rises to a standing ovation from the mass crowd and a big chant of "Bruno - Bruno" fills the room. Bruno quiets the crowd and starts to speak and then another chant of "One more match" starts. Bruno lets the crowd quiet down and begins.
He thanks his family and God! He then talks about being the WWWF Champion for almost 11 years and the faith that Vince McMahon Sr. had in him. He puts over some of the great names he wrestled over the years including many men there tonight such as Baron Von Raschke, Stan Hansen, Ivan Koloff and so many others. Then Bruno starts to talk about the state of wrestling today and how it's all about sex and steroids and so much of it is trash. We see a lot of people in the audience, including WCW Owner Eric Bischoff visibly squirming as Bruno talks about the changes that have taken place over the years and how wrestling used to be a place for the family to attend together on weekends and now it's no place for children. Bruno just kind of sighs and says that most of the blame rests on the shoulders of one man - Vince McMahon. But that's how that man is.. and why you'll never see Bruno at a WWF show or event. But he realizes that times have changed, but doggone it, he misses the old days of "good versus evil" and when it was all about the wrestling instead of the soap operas. Bruno decides to quiet down a bit and says that this honor, being inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame means a lot to him. He thanks the Rock for the introduction and all of his peers for loving the sport of wrestling as much as he does. Bruno is starting to tear up a bit as he clutches the award and says "Thank you!" one last time.
A standing ovation for the "Living Legend" as he takes his seat.
Tony Schiavone comes back to the podium and thanks everyone for attending the ceremonies and then asks everyone to give one last hand to the newest members of the WCW Hall of Fame Class of 2006.
Each new member of the WCW Hall of Fame Class of 2006 rises as Schiavone calls their name and the audience in attendence gives one final round of applause. Schiavone reminds everyone that all of the legends will be in attendence tomorrow night at the "WCW Slamboree: A Legends Reunion" PPV. He thanks everyone for attending and says good night as we fade to black.
The end!
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