WWE News WWE Hall of Fame Report: Ric Flair becomes the first active wrestler inducted, The Rock inducts his father and grandfather By Jason Powell Mar 29, 2008 - 10:00 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing The WWE website streamed the earlier inductions live tonight. You can read my coverage of those inductions by clicking here. The following are notes on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson inducting Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia, and Triple H inducting Ric Flair. This portion of the broadcast is airing live on USA Network. -An excellent video aired with shots of countless WWE Hall of Famers and the Class of 2008. -Todd Grisham welcomed everyone to the show and introduced Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Huge pop when his music hit. Rock out and flashed a big smile. Big cheers and "Rocky" chants once the music stopped playing. Rock said it's an honor to be at the Hall of Fame. He stopped himself and said something was missing. He pulled out a mic from under the podium and said, "Finally, The Rock has come back to Orlando." The live crowd ate it up. "Damn that felt good, thank you," he said. He said it was great to see so many smiling faces, including Steve Austin. A shot aired of a smiling Austin. Then Rock pointed out Mick Foley. Rock said only in this business could a man pull out a sock from a crotch area, shove it down Rock's throat, and make it a better man. Rock pointed out that Foley drew a tuxedo on his sock. "Only Mick Foley," Rock said. "Love you, buddy." Rock pretended to be happy to see Jonathan Coachman, but said no one cared about him. Rock pointed out Chris Jericho and mocked his "12 year-old boy haircut." Jericho played along by standing up and pretending to be angry. Rock called him a Backstreet Boy and said, "Love the highlights." Jericho laughed. Rock said Triple H is so obsessed with winning the WWE Title "that the mere thought of that somehow made Stephanie McMahon pregnant." Stephanie laughed. Rock congratulated them on the pregnancy. He turned his attention to John Cena and made a joke about The Marine. "Hey, I made Doom," Rock joked at his own expense. Cena laughed. Rock acted like he didn't know Santino Marella's name. Santino stood up and tried to tell him, but Rock did the "It doesn't matter what your name is" bit for another huge pop and more "Rocky" chants. He rattled off a rhyme and popped the crowd one more time before the show went to commercial. Powell's POV: He's still got it. Given how good Rock and JBL were tonight, it's probably only a matter of time before WWE starts holding roasts on USA Network. I'd watch. After the break, Rock introduced Rocky Johnson's HOF video. He then introduced his father, who walked to the stage and hugged Rock. The crowd chanted, "Rocky" for the elder Johnson. Rocky talked about he and Tony Atlas becoming the first African American tag team champions. He spoke briefly about Peter Maivia and thanked the fans. He kept it short and sweet (or perhaps they did in editing). A graphic noted that Maivia would be inducted after the break. Powell's POV: Great ad placement. The Tiger Woods spot for Gatorade with Flair's entrance theme aired during the break. "The great 'High Chief' Peter Maivia, he was many things to a lot of people, but to my family he was everything," Rock said. He introduced Maivia's HOF video. The camera showed a close up shot of Maivia's widow, who was teary-eyed. Rock said he wanted to make his grandfather proud when he entered the wrestling business. He teared up and said he hopes he made his grandfather proud because he sure is proud of him. Rock introduced his mother Ata Johnson as "the real rock of family." Rock kissed his mother and let her take center stage. She said her father was a soft-spoken gentle giant. "Dad, as you look down from heaven, take your final bow," she said. "This is your big finish." A shot aired of Jimmy Snuka sitting in the crowd. "Dad, you are my champion," she continued. "I love you." Powell's POV: Great speech. Rock was terrific and his mother's words were definitely from the heart. John Cena took the stage and was met with a mix of cheers and boos. He stood at the podium and offered no expression while he took it all in. He said judging by the excitement in the building, he could tell that WrestleMania is tomorrow. He said it doesn't matter what the fans think about him. Cena said what's relevant is that no one would be there if it wasn't for the legends. He credited them with making him turn on the television and want to be a wrestler. He said it's the legends who make him proud to be part of WrestleMania. Cena asked the fans to stand and join him in applauding the Class of 2008 and every Hall of Famer. The crowd obliged his request. Clips aired from earlier in the night of the other HOF inductees. The show cut to commercial as they teased Flair for after the break. Powell's POV: A good, passionate speech from Cena. Very classy HOF ceremony thus far. Triple H took the stage to a big ovation. He saluted the crowd and said it was awesome that so many people showed up just to show respect and love for the superstars of the past. "This next man, he not only deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but he should have his own wing." The Flair highlight video aired. A shot aired of Flair's family sitting in the crowd. His sons already had tears in their eyes. Powell's POV: Get the tissue ready. I can only assume that USA Network is going to let the show run long. My DVR lists it as ending at 11:05, which is only five minutes away as I type this. If you think Flair fans who are watching are going to be emotional, just think about the poor fans who set their DVR for the scheduled time. Ouch. Triple was still at the podium after the break. He said Flair's passion has made him the greatest in the ring and on the mic. "Sure, some things have changed," Hunter said. "Now when Ric is naked in the lobby of a hotel it's because he can't remember where his room is," Hunter said. He also joked that at Flair's age, sometimes even Space Mountain needs help getting up the first hill. Hunter said it's been said a million times that Flair is "arguably" the greatest of all-time. He said he's still waiting to hear the argument. He said Flair is the greatest of all-time and is, was, and always will be "The Man." He said it was his honor to introduce "The Nature Boy." Flair was already fighting back tears when he took the stage. The crowd gave him a long standing ovation that probably would have went on all night if Flair didn't ask them to stop and take their seats. Big Show was shown crying in the crowd. Flair said shortly after he started, Ray Stevens told him when he doesn't get goosebumps while walking through the curtain, it's time to quit. "I can tell you without reservation, that I have goosebumps tonight thanks to all of you," Flair said. "I am truly honored to be part of this great Class of 2008. He said it was an honor to be inducted while he was still active. He thanked his peers "for the friendship and the friendship that you've given me." A shot aired of Steve Austin with tears in his eyes. He said the last seven years have been a very, very, very special time in his life. He said it's an honor to be inducted in Orlando, which he called "The second home of Space Mountain." Lots of laughs over that one. Flair said everything he is today and has become is because of the sport of professional wrestling. "I hope fans realize I gave them the best I could give them," he said. " Whether there were 100 of you or 10,000 of you, I hope none of you ever went home disappointed." Flair took a second to sell his match with Shawn Michaels. Then he said Triple H reminds him of himself more than anyone in the business. He said he wishes he could turn back the clock and wrestle Hunter in his prime. He brought up Michaels again and talked about how Shawn has said he grew up wanting to be Flair. He said HBK doesn't have to try to be anybody. He turned his attention to his family and said he was blessed to have them. He said his parents are in a better place. He thanked his wife Tiffany and called her his best friend. He said he's tested her, but she's tough. "No more Naitching," Flair said. Very funny. He also thanked his first two wives. The crowd thought he was joking, but he told them he's being very serious. He said he was out of control during his first marriage and thanked his former wives for taking care of his children. Flair said he wanted to cut a promo. "To be the man, you've gotta beat the man," Flair said to Michaels. Shawn smiled back at him. Flair said he wanted to say more but had to wrap it up. He thanked the crowd and gave them a big "Woooo!" to close the show. his music played, confetti flied, and Flair hugged Hunter to close the show. Powell's POV: Very good speech by Flair. He came close to breaking down a few times, but he kept his composure and delivered a memorable speech that had his family and many of his peers in tears. We definitely got an abbreviated version of the speech, which is a shame. The show ran long by 10 minutes and it's really too bad that they couldn't have planned for additional coverage to fit in his entire speech. I suppose this can only help the DVD sales. Overall, a memorable night and broadcast. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) 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