Hello and welcome to the latest and final piece in the 10 Observations series. Over the last few weeks, we here at Sportskeeda have been documenting our trip to WrestleMania 33 in the form of these articles, and we’ve finally come to the end of the road this year with the WWE Hall of Fame. Yes, we know we’ve gone in an odd order, we’ll try and rectify that next year.
The induction ceremony has become one of the weekend’s biggest traditions dating way back over two decades now. This year we witnessed several legendary figures go into the Hall, with the entire class being headlined by one of the most charismatic and talented wrestlers in the history of the business – Kurt Angle.
The rest of the class was no joke either with the likes of Diamond Dallas Page, Teddy Long, Beth Phoenix and many more taking their rightful place alongside many other greats in the world of professional wrestling. It was a night of celebration, and when it was all said and done, there were plenty of talking points to discuss.
So with that in mind, here are 10 observations from attending the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
#1 Angle emotion
Kurt Angle entering the Hall of Fame was special for many reasons, most notably because he more than deserves it. The Olympic Gold Medallist is one of the greatest athletes to ever walk through the doors of WWE, and his absence from the company over the last decade or so led many fans to wonder if he’d ever come back.
When he did, however, some members of the WWE Universe weren’t quite ready for it. Inside of the Amway Center there were several grown men actively crying tears of joy upon seeing Kurt walk onto the stage, and that right there is why his involvement with the company is so important. He puts smiles on people’s faces, and we all need that. It’s true; it’s damn true.
Onto a true superhero.
#2 Mic issues
Eric LeGrand is a superhero, and there aren’t too many better ways to describe him. The former college football player was paralysed from the neck down while playing for Rutgers back in 2010, and since then he’s dedicated his life to helping others around the world. Hell, he’s even claimed that he’ll walk again one day. Inspirational.
Unfortunately, during his speech, the live crowd couldn’t hear much of what Eric was saying. Whether it was the speaker not being turned up high enough or Eric’s mic slipping down slightly, fans were forced to lean forward in an attempt to hear him. Still, courtesy of the WWE Network we’re all able to go back and watch regardless.
Now to the tag team portion of the evening.
#3 The Express impress
As someone who only returned to watching wrestling in mid-2010, I wasn’t that knowledgeable when it came to the Rock ‘n Roll Express. Thankfully, courtesy of the internet, I was able to familiarise myself with the legendary duo prior to their Hall of Fame induction two nights before WrestleMania.
Despite doing that, there was still a lack of excitement in my mind when it came to their speech in comparison to the other notable legends that were going to be speaking that night. Thankfully they knocked it out of the park with a short but sweet speech that was equally moving and comedic. Bravo.
Now for a quick switch around.
#4 Good placement
For the last few years, Triple H has run an NXT show on the Friday of Mania week, whether that be a live event or a Takeover special. In addition to that, the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony has almost always been held just twenty-four hours before Mania itself on a Saturday – but this year, everything changed.
WWE decided that it would be best to swap Takeover and the HOF round, and we think it was a great decision. It allowed for superstars to get an extra day’s rest prior to the big event on Sunday, and it also served as a relaxing event to ease fans into what was bound to be a long weekend of wrestling.
Is it over yet? Just kidding.. kind of.
#5 Long ceremony
The Hall of Fame is a long, long ceremony. We could end this entry right then and there, but we’ll expand ever so slightly. Listening to legends talk about their careers and what they’ve accomplished is great, but around half way, through the festivities, it does become a little bit tedious considering the HOF runs about as long as a WWE pay per view.
Also read: 10 observations from attending Walemania III
Obviously, they need to stick to a strict schedule considering how much there is to get done throughout the weekend, but that doesn’t make it feel any less tasking. Perhaps they should consider having one less inductee each year so that fans don’t burn themselves out in terms of chanting for their favourites.
He hears voices.. apparently.
#6 Orton arrives late
We can’t imagine the Hall of Fame ceremony is every superstar’s cup of tea, especially considering our last point about the duration of the event. However, some wrestlers take it one step too far, and one of the main culprits of that is Mr Randy Orton. Yup – it’s time for some name and shaming.
Despite arriving about half an hour before things got underway, Orton wasn’t seen to be in his seat once Jerry Lawler kicked things off. Instead, Orton and his wife showed up during one of the speeches which was visible to all fans in attendance. While we have no idea for the reason behind this, it does seem a tad unprofessional.
Couldn’t you time it better?
#7 Bathroom breaks
Look, during any form of wrestling show you’re likely going to need a bathroom break at some stage – that much is obvious. Unfortunately, a lot of WWE superstars don’t really thrive when it comes to timing them to perfection as a significant portion of them would walk off during the intervals between inductees and not return until halfway through the next one.
It seemed much more casual than it comes across on WWE television, but that just shows how able the camera crew is when it comes to these kinds of things. It’d be great to see a Network special revolving around this topic in the near future considering all the hard work that they do, but we aren’t holding our breath.
We love you, Mick.
#8 Foley’s walk
Mick Foley is a legend of our business, and that’s just a fact. Whether it was as Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love or just Mick himself, the guy always knew how to put on one hell of a show. At the HOF this year that was still the case, with Foley’s suit jacket making the headlines after his appearance alongside daughter Noelle on the red carpet.
Unfortunately, I felt an air of sadness come over me when seeing Foley at the event, as I finally got to see his infamous limp in person. It was really upsetting to see what such a hero like Foley has gone through in order to entertain fans around the world, and hopefully, his recent hip surgery goes some way to correcting his problems.
Thank you, Amway.
#9 Respectful crowd
For years and years, we had heard horror stories about how bad the crowd is during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Given that it’s usually the same audience that pops up during the Raw after Mania that’s hardly surprising, but it still made us a bit trepidatious heading into the first major event of the week.
Thankfully we had nothing to worry about, as the crowd inside of the Amway Center decided to make the evening about the legends on stage as opposed to themselves. They were friendly, respectful and only really chose to chant when it was warranted –such as when they requested that Kurt Angle take part in one more match.
Oh, Roman.
#10 False hope
As we now all know, Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker clean in the main event of WrestleMania 33 to retire The Deadman. It was a move that upset many members of the WWE Universe, especially considering how many people were expecting The Big Dog to turn heel during the bout.
What makes things even worse is that during the Hall of Fame, the camera panned to Reigns who smirked straight down the lens while he was getting booed. It was subtle, but it led a lot of people to believe that Roman was providing us with a subtle hint towards a possible turn to the dark side on Sunday.
Alas, he was not. Sigh.
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Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
