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What's the story?
As Sportskeeda reported earlier on Monday, Hillbilly Jim is the latest inductee to the 2018 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Bleacher Report broke the news on Monday morning, and also interviewed Jim to get his reaction to being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the interview quotes).
In case you didn't know...
Hillbilly Jim wrestled for the WWF from 1984 to 1990 after several years in the Memphis territories. One of the biggest moments in the WWF career of Hillbilly Jim was being a part of Hulk Hogan's team at the 1988 Survivor Series. Joining Jim and Hogan were Randy Savage, Koko B. Ware, and Hercules who defeated The Big Boss Man, Akeem, Ted DiBiase, King Haku, and The Red Rooster.
The heart of the matter
Hillbilly Jim told Bleacher Report that he was clearly not expecting the call to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, He would go into more detail below:
"I didn't have that on my mind whatsoever. For a moment or two, I was knocked back on my heels. Basically, I was speechless. It was a whole lot for me to digest quickly."
Part of the reason why so many people loved Hillbilly Jim was his country boy character. He would tell Bleacher Report that his character represented the people. Being from Kentucky he knew a lot of country people and he knew how to translate it to the wrestling fans. Jim's main goal with the character was to "denote happiness."
When it came to his thoughts about his fans helping him get to where he is today, a future WWE Hall of Famer, Hillbilly Jim would say:
"I want the fans to enjoy this. I'm a representative of you. That's exactly what this is all about. This is part of your legacy."
What's next?
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for further announcements regarding the 2018 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Other wrestlers and celebrities that have been rumored to join this year's class include Chyna, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Kid Rock.
Author's take
It was hard to hate a guy like Hillbilly Jim. You can see that from all of the reactions on social media today that he is beloved.
He was so well-liked, it was probably hard for the fans to buy him as a heel when Henry and Phineas Godwinn turned heel, and that is why he no longer managed them after the turn.
Championships didn't define many of the great WWF Superstars of the 1980's, and it's tremendous to see guys like Hillbilly Jim get inducted.
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