Looking back on all they gave Cures of sacrifice
and pain and welcome to a very special edition
of finishers and factions now this time we're
not breaking down an episode of Monday Night
Raw or NXT or Friday Night Smackdown or even
a PLE I'm here to talk to you about this year's
class of Hall of Fame inductees now It's a huge
class. There are some massive names from the
industry and Yeah, this class. Let me tell you
it's absolutely stacked legends pioneers fan
favorites and for the first time ever a Match
is being inducted. Yeah, you heard that right
so Whether you're an old -school Attitude era
die -hard a ruthless aggression Devotee or a
fan of today's modern product this class has
something for everyone So let's not waste another
minute grab a seat grab a drink Let's take a
walk down memory lane So the first inductee we're
gonna take a take a look at here We're gonna
kick things off with the headliner none other
than the game himself Paul Triple H Levesque.
Now, we know that Triple H is no stranger to
the Hall of Fame spotlight. I mean, he's already
been inducted once before back in 2019 as part
of the legendary D -Generation X. But this time,
it's all about his solo legacy. And honestly,
how do you even begin to sum up a career like
this? 14 World Championships. two -time Royal
Rumble winner, King of the Ring, founding member
of Evolution, and that's just in Ring. Behind
the scenes, he reshaped the future of the company,
building NXT from a developmental territory into
arguably the hottest wrestling brand in the world
during the mid 2010s. But let's talk moments.
One that stands out for a lot of fans is his
absolutely brutal street fight with Cactus Jack
at the 2000 Royal Rumble. That match didn't just
elevate Triple H, it proved he could go toe to
toe in a violent, emotional match and still own
the moment. Then there's his trilogy of WrestleMania
bouts with The Undertaker particularly that Hell
in a Cell match at WrestleMania 28 with Shawn
Michaels as the guest ref and that match felt
like the end of an era and Maybe it was Now I'm
sat here talking about this and I'm getting frigging
goosebumps. Just talking about this shit. So
damn And you can't forget the entrances this
man has had. I mean, come on. Who else could
make a Terminator -themed entrance at WrestleMania
31 feel cool? That thing was cool as balls. His
induction was announced during a live WWE town
hall. Now, this was a complete shock to him,
and the look on his face said it all. After decades
of building this business from inside the ropes
and behind the curtain, he's finally getting
that recognition that that man deserves and absolutely
deserves every last moment in that spotlight.
The next inductee we're going to be taking a
look at here is Michelle McCall. She's not just
The Undertaker's wife, she's so much more than
that. Michelle broke through at a time when women
in WWE weren't exactly getting five -star matches
and 20 -minute segments like they do today. But
she still made an impact, big time. She became
the first ever Divas champion and went on to
win the Women's Championship twice. But it was
a work with Layla, as Lay cool, that really helped
set the stage for what was to come in the women's
division. When you're when we think of the women's
division, we think about Becky Lynch, we think
about Bailey's and Paige as the four horsewomen
that bought the that bought the women's division
into what it is today. But. Lay Cool were cocky
and clever and incredibly entertaining. I mean,
you can compare them to like Mean Girls meets
top tier wrestling. That's sort of the crossover
we're looking at here. They even held the women's,
they even co -held the women's championship,
which sparked all kinds of controversy and storyline
chaos. One of Michelle's standout in -ring moments
was the 2010 Tables match at TLC where Lake Hall
took on Beth Phoenix and Natalya. It was rare
back then to see women in that kind of physical
weapon -filled match. Michelle Moore than held
her own. She also had a surprise return at the
2022 Women's Royal Rumble and crushed it. She
came out of the crowd in uggs and took names,
hit her faith breaker finisher on Sonia Deville
and reminded everybody that she could still go.
Now... The announcement for Michelle McCall going
into the Hall of Fame this year was made by Triple
H surprising her live on ESPN's Get Up with her
Hall of Fame announcement and her emotional reaction
which made it all the more special. Moving on
from there we're going to take a look at The
guy that looked like a real -life action figure
Lex Luger otherwise known as the total package
Luger was a star in both WCW and WWE known for
his phenomenal physique his intensity and a surprisingly
emotional connection with the fans in the early
90s and if you remember one moment if you don't
Go back and look at it. It's probably July 4th,
1993. The body slam challenge aboard the USS
Intrepid. Yokozuna had just been crowned WWF
champion and was challenging anyone to slam him.
Now, for those of you that don't know who Yokozuna
is... He was a sumo wrestling superstar who took
the WWF by absolute storm. Now, he was undeniably
big. This guy was huge. And to be able to body
slam Yokozuna is an incredible feat in of itself.
Now, everyone else who tried this failed and
Lex did this in style he arrived by helicopter
steps into the ring and slams the 500 pound champ
now America went nuts and thus the leg Lex Express
was born He never captured the WWF Championship
which still feels like a what -if moment in wrestling
history But in WCW he had his moments of glory
including his surprise win over Hulk Hogan on
an episode of Monday Nitro in 1997 and the crowd
absolutely Blew the roof off the building This
induction is a long time coming for a guy who
gave so much to this business physically emotionally
professionally now for anybody that has seen
the Induction announcements this induction was
broken by Cody none other than our current WWE
champion Cody Rhodes Who went down to another
Hall of Famers? yoga studio DDP Diamond Dallas
Page who's been doing a lot of work behind the
scenes with ex -athletes and ex -professional
wrestlers to help them get past some of their
physical limitations and Lex Luger unfortunately
has been suffering with a real struggle walking
and thanks to DDP he is making phenomenal progress
and honestly I can't wait to see Lex Luger walk
out on stage in Las Vegas to accept the Hall
of Fame induction. Now, next, we're going to
take a look at a absolutely legendary tag team
wrestlers from a bygone age. Now, these are,
of course, the natural disasters. big men with
a big impact. Now the natural disasters were
made up of earthquake and typhoon. Now these
guys were huge. We're talking two massive powerhouses
who were surprisingly agile for their size. Earthquake,
real name John Tenter had a legitimate sumo background
and Typhoon aka Fred Otteman had charisma and
power in spades. Their biggest moment came in
1992 when they finally won the WWF Tag Team titles
from Money Inc. Fans loved seeing these two steamroll
the competition and they took on all the top
teams of the era. The Legion of Doom, the Bushwhackers,
the Nasty Boys. But Earthquake, even as a solo
act, left his mark. I happen to remember seeing
a clip of when he crushed Hulk Hogan on the Brother
Love Show with multiple earthquake splashes.
Kids had to have been traumatized by this. That
was a huge feud back then between Hulk Hogan
and earthquake. Absolute madness. And as a team...
They may not get as much love today, but they
bought old school tag team energy and it's awesome
to see them finally honored. So next we come
to a piece of history for more than one reason.
Because this is the first time in WWE Hall of
Fame history, an individual match has been inducted
and Maybe they I feel like they picked the right
one and it's not just because I'm a Stone Cold
fan But this was Brett the Hitman Hart versus
Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 this
was a match that was no DQ submission only and
quite arguably the greatest double turn of all
time. Now, Bret Hart came in the baby face, Austin
came in as the heel and by the end, Bret was
booed out of the building and Austin, face full
of blood, unconscious in the sharpshooter, was
a made man. That visual of him passing out rather
than tapping out is simply iconic and has been
used replayed again and again in video packages
for decades and will continue to be used for
decades to come. This match wasn't just a turning
point for Austin's career, but it was the match
that defined what storytelling in pro wrestling
could be. Emotionally charged, violent and perfectly
paced. It is about time it got recognized as
the classic that it is. And honestly, if you
can find it, watch it. Beginning to end, I'm
pretty sure it is used to this day. in performance
centers or in gyms around the world for wrestling
as a paragon of what wrestling storytelling should
be. And the final inductees this year go into
what's known as the Legacy Wing and these are
legends to be remembered. The Legacy Wing honours
those who paved the way and this year the spotlight
shines on three major names. First off we come
to Kamala, known as the Ugandan Giant. Kamala
was one of the most unique characters ever With
his painted face slapping his belly and no shoes
But behind the character was a man known as James
Harris a soft -spoken guy who bought that terrifying
presence to life he wrestled everyone from Hulk
Hogan to the Undertaker and You remembered Kamala,
and that's what it's all about. Next, we've got
Dory Funk Senior. Now, we talk a lot about what
happens in the ring. What we don't talk about
is what happens behind the scenes. And I'm not
talking backstage promos. I'm not talking about
any of that. Before anything happens in the ring,
people like Dory Funk Sr have to be involved.
He is a legendary promoter and trainer. He ran
the western state sports promotion and helped
develop the foundation of modern wrestling. His
sons Dory Jr and Terry became Hall of Famers
but it all started with him. No other way to
describe this man than a true patriarch of wrestling.
And finally on the legacy end we have Ivan Koloff
the man who shocked the world in 1971 by ending
Bruno Sanmartino's legendary seven -year WWF
Championship reign. Just imagine that. Bruno
was untouchable for seven years. And then Ivan
Koloff comes in and ends it all. the crowd was
silent and that's the power of a moment and Koloff
owned that moment and that's it we're not going
into tremendous amounts of detail because if
you sit and watch the Hall of Fame induction
ceremony where these people are getting the recognition
they so dearly deserve then you'll learn way
more than you ever do listening to this podcast.
As much as I try to be as informative as I can,
I could have sat here and probably spoken for
an hour at the least on each and every one of
these superstars that are being inducted this
year. And the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 It is
a lineup that spans generations, styles and eras.
From the game and Michelle McCall to tag team
titans and timeless storytellers. This class
reminds us why we love pro wrestling. The ceremony
takes place on Friday, April 18th. in Las Vegas
right after Smackdown and just before WrestleMania
41. All I can say is emotions will run high.
Expect tears and laughs and probably a few surprises.
It's going to be an unforgettable ceremony. And
thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed
this breakdown, do me a favor. We're on Twitter.
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back and listen to our back catalog. We are over
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do we're here to share our love our passion for
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more of you guys come in let us know what it's
all about but until next time I'm Adam this was
finishes and factions does the Hall of Fame ceremony
stay safe stay strong stay legendary