WWE Hall of Fame (2013)

WWE Hall of Fame (2013) was the event which featured the introduction of the 14th class to the WWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by WWE on April 6, 2013 from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.[1] The event took place the same weekend as WrestleMania 29.[2] The event was hosted by Jerry Lawler. A condensed one-hour version of the ceremony aired on the USA Network the following Tuesday.[3] In March 2015 the ceremony was added to the WWE Network.[4]

WWE Hall of Fame (2013)
PromotionWWE
DateApril 6, 2013
CityNew York City, New York
VenueMadison Square Garden
WWE Hall of Fame chronology
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2012		 Next →
2014

Background

After leaving the WWF, Sammartino became an outspoken critic of the path on which Vince McMahon has taken professional wrestling. He particularly criticised the use of steroids and "vulgar" storylines.[5][6][7] In 2013, Sammartino accepted an invitation for induction into the Hall of Fame, after having declined several times in prior years. He finally accepted the offer to join because he was satisfied with the way the company had addressed his concerns about the direction of the business.[8] In April 2018, Sean Waltman announced on his podcast, that should Sammartino not have accepted the invitation to be inducted, D-Generation X would have been inducted.[9]

Event

Mick Foley was inducted by his long time friend Terry Funk. The two discussed all their times on the road together which included time at WWE, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling. Foley also said that he had regrets from his career. The main one was that he never beat Chris Jericho. Jericho then ran up on the stage, laid down, and told Foley to pin him. Foley originally acted like he couldn't and was walking away when he ran back and dropped an elbow on Jericho. He then pinned Jericho and CM Punk counted the one-two-three, jokingly giving Foley his first victory over Jericho.

Bob Backlund was inducted by Maria Menounos.

Trish Stratus was inducted by Stephanie McMahon. During Stratus' speech she announced that she was expecting her first child, a son, later in 2013.[10]

Vince McMahon inducted Donald Trump. Vince spoke of Trump and their working relationship during WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V, as well as the "Battle of the Billionaires" at WrestleMania 23.

Booker T was inducted by his brother Stevie Ray, whom he had teamed together with for many years as Harlem Heat. Booker T later admitted during an interview with John Layfield, on his show Legends with JBL on the WWE Network, that prior to him asking Stevie Ray to induct him, that the brothers had not spoken in nearly 5 years.[11]

The final inductee of the evening was Bruno Sammartino who was inducted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although Sammartino saw great success in New York City during his career,[12] this event marked Sammartino's return to the WWE after 25 years.[13] It was just the second time in Hall of Fame history that Vince McMahon would be seen on camera, after 2009 when he inducted Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Aftermath

Sammartino appeared on the October 7, 2013, episode of Raw and received a birthday greeting in his hometown of Pittsburgh.[14] On March 28, 2015, Sammartino inducted Larry Zbyszko into the Hall of Fame class of 2015.[15]

Inductees

Individual
  • Class headliners appear in boldface
Image Ring name
(Birth Name)		 Inducted by WWE recognized accolades
Mick Foley[16][17] Terry Funk Wrestled using various ring names, namely Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love. Three-time WWF Champion, eight-time WWF Tag Team Champion, two-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion and first WWF Hardcore Champion[18]
Bob Backlund Maria Menounos Two-time WWWF/WWF (World) Heavyweight Champion and one-time WWF Tag Team Champion[19]
Trish Stratus[20]
(Patricia Stratigeas)		 Stephanie McMahon A record seven-time WWF/E Women's Champion, three-time WWE Babe of the Year, voted Diva of the Decade during the Raw 10th Anniversary special[21] and one-time WWF Hardcore Champion
Bruno Sammartino[22] Arnold Schwarzenegger Two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion who holds the records for longest consecutive and cumulative reigns of seven and 11 years, respectively[23]
Booker T
(Robert Huffman)		 Stevie Ray Five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, one-time World Heavyweight Champion, a record six-time WCW World Television Champion, a record 11-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (10 of which came with his brother Stevie Ray as Harlem Heat), and the 2006 King Of The Ring winner[24]

Celebrity
Image Recipient
(Birth name)		 Occupation Inducted by Appearances
Donald Trump[25] Businessman
Reality TV host/producer		 Vince McMahon Hosted WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V at Trump Plaza.
Won the "Battle of the Billionaires" at WrestleMania 23
Briefly "owned" Raw in 2009[26]

References
  1. "WrestleMania 29: It's all 'Axxess' for global WWE fans". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  2. "WWE Announces WrestleMania Coming To MetLife Stadium Next Year". 16 February 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. "WWE Hall of Fame 2013: Date, TV Schedule, Inductees, Snubs, Highlights and More". Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  4. "WWE Network Lowdown: WrestleMania Plans, Free Gifts, 'Every' Hall of Fame?". Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. Molinaro, John (October 20, 1999). "Sammartino no fan of McMahon". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  6. Mackinder, Matt (April 16, 2007). "Sammartino: McMahon is 'a sick-minded idiot'". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  7. Muchnick, Irving (March 20, 2013). "Bruno's bad call on WWE Hall of Fame shows Vince is right – everyone has a price". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  8. Robinson, Jon (February 3, 2013). "WWE to induct Bruno Sammartino into HOF". ESPN. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  9. "X-Pac habla de Bruno Sammartino y su introducción al WWE Hall of Fame". 20 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  10. "WWE Wrestlemania 29: Trish Stratus' Big Reveal - MTV UK". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  11. "Legends with JBL". WWE Network. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  12. "Why NYC loved Bruno". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  13. "Pittsburgh-area legend Bruno Sammartino OK with WWE now (with Video)". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  14. Caldwell, James (October 7, 2013). "Caldwell's WWE Raw Results 10/7 (Hour 1): Battleground PPV fall-out, WWE Title match to continue at next PPV, one "firing", Bruno Sammartino, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  15. Caldwell, James (March 28, 2015). "WWE Hall of Fame report 3/28". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  16. "LI pro wrestler joins WWE Hall of Fame". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  17. "Mick Foley to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame". 11 January 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  18. "Mick Foley". WWE. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  19. "Bob Backlund". WWE. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  20. "Trish Stratus Inducted To 2013 WWE Hall Of Fame: Photos Of Patricia Anne Stratigias' Career". 29 January 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  21. "Trish Stratus". WWE. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  22. "Bruno Sammartino Set To Be Inducted Into Wrestling Hall Of Fame". 4 April 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  23. "Bruno Sammartino". WWE. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  24. "Booker T". WWE. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  25. "Donald Trump Headed to WWE Hall of Fame". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  26. "Donald Trump". WWE. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
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