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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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2014

Background

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After leaving the WWF (now WWE), 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

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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 businessman and future U.S. president 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

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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

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Individual

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  • Class headliners appear in boldface
Image Ring name
(Birth Name) 		Inducted by WWE recognized accolades
  Mick Foley[16] 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
First WWF Hardcore Champion[17]
  Bob Backlund Maria Menounos Two-time WWWF/WWF World Heavyweight Champion
One-time WWF Tag Team Champion[18]
  Trish Stratus[19]
(Patricia Stratigeas) 		Stephanie McMahon A record Seven-time WWF/E Women's Champion
One-time WWF Hardcore Champion. Three-time WWE Babe of the Year
Voted Diva of the Decade during the Raw 10th Anniversary special[20]
  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
Four-time WWE United States Champion
One-time WWE Intercontinental Champion
Two-time WWF Hardcore Champion
Three-time World Tag Team Champion
A record 11-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (10 of which came with his brother Stevie Ray as Harlem Heat)
2006 King Of The Ring winner[21]
  Bruno Sammartino[22] Arnold Schwarzenegger Two-time WWWF World Heavyweight Championship/WWWF Heavyweight Championship
Holds the records for longest consecutive and cumulative reigns of seven and 11 years, respectively[23]

Celebrity

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Image Recipient
(Birth name) 		Occupation Inducted by Appearances
  Donald Trump[24] Businessman
Reality TV host/Producer 45th and 47th President of the United States Of America 		Vince McMahon Hosted WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V at Trump Plaza.
Won the "Battle of the Billionaires" at WrestleMania 23
On screen owner of Raw in 2009[25]

References

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  1. ^ "WrestleMania 29: It's all 'Axxess' for global WWE fans". April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "WWE Announces WrestleMania Coming To MetLife Stadium Next Year". February 16, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  3. ^ "WWE Hall of Fame 2013: Date, TV Schedule, Inductees, Snubs, Highlights and More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  4. ^ "WWE Network Lowdown: WrestleMania Plans, Free Gifts, 'Every' Hall of Fame?". March 2015. Retrieved April 11, 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. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. 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. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. 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". April 20, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "WWE Wrestlemania 29: Trish Stratus' Big Reveal - MTV UK". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  11. ^ "Legends with JBL". WWE Network. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  12. ^ "Why NYC loved Bruno". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  13. ^ "Pittsburgh-area legend Bruno Sammartino OK with WWE now (with Video)". June 14, 2000. Retrieved April 3, 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 April 3, 2018.
  17. ^ "Mick Foley". WWE. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  18. ^ "Bob Backlund". WWE. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  19. ^ "Trish Stratus Inducted To 2013 WWE Hall Of Fame: Photos Of Patricia Anne Stratigias' Career". International Business Times. January 29, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "Trish Stratus". WWE. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  21. ^ "Booker T". WWE. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  22. ^ "Bruno Sammartino Set To Be Inducted Into Wrestling Hall Of Fame". April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  23. ^ "Bruno Sammartino". WWE. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  24. ^ "Donald Trump Headed to WWE Hall of Fame". February 26, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  25. ^ "Donald Trump". WWE. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
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