Talk about it here.

Gordon Solie was clearly getting really unhappy with the restless crowd here. It got a bit uncomfortable at times, especially when he asked for a moment's silence for the deceased wrestlers, and seemed well aware he wouldn't get it.

 

Crowd did pop for the legends, but seemed somewhat disrespectful and restless throughout. Mind you, if they weren't into the legends, and got this ceremony as well as the three legends bouts, and then got screwed over in the replacements and dq endings on the bouts featuring current stars you can't really blame them!

To Vince's credit he must have seen that and thought it better to do his Hall of Fame ceremony in a small hotel, which he did for a few years after that. But it's funny that now, the Hall of Fame show is basically the same now as this segment we're discussing. It is a little more respectful than sticking it in the middle of a card, but I do miss the intimacy they had in the smaller venue in 2004.

To Vince's credit he must have seen that and thought it better to do his Hall of Fame ceremony in a small hotel, which he did for a few years after that. But it's funny that now, the Hall of Fame show is basically the same now as this segment we're discussing. It is a little more respectful than sticking it in the middle of a card, but I do miss the intimacy they had in the smaller venue in 2004.

 

Definitely agree. I think as nice as it is to allow wrestling fans to attend en masse, you always run the risk that these are wrestling fans, which means they are going to behave in a certain manner that is not always conducive to a respectful event. It's what has blighted the Hall of Fame in recent years, with people shouting out and disrupting speeches. And its the reason I too would prefer the more intimate settings for these events.

It also allows the inductees and the people inducting them to be more thoughtful with their speeches, rather than trying to balance out how to keep the crowd interested. I will say that I have enjoyed the recent ceremonies (sans those idiots who will inevitably chant "one more match"), and am looking forward to seeing this year's when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Mr. Wrestling II was the first guy to get a significant pop, probably because he was the most recent wrestler who had big ties to Georgia and was a star in the early days of TBS. But yeah, this is one of many examples of one territory coming up with a good idea, and Vince later making it work and getting it over bigger.

All the legend segments really made this show drag and drag. Especially with all the fuck ups and disapointments already on the card.

Ox Baker and Crusher's promo segment ruled. Stu Hart got in his usual "eh...eh" promo in.

 

I wonder how badly Flair got the vets blitzed afterward...

Well Thesz was the right first pick for the Hall of Fame. Mr. Wrestling II got the biggest reaction. Agreed that McMahon did this way better later on with putting on a proper ceremony.

I don't know specifically how to improve upon the execution here, but ultimately I think this was too much, too soon. Not to excuse the crowd, but this type of long, understated ceremony hadn't really been done--especially incorporating pre-WCW and non-WCW elements like Verne and Thesz. And running multiple legends matches on top of this was overkill. And of course the Horsemen segment did its best to piss off the crowd before the ceremony even started. Wrestling II gets a nice reaction, complete with "II! II!" chants. Solie tells us the story that I've always loved, of Wrestling II refusing a White House invite once he was made aware that he could not wear his mask.

Solie mentions legends who have passed and won't be there including Andre, Dick the Bruiser, Gene Anderson and others. Nice intro for Thesz. Verne Gagne next. Then Mr. Wrestling II, who gets a good pop. Final HOFer is Eddie Graham, repped by Mike Graham. Crowd didn't like this and maybe there's no place for it in 1993, but I enjoyed seeing the guys.

Agree that this show seems interesting in concept but between the legends segments being dominant and the false advertising, the crowd was done here. Mr. Wrestling II did get a nice applause in the highlight here.

I agree with those who say that this shouldn't have been put in the middle of a card, especially not after the disappointing Horsemen "reunion". Add in the fact that II was the only one of the inductees whom most of the Atlanta fans knew or cared about, and you had a disaster on your hands. Gordon knew it almost right away, but he soldiered on like the pro he's always been. Maybe the legends matches and the induction could have taken place the night before and been aired on TV at least in part instead of expecting fans to pay for them, especailly pay-per-view prices.

 

Eddie Graham got a halfhearted positive reaction, Thesz got next to nothing, and Verne was actually booed, most likely because at least some fans remembered the substandard product he put on ESPN for over five years.

 

The promos some people above me were talking about must have been on the live pay-per-view, because they weren't included here. The only one who said anything at all was II when he thanked everyone for the honor, and it didn't seem like anyone was expecting it.

 

I know this is a wrestling board, but there are things more important in this world, and an invitation to a Presidential inauguration is one of them. II should have put aside the carny bullshit, ditched the mask, and gone. It's not like anyone would have known him in Washington, since he hadn't wrestled recently for Vince Sr., and I'm reasonably sure that Walter Cronkite wouldn't have pointed him out in the crowd on network TV, or even known who he was, mask or no mask.