2012 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Coverage: Four Fingered-Inspired and Rated-R

Edge, Ron Simmons, Mike Tyson, Mil Mascaras, The Four Horsemen and Yokozuna.

Not the best WWE Hall of Fame class, but certainly not the worst. The Four Horsemen were the only team that no one could have argued against. Together, they were the premiere stable of the ‘80s. They dominated every championship division in the NWA during their prime, a feat not accomplished by any other group, ever.

It was interesting to see Ric Flair at the ceremony, as his current role in TNA continues to puddle in mud. His acceptance speech was fun, yet emotional. His inclusion in the HOF as both a singles wrestler and as a member of the horsemen continues to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats.

Tyson played a role in a huge angle that helped catapult the then-WWF over WCW. For that alone, he is easily one of the best celebrity additions to the Hall of Fame. Triple H and Shawn Michaels introduction of Iron Mike was slapstick, but fun.

And yes, Shawn is better.

Tyson’s speech on the other hand, was eccentric.

“If I didn’t do that Wrestlemania stuff, I probably would have lost my house,” he said.

Mascaras never stepped into a WWE ring, but much like Verne Gagne, he’s a guy that is an undoubted legend. Simmons was a great tag team wrestler with multiple partners and the first African-American World Heavyweight Champion. His strength and quite charisma paved the way for dozens of other wrestlers after him.

Damn.

The same thing can be said for Yokozuna. Although there were several other Samoan wrestlers in the WWE before him, most of them relegated to poor gimmicks and the Tag Team division. Yokozuna was the first breakout star from a long line of worthy Samoan professional wrestlers. His rise to the top of the WWE made the journeys of pro wrestlers the likes of The Rock, Rikishi and Samoa Joe much more memorable.

While Edge’s induction may have been an eventual one, his addition to the Hall sparked controversy when it was originally announced. Arguably the greatest tag team wrestler in WWE history, he was one of the top WWE singles performers after The Attitude Era. It was a time when millions flocked away from the sport. They said it wasn’t cool anymore. Edge was always cool. His speech made up for any doubts from fans upset by his inclusion. His charisma and love for the sport is still evident. Lets hope his inclusion in the Hall doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of him in the WWE.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*