The 2011 boards.ie PW Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Thread

D2D

Good evening and welcome to what has become an annual event here in PW, the Boards.ie PW Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Over the years, thousands of wrestlers have laced up the boots and put their bodies of the line for our entertainment and enjoyment. Their pain and hardships sometimes go un-appreciated so tonight, we celebrate some of the finest wrestlers careers and, for some, the legacy they have left.
It's safe to say that wrestling unites us so we show our appreciation to those.

Once again, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2011 boards.ie PW Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

We will begin with our first induction shortly:)

D2D

We start off with a man who has left a legacy and in ring career that so few people can match.

Ladies and gentlemen, written by CMPunked, the first inductee from the 2011 class into the boards.ie Hall of Fame is..................................

.................................

Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels, “The Showstoppa, The Heartbreak Kid.
Mr. Wrestlemania”..?

When you have only won 6 of your 17 matches at the event, you have to do something very special to keep the name.

PWI Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho
PWI Match of the Year (1994)[180] vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at WrestleMania X
PWI Match of the Year (1995)[6] vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI
PWI Match of the Year (1996)[6] vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII
PWI Match of the Year (2004)[179] vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX
PWI Match of the Year (2005)[179] vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21
PWI Match of the Year (2006)[179] vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22
PWI Match of the Year (2008)[179] vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV
PWI Match of the Year (2009)[181] vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV
PWI Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a Career vs. Streak match at WrestleMania XXVI

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
5 Star Match (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at WrestleMania X.
Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Triple H and Chris Benoit
Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho
Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a Ladder match at WrestleMania X
Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV
Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI

Time after time Shawn has completely stolen the show at wrestlemania and pretty much every event he has wrestled in and these accolades above are only scratching the surface of Shawns legendary ability to engage the audience.
Starting out with the WWF as one half of the Rockers he quickly became a fan favourite, Becoming a heel after turning on his tag team partner Marty Janetty in the infamous barber shop segment.
With Triple H he set up D Generation X, a stable that would push to be something other than the family friendly direction that the company had been taking since its inception. This brought in the period known as the Attitude Era.
Michaels continued a rivalry with Bret Hart in 97.
Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts, such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels' feud with the Bret culminated in a championship match at the highly documented “Montreal Screwjob” Survivor Series.

Only a few months after one the most controversial moments in wrestling, Shawn suffered a career altering injury that put him on the shelf, some assumed that this was the end of HBK. Even though he was absent from competition for the best of 4 years, he never was far from the forefront of wrestling fans minds when he was given the job as commisioner until 2000.

In 2002 Michaels made his triumphant return to the ring feuding with his old ally, Triple H. This feud would be returned to many times and culminated at wrestlemania XX in a triple threat between Triple H, HBK and Chris Benoit. Even though Benoit won the match, Michaels added this match to his repertoire of PWI voted best match of the year.
Infact this would begin Michaels 7 year run as being awarded with the PWI greatest match of the year award, 6 of those were won from matches had, at Wrestlemania.
Not only has Shawn stolen the show in the last 7 years, he has also done it on the grandest stage of them all.

All in all, Shawn is the ultimate performer. Athletic, charismatic, works brilliantly as a cocky heel and is also a loveable face. A true legend of wrestling and a now a member of the 2011 PW Boards Hall of Fame.
I’ll leave the last word on Shawn to Vince McMahon:

“From an all around standpoint, professionally in the ring, I don’t think that Shawn has any peers. I think that Shawn, in all likelihood, is in a class all by himself.” – Vince McMahon

D2D

Up next, the second inductee from the 2011 class into the PW Hall of Fame, and the second addition to the International Wing, is........

.............

Kenta Kobashi

If you're a fan of puroresu then you know the name Kenta Kobashi instantly. If not then Kenta Kobashi is someone you'd should definitely check out.

Prior to becoming a professional wrestler this man began his carrear in 1987 by virtue of practicing bodybuilding. Kobashi already had an impressive physique due to his athletic background in rugby in high school and due to his Judo background, he was a legitimate badass who fit right into Japanese professional wrestling. To say his in-ring carrear began with a bang would be a lie. He was booked for 63 straight losses. Still due to his charisma and undeniable talent, he was still named Rookie of The Year in his debut year. Following a horrendous beginning, he found his niche in the tag team ranks tagging with Mitsuharu Misawa in the early 90's capturing the tag team titles and shortly after gaining his first singles victory.

It is during this period that Kobashi began to shine finding himself moved into All Japan's top tier challenging for the Triple Crown title a few times although coming up short in each challenge. Finally in 1996, Kobashi won the Triple Crown championship and would hold it until January 20, 1997 when he lost it to his long time tag team partner Mitsuharu Misawa in a classic bout. He regained it in 1998 then he suffered a knee injury that would plague him to this very day. In 2000 Kobashi joined Misawa's newly formed promotion NOAH where he worked through pain to try to establish the promotion. Later that year, the nagging knee injury would become too much for him to compete and forced him to be out of action for 13 months. Upon his return he was pushed as NOAH's top ace capturing the GHC title and going onto have many memorable title defenses until his life threatening bout with cancer which he had been out of action for.

On September 8, 2007, news broke that Kobashi would make his return on the December 2, 2007 Budokan Hall event where he would team up with Takayama to face Misawa and Akiyama. On the card, Misawa would pin Kobashi with an Avalanche Emerald Frosion, but the fans still gave Kobashi a rousing ovation.

In September 2008, Kobashi underwent emergency surgery on both of his arms. The surgery was successful, and Kobashi was expected to make a full recovery. Kobashi was expected to be out of action for up to a year, but he would return to the ring less than six months later. Prior to returning to the ring, Kobashi stated that he wanted to start in opening matches, and rebuild himself to a main event player.

Kenta Kobashi made his return to wrestling on March 1, 2009 at Nippon Budokan with Pro Wrestling NOAH, defeated Masao Inoue in the opening match of the card with his signature lariat. Kobashi won the GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship from Makoto Hashi on June 8, 2009 in Hachiōji, Japan during NOAH's Southern Navigation tour.

Just to prove how much of a legend and warrior Kobashi is, all you have to do is look at his list of achievements.

All Japan Pro Wrestling
AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Tiger Mask II / Mitsuharu Misawa (1), Johnny Ace (2) and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (1)
AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Mitsuharu Misawa (2), Johnny Ace (2) and Jun Akiyama (2)
Champion's Carnival (2000)
World's Strongest Tag Team League (1993–1995) – with Mitsuharu Misawa
World's Strongest Tag Team League (1998, 1999) – with Jun Akiyama
One Night Six Man Tag Team Tournament Winner (1999) - with Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga
January 2nd Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal Winner (1993)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI ranked him #4 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996, 2000, and 2004
PWI ranked him #33 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

Pro Wrestling Noah
GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship (1 time, Current)
GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Tamon Honda
One Day Six Man Tag Team Tournament Winner (2002) - with KENTA and Kentaro Shiga

Tokyo Sports Grand Prix
Comeback Award (2007)
Match of the Year (1995)- with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada on June 9, 1995
Match of the Year (1997)- vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on October 21, 1997
Match of the Year (1998)- vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on October 31, 1998
Match of the Year (2003)- vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on March 1, 2003
Match of the Year (2004)- vs. Jun Akiyama on July 10, 2004
Match of the Year (2005)- vs. Kensuke Sasaki on July 18, 2005
Match of the Year (2007)- with Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama on December 2, 2007
Rookie of the Year (1989)
Tag Team of the Year (1993, 1994)- with Mitsuharu Misawa
Tag Team of the Year (1999)- with Jun Akiyama
Wrestler of the Year (1996, 1998)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
5 Star Match (1990) with Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi on October 19
5 Star Match (1991) with Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi on April 20
5 Star Match (1992) with Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue and Masanobu Fuchi on May 22
5 Star Match (1992) with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon on May 25
5 Star Match (1992) with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Masanobu Fuchi and Yoshinari Ogawa on July 5
5 Star Match (1993) vs. Toshiaki Kawada on April 14
5 Star Match (1993) with Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue and Yoshinari Ogawa on July 2
5 Star Match (1993) vs. Stan Hansen on July 29
5 Star Match (1993) vs. Steve Williams on August 31
5 Star Match (1993) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on December 3
5 Star Match (1994) with Mitsuharu Misawa and Giant Baba vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on February 13
5 Star Match (1994) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on May 21
5 Star Match (1995) vs. Toshiaki Kawada on January 19
5 Star Match (1995) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on January 24
5 Star Match (1995) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams and Johnny Ace on May 4
5 Star Match (1995) with Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue on June 9
5 Star Match (1995) with Mitsuharu Misawa and Satoru Asako vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Tamon Honda, and Akira Taue on June 30
5 Star Match (1998) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on October 31
5 Star Match (1999) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on June 11
5 Star Match (1999) with Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa on October 23
5 Star Match (2003) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on March 1
5 Star Match (2004) vs. Jun Akiyama on July 10
5 Star Match (2005) vs. Samoa Joe on October 1 at Joe vs. Kobashi
Best Box Office Draw (2004, 2005)
Best Wrestling Maneuver (1998) Burning Hammer
Match of the Year (1992) with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon on May 25
Match of the Year (1998) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on October 31
Match of the Year (1999) vs Mitsuharu Misawa on June 11
Match of the Year (2003) vs. Mitsuharu Misawa on March 1
Match of the Year (2004) vs. Jun Akiyama on July 10
Match of the Year (2005) vs. Samoa Joe on October 1 at Joe vs. Kobashi
Most Improved Wrestler (1990)
Most Outstanding Wrestler (1993, 1994)
Tag Team of the Year (1995) with Mitsuharu Misawa
Tag Team of the Year (1999) with Jun Akiyama
Wrestler of the Year (1996, 2003–2005)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2002)

It is an honor and absolute privilege to induct Kenta Kobashi into the PW Hall of Fame

D2D

Ladies and gentlemen, our next inductee is..............

.....................

Jim Ross

It safe to say that now a days, no announcer alive can keep up with any match, telling the full story of any match so vividly, as Good ol' JR, Jim Ross. JR has a passion for the business that can't be unmatched. From spotting talent (such as the likes of The Hardys and Jack Swagger) to building up a match as only he can, from the beginning lock up to the ending finisher with his screams of the wrestlers name who wins the match. When JR is commentating, you better believe that he's emotionally into a match unlike other announcers who sound forced with everything that they say.

Jim first worked in the NWA Mid-South area as a referee in 1974. He stayed as a referee there until 1977.
Shortly after Bill Watts bought out the Mid-South territory on 1982, Ross returned to work there,becoming their lead play-by-play man in 1986. The first World Title match he called was between Ric Flair and Ted DiBiase. When Jim Crockett, Jr. bought the Mid-South (since renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation) and merged it with his Jim Crockett Promotions group, Ross joined the new company and teamed up doing color commentary with David Crockett and Tony Schiavone as lead play-by-play man for the National Wrestling Alliance. Ross continued to hone his skills and build his legacy as Jim Crockett Promotions became NWA World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1991 the promotion left the NWA and became WCW. Jim was teamed with long-time NWA/Crockett broadcaster Bob Caudle for a couple of years. In 1992, he also spent one season as a commentator on Atlanta Falcons radio broadcasts.
Ross worked his way up the ladder, yet along the way had a contentious relationship with WCW's newest commentator (and future WCW executive) Eric Bischoff. According to Ross, Bischoff, who reported to him, did a really good job of "selling himself" to executives of WCW's owner Turner Broadcasting. According to Bischoff, Ross mistreated him and others (mostly in deference to Ross' then-supervisor Bill Watts), and when Eric was promoted to executive producer in 1993, Ross demanded, and received, his release.
Ross had a three year contract with Turner Broadcasting, but he took an immediate buy-out for fear that he would not get work elsewhere if he was taken off television for a long period of time. Mick Foley claims that Ross resigned from WCW's booking committee. Ross left WCW after being taken off the air by Eric Bischoff.

He was hired by the World Wrestling Federation (later known as World Wrestling Entertainment). He made his on-screen debut at WrestleMania IX and taking over for Gorilla Monsoon on WWF Wrestling Challenge the next weekend. Ross worked alongside Bobby Heenan on that show until Heenan left the WWF in December 1993. Ross was originally the main voice of the WWF's pay-per-view events when he was first brought in, calling both WrestleMania IX and the King of the Ring with Heenan and Randy Savage in 1993. Vince McMahon took his position at pay-per-views starting with SummerSlam 1993.
Ross was then made host of Radio WWF, alongside Gorilla Monsoon (the man he replaced at WrestleMania), which lasted under a year. In this role, Ross was joined by co-hosts such as Johnny Polo, and talked to various WWF Superstars and fans. Ross and Monsoon called SummerSlam and the Survivor Series at the end of 1993 and the Royal Rumble for Radio WWF.
Ross was fired by WWF on February 11, 1994 two weeks after suffering his first attack of Bell's palsy. He subsequently became an announcer for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the NFL's Atlanta Falcons (the second time he was with the Falcons as an announcer). In Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Ross was reunited with former NWA/WCW announcer Bob Caudle. The promotion was owned by longtime NWA Manager Jim Cornette and featured many former NWA/WCW wrestlers such as The Rock and Roll Express, Eddie Gilbert and Steve "Dr. Death" Williams.

When Vince McMahon was indicted by the United States federal government in 1994, he was unable to continue commentating on Monday Night Raw. After a few weeks of Gorilla Monsoon on play-by-play, the WWF rehired Ross to fill in for McMahon alongside Randy Savage throughout that summer. When McMahon was acquitted, Ross was let go by the WWF again. Ross returned to Smoky Mountain Wrestling. The WWF rehired him in early 1995 in time for WrestleMania XI. Relocated to the syndicated WWF programming for the majority of the next two years, Ross would rejoin the primary announce team in the summer of 1996.

Ross went on to host various WWF programs such as Superstars, Action Zone, Raw Is War, and Shotgun Saturday Night. Ross again became the main voice of the WWF beginning at the 1997 Survivor Series.

At the end of 1998, Ross took a break from Raw Is War, due to another attack of Bell's palsy which came the day after the death of his mother. He eventually returned to Raw Is War as part of a storyline alleging that Vince fired him because of his condition, but that he would not go down quietly and enlisted the services of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams as his personal "enforcer." The storyline went as far as to have Jim Ross set up his own announce table in front of the official announce table labeled "JR Is War." Shortly after that, Jim Ross confronted his replacement, Michael Cole, in the ring. After minutes of Cole trying to convince that he was not trying to steal Ross' job, Ross kicked Cole in the crotch and left the ring. The storyline was soon dropped as the attempt to turn Ross heel failed (the fans ended up cheering Ross and booing Cole) and he took his seat back as "official" commentator of Raw Is War starting with the main event of WrestleMania XV.

Ross' Bell's palsy proved fodder for ridicule by WWF's competitor, World Championship Wrestling, in late 1999. Ed Ferrara parodied Ross, including doing a full impression including mockery of his modified voice due to his medical condition. This was received negatively by fans and wrestlers alike, with Jim Cornette threatening legitimate physical harm against Ferrara. Ferrara ceased mocking the medical condition after the first week. The angle was soon dropped by WCW.

Ross was the "voice of Raw Is War" throughout the Monday Night Wars alongside Jerry Lawler and cemented his legacy as one of the great wrestling commentators as WWE became the sole major wrestling promotion in North America. After the WWE Brand Extension, Ross worked exclusively for the Raw brand, cutting down to doing play-by-play on Raw-only pay-per-views, while SmackDown!-only pay-per-views were announced by SmackDown!'s announce team.

For most of the next six years Ross was involved in very few storylines. Also during this time, Ross served as an Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for the WWF/WWE, a codified extension of his long-time role as a member of management backstage in charge of hiring new talent. By 2005, Ross had stepped down from his executive and management roles. According to repeated statements on his official blog, the move away from management proved beneficial in terms of decreased work-load, giving him more time to focus on his health, his family, and his entrepreneurial endeavors.
Still working as the voice of Raw, Ross was again "fired" (kayfabe) from his play-by-play job by Vince and Linda McMahon on October 10, 2005. Doctors had discovered a serious issue with Ross's colon, and his storyline termination provided an explanation for his absence. While recovering from his colon surgery, Joey Styles (best known for his commentary work for Extreme Championship Wrestling) called the weekly Raw. After recovering, Ross helped produce the Raw announcers from backstage, and was brought back for Saturday Night's Main Event in 2006, then the Raw-brand matches at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago, before taking back his play-by-play job on Raw on May 8, 2006, after Styles quit Raw in the storyline, declaring his hatred for "sports entertainment".

Ross' contract with WWE expired in October 2006. At that point, neither side had signed a new contract and instead worked week to week under the terms of the expired contract.

On March 31, 2007, Ross was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

On June 23, 2008 during the 2008 WWE Draft, Ross was drafted from Raw to the SmackDown brand while Michael Cole was drafted from SmackDown to Raw, trading positions as commentators on each brand. This ended Ross' position as Monday Night Raw's play-by-play commentator after a nearly 12 year run. The following day Ross posted a blog on his official website saying initially he was not happy with the move and considered quitting the company since he was not told beforehand about the move, but that he will work "to make Smackdown the best program the WWE produces".

On April 8, 2009, Ross announced on his WWE Universe blog that with the departure of Tazz from World Wrestling Entertainment, he would assume the role of SmackDown's color analyst, with ECW announcer Todd Grisham moving over to the brand as the play-by-play announcer. October 6, 2009 was his last broadcasting as an announcer for the WWE.

Ross missed the SmackDown tapings on October 13, 2009, as he asked for a day off due to an anniversary. This was the first time he ever asked for a day off. Seven days later, on October 20, Ross suffered his third Bell's palsy episode en route to Columbia, South Carolina for a SmackDown taping. After initially planning on working the tapings and reuniting with Lawler, Ross instead flew back to Oklahoma, missing the show—Lawler and Cole commentated SmackDown—and leaving his plans for WWE Bragging Rights in the air. On October 21, 2009, Jim Ross announced that he would not be commentating the WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view, but Grisham mentioned that SmackDown would give Ross the Bragging Rights trophy as a "get well" gift. According to Ross in his personal blog, he will be out of action, recovering from his current bout with Bell's palsy. On March 31, 2010, Jim Ross confirmed on his Twitter page that his health is in good order. On May 1, 2010, his talent contract with WWE expired but recently has had his contract renewed. He still works for the WWE and is a consultant for the Talent Relations department dealing with talent payroll, scouting and talent development.

I'm gonna round off this speech by saying that if you can get JR to scream your name at the end of your match, I think it's safe to say that you have just become a star.

D2D

Ladies and gentlemen, our next inductee is.............

..................

Bruno Sammartino

Known as the "Living Legend", Bruno Sammartino is a man who has paved a road that very few will travel upon. Sammartino was a 2 time WWWF champ who held the belt for 8 years, from 1963-1971, and again from 1973-1976. He is the original "Living Legend," and was the face of pro wrestling at a time when the business/kayfabed "sport" was given very little TV exposure. He also became the first wrestler to hold the title twice.


Bruno Sammartino was born in Abruzzi, Italy and immigrated to the United States at the age of fifteen. Bruno Sammartino idolized a greco-roman wrestler named Batisti who represented Italy in the Olympics in the 30s.
He worked out whenever he could at a local gym in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at night.

In 1959, Bruno Sammartino debuted in the wild world of Professional Wrestling.
He defeated Buddy Rogers with a reverse backbreaker on May 17, 1963 to capture the WWWF World title. Bruno Sammartino would hold the WWWF World title for an incredible EIGHT years straight! Hans Mortier wrestled Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden challenging for the WWWF title on June 3, 1963, which ended in Bruno Sammartino defeating Mortier in a Best 2/3 Falls match to retain the WWWF Heavyweight title. He was finally beaten on January 18, 1971 by "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. On September 30, 1972 at Shae Stadium: Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales went to an incredible 65 minute time limit draw.

Bruno Sammartino defeated Stan Stasiak to recapture the WWWF World title on December 10, 1973. His second WWWF World title reign lasted just over 3 years, Bruno was the 1st person to ever win the title twice. Bruno Sammartino defeated Ivan Koloff in a 15 ft. high steel cage match to retain in front of 30,000 fans in Madison Square Garden in December, 1975.
On April 26, 1976, Stan Hansen defeated Bruno Sammartino by referee stoppage after Sammartino suffered a cut above his eye. Sammartino also suffered a "fractured vertebrae" (broken neck) after receiving The Lariat before a stunned audience. Around this time, Bruno Sammartino trained and introduced Larry Zbyzsko into the wrestling business. Bruno Sammartino & Larry Zbyzsko eventually became enemies and started a bitter feud.
On August 9, 1980 at Shea Stadium, Bruno Sammartino defeated Larry Zbyszko in a classic Steel Cage match. Sammartino lost the WWWF Title to Superstar Billy Graham in May 1977. In 1984, Bruno Sammartino officially became known as "The Living Legend".
He appeared at WrestleMania 1 on March 31, 1985 in the corner of David Sammartino, who was against Brutus Beefcake w/Johnny V. The match went to a no contest.
At Wrestlemania 2, Bruno Sammartino participated in the 20-Man Invitational Battle Royal. Sammartino officially retired from in-ring action in 1986 but stayed on as a color commentator.
He had his last match when he teamed up with Hulk Hogan and defeated King Kong Bundy & One Man Gang.

D2D

The next inductee's are officially recognized as 24 time World Tag Team Champions, making them the most decorated tag team in history.
They are ..................

.......

The Dudley Boyz

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dudleyville!

Bubba Ray and D-Von began wrestling together in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1996. They won their first ECW Tag Team Championship from The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) at Hostile City Showdown on March 15, 1997. Before making the jump to the then WWF, Bubba Ray and D-Von went on the hold the ECW Tag Team Titles another 7 times, beating teams such as the Full Blooded Italians, RVD and Sabu, Tommy Dreamer and Sandman, The Impact Players, Balls Mahoney and Tanaka and The Gangsters.

After the Dudleys left their mark on ECW, they went on to the WWF in 1999. Whilst in the WWF, one of the main symbolism of the Dudley Boyz was born............ TABLES!! Originally entered as heels, they were known through Bubba powerbombing women through tables. However, their feud with Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz during 2000/2001 was what lead to the instant popularity and respect. During this time, the Dudleys took part in the first of what is now a WWE speciality stip match that has its own PPV, the TLC match. When the InVasion storyline began, the Dudleys sided with the Alliance and become "the inforcers". During this time, they became the first tag team to ever hold the WCW, ECW, and WWF Tag Team Championships. They unified the WWF and WCW Tag Team Titles in 2001.

When the Brand Extension came into place, the team was split. Bubba Ray ended up as a babyface on Raw whilst D-Von found a place on SmackDown as a Reverend. The team re-united in late 2002 at the Survivor Series. D-Von was traded to Raw whilst Big Show went the other way. After the Dudley Boyz were back together they became an alliance in the Raw tag team division over the next sixteen months. In 2004, the Dudleyz went to SmackDown via the Draft lottery. In June of that year, they won the SmackDown brand's WWE Tag Team Championship, making them the first team to hold both sets of tag team titles in WWE history. They made their final appearence for WWE at the ECW One Night Stand event in 2005 before being released from their contracts.

In September 2005, The Dudleyz (now called Team 3D) made their way to TNA Wrestling. Team 3D's first rivalry in TNA was against America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) (AMW), which included a mock "funeral" for the careers of Team 3D. At Final Resolution on January 15, 2006, Team 3D fought AMW again, but this time for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, which AMW held. They won the match, however, due to Team Canada's interference the referee awarded the match to AMW. At Lockdown in 2007, Team 3D defeated LAX in a Electrified Six Sides of Steel match to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship. On May 13, 2007, the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) announced Team 3D had been stripped of the NWA World Tag Team Championship due to the permanent discontinuation of the relationship between the NWA and TNA Wrestling. TNA continued to recognize Team 3D as their World Tag Team Champions and were then designated as the very first official TNA World Tag Team Champions, and the new TNA World Tag Team Championship belts were unveiled on their "TNA Today" webcast on May 16, 2007.

On April 19, 2009, at Lockdown, IWGP Tag Team Champions Team 3D defeated Beer Money, Inc. to win the TNA World Tag Team Championships in a match where both titles were on the line. This made Team 3D World Tag Team Champions for the 22nd time. On October 18, 2009, at Bound for Glory, Team 3D captured their 23rd and 24th tag team championship when they defeated Beer Money, the British Invasion, and The Main Event Mafia's Scott Steiner and Booker T in a Full Metal Mayhem Tag Team match. With both the IWGP and TNA Tag tiles on the line, they captured the IWGP titles, which the British Invasion had beaten them for, only for the Brits to take them out and win what at the time were Booker and Steiner's TNA tag championships moments later. In the summer of 2010, Team 3D joined up with ECW alumni to form EV 2.0. The team split at the end of 2010 but it's been one hell of a journey for them.

As the Dudleys take their place in the PW Hall of Fame, we say one last time, D-Von........ GET THE TABLES!!!

D2D

Our final inductee is one of the all time greats. Written by BH, ladies and gentlemen, the final inductee from the class of 2011 is.........

...............

The Undertaker

Last year I had the opportunity to write up the introduction for a member of the inaugural Boards.ie hall of fame class in Eddy Guerrero (R.I.P). This year as D2D Was again looking to get people on board to help with write up I said i'd offer my help again but suggested that if my favourite wrestler of all time wasn't inducted this time that maybe a new writer should be given preference. As I'm writing this now I guess it's obvious that this is the guy that I've always considerd my fav and despite being a smark/PW Mod etc He is still a man that I'm willing to admit can make me Mark out even to this day.

He is a man who to me defines Professional Wrestling and one who goes under many monikers. The man that I would like to welcome into the Boards.ie PW hall of fame is none other than the conscience of the WWE, The Phenom, The Last Outlaw, The American Bad Ass, The Demon from Death Valley, The Lord of Darkness, The man who will make you famous, The Deadman...

The Undertaker
Mark Calaway

among his accolades are the following as noted on Wikipedia but even this impressive list does not do the man justice:

Calaway is an eight-time world champion: a four-time WWF/E Champion and three-time World Heavyweight Champion as The Undertaker, and a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion as Master of Pain. The Undertaker is also a one-time WWF Hardcore champion, and a seven-time world tag team champion: a six-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, and one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. The Undertaker was the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and became the first man to win the Rumble at number 30. He has been named by WWE as the greatest big man of all time.[6] Calaway is also the only active wrestler who appeared on the company's very first RAW program, who is still with WWE today.

Taker becomes the first active singles wrestler to be inducted into the Boards.ie PW hall of fame. The reason's behind why that's the case are numerous and varied as his illustrious career has spanned over 25 years, ever since his WCCW debut as Texas Red. It was his WWE debut however that leads me to suggest he can define Pro Wrestling as it was then that the world was introduced to argueably the greatest Gimmick in PW history.

Making his in ring TV debut at Survivor series as Ted Debiase's mystery partner where he took out stars such as Koko B Ware and Dusty Rhodes he immediatley grabbed the audiences attension. The appearance of The Undertaker's first Deadman persona was modeled after a mortician from old Western movies, wearing a trench coat and black hat with grey gloves and boot covers. Under this Deadman persona, he was impervious to pain, something accomplished by Calaway no-selling his opponents' attacks. Calloway has always been very protective of his Gimmick no matter how it has evolved, however he has always been portrayed (outside of his American Bad-Ass phase) as being undead. No matter how many cartoonish characters were around the world of PW at the time his stood out to me (and so many others) for one reason among many. His Character essentially became the answer to the is it real/it's not real arguement as nobody actually thought he was Dead but they still got into and truely enjoyed his portrayal of Deadman. He was a sports entertainer before the term even existed!

His unique character also gave the writers a blank slate with regards to the creation of a backstory and after teaming up with "his father" Paul Bearer in a managerial role the WWF struck gold with the introduction of his brother Kane.

being a lazy b*llocks im quoting wikipedia again here

Bearer announced that The Undertaker was a murderer, who as a child had burned down the family funeral home business (where Bearer worked), killing his parents and his younger half-brother. The Undertaker claimed there was no way for Bearer to have that information, but Bearer announced that he was told this by Undertaker's half-brother Kane, who was still alive but horribly burned and scarred. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized. Now, Kane was waiting for revenge after all these years. In defense, The Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly survived.

Guess taker was wrong about that one eh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83oHI2QOTYg

His feud with Kane has been off and on for years and is one of the more talked of feuds in WWF/E history, it also brought a lot more depth to The Undertaker character. Although their matches didnt always result in the greatest wrestling in a traditional form they did keep the target audience gripped and along with some of Takers darker moments cemented him as a reason to watch for much of the promotions audience.

This darker persona i'm elluding to saw him in 1999 form the Ministry of Darkness as he developing a more evil, Satanic and frightening character. During this time he went under The Lord of Darkness name and drove the censors wild with antics such as crucifixtions on people such as Stephanie McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Taker is also the king of Gimmick Matches having taken part in everything from Submission and TLC matches to Inferno matches including most notably numerous Casket and Hell in a Cell matches. This most memorable of all these Gimmick matches would have to be His Hell in a Cell match with Mick foley, who he had a long feud with as Mankind, at King of the Ring 1998. Like his gimmick this match stands alone for me as nearly the ultimate comeback to the it's not real arguement. That night nothing ever felt more real than PW, the lines were truely blurred and nobody knew what was coming next, everyone was gripped and the despite nearly killing his opponent the major heel undertaker became the Ultimate face simply by being so fkn awesome and his charcter fitting so well. The fans chanted his name as he was lifted along with the cell above the ring and looked down at the carnage below.... a screw it I'm not going to try and sum it up, only JR is worthy of that so here it is.

Its kinda hard to get too specific when recapping a mans entire career and in doing so saying why he is a worthy member of our Hall of fame. There are many thinks im not going to really delve into like how he is a leader backstage, how he has worked through real pain on numerous occasions to give the best possible performance's he could. He also showed in his American Badass days particularily that he truely was very capable on the Microphone also. However on thing that I have to touch on especially give the time of year is his Wrestlemania winning Streak. He is currently 18-0 at WM a feat which has never and I would suggest will never be duplicated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osJtLyBnWa4

This streak has seen him take on and defeat such names as Jake Roberts, Diesel, Sycho Sid, Kane, HHH, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Batista & Edge. It also culminated when in the past two year He took on Shawn Michaels in what has been oft described as a work of Art at WM 26. The stakes were even higher the following year in their WM rematch in a Career vs Streak match that saw the end of HBK's WWE career. That streak is likely to become 19-0 this sunday as HBK best bud HHH has his own second go at the streak but no matter what happens this stallwart of the Wrestling industry is much deserving of his place in the Boards.ie Hall of fame.

D2D

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes this evenings festivities. My apologises on the write up being short, it's the best I could do on short notice

The class of 2011 is:

- The Undertaker
- Shawn Michaels
- Bruno Sammartino
- Kenta Kobashi
- The Dudleys
- Jim Ross

My thanks to all who have voted and who have helped out with this. None of this would be possible without ye:)

Until next year before we roll out the carpet for the next batch of wrestlers who will be forever immortalized into the boards.ie PW Hall of Fame, good night!

The Boards.ie PW Hall of Fame:

- Ric Flair
- Hulk Hogan
- Bruno Sammartino
- The Undertaker
- Shawn Michaels
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Mitsurharu Misawa
- Eddie Guerrero
- Kenta Kobashi
- The Dudleys
- The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)
- Vince McMahon Jr
- Jim Ross