On Saturday night the WWE had a very long and very impressive Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  Tonight a one hour highlight show is airing.  Hopefully an unedited longer form show will be on the WrestleMania BluRay release.

The first inductee shown on this show is actually the first five.  The Four Horsemen:  Flair, Anderson, Blanchard, Windham (and manager JJ Dillion).  Give it up to the WWE production team for showing off all of the Horsemen footage but making sure that it only includes the members they want.  No Ole Anderson, Lex Luger, Sting, Paul Roma, Mongo, Benoit, Jarrett, Pillman.  Oh I’m forgetting some people for sure.

Dusty Rhodes compares the Horsemen to the Beatles.  Hmmmm… I’m not going to discount this.  I want some more thought and evidence to further this point, but there is a strong possibility that there is in fact a strong point in here.

JJ speaks first and cuts a great tribute promo.  Its a wonderful piece on the kismet that caused the Horsemen to be formed.  Ric Flair is up next and its a damn shame he is not under WWE contract.  (One of) The greatest of all time needs to be in the big company.  Not wasting his time in TNA for people who don’t realize who and what they have under contract.  A contract, BTW, which is apparently so fluid he can show up for the competing brand.

Barry Windham is the first Hall of Famer who is also the son of a Hall of Famer.  Nice bit of trivia there.  Windham is someone I need to study at some point.  Great wrestler to be sure but one that I have never seen that much of.  Tully tells the fans that every bump and bruise was worth it.  Arn speaks last, as if its a thank you for everything.  Its a damn shame that Anderson was never NWA/WCW World champion.  Damn shame.  He was also one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet but he was happier being a good hand than the Man.

There is a lot I don’t like about the next 20 minutes of the show.  I understand that Mike Tyson is a historic figure in boxing.  Unstoppable in his prime.  But then between Don King, and the ear, and the “acting” he has become a joke.  I mean he found a way to leave boxing, the only thing he’s able to do, and still make a career.  But is he really worth being in the wrestling Hall of Fame?  Are any celebrities worthy of this?

His induction, while I understand the reason for ratings, takes away time from the careers of Ron Simmons, Mil Mascaras, and Yokozuna.  Its also just another opportunity for Triple H and Shawn Michaels to “one more time” drag out some DX money.

Red hat sign guy!  Rick!  He is in a tuxedo…. AND the red hat!  Kayfabe lives!

Hunter and Shawn make jokes and further themselves.  The fans chant “Shawn is better!”  On a positive note though, they do put over Tyson’s work with WWE and why he is worthy of being in the WWE Hall of Fame.  Damn good job there.

I’ll give Tyson some credit too.  He names names that no casual or non fan could ever come up with.  He drops legendary names of the wrestlers he loved watching when he was younger.  The WWE Superstars are laughing a little too hard at what Tyson is saying.  He sounds more awkward and its close to embarrassing.  Not slap your knees, clap your hands and double over laughing.

Very very quick review of the other three men who went into the Hall of Fame tonight.  If they are good enough to get in there then they are good enough to get some damn TV time!

Edge.  Amazing tribute to a career cut far far far too short.  Lots of people ask why Edge was inducted this early.  Because he needed to be.  Before the fans forgot, before anyone misses for a second the contributions some kid from Canada made.  The world needs to see what happens when you give it your all.  Sure, running at 200% means you burn out twice as fast.  But look at all the matches, the titles, and the memories that were crammed into that short amount of time.

Thank you Edge.

Christian gives a touching introduction for his brother by choice.  There is most definitely a difference between an introduction for a co -worker and one for your best friend for decades.  Really beautifully done.

Edge is out, with a brand new haircut.  Edge puts over Christian as a better person than he is because of the moral high ground.  I did not expect that one, but with some of the self-admitted bad choices Edge has made that meant a lot.  Edge puts over his mom and how can you not think that Adam Copeland is just one of the best people ever?  (Is that Rhino sitting next to Edge’s mom?)

Edge stops the Hall of Fame music to play a little rock and pose for the fans.  If I wasn’t already a huge mark for him, this would have pushed me over.

Well worth watching this show if you are any kind of wrestling fan.  Wrestling can go bad so many times, but you’ll be proud to be a fan tonight.