(CSI) A View From Paradise - Vol III - WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2010

[The Maz]

VOL III – WWE HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2010

FOR THE THOUSANDS IN ATTENDANCE

Lords, ladies and gentleman, welcome to the WWE 2010 Hall of Fame ceremony. I am your host for this evening’s events, Mazza. You will all know by now that my epic rise to celebrity status started a year ago after winning the CSI tournament in the LOP Forums. Following that, the world became my oyster as I received a main page call-up and my work was spotted by some big wigs at the WWE. I quickly rose to the top of the writing team and obviously wrote myself onto TV where my natural charm and charisma made managers popular once again in wrestling. I am living the dream people, I have the greatest job in the world working with the greatest professionals, not only in sports entertainment, but in any industry you would care to think of. A couple of weeks back, I got a call from the boss. Hi Vince, how’re you doing tonight?

*Vince nods in approval*

Good, good. Anyway, Vince asked me if I would emcee the Hall of Fame Ceremony this year. I bit his arm off at the prospect, to be able to share the stage with all these legends who made the industry what it is today is the greatest honour I could have bestowed upon me. Being first and foremost a writer, I had a few ideas of my own which unfortunately were vetoed. To be honest, I did not think that suggesting my role model, Vince Russo, as a candidate would get me so much heat. I honestly didn’t think that it would be an issue since TNA went into liquidation. Thankfully though, a couple of my other suggestions saved me. The Hall of Fame ceremony is a WWE show and as such, we can use some of the same elements today that will be used tomorrow at Wrestlemania 26. I am not talking chair shots, ladders or pyros here, I am talking about the dark match. So before our little show goes live to a world wide audience, I have been given the honour of inducting the very first man into the columnist section of the WWE Hall of Fame. That man goes by the name of Sean Taylor.

*Video Package on Sean Taylor airs, it is very short as he is not actually a wrestler*

Sean Taylor is one of the great historians of our time. The man really is a walking wrestling Wikipedia and with last years’ WWE Encyclopaedia currently at the bottom of the bargain sections in bookstores everywhere, I can announce today that Sean has been commissioned to write a new and improved version. Sean’s columns The Classroom and History Of: have been a real treat for readers of Lords of Pain for over a year and a half now and he has given a new generation of wrestling fans a window into the events that have shaped our industry. That alone is reason enough for it to be only right that he is the first columnist to go into the WWE Hall of Fame. Sean loves the facts and in a world where it seems that every man and his dog have an opinion, his columns are always a refreshing change from the norm. I actually remember in my early column writing days that I would often find myself reaching for one of Sean’s columns for reference before even thinking about going to sites like Wikipedia or the like. Sean was also the man who I beat in the final of the aforementioned CSI tournament and in that final, he actually nominated the blindfold match at Wrestlemania 7 between Jake Roberts and Rick Martel as his favourite Wrestlemania match ever. I am not sure I actually believe that but it was certainly a fun match to watch again. What that choice really shows is that Sean doesn’t necessarily follow popular opinion, his views are formed on his own and he will never stop doing his own thing. So without further ado, please welcome Mr Sean Taylor.

*A ripple of applause rings out*

Sorry ladies and gentleman, I have just got word that Sean couldn’t make it here tonight as he was apparently involved in a bizarre over-crowding incident involving touring Australians at WWE Niagara. Fortunately, I am told that someone is on their way out to accept the award on his behalf…

*Mazza seems shocked as BeyondKnight saunters to the stage to collect the award*

Nation, I am deeply honoured to accept this accolade! It’s true that for years your Beacon of Knowledge has been denied the recognition he deserved. After all, it was my greatness that led to the now epic Mazza/Taylor showdown that has warranted Mr. Taylor's induction tonight. I instructed Mazza about football, only to have it spell my own downfall as his fickle audience of foreigners decried the glory of the sport. Then, it was only my timely intervention and the now epic quote-unqoute "Fred Song" that kept Mazza and Degen from imploding. True, Mazza did then go on to defeat Degen on his own, but seriously Nation, ask Xan (or anyone in any other CF contest in history) how easy it is to defeat Degen in competition. So from the bottom of my heart I thank you, as things have finally been set right and I have been vindicated!!!! And now I'd like to formally announce my candidacy for President of the United States! My first act will be to rename St. Louis, Fred-town and…

SECURITY… GET THIS DIME BAR OUT OF HERE, WE GO LIVE IN 2 MINUTES!!!

*At this point BK's mic is cut off and security drags him off stage*

Sorry about that people, this guy just always seems to turn up when I am around. I will be calling my lawyer on our next break to get a restraining order.

*Mazza is handed a piece of paper by Pat Patterson and winks at him as he leaves*

Uh-hum. World Wrestling Entertainment would like to apologise to our sponsors and shareholders here tonight for that interruption. The man responsible for the outburst has been removed from the premises. We have not yet reached the televised part of our show and as nobody here knows who Mr Sean Taylor is, it is highly unlikely that anyone was recording that section so we do not have to worry about videos popping up on You Tube. Once again, our apologies.

*Mazza takes the paper backstage as the lights go down and the countdown begins to the live show*

AND MILLIONS WATCHING AROUND THE WORLD

*The lights come up and the PA system announces the start of the evening for television viewers*

Welcome to the to the WWE 2010, Hall of Fame ceremony coming at you live from the Glendale Arena, Glendale, Arizona. Please welcome your host for this evening’s festivities, Mazza.

*Mazza comes back out to the stage looking a lot less flustered*

Good evening ladies and gentleman. Wow, there are certainly a lot of familiar faces in the audience and in the spirit of the WWE Hall of Fame, they are all here tonight to honour some of the performers who really paved the way for all of our careers in sports entertainment. I grew up watching a lot of the people we are going to induct tonight and they all, in their own unique way, played a major role in creating and moulding the product that we see on our televisions today.

The first person that we are going to honour tonight has wrestling in his blood but the entertainment that he gave us during the Attitude Era was under a rather bizarre alter-ego. For me as a writer, Goldust was a character which would be next to impossible to get over and the only thing that made ‘The Bizarre One’ a success was the extraordinary portrayal by Dustin Rhodes.

*Video package airs highlighting Dustin’s career*

Dustin was born on the 11th April 1969 in Milford, Connecticut and he was the son of a dream. That dream was WWE Hall of Famer, The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes. After brief spells in the NWA and WWF early in his career, Dustin first started making a name for himself in 1991 with WCW. He briefly held the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Ricky Steamboat before entering into a tag team with Barry Windham and winning the tag team titles for a second time before the pair split up and entered into a memorable feud. In January 1993, Dustin won his first of 2 United States Championships, defeating Ricky Steamboat before entering into a rivalry with Rick Rude which lasted for most of the year. It was in 1995 where Dustin debuted in the WWE as the bizarre Goldust. This controversial character entered into major feuds with Razor Ramon, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Triple H and most notoriously, Brian Pillman. Dustin had another brief spell in WCW at the end of the 1990s and his return to the WWE in 2002 soon saw him form an unlikely, but highly popular, tag team with Booker T. Dustin had spells in Japan and TNA before finally returning home to the WWE and the Goldust character in 2008.

During his career, Dustin has won the United States Championship twice, the Intercontinental title 3 times in addition to 9, non-black reigns as hardcore champ. He has also tasted tag team gold twice in WCW and once in the WWE. I can think of nobody better to induct this highly decorated and highly interesting man than his brother, Cody.

*The crowd applaud as Cody comes out and tells some stories about his brother before Dustin comes out to receive his accolade. An emotional Rhodes talks about the honour of following his father into the hall of fame and Dusty joins his boys on stage. They hype their 6 man tag match for the following night with the DiBiase’s before leaving the stage together to the jubilation of their peers in attendance*

From one of the strangest characters of the Attitude era, we find ourselves moving on to two more. Mosh and Thrasher gained many fans with their wacky ring attire and offbeat wrestling style that was a highlight on the WWE tag team division in the late 1990’s.

*Headbangers video package airs*

In the early 1990’s, Glen Ruth was training for his dream job as a professional wrestler under Larry Sharpe. Sharpe was so impressed with his protégé that he made Ruth his assistant and during this time, they trained a young man by the name of Charles Warrington. In 1996, New Jersey natives Warrington and Ruth were signed to the WWE and were initially named the Flying Nuns and then the Sisters of Love in short lived gimmicks. Eventually Warrington became Mosh and Ruth became Thrasher, a duo know collectively as the Headbangers. The Headbangers were metal-heads, they wore skirts, bras and make-up and often came down to the ring with a ghetto-blaster. The wacky pairing began to tear through the WWE tag team division. Wrestlemania 13 saw Mosh and Thrasher defy the odds by defeating The New Blackjacks, The Godwinns and Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon in a fatal 4 way tag match to be named number one contenders to the tag team titles. The crowning moment for the Headbangers came 5 months later at Ground Zero: In Your House. They won the vacant WWE Tag Team Championships in a fatal 4 way involving old rivals the Godwinns as well as legends the Legion of Doom and Owen Hart and the British Bulldog. They would eventually lose the titles to the Godwinns but would go on to have many excellent feuds with the likes of The Oddities, The Mean Street Posse and Too Cool and they sure gave us many great moments in a golden age for tag team wrestling.

Well the Headbangers are being inducted as a tag team but they both had career highlights in their own right. Thrasher was one of the men to hold the Hardcore Championship at the Wrestlemania 2000 Hardcore Battle Royal and Mosh had an interesting run as Chaz. They were at their strongest when together though and probably the longest feud of their career was against a couple of degenerates so it is only fitting that the men to induct them are The Road Dogg, Jesse James, The Badd Ass Billy Gunn, The New Age Outlaws…

*The Outlaws play the crowd and pretty much steal the limelight by sending a couple of jokes in Vince McMahon’s direction. The Headbangers accept their award mainly in character but make some more personal comments before leaving the stage*

Those guys are a lot of fun but unfortunately, not all of the colourful characters from the 90’s have a story with a happy ending. Who could ever forget Rhonda Sing’s portrayal of the larger than life Bertha Faye? You may remember her as Harvey Wippleman’s trailer trash girlfriend but there was a lot more to Rhonda than that…

*Video package plays highlighting the life of Rhonda Sing*

Rhonda Sing was born on the 21st February 1961 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a child she was always interested in wrestling and regularly attended Stampede shows in her area. As a teenager she approached the legendary Hart family with the hope of training in the infamous dungeon. Unfortunately for Rhonda, the Harts did not train women at the time but she fell into great hands when she joined Mildred Burke’s training facility in California. After only a few weeks she was scouted by All Japan Women and she would go on to win many titles for many companies in Japan. In Japan she developed a friendship with the Dynamite Kid and eventually went back to Canada to work for Stampede. Her globe trotting career saw her move to the WWC in Puerto Rico where she became their woman’s champion on 5 occasions. When the WWE reactivated their women’s division in the mid-90’s, they came knocking at Rhonda’s door. She won the WWE’s Women’s Championship from Alundra Blayze at SummerSlam 1995 but unfortunately the feud between the women could not save the women’s division. She went on to have a brief spell with WCW at the end of the 1990’s before retiring from the industry and working as a Carer. On 27 July 2001, Rhonda Sing died of undisclosed medical problems. It marked the sad loss of a pioneer of women’s wrestling.

Rhonda Sing was loved throughout the world and she held titles all over the world including here in the US, Japan, Puerto Rico and her home, Canada. She is missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with her. Her dedication to the sport that she loved makes her a great model for today’s Divas and she has given them a chance to shine today. She had many compelling rivalries over the years but none were as compelling as her battles with Wendi Richter.

*Wendi Richter comes out to induct Rhonda Sing. She reminisces about their feuds and time in Puerto Rico. She announces that sadly Sing was never married and had no children and presents the award to a group of women’s wrestlers past and present, led out by Debra Miceli (Alundra Blayze)*

Rhonda Sing is sorely missed by the professional wrestling industry as a person and a pioneer but now we move onto to another pioneer who was unfortunately taken from us too early.

*Video package on Bruiser Brody plays*

Before ECW was even a thought brewing in the mind of Paul Heyman, Frank Goodish, more commonly known as Bruiser Brody, was already proving himself to be a hardcore legend and innovator of violence. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, Brody was one of the most sought after wrestlers in the industry. We wrestled for a multitude of companies throughout the United States and his brutal feuds with the likes of Abdullah the Butcher and Kamala were legendary. Despite being loved on home soil, Brody proved to be one of America’s greatest exports and was adored in Puerto Rico and Japan. In 1985, the year where Wrestlemania was created, Brody became the highest paid wrestler in the world when Japanese promotions New Japan and All Japan Pro Wrestling went into a bidding war to secure his services. Towards the end of his life, Brody was working for the WWC in Puerto Rico where he developed a new rivalry with Carlos Colon as well as revisiting his feud with Abdullah. Whilst preparing for a match at a WWC event in Bayamón, Puerto Rico on 16th July 1988, Brody was murdered. A legendary career was tragically cut short at a time where professional wrestling was reaching new heights in mainstream entertainment. He was survived by his wife, Barbara and son, Geoffrey.

It is sad when any life is cut short but the death of Bruiser Brody meant that this icon missed a time where hardcore wrestling would reach dizzy new heights. So many dream matches could have taken place on a big stage against the likes of Terry Funk, Sabu and of course Mick Foley. Mick has kindly agreed to induct Frank Goodish into the Hall of Fame this evening on behalf of the many professionals who have fond memories of the Bruiser.

*Foley discusses how he feels privileged to induct Brody and reads a host of anecdotes and stories from a number of stars showing how his no-nonsense style was not only limited to in-ring action. Brody’s wife and son accept the award on his behalf in the most emotional moment of the evening*

If there is one man whose name is more associated with the term “brawler” than Brody, it is Steve Lombardi. As the Brooklyn Brawler, he kick-started more careers than anyone in the history of wrestling but has given the industry and in particular, the WWE so much more than being the world’s most famous talent enhancer.

*We see a video package of Lombardi’s career highlights*

Steve Lombardi joined the WWE in 1983, going under his real name but in a role very similar to the one he would adopt as the Brooklyn Brawler. He took on his most famous incarnation in 1989 and initially was managed by Hall of Famer, Bobby Heenan in his feud with the Red Rooster. He soon left the Heenan Family and reverted back to his role as the company’s most famous talent enhancer for much of the 1990’s. During this time he tried a couple of failed gimmicks but did get plenty of TV time portraying Doink the Clown and Kamala’s handler, Kim-Chee. As the millennium turned, Lombardi’s television roles became more infrequent and he was limited to cameo appearances until mid-2009 when he became the third member of Cryme Tyme. The team of Brooklyn natives shocked the world by becoming the first WWE 6-Man Tag Team Champions when they defeated Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase and DH Smith in a match that signalled the beginning of the end for the Legacy. Behind the scenes, Lombardi is one of the industries most respected road agents and this is a role that has made him one of the longest serving employees in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Steve certainly has made a lot of friends throughout his long tenure with the WWE and so many people were really excited on hearing the news of his induction. Here is a man that is living proof that a great win-loss record is not directly proportional to having a great career. Inducting Steve tonight is the first man he feuded with as the Brooklyn Brawler, The Red Rooster. Please welcome to the stage, Terry Taylor.

*Taylor tells some road stories and Lombardi comes out all smiles. He chats away about his memories of his long career with the company and walks away to the biggest applause of the night so far*

We have now arrived to our non-wrestler part of the show. The celebrity wing of the Hall of Fame honours stars from other walks of life who have had an impact on sports entertainment. This year we will be inducting a man who has invited many professional wrestlers to cross over to his world but has also shown he had the grapefruits to cross over into ours.

*Jay Leno’s video package airs*

James Douglas Muir Leno, more commonly known as Jay, was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1950. As a child, Leno would say that he would take over Johnny Carson’s job and in 1992, he achieved that dream when he became host of the Tonight Show. His time as host of the show has made him one of the most famous faces in the world. He has had cameo roles in many TV shows, movies and even video games. Wrestling fans however will remember Leno fondly from his 1998 run in WCW. Prior to his appearances on WCW programming, Leno aired a series of skits on the Tonight Show mocking Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Upset by this, Hogan and Eric Bischoff came to the Tonight Show and took over. Diamond Dallas Page saved the day for Leno and at Road Wild 1998, Leno teamed up with WCW’s DDP to take on the nWo pairing of Hogan and Bischoff. Leno and Page won the match thanks to interference from the leader of the Tonight Show Band, Kevin Eubanks. Today World Wrestling Entertainment would like to honour Jay Leno for his help in exposing professional wrestling to the mainstream spotlight by inviting many of our superstars to be guests on his show over the last 20-odd years.

Right now I would try and give you some witty Leno-esque observations but I would only pale in comparison to the man himself, so without further ado, please welcome to the stage to induct Jay, his rival from his time in WCW, Hulk Hogan.

*Hogan comes out to a great ovation and discusses how Leno was a pleasure to work with and a true professional. Leno accepts the award and has the crowd in stitches with his comedy*

See, I told you it would not be a good idea for me to go with comedy. We now move onto to a man who was the benchmark for all aspiring bad guys during the 80’s. I grew up loving to hate this man and it is a talent that he has passed onto his sons, as his legacy continues on WWE programming to this day.

*Extended video package is shown highlighting Ted DiBiase’s illustrious career*

Theodore Marvin DiBiase was born in 1954 and is the son of Helen Hild and adoptive son of ‘Iron’ Mike DiBiase. After seeing the man he called his father die at the age of 15, DiBiase set out to follow in his footsteps and was trained in the art of professional wrestling by Hall of Famers, Terry and Dory Funk Jr. He has a brief spell with the WWE in 1979 before spending the early to mid-80’s moving around organisations such as Mid South Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and the NWA. In 1987 he returned to the WWE with a new gimmick which would help make DiBiase one of the biggest stars in the industry, The Million Dollar Man. It was not long before DiBiase was in the main-event scene of the company. He attempted to buy the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan but the Hulkster would not budge. DiBiase then tried another tactic and got his hands on the title after Andre the Giant beat Hogan and he bought the title from Andre. He went on to feud with Randy Savage and won the 1988 King of the Ring Tournament, beating the Macho Man in the final. DiBiase would then introduce the Million Dollar Championship to the company and his singles career would see him feud with the likes of Dusty Rhodes, his former bodyguard Virgil and most notably, Jake Roberts. In 1992, DiBiase formed a tag team with Irwin R Shyster known as Money Inc who captured the WWE Tag Team Championship on three occasions. Ted then left the WWE for a while but soon returned managing a faction known as the Million Dollar Corporation. His run as a manager would soon see him reintroduce the Million Dollar Championship with his new protégé, the Ringmaster, Steve Austin. Austin would go on to use DiBiase’s finishing move, the Million Dollar Dream, on various occasions throughout his illustrious career. DiBiase left for WCW soon after and became the fourth member of the nWo faction. He retired a couple of years later and is now a now a Christian Minister. Since his retirement, he has been seen on WWE programming on numerous occasions until early 2010, when he returned to help is son, Ted Jr. in is feud with Cody Rhodes.

What a career this man has had. I am really looking forward to seeing him in the ring one last time tomorrow with his sons Ted and Mike as they take on the Rhodes family. When it came to inducting Ted, many people put their name forward but after their epic feud over the WWE Championship, the honour could only go to one man.

*Randy Savage comes out to induct Ted DiBiase and in a rather incoherent speech, discusses Ted’s impact on the business and how he was the greatest heel of all times. Ted accepts the award with his family and leaves in character, having a dig at Dusty Rhodes, to the delight of the audience*

Hey Ted, I have a price too you know. Anyway, we now come to out final induction of the evening. There is nothing that Vince McMahon respects more than a loyal employee, even if he is not loyal to him. Steve Borden was the face of WCW for many years and despite numerous attempts, never jumped ship to the WWE. Tonight we honour a great wrestler who never stepped foot in a WWE ring.

*Extended video package is shown of Sting*

Steve Borden’s career started out as one half on the charismatic tag team, the Blade Runners, along side the man who would become the Ultimate Warrior in the UWF promotion in the mid 1980’s. When Jim Crockett bought the company from Bill Watts, Sting soon found himself as UWF’s breakout star in the NWA and it wasn’t long until his career-long feud with Ric Flair started, as a young Sting became a challenger for Flair’s NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He ended up unsuccessful in his first bid to become world champion but title after title followed for Sting as he had numerous reigns with different belts in the NWA and then WCW. Sting finally defeated Flair for the big one at The Great American Bash in 1990 and he would never be too far away from a world title throughout the rest of his career. Over the years, Sting has been involved in many high profiles feuds against The Four Horsemen, Nikita Koloff, Cactus Jack and Big Van Vader. When the New World Order first started to take the wrestling world by storm, Sting was at the forefront of the WCW resistance but when the rest of WCW turned their back on him, Sting adopted a much darker character. For months, nobody knew whether he was a good guy or bad guy until he showed his true colours by taking out the nWo at Uncensored 1997. More title wins came and when the nWo splint into two sections, Sting joined Kevin Nash’s nWo Wolfpac following feuds Hogan and Bret Hart. More world titles followed for Sting and in the late days of WCW, he was involved with an impressive feud with Vampiro before leaving WCW programming until the final episode of Nitro. The final match in WCW history saw Sting defeat long time rival, Ric Flair. After the match, the two men hugged to mark the end of an era. After a brief spell with the WWA, Sting moved to TNA where he feuded with the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner and Kurt Angle as well as adding two more world titles and a tag team championship reign to his list of accolades. When TNA went bankrupt late last year, the WWE finally got their man when Sting signed a legends contract with the company.

What a career ladies and gentleman. Sting is a 3-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, 1-time Television Champion, 2-time United States Champion, 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion and 1-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. This is in addition to countless other titles and accolades in the business. His long term rivalry with the Nature Boy makes him the perfect choice to induct Sting here tonight, so please welcome to the stage, Ric Flair.

*Flair comes out and discusses his many fond memories of Sting. Sting comes out to a tremendous ovation and thanks Vince and the WWE for being great competition which constantly pushed himself, and WCW, to get better and better. After his speech, Sting is joined on stage by all the other inductees and they receive a standing ovation*

Ladies and gentlemen, the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2010.

*More applause sees the show come to an end and go off air as the guests head to the after party*

THE GREEN ROOM

*After the show, Vince McMahon comes to talk to Mazza about how the show went*

Hey boss, I don’t think that could have gone any better personally.

As always Mazza, a great job. I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am going to announce my retirement after Wrestlemania and Stephanie will take my post as Chairperson of the board. My final role as chairman will be to promote you to Executive Vice President of Creative Development and Operations.

Wow, what an honour. I won’t let you down Sir. I will always strive to make the right decisions for the company. Like convincing you to forgive and forget. There were a lot of people here tonight that the world thought they would never see on WWE programming again.

Yeah. I would not say I have forgiven and I definitely have not forgotten, but they have all played an important part in the history of sports entertainment. I was however considering getting security to pull those damn Outlaws off the stage at one point.

Well think of it like this, they were only playing up the characters you created for them. They have the utmost respect for you and I actually think they should be inducted next year.

I think I will have to take that one under advisement.

So anyway, did the guys catch the section with BeyondKnight?

Oh yes. It is being uploaded to You Tube as we speak. There is even a copy being Fed-ex’d to Dave Meltzer.

Awesome, the IWC are going to lap that stuff up. They are a fickle bunch but they are a key part of the audience. Watch how that video will bump up your buy rates for tomorrow.

I hope so, as long as they never know how much I am counting on them. Talking of the IWC, what they hell was with the captions on the photos in the programme? Some kind of IWC joke?

Ah don’t worry about that, that was a special edition, just for you.

And what’s the story with this Degenerate guy, maybe we could use someone like that around here.

Well he is a talented creature, but he has a problem with deadlines. He is currently involved in a Best of 5 series on LOP which has been going on since March last year. He has actually only managed to post 2 columns in that time. You’d be better off bringing Hellwig back. Anyway, talking of deadlines, Pat asked me to meet him in the parking lot and he is way too nice a guy to leave standing around.

Errr, okay, you Brits are strange but never mind. I will catch you at the party. Congratulations again on a great job tonight.

Thanks again Vince. Save me a seat at your table.

*Mazza went off for his rendezvous with Pat Patterson and they eventually joined the after party in separate cars. Wrestlemania 26 set new records for PPV buy rates and the 2010 Hall of Fame Ceremony went on to be regarded the greatest ever*

[Mavsman]

Having never seen a WWE HOF ceremony, I cannot comment as to how accurate this would be to a real HOF induction. I can say that this was a very entertaining column. There were a few grammar errors here and there but nothing too bad. Just hope they don't cost you the matchup!

I think it would be awesome if Sting would join the WWE HOF but I don't see it happening as long as Vince is in charge. The Million Dollar Man will probably get in there someday, but I think the rest of the inductees might be longshots.

Good job and good luck.

[NightofDay]

This was damn impressive. Mavs, Mazza got a HoF ceremony right. Everything was where it needed to be. This was one hell of an entry. Sean's going to have to come up with something god like in order to beat this. Like Mavs said, there was some grammatical errors but nothing that detracted me from the experience of reading this. Good luck to you Mazza. Do us Brits proud. Sean, good luck to you too. Both of you thoroughly deserve this.

[cicero]

I'm not entriely sure about this. It might have flowed well, feaured little in the way of mistakes, and basically have been without much fault at all but that doesn't necessarily mean I enjoyed it. Honestly I have no idea how best to approach this feedback, so let me just say 'congratulations on the quality' and leave it at that.

[Leonard]

Mr. Mazza:

Great as always. I could debate your choice of order (I wouldn't have put Leno so late in the program), but that's purely opinion. I would have liked to have read more about what was actually "said" at the ceremony, rather than just the video package (although this was very good). For the list you were given (especially The Headbangers) you did a fantastic job. Good luck in the tournament, friend.

--Leonard

P.S., the Sting picture was a great swerve...

[Cult Icon]

another outstanding job mazza. you hit the hof thing right on and this was entertaining and easy to read throughout. the way youre writing right now is one of a kind and you may be the next big thing here. just dont pull a lesnar and youll go onto great things lol.

best of luck in csi man

[The Maz]

Feedback time already...

Mavs - First things first, you need to watch a Hall of Fame ceremony, try and catch this years if you can. I think Ted is the surefire one of this group with Sting, Brody and maybe even Lombardi being outside bets (If Koko can get it, why can't the Brawler???). Not sure about the grammar errors, I think I may have been concentrating too hard, though dialogue columns makes these things that much more difficult and subjective, I guess time will tell. Thanks for reading.

NOD - I am glad you thought I managed to capture the HoF essence. I actually considered watching one back. I think Sean will be a lot touger to beat in this second round though.

Cici - Thanks Cici. I kind of get where you are coming from. The stips pretty much made the main section of the column what it is, which is a bio for the "inductees" I added the "dark induction" and conversation with Vince to put my spin on the whole thing and diversify a little.

len - Thanks man. The Headbangers section was an absolute nightmare to get through. I kind of put Leno where I did in the same way WWE put a Divas match before the Main Event sometimes. A toilet break before you see what you paid the money for a ticket for. I thought the first few flowed pretty well from one to another and I didn't worry about placement too much because of it.

Cult - Well I sure aint intending on attempting a SSP, that's for sure! No, I am not going anywhere soon (touch wood). Thanks for the kind words.

[Martin Riggs]

I just spent the last 10-or-so minutes at the hall of fame 2010 in my head. Top notch work, really easy to read and follow!

[Kano]

Mazza, so good, words can't even describe how awesome this was. You really nailed it. It almost felt like this can actually happened. Sean has his work cut out for him, I hope you win this, not disrespecting Sean, but man, you deserve this.

WWE might have produced some youngs guns, but this CSI tournament made you a better writer.

Ladies and Gents I present the winner of the CSI tournament. MAZZA

[Hustle]

The part involving Bruiser Brody and D was my favorite. Nice reference.

All in all, another mighty fine piece of columny goodness. I really hope that you're proud of yourself, win or lose, as you've accomplished so much in such a short time, and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight.

Bravo, sir.

[TheMonkeyBoy]

I can imagine this was very hard to pull off but you pulled it off fantasically. You had the tone and everytihng just right and it sounded just like a HOF ceremony.

Well done and a have a really good chance of winning this

[The Maz]

J-Boom - Glad I could get the feeling across. I love the Hall of Fame so I am kind of in tune with the layout.

Kanoisthetruth - Thanks a lot man. There is something about chickens I need to say right now though as Sean has nailed it this round.

Pimpin Hustle - Thanks for the kind words man. Hopefully there won't be an end. I think the CF will need to look a whole lot closer at the Deg/Brody connections over the next few weeks.

Lil Monkey - Strange really, but I did not find this hard to write at all. In fact I found it a lot easier than the last round when I was in my comfort zone. Thanks for reading.

[AME Bling]

This column is very good, you have a writing style that somehow grips me and leads me to want to read to the last word in a way that only a few LOP Main Page history of columnists have done.

But i think you have a major problem as Seans rules for you asked you to induct the "Class of 2010" into the Hall of Fame yourself and to right there induction speeches. So you did what you do best with the history part on each individual inductee, but i feel you may seriously struggle in this round as you introduced someone to induct each member, and gave a one word analysist of the following speech.

Great column, but i think not what was asked of you?!

[The Maz]

Bling Man in the CF, I feel honoured. First off thank you for the huge compliment. It's funny, the amount of rule clarification messages that I send to the judges and this one did not even spring to mind. From one point of view, I have inducted them as a writer but I guess it is in the hands of the judges now. I had two reasons for not writing the speeches. 1. The column was already pushing length boundaries and 2. They are usually full of personal/road stories which for some inductees would be difficult validify and some just difficult to find. We shall see what happens next. Thanks for reading... I am looking forward to the Mania Prediction Contest (hope my hot streak can continue there!)

[Roger Murtaugh]

Sucked a monkey's anus huh? There just wasn't any other possible ways of conveying your thoughts?

Good read and that's not something that should be taken lightly considering the restrictions. I think you did a fine job and once again put up a strong showing.

As for the speech thing, it's a tricky subject that I guess depends on the judges. On the bright side you have bought yourself some breathing room with the last effort.

Besides, it's only fitting that this thing goes another round.