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00:00:00Good evening, everybody. How are we doing tonight?
00:00:04Good to see everybody. We are here on a momentous evening, a historic evening,
00:00:08and we would like to, at this time, introduce to you our guests of honor tonight.
00:00:16Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, a man who has called every match in Impact Wrestling history,
00:00:21please welcome the professor, Mike Tanay.
00:00:35Up next, he is known simply as, one word, Phenomenal.
00:00:43Please welcome Mr. A.J. Stiles.
00:00:58We have a number of special guests here tonight.
00:01:03The next I'd like to introduce to you right now, he is the Total Package.
00:01:09Would you please welcome Mr. Lex Luger.
00:01:37Up next, he is the one and only, the immortal Hulk Hogan.
00:02:12Ladies and gentlemen, she is the president of TNA Wrestling Awards.
00:02:16A warm welcome for Miss Dixie Carter.
00:02:35And now, ladies and gentlemen, on your feet for the man of the hour, the man of the night,
00:02:42would you please welcome our very first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame, the icon, Sting.
00:02:51Naaah!
00:02:53Thanks, guys!
00:02:55Good night, this morning, b buen valentiny!
00:03:01You know what I mean?
00:03:06HarrisSpin!
00:03:07You know what
00:03:07I mean? That's alright!
00:03:08Absolutely incredible, at
00:03:08least. Cheers! Cheers!
00:03:08Cheers!
00:03:09Cheers!
00:03:09Cheers!
00:03:09Cheers!
00:03:09Cheers!
00:03:10Cheers!
00:03:12Oh,
00:03:13cheers!
00:03:18Cheers!
00:03:44All right.
00:03:48Stinger, I'll get you front and center.
00:03:50I'll get to look right at you as we're talking about you all night long.
00:03:53Wow.
00:03:55Well, we have all gathered here tonight to honor a man who has had many, many milestones over his career.
00:04:02And a man who, like TNA Wrestling, has paralleled this company in many ways.
00:04:08He has constantly evolved.
00:04:10He has undergone many different looks, many different changes.
00:04:15But has always remained true to who he is.
00:04:20And like the icon, Sting, TNA Wrestling in many ways is like that.
00:04:23Tonight, a milestone for us, the company, celebrating a man with many milestones over his career.
00:04:30And taking a look at your career, what a career it's been.
00:04:33And from the early days that we all remember with the bleach blonde hair, up until his most recent and
00:04:41most daring endeavor,
00:04:42when we actually convinced him to sign up to be on Twitter, Sting has always remained true to who he
00:04:49is.
00:04:50And, you know, we have a lot of people that have been here since the very beginning.
00:04:54We're going to hear from some of them tonight.
00:04:56But I do want to acknowledge a man who has been here just as long as I have, but couldn't
00:05:00be here tonight.
00:05:01And that is Mr. Bob Ryder.
00:05:03And Bob is in the fight of his life right now.
00:05:08And Bob is celebrating a birthday this week.
00:05:11Bob, we wish you were here.
00:05:12We love you.
00:05:13And we're all praying for you.
00:05:15I first met the icon Sting in WCW about 13 years ago.
00:05:19And I met Sting the wrestler.
00:05:21And I met Sting as a kid I idolized and looked up to and was a real hero to me.
00:05:28And it wasn't until about five years ago when we were standing on the sidelines of a football field in
00:05:33California
00:05:34where I met Sting the father.
00:05:37And I met Sting the man.
00:05:39And I met Sting the man who was a great father to his kids.
00:05:43And at that point, everything that I knew about him was eclipsed by this new Sting, the father who I
00:05:50had never met before.
00:05:51And it was a whole different persona.
00:05:52And I saw how he interacted with his kids and I saw the love he had for his family.
00:05:56And at that point, I realized what a truly special individual he was.
00:06:01And as tonight, we look forward to a great future with this company.
00:06:06We've got to look back on the great accomplishments.
00:06:08And I can honestly tell you from the very get-go of this organization, we wouldn't be here right now
00:06:14if he hadn't made the choice to come to TNA Wrestling.
00:06:25Taking a chance on us in the very early days, the very humble days, was a huge step for us.
00:06:31It gave us legitimacy.
00:06:32And he didn't have to do that.
00:06:34He chose to do that to pay back this industry.
00:06:40And in an industry where you don't see that a lot, you don't see that enough, he led the way
00:06:45and set an example for others.
00:06:47And Sting, tonight, it's an honor to be here to honor you.
00:06:50And as the many people that are going to step foot on this podium are probably going to say a
00:06:53lot of the same things in terms of what you've meant to them.
00:06:57But please understand that every one of them mean that from the heart, because you've meant so much to us
00:07:02over the years.
00:07:03Our first speaker, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who has called every match in Impact Wrestling history.
00:07:09He's been here from the get-go.
00:07:11Who better than the professor, Mike Tanae?
00:07:16Wow.
00:07:17How great is this?
00:07:18Thank you, JB.
00:07:19And thank you, everybody.
00:07:19And it's great to see so many familiar faces from fan interaction today, a lot of people from the Impact
00:07:26Zone in Orlando.
00:07:27And I've got to tell you, I just cannot wait for Bound for Glory tomorrow.
00:07:32And what an incredible honor, though, it is just to be a part of tonight's historic event,
00:07:39because for the first time ever, we welcome you to TNA's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Celebration.
00:07:47And to me, tonight celebrates the career of an icon, as well as the milestone of our company.
00:07:54This event is 10 years in the making, and I think you all know that TNA recently celebrated our 10
00:08:01-year anniversary.
00:08:04You're right.
00:08:05Wow.
00:08:07What an accomplishment for everyone involved, and specifically, I want to send out thanks, and I know you do as
00:08:15well,
00:08:15to our TNA president, Dixie Carter, and her family for believing in and supporting Impact Wrestling.
00:08:23Dixie, thank you.
00:08:55credibility.
00:08:56Plain and simple.
00:08:58His name, but also his commitment, was vitally important in allowing us to get where we are tonight.
00:09:07And now let's talk tonight.
00:09:09And I have been asked to touch on the historical perspective of Sting's career,
00:09:14and if you look at his career, he's going to be recognized as one of the all-time greats in
00:09:19our profession.
00:09:21JB said it.
00:09:22I've been fortunate enough to call every one of his matches in TNA, and prior to that, for many years,
00:09:29in WCW.
00:09:30You reflect back on the world championship wrestling years, and Sting was known as the franchise.
00:09:36First thing I think of, 1988, first ever, clash of the champions, and the match with Ric Flair, and I
00:09:45think, deservedly so.
00:09:50And I think for the majority of the wrestling fans, that night, Sting was put on the wrestling map.
00:09:59It started in 1988, but fast forward in WCW to the very final match in WCW history, the final night
00:10:10of Monday Nitro.
00:10:12And again, it was Sting and Ric Flair, and if you think about it, from 88 to 2001 in that
00:10:17last match, plain and simple, Sting and WCW, Sting was the man.
00:10:28It was nine years ago when Sting joined TNA, and from his rivalries with Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Kurt Angle, to
00:10:38his time with the main event Mafia, to the match last year at Bound for Glory against Hulk Hogan,
00:10:46to the match tomorrow with Bully Ray against Aces and Aces and Apes, I'm going to say it one more
00:10:52time, again, Sting is the man.
00:10:59Now, if championships are your measuring stick, Sting has been world heavyweight champion 15 times.
00:11:08Sting is the only man to be NWA, WCW, and TNA world heavyweight champion.
00:11:17What an accomplishment.
00:11:21I think it's pretty clear just how strongly Sting has left his mark on wrestling history.
00:11:29And ladies and gentlemen, at this time, to further illustrate the importance of Sting's many accomplishments,
00:11:34let's all take a look at this very special video tribute.
00:11:41Shakespeare wrote,
00:11:43Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
00:11:51By any measure, the man known as the icon, named Sting, is all of the above and more.
00:12:00Sting's influenced my career, mainly, like, I'll never forget the day I was seeing Sting at a live event.
00:12:06I was about 10 years old, and I saw him come by with the blonde hair and the painted face,
00:12:11and the fans were going crazy, and I reached out and touched his shoulder,
00:12:14and I knew that moment in time that I wanted to do this.
00:12:18Honestly, as a kid growing up in North Carolina, Sting was one of the first guys that caught my eyes.
00:12:24As a fan, you know, I paid attention, and he quickly became one of my favorites.
00:12:29For any kid who's watching wrestling, he was the man.
00:12:31He had that blonde, flat top, the face paint, great physique, big dude, great athleticism in the ring.
00:12:37I could see that the guy was going to be a big-time star.
00:12:40Sure enough, he did.
00:12:41Greatness is the one defining word that best describes this eternal legend.
00:12:49He is a 15-time world heavyweight champion, a winner of 21 total world championships,
00:12:56and the only man ever to hold the NWA, WCW, and TNA world titles in a career.
00:13:05There are just so few individuals that come along in the wrestling business
00:13:11that are able to maintain the greatness that Sting has had for so long
00:13:17at such a high level of performance.
00:13:20An electric finish to an electric night in Atlanta, Georgia,
00:13:24where Sting has become the new TNA world heavyweight champion.
00:13:29He's done it all.
00:13:30He's wrestled them all, and the guy is a tremendous competitor,
00:13:34and a great person, and I really look up to the same.
00:13:38He's been an icon.
00:13:40He's been a main eventer.
00:13:41He's set a precedent in this business that was hard to follow.
00:13:45He's been able to stay relevant over the last 20-plus years, you know,
00:13:50and still is beloved all around the world.
00:13:57You still got it!
00:13:59You still got it!
00:14:01The chant around the arena is, you know, you still got it, and it's true.
00:14:04I mean, he still has it.
00:14:05I mean, he hasn't lost a step.
00:14:07He still brings that energy.
00:14:09You know, you see all these people, when he does his little Sting or yell,
00:14:14everyone goes with it, you know.
00:14:16When he makes his big comeback, everyone's still behind it.
00:14:19I mean, he amps you up, gives you a little goosebumps like he's doing it right now.
00:14:24He's still got it.
00:14:25It's like he's stuck in a time machine.
00:14:26But Sting's greatest accolades are bigger than mere numbers and extend well beyond the ring.
00:14:34For nearly three decades, Sting has been the renaissance man of professional wrestling.
00:14:40Sting is back!
00:14:42His first U.S. match in more than two years, and here we go!
00:14:47Revolutionizing the industry, re-energizing the genre, and reinventing himself time and time again.
00:14:55I'm the Stinger, and I'm not done yet!
00:14:58I think Sting is known as the icon because of the immense amount of success the man has had.
00:15:05He deserves iconic status.
00:15:08You've got to respect the guy for always doing things his way and succeeding his way.
00:15:15He's accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish in the business,
00:15:19and I think he's always kind of done it on his own terms, stayed true to himself.
00:15:23He's had such a great career and stayed so true to himself and his beliefs.
00:15:28And I think more than anything, just when you look back on everything that Sting's done
00:15:32and why he did what he's done.
00:15:35It makes sense perfectly why he's an icon.
00:15:38He's the icon because you can depend on him.
00:15:41You know, he's solid.
00:15:42You know, he's the ballast.
00:15:43You know, he's the basis for all that happens here in our wrestling business.
00:15:47That's why he's the icon.
00:15:50He has beaten the greatest of champions and conquered perhaps the greatest of all opponents.
00:15:57Adversity.
00:15:58To have the icon Sting on our roster speaks volumes.
00:16:02I can remember being in the locker room when Sting first came in, and it was just a huge,
00:16:08like, locker room morale boost.
00:16:12Everybody started getting excited because, you know, here is a guy who basically has done
00:16:18everything in the wrestling business, and he's come to, you know, wrestle for TNA Wrestling.
00:16:29He put TNA on the map in the world of pro wrestling.
00:16:33I mean, you get a mega star like Sting come here, it obviously attracts all the wrestlers
00:16:38and all the stars to come to Impact Wrestling, to come to TNA.
00:16:42For him to be able to come here to elevate this company the way he has, and perform the
00:16:48way he has night in and night out, and still have that passion to come into this arena or
00:16:53any arena around the world where we've been, and to be able to hear that reaction when he
00:16:57comes out is remarkable.
00:17:05He wasn't here to cash a paycheck like, you know, a few guys have been, you know, he was
00:17:10here to work hard.
00:17:11The respect level just went up after seeing the type of man and the type of wrestler he
00:17:16is.
00:17:16Okay, Sting's impact on Impact Wrestling has been the biggest impact that any wrestler
00:17:22could ever have.
00:17:23I mean, the guy has been true to his word.
00:17:25He helped build his promotion, he's still here, he's still in the main events.
00:17:28Sting was always there for us.
00:17:30He was always that one individual who was the franchise of this organization.
00:17:35So I think there's no question that as you look at the history of Impact Wrestling, the
00:17:40history of TNA, the strides and the growth that we made as a company, it would not have
00:17:45been possible without Sting.
00:17:48Great men accomplish great things.
00:17:52Heroes perform heroic deeds.
00:17:54Legends, legends create legacies that endure fading memories, forever transcending in time.
00:18:02I think Sting was definitely the perfect choice to be the first member of the TNA Hall of
00:18:08Fame.
00:18:09Sting is still hot, Sting is still on top, and Sting is still active on the roster.
00:18:13He's the perfect choice to be the first man inducted to the TNA Hall of Fame.
00:18:17And, you know, I've said it time and time again, the guy has still got it.
00:18:21I mean, fans around the world know who Sting is and still chant his name.
00:18:24He's up there with the greats.
00:18:26You talk about the top 10 greatest pro wrestlers of all time, you gotta talk about Sting, totally
00:18:33deserves to be in our Hall of Fame.
00:18:34He's really meant so much to this industry.
00:18:40I'm so excited for us at TNA Wrestling to be able to give just a little bit back to him
00:18:45and say thanks for everything he has done to make this sport so great.
00:18:50Sting is the perfect choice for the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame because he's Sting,
00:18:57he's the icon.
00:18:58He has done things that a lot of people will never get to do and he has been so great
00:19:03the
00:19:04whole way.
00:19:04Anytime he's in that ring, it's showtime and that's why he's the best.
00:19:08A living legend, a wrestling icon, a man who casts a giant shadow amongst men.
00:19:15He is the one, the one that is most deserving of being the first ever inductee into TNA Wrestling's
00:19:23Hall of Fame.
00:19:24He is the forever hero simply known as the man called Sting.
00:19:34I'm ready to wrestle right now after watching that video.
00:19:38Am I the only one who got goosebumps watching that thing?
00:19:41It was amazing.
00:19:44I want to thank first you fans because you are the reason why we wrestlers get to do
00:19:53what we do and love doing this because you support us.
00:19:56You guys are the best fans in the world and I think Sting would agree with me in saying
00:19:59that.
00:20:00He wouldn't be here without you.
00:20:02And so thank you.
00:20:03Thank you for being here tonight.
00:20:10But I want to talk about this man, particularly the blonde headed one right here.
00:20:16I remember watching Sting on TV.
00:20:18I mean, the first time that I saw this man, he was different from everyone else.
00:20:23He was jacked.
00:20:25He had this mask on, this paint.
00:20:29He was a superhero.
00:20:31He was a real life superhero that I could watch all the time.
00:20:35He was a real dude.
00:20:37It was awesome.
00:20:39And from the moment that I saw you, Sting, I become a fan.
00:20:43I couldn't help myself.
00:20:44I was intrigued.
00:20:45Like, who is this guy?
00:20:46I got to know more about him.
00:20:48It was amazing.
00:20:49And then throughout the years, he transformed himself into this guy.
00:20:56I've seen this guy somewhere before.
00:20:58I've seen him in a movie before.
00:21:01It was one of the coolest movies I'd ever seen in my life.
00:21:05Brandon Lee played this character called The Crow.
00:21:09And I thought, this hero of mine is now the coolest comic book guy, movie guy I've ever seen.
00:21:19So, for the fan that I was before, it just went out of control at this point.
00:21:25I was even a bigger fan, if that is even possible, of Sting for now being this character here, which
00:21:30is my all-time favorite.
00:21:32I loved it.
00:21:33And I just, I remember thinking to myself, God, I hope I get the opportunity to meet this man.
00:21:39And I did.
00:21:42WCW was looking for some hot, young, ambitious talent.
00:21:48I wasn't one of them.
00:21:50I got to work security.
00:21:57But, I was eating catering at WCW.
00:22:01And Lex Luger, for some reason, sat at my table right across from me.
00:22:07I couldn't believe it.
00:22:09I was, I was mesmerized.
00:22:11I just wanted to stare at you the whole time, Lex.
00:22:14And then, your friend Sting sat right beside you.
00:22:19I thought I was going to pass out.
00:22:20It was amazing.
00:22:23And then another guy, a former world champion, David Arquette sat beside him.
00:22:28It was, but it was Sting who, who got my attention in.
00:22:34In fact, it probably got a little weird and surprised you guys didn't say anything because I was staring at
00:22:39you the whole time.
00:22:41In fact, I stared at you until you got up and left.
00:22:44And, and I was eating before you, so I'm sure it got awkward.
00:22:49And I regretted that moment forever until that opportunity that, that, you know, you, we got you to come to
00:22:55TNA.
00:22:55In 2003, I'll never forget it.
00:22:57Just like James Storm said, the morale was like, what?
00:23:00We got, we got Sting?
00:23:01He's coming to TNA?
00:23:03Into this little building?
00:23:05This is amazing.
00:23:07He came to the asylum and I had the opportunity to meet Sting.
00:23:10I had the opportunity to meet my hero.
00:23:14A lot of people will tell you that you probably never want to meet your heroes because you might not
00:23:17like the person you meet.
00:23:20Man, I can't tell you.
00:23:22It was an honor to meet Sting for the first time.
00:23:25He was the nice guy.
00:23:26He was, he was everything I imagined he was going to be.
00:23:28It was amazing.
00:23:29And then, as this video was shown, I'm glad they showed this, Sting was beating me up on television.
00:23:37I had the opportunity to wrestle with Sting and against him.
00:23:41It was the highlight of my career.
00:23:43And then in 2009, I got to do it in the biggest stage of TNA at Bound for Glory.
00:23:48I got to wrestle Sting in California.
00:23:54It's a moment in time that I will never, ever, ever forget.
00:23:59So, thank you for letting me wrestle you, Sting.
00:24:01Like I said, it's just a moment in time I'll never forget.
00:24:04You know, there's a, there's a reason why people call you an icon.
00:24:08But I think you, I see you in a different light.
00:24:11You are an icon, but in different ways to me.
00:24:15It may be because we share the same faith in Jesus Christ.
00:24:18It may be, your athletic ability is unparalleled.
00:24:29And the fact that you're just, you know, you love your kids.
00:24:33Like, I get it, man.
00:24:35I understand it.
00:24:35If there's anybody I want to be like in this business, it's you.
00:24:39But I think that's, it's not what you did in the ring that made you this icon to me.
00:24:45It's what you did outside the ring that made you that, that icon, that guy that I wanted to be
00:24:52like.
00:24:53That, that guy that exemplifies everything there is about a professional wrestler, everything he should be.
00:24:58I want to be that guy.
00:25:00So, thank you for being the man that you are so that I can be the man that I am.
00:25:05It's, it's, to say that you didn't have influences on me is ridiculous.
00:25:11I do the scorpion desk job for Pete's sake.
00:25:13I splash people in the corner.
00:25:17But that's why we're here tonight, to celebrate.
00:25:19We're here to celebrate the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame.
00:25:25The man they call Steve.
00:25:39All right, coming up next, we have a very special guest.
00:25:43A man who we've asked to come here tonight to speak on behalf of, you know, we, we all know
00:25:50Sting as a, as a wrestler.
00:25:51We've all worked with him, but to truly say we've got a best friend here is, is very, very cool.
00:25:57Would you please welcome the total package, Lex Luger.
00:26:01Good evening, everybody.
00:26:05I'm just thrilled to be here tonight on this very special night for a very special friend.
00:26:12Originally when TNA called me a long time ago, probably before you even knew.
00:26:17I was very excited and thrilled about the idea.
00:26:19I would like to thank Dixie and TNA for bringing me here.
00:26:24I saw Hulkster there in the back.
00:26:26I haven't seen you somewhere.
00:26:27You're just so wonderful to see you again.
00:26:31And they asked me to speak about, we just saw what an incredible wrestler he is, and speak about our
00:26:42friendship.
00:26:45Maybe the man a lot of people know about.
00:26:47And we've had a very, very special friendship for over 20 years.
00:26:52I was like, man, after I hung up the phone, I knew I was going to get here.
00:26:56I was so excited.
00:26:56I go, man, what am I going to say?
00:26:58I just have a few minutes here to explain over 20 years what this friendship and what this man has
00:27:03meant to me.
00:27:03And in my living room, I have this fish that says a friend loves at all times.
00:27:11It's out of the Bible.
00:27:12It's Proverbs 17, 17.
00:27:14And he has embodied that to me for over the past 20 years.
00:27:20We both started our careers, how they paralleled so much at about exactly the same time I saw him in
00:27:27the wrestling magazines, but I'd never met him.
00:27:28But I was keeping an eye on him because we're all so competitive.
00:27:32And he looked spectacular in the magazines, but I'd never met him.
00:27:36And then our companies merged, and now we're in the same company, but I still haven't met him in person
00:27:41yet.
00:27:42I saw him on film in the ring, and he was, man, the Stinger Splash and the Scorpion Death Lock.
00:27:49And I was like, wow.
00:27:50I was like, man, he's got some good stuff.
00:27:53And I have to admit, I had a little tinge of jealousy.
00:27:58Yeah, I was like, man, I don't want this guy to steal my thunder.
00:28:02I'm like, look around, I'm the total package.
00:28:08And we finally got to meet.
00:28:10And it's a little story.
00:28:14Mike Webber, he asked me, why don't you tell him the first time you met.
00:28:17I was in the locker room after a match.
00:28:19I don't remember, I was undoing my boots.
00:28:23And Sting decided to break the ice.
00:28:26Here's the two guys come running at the same time, and all the magazines talking about us.
00:28:30He walked in, I'm undoing my boots after a match.
00:28:33And he was so nice.
00:28:35I was so not nice back then.
00:28:40And Sting goes, hey, Lex, it's really nice to meet you.
00:28:43He shook my hand.
00:28:44He goes, man, I really admire, you know, your physique, and you work out a lot.
00:28:52I love working out too, man.
00:28:53Tell me about your nutritional program.
00:28:57And I don't know if you remember this, but I said, I said, I think it was beer, cheeseburgers, and
00:29:03peanut M&Ms.
00:29:09And I just kept on lacing my boots and never looked up.
00:29:13I could see him looking up in the corner of my eye, and he just walked away just shaking his
00:29:16head.
00:29:18What an inauspicious debut for what turned out to be an incredible friendship.
00:29:23I'm very thankful that he gave me another opportunity.
00:29:26And over time, we became very, very good friends traveling.
00:29:32We had so many things in common.
00:29:34He taught me so much about nutrition and working out.
00:29:38I came from football, and that was very instrumental throughout my career and my life.
00:29:42I have a passion for health and wellness to this day that really Steve planted those seeds in me as
00:29:48a friend.
00:29:49So I started giving up the cheeseburgers and the peanut M&Ms.
00:29:53And it made a real difference in my health and in my career.
00:29:59And we just saw what a spectacular wrestler he is and always was.
00:30:02He was a natural.
00:30:03I was never a natural.
00:30:04When I needed a strategy for a match or a game plan, I'd always come to Sting.
00:30:09And I know a lot of these young guys can probably vouch for that.
00:30:11He was always helpful.
00:30:13Matter of fact, the only five-star match year I was ever in was because Sting was in it.
00:30:20It was a tag match.
00:30:21I'll never forget that.
00:30:22I'd go, wow, I was able to wrestle with Sting in a tag match that was against
00:30:26who were one of the greatest tag teams ever.
00:30:27They were the Steiner brothers.
00:30:33And we'd all kind of broke in at the same time.
00:30:35And they threw us all together and thought we'd have the worst match ever.
00:30:42The strategy and ring strategy Sting came up with, it was the one and only time I was involved
00:30:48in a match of the year.
00:30:49Thank you, Sting, for being my friend in the ring.
00:30:55We started going to the gym together, traveling together.
00:30:58Our families got to know each other.
00:31:00It was almost scary sometimes.
00:31:02Well, if one of us got the restaurant first, we could order for the other guy.
00:31:06We always remember, we'd go, man, this is getting kind of scary.
00:31:11We just so many moments as our relationship grew.
00:31:16And over that time, there came some moments where in the late 90s,
00:31:24I went to WWE and I came back to WCW back in that day and our friendship endured.
00:31:31Whenever it seemed my career was sputtering, I'd find out that Sting made a call behind the scenes
00:31:36to help me.
00:31:38And I knew that and I thank you for that, the kind of friends you were in my career.
00:31:42But more so than that, we did so much together and we were such incredible friends.
00:31:50In 1998, I thought I'd lost my best friend because he made a life-changing decision.
00:31:58A.J. touched on it earlier and he became a believer in Christ.
00:32:02And I thought, man, my best friend in the whole world has gone religious on me.
00:32:08I was upset, angry.
00:32:13I became distant towards him.
00:32:15But he never became that way towards me and I didn't understand why.
00:32:19So we had a period where we were kind of distant.
00:32:22He didn't want to go to the same places I wanted to go anymore and do the same things that
00:32:26I wanted to do
00:32:27and I didn't understand it and I was upset with him.
00:32:30But he always remains faithful.
00:32:32Unconditional love.
00:32:33A friend loves it all time.
00:32:35I, uh,
00:32:39there's so many moments.
00:32:41At one point in my career, I had a near-fatal motorcycle wreck.
00:32:44I don't know if you remember this, but
00:32:46no one would be able to contact my family. I almost died.
00:32:49And at three in the morning,
00:32:52the first person I saw
00:32:55in the emergency room was Sting.
00:32:56And I was so dehydrated.
00:32:58There was bones hanging on my arm and they didn't think I was going to make it.
00:33:02And Sting was over there, standing over there.
00:33:05And when the doctors and the nurse were looking, he took a wet
00:33:09little hand towel gauze.
00:33:11He'd squeeze it to give me a few drops on my lips.
00:33:14And moments like that,
00:33:17I can't describe what a friend he is.
00:33:20I get emotional thinking about it.
00:33:24In some of the darkest moments in the time of my life,
00:33:28I made a lot of unwise decisions.
00:33:29And there were a lot of consequences for them.
00:33:33When my family would get voicemails.
00:33:36And think that that was the last time they'd ever hear my voice,
00:33:38they'd save them.
00:33:39They thought I was going to be the next dead wrestler.
00:33:41From the choices I was making.
00:33:44I'd get a phone call at just the right time from him.
00:33:48You know, Lex, I know you're not going to answer.
00:33:50But he'd leave me the most encouraging message at a time when I
00:33:55had just about given up hope and cared whether I lived or died anymore.
00:33:58Thank you, Steve.
00:34:05I remember when one of the high points for me is when in the year 2006, April 23rd,
00:34:19Steve, one of the first voices I heard when I, when God saved me from myself,
00:34:27and I became a believer in Christ, we were like reunited by God.
00:34:33And one of the first voices on the phone wanted me to come out to California and do,
00:34:37tell my story on television.
00:34:39And, and, uh, he brought me out there and the hug and the embrace and the, how God can reunite.
00:34:46And, uh, a friend that has loved me unconditionally.
00:34:49And we, uh, that's a very special moment for me as well that I always remember the, the joy.
00:34:55And, uh, I saw in his face that, uh, God had supernaturally transformed my life.
00:35:02There was hope there always is.
00:35:06And, uh, I'll never forget to continue the timeline.
00:35:12Just about a year and a half later, I woke up in a hotel room from all my football and
00:35:17wrestling
00:35:17and motorcycle wrecks paralyzed from neck down.
00:35:21And the doctor said I would never, ever have any movement of neck down.
00:35:24I need 24 hour care the rest of my life.
00:35:26And no one knew where I was.
00:35:28I mean, I was in Stanford hospital.
00:35:30They, I woke up paralyzed in a hotel room.
00:35:32No one knew where I was.
00:35:33And there's a phone.
00:35:33They go, you got a phone call.
00:35:35I just got into the hospital almost.
00:35:37I thought maybe my mom and dad or, or my pastor.
00:35:41And there was Steve on the phone.
00:35:45Asked me, should he come in?
00:35:47What can he do?
00:35:50Um, he's encouraged me after that.
00:35:53He's prayed with me.
00:35:55He's a mentor.
00:35:57He is truly, uh, a friend of all friends.
00:36:01And, uh, Steve, I, I'm gonna give you something to drag back and you're carrying on now.
00:36:07This is gonna go from my living room, hopefully to your room.
00:36:11I keep that in my house everywhere where I can see it.
00:36:14And I wanna just, uh, it's a very special night for you.
00:36:17And I wanna give this a small token of appreciation for my, uh, love.
00:36:22Uh, we have a great man here.
00:36:25Uh, a great wrestler.
00:36:28A, uh, incredible credit to our industry.
00:36:30Most of all, uh, just, uh, he's my, he's my brother.
00:36:33I'm my friend, and I'm brother in Christ, and I love you.
00:36:35Thank, thank you so much for letting me be a part of this.
00:36:38Give me a hug, buddy.
00:36:50Thank you, Lex.
00:36:52Thank you, thank you.
00:36:56Lex, you're too much.
00:37:00AJ, you're too much.
00:37:03This time last year, I had the pleasure of being in the, in the ring with Sting, you know?
00:37:09And it's, it's amazing because I've had a really great career.
00:37:14This business has, has really been good to me.
00:37:17And Lex kind of touched on a few things that kind of hit close to home.
00:37:22As good as this business can be and as positive as this business can be, there,
00:37:27there can also be a dark side to this business.
00:37:30And it's a situation where myself and Lex and Sting have all, you know, had a little bit of both.
00:37:38So, you know, at, at the end of the day, you know, I'm gonna kind of go to the end
00:37:42first.
00:37:43Because I know Sting, the man now, really well.
00:37:47In my heart, I know who he is.
00:37:49You know, I love him because of who he is.
00:37:53And at the end of the day, you know, because he's a brother in Christ, you know, that, that he
00:38:00knows that inner peace, that inner spirit, that is the only thing that's important.
00:38:04You know, everything else doesn't matter.
00:38:06You know, and the type of person he is, and actually having the chance to be in the ring with
00:38:12him, you know, even though I can't wrestle like I used to, just being in the ring with him and,
00:38:17and being able to watch, I keep telling Sting, you don't know how great you really are.
00:38:23And I don't know if he ever really pays attention or listens to me, but I mean that from my
00:38:27heart, because this guy is so great in the ring, it's hard for me to even explain it to anybody.
00:38:36Because I, I've been around the block a few times, and I've, and I've wrestled a lot of different people.
00:38:42And I can kind of like feel when I'm in the ring, when somebody has that it factor, or they
00:38:47don't.
00:38:49And sometimes I used to get in the ring, and I would go, oh man, this is going to be
00:38:53easy.
00:38:53As soon as I look at the crowd, you know, it's going to, before I lock up with Lex Luger,
00:38:58it's going to be so easy.
00:38:59You know, I'll be able to get back to the room for room service.
00:39:02You know, I won't have to go out there and pull a bunch of time and crawl around and sell
00:39:06and get my brains kicked in to try to get a reaction.
00:39:08But Sting is so great, no matter who he goes out there with in the ring, he makes that opponent.
00:39:16And, you know, that's kind of like the end of the story where he is now.
00:39:19But if I could rewind, you know, I spent a lot of years in the wrestling business before this Hulkamania
00:39:27thing kicked in.
00:39:29And, you know, Lex and I had a talk earlier about how competitive this business is.
00:39:33And how those old people, you know, that, you know, we were back in the day being competitive and scratching
00:39:40and clawing and trying to one-up each other.
00:39:43How none of that stuff matters anymore.
00:39:46And, you know, I remember back when the Hulkamania thing first started.
00:39:50And I started making money, and things started rolling, and I beat the Iron Sheik.
00:39:55And I was on this crazy roll, and I've never coined it this way, but now that I've talked to
00:40:00Lex, I'm going to have to say it was a Lex Luger type of mindset.
00:40:04I started talking to Vince about different opponents.
00:40:07And one of the guys that Vince brought up was Sting.
00:40:10And my first thought was, oh, my God, I can make a bunch of money with him.
00:40:14But then I thought, holy smokes, he's going to come in here and take my spot.
00:40:18You know, and that's true, because, you know, I would hulk up and hit somebody with a big foot and
00:40:24a leg drop, but Sting could do all this stuff.
00:40:26And as much ego was involved in that, I wanted to make the money, you know.
00:40:31And so I kept saying, yeah, Vince, see if we can get him to come in, come in.
00:40:34And he never would come in, because he was so loyal and so true to the people that he worked
00:40:40with.
00:40:40I didn't understand it at the time.
00:40:42And I said, well, why won't Sting come to New York and work with me?
00:40:46And why won't he come and wrestle Andre the Giant and all these guys up in Madison Square Garden?
00:40:50It's because Sting is who he really is.
00:40:53He's a loyal person, loyal to his friends, loyal to the people he works with.
00:40:58And so as the years went by, I kind of bounced around and made friends and made enemies with different
00:41:04promoters.
00:41:05And Sting and I happened to wind up together in WCW, you know.
00:41:09And I still had that ego thing when it came to business, you know.
00:41:13I'm like, okay, man, now I've got to get in the ring with this guy that's going to, you know,
00:41:17really tear the house down.
00:41:18And I was getting up in age, and how am I going to be able to keep up?
00:41:21But when I got in the ring with him, he was so great in the ring and so good, everything
00:41:27was just easy.
00:41:29And I just went, oh, my God, I could wrestle for another 20 years with this guy.
00:41:34But at that time, I don't know if Sting had come full circle, you know.
00:41:38I just don't know if he became the guy who I know as Sting today.
00:41:43And, you know, to really, you know, fast forward and get to tonight and what's important about this is, you
00:41:52know, this is 10 years TNA has been on the map.
00:41:56And for a company that was supposed to be out of business after the first six months, one of the
00:42:03reasons that this company is still here is because of Sting.
00:42:07Because he has been loyal, he's been dedicated, and he's, you know, basically put the work in here to make
00:42:13this happen for all of us.
00:42:15So now that I've come full circle in my life, you know, and it's kind of like the spinning wheel,
00:42:23the pendulum swung back.
00:42:25I bottomed out business-wise, personally, and on a personal level, you know, even though the pendulum has swung back
00:42:32the other way, like when the spinning wheel stops, there's still a few things that fly off the spinning wheel
00:42:38and hit you.
00:42:38It's called karmic debt in my world.
00:42:41And as things keep, you know, coming at me, you know, as crazy as it sounds, I have to look
00:42:49to a guy like Sting, who is solid, who is loyal, who is honest.
00:42:55And for me, that means so much because I've had so many people in my life that haven't been honest
00:43:00with me, you know, and they haven't really been accountable.
00:43:04Sting is somebody who is all of those things.
00:43:06I mean, Sting, I've seen him, and I've heard his story on where he's been and what he's done.
00:43:12And if there was ever a man's man in this room, it's this guy right here.
00:43:16Because this is somebody you can depend on.
00:43:19You know, it's true.
00:43:21This is somebody right here that's honest to a fault.
00:43:25Even to hurt himself sometimes, he's so honest.
00:43:27And this is a guy that's loyal.
00:43:31And when I was a kid, I used to watch him wrestle, too.
00:43:34No, I'm just kidding.
00:43:36But at the end of the day, at the end of the day, if I could end up on the
00:43:42pedestal that he's on, in everybody's eyes, not only in this business, but even more importantly, on a personal level,
00:43:50if I could end up to be like this, that's who I want to be at the end of the
00:43:55day.
00:43:56And, brother, I love you.
00:43:58And I say that to you once in a while behind closed doors.
00:44:03I tell you how great you are.
00:44:04But I want to let everybody in here know how great this man is.
00:44:08And from the bottom of my heart, I love you for who you are.
00:44:10Because you're a man's man, you're an honest person, you're loyal, and everybody in here can trust you and depend
00:44:17on you.
00:44:18And that's what I love about you.
00:44:19Thank you for everything.
00:44:22Thank you, guys.
00:44:24I know on behalf of Steve Sting and all of our talent in here today, we are so grateful to
00:44:32each and every one of you for being here.
00:44:36And I always get asked in interviews, if there was one moment, you know, that's a hard question to answer,
00:44:42you know.
00:44:42So as I was, I didn't really prepare.
00:44:45I just thought I would feel this.
00:44:47But I did know that if there was one moment, if there was one turning point or one thing that
00:44:52I thought about,
00:44:54I realized without a mason jar and a real-life Scorpion, none of us would be here today.
00:45:01And I'll get to that in just a second.
00:45:03And we were a very young company, not having a lot of success, struggling.
00:45:11I bet a lot of you were fans in our early days, and we will never be able to thank
00:45:17you enough for sticking with us.
00:45:19About a year in, and like Terry and so many others have said, no one gave us six weeks, much
00:45:25less six months.
00:45:27And about a year in, we got that shot of adrenaline that we needed so much.
00:45:33And Sting agreed to come in and do a few shows for us.
00:45:38And like AJ said, that little bitty building we were in, you know, that we painted ourselves and, you know,
00:45:45all those crazy times.
00:45:46And it was just, it made us believe, right, that we would make it.
00:45:55And immediately, we felt a difference in business.
00:45:59And then he went away.
00:46:02But you left a mark, and I knew as a businesswoman that that's somebody that we had to have in
00:46:07this company if we were going to survive.
00:46:10And so about a year later, you agreed to come back.
00:46:13You had really decided, I think, to have moved on from wrestling at this point.
00:46:18So just, you came in there out of the goodness of your heart.
00:46:20I think you came out of there, came to us, because you knew competition was important for an industry you
00:46:27loved very much.
00:46:28And an industry had given so much to you.
00:46:31But he finally got him to come back for another year.
00:46:36And this is not a wrestling story.
00:46:38This is not made up.
00:46:39Those stories of me having to convince him to come back year after year are not understated.
00:46:47If anything, they're, you know, it was much worse than it really came out to be.
00:46:52So every year, I would put my best sales pitch to him, and he would agree to another year.
00:46:57But finally, after a few years, he said to me, I'll agree to this year if it's my last, and
00:47:05you quit trying to make me stay.
00:47:09So I agreed to that.
00:47:13I was in Texas, and so I invited Steve and his children to come out to our ranch.
00:47:18And I'm sure he came in there kind of wondering what was going on.
00:47:21And it was that time of year again when I raised my ugly head to talk to him about staying
00:47:26one more year.
00:47:27And this time, instead of just coming with my charm and my sales pitch, I came with a real plan.
00:47:33And I said, you can't retire unless we do all of this stuff.
00:47:39And he sat there, and he shook his head through the meeting.
00:47:42And I could tell I didn't have him.
00:47:45And I was really getting a little nervous, because I could always feel like when he was about to say
00:47:49yes,
00:47:50I'm getting a little nervous, and I'm getting harder, and my sales pushed, and the whole thing.
00:47:56The meeting was over.
00:47:57He grabs the kids to leave.
00:48:00And my little nephew, Travis, who was about nine at the time, came up to him and said,
00:48:05Mr. Steve, we have this, and we think it's a sign.
00:48:10It's a scorpion we found today, and we put it in this mason jar, and I popped holes in it
00:48:15where it can breathe.
00:48:16But we know it means that you're supposed to stay in TNA.
00:48:22I almost stepped on that scorpion that morning in my bedroom.
00:48:26We gathered it up, and I'm not sure how much of that was Travis or me pushing him along.
00:48:32But when he looked down at Travis and said, you know what?
00:48:38I think that is a sign.
00:48:40Do you mind if I keep that scorpion?
00:48:43And I knew I had him right then and there.
00:48:48Fast forward several years, and you have made such an incredible impact on our company.
00:48:55What I love to do is go out on the floor, and I'm sure I've met many of you for
00:48:59the first time before shows,
00:49:01when I get to say thank you to you for being there.
00:49:03Thank you for spending your hard-earned money.
00:49:05Thank you for believing in our company.
00:49:07And I love to ask you, who's your favorite wrestler?
00:49:10And most of the time, I hear, Sting.
00:49:13And what I love is when the five, six, seven, eight, nine-year-olds say, Sting.
00:49:20They've got the shirt on.
00:49:21They've got their face painted.
00:49:22And I realize they weren't even alive when WCW was in business.
00:49:28And I go back and tell them these stories.
00:49:30And this is the humblest man you'll ever meet, who's probably incredibly uncomfortable with all this hoopla tonight.
00:49:41And I've told him, please, of all nights, please let us give back to you what you've given so much
00:49:48to us.
00:49:50And I mean this sincerely.
00:49:51I think several of you hit on this.
00:49:53I don't know if we'd be here today without you.
00:49:58And it did maybe take that mason jar and that little bit of a sales one more time to get
00:50:03you to say yes.
00:50:04But you've meant so much to this company.
00:50:07Not just what you've brought from a business perspective, but from the man you are.
00:50:15The level of integrity you bring to this business.
00:50:19You know, wrestling can be a dirty word when people talk about it.
00:50:23That's all I heard.
00:50:24A lot of us have lived with that in this industry.
00:50:27And you know what?
00:50:28If there's anything that we can do in this company to bring integrity and class and an honesty to something
00:50:36that really means so much to every single one of us in this room,
00:50:41and millions around the world, then we've done our job.
00:50:46And you've helped lead that charge.
00:50:49And I don't know what I would have done without you.
00:50:52And things have really changed because now when he's not on TV, he calls and says, why am I not
00:50:57on TV this week?
00:50:59And I'm like, good gosh, almighty, times have changed, and I sure love them.
00:51:04So sometimes it's good to be the boss, and tonight's one of those nights.
00:51:09Because I get the honor and the privilege to bring up a man who I think the absolute world of.
00:51:18Ladies and gentlemen, Sting.
00:51:21Wow.
00:51:24How do I follow all of that?
00:51:28Man.
00:51:29The death drop?
00:51:31It's my day off today.
00:51:33This is a day where I definitely deserve not to do the scorpion death drop or the death lock.
00:51:41I just thought, I didn't know what to say either, you know, I thought, because Dixie's right, you know, I
00:51:46really don't like all this attention.
00:51:47So I thought maybe I'll tell some, hopefully what will be just little interesting little tidbits of me and who
00:51:53I am that might surprise you a little bit when I was a kid.
00:51:56I pictured myself in front of tens of thousands of people doing something, but I had no idea what it
00:52:01was.
00:52:01I grew up in Southern California, so I thought maybe football, baseball, basketball.
00:52:06Didn't have pro wrestling on TV, so I didn't even know what pro wrestling was.
00:52:11I heard the name Hulk Hogan, but really wasn't sure who he was and what Hulk Hogan did and all
00:52:16that.
00:52:17And a six foot two white guy, I was going nowhere in basketball.
00:52:20That was my favorite, you know.
00:52:23So I find myself years later bouncing at a nightclub, bartending, co-owned a Gold's Gym in Southern California.
00:52:33And this big blonde dude would come in and he'd work out and he'd have the gym freaking out over
00:52:40him.
00:52:41And because I didn't have wrestling, I didn't know who it was.
00:52:43And these 21-inch pythons would be hanging out.
00:52:47Do you know who that is?
00:52:48And I'd say, I have no idea who that is.
00:52:51That's Hulk Hogan, the guy from the Rocky movie.
00:52:54Okay, I know the Rocky movie, but what does Hulk do?
00:52:56He's a pro wrestler.
00:52:58Amazing that I didn't even know that.
00:53:00And 27 years later, here he is up here talking about me and saying all the cool, nice things that
00:53:05he said.
00:53:05I love you, Hulk.
00:53:06I can't believe that after all these years.
00:53:10It seems like just yesterday, I was hearing announcers and people say, the kid from Venice Beach, California.
00:53:2127 years later, man.
00:53:24We talked about, or Mike, you talked about the Clash of Champions in March of 1988.
00:53:29And I think it's only fair that I acknowledge the great Ric Flair.
00:53:36Because, you know, that was something that was historical in so many other ways that people forget.
00:53:42That was a 45-minute TV match, commercial-free, first time and maybe the only time ever in the history
00:53:51of sports on TV, 45 minutes commercial-free.
00:53:54And Ric Flair had a choice that night to make or break me.
00:53:57And, you know what, he put me on the map that night, and I'll never, ever forget that night and
00:54:02what he did for me.
00:54:02Thank you, Ric.
00:54:07Then you fast forward a few years ahead, and all of a sudden, you know, wrestling starts to change a
00:54:13little bit.
00:54:13And you've got the NWO and Hall and Nash and Hollywood Hogan.
00:54:16And, you know, this blonde-haired flat-top guy all of a sudden wasn't so cool anymore.
00:54:21So it was like, you know, I had to try to figure out something different, something cutting-edge.
00:54:26Because you wrestling fans, you were getting pretty crazy during those times.
00:54:31And I remember in a meeting, I think we were in Wyoming somewhere, and Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff, we
00:54:37were having this conversation.
00:54:38And we were trying to figure out a way, how could I change my character to be up with the
00:54:42times, you know?
00:54:43And Scott Hall said, you know, I think maybe if you, like, paint your face all white and put black
00:54:53around here with black lips and wear, like, a trench coat, just be mysterious, you know?
00:55:03Yeah.
00:55:05That was probably a real weak Scott Hall imitation, but that's pretty much, I give Scott Hall credit for helping
00:55:11me change my character and stay up with the times.
00:55:13That, you know, the Crow character was all of a sudden alive.
00:55:17So the Crow character, big-time matches.
00:55:21All of a sudden, I find myself in the biggest match of my entire career, Starrcade 1997.
00:55:29Against Hulk Hogan.
00:55:32And I, once again, I've got to say how proud I am to be able to, you know, have said
00:55:37that I worked with Hulk Hogan.
00:55:39We broke attendance records all over the United States, buy rates on pay-per-views, video game sales like you've
00:55:45never seen.
00:55:46Unbelievable times.
00:55:48And then, you know, my character has changed so many times.
00:55:50I used to play cards in the locker room sometimes, and Macho Man gets so mad at me, he'd say,
00:55:54I feel like I'm playing a different character every night.
00:55:56It's not fair.
00:55:59Wolf Pack Sting.
00:56:01You can't forget Wolf Pack Sting, man.
00:56:05We talked about March of 1988, but, you know, March of 2001 was an interesting month also,
00:56:14because we found WCW all of a sudden gone and no more.
00:56:19And although I had a contract that was another 18 months or so, I had no job duties to perform
00:56:25and nowhere to go,
00:56:26and kind of disappeared from wrestling and thought about, you know, all those times with all you wrestling fans
00:56:33and all these arenas all over the United States, all over the world, and wrestling, some of the greatest names
00:56:37in wrestling.
00:56:39And all of a sudden, it was just done.
00:56:40And, you know, I couldn't understand that.
00:56:42It really bothered me.
00:56:44And I was out of wrestling for five years, tail between my legs.
00:56:48But, man, I came full circle.
00:56:52I thank God for second chances.
00:56:55Because one day, Jerry Jarrett, Jeff Jarrett, asked me if I'd come and do an event with TNA in the
00:57:02asylum.
00:57:03And I did it.
00:57:04It was amazing.
00:57:06Unbelievable.
00:57:07And then Dixie Carter.
00:57:10Enter Dixie Carter.
00:57:14My notes say, one year, ha, ha, ha.
00:57:18I had dinner with her tonight.
00:57:20I had dinner with her last night, and her husband, Serge, and, you know, I order my own meal.
00:57:24And she's got a steak dinner two nights in a row.
00:57:26And she's like, oh, you want to try a bite of my steak?
00:57:28No, thanks.
00:57:29I've got enough here.
00:57:29And she just throws it on my plate.
00:57:31So I've got two nights in a row.
00:57:33I mean, when she wants something, she gets it.
00:57:35She just makes it happen.
00:57:36You can't say no to her.
00:57:38I mean, I was telling her this story just tonight about her, you know, we were done.
00:57:44I said, look, this is my last year of pro wrestling.
00:57:47It's got to be this way.
00:57:49You know, physically, it's getting so hard.
00:57:52She says, okay.
00:57:53The next week, I come back to TV, and all the creative team talks to me, and they're talking about
00:57:58stuff that's going to happen over the next six to 12 months.
00:58:01And I said, did Dixie talk to any of you?
00:58:06She did.
00:58:07And it just went like this.
00:58:09It's like, oh, okay, you're going to retire.
00:58:11We'll have you written for the next three years.
00:58:13Okay, good.
00:58:14Thanks, Sting.
00:58:16That's Dixie.
00:58:17But you know what?
00:58:18I love you, Dixie.
00:58:19And I thank you so much for sticking by me.
00:58:23I thank you for second chances.
00:58:24Jesus, so another person who I could not have come this far without.
00:58:33And then, you know, this latest character of mine, Joker.
00:58:39You know, on Twitter, some people don't like the Joker character.
00:58:41You know, they're like, come on, Sting, do the crow paint again, man.
00:58:44The Joker thing ain't getting it, you know.
00:58:47So what do you think?
00:58:49I mean, this is kind of like I'm asking.
00:58:51I'm just kidding.
00:58:5527 years I've been doing this, and you guys have watched me change, evolve, my character change.
00:59:03You have watched me lose all of my hair, for crying out loud.
00:59:07The flat-top haircut cannot be done anymore.
00:59:11So, again, I just want to say thank you to the Ric Flares, the Hulk Hogan's, Dixie.
00:59:16I want to say thank you to Spike.
00:59:17I want to say thank you to Eric Bischoff for allowing me, during all those WCW years, to evolve and
00:59:28to grow.
00:59:29He was an encouragement to me.
00:59:30And no matter what you read on the Internet right now, I still appreciate him a ton in everything that
00:59:35he's doing.
00:59:39Last, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
00:59:46Because, and I know that this is not my saying, I wish I know who said this originally, but he
00:59:53took a very ordinary guy named Steve Borden, and he did extraordinary things.
00:59:59And I'm grateful for that.
01:00:01I'm grateful to you fans.
01:00:05The love affair that I've had with you guys has been pretty intense for 27 years.
01:00:09I just want to thank you.
01:00:11AJ, Mike, Dixie, Lex, Hulkamania, everybody who had something to say tonight, and even those, Kurt, oh my gosh, Kurt
01:00:23Angle.
01:00:23Are you kidding me?
01:00:24Bound for glory.
01:00:27I love you, Kurt.
01:00:31I love all of you.
01:00:32I really do.
01:00:33I'm honored.
01:00:35I am so honored to be the very first inductee.
01:00:38And God bless each and every one of you.
01:00:41Thanks for having me all these years.
01:01:01We can't let you leave here without a small memento of our thanks.
01:01:07And as TNA Wrestling's first inductee into our Hall of Fame, we have a watch.
01:01:17And we just want to say sincerely, this is superficial, I know.
01:01:23What is in our heart is what means so much, and the love of which it's given to you.
01:01:29So, again, thank each and every one of you for being here tonight.
01:01:34It's a very special night.
01:01:36You deserve it.
01:01:38You've earned it.
01:01:38You've put your body through it.
01:01:40But thank you for leading the way for this company.
01:01:43And who's ready for a few more years?
01:01:48Thank you, Big Team.
01:01:49Is that okay?
01:01:50Absolutely great.
01:01:51Congratulations.
01:01:52Thank you very much.
01:01:53You're welcome.
01:01:55Thank you, guys.
01:01:56And there is a reason.
01:01:57They still chant, you still got it, right?
01:02:01Thank you all.
01:02:02I hope you've had a great time tonight.
01:02:05You still got it.
01:02:08You still got it.
01:02:11You still got it.
01:02:14You still got it.