Tomorrow for WrestleMania, the WWE Network has a packed schedule which is dominated by replays of a couple of particular shows!
At 1AM, there’s Kurt the Angle: Oh It’s True, It’s True interview with Corey Graves. At 1:30AM a replay of tonight’s NXT Takeover: Orlando, followed by another replay of the Kurt Angle sit-down interview. At 4:30AM there’s an episode of Holy Foley which shows the Foley family arriving in Orlando for her NXT tryout. At 5AM there’s the first look at the upcoming Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living DVD, followed by an episode of the Edge And Christian show.
At 6AM it’s Ride Along with The Club and Golden Truth and at 6:30AM the third replay of the Angle interview. At 7AM another replay of NXT Takeover: Orlando, followed at 9AM by another replay of the same Ride Along that aired at 6AM. At 9:30AM it’s the Angle interview and at 10AM it’s NXT Takeover: Orlando.
At Noon another replay of Ride Along airs, followed by the first look of the DDP DVD, and at NXT Takeover: Orlando. At 3PM, Ride Along airs again, then the Angle interview airs, followed by WWE 24: WrestleMania Monday at 4PM.
At 5PM the WrestleMania Kickoff show starts and then at 7PM, WrestleMania 33 takes over for the rest of the evening.
While WrestleMania will be available on the WWE Network for just $9.99 or free for new subscribers, several traditional pay-per-view providers will be airing the show for five times the price of the Network.
Among the pay-per-view providers showing WrestleMania tonight are Bright House, Cable One, Optimum, Charter, Xfinity, Cox, Knology, MediaCom, SuddenLink, Time Warner Cable, Verizon Fios, InDemand, and DISH Network.
DISH Network is airing its first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XXX. The company dumped WWE pay-per-views following the introduction of the WWE Network and only recently started broadcasting shows on event-by-event basis.
As noted, first-time subscribers to the WWE Network will get WrestleMania for free if they subscribe today! Go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to start your subscription.
NXT General Manager William Regal revealed during this morning’s Axxess session that new NXT titles will be presented to the respective winners tonight at NXT Takeover: Orlando.
This is the first time that NXT will be undergoing a revamp of their titles. The NXT championship was established on July 1, 2012 with Seth Rollins winning the inaugural tournament. The NXT Tag Team titles were established on January 23, 2013 with the tag team British Ambition, consisting of Neville and Oliver Grey, winning the inaugural tournament, while the NXT Women’s title was established on April 5, 2013 with Paige winning the inaugural tournament.
Since the established dates, there have been 10 NXT champions, 11 NXT Tag Team champions, and 5 NXT Women’s champions.
It was announced this morning during the WWE business partner summit that the company will hold a 32-women tournament over the Summer that will air exclusively on the WWE Network.
The announcement was made by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon along with Raw Women’s champion Bayley, Smackdown Women’s champion Alexa Bliss, and NXT Women’s champion Asuka.
The 32 women were chosen from 17 different countries. This particular tournament has been rumored for a while and it was expected to happen sometime this year.
This will be the third tournament exclusively for the WWE Network following the successful Cruiserweight Classic and the United Kingdom Championship tournaments.
No other details were given on the dates of filming or where it will be held, although it is most likely going to take place at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
Live from the Amway Center and exclusively on the WWE Network, WWE presents NXT Takeover: Orlando tonight. The full card is as follows:
Bobby Roode vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT title; Asuka vs Ember Moon for the NXT Women’s title; The Authors of Pain vs #DIY vs The Revival in a triple threat tag team elimination match for the NXT Tag Team titles; Aleister Black vs Andrade “Cien” Almas; Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, No Way Jose, and Ruby Riot vs Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe, and Nikki Cross in an eight-person mixed tag team match.
NXT Takeover: Orlando is FREE on the WWE Network for first time subscribers to the WWE Network. Sign up today at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to active your free month.
Showered with “welcome home” and “welcome back” chants, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle entertained thousands of fans last night during his induction ceremony, singing his “greatest hits” that got laughs from everyone in the arena.
First donning the ridiculous small cowboy hat that he wore in the backstage segment with Vince McMahon, Steve Austin, and Debra, Angle sang the “Jimmy Crack Corn” song with the crowd singing along.
He then put on the wig and the wrestling headgear, and asked for the crowd to clap along and rapped part of his song when he did the rap battle with John Cena. “I won a gold medal with a broken freakin’ neck,” Angle rapped as the crowd gave a helping hand.
And then came his favorite of all time…“I’m just a sexy Kurt!” Angle teased singing it and then said he won’t, but the crowd wanted it him to sing, so Angle, looking as happy as ever, gave them what they wanted. Shawn Michaels, in attendance as well, helped with the clapping and smiled as Angle sang the HBK song which was changed to suit him during their feud in the lead-up to WrestleMania 21.
The Olympic gold medalist then wrapped up an entertaining Hall of Fame induction ceremony by celebrating the only way he knows – downing two bottles of milk as the crowd chanted “You suck” along with his theme song.
The big question at the moment is who will be in the actual main event of WrestleMania tomorrow, with three matches potentially getting the honor of closing the show.
These three matches are Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title, Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt for the WWE title, and The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns.
Typically, the WWE championship match closes out WrestleMania. It’s very rare that any other match gets the top billing, however Dave Meltzer of the Observer is reporting that as of now, the main event match is scheduled to be The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns.
According to reviews by betting experts, Roman Reigns is currently the favorite at -450, while The Undertaker is at +300 for the win. This would be his second loss in WrestleMania if odds prove to be correct.
Putting Taker vs Reigns in the main event will surely adds speculation that this will be The Undertaker’s last match of his career. There’s also the element of Jim Ross, who will be calling one match on the show tomorrow, and if that match will be Taker vs Reigns, it’s safe to say that probably this will be Taker’s last ride.
If this match closes up the show, it will be the third year in a row that Roman Reigns headlines a WrestleMania. John Cena was the last man who headlined three WrestleManias in a row – 27, 28, and 29.
WrestleMania 28 was the last WrestleMania that did not feature the WWE title match as the main event, with The Rock and John Cena headlining.
Fans attending any of the events in downtown Orlando should be aware of their surroundings since both the Amway Center and the Camping World Stadium, especially the stadium, are not in the nicest parts of the city.
While taxis will be available at the Amway Center following the end of each show held there, getting transportation out of the Camping World Stadium will be extremely difficult due to the sheer number of people attending WrestleMania. Taxis at the Amway Center are available at W. Church St. under the bridge.
If you’re going to the Camping World Stadium and don’t have transport booked for the way back, do not walk around the neighborhood alone. Try to walk in large groups and avoid any shady looking areas. If it looks dangerous at first glance…it probably is!
If you have booked a bus, all buses for WrestleMania will be staged at Colyer Street, known as Lot 8 for parking. The City of Orlando will offer free shuttle service on event day with pick ups at Hughey Ave. at Pine St. and South St. at Division Ave. Shuttle buses will run to and from the stadium throughout the day from 11:30AM until until 90 minutes after the event.
For those traveling by taxi, pick up and drop off areas will be off-site on Church St. between Hughey Ave. and Garland Ave. and on-site on W. Central Blvd. and S. Rio Grande Ave.
WrestleMania hosts The New Day unveiled the impressive WrestleMania stage last night. Woods, Kofi, and Big E stood in the dark with their suits on and explained the fans what was about to happen.
“For the first time, we give you a ride with no height requirements, we give you a ride that anyone and everyone can enjoy,” said Kofi Kingston. “WWE Universe, the Universe, we proudly bring to you the very first look at WrestleMania,” screamed Big E!
And right on cue, the fireworks, music, and lights hit in sync to reveal the massive entrance ramp and stage that will surely wow the fans tomorrow.
The roller coaster loops have LED lights that go around to give it the feel that there’s something moving while the extra large ramp with the WrestleMania logo and the theme park-like entrance provide a different feel this year.
31 WWE Superstars have been announced as participants in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a match which will take place on the WrestleMania Kickoff show.
The biggest names which are part of the match and don’t have a match include Braun Strowman, Sami Zayn, and Dolph Ziggler. Also Smackdown’s Tag Team champions are also in this match, meaning the title is the only one not being defended on the show.
The Big Show is once again this match after his proposed match against Shaquille O’Neal fell through. Last year the two went at it during the battle royal.
The announced participants in alphabetical order are Aiden English, Apollo Crews, Big Show, Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman, Chad Gable, Curtis Axel, Curt Hawkins, Dolph Ziggler, Epico, Fandango, Goldust, Heath Slater, Jason Jordan, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jinder Mahal, Kalisto, Konnor, Mark Henry, Mojo Rawley, Primo, R-Truth, Rhyno, Sami Zayn, Simon Gotch, Sin Cara, Tian Bing, Titus O’Neil, Tyler Breeze, and Viktor.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is expected to be part of the WrestleMania broadcast on Sunday, calling one of the matches on the card.
It is still not clear which match he will be calling, with conflicting reports suggesting either the Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg match or the Undertaker vs Roman Reigns match.
PWInsider.com also adds that Ross has signed a new deal with WWE that will allow him to call some key matches and do other work for them.
JR has not been seen on a WWE broadcast since 2013 and was forced to retire after the 2K panel at SummerSlam Axxess that year went off the rails. Ross was the host of the show and was blamed for the complete derailment of the event, mainly hijacked by what seemed to be an intoxicated Ric Flair.
It has been a tough two weeks for Jim Ross with the passing of his wife, but he honored his WrestleMania weekend commitments like a true professional.
In professional wrestling, it’s very easy to make enemies. Eric Bischoff had a lot of enemies, but perhaps one of his biggest was Jim Cornette. And the feeling was pretty much mutual.
But every year, WWE tapes a bunch of Table for 3 episodes for the WWE Network when it’s WrestleMania time and they pick old timers to get back together and discuss a little wrestling over lunch. Michael PS Hayes revealed on Twitter today that he just taped an episode of the WWE Network series with both Eric Bischoff and Jim Cornette, the first time that the two sat down and spoke in over 20 years.
Bischoff once described Cornette as a “low rent con man” who is only capable of moving the Internet wrestling community and pretty much downplayed his storied career. Cornette obviously didn’t take it nicely and fired back at Bischoff, pointing out that the company Bischoff was in charge of (WCW) lost more money than any promotion he ever worked for in his career.
The animosity between the two grew even stronger when Cornette was released from his TNA duties just before Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were brought in in 2010.
In an article published by the Orlando Sentinel it was revealed that nearly 500 construction workers helped build the largest stage in WrestleMania history over the past two weeks.
Planning for the stage, which includes a roller coaster and steel structures that go way beyond the top of the stadium, began nine months ago and required 100 semi-trucks of material.
“I’m kind of the nuts and bolts, make-it-all-work guy,” said Duncan Leslie, senior vice president of event technical operations for WWE. “Between 400 to 500 people contribute to this, whether it’s [information technology] guys, loaders, crane operators, riggers, lighting folks and everything in between. There will be [more than] 100 semi-trucks bringing in gear all week long.”
There will be more than 1,000 lighting fixtures set up and the crew plans to use more LED video than ever before. And with the show starting early, the WWE production team even took into consideration the sunset and what kind of pyro to use for daylight.
You can read the full article which details how the WWE team sets up also for the Hall of Fame, Raw, Smackdown and other events during the weekend and what it involves in making sure everything goes smoothly at http://bit.ly/2oHlC4T.
Live tonight exclusively on the WWE Network, WWE presents the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony starting at 8PM ET.
Getting inducted tonight are Kurt Angle, the late “Ravishing” Rick Rude, The Rock ’N’ Roll Express, Beth Phoenix, Teddy Long, and Diamond Dallas Page. Eric LeGrand will be receiving the Warrior Award.
The Legacy inductees this year will feature Judy Grable, Toots Mondt, Rikidozan, Farmer Burns, Luther Lindsay, Dr. Jerry Graham, June Byers, and Haystacks Calhoun.
At 7PM ET, Maria Menounos will return for the red carpet arrival. The red carpet arrival will also air on the WWE Network.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony airs on the WWE Network and it’s free for first time subscribers. Simply go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to activate your subscription now.
A big part of WrestleMania weekend is music, with both NXT Takeover: Orlando and WrestleMania 33 featuring licensed music from popular artists.
NXT is using four songs for the Takeover: Orlando show. ‘Loud’ is from metalcore band Motionless in White from the 2017 album Graveyard Shift. ‘Shock Me’ is performed by heavy metal band Baroness and is from the album Purple from 2015. ‘Are You Coming With Me?’ is from the metalcore group Crown the Empire from their album Retrograde which was released in 2016. ‘Come and Get It’ is performed by Prevail and it’s from the band’s 2016 album Lifelines. It reached #7 in the US Rock charts.
WrestleMania has three songs which are mainly being used. ‘Greenlight’ is from Pitbull’s tenth studio album Climate Change and it was the second single released in mid-2016. The song features Flo Rida, Stephen Marley, and Lunchmoney Lewis. ‘Like A Champion’ is by Danger Twins, from their 2015 album Danger Twins. ’Flame’ is performed by Tinashe and it is the lead single from the yet-to-be released album Joyride. It was released in March 2017.
Pitbull, Flo Rida, Stephen Marley, and Lunchmoney Lewis will be performing live at WrestleMania while Tinashe will be performing ‘America The Beautiful’ to start the show.
WWE will honor the newest class of the WWE Hall of Fame tonight live on the WWE Network. But who is doing the honors for each respective inductee?
John Cena will be inducting Kurt Angle in the main event. Cena had his first WWE match on television against Kurt Angle, starting the Ruthless Aggression era.
Legendary manager Jim Cornette will be inducting his arch rivals The Rock ’n’ Roll Express. Corvette and the Express share a long history of feuds that spans over different promotions, making Cornette the best man to do the honors for the tag team.
The APA – John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Ron Simmons – will be inducting their friend and former Smackdown General Manager and referee Teddy Long. Long, Simmons, and Layfield were travel partners during their WWE time and Long managed Simmons while in WCW.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff will be inducting Diamond Dallas Page. Bischoff was the main person who gave Page his start in WCW and Page returned the favor by winning the WCW title on multiple occasions and moving to main event status in the late 90s.
Natalya will be inducting her former partner and close friend Beth Phoenix. The two share a close bond in real life to this day and together they were known as the Divas of Doom in WWE.
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will be inducting the late “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Rude’s family will be there representing him. Steamboat and Rude had some of the best matches together and the two went on to win the WCW title.
The Warrior Award will be presented to former Rutgers University football player Eric LeGrand by the widow of the Ultimate Warrior, Dana Warrior.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony airs on the WWE Network and it’s free for first time subscribers. Simply go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk to activate your subscription now.
The Smackdown Women’s title match has been moved from the Kickoff show to the pay-per-view card.
Fans did complain online about the placement of the title match and Becky Lynch acknowledged those complaints by tweeting, “You spoke up. You’re awesome. Thank you. #WrestleMania” Putting the Smackdown Women’s title match on the Kickoff show was seen as treating the title less important than the Raw Women’s title which was always slated for the PPV card.
Alexa Bliss will be defending the title against all of the available Smackdown women roster in a six-pack challenge. Becky Lynch, Naomi, Carmella, Mickie James, and Natalya are the opponents.
The Kickoff show now has two matches so far, the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the Cruiserweight title match between Austin Aries and Neville.
Jim Ross received a long standing ovation last night at the WrestleCon kickoff party, where he hosted a Q&A panel with Sting and Ric Flair.
Ross’ wife Jan passed away two weeks ago but JR later confirmed on social media that he would be honoring all his commitments during this weekend, because that’s what his wife would have wanted. Ross mentioned how Jan was a big fan of this weekend, buying her Louis Vuitton apparel…with his money!
When Ross was introduced by Matt Striker, JR said that the crowd was going to make him cry again. He said that he had some challenges last week or two…”but I’m here with you guys!” JR started crying again and the fans once again stood up to clap.
JR mentioned that the odds of everyone in this room being all together at next year’s WrestleMania are slim so he wants all of them to enjoy the show and the whole weekend. “I’m just glad to be here,” Ross said.
You can see the introduction from WrestleCon below.
Here is a look at the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2017.
KURT ANGLE
The 48-year-old made his pro wrestling debut in 1998, signing an 8-year deal with the WWE. Initially, Angle was sent to a developmental territory before making his full in-ring debut on WWE television at the 1999 Survivor Series.
Angle’s rise in the WWE ranks was quick and he won the WWE title in his first year, defeating The Rock. He continued to be one of the main eventers in the company, having epic feuds with the likes of Triple H, Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and many others.
Things turned for the worst in 2006 and after he was drafted to the ECW brand, Angle was fired from the company due to health issues, mainly addiction.
After leaving WWE, Angle quickly signed on with TNA where he had some of his best matches in his career. He was inducted in the TNA Hall of Fame in 2013 and had his farewell tour with the company in January 2016.
Throughout his WWE career, he won the WWE title 4 times, the World Heavyweight title, the WCW title once, and the WCW United States title once, the WWE European, Hardcore and Intercontinental title once, and the WWE Tag Team title once with Chris Benoit.
In TNA, he won the TNA World title six times, the X Division title once, and the TNA World Tag Team title twice with Sting and AJ Styles.
Kurt Angle becomes the second person to be inducted in both the WWE and TNA Hall of Fames. The first one was Sting.
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL EXPRESS
Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson – the duo who make up the legendary tag team – had a fantastic career that spanned over several years in different promotions, including NWA, WCW, ECW, SMW, USWA, AWA, WWF and others.
Their WWE stint in 1998 was short, but they managed to appear at that year’s WrestleMania and also at the Unforgiven pay-per-view, facing the New Midnight Express.
Throughout their careers, Morton and Gibson had different legendary feuds, including against the Midnight Express, the Four Horsemen, the Heavenly Bodies, and others.
The Rock ’n’ Roll Express join Kurt Angle, the only other inductee announced so far, for the 2017 Hall of Fame ceremony.
TEDDY LONG
Long, now 69 years old, started his professional wrestling debut in 1985 as a referee in NWA’s Jim Crockett Promotions before moving to World Championship Wrestling, where he managed Doom, Johnny B. Badd, One Man Gang, The Skyscrapers, 2 Cold Scorpio, and many others.
In 1998 he went to WWE where he started out as a referee and then in 2002 moved to a managerial role for Superstars such as Mark Henry, D’Lo Brown, and Jazz. In 2004, he was promoted to Smackdown General Manager, then ECW General Manager in 2008, before returning to Smackdown’s GM role a year later. He was released from his WWE contract in mid-2014 and last appeared on WWE television in 2016 when he tried to get another General Manager job before the draft.
Teddy Long is mostly known – and made fun of – for making six and eight-man tag team matches on Smackdown, and that happened pretty much every week during his tenure.
DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE
The 60-year-old started his professional wrestling career late, making his pro wrestling career in 1991 in World Championship Wrestling as a manager of The Freebirds. To get ready to step in the ring, DDP enlisted the help of Jake “The Snake” Roberts and the rest, as they say, is history. Page went on to have a very successful WCW career, wrestling in main events with the likes of Macho Man Randy Savage, the nWo, Hulk Hogan, and many others. During his time in WCW, he won the WCW title three times, the United States title twice, the TV title once, and the Tag Team titles four times.
DDP then moved to WWE after the company purchased WCW, debuting in June 2001, three months after the sale. He was revealed as the stalker of The Undertaker’s then-wife Sara and spent a few months feuding with Taker and Kane. His character was then changed to an optimistic motivator and his catchphrase, “That’s not a bad thing…that’s a good thing” caught on with WWE fans. He stayed in WWE for a year and won the European and Tag Team titles once during his short reign.
But perhaps his most impressive achievement is DDP Yoga, a fitness program that has helped many, many people achieve what they were told was impossible. Page’s generosity also reached his former teacher, Jake Roberts, and Scott Hall, two individuals who were on the verge of death due to their addictions only to be given a new clean start by DDP who welcomed them into his home and rehabilitated them. Against all odds, both Jake Roberts and Scott Hall eventually returned for cameo appearances in WWE and both were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
BETH PHOENIX
The 36-year-old New York native had a seven-year career in the WWE which started in 2004 as a developmental wrestler assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling. Her main roster debut came in May 2006 on an episode of Raw, attacking Mickie James and coming to the rescue of Trish Stratus. A year later she was given the moniker of The Glamazon and returned on TV as a heel after a couple of months out injured. Phoenix, considered one of the best female wrestlers in the company at the time, then had an angle with Santino Marella, and feuded with the popular duo LayCool before making a run for the Divas title in the Summer of 2011.
Phoenix left the company in 2012, having her last match against AJ Lee on an episode of Monday Night Raw in October. In 2014, she welcomed her first daughter with WWE Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland and then had another baby girl in 2016. The couple married in October of last year.
Edge and Beth Phoenix become the first married couple to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. During her time in WWE, she won the Women’s title three times and the Divas title once along with a Slammy Award for Diva of the Year in 2008.
“RAVISHING” RICK RUDE
Rude, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 40, was one of the most gifted wrestlers and wrestled for the NWA, WCCW, Jim Crockett, WWE, WCW, and ECW.
Trained under Eddie Sharkey, Rude made his professional wrestling debut in 1982 in the NWA, before moving to Championship Wrestling from Florida two years later. He was managed by Percy Pringle, the man later known as Paul Bearer, while down in Florida. In 1985, along with Pringle, he moved to World Class Championship Wrestling and then jumped ship again to Jim Crockett Promotions in 1986.
In 1987, Rude’s big break in pro wrestling came when he joined the WWE and quickly aligned himself with Bobby Heenan and became part of the Heenan Family. Rude had some epic feuds in WWE, including two famous ones with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and The Ultimate Warrior.
Rude’s WWE journey was not long and in 1991 he joined WCW, making his debut as the masked Phantom at Halloween Havoc. Rude joined The Dangerous Alliance and had feuds with Sting, Nikita Koloff, Ron Simmons, and many others. In 1993, he defeated Ric Flair to become the new NWA champion, which is probably one of the best highlights of his career.
After a short stint in ECW in 1997, Rude joined the WWE again that same year and aligned himself with D-Generation X. He made history in November of that year by appearing on Raw and WCW Nitro at the same time, made possible due to Raw being pre-taped and Nitro being live, starting his second stint with WCW which ran till 1999.
While in WWE, he won the Intercontinental title once and in WCW he won the International World Heavyweight title three times and the United States title once.
Rick Rude died on April 20, 1999 after suffering form a heart failure which was caused from an overdose of mixed drugs. He has three children, but his youngest son, Colton, died in September of last year at the age of 19 in a motorcycle accident.
ERIC LEGRAND (WARRIOR AWARD)
The 26-year-old played football until the year 2010 when on October 16 he suffered a severe spinal cord injury during a game against the Army Black Knights in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium. Today, the life-long WWE fan is paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Since his horrible injury, LeGrand has become a renowned motivational speaker.
Speaking to ESPN.COM, who broke the original story about LeGrand getting the Warrior Award, he said that he was in complete shock when he found out. He recalled how Triple H’s assistant sent him an e-mail last week saying he wanted to talk to him in a few days via telephone. “So I’m sitting here for two days wondering what Triple H wants to say to me. My heart was racing for two days wondering what this was all about,” LeGrand said. After receiving the call, LeGrand said, “I didn’t know how to react. This was incredible as someone who grew up as a fan since I was a little kid.”
LeGrand becomes the third recipient of the Warrior Award after Connor Michalek and Joan Lunden. Dana Warrior will be presenting the award to LeGrand during the Hall of Fame ceremony.
“When you talk to Eric and when you’re around him, it’s really hard not to be blown away by his positivity and his demeanor as a human being; it’s just inspiring,” Triple H told ESPN.com. “Here’s a guy who has every reason in the world to be bitter and angry and yet he’s the most positive dude you’ve ever met. You can’t help walking away from him and just being inspired.”
In addition to honoring him with the Warrior Award, the WWE will be making a $25,000 donation to Team LeGrand. “The Warrior Award is reserved for someone who lives life with courage and compassion, and Eric is more than deserving. He is a great example for us all,” the former WWE champ added.
But LeGrand now can’t wait for Hall of Fame day to arrive. “I honestly can’t put it into words yet. It has not sunk in that I’m going to be a part of the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony with all these great Superstars. It’s going to be truly amazing. WrestleMania is one of the biggest events in the world and to have my name attached to it and be a part of it as a small kid from Avenel, New Jersey, is a true blessing and a true honor. It just shows you if you do right in the world, good things do happen to you.”
