Beth Phoenix, Bruno Sammartino Inducted Into Tragos/Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame

WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix (Copeland) became the first woman ever inducted into the George [...]

By Ryan Droste

WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix (Copeland) became the first woman ever inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Waterloo, Iowa.

The inductions were held for the 21st consecutive year by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. This was the 13th year the banquet was held in Waterloo, as the museum and Hall of Fame moved from Newton, Iowa to Waterloo in 2007. Waterloo is the hometown of Gable and the site of the founding of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1948.

Phoenix headlined the induction banquet, which also saw the posthumous induction of Bruno Sammartino. Thunderbolt Patterson received the Lou Thesz World Heavyweight Championship Award, Sgt. Slaughter received the Frank Gotch Award, Daniel Cormier received the George Tragos Award, and Brian Shields was the recipient of the Jim Melby Award.

The induction ceremony was attended by a large cast of current wrestlers, wrestling legends, journalists, and fans, including Gerry Brisco, Baron Von Raschke, Tony Garea, B. Brian Blair, Wes Brisco, Charlie Thesz, Nattie Neidhart, and numerous others.

Shields opened the evening's festivities receiving the Melby Award, which is given for excellence in journalism. He brought the crowd to their feet with the story of how he went from wrestling fan chasing Bill Apter down the streets of New York City to a writer himself. He outlined his time working for Acclaim on WWE video game projects, as well as writing books for WWE such as the WWE Encyclopedia and Second Nature: The Legacy of Ric Flair and The Rise of Charlotte.

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(Photo: Ryan Droste | ComicBook.com)

Sgt. Slaughter accepted the Frank Gotch Award and recounted his career in the business, reciting several memorable stories, including how he met his childhood hero "Jumping" Joe Scarpello in the Minneapolis Airport parking lot and later went on to wrestle him. Given the fact that he was given the Gotch Award, he had the crowd laughing when talking about how he once had a reputation as a "shooter" because of a backstage altercation with Billy Robinson.

Long time wrestling photographer and radio host John Arezzi accepted Sammartino's induction and spoke about his multi-decade relationship with the man who was the biggest drawing card in the history of Madison Square Garden. Most of the discussion focused on what a nice man Bruno was and how he went out of his way to help Arezzi when he was starting Pro Wrestling Spotlight radio. It was noted that Sammartino, who passed away last year, would have loved to have accepted the induction himself and would have been honored.

Thunderbolt Patterson, now an ordained minister, gave a booming speech about his time in pro wrestling. Patterson was billed from Atlanta during his career but actually hailed from Waterloo, having once worked at the John Deere tractor works plant in the city. Notable for having once attempted to start a wrestling union, he shared stories of working in the segregated south and rooming with Gerry Brisco. It was agreed upon by most at the ceremony that Patterson never got the credit he deserved, especially as a promo man. He was a big-time drawing card who was Dusty Rhodes on the microphone before Dusty Rhodes.

Cormier could not be on hand to accept his award as he is in training for his Heavyweight Championship fight at UFC 241 in three weeks. Brisco accepted the award on his behalf as a fellow Oklahoma State alum and noted that Cormier told him he would cherish the award for the rest of his life.

Beth Copeland, better known to WWE fans as Beth Phoenix, closed out the evening. Her best friend, WWE's Nattie Neidhart, traveled to Iowa for the induction and sat front row at a table alongside Charlie Thesz and former WWE official Tim White, among others.

Copeland had previously been awarded the Frank Gotch Award by the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame in 2015 but officially became the first woman inducted to the Hall this year. She gave a powerful, moving speech about the struggle for women's rights in sports, recounting her multi-year quest to become the first woman to join the Notre Dame High School wrestling team in Elmira, New York. She used the moment to talk about her efforts to help get women's wrestling sanctioned across the country.

In one emotional section of the speech, Copeland talked about a conversation she had with her husband Adam Copeland (Edge) where it was discussed that when growing up, she knew she'd never have the opportunity to live her dreams wrestling her heroes like he did, simply because she was a girl. She talked about how he was able to wrestle the likes of Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan but she knew she would never get to step into the ring with a Bret Hart or Owen Hart.

Phoenix received a standing ovation to close out the ceremony.

WWE congratulated Copeland on the honor as well:

Congratulations are in order for Beth Phoenix!

Phoenix, already a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, will be inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum this weekend.

Beth is a part of a star-studded class that also includes fellow WWE Hall of Famers Bruno Sammartino and Sgt. Slaughter, as well as UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier.

WWE.com congratulates Phoenix on this incredible distinction.

Next year's Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame class should be announced early in 2020. As always, the inductions will be held in Waterloo. It is always an incredible experience that wrestling fans across the country should consider attending.

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