The first inductee in the WWE 2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony was Paul Heyman, and no speech could have gotten the night off to a more epic start. Heyman was introduced by the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns, and after he got to the microphone he set it ablaze, delivering an amazing speech that was simultaneously passionate, fiery, vulnerable, emotional, edgy, and fun. Heyman mentioned and worked a host of people into his speech, including Rob Van Dam, Cody Rhodes, Reigns, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Rick Rude, and Brock Lesnar, but he wasn’t done. He also donned his classic ECW-era trenchcoat, hat, headset, and phone at one point, but then also took a moment to talk to his kids. There was a bit of everything here, including saying he is forever a Paul Levesque guy.
“I didn’t prepare anything tonight but as I said in the media, I wanted to feel the room. I’m not very good speaking as me, so I asked somebody who’s been up here, Rob Van Dam,” Heyman said. Then he had some fun with Van Dam smoking before he pointed out his kids were sitting “next to a man whom I have indescribable respect, CM Punk.”ย
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“I’m the beneficiary of mass praise for doing with my life exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” Heyman said. “I get to work with the men and the women in this beautiful performance art as sports ent…professional wrestling. I am the first pick, the first person announced, the first headliner in a class completely picked by Paul Levesque,” Heyman said. Triple H chants broke out, and then Heyman talked about Triple H’s leadership since taking over.
“Only one person can drive the car out of chaos. Only one person can assume true control of the locker room, and the leadership that was sorely needed by the men and women of this performance art has been bestowed upon us by that man standing right here, Paul Levesque,” Heyman said. “Of course, I always break the rules when I do these promos, and the one thing he asked me was please don’t speak about me. But the way this man has assumed the pencil of this company and has led us to a creative freedom backstage where more superstars are emerging into the main events in front of your very eyes, and the manner in which he leads us, well let me tell you for prosperity into this camera that for the rest of my life, I will be a Paul Levesque guy.”
“I will also call to your attention that his lovely bride Stephanie is here this evening. If my daughter grows up to be half the woman Stephanie is I assure you I will have raised a great lady in my household,” Heyman said. “I would also like to call to your attention Stephanie is wearing a cap adorned with the letters ECW. I think at this point after all these years it’s time for Stephanie to admit she married the wrong Paul.”
“If you’ll indulge me for just a moment, and then we’ll get to ECW, to my children. This is what I want you to do with your lives. It’s not about the money, I don’t mean to do it on TV or sit in the front row with these luminaries,” Heyman said. “And by the way, if anybody here screws with you, you’re two seats down from Haku. It’s not about the money, it’s about being worthy of people’s respect. It’s about being worthy of their admiration. It’s about pursuing your dreams and failing and going after them again and again and again, and failing 100 times and succeeding on the 101st. Pursue your dreams, pursue your happiness, and I promise you will be one day standing in front of your peers, your fans, your friends, your family, and your children, and you will hear the love for what you’ve done with the true passion of your life.”
“I so wish my mother was here tonight to see this. I so wish my father was here tonight to see this. Hey, where’s Cody Rhodes? Heyman then faced Rhodes and said, “I so wish your father was here tonight to see this too.” You could see Rhodes saying thank you Paul, and the crowd said they loved Heyman, which led to him saying, “I love me too.”
“I think that covers all the mushy s*** right? I guess now, it’s time to talk about ECW.” Heyman had a box and inside was his black leather trench coat and he put it on. He then put on his headset and his trademark phone, which he then said he thought he broke on the head of Sting. He then pulled out his ECW Wrestling cap, completing the look. Heyman then talked about how ECW shook up the world and assured that no bankruptcy filing could ever put down the spirit of ECW. He also mentioned a host of people he’s had a chance to work with, and he ended by saying he’s got plenty of things to shake up in the future.
What did you think of the speech? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
