Saturday night, before the celebrity-studded spectacle of WrestleMania XXVII hits the Georgia Dome on Sunday, World Wrestling Entertainment pays tribute to some of the industry legends with its Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Philips Arena. Having just celebrated the tenth anniversary of its purchase of chief rival, Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling, this year’s class of inductees is a fitting tribute to some of the talent that helped make Atlanta a strong wrestling town.
One of the men largely responsible for Atlanta’s enduring wrestling legacy is “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, a Georgia native best known for his in-ring work in the '70s and '80s. And his four sons have kept his tradition alive, with B.G. James (aka “The Road Dogg” Jesse James) being a fixture in WWE’s “Attitude Era” of the '90s and Scott currently a WWE referee.
Fellow Georgian Cody Rhodes, son of 2007 inductee Dusty Rhodes, has fond memories of his father and Armstrong wrestling later in their careers.
“I knew ‘Bullet’ Bob not really from his prominent and great run that he had early in his career, but later when we were running Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling in Carrollton, Georgia,” says Cody. “My dad, at 50-something years old, was teamed up with ‘Bullet’ Bob and [Armstrong] was still just as popular with that crowd of 400 as he was with crowds of thousands from earlier on in his career. It’s a really good thing for Georgia and a nice thing for me to see another family given their moment to shine.”
Teddy Long, acting general manager of WWE’s Friday night show “SmackDown,” recalls working with Armstrong when Long was refereeing and managing wrestlers locally in the '80s.
“He was a great guy to work with,” says Long. “I grew up with all his kids, so I know that family very well. I think it’s a great thing for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He’s a great wrestler [who] did a lot for our business and I certainly believe he deserves it.”
The unorthodox Abdullah the Butcher (aka Larry Shreve), known for bloodying his opponents (and himself) in the ring, also spent a few years wrestling in Georgia. Today he owns Abdullah the Butcher’s House of Ribs and Chinese Food in southwest Atlanta.
“I managed him a couple of times when I was in WCW,” says legendary manager “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart, class of 2005. “In Puerto Rico I was with Abdullah the Butcher on several big matches, so I’m definitely happy to see him inducted.”
The most recent addition to this year’s Hall of Fame class are the Road Warriors, the late Michael “Hawk” Hegstrand and Joe “Animal” Laurinaitis. Hawk and Animal dominated the local tag team scene in the '80s before going to WWE in the '90s. The team will always be remembered for some of its classic bouts at the old Omni and other local venues.
Before he entered the ring, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Duggan wrestled briefly for Georgia Championship Wrestling before making a name for himself as a two-by-four-toting WWE tough guy in '80s and '90s. Former local rival “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase (class of 2010) inducts Duggan this year.
Perhaps the biggest name in this year’s Hall of Fame class is Shawn Michaels, who retired after last year’s WrestleMania. Though he is billed as being from San Antonio and began his career in the Oklahoma area, even Michaels has some tangential ties to Atlanta’s wrestling history.
“A lot of people don’t know that his theme song is a song that me and my partner wrote for him so many years ago,” says Hart, who got his start in Atlanta and Memphis. “I was happy to be a part of that and with him being inducted, I’m like a proud father.”
WWE’s current roster continues to have many local ties, as evidenced by the WrestleMania XXVII card. Jerry “The King” Lawler (class of 2007), who, at age 61, will be competing in his first WrestleMania, adopted his royal gimmick when a local grappler named Bobby Shane lent Lawler his robe and crown to use on Memphis TV in the '70s. Cody Rhodes, who still lives in Marietta, is set to take on Rey Mysterio, who was a staple of WCW’s heyday. And even current WWE Champion Mike “The Miz” Mizanin won his first title in 2005 in Deep South Wrestling, a now-defunct McDonough-based developmental territory for WWE.
“There’s a lot of history in Atlanta,” says Long. “It’s always been a great wrestling town and this thing is going to be really big and we’re all looking forward to it.”
2011 WWE Hall of Fame inductees:
“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
“Bullet” Bob Armstrong
Sunny
Drew Carey
Abdullah the Butcher
The Road Warriors Hawk & Animal (with “Precious” Paul Ellering)
8 p.m.-11 p.m. Saturday. $29-$90.90. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 404-878-3000, www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/wrestlemaniaweek/, www.philipsarena.com.
6:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Sunday. $25-$1,050.35. Georgia Dome, 1 Georgia Dome Drive, Atlanta. 404-223-4636, wm27.wwe.com/, www.gadome.com.
