WWE Hall of Fame: Four Ways to Shorten the Show

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Rein in the Inductors

It’s understandable that on the biggest night of their lives, WWE Hall of Fame inductees would want their closest friends to be involved. And so, over the course of the last few years, it has become tradition at the Hall of Fame ceremony for tag partners and managers, legendary rivals and foes, and long-time riding partners and buddies,  to do the actual “inducting”–making remarks about the honoree before introducing him or her to the stage.

In a lot of instances, however, this “speech before the speech” runs longer than it probably should, as those doing the inducting get carried away and take up a fair bit of time, or focus as much on getting themselves over as paying tribute to the inductee. Last night, for example, Paul Heyman veered away from discussing Goldberg to promote Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar. Jimmy Hart gave a speech worthy of his moniker, the “Mouth of the South”. And Edge and Christian were featured more prominently in the show than many of the inductees.

Inductors should be limited to a brief couple of minutes, and should be limited to discussing the inductee. Jokes, stories and ribs should be left to the honouree, given that they are the main focus. The inductee still gets to be inducted by someone meaningful, and the WWE is able to cut down on the show’s length–a win-win.