Transcript of Jericho's rant:
"...and I did say that I loved the show, I said it was one of my favourite WrestleManias ever, and this is gonna start off a bit of a rant which might piss some people off, but I don't care, I've had enough.
A lot of people are saying that "Jericho's become a corporate shill for the WWE". Let me say this, I don't work for WWE, I don't have any contract with WWE, I'm just a wrestling fan, and I calls 'em like I sees 'em. And I'm telling you right now, you can choose and pick and have an opinion on whoever you want, it doesn't matter to me, it's what wrestling is all about, love this guy, hate this guy, whatever. But when I say "I love Roman Reigns", and I get blasted on Twitter saying "What the hell's wrong with you? You're a corporate shill!" swearing at me and "F! you!" and this, that and the other thing, blah blah blah. It's not being a corporate shill if I have an opinion, okay, and like I said, when I said a couple of weeks ago that if fans don't share my opinion, they can shut the hell up, I didn't mean "Don't have an opinion", I meant "Don't cry to me about it!" I like Roman Reigns, I thought the main event last night was amazing, I thought that Reigns more than held his own, Reigns and Lesnar had a hell of a match.
But, to me, when you say that I'm only a corporate shill because I like Roman Reigns, that's Bullshit. But, what really got me, is watching the Hall of Fame ceremony. And it's this very prestigious, very cool ceremony. You know, you try and train and work your ass off your whole life and hopefully, someday, you would be put into the Hall of Fame. And I know people say "Oh, it's all a work!" but aren't they all a work? The Baseball Hall of Fame's a work, someone has to vote these guys in, and in the WWE, Vince votes these guys in, and he takes a lot of advice from his right hand men, from his court. But to get into the Hall of Fame is a very cool thing, not just ANYBODY gets in there. I mean, look at Randy Savage, it took him 15 years to get in whatever the reason was, and you can go back and listen to Lanny Poffo on TIJ and listen to some of the issues that Vince and Randy Savage had. Or whether it was Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Bret Hart or all these other guys, that should be in the Hall of Fame and are finally getting in there, after years and years and years. You know, it's like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the fact that Deep Purple's not in it is bullshit, and obviously there's some politics against them going in there, and when Green Day's first year and they're voted in there, there's politics working to get them in there.
My point is, the WWE Hall of Fame is legit, it's a legit ceremony. And I'm watching this, and some of the guys are getting cat-called. And some of the guys are getting the "What?" chant, and that really made me mad. As a matter of fact, I went on Twitter and said "F! off" to all the A-Holes that think it's cool to do that What Chant. You know, you don't deserve to be there. And there were actually people who were standing up for those guys, saying "Listen, we pay our money! We pay your salary! We can do whatever we want!" and I say "Absolutely not!" okay? Let's say you went to a Broadway Play, let's say you want to see "Jersey Boys". And you buy your ticket, and so, half way through the show, and they're singing "Sheri", you stand up and you start yelling "BORING! BORING! BORING!" or "End this show! End this show!" or every time one of the guys said a line, you say "What?! What?! What?!" you know, or someone flubs up "You F'd up! You F'd up!" you do not! You do not have the right to do that. Because if you went to a broadway play and if you stood up and interrupted the show, guess what would happen, you would be kicked out, and the other fans and the other people there would tell you to shut the hell up. Okay? If you go to the an NHL Hall of Fame ceremony, of an NBA Hall of Fame ceremony, or NFL Hall of Fame ceremony, and you start cat-calling the guys who have given their blood, sweat and tears to the business, you will be kicked out, and it shows disrespect. You do not have the right to do and say whatever you want at a Hall of Fame ceremony! Because it's a prestigious ceremony, it's a respectful ceremony, and don't tell me that I'm not right about this, because I don't care, if you don't believe this, then you don't deserve to be at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Because people have DIED for this business! They have DIED because of this business, my friends have DIED in this business, Blood, Sweat, Tears, Wheelchairs, Paralyzed for life, Mental issues, Head Trauma. Don't tell me, that every single person who is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame is not worthy! And do NOT tell me that they don't deserve your respect, for getting this prestigious award and to go on stage and to say a few words and have been given the courtesy to say what they have to say, without getting side-tracked by a couple of morons who think it's funny to go and disrupt the ceremonies. And, like I've said, people have been making fun of it, and if you think you can make a point with me about it, you can't. Because I'll tell you what, and I'm not joking, if the day comes when I'm inducted into the Hall of Fame, and some son of a bitch is trying to steal the show, steal my thunder, I will walk to your seat, and I will slap you in your face! That's how much I believe in this.
The Bushwackers, somebody was saying "Why do they get into the Hall of Fame? They never won the Tag Team Titles!" What's wrong with you, you stupid mark? It's not about that! You see Butch, walking on cains to get to that stage, and STILL putting on a show for YOU? Getting that one last chance to be in front of a sold out crowd, and get the respect he deserves and get the one last cheer for all the hard work he's done, all the time he was away from his family, all the birthdays he missed, all the parties he missed, all the holidays he missed, all the school plays he missed! That is what a Hall of Famer is!
Arnold Schwarzenegger? "What did Arnold Schwarzenegger do get in the WWE Hall of Fame?!" You are missing the point! Yeah, he did three or four appearances on TV, but he is a wrestling fan! He stands up for wrestling! He talks about wrestling, he loves this sport! And if you don't respect Arnold Schwarzenegger for what he's done, Arnold should be in every Hall of Fame ever, just for being Arnold! Bodybuilding? "What did Arnold Schwarzenegger do get in the WWE Hall of Fame?!" What about inspiring everybody who ever picked up a weight?! "What did Arnold Schwarzenegger do get in the WWE Hall of Fame?!" Oh, I don't know, what about Terminator, or Total Recall, or True Lies? Or Commando? Or any other movies we watched growing up and thinking "I want to do that!" I wanna be like that! I wanna look like that! I wanna play a character! I wanna live out my dream, and that's what WWE SuperStars do!
So, everybody that got inducted into the Hall of Fame, absolutely deserved it, and if you don't think so, you shut your mouth, you listen to the speech, you cheer for them, and you enjoy being part of something special. Okay? Because the WWE Hall of Fame is very special, it's a once in a year thing that people who have worked their whole lives want to get in, and if you think you have the right to chant "What?!" or chant "Boring", or cat-call the father of a child who died from cancer, who was a huge wrestling fan, then you need to get out, and don't ever come back to a WWE event. As a matter of fact, if you're one of those people right now who are gonna disagree with me, you're banned from listening to this podcast, you got it? You're banned, you're banned! I love wrestling, I love being a wrestling fan, I love the WWE, I love NJPW, I love TNA, I love Ring of Honour, ECW SMW, WCW, frickin' WFWA ran by Tony Candello in Winnipeg, Canada. I am a wrestling fan, I respect the wrestling business. And if anybody disrespects them because they think they deserve it, because they bought a ticket, you can come face-to-face, come face to face with me, and listen to the dress down that I give you. Now, if this is a wrestling show, you buy a ticket and you can say whatever you want, trust me, I've heard it all as a heel and as a babyface. God bless you man, you say whatever you want, you have the right. You got to a Hall of Fame? It's real, and you show respect. Because those people deserve your respect, and if you don't wanna give it to them? You wanna steal the show and be the jackass of the night? You don't deserve to be there, and I will stand by that to my dying day, and if that makes me a company shill, then I'm a company shill, dammit!"
Cliffs:
- Jericho likes Roman Reigns, just because you don't, don't bitch about it to him and say he's a company shill
- People who shout out at the Hall of Fame are disrespectful
- Everyone who has gone into the WWE Hall of Fame deserve it, regardless if you think they do or not
- The Hall of Fame is a legit ceremony, treat it with some respect, because that is someone's moment that you're ruining
- Just because you "paid for a ticket", doesn't give you the right to make it all about yourself
- If you're at a wrestling show, do whatever you want, at the Hall of Fame, be respectful.
"...and I did say that I loved the show, I said it was one of my favourite WrestleManias ever, and this is gonna start off a bit of a rant which might piss some people off, but I don't care, I've had enough.
A lot of people are saying that "Jericho's become a corporate shill for the WWE". Let me say this, I don't work for WWE, I don't have any contract with WWE, I'm just a wrestling fan, and I calls 'em like I sees 'em. And I'm telling you right now, you can choose and pick and have an opinion on whoever you want, it doesn't matter to me, it's what wrestling is all about, love this guy, hate this guy, whatever. But when I say "I love Roman Reigns", and I get blasted on Twitter saying "What the hell's wrong with you? You're a corporate shill!" swearing at me and "F! you!" and this, that and the other thing, blah blah blah. It's not being a corporate shill if I have an opinion, okay, and like I said, when I said a couple of weeks ago that if fans don't share my opinion, they can shut the hell up, I didn't mean "Don't have an opinion", I meant "Don't cry to me about it!" I like Roman Reigns, I thought the main event last night was amazing, I thought that Reigns more than held his own, Reigns and Lesnar had a hell of a match.
But, to me, when you say that I'm only a corporate shill because I like Roman Reigns, that's Bullshit. But, what really got me, is watching the Hall of Fame ceremony. And it's this very prestigious, very cool ceremony. You know, you try and train and work your ass off your whole life and hopefully, someday, you would be put into the Hall of Fame. And I know people say "Oh, it's all a work!" but aren't they all a work? The Baseball Hall of Fame's a work, someone has to vote these guys in, and in the WWE, Vince votes these guys in, and he takes a lot of advice from his right hand men, from his court. But to get into the Hall of Fame is a very cool thing, not just ANYBODY gets in there. I mean, look at Randy Savage, it took him 15 years to get in whatever the reason was, and you can go back and listen to Lanny Poffo on TIJ and listen to some of the issues that Vince and Randy Savage had. Or whether it was Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Bret Hart or all these other guys, that should be in the Hall of Fame and are finally getting in there, after years and years and years. You know, it's like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the fact that Deep Purple's not in it is bullshit, and obviously there's some politics against them going in there, and when Green Day's first year and they're voted in there, there's politics working to get them in there.
My point is, the WWE Hall of Fame is legit, it's a legit ceremony. And I'm watching this, and some of the guys are getting cat-called. And some of the guys are getting the "What?" chant, and that really made me mad. As a matter of fact, I went on Twitter and said "F! off" to all the A-Holes that think it's cool to do that What Chant. You know, you don't deserve to be there. And there were actually people who were standing up for those guys, saying "Listen, we pay our money! We pay your salary! We can do whatever we want!" and I say "Absolutely not!" okay? Let's say you went to a Broadway Play, let's say you want to see "Jersey Boys". And you buy your ticket, and so, half way through the show, and they're singing "Sheri", you stand up and you start yelling "BORING! BORING! BORING!" or "End this show! End this show!" or every time one of the guys said a line, you say "What?! What?! What?!" you know, or someone flubs up "You F'd up! You F'd up!" you do not! You do not have the right to do that. Because if you went to a broadway play and if you stood up and interrupted the show, guess what would happen, you would be kicked out, and the other fans and the other people there would tell you to shut the hell up. Okay? If you go to the an NHL Hall of Fame ceremony, of an NBA Hall of Fame ceremony, or NFL Hall of Fame ceremony, and you start cat-calling the guys who have given their blood, sweat and tears to the business, you will be kicked out, and it shows disrespect. You do not have the right to do and say whatever you want at a Hall of Fame ceremony! Because it's a prestigious ceremony, it's a respectful ceremony, and don't tell me that I'm not right about this, because I don't care, if you don't believe this, then you don't deserve to be at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Because people have DIED for this business! They have DIED because of this business, my friends have DIED in this business, Blood, Sweat, Tears, Wheelchairs, Paralyzed for life, Mental issues, Head Trauma. Don't tell me, that every single person who is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame is not worthy! And do NOT tell me that they don't deserve your respect, for getting this prestigious award and to go on stage and to say a few words and have been given the courtesy to say what they have to say, without getting side-tracked by a couple of morons who think it's funny to go and disrupt the ceremonies. And, like I've said, people have been making fun of it, and if you think you can make a point with me about it, you can't. Because I'll tell you what, and I'm not joking, if the day comes when I'm inducted into the Hall of Fame, and some son of a bitch is trying to steal the show, steal my thunder, I will walk to your seat, and I will slap you in your face! That's how much I believe in this.
The Bushwackers, somebody was saying "Why do they get into the Hall of Fame? They never won the Tag Team Titles!" What's wrong with you, you stupid mark? It's not about that! You see Butch, walking on cains to get to that stage, and STILL putting on a show for YOU? Getting that one last chance to be in front of a sold out crowd, and get the respect he deserves and get the one last cheer for all the hard work he's done, all the time he was away from his family, all the birthdays he missed, all the parties he missed, all the holidays he missed, all the school plays he missed! That is what a Hall of Famer is!
Arnold Schwarzenegger? "What did Arnold Schwarzenegger do get in the WWE Hall of Fame?!" You are missing the point! Yeah, he did three or four appearances on TV, but he is a wrestling fan! He stands up for wrestling! He talks about wrestling, he loves this sport! And if you don't respect Arnold Schwarzenegger for what he's done, Arnold should be in every Hall of Fame ever, just for being Arnold! Bodybuilding? "What did Arnold Schwarzenegger do get in the WWE Hall of Fame?!" What about inspiring everybody who ever picked up a weight?! "What did Arnold Schwarzenegger do get in the WWE Hall of Fame?!" Oh, I don't know, what about Terminator, or Total Recall, or True Lies? Or Commando? Or any other movies we watched growing up and thinking "I want to do that!" I wanna be like that! I wanna look like that! I wanna play a character! I wanna live out my dream, and that's what WWE SuperStars do!
So, everybody that got inducted into the Hall of Fame, absolutely deserved it, and if you don't think so, you shut your mouth, you listen to the speech, you cheer for them, and you enjoy being part of something special. Okay? Because the WWE Hall of Fame is very special, it's a once in a year thing that people who have worked their whole lives want to get in, and if you think you have the right to chant "What?!" or chant "Boring", or cat-call the father of a child who died from cancer, who was a huge wrestling fan, then you need to get out, and don't ever come back to a WWE event. As a matter of fact, if you're one of those people right now who are gonna disagree with me, you're banned from listening to this podcast, you got it? You're banned, you're banned! I love wrestling, I love being a wrestling fan, I love the WWE, I love NJPW, I love TNA, I love Ring of Honour, ECW SMW, WCW, frickin' WFWA ran by Tony Candello in Winnipeg, Canada. I am a wrestling fan, I respect the wrestling business. And if anybody disrespects them because they think they deserve it, because they bought a ticket, you can come face-to-face, come face to face with me, and listen to the dress down that I give you. Now, if this is a wrestling show, you buy a ticket and you can say whatever you want, trust me, I've heard it all as a heel and as a babyface. God bless you man, you say whatever you want, you have the right. You got to a Hall of Fame? It's real, and you show respect. Because those people deserve your respect, and if you don't wanna give it to them? You wanna steal the show and be the jackass of the night? You don't deserve to be there, and I will stand by that to my dying day, and if that makes me a company shill, then I'm a company shill, dammit!"
Cliffs:
- Jericho likes Roman Reigns, just because you don't, don't bitch about it to him and say he's a company shill
- People who shout out at the Hall of Fame are disrespectful
- Everyone who has gone into the WWE Hall of Fame deserve it, regardless if you think they do or not
- The Hall of Fame is a legit ceremony, treat it with some respect, because that is someone's moment that you're ruining
- Just because you "paid for a ticket", doesn't give you the right to make it all about yourself
- If you're at a wrestling show, do whatever you want, at the Hall of Fame, be respectful.
