HOLD ON A MINUTE, PLAYA. We’ve seen a lot of rumblings and rumors about the names that will join Kurt Angle in the WWE Hall of Fame class this year, but following last week’s announcement of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express being inducted, it’s starting to seem like we might have been worked.
WWE.com announced via their mobile app on Monday afternoon that the latest name to be inducted when WrestleMania weekend hits Orlando in late March is none other than Theodore “Teddy” Long, longtime manager, referee, and embattled general manager.
Long (real name actually Theodore Long!) got his start in the wrestling business in Jim Crockett Promotions, working as a member of the ring crew before making his refereeing debut in 1985. He eventually moved into a managerial role and under his tutelage, he led the Doom team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed to the WCW World Tag Team Championship. During his time in WCW and JCP, he managed an absolute slew of wrestlers, including One Man Gang, The Skyscrapers, Johnny B. Badd and 2 Cold Scorpio.
Long moved to WWE in 1998 and worked as a referee for years, once again becoming a manager in the early 2000s and perhaps most notably representing Rodney Mack and Chris Nowinski.
But it is his stint as Smackdown General Manager that modern-day fans likely recall best, as his penchant for requesting various players hold up a minute so he can put people into tag team matches has become a legendary meme and in-joke among fans of all stripes.
Here are some of Teddy Long’s most available moments on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCg1Qj9v9FM
