By now, no player reading this needs to hold on a minute, because they already know Teddy Long will be going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year during WrestleMania 33 weekend. “BUT WHO WILL INDUCT HIM” you may have been asking (although probably not). Well, Teddy should be very happy, because these next inductors will be A TAAAAAG TEAM MATCH.
WWE.com announced on Friday that the Acolyte Protection Agency themselves (uh … itself?), JBL and Ron Simmons, will be doing the honors and inducting Long into the Hall. ALWAYS INDUCTING ASS.
“It’s an incredible honor,” JBL told WWE.com. “I’ve always thought that inducting someone into the WWE Hall of Fame is one of the greatest privileges you can get because it’s the honor of a lifetime for the person going in.”
JBL and Simmons’ close relationship with Long makes it all the more special. The brawlers known as The APA traveled the roads with Long and 2016 inductee, The Godfather.
“We rode thousands and thousands of miles together for years – me, Ron, Teddy and Godfather in one car,” JBL explained. “It’s real special. Ron’s in the Hall of Fame, Godfather’s in the Hall of Fame, and now Teddy is, too.
“I’m the only one left,” he joked.
Their friendship aside, JBL believes Long is one of the worthiest recipients of sports-entertainment’s ultimate honor.
“Teddy Long is a groundbreaker,” the former World Champion said. “He worked his way up from the ring crew to become the manager of one of the greatest tag teams of all time in Doom. He was a referee and became one of the most colorful general managers ever. Teddy Long has done it all. If there’s anybody deserving of going into the WWE Hall of Fame, it’s him.”
There’s really only two angles you can take with inductors, really: either get the biggest name possible who is tangentially related to the honoree, or get their absolute best friend or friends in the business to do it. When either of those fail, get The New Day. It should be a lot of fun, and we know Ron and Jables will bring their best possible road stories.
