* CLASS OF 2005 HALL OF FAME
INDUCTIONS *
Esther Boyer Theater @
We return from
commercial back at the Esther Boyer Theater at the
Cade: Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the 2005
Progressive Entertainment Hall of Fame inductions. The three individuals
that will be enshrined tonight have defined perfection and excellence through
the years in this company and its predecessors. Three
individuals whose courage has inspired us all, in the ring and out.
Without any further adieu, let's get to our first inductee. A superstar
for CAW from 1998 to 2001, the owner of FSW from 2001 to 2002, and the owner of
PWA since its inception, Bryan Conroy has been synonymous with the letters
"PWA." Before he became the recognizable owner of the PWA,
Bryan Conroy was one of the world's best wrestlers, and was the
first man to become a five-time CAW Champion. Along with reigns as
CAW Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion, Conroy was truly one of the
all-time greats. Let's now take a look back at the amazing career of Bryan
Conroy.
A video package then airs, set to “Daylight” by Coldplay, highlighting the magnificent career of Bryan
Conroy, focusing on his wrestling days in CAW, and memorable highlights as
owner of both FSW and the PWA. As the
package concludes, “Arcarsenal” by At The Drive-In hits the speakers and the fans give a sizeable
ovation to The Miracle Mike Troha, who is all smiles as he approaches the
podium.
Troha: I’m out here tonight to do
something that, quite frankly, I never thought I’d be doing. Although he’s my cousin, Bryan Conroy and I
have only gotten along on select occasions.
However, one thing there has always been there is respect. I’ve always respected Bryan Conroy because he
was able to do things in this business that other people simply could not even
dream of doing. I respect Bryan Conroy
because he got me started in this business.
He got me a chance in CAW back in 2000 when no one else would give me a
second look. Everything that’s happened
between us since then notwithstanding, I owe the start of my career in this
company and its predecessors to my cousin, and for that I thank him. Tonight, the highest honor in this business
is bestowed upon him when he is inducted into the Progressive Entertainment
Hall of Fame. I’m proud to be the man
inducting him in. Without any further
adieu, I’d like to bring him out. Ladies
and gentlemen, please welcome into the Progressive Entertainment Hall of Fame,
the owner of the PWA and my cousin, Bryan Conroy!
The fans in attendance applaud respectfully as Conroy comes out from the
backstage area onto the stage. He shakes
Troha’s hand and accepts his plaque as he takes the
podium.
Conroy: Thank you. Thank you all so much. You know, it’s been a wild ride, my wrestling
career. To have accomplished all the
things that I have accomplished in my career, looking back, it’s
astounding. I started in this business
roughly 25 years ago working the independents, not really sure what I wanted to
do in the long term. I was wrestling on
weekends, while working during the week to get first my college degree, and
then my master’s degree. It was a tough
road. I was basically at a point where I
could have taken my life in a multitude of directions, but I chose to stick
with wrestling. Call me an idiot, call
me crazy, but I had a love and a passion for this business that was second to
none. Looking back, I’m glad I made that
decision, and I’m also glad that I continued my education to the point that
when it’s time for this wild ride to be over, I have an endless number of
options to look at. Hey, I’ll face the
very real possibility that it could all be over on Saturday night. If I lose to Kerry Cox, and he takes control
of the PWA, I’m really not sure if I’d have a role. That would be his decision to make. Frankly, he’s not going to get the chance to
make that decision, but that’s beside the point. It’s been so many years since I got my first
big break, and it’s really funny looking back at everything. I never imagined that I’d reach the level of
success that I did. I toiled in the
northeast independent scene for a long time, many years. I basically spent the entire decade of the
1980s struggling to find a break, unsuccessfully. It wasn’t until the early 90s when I hit the
Conroy
then takes his plaque and returns to his seat, met with the cheers of the
Esther Boyer Theater as we take a commercial break.
- COMMERCIAL BREAK -
Back from
commercial, we join Nick Cade and Rick Madsen at the podium.
Madsen: Our next inductee is one that we wish we weren’t inducting
right now. Not that she’s
not deserving, of course. But
with a debut in the PWA in early 2003, this amazing woman would not have
qualified for an induction for a couple more years. However, tragically, this courageous woman lost
her battle with a rare form of cancer last October, prompting the process to be
sped up. Tonight, although she doesn’t
qualify for full induction quite yet, we add the late, great three-time Women’s
Champion Allison Kelly to the Progressive Entertainment Hall of Fame as an
honorary inductee. We honor her for the
battles she waged, in the ring and out, and for her fighting spirit, for all
she meant to this company, and all she meant to so many throughout her short
life. Ladies and gentlemen, please take
a look at this video package, chronicling the life, career, and times of Allison
Kelly.
A video package then airs, set to “Breathe Me” by Sia,
showing still-framed shots and highlights of the too-short career of Allison
Kelly. The package is more of a
chronicling of her life than a chronicling of her wrestling career, and elicits
an emotional reaction from many in the audience. As the package concludes, the song continues
to play and Vulture takes the stage to an ovation, without his own entrance
music, appearing to be totally out of character. His sunglasses are off, his Kangol is off, and he takes the podium.
Vulture: After seeing that video,
there’s not a whole lot left that words can really express. Allison Kelly was a bright light that
illuminated this dark world for the 21 years she was on it,
and it hurts every day that she’s not here.
Not too many people in that locker room had the opportunity to know
Allison Kelly the way people like myself and Jason Calysto did. But for those who did, the loss stings even
more. There was no way you could have
known Allison Kelly and not absolutely loved her. She was impossible to dislike. Always had a bright, warm smile for you,
always outgoing, always friendly, always willing to
talk to you about anything. She was a
great friend. I myself only knew her for
two years, and didn’t know her extraordinarily well, but Allison was so
inviting, and so accessible that you felt like you knew her your entire
life. Professionally, Allison Kelly was
the greatest Women’s Champion of all time, bar none. There might have been a few that have
accomplished more, a few with deeper resumes, but Allison Kelly dominated the
women’s division in this company at a time when the division was at its peak of
competition. She beat Jade. She beat Magnifica. She handed Lauren Tantalus her first
loss. She beat Kayne. She beat Camieko. She beat Dee Licious. She really did beat them all. It’s a shame that Allison isn’t still with us
today, because I know where she’d be.
She wouldn’t be getting inducted in the Hall of Fame right now, but
she’d have won her third straight Woman of the Year award, and no disrespect to
Keiko Ishida, but our current champion wouldn’t be undefeated. It’s a shame that we’ll never get to see
Allison tangle with Keiko, because that would have been a match for the
ages. But Allison Kelly is a Hall of Famer not just for her contributions inside the ring. Allison Kelly was the most courageous person
I ever knew. Throughout her eight-month
battle with sarcoma, she stayed positive, stayed upbeat, and kept telling
everyone she was going to beat it, that she would be back. She said it so much that, for a little while,
I actually believed her. She had that
quality. She touched the lives of
everyone that had the privilege of knowing her, and I can honest to God say
that I will never forget her as long as I live.
The PWA is better for having had her grace our rings, and I am a better
person for having known her. I would say
that I wish she could be with us on Saturday night, when we tear the world down
with Everlasting Epic IV, but I know she’ll already be there. Because she lives inside
everyone that knew her. She was
an unforgettable wrestler, and an unforgettable human being. Tonight, she takes her rightful place in the
Progressive Entertainment Hall of Fame, as of now, the first and only female
inductee. To me, there is no one more
deserving. So Allison, thank you for
everything. Thank you for your smiles,
your compassion, and everything that you did for other people, everything that
inspired others. We’ll never forget you. And on Saturday night, we all dedicate our
performances to our fallen sister.
Goodbye Allison, and thank you for the
memories.
With that, an emotional Vulture exits the stage as the fans erupt into
thunderous cheers. “Breathe Me” cues
again and the Allison Kelly video package plays on the Jumobtron. The camera slowly closes in on it, airing
parts of it again, before fading into a still picture of Allison, reading,
“Allison Kelly – 1983-2004 – Gone, But Never
Forgotten.” With that, we take another
commercial break.
-
COMMERCIAL BREAK -
Back from
commercial, Nick Cade and Rick Madsen are again at the podium.
Cade: Alright folks, we’ve inducted two superstars already tonight,
and now just one remains.
Madsen: This man’s career began more
than 25 years ago, and has taken him all throughout the United States, Canada,
Mexico, and Japan, before finally leading him to the PWA.. He retired from active competition at the end
of 2003, before accepting a post as commissioner of the PWA, a position which he
has filled for more than a year and a half.
Cade: He is a man that has commanded the
respect and admiration of his peers from the first day he set foot in a ring,
taking risks and chances that others wouldn’t dare to take. He has truly earned the name “Hardcore Icon.”
Madsen: One of the most beloved
characters in the history of the PWA, this man, no matter what his role,
constantly commands riotous cheers every time he steps into an arena. He is the personification of the word
legend. Let’s take a look back at the
illustrious career of the Hardcore Icon.
Cade: Ladies and
gentlemen, Kerry Cox.
A video package
airs, set to “Sunburn” by Muse, highlighting long and memorable career of the
Hardcore Icon Kerry Cox, stretching back to his days in
Hosemann: Thank you.
Thank you kindly for that warm reception. I must, however, take this opportunity to
officially announce my retirement to the wrestling public. I know it may not come as much of a shock at
this point, since my loss at Live From Rockefeller Center last month, but I’ve
decided to officially close the door on that chapter of my life. However, this night is not about me or my
career. We are here right now to honor
Kerry Cox and his contributions to the wrestling world. Kerry and I have gone way back. We were teammates in Georgatos
Enterprises in CAW. We feuded early in
PWA. Then we became friends again, and
even tag team partners. Then we feuded
again, in a feud that we both consider among the best in our careers. Easily the best in either
of our PWA careers. We dragged a
whole hell of a lot out of each other, and I was proud to be involved in every
one of those matches. Kerry Cox was a
true master in that ring, as he could captivate and get a crowd behind him like
none other. A combination of Terry Funk,
Mick Foley and The Sandman, Cox truly was the Hardcore
Icon. He could take it to you like no
one else. Believe me,
I know what I’m talking about. But I bet
you don’t want to hear me talk about it anymore. No, because the time has come to bring the
man out himself. Ladies and gentlemen,
the PWA’s commissioner, and soon to be full owner,
the one, the only, Hardcore Icon Kerry Cox!
The
fans then cheer wildly as a smiling Kerry Cox rises from his seat as “War
Machine” by KISS hits. Cox approaches the podium, shaking Hosemann’s hand and accepting his plaque before standing
behind the podium, ready to speak.
Cox: Wow. I still can’t believe this. First off, thank you all so so much for inducting me into the Hall of Fame. It is such a tremendous honor to be joining
the likes of Vulture, Jason Calysto, Mike Tortorici, Bryan Conroy and Allison
Kelly in this elite Hall of Fame. It is a dream come true.
When I started my career about 25 years ago, I never dreamed that it
would end with an induction into the Hall of Fame. Of course, it wasn’t something I was really
thinking about back then either, but nonetheless, this is an exceptional honor,
and one that I am not taking lightly by any stretch of the imagination. This means so much to me. And to think that I went
largely unheralded and unrecognized for most of my career. My wrestling career began in 1981 on
A
standing ovation meets Kerry Cox as “War Machine” blasts onto the
speakers. As the fans continue to cheer, the music changes to
“Butterflies and Hurricanes,” and Bryan Conroy also stands up. At the same time, an image of Allison Kelly
airs on the Jumbotron.
Madsen: Ladies and gentlemen, your Hall of Fame Class of 2005!
As Conroy and Cox wave to the
crowd, Vulture joins them on the stage, before Jason Calysto emerges from
backstage to do the same. The fans give
him a huge ovation, and then give an equally huge ovation to Mike Tortorici as
he also emerges from backstage. Vulture,
Calysto and Tortorici stand with Conroy and Cox, raising each other’s hands
underneath the image of Allison Kelly as the fans cheer loudly. With all five living members of the Hall of
Fame on stage, nestled under the image of the one departed member, Nick Cade
takes us home.
Cade: Folks, that’s it for
tonight! For Rick Madsen, I’m Nick Cade saying see you Saturday at
Everlasting Epic IV!
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