WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will induct The Undertaker as he enters the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
When it was announced that The Undertaker would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, speculation quickly turned to who would have the prestigious honour of inducting “The Deadman”. Notable possible inductors included Kane, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H, but it’s now been revealed it will instead be Vince McMahon. This will be just the third time Vince has inducted anyone into the Hall of Fame, following James Dudley in 1994 and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 2009.
The WWE Chairman revealed the news during his anticipated appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, with McAfee teasing some major news from Vince before he arrived at the studio. Though many were expecting this to be related to the expected return of either “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or Cody Rhodes, Vince McMahon’s news was still met with a rapturous ovation on social media (h/t Fightful):
“Undertaker, of course, is going to be in the Hall of Fame. I’m going to have the distinction of inducting him into the Hall of Fame. It will be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life. I like the guy. I love the guy. We’ve known each other for so many years and have been through all kinds of situations. When you live on the road like that, you have your family at home, but when you live on the road, you have to have a family on the road and people you can count on, rely on, that are loyal and trustworthy and not have to look over your shoulder.
He’s that kind of guy. He’s an extraordinary human being and one of the all-time greats in the ring. As a human being, I could talk about the character and it won’t bug me at all, in my mind I’m thinking, when I’m inducting him, ‘I know who he is.’ That’s tough when you know someone that close and you care about them so much, it’s going to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.”
Debuting with the then-World Wrestling Federation at the 1990 Survivor Series pay-per-view, The Undertaker rose to become one of the most pivotal and influential characters within the history of professional wrestling. Amassing a total of fifteen championships throughout his WWE career, the legacy of “The Phenom” needs little explanation, thus making Vince McMahon’s speech all the more enticing come April.
The 2022 Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place on Friday, 1 April at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, immediately following that night’s broadcast of SmackDown. At the time of writing, no additional inductees have been confirmed for this year’s Class.
Last year saw both the 2020 and 2021 Classes inducted into the Hall of Fame, including such names as The British Bulldog, The New World Order, Kane, Molly Holly, and Jushin “Thunder Liger”.