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WWE Hall of Fame 2026 Reaction, Highlights from Stephanie McMahon, AJ Styles and All Speeches
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony prior to WrestleMania 42.
Saturday and Sunday may be when the action takes place, but Friday's ceremony was also a highly anticipated event.
After losing to Gunther at The Royal Rumble and being forced to retire, AJ Styles was immediately informed of his impending induction into the HOF. Here's a list of this year's inductees.
Let's take a look at how the night went.
The Ceremony Begins
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The Undertaker narrated the opening video package looking at the Hall of Fame inductees this year. Michael Cole and The Miz welcomed us to the ceremony when it officially kicked off.
Cole put over The Miz's win over John Cena at WrestleMania 27, and he also put over his own undefeated streak with one win over Jerry Lawler in a humorous way.
This will be the 25th WrestleMania for Cole on the announce team, and The Miz talked about his dedication and thanked him on behalf of everyone who has ever had a match called by him.
Cole introduced Stephanie McMahon as the first inductee and said he wouldn't be in WWE without her. This was a good intro to the show. It wasn't overly long but still allowed Cole and The Miz to have some fun and celebrate each other.
Stephanie McMahon
2 of 8The video package for Steph showed some of her most brutal slaps among many other moments. Several Superstars recalled how hard she hit them over the years.
She was credited in the video with helping to lead the change in how women are booked in WWE. A lot of men and women spoke in the video about her presence backstage and how she has helped over the years.
Stephanie's mom, Linda, and three daughters were the ones who came out to officially induct her. Each of them spoke a little about Steph's success in the business and what she means to each of them.
Her daughters spoke about how much they admire their mom both as a businesswoman and as a mother. They put over her work with cancer charities and how much work she put into the Women's Revolution in WWE.
Each daughter shared unique memories about Stephanie as a mother, and you could see Triple H getting a little emotional in the crowd. Linda told a few stories about raising her before Stephanie came out to give her speech.
We aren't going to have four people giving speeches for each inductee, but this definitely went on longer than necessary. It was almost 40 minutes into the show before Stephanie finally came out to be the first inductee.
Steph said she and Triple H were devastated when they found out they might not be able to have kids, but thanks to modern medicine, they were able to have three remarkable daughters. She said she will always fight for Aurora, Murphy and Vaughn.
Stephanie put over each daughter for different accomplishments, including one of them pooping on their head of security as a baby in a funny moment.
She talked about growing up in the business and having people like Ric Flair and Mr. T around as a child. She told a story about going to dinner with Andre the Giant when she was 14 and how funny he was.
A short video aired about Connor's Cure and pointed out one of the children from the video in the front row. She said he wasn't expected to live past a year old and is about to celebrate his 16th birthday. It was a sweet moment and the crowd chanted his name for a few seconds.
She thanked the WWE fans for everything, including all of the mean things they have chanted at her over the years. She also thanked everyone who works for WWE from top to bottom.
She credited her mother-in-law for teaching her how to slap people. She rattled off several names of WWE stars who have been important to her in different ways before ending by talking about her husband.
Stephanie covered a lot of ground with her speech, and since she has usually been a heel, she channeled that side of her to cut a quick promo about deserving to be in the HOF.
Bad News Brown
3 of 8Cole and The Miz were back out to talk about Bad News Brown being a legacy inductee in this year's HOF class.
The video that played highlighted some of his biggest moments, and it also discussed his bronze medal at the Olympics prior to joining WWE.
His family was shown in the audience and the crowd stood up to show its respect.
Demolition
4 of 8The Miz and Cole talked about the importance of tag team wrestling before the video played for Demolition's induction. Several WWE Superstars talked about the group being one of their favorite teams of all time.
Haku, Arn Anderson and Warlord were brought out to induct Ax and Smash. On an unrelated note, if you have never seen the clip of Haku being shown The Shockmaster's debut for the first time, seek it out. It's hilarious.
When Warlord mentioned Demolition being three-time champions, every mention of the letters WWF was censored. The three of them didn't take up too much time, which was a good thing after Steph's portion of the show took up an entire hour.
Ax and Smash came out to a big reaction and had huge smiles on their faces as they soaked it in. Barry Darsow (Smash) spoke first. He talked about being shown the concept for the character and jumping in headfirst.
He also brought up Brian Adams (Crush) and put him over as another great partner. Darsow pointed out his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandkids in the audience.
Bill Eadie (Ax) said he never thought this day would come, but it's a great honor to be inducted. They joked about doing a run-in at 'Mania, and Eadie said it would be a walk-in for him because he is much older than Darsow.
He also pointed out his entire family in the crowd and spoke about his faith. They managed to get through everything in just under half an hour.
Dennis Rodman
5 of 8The Miz and Cole talked about the history of celebrities coming into the world of wrestling before the video package aired for Dennis Rodman's induction.
Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman came out to induct Rodman, but Nash apparently lost his voice somehow, so he said he wouldn't take up too much time. He talked about Rodman joining the New World Order.
Waltman was similarly brief before bringing out The Worm to accept his induction. He called pro wrestling his second home and got a little emotional.
He had to take a moment to stop himself from crying as he talked about what his time in WCW meant to him and how he misses Hulk Hogan.
He asked why it took so long to make the statue of Hogan and thanked the crowd for welcoming him into the Hall of Fame. This was shorter than expected, but that is not a bad thing.
WWE Immortal Moment
6 of 8Cole and Miz introduced the video to induct the Hogan vs. Andre match from WrestleMania 3 as the Immortal Moment.
Nick Hogan, Jimmy Hart and Andre's daughter, Robin, came out to talk about the importance of Hogan vs. Andre.
They admired a special sculpture made to represent the match. This was short and sweet.
Sid Vicious
7 of 8The second Legacy inductee of the night was Sid Vicious. WWE's video package highlights his larger-than-life personality, impressive physique and long career in the business.
His family was shown sitting in the crowd, and his son did some of his signature poses.
AJ Styles
8 of 8The final inductee of the evening was none other than AJ Styles. There was a small technical issue that caused the screen to be blank for a minute. When the show came back, we were already part of the way through the video package.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were brought out to induct their longtime friend. They said that Styles has had so many legendary opponents that he could have had his pick of anyone to induct him, so it meant a lot for them to be chosen.
Anderson spoke about watching Styles giving a young indie star some advice about learning how to throw a proper forearm. They kept their speech short and welcomed The Phenomenal One to the stage.
Styles said he might get a little emotional tonight, especially since he just retired recently. He has been asked many times already if he misses wrestling, and the crowd chanted, "One more match."
He said he misses parts of the business, but he doesn't miss wrestling because he is lucky enough to go home to his family every night now.
He said he has a lot of people he needs to thank, so he thanked them all at once. He thanked every promoter who booked him and every talent he had ever wrestled. He also said he meant it every time he has ever said he loved someone.
He said he was in the right time at the right place with the right people watching and feels blessed to have had the career he's had.
Styles didn't overstay his welcome and thanked everyone before his music hit. His speech was just about the perfect length. He said everything he needed to say.
The show wrapped up with The Miz and Cole wishing everyone a good night.
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