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During WWE WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia — the holy ground of ECW — "The Wiseman" Paul Heyman graciously accepted his Hall of Fame induction with a speech enshrining his old company's influence on the world of professional wrestling. "Paul E" entered the building to his old ECW theme and was greeted by legendary hardcore alumni such as Tommy Dreamer, Bubba Ray Dudley, and Rob Van Dam — undoubtedly making this moment special. Speaking on "1 Of A Kind With RVD," Van Dam gave his thoughts on Heyman's extreme Hall of Fame induction and speech. In classic RVD fashion, he referred to the speech as "cool" and was impressed by its impact.
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"Paul's speech was awesome. I would like to hear it again, go back and listen to it all because the following couple of days at WrestleCon and around Philly I was learning how much it impacted all the fans. They were really engaged, and they rated it one of the best speeches that they've ever heard," he said.
The former WWE Champion recalled being immersed in the moment of Heyman's story and performance — such as bringing out his old ECW hat, jacket, and cell phone. While RVD said that he thoroughly enjoyed the 2024 Hall of Fame ceremony — relishing the chants he received from the fans — he was still understandably disappointed about his own HOF induction in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, "It sucked, it sucked doing it in front of an empty arena."
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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "1 Of A Kind With RVD" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
