Honky Tonk Man Confirmed For WWE Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2019
Cool, Cocky, Bad.
Wayne 'Honky Tonk Man' Farris will enter the WWE Hall Of Fame this year, just over three decades after concluding one of the most iconic runs as Intercontinental Champion in company history.
Via CBS Sports, WWE confirmed the story ahead of Tuesday's SmackDown Live, with tributes paid by all the usual company higher ups online ahead of comments from Farris himself. He'd turned down an offer to enter in 2010, but appeared grateful for the second chance this year.
Speaking to CBS 'State Of Combat' podcast, he said; "WWE is the place to be. It's the place that if I'm ready to finish up, that's where I want to be. It's home for me because I have so many fond memories of everything that has been accomplished by WWE and from what I've accomplished myself. It wasn't me alone, it was a huge team effort. That is what's amazing and what is so great about being part of the WWE. The door is open to you and it's up to you if you want to walk through it. I look back on everything and for some unknown reason, everything has a meaning. The timing, everything about this year in the 2019 Hall of Fame, everything was lining up perfectly. I never dreamed it was going to happen and would tell people that it's something I don't think about every day of my life. But to be able to be part of this, it's hard to explain."
A 454-day reign with the secondary strap remains the longest stint in the title's history, and reflects how profitable his heat-seeking Elvis Presley impersonator schtick was with crowds at the time. Honky went all in with the persona, willingly presenting himself as a fluke artist from the moment he shockingly dethroned Ricky Steamboat in 1987. After over a year dodging defeats and blowing up box offices around the country, his iconic loss to the Ultimate Warrior was one of the highlights of the inaugural SummerSlam and did much for the future WWE Champion's trajectory.