Theodore R. Long did plenty throughout his career, but he never expected it would pay off with an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Long was inducted by Ron Simmons and John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield as part of the 2017 class during WrestleMania 33 weekend.
While best known for his tenure as SmackDown General Manager, Long has also worked as a referee, manager, and occasional wrestler.
Speaking on Mailbag Monday, Long discussed why he was taken aback when he received the call to be inducted. He said,
“I thought the Hall Of Fame was for wrestlers, guys that take bumps and you know what I mean, put their bodies on the line.
“I thought those guys deserved it because they put in a lot of hard work on their bodies each and every night. So, for me to get that it was just a surprise to me.”
Long appeared on this week’s RAW is XXX show, and made a six-man tag-team match pitting Imperium against the Street Profits and Seth Rollins.