The Honky Tonk Man On The WWE Hall Of Fame Not Being A Real HOF, Last Interaction With Hulk Hogan
Andy Malnoske of Wrestling Inc. recently interviewed former WWE Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man. During the interview, Honky discussed the possibility of him entering the WWE Hall of Fame.
The Honky Tonk Man holds the record for longest Intercontinental Championship reign in WWE history. He has been critical of the Hall of Fame in the past and said an induction is not something he's pining for. He said he thinks it's not as significant as other professional sports.
"The Hall of Fame, if it comes, it comes. It's not something I pander for or I wait on. I've been critical of the Hall of Fame and some of the things they've done and how they do it. To the fans, I know that you're gonna say I'm bitter, I'm hateful and all those things, but I'm not. It's a TV show right now, it's not a Hall of Fame," Honky said. "It's not like you get a big $35,000 diamond ring like you see the Super Bowl guys wear... If you're gonna do it, make it that kind of a thing. Don't have the gimmicks go out and be the gimmick on TV. If they ask me to go out and say we want you to wear a jumpsuit I would just say, 'If that's what you want me to do, forget about it,' because I'm not that character anymore. If you want me to be that character, put me on TV, give me a contract, use me full-time and I'll do that."
Honky also revealed who taught him how to play guitar. He relied on a trademark riff throughout his career and he said it was Hulk Hogan who helped him improve his music skills.
"Hogan was the one who told me, because I knew I needed something other than 'clank, clank, clank,' he said try this, because he was a bass player," Honky explained. "He said do this and showed me where to put my hand."
Honky said he last saw Hogan at WrestleMania 33 and the two of them enjoyed seeing each other. He also said he maintains communication with his former manager Jimmy Hart and also sees his cousin Jerry "The King" Lawler on occasion.
"I saw Hulk at WrestleMania down in Orlando, it was the first time I've seen him in ten years," Honky said. "I walked right into the store where he had his store set up down there and he looked at me and it was like, 'What's gonna happen? Is Honky Tonk Man gonna beat me up or what?' I smiled, he smiled and it was like we were like teenagers again... Jimmy and I, we talk usually about once a month, periodically we'll talk... People ask me when I see my cousin Jerry Lawler. I'll see him in Winston-Salem and I'll see him at Icons of Wrestling in Philadelphia next weekend, so we run across each other pretty frequently."