Shawn Michaels explains why D-Generation X's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame would not be possible without the contributions of Chyna. Courtesy of WWE Network.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The men of D-Generation X are a little older. Their hair is grayer, if it’s still there at all. They need glasses to get through their notes. And they’re down one trailblazer in “The Ninth Wonder of the World,” Chyna, who passed away in 2016. But just because they’ve grown old, does not mean they’ve gone so far as to grow up.
The raucous induction of the counter-culture icons — represented by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws, with Chyna included as a posthumous inductee — was as much an exercise in genial rule breaking as their in-ring heyday was. They weren’t supposed to thank a certain man behind the curtain, or even mention his name. They did that. They were supposed to refrain from crossing the PG line. They did that. True to form, they went into the ceremony with a set of rules to follow. They broke them all.
But their induction was also an opportunity for the legendary hellions to thank the people in their lives — wives, family and God, mainly — who brought almost all of them all back from the brink, and they certainly took that ball and ran with it as well. Road Dogg was the most passionate, Billy Gunn the most emotional, and X-Pac the most detailed, with a literal list of people to credit not just for his success but for his life. They also did not spare any expense when it came to thanking Chyna, credited as the “biggest and best trailblazer” in the history of the industry, “probably the most impactful woman to ever set foot in this ring,” and someone without whom WrestleMania would not be ending in a women’s main event. “She’s here,” Triple H said to Chyna’s sister in the audience. “The real her. And believe me, the real her would love this.” (X-Pac pointedly suggested renaming the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal as the Chyna Memorial Battle Royal; the crowd in attendance did not disagree with the idea.)
That said, DX also had some restitution to tend to. As Shawn Michaels said in a strangled voice, they were responsible for corrupting an entire generation. (A hearty cheer went up when Triple H asked how many people got in trouble for imitating the group in school.) So, out came the infamous podium, and one by one the members of DX attempted to take their turn apologizing. Instead, they resurrected the old catchphrases, one after another, and ended the evening with the infamous two words and a Super Soaker shower to anyone close enough to get caught. No, there will be no apology. There never could be. And their induction couldn’t have ended any other way. It would have been an insult to the thousands in attendance, the millions around the world, those who were there, and those who were not.
