Thunderbolt looks back at accepting the honor.
One of the inductees into WWE’s 2024 Hall of Fame class is Thunderbolt Patterson. As he was doing a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest, he looked back at accepting the honor.
He stated that it was Gerald Brisco who contacted him about it. In the past, Patterson was of the mindset that he would not accept the honor if it was presented to him. He went on to chat with Brisco and Bruce Prichard and that led to him being a lock for the 2024 class.
Patterson used to tell himself that he would not step back into a wrestling ring because it took away the best years of his life.
Jerry Brisco (called me about the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame). Jerry called me. Jerry was the one who called me and he said it took him five years to get me into the Lou Thesz-Dan Gable in Waterloo, Iowa and… here I am.
It’s two steps to that. In the Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa, well, you know, they normally say that you never get any props in your hometown. Power of the living God. WWF… I worked for the old man one time, and it’s amazing because I had said that I would never take it if that was asked, and Brisco called and told me and said, ‘Bolt, don’t say a word until you hear the whole thing,’ and when I got through listening to them, Brisco and Bruce Prichard… that was the trial to just what we were talking about a few minutes ago. Deep man, it’s deep. Just thankful, because I wasn’t gonna take it. I said that I never would step in a ring again. It takes me an hour to get up there now, but I said that I never would even get up in there again because it took the best years of my life… and I’m not bitter. I was at one time, but I have nothing but love for all of the haters out there.
Alongside journalist and radio personality Scott Spears, The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston & Big E) inducted Thunderbolt into the Hall of Fame. He spoke about New Day and shared that he was pleased with what they had to say about him.
Those boys (New Day) got a lot of talent and they had to go through a lot of different things. All I’ll say, they are some real good young men that is focused and been there for a while and had to be real because we can understand the world and that business now of what people have to go through to make a living… I was very, very pleased to hear them say what they said.
Elsewhere during the signing, Patterson was asked how he feels physically at the age of 82 and here was his response:
Physically? I ache all over. I ache all over. All over man. I mean, they hit me everywhere but under the bottom of my feet. I’ve had two artificial hips.
Patterson’s Hall of Fame class included Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, Lia Maivia, Muhammad Ali and The U.S. Express (Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda).
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit K & S WrestleFest with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
