Ozzy Osbourne, William Shatner to Join WWE Wrestling Hall of Fame
The WWE will induct Ozzy Osbourne and William Shatner into its Wrestling Hall of Fame, according to Wrestling Observer. Osbourne submitted an acceptance video for a ceremony, which took place last week, and airs Tuesday night on Peacock at 8 p.m. ET.
The former Black Sabbath singer made his debut at WrestleMania 2 in 1986, when he and Captain Lou Albano supported the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) in a tag-team match against the Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake). Davey Boy Smith is reportedly another inductee in this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony. More recently, Osbourne performed live at a 2007 SmackDown event and he and his wife Sharon guest-hosted an episode of WWE Raw in 2009.
Shatner was a WWE Raw guest host twice in 1995 when he was part of Jerry “The King” Lawler’s “King’s Court,” and another time in 2010. In 2007, he boldly went to the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony to induct Lawler. And in 2015, he narrated a 10-part WWE Network documentary called WWE Breaking Ground.
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Wrestling Observer reports that the other inductees this year will include JBL, Jushin Liger, the nWo, the Bella Twins, Titus O’Neil, Molly Holly, Eric Bischoff, Rob Van Dam, Kane, and the Great Khali.
Wrestling is not all that Osbourne and Shatner have in common. In 2011, Shatner recorded a tongue-in-cheek cover of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” The track stretches out six-and-a-half minutes — half a minute longer than the original — and it features guitar by longtime Osbourne sideman Zakk Wylde and bass by former Osbourne band member Mike Inez, who now plays in Alice in Chains.
“As I began to listen with enthusiasm to rock & roll, this sound called ‘heavy metal’ began to intrude, and the thought was, ‘this is the next level of dissent,’” Shatner told Metal Hammer (via Blabbermouth) of his connection to the genre. “And now, having done some of the heavy metal songs, I realize what it’s all about, which is the energy, the passion, and I’m slowly evolving my musical taste, as a result of the work I’m doing.”
