The Honky Tonk Man will be joining D-Generation X in the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2019. The news was broken by CBS Sports earlier today.
BREAKING: The Honky Tonk Man will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 (via @StateofCombat)https://t.co/wIF2BixHmr
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 26, 2019
Honky Tonk Man is still the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all time, with his only reign lasting 454 days before he lost it to the Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam 1989 in quick fashion. He was a staple of the then-WWF’s programming in the 1980s, always able to garner massive heat as a villainous Elvis Presley impersonator, often accompanied by his manager and now fellow WWE Hall of Famer, “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart.
Honky Tonk Man, real name Wayne Farris, told CBS Sports’ State of Combat podcast, “I look back on everything and for some unknown reason, everything has a meaning. The timing, everything about this year in the 2019 Hall of Fame, everything was lining up perfectly. I never dreamed it was going to happen and would tell people that it’s something I don’t think about every day of my life. But to be able to be part of this, it’s hard to explain.”
Interestingly, Honky Tonk Man was offered a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2010, but turned it down due to a scheduling conflict. He told Sports Illustrated back in 2016, “They offered the Hall of Fame when they were in Phoenix, but I was contracted to go to Wizard World of Comic Con. I went to Toronto instead, and I don’t think they liked me doing that. But if I had a contract with them, they would want me to honor it, and I had a contract that I honored. Back then, there was also a no-compete clause for 90 days after you were inducted in the Hall of Fame, and I needed to work.”
It seems that Honky Tonk and WWE have since patched things up, as he will be the second inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame 2019. Congratulations to the Honky Tonk Man.
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