http://www.wwe.com/classics/history-wwe-championship-26092271
This was posted after the new title was unveiled. There’s some cool history stuff in there. Unfortunately it’s a slide show rather than a full on history of the championship. It would be nice to see someone talk about every title change and various other important matches in its history……wouldn’t it?
I’ve read this elsewhere and it’s a good question:Are we supposed to be cheering for illegal immigrants? Swagger and Colter are clearly the heels, so we’re supposed to cheer people they hate right? Who is this character supposed to appeal to? Immigrants? Republicans? The Tea Party? Fans in general? It’s interesting but rather head scratching at the same time. Also if he wants to taker America back from foreigners that look and sound different from him, shouldn’t he want to take the US Title from the European who speaks five languages?
Here we look at the inductee that is going to get me in the most trouble. Let’s get to it.
Bret Hart
This is an easy one as Bret is one of the biggest stars the company ever had. He showed that smaller technical guys can indeed make it to the top in the modern era of wrestling, which had never been done before. Bret was a huge draw internationally as well, where the fans were more interested in an amateur based technical style. Bret held things together quite well after the departures of Hogan, Savage and Warrior, a task which most people would have never been able to accomplish. Bret was great indeed and certainly belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Gene Okerlund
Now we hit the nostalgia kick. The problem with Gene is that while he was funny and loveable, he didn’t really do anything other than interview people. He didn’t really do much other than hold a microphone in those interviews and nothing huge was said in them most of the time. Gene is in the Hall of Fame because people liked him, not because he was great. This is a no vote, but I feel dirty saying that it is.
Sensational Sherri Martel
This is a tricky one as Sherri was a successful wrestler and an even more successful manager, but I’m not sure if she was at a Hall of Fame level in either area. If she gets in it would be as a manager due to all of the successful guys she was around, which helps her a lot. At the end of the day, I can’t say no to Sherri. She really was talented in two areas and had a VERY long career. You often hear about how Michaels was put with Sherri because of how awesome of a manager she was. If she’s good enough for Shawn, she’s good enough for me. Sherri is a yes vote.
Verne Gagne
While I don’t think Gagne ever appeared in the WWF, he belongs in any wrestling Hall of Fame. he was a legit amateur star and ran the AWA for about thirty years. Say what you want about his booking skills or lack thereof at the end of his career, but you can’t take away what he did accomplish both in and out of the ring. At various points, the AWA was the second or third biggest wrestling organization in the country, which says a lot when it’s based in Minneapolis, Minnesota of all places. Also keep in mind the names that he trained (the biggest being Ric Flair) and it’s impossible to not put him in immediately.
Tony Atlas
This is a guy who the more I watch of him, the more I like him. That being said, I don’t think I like him enough to put him in a Hall of Fame. Atlas’ major accomplishment was that he was the first black man to win a tag title (along with Rocky Johnson) which is indeed a major deal. Allegedly he was going to win the IC Title but drug issues held him back. As for being in the Hall of Fame….I can’t give it to him. Atlas was good and a great tag wrestler, but overall he didn’t do enough to get in, no.
Blackjacks
This is another team that I forgot to add to the list. They were basically evil cowboys with jet black hair who worked in the AWA and the WWF. SHould they be in the Hall of Fame? Eh maybe but as is the case with a lot of the other entries on the list so far, there are far better teams that should go in for them. I’ll say no here though, as the Blackjacks are pretty much just another big power team that didn’t separate themselves out well enough from the pack.
William Refrigerator Perry
He was in a battle royal at Wrestlemania II and that’s it. Next.
Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero does not belong in the Hall of Fame. Period. He had a dull world title reign that went nowhere and lasted roughly four months. Other than that, he was a career midcarder and nowhere near as great as he’s made out to be. As bad as it sounds, Guerrero is most famous for dying, not being great in the ring. Was Eddie talented? Absolutely. Was he good to even great? Yes. Is he elevated WAY higher than he should be because he died? Without a doubt. Eddie won his title because Lesnar was leaving and there was no one left to put it on. Think about it: he spent months feuding with Chavo Guerrero and all of a sudden he was world champion? That doesn’t work for me. Again, Eddie was very good, but he’s in the Hall of Fame because of how he died.
Bret and Gagne belong in for sure, but the rest is pretty lame.
This is probably the most star studded class ever with a lot of layups. Let’s get to it.Hulk Hogan
The greatest wrestler of all time is a yes.
Roddy Piper
This is another layup as Piper was one of the best, if not the best, villains of all time. I stand by the statement that without him there would be no Wrestlemania, due to Piper having the fans begging to see him get beaten up. Piper had a long and successful career which resulted in him being a top star again in WCW, eleven years after his original time on top. As great as he was on the mic, he was also an excellent wrestler who had solid matches with a ton of guys he fought. This is another easy one as I said before.
Bob Orton Jr.
Orton is kind of the Christian of his day: he rarely was in the world title scene but he was always good for a solid performance when needed. He was great at putting people over and acted as a bodyguard (not a life partner) to Roddy Piper during the 80s. After that he kind of faded away a bit but he would pop up every now and then for various companies as his usually solid self. As for putting him in the Hall of Fame though….I’m not entirely sold on that. The problem is that Orton was always the guy behind the guy rather than the top star himself. He did well in that role, but certainly not well enough to be considered an all time great. Orton was one of those very solid but not great guys.
Jimmy Hart
Another short entry here as he’s one of the best managers of all time, but you can’t put him in without having Heenan in first. Since the Brain is already enshrined, I can more than live with Hart going in. As evil as Heenan was, Hart was kind of a step beneath him as Hart was more along the lines of annoying and a nuisance than the top evil mind. That being said Jimmy was more than successful and played his role perfectly. I’m fine with him going in.
Paul Orndorff
This is one of the trickiest ones on the entire list. Orndorff was an awesome talent back in the 80s but his time on top got cut short by an arm injury. This injury (while not as slow healing as Orton’s) was caused when he was facing Hogan in a feud so hot that he was making $20,000 a week selling out arenas. That’s INSANE money for today and back then it’s hard to comprehend. He’s quite good and I can accept him as a member of the Hall of Fame, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to overcome this.
WCW in 1995 was weird.
I’ll go ahead and vote yes but it’s not a for sure vote.
Nikolai Volkoff
This is one of the easiest no votes on the whole list. At the end of the day, Volkoff is famous for losing to Hulk Hogan probably more times than anyone else in history. There’s no reason for him to be a member of the Hall of Fame other than nostalgia. Yeah he won some tag titles, but most of them are from a so long forgotten era that there’s no reason to care about them at all. Volkoff was a fun character who was pretty amusing at times, but on the other hand…the guy just wasn’t that good. This is a no and it’s not even worth thinking about.
Iron Sheik
This one however is worth thinking about. Sheik was the WWF Champion, but it’s one of the textbook examples of a transitional reign. He didn’t even hold the title for a month before dropping it back to Hogan, which makes Sheik a footnote rather than a top name. I don’t think there’s enough there for him to go into the Hall of Fame, although his interviews after retiring are some of the funniest tirades you’ll ever hear. As for a Hall of Fame induction though, I’d go no although I can see why he’s in and I don’t completely disagree with him being inducted.
This is one of the classes where they got some of the required named enshrined. You have to have Hogan, period. Piper being in is a very solid choice as well and the rest certainly aren’t terrible, Volkoff excluded. They also stopped inducting so many people, but that would become a problem again in a few years. This is a very solid class though, especially on top.
So apparently, Rock vs. Cena II is happening at Wrestlemania 29. Naturally the general consensus is that this is a horrible idea and Punk HAS TO save it. Let’s get this over with.1. John Cena vs. The Rock I was the biggest drawing match of all time. It makes good business sense to try it again.
2. John Cena vs. The Rock has happened ONE TIME. The way people are talking, you would think it was Sheamus vs. Ziggler or something that happens once a week. It’s their second match ever, not their 19th.
3. The first match was pretty good to great. My guess is the rematch will also produce an excellent match.
4. Punk has been defeated. From a storytelling perspective, it makes little sense to include him.
5. Triple threats suck anyway.
You didn’t miss 1997-2003. They don’t exist. Also I forgot the Valiant Brothers in the 96 class but they’ve been added at the end.This is the return of the Hall of Fame after an eight year absence. It’s also the first year that the inductions were tied in to Wrestlemania, which was the perfect move for the ceremonies. They never were really talked about, so putting them at Wrestlemania got them on the main stage for the first time ever. Since there are a lot more people going in starting with these classes and some of them are better known, the statements about each will likely shrink a bit. Let’s get to it.
Big John Studd
….for what? Winning the second Royal Rumble? I’d hardly call that a reason for putting him in the Hall. Studd won a tag title back in the 70s under a mask, but other than that the guy doesn’t have any claims to fame in the company. He was a pretty big star outside of WWF, but again I don’t know if he was a big enough deal to be in the Hall of Fame. At the end of the day, he didn’t really do much other than job to Andre and Hogan about a million times. If he’s in the Hall of Fame, it’s on one of the lowest levels you can be on. I’d vote no here.
Don Muraco
I’m fine with this one. Muraco was a very dominant heel back in the early 80s, winning two Intercontinental Titles when that meant a lot. He spent the second most time ever as champion, second only to Pedro Morales. He’s also an answer to another trivia question, as he won the first King of the Ring tournament. Muraco was a shell of his great self by the time he turned face in late 87, which is a shame as he really was talented back in the day. I’m fine with him going in.
Greg Valentine
You could nearly write the same paragraph here as was written about Muraco, with the only differences being Valentine won a tag title instead of another IC Title and never won the KOTR. Valentine also had a great run in the NWA, winning nearly every major title other than the world title. If you want to see an old school bloodbath, check out Valentine vs. Piper at the first Starrcade. For it’s time, it’s an amazing brawl. I have no problem with Valentine being in the Hall of Fame, but if you look up his stuff, get the matches before about 1987. They’re WAY better.
Harley Race
This is a yes. If you need to know who Harley Race is, watch some HHH matches and pretend it’s the 70s. They’re practically the same guy. If I remember right, when Race retired he was an 8 time world champion. The second highest total at that time: three, by Lou Thesz. Harley Race is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and has a legitimate argument for being the greatest of all time. Race falls into the category of “guys you have to have in a wrestling Hall of Fame if you want people to care.” As I said, this is a yes, period.
Jesse Ventura
If you have Gorilla Monsoon in the Hall of Fame, it would be a crime to not have Ventura in there as well. These two were made to be commentary partners and they had the absolute best banter in the history of wrestling announcers. Ventura wasn’t great in the ring by any stretch, but he more than made up for it on the microphone. Oh and he was governor of Minnesota. That has to be worth some points. I’m fine with him being in the Hall of Fame, but only the WWF version.
Junkyard Dog
The JYD is one of those guys that got by almost entirely on charisma instead of skill. By the time he got to the WWF he was a shell of his former self, but the fans still loved him no mater what. He never accomplished that much on the main stage, but he was probably the biggest star ever in Mid-South, which was a pretty big deal back in the day. This is one of those names that I wouldn’t go with personally, but I can see why he got in. I’d probably vote no though, at least for the first few years.
Sgt. Slaughter
This is another name that wasn’t huge on the main stage but he was certainly big elsewhere, especially in the chin department. Slaughter was a top star in the AWA and then won the WWF Title in a huge heel run in 1991. He used the American military gimmick which is one of the tried and true gimmicks that almost never fails. Slaughter was one of the top stars of the 1980s, and I have limited problems with him being in the Hall of Fame. I’ll give him a pretty solid yes here.
Billy Graham
Here’s something you likely wouldn’t guess: Graham has the longest world title reign by a heel in WWF history. On top of that, to call Graham influential is the understatement of the century. Hogan used the boas and talked about having huge arms, Rhodes flat out stole some of Graham’s catchphrases, and Jesse Ventura made a running joke out of saying that Graham stole ideas from him. Graham has since become something of a nut case, but to argue that he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame is absurd. This is probably the easiest layup of the year.
Tito Santana
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a big Tito Santana fan. The guy could flat out go in the ring and was basically the Kofi Kingston of his day: he won enough titles to be credible all the time, he almost never had a truly bad match, and he never was a serious threat to the world title. Santana and Valentine had some of the best chemistry you’ll ever see, making their matches pure treats. He had the same chemistry with Savage so the feuds flowed very well with them. Santana certainly belongs in the Hall as he’s one of the most consistently solid workers in history.
Bobby Heenan
He’s the greatest manager of all time but he might have been funnier on commentary. Think about this: the guy got a DVD released about him, and he was primarily a manager. That sums up the easy yes pretty well.
Pete Rose
Yeah whatever. The guy took some beatings over the years so why not.
This was a pretty solid return to the concept for the WWE, but the next year was when they started nailing the idea with headliners. That’s probably what this class is missing most, but it’s certainly not bad.
The last class for eight years and it’s not hard to see why.Baron Mikel Scicluna
This is another one of those names that just happened to be around about twenty years before he was inducted. Scicluna is a guy you’ll see a lot of if you watch shows from the late 70s to early 80s and odds are you won’t be that impressed. The guy was nothing special and was a pretty generic foreign (Maltese) heel. That doesn’t make for an interesting character but he was pretty successful in Australia. Other than that though, I don’t see a reason for him to be in a Hall of Fame. This is a no.
Captain Lou Albano
This is one of the few layups of this class. Albano managed a remarkable 15 tag teams to tag titles in his day, as well as being an absolutely hated manager. He was involved with Cyndi Lauper and more or less was the grandfather of Wrestlemania in that sense. Albano had moderate success as a wrestler, but was FAR more successful as a manager. When you manage the guy that ended Sammartino’s seven year world title reign, you have to have something going for you. Albano was the top heel manager of the 70s and part of the 80s, so I have zero issue with him going into the Hall of Fame.
Jimmy Snuka
Appropriately enough, Snuka was one of Albano’s clients when he started in the WWF. Snuka is one of those guys that is revered not because of his accomplishments but rather how influential he was. He was the first high flier to be a star in modern wrestling and was pretty easily the second biggest star in the first half of the Hogan Era. I’m sure you’ve all seen the legendary cage dive onto Muraco that apparently inspired about 974 different wrestlers, all of whom seemed to be in attendance that night. I’m fine with Snuka being in the Hall of Fame, as he’s one of the characters that changed the way wrestling worked, which is far more important than winning a title here or there.
Johnny Rodz
This is another one of those guys that is in the Hall of Fame and no one is quite sure why. He’s FAR more famous as a trainer, having trained a lot of ECW stars (Dreamer, Tazz, Dudleys), but at the time of his inductions those wouldn’t have meant anything. Rodz was around for about twenty years but never really accomplished anything. He was mainly a jobber to the midcard, which makes his induction all the more questionable. This is one of the top names that really has no business being enshrined.
Killer Kowalski
Now we’re getting into something a bit better. Kowalski was one of the top heels in the world in the 60s and 70s and was a genuine monster. He was Sammartino’s top opponent for years in the WWF and had a ton of success in regional promotions around the country. Kowakski was also the first man in North America to pin one Andre the Giant, which should tell you a lot about how big of a deal he was. He trained a bunch of people you’ve heard of too, with the most famous being HHH. This is another layup and definitely another guy you should look up if you never have before.
Pat Patterson
This is anther guy that is more well known for his contributions rather than his in ring ability, which is saying a lot as he was very skilled in the ring. Patterson was of course the first Intercontinental Champion and held the title for a long time after first winning it. Other than that, he had an excellent match with Sgt. Slaughter in MSG known as an Alley Fight, which we would call a street fight. However, Patterson was much better behind the scenes as a consultant and agent. He invented the Royal Rumble and was a master at laying them out. If you watch the Rumble year to year, it’s very obvious when Patterson is the one that laid it out as he knows how to create a three act structure for them. This is another layup, but not for reasons that most people would see.
Vincent J. McMahon
Aka Vince Senior, he’s the father of the Vince McMahon we see on TV every now and then. Vince founded what would become the WWF and promoted cards for decades. That’s more or less the main thing he’s famous for, and if that doesn’t get you into the WWE Hall of Fame, I don’t know what else would. This is another easy yes.
Valiant Brothers
I forgot these guys when I first did this class. Basically they’re an old school tag team that held the tag champions for awhile back in the 70s. There were three of them (Jerry, Johnny and Jimmy) and various combinations of them held the titles in the WWF. They were good, but as the first tag team in the Hall of Fame? I can’t go with that. They’re worthy of the Hall of Fame, but not as the first team at all.
The class isn’t that bad really, but at the same time it lacks the huge name that most classes have, leaving mainly questionable entries or people that don’t have a lot of importance on camera in WWE.
That wraps up the first era of the WWE Hall of Fame and it’s pretty easy to see why this went away for eight years: other than Andre, there aren’t a lot of big names in there. We’ve got Pedro and Snuka, but other than that most of these guys just aren’t huge names. Yeah they’re big deals overall, but in WWE they weren’t incredibly important. In every industry that has a Hall of Fame, there are certain names you have to have to make it credible. Most of those names are missing here and that’s what brings the original classes down. That and there was almost no publicity for it at all, which hurt a lot. The modern era starts tomorrow.
Back for another of the old entries in the series.Antonino Rocca
This is one of those guys you’ve likely only heard of once in awhile, but he’s well worth looking into more. Rocca was a BIG star back in the 50s and if I remember right, at times he was the #1 draw in wrestling at the time. He was the guy that Buddy Rogers “beat” in a “tournament final” in Rio de Janeiro for the first WWF Title, obviously making him a big deal at the time. Rocca was a high flier before there was such a thing as a high flier to be. On top of all that:
That’s him beating up SUPERMAN.
In case you didn’t get it, Rocca belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Ernie Ladd
Ernie Ladd was a big power guy who was mainly a heel who worked in the WWWF in the 70s. After watching some of his stuff, I can definitively, without a doubt or question, declare that Ladd was completely and utterly…..not bad. That’s Ernie Ladd in a nutshell: he’s not bad. Ladd was a heel who was built up for other faces to take down, kind of like Mark Henry before he went on his path of rage a year or two ago. As for being in the Hall of Fame, no he doesn’t belong.
George Steele
Steele allegedly is in the Hall of Fame because Stephanie McMahon was a fan of his as a kid. Other than that, I can’t think of a legitimate reason to put him in the Hall of Fame. Steele was a crazy monster heel for awhile before becoming a face in 1984. After that he was a goofy face for the rest of his career and did nothing of note. There’s no reason for Steele to be in the Hall of Fame, but he’s certainly a fun character and I have nothing bad to say about him. He’s just not in the elite class that is supposed to be in a Hall of Fame.
Ivan Putski
This is another name that just does not go with the term “Hall of Famer” when you think about it. Putski was a Polish fan favorite and that’s about the extent of what he’s known for in wrestling. He and Tito Santana held the tag titles in the late 70s and that’s about all he ever accomplished of note. There isn’t much else to say here and in case you’re kind of thick, Putski is a no vote.
The Fabulous Moolah
This is one of those names that doesn’t need much of an explanation at all. She’s the freaking Fabulous Moolah! Of course she belongs in the Hall of Fame! In case you’re a young whippersnapper, we’ll go with this: Moolah held the Women’s Title for over 26 years (technically). If that doesn’t sum up why she’s in the Hall of Fame, nothing is going to. This is an even bigger layup than Rocca, which is saying a lot.
The Grand Wizard
This is another one of those names that you don’t hear much about but you really should. The Wizard was an incredibly hated heel manager who managed two world champions (Billy Graham and Stan Stasiak) as well as the first two IC Champions (Patterson and Patera) among many other big names. He died in 1983 before the Golden Era hit, so there isn’t much video of him to go on. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, Wizard was indeed an awesome manager and would rank right up there with Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan if he had been around to be seen with them. Wizard should certainly be in, but again I’m not sure if he should have gone in this early.
Pedro Morales
This is another guy you might not have seen much of but I’ve always been a fan of the guy. You constantly hear about people being a triple crown champion today, but Morales was the first man to ever accomplish that, and he would be the only man to do it for nearly 12 years. Think about that. The IC Title debuted in 1979 and until 1991, only Pedro Morales won all three titles. He held the WWF and Intercontinental Titles for over a year each, which has only been matched by Randy Savage. If you’re in that kind of company, you belong in the Hall of Fame. Morales is an easy yes.
This was a stronger class on top but tomorrow we hit the class that stopped the Hall of Fame for nearly ten years.
We’re still back in the days of holding this thing at the Mariott and it isn’t even associated with Wrestlemania yet.
Arnold Skaaland
This is the first entry where you kind of scratch your head. Skaaland had a nice career but at the end of the day, he’s most famous as the manager of Bob Backlund and the man that threw in the towel to give the WWF Title to the Iron Shiek. Other than that though, he was kind of just another guy. The only difference between him and all the other guys: he owned a stake in the Capitol Wrestling Corporation alongside Vince McMahon Sr. Skaaland in the Hall of Fame is something I can accept, but not in the second class ever.
Bobo Brazil
Now we’re getting somewhere. Bobo Brazil was the first big time black wrestler in America and was a top star for years. He was the first black man to “win” the NWA Title although the title change isn’t recognized. His biggest fame was in Big Time Wrestling in Detroit where he had a legendary feud with the Sheik but he wrestled everywhere, including on the famous Black Saturday show in 1984. Bobo doesn’t belong in the WWF Hall of Fame, but he does belong in a professional wrestling Hall of Fame for sure.
Buddy Rogers
If you want to talk about someone innovative, look no further than Rogers. He was basically the original Ric Flair, down to the long time on top, the blonde hair, the strut, and he invented the Figure Four. Rogers was also the first man to win both the NWA and the WWWF World Title, as he was the first man to win the latter. Granted he lost the WWWF Title in about 45 seconds, but that’s beyond the point. Rogers definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Chief Jay Strongbow
This is another questionable one although Strongbow has a better resume than Skaaland. Jay won titles all over the country and wrestled for the better part of forty years. He wasn’t the best worker in the world but he was popular for most of his career and had a ton of title matches all over the country. Strongbow fits into the same mold as Skaaland as he probably has a case for being in the Hall of Fame, but not before a lot of other people.
Classy Freddie Blassie
Blassie is another guy who fits into the category of “take away the WWF part and he’s a lock”. He was a top heel in Los Angeles as well as other parts of the country and even had mainstream appeal, appearing on the top rated Dick Van Dyke Show in a cameo. Blassie was a top heel manager in the WWF in the 70s and 80s as well which is where a lot of people probably remember him best. He was also a legend in Japan and allegedly had a match with Rikidozan (the Hulk Hogan of Japan) that was so intense that fans watching on TV had heart attacks. This is as much of a layup as we’re getting in this class.
Gorilla Monsoon
I may be incorrect on that last statement on Blassie. Monsoon is the embodiment of nostalgia for a WWF fan. Monsoon was by far most famous as a commentator in the 80s where he was the voice of the WWF on the first eight Wrestlemanias. He and Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan were the best commentary teams of all time, bar none. He later became President of the WWF which was an appointment I don’t think anyone was complaining about. On top of all that, he was a big star back in the 60s and 70s so he had the credibility to back up his post in ring career stuff. Also, he was one of the original owners of the CWC along with Skaaland. Easy yes vote here.
James Dudley
Now for the white (or black in this case) elephant in the room. This is pretty easily the weakest entry of the early days of the Hall of Fame and probably the lamest member of the Hall of Fame ever. Dudley is allegedly in the Hall of Fame for being the first black man to run a major arena in America, but the common sense version is that he was Vince Sr.’s personal bodyguard and limo driver. To the best of my knowledge, his only appearance on camera was as Bobo Brazil’s manager. There’s no way he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
For the early days, this is actually a pretty solid class with one major outlier.
With Hall of Fame season upon us, I’m going to take a look back at every class and see how well they hold up. Clearly over the years some of them have been very pathetic while some of them are no brainers. In my usual once a day fashion, we’ll be looking at each class and I’ll be talking about each member of that class, saying a bit about them (not a biography unless it’s someone you likely haven’t heard of. I won’t be explaining who Hulk Hogan is for example) and whether or not they should be in the Hall of Fame. Note that I’m saying if I think they belong in a general Hall of Fame and not WWE’s, as a lot of the people rarely if ever performed for the WWF/E. Let’s get to it.Andre the Giant
To put it simply, he’s the reason the Hall of Fame was established. Andre really was larger than life and the biggest draw for the company until Hogan showed up. He was a huge (pun intended) star in the territory days and he would rotate around the country, never overstaying his welcome. This was also required because he can only beat up everyone in the territory for so long. Of course his biggest match ever was at Wrestlemania 3 in the biggest match of all time, but his glory days were in the 70s and early 80s when Andre was arguably the top star in the world.
He embodies the larger than life characters that guys like Undertaker and Big Show try to emulate today. When Vince created the Undertaker character, he wasn’t trying to make the new Hogan. He was trying to make the new Andre: a character the fans would be in awe of and would hardly ever lose. Andre belongs in any Hall of Fame and was the perfect choice to start the Hall off with.