The last full one to date.Edge

Four Horsemen

For me this is the real headliner.  They’re the greatest stable of all time and had one of the most powerful rosters ever.  If any team or faction is allowed in it should be them and that’s all there is to it.  Easy yes.

Ron Simmons

I go back and forth on this one.  Simmons was indeed the first black man to hold a world title and had a decent tag career with Bradshaw.  That being said though, he never was much of note as WCW Champion and the vast majority of his career was spent as a glorified enforcer.  Is it enough to get him into the Hall of Fame?  I can let him in with a yes, but it’s a yes that is so shaky that a stiff breeze would change my mind.

Yokozuna

This is another good example of someone who was very good when he was good and very bad when he was bad.  When he was bad, he was a disturbing looking man due to his enormous weight.  WHen he was good, he was the top heel in the company for the better part of  a year.  That being said, it was quite a solid year and I think that alone is enough to make him world champion.  I can go yes here again, but it’s also not a solid yes.

Mil Mascaras

Think what you want about the numerous stories involving his ego and refusal to sell a lot of stuff, Mascaras is a HUGE star in Mexico and one of the biggest stars in the history of wrestling.  He appeared in the WWF back in the 70s through the 90s as well as having major appearances worldwide.  This is another of those guys that you have to have in a wrestling Hall of Fame if you want it to be taken seriously.

Mike Tyson

I usually dislike the celebrity inductions, but given how big a deal Tyson was in 1998, I have no problem here.  Tyson was a huge boom to WWE and made Wrestlemania 14 as big of a deal as it was.  Another easy yes here.

That’s it for the complete Hall of Fame classes up to this point.  As is the case with 99% of stuff WWE does, a lot of it is great, a lot of it is poor, a lot of it scratches your head and makes you wonder what they were thinking.  The WWE Hall of Fame can’t be taken seriously due to how easy it is to get in along with some of the older inductees.  The problem is they’ve inducted too many people, making further classes far weaker by comparison.  There are also a bunch of names that need to be inducted but haven’t been for whatever reason, so it’s hard to take this thing seriously.  It’s fun to see though and that’s the important idea.

I’ll look at the 2013 class on the day of the inductions.

It has long since been my opinion that Ted DiBiase is the greatest heel of all time and I stand by that statement to this day.  The man was the personification of evil and was absolutely perfect in the role.  That evil laugh of his is closer to scary than sinister and the shot of him at the Main Event wearing the WWF Title makes me angry to this day.  Considering I love the guy and he still makes me mad, that’s a sign of something very special and definitely someone worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Antonio Inoki

This is another example of someone that isn’t much of anything in WWE but worldwide he’s one of the most important figures of all time.  Inoki is a legend in Japan and is the equivalent of a Senator over there.  He was a huge star back in his day and one of the most famous names in the history of Japanese wrestling.  If we’re talking about a wrestling Hall of Fame, there is no way to not have Inoki in it.  This is another easy yes.

Wendi Richter

Richter is one of those people that you probably haven’t heard of because of how short her stint in the company was.  The time she did have in the company was VERY impressive though as she was so popular that she was actually main eventing house shows.  Think about that for a minute: women’s wrestling in 1985 main eventing shows.  That’s how over Richter was.  On top of that, she was one of the catalysts that started the Rock N Wrestling Connection.  The problem is that she wasn’t around that long and left abruptly (not directly her fault, it was a legit screwjob finish to a match), so I don’t think I can give her a spot.  It’s not one I’d fight to the death over though.

Mad Dog Vachon

His real name was Maurice but he’s far more famous as Mad Dog.  Vachon was a huge deal in the AWA and held five world titles.  He isn’t that well known in the WWF but he did make a cameo where his leg was used as a foreign object in a match between Shawn vs. Diesel.  Other than that he’s most famous for being Luna Vachon’s uncle and that’s about it as far as the WWF goes.  However, he’s VERY famous outside of the WWF and with a resume like he has, it’s almost impossible to say no to him.  Vachon is another yes.

Gorgeous George

This is arguably the guy that brought professional wrestling into the American home.  He was credited with selling as many TV sets as Milton Berle (look him up you young whippersnappers).  George is famous for bringing characters to wrestling rather than just guys in trunks doing moves on each other, making him the original sports entertainer.  Also, he was the first man to come to the ring with music playing (despite what about 857 other wrestlers claim).  There’s a case for George being the most influential wrestler of all time and I wouldn’t argue that much against it.  In case you didn’t get it, this is a yes.

Stu Hart

Aside from being arguably the greatest wrestling trainer of all time (Verne Gagne might have something to say about that but there’s a solid case for Hart), he did this:

He wrestled a tiger. A TIGER.

If that isn’t enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, I don’t know what does.  Stu is a yes.

Bob Uecker

Yeah sure why not.

This was a good class with a lot of people that modern wrestling fans might not have heard of, which is a good thing.

This is another one that does not need an explanation.  Ric Flair is a yes vote.

Peter Maivia

Based on everything I can tell, Maivia is on this list because his grandson agreed to induct him.  That grandson would be named the Rock and he hadn’t appeared on anything associated with WWE in years.  Maivia didn’t do much on the national stage but he wasn’t really around in the time of a national promotion.  At the end of the day though, I don’t think there’s enough on his resume to be in the Hall of Fame.  He was a talented wrestler, but he’s just not that great overall.

Rocky Johnson

Also inducted by the Rock, Johnson at least has a stronger body of work than his dad did.  Johnson was part of the Soul Patrol with Tony Atlas who were the first black world tag team champions.  Allegedly Johnson was going to be the top guy in the company before Hogan showed up and took the spot instead.  Other than that Johnson isn’t incredibly famous for his work in the ring, but he was a pretty big deal in the early 80s.  Again though, as for being in the Hall of Fame I’m thinking no.  The problem at the end of the day is that Rock inducting both he and Maivia seemed to be the whole reason for them getting in, and that’s not a good thing.

Mae Young

Young was a big deal back in the old days of women’s wrestling, but the problem is it’s still women’s wrestling.  No matter how you look at it, women’s wrestling has almost always been seen as a side show to its male counterpart.  Now that being said, it certainly doesn’t take away what Young has accomplished.  When you consider that Young was in her late 70s when she debuted in WWE and is still a fun attraction today, it’s hard to say she doesn’t belong in the WWE Hall of Fame.  If nothing else for the stuff she’s allowed the cameras to film her doing.

Eddie Graham

Graham is a name that most of you likely don’t know, but to say he was influential is an understatement.  Basically, think of a modern booking idea or technique.  The odds are that Graham thought of it first and someone stole it from him.  He was also a wrestler with a lot of success, but he’s far more famous as a booker than a wrestler.  Graham ran Championship Wrestling From Florida for many years, (Wrestlemania was held in Orlando this year).  Graham was one of the most versatile minds in wrestling history and easily belongs in any wrestling Hall of Fame.

Gordon Solie

Speaking of Florida, Solie was commentator on CWF for years.  He was known as the Dean of Professional Wrestling and made Jim Ross look like a hack when it came to calling matches.  Solie called matches for the better part of ever and was always entertaining to listen to.  He’s kind of like your local baseball commentator: he just feels right to listen to.  This is another layup for any wrestling Hall of Fame.

The Brisco Brothers

It’s a shame that Jerry is only remembered as one of the Stooges because he was amazing in the ring in his day.  Jerry was much more famous as a tag wrestler but he was excellent in the ring no matter what he did.  he was also an amateur champion and could hang on the mat with anyone.  That being said, he paled in comparison to his brother Jack.  Jack Brisco isn’t that well known by the modern generation but he’s one of the very best wrestlers that ever lived.  He was a two time world champion back in the days when that was still a huge deal.  The Briscos are both yes votes, but Jack is an emphatic one.

This isn’t the best class in the world.  The main appeal of this class was one of the presenters rather than the wrestlers and it’s one of the classes that make you scratch your head at some of the selections.  Still though, it has Flair and Brisco so I can’t complain much.

It may be weaker at the top but it’s very strong throughout.

While not much in the WWE, he was HUGE elsewhere and one of the most influential people in the history of wrestling.  If you want to talk about someone who is a lifer in wrestling, Rhodes is a good place to start.  He debuted 45 years ago and is still active in wrestling today.  Think about that for a minute.  That’s a LONG time to do anything, let alone be in wrestling.  Rhodes is a yes, and if you’re not familiar with some of his stuff from the 70s, look it up.  It’s far different than what he’s most famous for.

Curt Hennig

Hennig is one of those guys where the more I see of him, the more I’m impressed by him.  He had nearly unlimited talent and one of the best gimmicks in wrestling history.  Hennig came as close to living up to the name Mr. Perfect as you could get and the various sports vignettes he had were some of the best promos ever.  He never won the WCW or WWF World Title but he had a year long reign as AWA World Champion which is still solid enough to count for something.  This is another easy yes.

Jerry Lawler

Lawler is another guy that is legendary in the indies and one in particular, but he’s equally if not even more famous for being the co-voice of Monday Night Raw and therefore the WWF as a whole.  Lawler has been doing commentary for about twenty years now as well as still wrestling occasionally.  He’s never won a title in the WWE but he’s never needed to.  Lawler has long since been at the level where his reputation is safe no matter what he does.  Lawler is another yes and one of the few people who would make it into both the WWE Hall of Fame and any other wrestling Hall of Fame as well.

Nick Bockwinkel

This is another name that isn’t that well known by a lot of young fans but he certainly should be.  Bockwinkel was the father of the smart heel, as he was very crafty but also very skilled in the ring.  Before him, most heels were monsters that a hero would have to vanquish.  Bockwinkel came along and changed the entire idea, showing that heels could win with their minds instead of brute force.  He’s very similar to Ted DiBiase in that regard, which makes him a very influential man indeed.  He held the AWA World Title for over eight years combined and the tag titles for over three years.  That alone makes him an easy yes vote.

Mr. Fuji

I love Mr. Fuji!  (Five points if you get that reference)  This one might surprise you.  Fuji was a pretty lame manager, but he was a very accomplished tag wrestler.  He was a five time WWF Tag Team Champion and holds the record for most days spent as a tag team champion.  He held a tag title for 932 days.  Billy Gunn is second at 916 and had twice as many reigns.  The next place down is over seven months shorter.  Fuji managed Demolition during a large portion of their record tag title run and also managed Yokozuna to the WWF Title.  On top of all that, he was in FUJI FREAKING VICE (look that up if you want some old school hilarity).  I was thinking no at first but a little research says he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Jim Ross

If Jerry Lawler is in, Jim Ross has to be in too.  He’s been the voice of the WWE for what seems like ever now and he continues to be a great commentator.  His acting isn’t exactly top notch half the time and he can be more than a little annoying, but the best way I can sum up JR is this: he and Lawler on commentary just feels right.  Ross was also a force behind the scenes as he was VP of talent relations for a long time.  He’s a jack of all trades in wrestling and again I have no problem with him being inducted.

The Sheik

Not the Iron Sheik but just the Sheik.  This is a guy you probably haven’t heard of but if you’re a fan of ECW or Mick Foley or Terry Funk, you need to research this guy.  He’s arguably the father of hardcore wrestling in the US and was legendary in his main territory of Detroit.  Sheik also trained Raven and Sabu, which may or may not be a good thing in your eyes.  As for being in the Hall of Fame, this is more of a personal issue but I’m saying no.  Hardcore wrestling has done more to hurt wrestling than anything else and Sheik introduced the style to the world.  I’m saying no based on that alone.

The Wild Samoans

This is the team that started the entire tradition in the wrestling world.  From The Rock to Yokozuna to Rosey to Roman Reigns, it all started here.  The Wild Samoans were a very successful tag team and won multiple tag titles over the years.  Afa also has been a successful trainer and trained Mickey Rourke for the movie The Wrestler.  This is another team that is a yes, although there are a few other teams I would put in over them.

This is one of the most stacked classes from top to bottom ever and probably the best one yet with no huge negatives.

Here we look at the inductee that is going to get me in the most trouble.  Let’s get to it.

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.

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.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug-IcTY5ks0]

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.

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.