Who Should Never Go In To The WWE HOF?

[THTRobtaylor]

Kozlov is never going in, so I don't think you have to worry about that... Ditto for Chyna, they are never gonna hire her after her Vivid exploits...

Mayweather is like Lawrence Taylor, the fact that he is a "dual sport superstar" means he has more right to be in there than someone like Tyson who only ever was a ringside personality... Drew Carey is a dumb addition, but he did take part in the Rumble... so I can let it go... sadly applying that logic means its ok for David Arquette too...

Jannetty absolutely should be inducted... without him there is no Shawn Michaels and the Rockers were one of the great teams of all time in their own right... He also was an IC and Tag champ AND part of still the greatest heel turn ever... Regardless of backstage stuff, that guys done more than a Koko B. Ware or Jesse Ventura ever did...

[rokuma]

I've gotta be honest. I don't understand the stupid remarks about Sting not being in the hall of fame, because he "didn't wrestle for WWE" or that he should "wrestle for WWE for a year and then he should go in." This is stupid. You do realize WWE bought and absorbed everything WCW in 2001 right? Everything Sting did in WCW is property of WWE. There will never be a WCW Hall of Fame, so why shouldn't one of the most popular stars in the history of wrestling be in the hall of fame when WWE, again, owns everything he did for WCW? Verne Gagne never wrestled in the WWE, but he owned the AWA (who again, WWE owns the footage), Gordon Solie, Abdullah the Butcher...etc. Saying Sting shouldn't get in the hall of fame for his accomplishments in now WWE-owned WCW is absurd. He deserves it 100%.

Also, the same reasoning goes for Goldberg. In 1998, he was hands-down the hottest star in WCW, and probably 2nd to Austin and equal with the Rock. I know that sounds crazy, but Goldberg was THAT BIG. Again, he was a huge star in WCW, had a fairly accomplished few years there, even came to the WWE and won the World title and was a fairly good draw....he's deserving of a hall of fame spot for his WCW tenure alone. He captured the fans and gave WCW hope. People that hate on Goldberg are likely IWC trolls that say he was a one trick pony. Well guess what...he was...and it was awesome in 1998, 1999, 2000. And you know what? In 2003, I marked out when he wrestled the Rock, when he speared Rosey through the barricade, and his dominating the Elimination Chamber at Summerslam. Why? Just because Goldberg was a great, intense character.

Now, as far as who shouldn't be in the hall of fame? Well, Koko B. Ware is the first one, but since he's already there I'll say:

- The Bushwhackers (I'm surprised they aren't in already)
- Brutus Beefcake (I'm sure that would come with a Hogan comeback)
- 1-2-3 Kid/Sean Waltman/X-Pac (never realized his potential...always fun to see him wrestle, but not a HOF career)
- Psycho Sid/Sid Vicious (solid career, legit scary dude, but IMO not a HOF resume)
- Vader (His WCW career was decent, but his WWF career was lackluster. If WWE had any stock in Japan, he would definitely get in, but not for his American credentials)
- Greg Valentine (I'm up in the air on this one...several times IC champ, tag champ...had some memorable NWA feuds in the 80s with Piper...I'm saying no)
- Big Boss Man (memorable career, but never really accomplished ANYTHING)

[THTRobtaylor]

It is not stupid to think Sting is not going to be inducted...

How many guys who made their names in WCW and have never wrestled there have actually been inducted so far? I'm not talking about wrestling their, I mean being massive there... You're talking Flair and the Horsemen and thats about it... Harley Race wrestled a year for Vince, Terry Funk also worked for WWE...

Is it a little hypocritical of Vince to let guys like Bockwinkel in, yes... but it is not a fan voted HOF, it is who Vince McMahon feels is worthy to enter... and a man who consistantly refused to do business and wrestle for him, costing Vince money and criticised the company on many occasions is unlikely to get in... and frankly shouldn't enter on that basis... The best thing for the business was for Sting to come to WWE after the buyout... he chose what was best for Steve Borden... His right absolutely, but to me that takes him out of the HOF... same for guys like Bruno Sammartino...

[Natural Selection]

Well, I'm going to catch alot of heat for this as I always do when this subject is brought up but I'm going to say it(again). To me any celeb should be able to go in just because the celebs don't really matter. They are there so the average Joe is like 'Oh wow that's Snooki let me not change channels.' As far as wrestlers go the only one that should flat out never be allowed in is Chris Benoit. Woman should go in, but never Benoit. My signature says how I feel on this one. This is one of the few things WWE has gotten 100% correct.

[TripleCrown]

Even though he never - as of today anyway - stepped in a WWE ring, I think Sting deserves it. He made one hell of a name for himself and has a huge fan base, and did it all without VKM. That alone gives him props.

As for the celebrities, Snooki might be a joke but she did more than some - i.e., the back flips in her match. And though we may not like her, Trish Stratus had nothing but good things to say about her.


As for Mickey Rourke I can't agree - I think he did fine. It's not like he and Jericho were supposed to be putting on a main-event caliber match. Their segment was what it was supposed to be, everyone did fine and the crowd roared.

[FitFinlay4Life]

Originally Posted by ryanmclfc

I may be completely wrong in questioning this but I feel I need to.

Are you or are you not saying with this statement "The Rock" Doesn't deserve to be inducted into the hall of fame? And it's a simple yes or no answer required.

Erm, you realize that if I complied to your 'simple yes or no' I'd be infracted for spam? I'm saying that Dwayne Johnson might not deserve to belong in the HoF if he returns to old ways when he 'retires' again. For several years Dwayne was distancing himself from the business that his grandfather and his father graced to the extent that he, at one stage, dropped 'The Rock' from his name. I believe that any inductee should show respect for the business honoring, this is not showing respect. I'm not dissing either the Rock character or his impact, both are HoF worthy, but so is Chris Benoit's career. If Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson shows respect for the industry, I'll mark out at his induction. If he doesn't, it'll leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Hope that clarifies my position for you.

Originally Posted by ryanmclfc

Surely this is a joke right? I don't want to go off on a huge rant before I get clarity!?

This I agree completely with, Edge is fully deserving of a HoF place as he has given his life and health to this business. For a guy (that is my age) to have devoted himself to the extent that he almost paralyzed himself means he more than deserves each and every accolade afforded to him.

Originally Posted by [cL] (via Red Rep)

For you to put Rock's name in your post, especially this one, is a disgrace to the IWC and wrestling at large. You should be ashamed of yourself.

How so? John Cena's case against the Rock since his return is pretty much along the same parameters. I'd be very confident that had this question been asked two years ago, Mr Johnson's name would have been garnering a large number of votes. I've been a wrestling fan for over thirty years - a year and a bit of occasional ego buffering appearances just hasn't convinced me of his sincerity after the prior several years of distancing.

[rokuma]

Originally Posted by THTRobtaylor

It is not stupid to think Sting is not going to be inducted...

How many guys who made their names in WCW and have never wrestled there have actually been inducted so far? I'm not talking about wrestling their, I mean being massive there... You're talking Flair and the Horsemen and thats about it...

I can understand your point, but you have guys like Gagne, Abdullah the Butcher, Antonio Inoki, Harley Race and Terry Funk (who arguably tainted their legacy by coming to the WWF), Eddie Graham, Gordon Solie, Mil Mascaras (as far as I can remember, wrestled only in the 1997 Royal Rumble in WWF), Nick Bockwinkel, whom you mentioned, Stu Hart (his induction is obvious), also the Von Erichs (only Kerry was in the WWF)....so it's not unprecedented for Vince McMahon to induct people that didn't step into a WWF/E ring. To argue that Sting shouldn't be allowed in based on that criteria, is foolish. He absolutely deserves it and Vince has NEVER said anything bad publicly about Sting and vice versa. I think once Sting officially ends his association with TNA, he will get the invite for the Hall of Fame.

And as far as Vince's bias, let's not forget he hired someone much worse than Sting to work for him...Eric Bischoff. Vince KNOWS inducting Sting would be good business, regardless if he ever shows up at a WWE show or not.

[HeenanGorilla]

Originally Posted by THTRobtaylor

Jannetty absolutely should be inducted... without him there is no Shawn Michaels and the Rockers were one of the great teams of all time in their own right... He also was an IC and Tag champ AND part of still the greatest heel turn ever... Regardless of backstage stuff, that guys done more than a Koko B. Ware or Jesse Ventura ever did...

I have disagreed with a lot of your posts; but, I have to thank you for this one. Because I now have all the proof I need that you are a fool. Without him there is no Shawn Michaels? Haha! That is one of the dumbest things I've read on here -- and that is saying something. As if the Rockers not being formed, would have resulted in HBK packing up and leaving the business. Also, for any fan of the WWF during the Rockers' break up, that heel turn was coming from a mile away.

I ignore most of your garbage, but this one gave me the official stamp that you are a fool. Thanks again!

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

Originally Posted by hArdyPUNKmArk

I don’t think Benoit should ever be inducted. Because of what he did his legacy is so badly tainted I would honestly be disgusted with him being honoured and inducted into the HOF. Granted, he was a great talent and an unbelievable wrestler in his hay day but after the terrible crime he committed he should never ever be honoured in such a way as the HOF does.

I wouldn't be disgusted and I wouldn't be angry. Beniot was not himself when that happened. From steroids and multiple untreated brain injuries his brain was mush its safe to say he was insane and in no way was he in control of himself. I have a lot of respect for Benoit the wrestler and I feel bad for Benoit the man in the way his life ended. It was a tragedy but Benoit the wrestler's career shouldn't go unnoticed from his association with the Four Horseman to his championship runs as he was about to be the second man to have won the WWE, WCW, and the ECW titles. And for that he should be honored. I am in no way saying to forgive and forget but I am saying that the Wrestler and the Man need to be separated and the Wrestler should receive that honor. I think that eventually he'll get the nod but it won't be any time soon.

[MrMojoRisin]

Originally Posted by THTRobtaylor

Did Kerry Von Erich wrestle for the WWE, yes... so I can see why they induct the whole family as it was a "happy ending" for a tragic family. Abby DID wrestle for Vince Sr. on the odd occasion in the pre Hogan era and Eddie Graham was one of the guys Vince Sr. would regularly trade talent with... so yes, they get inducted

Some guys, like Gordon Solie get in because they made a genuine impact on how WWE does business, no Solie and you have no JR, and the landscape of wrestling is totally different. Gagne had recently died and it was a way again to "bury the past bad blood" and acknowledge the legacy of the AWA (which produced several of WWE's top stars of the 80's)

Sting is a different kettle of fish, he is a man who has gone out of his way to avoid working with WWE on many occasions. Be that through sticking to his principles or cos he felt the money wasn't right, He has time and again said he will never work for them... So in my mind that takes him out of the hall of fame. If you don't want to work with them, you don't accept their HOF offer either... you can't have it both ways...

Hmm

Von Erich Family - I'm pretty sure that this one had more to do with sealing the deal for Vince to purchase the WCCW library from Kevin Von Erich. Either way though, Vince did always have a soft spot for the Von Erich boys, and he had made attempts to get Kerry, Kevin and I believe even David at various times during their peak (obviously would never happen considering they worked for their father). Regardless, for a time they were the biggest stars in the USA (Hogan included). They absolutely deserve the HOF.

Abby - Probably worked for Vince Sr less than any other promoter, so we're stretching it pretty thin to justify your premise here. Abby simply had a great career, working around the world on his own terms.

Graham - Yeah he traded talent with Vince Sr. They were both a part of the NWA cartel. Of course they did. Vince Jr. also apparently idolized Graham as a kid. Either way, another guy who had a great career and deserves it.

Solie - I'm pretty sure JR would have still existed without Gordon Solie... especially considering JR came up through Watt's territory, where Gordon did little to no work. Solie may have been inspirational to Ross, but then again he was to virtually every commentator of that era... because he was the best, and that's why he's in.

Gagne - Umm... Verne Gagne is still alive.

Bockwinkel - I know you didn't mention him in this one, but you said something about him in this thread. Nicky is in because he was quite simply one of the greatest of his era. The guy would have been NWA champ multiple times over (at the expense of guys like Race, Brisco and the Funks... all HOFers), if he wanted to be. He was offered this by the cartel, and turned it down because he was more than happy with his arrangement with Gagne, which allowed him to work on his terms, instead of dealing with the grueling travel schedule of an NWA champion. If revisiting his career on Youtube doesn't make you appreciate how great he was, and how deserving he is to be in any professional wrestling Hall of Fame, then I suggest you spend some time on some of the old worker forums, and listen to how much they revere him.

Sting - Absolutely will be in the HOF any time after his ties with TNA are finished (at least in an on screen capacity). It's ludicrous to think otherwise.

You see, you ignore one very important point about the WWE HOF. Vince considers it to be a Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Not just a WWE HOF. This is why he includes the Gagne's, Bockwinkel's, Von Erich's, Graham's, ect. This is why guys who didn't necessarily have stellar WWE careers (Harley Race), but were legends elsewhere are in the HOF.

Sometimes the reasons for someones entry make little sense (Koko B Ware), and yes, he will always give preference to WWE performers, but the guy has a pretty good sense of history and respect for those who paved the way in his industry.